The Power Of Prayer

The Power Of Prayer

script.

James 5:16-18 (NIV) 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Introduction:

THE "OUR FATHER" PRAYER:

Do I Really Mean What I Pray?

Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, "Praying the Our Father and living

it will lead us toward saintliness. The Our Father contains everything:

God, ourselves, our neighbors...."

Examine how well you live what you pray as you meditate on the

following:

I cannot say OUR if I keep my faith only to myself and never share it

with others.

I cannot say FATHER if I do not trust in His loving and complete

concern for me, forgetting that He always answers prayers how and when

He knows is best.

I cannot say WHO ART IN HEAVEN if I am so attached to the ways of this

world that I neglect to seek God first in everything.

I cannot say HALLOWED BE THY NAME if I am unwilling to let His

holiness penetrate my life and help me grow in my own holiness.

I cannot say THY KINGDOM COME if I am not using my life to bring His

love into the world.

I cannot say THY WILL BE DONE if I live by my own ideas of morality or

choose to follow the world’s standards.

I cannot say ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN if I am not devoting my life

to serving Him here on earth.

I cannot say GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD if I am not willing to

be generous with whatever God gives me.

I cannot say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES if I don’t want to put forth

enough effort to change.

I cannot say AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US if I still

hold a grudge, if I’m still angry, or if I still insist that other

people change.

I cannot say LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION if I deliberately or

knowingly place myself in a position to be tempted.

I cannot say DELIVER US FROM EVIL if I’m not actively fighting against

evil through deeds of love and service for everyone in my life,

especially those who cause problems.

-- Author Unknown

Our prayers do not mean a thing without faith that they will be answered.

The power of prayer is

I. Dependent upon our Faith:

1. Matt. 21:21-22 (NIV) 21Jesus replied, ¡§I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ¡¥Go, throw yourself into the sea,¡¦ and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.¡¨

2. If you have faith and do not doubt you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

3. All we have to do is believe, we have faith for other things.

4. Faith that every time we turn the light on, that it will work.

5. We believe that the world is round without to much trouble even though we¡¦ve never seen it from space with our own eyes.

6. We believe that there are billions of other galaxies out in space even though we¡¦ve never seen them either.

7. We believe a lot of things that other people tell us often without question.

8. Why can¡¦t we believe in God that he will do what he say¡¦s he will do?

9. But, this is just one promise of many that we can stand on during times of prayer that will strengthen our faith.

10. It also say¡¦s

11. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Heb. 11:6 (NIV)

12. So without faith we cannot please God, we must have faith in him.

13. Faith to calm our fears, faith to care for our needs, faith to see our loved ones give their lives to him, faith to know he loves us, faith to know he will always be there for us.

14. If we do not have faith it is impossible for us to be Christians.

15. The basis of our salvation is the faith that he saves us from all our sins.

16. That beginning faith then builds into a life living in complete trust in God for everything that comes our way.

(This is an interesting way to remember prayer)