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Prayer, the Believer's Privilege

He Always Answers

Dan 9:21 "while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice." NIV

Daniel was determined to pray regularly, and it got him thrown into the lions' den (Daniel 6). But have you ever noticed how God answered his prayers?

In Daniel 9, we learn that Daniel had been reading Jeremiah's prophecy that the exile of the Israelites was supposed to end after 70 years. So Daniel prayed that God would not delay the end of the captivity. He confessed Israel's sin and asked for God's intervention.

Then, while Daniel was still praying, God not only sent an answer but He also sent His angel Gabriel to deliver it. Daniel said, "While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel,. . . being caused to fly swiftly, reached me" (v.21). In other words, before Daniel had even finished his prayer, God heard it and immediately sent Gabriel with the answer (vv.22-23).

Yet, on another occasion when Daniel prayed, Scripture tells us that the messenger God sent with the answer took three weeks to arrive (10:12-13).

We can learn important lessons from Daniel about how God answers our prayers today. Sometimes God sends the answer immediately. Sometimes the answer is delayed. Either way, He always answers. God answers our prayers in one of four ways – Yes, No, Wait, and Hear is something better.

Two Obstacles to Praying

1 Thess 5:17 pray continually

Do you trouble getting your prayer life in gear? Martin Luther has some thoughts on that. Read what he had to say below.

"There are two major obstacles to prayer. The first obstacle arises when the devil prompts you to think, ") am not yet prepared to pray. ) should wait for another half-hour or another day until ) have become more prepared or until ) have finished taking care of this or that." Meanwhile, the devil distracts you for half an hour, so that you no longer think about prayer for the rest of the day. From one day to the next, you are hindered and rushed with other business. This common obstacle shows us how maliciously the devil tries to trick us. . . .

"The second obstacle arises when we ask ourselves, "How can you pray to God…? You are too unworthy and sin every day. Wait until you are more devout. You might be in the mood to pray now, but wait until you have confessed your sin taken the Lord's Supper so that you can pray more fervently and approach God with confidence. Only then can you really...from your heart." This serious obstacle crushes us like a heavy stone. Despite our feelings of unworthiness, our hearts must struggle to remove this obstacle so that we can freely approach God and call upon him."

Ok now, no more excuses!

Brethren, Pray

 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray continually” 

It’s not easy to get someone to listen to you today.  First, you have to get through the noise of today just so they can hear you.  Then they have to be willing to listen.  They have to be willing to turn down the radio, turn away from the TV, set aside the newspaper or book or whatever else has their attention.  If you find someone who is willing to do that, to silence everything else so they can hear you clearly and attentively, you have found a rare person.

But our Heavenly Father is like that.  Oh, he doesn’t stop what he is doing to listen to our prayers.  He continues to sustain all things by his mighty power but he listens to you with the same intensity as if there was nothing else on his agenda.

Max Lucado put it this way in THE GREAT HOUSE OF GOD, “[Your] prayers are honored [in heaven] as precious jewels.  Purified and empowered, the words rise in delightful fragrance to our Lord… Your words do not stop until they reach the very throne of God…”

In some mysterious way our prayers move God to change our world.  We don’t how this works, but then we are not called to know how it works; all we are called to do is make use of it.  All we need to know is that actions in heaven begin when someone on earth prays.

The story is told of a 12 year old Cambodian boy who began to question his family’s religious beliefs.  He had been taught that a person seeking guidance should go to a temple and shake a container of numbered bamboo slivers until one fell out.  The priest then interpreted the meaning of the number.  But the practice didn’t satisfy his longing for clear answers, nor did it fill the void in his heart that only God could fill.

He asked his uncle, a priest, if he had ever had a prayer answered.  The uncle was admitted that he couldn’t remember a single answer to one of his prayers.

Later the boy asked a Christian if his God had ever answered his prayers and the man gave several instances of answered prayers.  The boy was so impressed that he later received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord.

Jesus said in Matthew  7:77 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  And James wrote in James 4:2 “…You do not have, because you do not ask God.”

So my sister and brother in Christ here on earth, pray!

The Power of Prayer

Col 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” 

So often we are told that if we just have enough faith our prayers will be heard and answered.  Let me remind you of an event in the life of Jesus recorded in John 11:1-3. There we read, “Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."

Did you notice how the request for Lazarus’ health was made?  The friend of Mary and Martha came to Jesus and said, "Lord, the one you love is sick.”   What was his request to Jesus based upon?  Did he base it on the perfect love of the one who was sick?  Did he base it on the faith of Mary and Martha?  No, he based his appeal on the perfect love of the Savior, "Lord, the one you love is sick."  Nor did he say, “The one who loves you is sick.”  He said, “Lord, the one you love is sick."  In other words, the power of prayer does not depend on the one who makes the prayer, how much faith or love or diligence or whatever he/she may produce.  The power of prayer is in the one who hears the prayer.

Perhaps we need to alter the way we pray.  Perhaps we should pray, “Lord, the one you love is weary.”  Or, “Lord, the one you love is depressed.”  Or, “Lord, the one you love is lonely, worried, angry, depressed.”  The words of prayer vary and there is no set form or phrase, but the response never changes.  Our Savior hears the prayers of His own.  As one writer put it, “He silences heaven so he won’t miss a word.”

So what is your need today?  Pray and fill in the blank, “Lord, the one you love is ________ today

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Satan and Prayer

Mark 14:38 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (NIV)

In Eph 6:11-13 Paul exhorts us to "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
Just how determined is satan (I never capitalize his name)? Would he enter into the most sacred of places? Would he even invade our talks with God Himself?

John Dorsey describes the devil's tactics in the following poetic words:

"I had a battle fierce today within my place of prayer;
I went to meet and talk with God, but I found Satan there.
He whispered, 'You can't really pray, you lost out long ago;
you might say words while on your knees, but you can't pray, you know.'
So then I pulled my helmet down, way down upon my ears,
and found it helped to still his voice and helped allay my fears.
I checked my other armor o'er; my feet in peace were shod;
my loins with truth were girded 'round; my sword the Word of God.
My righteous breastplate still was on, my heart's love to protect.
My shield of faith was all intact - his fiery darts bounced back.
I called on God in Jesus' name, I pled the precious blood-while
Satan sneaked away in shame, I met and talked with God!"

There are few Christians who have not experienced such evil interference in their lives. If we, however, like John Dorsey, put on the "whole armor of God" (Eph. 6:11), we will find it much easier to "stand" when we are buffeted by the enemy of our souls. Let us find encouragement in 1 Thessalonians 2:18, remembering that if satan is seeking to "hinder us," it must be because we are doing some- thing right for God!

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Prayer

Matt 7:7 "Ask, and you will be given what you ask for. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened." (TLB)

Prayer – what a great possession it is. Prayer can calm the storms of life, move the mountains of difficulty, sooth jangled nerves, lead us into greater depths of worship, open our hearts to God, and so much more. One man wrote the following:

"My dad was a very busy man who traveled all over the world. In order to get him at work, you had to go through a switchboard unless you knew the private number that rang a phone right on his desk. He gave the number to a few select business partners, but all of his children had it. We knew we could call him any time on that direct line.

"I have the same thing. The church has provided me with a private line. It rings right on my desk. A few board members and elders have it for emergency purposes. My kids have that number. To maximize time, I have a car phone. Only a few people have that number, but my kids have it. They can call me any time, for anything. You know what? No voices sound sweeter to me than my kids' voices. When one of them says, "Hi, Dad," it won't matter what I'm juggling, because they are an absolute priority. No ones voice sounds sweeter to God than your voice. "Hello, Father." There's nothing going on in the cosmos that would keep Him from directing His full attention to your conversation or your request."

How about it, how vibrant is your prayer life?

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Answered Prayer

John 15:7 "But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!" (NLT)

An old hymn of the church goes like this:

"I must tell Jesus all of my trials,

I cannot bear these burdens alone;

In my distress He kindly will help me,

He even loves and cares for His own."

Warren W. Wiersbe wrote,

"Your father wants to answer prayer. If you are abiding in Christ, and if his Word abides in you, then you will pray in his will and he will answer. "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John 5:14). It has well been said that prayer is not getting man's will done in heaven, but getting God's will done on earth. It is not overcoming God's reluctance but laying hold of God's willingness.

"What a joy it is to have God answer prayer! What confidence it gives you to know that you can take "everything to God in prayer" and he will hear and answer! He does not always give us what we ask, but he does give us what we need, when we need it. This is one of the evidences of abiding."

Have you gone to your Heavenly Father yet today in prayer?

Persistent Prayer

Luke 18:1 “Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit.” (THE MESSAGE”)

There was once a woman of great prayer. She has received countless answers from God, but sometimes she’s disheartened because certain prayers for loved ones remain unanswered. Yet she keeps on praying, encouraged by the parable in Luke 18. This story features a widow who badgered a heartless judge for help and finally got it.

Jesus ended His parable with a question: If an unrighteous and disrespectful judge finally answers a pestering widow's pleas for help, shall not God answer His own children who cry to Him day and night? (vv.7-8). The expected answer: "Of course He will!"

George Muller (1805-1898) is known for his faith and persistent prayer. Whenever he prayed for specific needs for his orphanage, God sent exactly what was required. Yet for more than 40 years he also prayed for the conversion of a friend and his friend's son. When Muller died, these men were still unconverted. God answered those prayers, however, in His own time. The friend was converted while attending Muller's funeral; the son, a week later!

Do you have a special burden or request? Keep on praying! Trust your loving Father to answer according to His wisdom and timing. God honors persistent prayer!

God’s Power in Prayer

James 5:16 “…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

When we pray for others, we become partners with God in His work of salvation, healing, comfort, and justice. God can accomplish those things without us, but in His plan He gives us the privilege of being involved with Him through prayer.

When we intercede for a grandson in trouble, a mother having surgery, a neighbor who needs Christ, or a pastor who needs we are asking God to that person what we can't provide. We are acting as go-betweens, asking God to direct His power in a specific direction. In his classic book titled Prayer, Olan Hallesby described how it works: "This power is so rich and so mobile that all we have to do when we pray is point to the person or thing to which we desire to have [God's] power applied, and He, the Lord of this power, will direct the necessary power to the desired place." This assumes, of course, that we are praying "according to [God's] will" (1 John 5:14). Prayer is not a magic wand for satisfying our wishes, but it's an opportunity to work with the Lord in accomplishing His purposes. James told us that "the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16). So let's humbly and earnestly pray for one another.

As someone put it, “The most powerful position on earth is kneeling before the Lord of the universe.”

To Whom We Speak In Prayer

Luke 11:2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

What is prayer? How would you describe or define it? I like what someone once said, and that is that prayer is a conversation between two people who are in love with each other.

The disciples often saw Jesus in prayer. One day they asked Him to teach them how to pray. His prayers must have been powerful, elegant, and personal. He taught them that the first thing to do is address God directly, to be specific in the salutation, to know what the word “God” means, and to call Him what He is. His instruction is found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.

Prayer acknowledges the personal nature of your relationship to God through Jesus Christ. He is a Friend with Whom you can share and in Whom you can confide. Through prayer you speak to God and He speaks to you in an inaudible voice to your heart. The strength of your prayer comes from the intensity of your bond with Him.

When you talk to God, you talk with Someone you know well and with whom you have a deep relationship. When was the last time you spoke with this dear Friend?

Prayer Conditioning

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

As the post-Pentecost church mushroomed in size in Jerusalem, administrative duties absorbed more and more of the apostles' time and attention. The oversight of food distribution was a case in point. So they had the church elect seven men to handle such duties. Was this because the apostles weren't willing to serve? No, it was because they didn't have time to pray and minister the Word (Acts 6:4).

While churches today are air conditioned, the church in Jerusalem was prayer conditioned. The apostles were committed to bathing in prayer everything the early church undertook for the Lord. They prayed about who should replace Judas as the twelfth apostle (Acts 1:24), performed miracles through prayer (Acts 9:40), defeated Satan through prayer (Acts 12:5), and sent out missionaries by prayer (Acts 13:3). Stephen was even praying as he was martyred for his faith (Acts 7:59-60). The church was birthed in prayer and continues today through prayer. Ask yourself: When was the last time I stopped doing something because it didn't leave enough time for prayer?

Air conditioning is a luxury, but prayer conditioning is a necessity. Which one have you found most easy to live without?

Praying Upside Down

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Ephesians 6:18

Does prayer power depend upon prayer posture? Three ministers were discussing this one day when a telephone repairman entered the room. The first minister believed the best way to pray was to bow on one's knees. The second minister said he prayed best when standing on his feet with his eyes turned toward heaven. The third man felt that the most effective position for prayer was sitting with the hands folded, the head bowed, and the eyes closed.

Finally the telephone man could stand it no longer. Interrupting the conversation, he said, "I found that the most powerful prayer I ever made was while I was dangling upside down by the heels from a power pole forty feet above the ground."

In the Bible, we see people at prayer on their knees, on their feet, on their beds, and in their chariots. We see them praying while hiding in a cave or riding in a big fish. Our Lord prayed while kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane, while standing by the tomb of Lazarus, and while suspended on the cross of Calvary.

It isn't the position of the body, but the posture of the heart that makes our prayers powerful in God's sight.

When People Pray

When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken. --Acts 4:31

Peter and John were in danger. The religious leaders in Jerusalem opposing the gospel had warned them to stop their missionary efforts (Acts 4:18). When the apostles reported this to the other believers, they immediately held a prayer meeting.

What happened next is thrilling. The believers first praised God. Then they asked for boldness that they might continue the work. The results were dramatic. The house shook, and the believers were filled with the Spirit. They boldly witnessed (vv.31,33), and enjoyed spiritual unity (v.32). They gave unselfishly to those in need (vv.32,34-37).

I don't know about you but I never felt a building shake at a prayer meeting, but I have seen God's power at work. When trying to help repair a broken life or burdensome situation I've asked those involved to pray. Sometimes they refused. Other times they mumbled carefully worded prayers. The meeting failed.

But occasionally someone would pray in earnest. Almost immediately the atmosphere would change. Confession and forgiveness soon replaced charges and countercharges.

When we pray sincerely, praising God and presenting Him with petitions that seek His glory, great things happen. But first we must pray from the heart.


 

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