I.    Immanuel: God is with us.

A. Name of God

• Mt. 1:23 The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him ‘Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
• Isa. 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

B. With Us When We Call

• Isa. 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.
• Ac.17:27-28 God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’
• Isa 58:9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: “Here am I.”

C. Until the End

 * Mt.28:20 … “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

II. 3 Basic Ways God Communicates in Praying

A. Scripture

• Ps. 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
• Ps. 119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.
• 1 Jn. 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. & if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.

B. Body of Christ

• Lk 24:15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;
• Mt 18:19- 20 “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them.”
• 2 Chr. 7:14  if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
• Ja. 5:16 Therefore 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.
• Ac. 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

C. Revelation to the Mind & Heart (Rhema word)

• Jer. 33:3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
• Dan 2:27- 28  “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
• 1 Cor. 2:9-10 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him”— but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
• Jn 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.

III. Check Points

A. Authority of Scripture

• Mt. 22:29  “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God”
• Isa. 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever.”
• 2 Tim 3:16- 17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
• Ac. 17:11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
• Ps. 119:24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. 

B. Accountability to Body of Christ

• 1 Cor. 11:31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.

*1 Cor. 12:12-13; 21-25 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

• 1 Cor.14:32-33; 40 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
• ;Eph. 4:14-16; 25 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

*Eph. 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

C. God’s Peace Accompanies His Rhema Word

• Col. 3:15-16 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
• Rom. 8:6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
• Jn. 14:26 - 27 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
• Phil. 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

IV. Many Different Approaches to Prayer

• Eph 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

V. Goal: Integrated Into Life

• Dt 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 

VI. Importance of Prayer

*Eze. 22:30 “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.

• Lk 22:32 “ But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
• Isa.56:7 these I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer.  Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
• Rev. 5:8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
• 1 Chron. 16:11 Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.
• Lk 18:1 Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
• Ps.1: 15 He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

See "Looking at Lazareth for Middle part 

VII.   God Will Lead Us

  * Ex. 33:15 - 17 Then Moses said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

• Isa. 64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.*