Powerful, Purifying and Persistent Prayer pt. 1

The Purpose of Prayer

This is to be a year of prayer. I don’t know how long we will be in this series, but it will be awhile!

Mike Bickle- Youth leader encouraged him to pray 1 hour every day. Freshman in college. Told his friends he was going to pray an hour each day even if it killed him. He referred to this hour as the hour of death because he thought he might die of boredom. He would start at 9pm and mention everything he could to God. Thank you Jesus for health, family, friends, food. Please help me score touchdowns in our college games. Help me find a good wife and help me make good grades. He would look at his watch and sigh as he realized he still had 58 minutes to go.

He realized that he needed a new perspective on prayer. He wanted to know what prayer was and why God insisted on His followers doing it. As he began to discover the answers to these questions, he began to see prayer as so much more than a religious duty to endure. He learned that pray is a place of encounter, a way to receive blessings an act of partnership with God and so much more.

E.M. Bounds says this of prayer “Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather a privilege to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.”

Prayer is simply talking to God.

Psalm 143 NKJV

A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O Lord, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, And in Your righteousness. Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no one living is righteous. For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those who have long been dead. Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is distressed. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah Answer me speedily, O Lord; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, Lest I be like those who go down into the pit. Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; In You I take shelter. Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake! For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. In Your mercy cut off my enemies, And destroy all those who afflict my soul; For I am Your servant.

Many Christians believe that the main purpose of prayer is to bring our requests before God.

A. W. Tozer warned, “Prayer among evangelical Christians is always in danger of degenerating into a glorified ‘gold rush’”

Bringing your needs to God is called supplication and God wants us to do that, but it is most definitely not the main purpose of prayer.

Tonight we are going to look at some of the main purposes of prayer.

To build intimacy and a stronger relationship with God.

Prayer is the pathway to God’s heart

Pastor John Piper hit the nail on the head when he said that “…prayer is not finally about getting things from God, but getting God.”

Psalm 100:4 “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”

Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.”

To Reveal Our Hearts

We can tell much about the spiritual condition of our heart by our prayers. Whatever captivates our heart will show up in what we pray – or don’t pray.

Romans 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

What and how you pray will show you a lot about who you really are.

Isaiah 6:1-5 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.””

Psalm 139:22-24 “I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

To Humble us and help us to recognize our need for God.

1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

In prayer we are acknowledging our weakness and inability to provide for ourselves. Prayer is a holy submission to Almighty God asking for His intervention.

To bring our will into alignment with the Father.

Mark 14:36 “And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.””

To Hear Holy Spirit and receive His guidance and comfort.

John 18:37 “Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.””

In order to hear…I have to listen. A big part of prayer is listening to God and not just talking to Him.

It displays the favor and anointing of God on our lives.

Spiritual Warfare

To Worship, praise, bless and glorify God.

To see the faithfulness of God

To anchor and secure us.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

To release the power, glory and grace of the kingdom of heaven into our lives and the lives of others.

To help us stay vigilant and to resist temptation.

Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.””

To bring healing (emotional and physical) and to release burdens.

Luke 6:27-28 ““But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”

To help focus our minds and hearts.

To encounter God

Stirs angelic forces

To give us purpose

Story- Woman at grocery store. Her husband was sick and was not able to work. They had no money and 7 children. Asked the manager if she could charge some groceries and pay him back as soon as she could.

Challenge- Examine your prayer life this past week. Is this past week a good indication of your normal prayer life? If everyone had to share how often they prayed this past week, would you be confident or ashamed?

For many of us…prayer is the missing ingredient! This is why we find ourselves in a dry place spiritually. This is why the wells of provision may have dried up. This is why the emptiness is there that just won’t seem to go away. This is why we feel stuck.

God is about to do something in us and in our church. Press in!

Early Worship- First of every month will be a prayer service. 10-15 minutes of individual prayer followed by 10-15 minutes of corporate prayer.

Pray