Prayer – way to express our request, petition, adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication to our Almighty God personally (individual prayer) and as a group (consist of 2 or more people).
The more we spend time in prayer the less we spend time in doing something else unnecessary or thinking things that will pull us down. The time we spend with the Lord in prayer can release the most dynamic, history-changing power this world has ever known.
The Bible describes many different operations of prayer, but in this lesson we are going to look at prayer as an individual first. Our prayer as a Body together can only be as strong as our personal time with the Lord.
A. The Secret Place
“But when you pray, go into your most private room, and closing the door, pray to your Father who is secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in the open” (Matt 6:6 amplified bible).
None other than the Lord Himself has invited us into intimate prayer. This kind of secret prayer presupposes and ensures:
1. The Right motives (Matt 6:5)
2. A Right Relationship With God As Father (Luke 11:11-13)
3. A Real Trust In the Lord (Psalms 55:16-17)
4. A Dispensing of False Fronts (Mark 7: 6-7)
As we express our feelings and burdens in conversation with God, it can be in the form of adoration (Ps 34:1-4), confession (1Jn 1:9), request (Matt7:7), or thanksgiving (Eph 5:4 –20).
B. Five Commands Related To Prayers
1. Watch and Pray Always (Luke 21:36). See also Mark 13:35-37.
2. Pray Lest You Fall Into Temptation.
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak” (Matt 26:41).
3. Pray For Workers (Luke 10:2).
4. Pray For Those In Authority (1Tim 2:1-2).
5. Pray For Your Enemies (Luke 6:28).
C. When To Pray
The Bible gives many examples of people who prayed (1Chr 4:10). Many of the heroes of faith can be observed to have had regular times of day set aside specifically for prayer, often three set periods a day – at morning, noon and evening. (Ps 55:16-17, Dan 6:10).
The best example of daily pattern of regular, whole-hearted prayer – prayer that avoided meaningless religious ritual – can be found in the Lord Jesus Himself:
1. Early in the Morning (Mark 1:35)
2. All Night (Luke 6:12)
3. Before each Meal (Mark 6:41)
D. What To Pray
1. For Ourselves (1Chr 4: 10)
2. For One Another (James 5:16)
3. For the Ministries in the Body of Christ (2Ths 3:1)
4. For the Sick and Distraught (James 5:14-16)
5. For Those Ensnared By Sin (1Jn 5:16)
E. Help in Prayer
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express: (Rom 8:26).
Part of the Holy Spirit’s purpose is to teach us (Luke 12:12), guide us in prayer (Rom 8:27), and to help us in our faith (Eph 3:16-17). The Holy Spirit sometimes anoints a believer’s prayer in a special way, and this is called “praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20; Eph 6:18).
F. Yokefellow
Two joining together in prayer provides some very real advantages (Matt 18:19 kjv)
G. The Church Praying
Today God is calling His people to Prayer! The Church’s mission is to change individual lives, families, communities, cities and nations through prayer!
My Commitment
Through this study I realise the wonderful opportunities of prayer – not only in my relationship with God, but also the supernatural results that follow. I commit myself to make prayer always a priority in my life.