Prayer Life

Psalm 63:1 “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Will you open yourself up to what God is about to do, will you receive the blessing this message carries? Let the Holy Spirit speak to you and take you deeper? Prayer is the energy that we take into battle. We cannot fight against the devil in our own strength. “Praying always” doesn’t mean “always saying prayers” – it means “always staying in communion with God!” (keep the receiver off the hook!) Praying is how we stay in communion with God even though He’s in the Heavenly realm. Prayer is both a privilege and is power. The Scripture Texts below show that the Word of God repeatedly commands us to seek the Lord in prayer. 1 Chronicles 16:11 “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” Isaiah 55:6 ““Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;” Prayer is the most important Christian discipline that a believer can learn – for without prayer, spiritual survival is impossible. Prayer is like spiritual breath – we pray or we die. If we learn to develop a steady, consistent “prayer life” in the beginning of our Christian walk, we will have less difficulty in following God and our spiritual progress will be tremendously improved. Prayer activates the strength and power that we need to overcome every obstacle and difficulty of life. Prayer, together with fasting and the Word of God, will bring us victory over every problem. The “Armor of God” is listed in Ephesians 6:14-17. However, immediately following the list of our spiritual armor, prayer is emphasized as the activating weapon that makes the rest of the arsenal effective. Prayer is the supreme spiritual weapon in the arsenal of the believer – it is unlimited in its power. It can overcome and defeat any onslaught or attack. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;” -2 Corinthians 10:4 In the Bible, great people of God became great because they knew how to pray. The people who did mighty things for God, who had powerful ministries, and who lived holy lives, were always mighty in prayer. Elijah’s prayer brought victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. (1 Kings 18:37-38), Joshua's prayer caused the sun to stand still. (Joshua 10:12-14), King David made a daily habit of prayer. (Psalm 55:17), Hannah’s prayer resulted in the birth of Samuel, the prophet. (1 Samuel 1:27), Moses prayed in intercession for Israel and they were spared. (Deuteronomy 9:25-26), Daniel prayed three times a day, even at the risk of his own life. (Daniel 6:10), Anna prayed fervently and was allowed to see the newborn Messiah. (Luke 2:36-37), God is willing to answer prayer. His readiness to answer our prayers surpasses even our willingness to provide necessary things for our children. The Lord is more eager to “open” than we are to “knock”. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” - Matthew 7:7-11. Jesus is our greatest example in everything as a follower especially prayer. He not only taught us how to pray but demonstrated the importance of praying as well. Prayer held high priority for Jesus Christ. Scripture records that He often prayed early in the morning and sometimes prayed through the night. Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Luke 6:12 “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” After ministering to the multitudes, Jesus would often find a private place to spend time in prayer. Mark 6:46 “And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.” Luke 5:16 “And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” In the garden of Gethsemane we see the Lord's most intense praying. Jesus' triumphant victory at Calvary was actually won on His knees in Gethsemane, where He prayed, "Not my will but thine be done. Luke 22:44 “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” “(Jesus) Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.” -Hebrews 5:7 There is no end to the list of things for which we should seek God in earnest prayer. Scripture gives us examples of many things for which we should pray. Pray for your physical needs. (Matthew 6:11), Pray for your spiritual needs. (Matthew 26:41; Jude 1:20; James 5:13; Colossians 1:9-12), Pray for forgiveness. (Matthew 6:12), Pray for deliverance. (Matthew 6:13), Pray for your family, your friends and acquaintances – all people (1 Timothy 2:1),Pray for your enemies. (Matthew 5:44), Pray for your church, your pastors and spiritual leaders. (1 Thessalonians 5:25), Pray for your civic and governmental leaders. (1 Timothy 2:1-2), Pray that the gospel would be preached freely and without restraint. (2 Thessalonians 3:1), Pray for the lost. (Romans 10:1; Matthew 9:38), Pray for ministers, preachers, and missionaries around the world. (Ephesians 6:18-20), Pray for those who are sick. (James 5:16), Pray for those who are oppressed, afflicted or in hardship. (James 5:13), Again, this list mentions only a few of the things for which we should pray. All of our requests and petitions should be brought to the throne of God in prayer – and the list of needs is endless. Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” After we have prayed for all the situations that we “know”, we can also pray for those things that we do not ”know”. By praying “in the Spirit” or “with the Spirit” in tongues, we can pray for people and situations that are unknown to us. Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” We must pray in sincerity. Matthew 23:14 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” In the parable of the Pharisee and Publican, Jesus taught us that insincere prayer is worthless. Mindless repetition, repeating “holy” words, and reciting memorized prayers over and over again are of no real value. Our prayers are not measured just by length of time, but also by intensity. It is not only the quantity of our prayers that matters, but the quality. True prayer is that which is borne in the sincerity of the heart. We must pray in faith. We must pray according to the will of God. We must pray in the name of Jesus Christ. We must pray persistently Jacob wrestled with the angel in prayer until his prayer was answered. (Genesis 32:24-28) Daniel prayed for twenty-one days until his prayer was answered. (Daniel 10:12-13) Jesus taught the parable of the Persistent Friend. (Luke 11:5-10) Jesus taught the parable of the Importunate Widow. (Unjust Judge) (Luke 18:1-8) Importunity is the ability to hold on, to press on, to wait with unrelaxed grasp; with restless desire. It is a dogged determination that will not stop, will not quit, will not let go. In prayer, we must learn to P.U.S.H. – Pray Until Something Happens. Colossians 4:2 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;” We must pray fervently. James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” The words, “effectual fervent” are translated from one Greek word, “energeo” which means to be active, to be forceful, vigorous, dynamic, and energetic. Effective prayer is not weak, puny, whiney, hesitant, or timid – it is mighty, forceful and powerful! Thanksgiving is a major ingredient of prayer. Do we dare to offer requests for “present burdens” before we offer thanks for “past blessings”? Thanksgiving is the proper way to approach the throne of God. Psalm 100:4 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” We must pray both privately and publicly. Jesus gave us instructions that we should pray in private or secret – we should not pray just to be noticed or “seen of men”. We should each have our own place of prayer that is personal and private for us alone. Matthew 6:5–6 “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” However, we are also instructed to pray in public, with the church and with our brothers and sisters. Acts 12:12 “And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.” Our greatest hindrance to prayer is the power of the enemy, Satan. He will have his minions do all that is within their power to keep us from praying. He will try to deceive us into concentrating on our problems rather than focusing our attention on the One who is the answer to all of our problems. He will try to keep us so occupied with the “busy-ness” of life that our prayer time is pushed aside until it is too late. The apostles understood the importance of making time to pray. We must not be ignorant of Satan's devices and schemes. We must make time to pray – every day! Setting aside a specific prayer time each day is one of the most effective ways of defeating the devil. Guard your prayer time – don’t let anything or anyone infringe upon your time with God! God hears the prayer of repentance. 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.” How we treat others has a direct effect upon how God treats us. In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus told the parable of the king who takes account of his servants. This parable reveals that God will deal with us according to the manner in which we deal with others. If we harbor an unforgiving spirit, our prayers will be hindered. The Bible plainly tells us if we fail to forgive, we will not be forgiven by God. “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” - Matthew 6:12,14-15 If we treat other people in ways that are contrary to the Word of God, our prayers will be hindered because we are not living in obedience to God. Even incorrect family relationships can obstruct our prayers. 1 Peter 3:7 “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” Jesus also taught us that we should not even offer our gift at the altar (praise and worship) if we remember that a brother has something against us. We should reconcile with our brother first. Matthew 5:23-24 THE ELEMENTS OF PRAYER: Thanksgiving and Praise, Repentance, Supplication, Intercession. Prayer is the believer’s greatest privilege. Nothing is more powerful than prayer! The greatest thing about prayer is not learning about it – but doing it. To learn more about prayer – pray! If you have not already done so, begin your “prayer life” today. Set aside a special time each day to be alone with God. Guard and protect that time and make sure you keep your appointment with the King of Kings each day. Remember, the discipline of prayer is a life-long process. Prayer facilitates God’s plan, frustrates the Devil’s power, and fulfills God’s purpose. Whatever you do – pray!

I must tell you brothers the enemy is very crafty over the many years. He has put so many distractions in your proximity to hinder your prayer life. When you have the lust of the flesh or eyes you’re so side tracked by everything else you can’t find the time to pray to God. Or maybe your prayers just feel dry, so you just stop in the middle of em, or maybe you’re so turned around by the enemy, so discombobulated he’s got you thinking God did this to you so why should I pray to Him? The bible says one day is a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years as a day meaning were on a different time clock then the spirit world is. I am going to get to why I bring this up. Brother Josh Herring taught me this and I wanted to share it with you all. If you pray one hour tonight in the spirit world you’ve spent 41.667 years with God. This goes to prayer being communion with God. When you get in the spirit you leave time, because God does not operate on our earthly clock. God’s clock has always been different example in the start of creation the evening started the day and worked it’s way to the morning. Rev 5, and 8 tells us that angels take our prayers from vials and dump them before the Lord and it’s a sweet smelling savor. You may feel like nothings happening when your praying but angels come and gather your prayers and bring them to the throne room of God. Don’t ever let the devil tell you God doesn’t hear you, because if you open your mouth and believe God is listening Heaven and Hell start to war over what is coming out of your mouth. Daniel 10:12–14 “Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”” I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you this to early morning prayer is a lot more attractive to the spirit world then mid afternoon or bedtime prayers. I say spirit world because not only is God and His heavenly host attracted to it so is Lucifer and his imps. The reason being is this is viewed as sacrificial it’s much easier to pray at 5 in the evening then it is at 5 am in the morning. The demons don’t want you getting up early in the morning to pray because they want to sever your connection to God. If they successfully sever your connection it’s just a matter of time before everything falls apart. If they disconnect you from prayer it’s only a matter of time before they disconnect you from the church, then pastor, where your serving because once your disconnected from prayer your disconnected from power. Early morning prayer stirs the spirit world. Here are 4 things the devil does to kill your prayer life. If you start to develop a early morning prayer life number one he will bring distractions the night before. ie phone, Netflix, video games, etc. You must prepare to get up to pray for the morning because if you don’t the devil will stop you every single time. Remember the spirit world their evening is the start of the day so the devil is already scheming and planning how he is going to stop you from praying in the morning. Early morning prayer life is also a set appointment with the King of Kings don’t ever forget this. Number two is exhaustion. Jesus said men ought always to pray and not faint, and the word faint here means to be exhausted. If you are exhausted you need to pray more. This is a sign that your prayer life is not where it needs to be, if you’re constantly feeling or saying you are exhausted. If you can’t get up in the morning to pray and talk to God, the devil doesn’t care how active and great your church life is, he doesn’t view you as a threat. But my prayer warriors who get up and war in the mornings and seek communion with the eternal King. The devil shakes in his boots, and thinks oh crap he’s awake what am I going to do, he views you as an active threat and seeks to destroy you all the more: however, God will never allow this to happen because you are all that more precious to Him. When you get up daily and seek communion with God in the early mornings you are demonstarting to Him he can use you for spiritual warfare., and pray in dimensions the enemy fears. Number three is aggravation, if the devil can get you aggravated you send a signal to the spiritual world here we are attack us. Number 4 is division if he can get you mad at your pastor, and your spiritual covering you cannot be effective in kingdom warfare. Prayer is a mindset we must all get to as believers, because most if not all of your battles will be won through prayer on your knees because you are exhibiting your faith to God which accesses His Grace where all of your blessing are stored. Here’s a list of people from the bible that had an early morning prayer life. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samuel, David, Saul, Job, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Darius, Daniel, Mary Magdalene, the apostles, and Jesus. The leaders in the bible were up in the morning warring against the enemy. When you start to develop a early morning prayer life your disrupting your pattern, in which the enemy has been watching most of if not all of your life. You throw a wrench in his plans and he doesn’t know what to do except flee from you. I’ll give you an example Sampson did not have an early morning prayer life. He would destroy his enemies at night and sleep during the day. The enemy caught wind of this and sent Delilah to him, so she could get him to fall asleep and take the source of his power because he was so very tired. This shows he had no discipline because he fought in the night slept in the morning. This is killing the church by the way lack of discipline. No prayer life or a spotty prayer life, especially early mornings, it shows your not disciplined. The enemy doesn’t care if you pray 6 hours one day and not at all the next, we need constant routine prayer warriors and intercessors. Three times God told Moses to get up early and encounter Pharaoh, because pharaoh was already up. Your enemy is already up so be more disciplined then your enemy and get up early and go to war. When we get up early were showing God that we have discipline, were thwarting the enemies plans before they can even get started. You have to surprise the enemy because he’s been studying you for along time he’s caught on to your routine. So when we get up and war and develop a early morning prayer life and pray in the spirit God is giving us the victory and the devil has nothing he can do but flee. Maybe you’re thinking we’ll I keep randomly waking up between 3-5 am so I might as well. Yes absolutely you’re getting woken up at this time because this is when the veil is the thinnest in the spirit world and God is waking you up. God wants you to get up to reflect and act, think about this Jesus got up so early to pray it was still dark, who’s spirit lives inside of you, Jesus is just still doing in all of us what he did when he was still here in the flesh. In these hours God can take you deeper in communion and you can receive deeper revelation. This is the night watch scripture talks of these four different watches, which are significant and prophetic. In Exodus 14:24 “And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,” Jesus understood the importance of this time to commune with the father uninterrupted and free from distractions. Where His spirit could commune with His divinity uninterrupted. This was a model for us to follow, the bible doesn’t just contain things in there just for the heck of it. No! It’s the living breathing word of God that contains so many tasty nuggets for us to consume in our spirit and grow spiritually. In this hour God wants you alert and communing with Him. This is the greatest time to unlock spiritual wisdom, receive divine direction, and align yourself with God’s perfect will. When you pray in these hours, don’t just pray casually. No, press in, go deeper engage with the Lord. Because He has called a special meeting with you, thank Him for waking you up, and ask for his guidance. Pray with expectation believing He has something to tell you in this moment. Philippians 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” If you do this, this will take you even deeper in fellowship with your creator. This is also a beautiful time to worship, because worship invites the presence of God like nothing else can. It doesn’t always have to be music sometimes it can be your silent acknowledgement of His goodness, just offer yourself to Him fully, lift your hands and head in surrender, declare His greatness and allow your spirit to worship. Lastly we are going to focus on praying in the spirit. Paul says I thank God I speak tongues more then all of you in his letter to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 14:18. This wasn’t him boasting in his gift this was him letting us know how important praying in the spirit is. This type of prayer is Spirit-led, not just relying on one's own words or emotions, and is characterized by a connection with God that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is a form of prayer that helps believers, especially in weakness, and can involve a variety of expressions. The reason Paul makes this known to us is this is biblically essential. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:17 “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” ; 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here we learn more about spirit, the spirit is your innermost being. In John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”” In other translations it’s out of your innermost being will flow rivers of living water so through your spirit. This is why it is important to yield to the spirit and allow the Holy spirit to interceded on your behalf. This isn’t something you receive it is something you release. When you pray in the spirit you are perfectly aligining to God’s will. It enables us to be more effective witnesses and empowered for God’s calling on our lives. It allows God to move fluently through us, it draws us closer to Him. This is why it’s important to be obedient to the spirit who now lives within you!!!