A study on Prayer

What is prayer

Prayer is simply communication from us to God

Prayer can be one of many things:

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication

Worship

Prayer is a

Why should we pray?

We pray to confess our sins to God (Faithful and just to forgive us our sins)

We pray to ask God for wisdom or knowledge (Delight yourselves in the Lord)

We pray to draw closer to God (-In your presence is fulness of joy)

We pray to ask God for desires

We pray to bring Glory to God (Psalms is a book full of prayers praising God)

Examples of prayer

Looking at examples:

(Jesus)

Our Father (Praying to God)

Hallowed be thy name (Adoring God)

Thy kingdom come and thy will be done (Supplication—asking for God’s will)

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts (Confession)

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil (asking for God’s mercy)

For thine is the kingdom and power and glory forever (trusting in God’s wisdom)

English Standard Version Chapter 2

2 saying,

“I called out to the LORD, out of my distress,

and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

and you heard my voice.

3  For you cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas,

and the flood surrounded me;

all your waves and your billows

passed over me.

4  Then I said, ‘I am driven away

from your sight;

yet I shall again look

upon your holy temple.’

5  The waters closed in over me to take my life;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

6  at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me forever;

yet you brought up my life from the pit,

O LORD my God.

7  When my life was fainting away,

I remembered the LORD,

and my prayer came to you,

into your holy temple.

8  Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their hope of steadfast love.

9  But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

This is a prayer of Salvation

This is a testimony that God hears humble prayers and answers them

(God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble)

Jabez

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve caused pain or if you’ve ever wanted to believe that God can do more than you can ask or imagine, this prayer is for you:

“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.”

Hannah ()

When Hannah received the child she begged God for, her first instinct is to praise the One who provided. She wants to thank Him for His greatness and His deliverance. Too often we pray before receiving, but then forget to pray after God answers. Let this prayer guide you in thanks:

“My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.

“There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world.

“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

How Should we pray?

With a system

PRAY, ACTS, Praying the Bible

Praying for something or someone when you see a certain object

Setting a time

Setting a place

Getting rid of distractions

With accountability