The Importance Of Prayer

Herod of Agrippa imprisoned Peter, but prayer was made for him without ceasing by the church. The Angel of the Lord appeared unto Peter and brought him out of the first, second and the iron gates.

Waiting on the Lord in prayer is never a wasted exercise. Eventually God arose and orchestrated the death of Herod. He died a horrible death.

Every great movement of God since the beginning of the world has always been traced to prayer. Prayer releases the energy of God. At the end of the day, no matter what the devil plans, it comes to naught before a prayer warrior.

This is why Christians must wake up and be serious. We need to reduce our entertainment and politics in the church and go back to the altar of prayer. Every power that wants to imprison your destiny shall die after the order of Herod.

Watch the inspirational message from the Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, also known by many around the world as the “Apostle of Strategic Prayers” as he shares his insights and experience on prayer.

Be blessed!

https://youtu.be/2jVCBZDPFlE

The Importance Of Prayer

Prayer, A Daily Necessity!

Prayer is very essential for daily triumphs in this world that we live. Once, a friend of a different faith shared this insight with me.

“In this world, whatever you do for a living be it good or evil you ought to be a prayerful person. Because without it, you will not succeed.” 

I pondered over these words for a minute. Knowing his faith, I said in my mind, “I surely need to be more prayer than he is.”

Prayer is essential!

Prayer, A Daily Necessity!

The Omnipotence of Prayer

Prayer is very detrimental to the spiritual development of the believer. It is the believer’s authority. It is the driving force that transcends the physical realm in the spiritual realm. It is so powerful that medical science has proven that for the devout, there never has been any question that prayer has the power to heal.

Now, more and more medical research from leading hospitals and universities across the U.S. has shown conclusively a belief in God really IS good for you, making you healthier and happier, and helping you live longer.

“Studies have shown prayer can prevent people from getting sick — and when they do get sick, prayer can help them get better faster,” Duke University’s Harold G. Koenig, M.D., tells Newsmax Health.

An exhaustive analysis of more than 1,500 reputable medical studies “indicates people who are more religious and pray more have better mental and physical health,” Dr. Koenig says.

 

 

The Omnipotence of Prayer

Anointing Oil Not Panacea To Salvation - Rev. Arhin

Reverend Francis Ekow Arhin, a Senior Pastor of Holy Fire Churches International, has advised Christians to be wary of the crave for anointing oil and holy water with the hope of getting solution to life’s problems.

He said Christian these days did not value the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and its benefits and rather put their trust in expensive anointing oil and holy water adding that this did not guarantee eternal salvation.

Rev. Arhin, during the Palm Sunday Service, said not every anointing oil or holy water professed to be performing miracles emanated from God, adding that Christians risked attracting evil spirits when they engaged in those acts.

He, therefore, entreated Christians to pray diligently with a righteous heart and “God will answer them at the appointed time”.

Rev. Arhin said the earth was a temporary home for all Christians, transiting through it for few years, therefore, they must live trustworthy lives in order not to be found guilty on the day of judgment.

He quoted the scriptures as saying: “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

The congregation waved palm fronds to symbolise the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem and His subsequent crucifixion.

-GNA

Anointing Oil Not Panacea To Salvation - Rev. Arhin

Why Pray? - Archbishop Nicholas-Duncan

What is prayer?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as;

a. an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought.

b.  an earnest request or wish.

I believe there is more to it. Prayer is communication with the divine creator of the universe. It is a two-way thing. When you open your mouth to talk to someone you expect them to communicate back to you. When they don’t, you either get offended or you feel you did not speak the right words.

It is same with God. It is more of a relationship than just making requests and petitions.

Behind a lot of breakthroughs, there are always supernatural powers that bring about the results of such breakthroughs.

Watch the exceptional man of prayer, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, also known by some as “the Apostle of Strategic Prayer” talk on the importance of prayer.

Be inspired to turn your prayer mantles on.

https://youtu.be/-KezLcK8jYo?list=PLWzWILCMIumyEN8mD6e_Hd5OPd-uWzg4p

 

Why Pray? - Archbishop Nicholas-Duncan

Prayer Does Not Come Automatically - Myles Munroe

February 29

For the next several days, we will study the model prayer that Jesus taught His disciples. Luke 11:1 says, “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’” The Scripture says, “One day Jesus was praying.” The disciples were present, but they were not involved. While Jesus prayed, they observed Him.

Whenever the Bible mentions Jesus praying, it tells specific things about His actions. For example: “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone” (Matthew 14:23). “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12). “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). Christ never seemed to pray with the disciples. What was the reason for this? I believe He wanted them to ask Him about this most important aspect of His ministry, and He also wanted to teach them that prayer is a personal relationship and responsibility. Corporate prayer should never be a substitute for private time with the Father.

Next, the disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” This implies that knowing how to pray is not automatic, or something they could do without His instruction. As young Jewish men, the disciples had been brought up in the synagogue, where they had been taught to pray. They daily read and repeated prayers in the synagogue. However, Jesus’ prayers differed from what they had been taught. They prayed; He prayed. They spoke words; He secured results.

Prayer:

Father, show me through Your Word all that You wanted the disciples to know about prayer. I want to pray as Christ did. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Thought: Prayer is a personal relationship and responsibility.

Reading: Numbers 20–22; Mark 7:1–13

-Daily power And Prayer Devotional

Prayer Does Not Come Automatically - Myles Munroe

Putting Prayer into Practice - Myles Munroe

January 18

In the coming weeks, as we learn more about the powerful, God-given gift of prayer, you will need to ask yourself some thought-provoking questions. Be honest with yourself, because God wants to transform your mind concerning the power and the privilege of prayer.

Ask yourself today: Have I ever neglected to pray because I felt God would do whatever He wanted to do anyway? If the real purpose of prayer is to fulfill God’s purposes on earth, how much do I know about those purposes? How can I learn more about God’s purposes? Have I been resisting God’s will in any area of my life? What can I do today to build a deeper relationship of love with God? What is one of God’s purposes that I can agree with Him about in prayer today? Now, let’s go to the Lord together in prayer with the confidence that we are in His will and His purposes:

 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You have said that the plans in a man’s heart are many, but it is Your purpose that prevails. We ask you to fulfill Your word and make Your purpose reign in our lives. We all have plans and goals that we are pursuing. We ask you to establish whatever is from You—whatever is in line with Your purpose—and cause to fade away whatever is not from You. We honor you as our Creator and as our loving heavenly Father. We affirm that it is You who works in us to will and to act according to Your good purpose. Renew our minds so we may understand Your ways and Your plans more fully. We pray this in the name of Jesus, who is our Way, Truth, and Life. Amen.

 

Thought: How can I learn more about God’s purposes?

 

Reading: Genesis 43–45; Matthew 12:1–23

 

–

Putting Prayer into Practice - Myles Munroe

Rick Warren: Harness God"s Power to Overcome Stress, Weariness

Avoiding weariness in life involves allowing oneself to harness God’s power, Pastor Rick Warren says in a devotional on Isaiah 40:29.

Warren, who heads Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, said in the devotional published Sunday on his website, Daily Hope With Rick Warren, that the leading cause for exhaustion among Christians is not bitterness, guilt, or fear, but rather a feeling of weariness. He added that many Christians are simply “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

The pastor writes that the overbearing feeling of weariness can only be overcome by allowing oneself to harness God’s power in their daily lives.

“There’s no way you can fulfill your purpose in life without being plugged in to God’s power,” Warren writes in the devotional.

He goes on to suggest that Christians need God’s “supernatural power” to adequately deal with all of the difficult aspects of life, including “the power to handle loneliness when you’re lonely. … The power to handle stress when you’re under pressure.

…The power to handle guilt and fear and boredom and bitterness and rejection.”

Warren has previously spoken on the topic of God’s power before, writing in May 2014 that God gives praise to those who relinquish self-reliance and put their faith in Him. And noted that God celebrates “people who are dependent upon Him and surrendered to Him,” because it is then that Christians put the full weight of their faith in God.

In his Sunday devotional, Warren lists the ways Christians can harness God’s power in everyday life, including prayer, perseverance, and taking risks in God’s name.

“When you take a risk to do what God tells you to do, even when it’s hard or unpopular, even when it may cost you, even when it doesn’t make sense, even when nobody else is doing it, God will pour out his power in your life,” Warren writes.

Warren also suggests that it takes faith and trust in God to accomplish all things in life, using the goal of a healthy lifestyle as an example.

“Getting healthy, like any major change we make in our lives, can seem like an impossible challenge. Of course, it is impossible for those who try to do it on their own! But in our inadequacy, God’s strength for the person of faith is made perfectly evident,” Warren writes, adding “That’s why it takes faith to maintain your health the way God desire.” “You’ll never be able to do it on your own. You were never intended to be able to! Anything you can do in your own willpower doesn’t require faith, and when faith is not required, we’re living faithlessly,” Warren adds.

 

 

-christianpost

Rick Warren: Harness God"s Power to Overcome Stress, Weariness

Our Confidence in Prayer - Myles Munroe

January 14

Some people say they do not know what to pray for. The answer is that we are not to ask God for anything outside of our purpose. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3).

If we ask for what is contrary to our purpose, we will be frustrated. Jesus always prayed for God’s will to be done, then worked to accomplish it.

One of the longest prayers recorded in the Bible is Jesus’ prayer in John 17, where He said, in effect, “Father, before I came to earth, You gave Me people to redeem. I have protected them, I have kept them safe for that purpose, and now I am going to effect that redemption through My death and resurrection. I have fulfilled and am about to fulfill Your purpose for Me.” (See John 17:6, 9–12.) Jesus knew the heavenly Father’s purpose for His life, and He both desired to do the will of God and acted on it. “‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’” (John 4:34).

Jesus’ assurance in prayer was based on His knowing and doing the will of God. As it says in 1 John 5:14–15, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

 

Prayer:

Father, I desire to be more like Jesus, my Lord. Please help me to pray, from my heart, that my food will always be to do my heavenly Father’s will. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

 

Thought: Assurance in prayer is based on knowing and doing God’s will.

 

Reading: Genesis 33–35; Matthew 9:18–38

 

-Daily Power and Prayer Devotional

Our Confidence in Prayer - Myles Munroe

God’s Purpose for Your Life - Myles Munroe

January 13

Praying does not mean convincing God to do your will, but doing His will through your will. Therefore, the key to effective prayer is understanding God’s purpose for your life, the reason you exist—as a human being in general and as an individual specifically. This is an especially important truth to remember: Once you understand your purpose, it becomes the “raw material,” the foundational matter, for your prayer life.

God’s will is the authority of your prayers. Prayer calls forth what God has already purposed and predestined—continuing His work of creation and carrying out His plans for the earth.

 

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. (Ephesians 1:11) The Father works out everything “in conformity with the purpose of his will.” In this way, your purpose in God is the foundational material for your prayers regarding provision, healing, deliverance, power, protection, endurance, patience, authority, faith, praise, thanksgiving, confidence, assurance, boldness, and peace, for the supply of all your needs. Everything you need is available to fulfill your purpose. All that God is, and all that He has, may be received through prayer. The measure of our appropriation of God’s grace is determined by the measure of our prayers.

 

Prayer:

Father, I do not want to accomplish my will, but Your will. Lead me to conform my prayers and myself to the purpose of Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Thought: Purpose is the raw material for your prayer life.

 

Reading: Genesis 30–32; Matthew 9:1–17

 

-Daily Power and Prayer Devotional

God’s Purpose for Your Life - Myles Munroe

The Seduction of Prayer: Prayer Without the Mind By J Mark Copeland

The seduction of prayer results in prayer without the mind. The ultimate evidence of the seduction of prayer is apparent when prayer becomes thoughtless and mechanical.

If we don’t engage our minds in our praying, then we certainly won’t engage our wills or our hearts in prayer. Jesus was concerned about mindless praying. He said, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7, 8).

Other translations of these verses indicate that Jesus warned against the use of “vain repetitions” (KJV), “empty phrases” (RSV) or “meaningless words” (TEV).

 

It is not so much long prayers or repetitious prayers that Jesus warned against. Jesus Himself spent long periods of time in prayer (see Mark 1:35) and once prayed the same prayer three times in succession. (See Matthew 26:36-44.) Rather, Jesus is concerned about the danger of thinking that prayer is effective because of its repetition and does not, therefore, need to engage the mind at all.

Jesus attributed mindless praying to pagans or Gentiles. (See Matthew 6:6.) In Jesus’ day, the non-Jewish world often treated prayer as a form of magical incantation in which the sheer number of repetitions of certain words or phrases produced the desired effect. Since the words themselves were believed to contain such power, it was not deemed important to think about the prayer. It was only necessary to say the prayer. This was mindless praying in its ultimate form.

How might we fall into the trap of mindless praying? We can fall into this trap by saying our prayers rather than praying our prayers. Dr. Robert Cook says, “All of us have one routine prayer in our system; and once we get rid of it, then we can really start to pray!”

 

Routine prayer can easily become mindless praying. One humorous example makes the point. On one memorable occasion, my mother said the blessing at dinner time. A minute or so later, she asked, “Who would like to say the blessing?” It took my dad, my brother and me to convince her that she had already had. Because grace is a routine prayer, it is easy to say it thoughtlessly. We must be careful not to pray without the mind.

 

The seduction of prayer may manifest itself in prayer without the heart, prayer without the will, or even prayer without the mind. Jesus warned us to guard against each of these pitfalls of prayer. Having told us how not to pray, Jesus then instructed us how to pray.

 

-After this manner, pray

The Seduction of Prayer: Prayer Without the Mind By J Mark Copeland

The Seduction of Prayer: Prayer Without the Will By J Mark Copeland

The seduction of prayer results in prayer without the will. If prayer without the heart is prayer lacking humility, then prayer without the will is prayer lacking sincerity.

 

Anytime we pray prayers that we don’t really mean, we’ve engaged in prayer without the will.

The Orthodox Jews of Jesus’ day could easily fall into the trap of praying without the will. Not only did scribal tradition require that they pray at three set times daily, but they were also required to pray much from memory. One such prayer was the Shema, which pledged whole-hearted love and devotion to God, promised continuous meditation upon His law and rehearsed the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience to His commands.

This prayer was to be said twice daily – once in the morning before 9:00 a.m. and once in the evening before 9:00 p.m. Orthodox Jews also prayed the Shemoneh ‘esreh, or The Eighteen, a liturgy that originally consisted of eighteen short prayers appealing to God for mercy and favor. This liturgy of prayers was to be prayed three times per day – once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening.6

You can just imagine that having to pray eighteen or more memorized prayers every day could easily become a hindrance to the vitality and sincerity of one’s prayer life.

One could become preoccupied with praying words that do not express his true sentiments. He understand what he is praying but doesn’t truly mean what he is praying. He is praying without the will.

Praying without the will is a subtle form of the seduction of prayer. Those who have disciplined themselves to set aside specific times for daily prayer and specific guidelines to follow in their prayers must especially guard against this snare. On those days when they are energetic and ready to pray, they will certainly find that their prayers are offered sincerely.

At other times when prayer requires more personal discipline, however, they may find that following the normal routine puts them in the position of praying words that do not express their true sentiments. At such times, it would be wise to be less rigid and more spontaneous in prayer. We must mean what we pray if our prayers are to be fruitful. We must avoid the trap of praying without the will.

 

-After this manner, Pray

 

The Seduction of Prayer: Prayer Without the Will By J Mark Copeland

Who Prayed the First Prayer? - Myles Munroe

January 11

Who prayed the first prayer? I would say Adam, since he was created first and received God’s instructions about tending the garden and the parameters of man’s authority on earth. The Bible implies that God made a practice of walking and talking with Adam in the cool of the day. (See Genesis 3:8–9.)

The fellowship between God and Adam formed the essence of the first prayer. Since Adam was in God’s presence, why did he need to pray? Adam needed to pray because the heart of prayer is communion with God in a unity of love and purpose. It is agreeing with God—heart, soul, mind, and strength—to bring about God’s will. Adam communed with God and agreed with His purposes.

 

Ever since the fall of mankind, we have needed to pray to enter God’s presence. Yet this is only for the purpose of taking us to the place of fellowship with God where Adam and Eve were before the fall—a place of purity before Him in which we reflect His nature and purposes and where our wills agree with His will.

This brings us back to an earlier question: Why do we have to ask God to do what He has already determined to do? When God gave man dominion, He placed His will for the earth on the cooperation of man’s will. God did not change this purpose when mankind fell, for His purposes are eternal. “The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalm 33:11).

 

Prayer:

Father, Your purposes are eternal. Thank You for granting us dominion over the earth. Please help me to prepare my heart through prayer so I can enter Your presence. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Thought: Prayer is not optional.

Reading: Genesis 26–27; Matthew 8:1–17

 

-Daily Power and Prayer Devotional

Who Prayed the First Prayer? - Myles Munroe

The Seduction of Prayer: Prayer Without the Heart By J Mark Copeland

First of all, the seduction of prayer results in prayer without the heart. Prayer should always involve a bowing of the heart before God. It should always entail humbling oneself before God, casting oneself upon His mercy and receiving His grace for the meeting of one’s needs and the granting of one’s petitions. Prayer without such genuine humility is prayer without the heart.

 

Jesus warned against prayer without the heart. He said,

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full” (Matthew 6:5).

Such people as Jesus described here were not bowing their hearts before God in humility. Rather, they were exalting themselves before men in pride.

The hypocrisy of prayer without humility was easy to spot among the Jews of Jesus’ day. Orthodox Judaism specified three times per day that were to be devoted to prayer. Every believing Jew was to pray at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Any Jewish person who wanted to flaunt his spirituality might schedule himself to be in a public place surrounded by many people at the hour of prayer. He would then stand still, raise his arms into the air, turn the palms of his hands heavenward, bow his head and begin to pray with a display of great devotion.

Although onlookers might view this public prayer as a sign of deep devotion, Jesus called it hypocrisy. Why? Because it was prayer without humility. To God, it was prayer without the heart.

We must guard against prayer without the heart. It is easy to become self-conscious about prayer. I’ve heard people say that they do not want to be called on to pray in a public place without being notified in advance so that they can prepare for it. I’ve heard others willingly pray in public but\ later apologize about the quality of their prayer.

These are just two examples of the tendency to use prayer as a means of impressing others with one’s spirituality rather than as an opportunity to humbly approach God’s throne.

Such prayer without humility is prayer without the heart.

 

-After This Manner, Pray

The Seduction of Prayer: Prayer Without the Heart By J Mark Copeland

The seduction of Prayer By J. Mark Copeland

What do we mean by the seduction of prayer? To seduce means “to allure” and so “to lead astray.” It means “to draw aside from the path of rectitude and duty.”

The seduction of prayer takes place anytime one is allured or led astray from a right understanding of prayer and from a proper practice of prayer.

 

The seduction of prayer is not a process by which one loses interest in prayer and so falls to a state of prayerlessness. It is a process by which one is led to embrace a wrong understanding of prayer, which inevitably leads to an improper practice of prayer.

How can we recognize this seduction of prayer? It is evident when our prayer lives have an appearance of communion with God but lack the substance of such communion. Rather than bringing us close to God, this wrong understanding of prayer drives us further away from God.

As the context of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew’s gospel reveals, Jesus was concerned about the seduction of prayer among both Jews and Gentiles. He warned His disciples to avoid the tendencies in both camps to wrongly understand and improperly practice prayer. From His warnings, we can decipher three characteristics of prayer that has become prey to seductive forces. The seduction of prayer results in:

1. Prayer without the heart

2. Prayer without the will

3. Prayer without the mind

 

-After This manner, Pray

The seduction of Prayer By J. Mark Copeland

What Is the Nature of Prayer? - Myles Munroe

January 10

Tragedy came to mankind when Adam and Eve turned their backs on God and desired their own wills instead of His will.

Some people believe that prayer originated because sin separated us from God and we needed a way to reconnect with Him. That is one use for prayer; however, it is not the heart of prayer. To understand prayer’s essence, we must realize that it began with the creation of mankind. It was not instituted after the fall but before it. Prayer existed from the beginning of God’s relationship with man.

The nature of prayer can be understood only in the context of God’s purposes for humanity, to commune and rule with God, which we have discussed in the last few days.

 

The essence of prayer is twofold:

1.Prayer is an expression of mankind’s unity and relationship of love with God;

2.Prayer is an expression of mankind’s affirmation of and participation in God’s purposes for the earth.

To pray means to commune with God, to become one with God. It means union with Him—unity and singleness of purpose, thought, desire, will, reason, motive, objective, and feeling. H. D. Bollinger said, “Prayer is being expressing relationship with being” (emphasis added). Therefore, prayer is a vehicle of the soul and spirit by which man communes with God. Prayer is also the medium through which the human spirit affects and is affected by the will and purpose of the divine Creator.

It is man cooperating with God’s purposes for the earth. Therefore, prayer is the involvement of oneself (one’s whole self) with the living God.

 

Prayer:

Father, Your desire to commune with me blesses me. May I walk with You in communion and unity with Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Thought: Prayer is the expression of man’s relationship with God and participation in His purposes.

 

Reading: Genesis 23–25; Matthew 7

 

-Daily Power and Prayer Devotional

What Is the Nature of Prayer? - Myles Munroe

The Salvation of Prayer: The Focus of Prayer by J Mark Copeland

The Focus of Prayer

If our prayers are to be salvaged from seduction, we need to be clear on the focus of prayer. And what should be the focus of our prayer? It should be the Kingdom of God. Both the context of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew’s gospel and the Lord’s Prayer itself are concerned preeminently with the Kingdom of God.

We must make the Kingdom of God the focus of our praying.

We do that when our prayers aim at bringing God’s will to do done upon the earth as it is in heaven. Robert Law says, “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done in earth.”

Now this is an important point to grasp in understanding the value of prayer. People often talk as though God’s perfect will is going to be done regardless of whether we pray or not, but this simply is not so.

When the Kingdom of God is the focus of our praying, the will of God established in the earth is the fruit of our praying. When God’s Kingdom is the focus of prayer, God’s will is the fruit of prayer. God wants us to pray the price for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done in our lives, our families, our churches and our communities. But, so much of our praying is ineffective because we pray with the wrong focus.

Our prayers for others may be focused upon the desire to see people live together in love and harmony and experience the blessings of productivity and prosperity. While these are admirable desires, they are not necessarily evidence of submission to God’s Kingdom rule.

Therefore, such worthwhile desires are not to be the focus of our praying. We should pray rather than those for whom we petition will say yes to God’s Kingdom rule and allow the blessings of life to issue forth from His hand as tokens of His divine favor. We must be diligent and earnest in making the Kingdom of God the focus of our praying.

– After this manner, Pray

The Salvation of Prayer: The Focus of Prayer by J Mark Copeland

The Salvation of Prayer: The Effect of Prayer By J Mark Copeland

The Effect of Prayer

If our prayers are to be salvaged from seduction, we need to understand the effect of prayer.

If the focus of prayer is the Kingdom of God, then the effect of prayer is personal submission to God’s reign in our lives.

If we are praying right, prayer will change us from being self-serving people to being true servants of God concerned with His interests.

It is easy to make ourselves – our needs and desires – the center of all our praying. But our praying is to be larger than ourselves.

We must grasp the big picture. John Wesley said, “Thy kingdom come…is a prayer for that time when God will put an end to all misery, sin, infirmity, and death.”

I would modify Wesley’s statement to say that we are not simply praying for a future time when God will bring the woes of humanity to an end. We are praying that the Kingdom of God would intervene in the lives of people now and put a stop to such works of the enemy. As we pray for God’s Kingdom to come in the big picture, we will find that it will touch our lives and meet our needs as well. At the culmination of the very chapter in Matthew in which the Lord’s Prayer is given, Jesus said, “Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (6:33).

Our prayers will be salvaged from the danger of seduction as we learn to make God alone the object of our praying, the Kingdom of God the focus of our praying and personal submission to God’s Kingdom reign the effect of our praying. This is the salvation of prayer.

 

-After this manner, pray

The Salvation of Prayer: The Effect of Prayer By J Mark Copeland

The salvation of Prayer: The Object of Prayer By J. Mark Copeland

One definition of the word save is “to rescue . . . from danger.”

The salvation of prayer is the process by which prayer is rescued from the danger of seduction.

We decipher from Jesus’ teaching in the context of the Lord’s Prayer three manifestations of the seduction of prayer. As we will see, Jesus not only warns us of pitfalls to avoid. He also provides us with principles to embrace. This same body of teaching contains three lessons that will assure the salvation of prayer.

If we are to properly practice prayer, we must understand:

1. The object of prayer

2. The focus of prayer

3. The effect of prayer

The Object of Prayer

First of all, if our prayers are to be salvaged from seduction, we must understand the object of prayer. The object of prayer refers to the one to whom prayer is addressed. To whom do we pray? Jesus said, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen” (Matthew 6:6).

God alone is the object of our prayers.

Everybody knows that prayer is talking to God, but people often have difficulty applying this simple insight to their prayer lives. Rather than prayer being communion with God, prayer is often offered without a proper sense of the presence of God. The result is that prayer becomes either a form of public address or of private monologue.

Prayer as public address is portrayed as the prayer offered by hypocrites who “love to pray standing in the synagogues” (Matthew 6:5). During the local synagogue services, one person would be asked to stand before the congregation and to lead in prayer. The one asked to pray might be moved by the respect given him and by the formality of the occasion to present his prayer as though it were just as much a public address as the teaching of the rabbi to follow. To this situation, Jesus offered a corrective: Pray to God only – not to the people.

We’re all familiar with the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee prayed self-righteously, bragging on his piety and devotion. The publican prayed in humility and repentance, appealing to God’s mercy.

The Bible tells us something interesting about the Pharisee’s prayer. We read that he prayed “about himself” (Luke 18:11). The NIV footnote indicates that this could be made to read that he prayed “to” himself. The Jerusalem Bible actually renders the passage as saying that he “prayed this prayer to himself.”

This Pharisee was not conscious of the presence of a gracious God hearing and receiving his prayer. He was conscious only of himself and his self-righteousness. Therefore, he did not really pray to God. He prayed to himself. His prayer was private monologue.

When we get up from the place of prayer, do we know that God has heard us? Do we know that He has received our prayer? Do we expect to receive His answer to our prayer? If we cannot say “yes” to these questions, then we have prayed without an awareness of the presence of God. Therefore, we have not truly prayed to God. We must learn to wait upon God in prayer until we know His presence.

Then we must pray in childlike faith to the God who is present. Only so can we pray with the right object of prayer.

 

– After this manner, pray

The salvation of Prayer: The Object of Prayer By J. Mark Copeland

GLORIFYING GOD THROUGH PRAYER By Sis. Verelyn

•Prayer builds intimacy with God –more real and personal (Matt. 22:37, John 17:3)

•Brings honor to God’s nature and character

•Prayer brings respect to God’s integrity

•Prayer enable belief in God’s word

•Prayer builds trust in God’s love

•Prayer affirm God’s purposes and will for you

•Prayer appropriate God’s promises

 

PRAYING EFFECTIVE PRAYERS

•You will experience ever-deepening holiness and life transforming discipleship.

•Your ability to clearly hear God’s voice will be sharpened dramatically (James 1:5; Jeremiah 29:13).

•The spiritual power of your life and ministry will increase greatly (John 14:12-14; Acts 1:8).

•You will experience a dramatic increase in answered prayer, nothing will be impossible for you (John 15:7).

•You will experience far greater power to withstand trials, temptations, and spiritual attacks (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

•You will learn to effectively pray for the lost, you will see many people saved.

•You will discover how to pray effectively for revival and spiritual awakening in your church, city, and nation (Ezekiel 22:30).

GLORIFYING GOD THROUGH PRAYER By Sis. Verelyn