Power of Prayer

What is Prayer?

Prayer is the mechanism God created for us to communicate with Him in our words, in our hearts, and by our actions as well as to hear from Him.

Prayer should be done at all times

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NKJV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

There are so many scriptures on prayer throughout the Bible

Power of Prayer

As Prayer is our avenue to communicate with God and to be sensitive to His voice, it is one of the principle ways we “abide in the vine”

There is nothing more powerful in the life of man than to call out to the all powerful, all knowing creator of the universe, who formed you in the palm of His hand, who knows every hair on your head, who forms sunrises and sunsets for no other reason than to display His glory.

Elijah prayed to the Lord and fire from heaven fell and consumed the offering showing the world that God responds to the prayer of His people.

In the upper room, the disciples and their families were praying in unity when the Holy Spirit responded with tongues of fire on them.

Nothing is done on earth except by prayer. We cannot live in power if we do not live in prayer!

The Cost of Prayer

Prayer has a cost!

It is a trade, really.

Prayer costs us our most priceless possession: Time.

It takes time to pray. There are different kinds of prayer, too.

Praying without Ceasing

Devotional Prayer

Intercessory Prayer

just to name a few.

Prayer of Adoration

Adoration is declaring to God that you love Him for who He is. It is understanding your place in relationship to Him.

You are insignificant and yet He calls you SIGNIFICANT!

Adoration simply speaks your love toward Him.

The Power in Adoration

When we understand how big God is and and how much He loves us,

it aligns us in proper worship because we see God as He is.

Psalm 95:6 NKJV

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Revelation 7:12 NKJV

12 saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

Psalm 69:30 NKJV

30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

God does not need you to magnify Him as though He were small and in need of magnification.

We magnify Him in our understanding to attempt to see Him as He is.

LET’S PRAY!

Prayer of Repentance

This is so important in the life of a Christian

2 Corinthians 7:10 NKJV

10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

This is a humbling activity but also allows us to align ourselves

The Power of Repentance

There is power in the life of the Christian who does not see himself or herself as no longer needing to recognize the conviction of the Holy Spirit and repent from sin.

As we said a few weeks ago, to repent is to turn and a prayer of repentance should be immediate when we realize we have sinned against God.

Prayer for Healing

Healing is a popular area to pray for as we recognize we are people in need with very real hurts that need to be brought before the Lord.

In the same way the lame man’s friends, in faith brought him to Jesus through the roof, we are willing to go through great lengths to pray and seek healing from God for our hurts and illnesses.

Healing may be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.

Jesus set the precedent for healing and we are told to pray for healing

James 5:14–15 NKJV

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Noticed the promise here is not that they will be healed, but rather that they will be saved.

Whether God is saving or saving and healing, He calls us to pray in faith together to the Lord.

Prayer Builds Testimonies

When we pray, we we confess our needs before the Lord and recognize our problems. When He answers the prayers in His time and His way, we are able to share with the world around us the great things He has done

Isaiah 63:7 NKJV

7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord And the praises of the Lord, According to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses.

Do you see how the writer is declaring the lovingkindness of the Lord and all the things the Lord has done for them

Preparatory Prayer

We cannot talk about the Power of prayer without talking about the power in preparatory prayer.

This simply has to do with being in a position of prayer at all times so that regardless of what happens, you are already in the presence of God.

We keep emergency water and food, extra toilet paper and jumper cables in the cars. Yet often, we only consider prayer when things are not alright.

More than preparing for physical emergencies, when we spend time in prayer even when things are good, it empowers us to be resilient to the storms of life because we are already positioned in the center of His will, abiding in the vine.

There is no better place to be.

Philippians 4:6 NKJV

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Using the same passage we just went through, we want to ensure that we thank God for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He is going to do.

We trust God to do everything He has declared in His word.

When we are thankful, it changes our attitude to a place where joy and peace can be present even in hard circumstances.

You can be thankful even in the valley experiences because you know in whom you believe.

The POWER IN PRAYER is not for your own selfish gain. It is power to live the abundant life He has called you to live.

John 10:10 NKJV

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.