Prayer #2
PRAYER # 2
8/11/2001 AND 8/12/2001
Last week: SEEKING THE LORD
We said it is:
An attitude
A priority
A necessity
An opportunity
-In order to experience all of what God has for you it is necessary to create an atmosphere in which you are really listening and focused. That is what seeking the Lord is: FOCUSING ON HIM AND HIS VOICE AND ANSWER.
-We are going to continue the subject of prayer…first lets pray.
Ephesians 6
10 ¶ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
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.
19 ¶ Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
-Notice that Paul asked for prayer for himself. He didn’t see himself as the great way to God for everyone.
PRAY THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRAYER
-The example is to try to play baseball with football rules. They are both sports but they are governed by different rules.
-In the same way there are different types or kinds of prayer in the Bible.
Matthew 7
7 ¶ "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
ASK-PETITION/SPECIFIC REQUESTS
SEEK-DEVOTIONAL PRAYER
KNOCK-INTERCESSION/PRAYING FOR OTHERS
# 1-Devotional Prayer
-Jesus set the example with this:
-He begins His ministry and goes into the wilderness for a 40 day fast. (Luke 4)
Luke 4:42
42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.
Luke 5
16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Lu 6:12 ¶ One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
-When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane He prayed about the upcoming suffering He was to experience.
-Devotional prayer is “THE GREAT EXCHANGE”. It is where our strength is exchanged for God’s strength.
-This can be 15 minutes or a night of prayer like we have scheduled.
-One man uses the ACTSS formula. Adoration/Confession/Thanksgiving/Supplication/Scriptures
-Other people spend time in the morning, driving to work, at night, doing the dishes because you have kids….
-The point is to not get religious.
-When someone wants to make an appointment with you, it is easy to say I don’t have time.
-That really means…. there is something else I would rather be doing.
2.Prayer of Consecration
-Let’s look back again at the prayer of Jesus in the garden of Gesthemane.
Mt 26:42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
-Jesus didn’t always pray if it be thy will.
-In most instances it is the equivalent of saying KA SERA SERA WHATEVER WILL BE WILL BE THE FUTURES NOT OURS TO SEE KA SERA SERA.
-The only time it is Biblical is when you are commiting your will to God’s will.
-It is like saying, God I will go to China if you say.
Ps 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
Mt 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Heb 10:7 ¶ Then I said, `Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--I have come to do your will, O God.'" {Psalm 40:6-8
1 John 5
14 ¶ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.
Joh 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
-We need to determine the will first.
-Spend time seeking God in prayer and Scripture to see what His will is.
2 Corinthians 1
18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No".
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No", but in him it has always been "Yes."
20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
3.Prayer of Petition
-We don’t use that word often but it is asking for a request or a hearing in a matter.
-Webster’s says it is a solemn earnest request, especially in writing.
-This is where you have sought God and the Scriptures and you are ready to ask.
Philippians 4
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
-You have not because you ask not. ASK!
4.Prayer of Intercession
-This is praying for others.
Joh 15:13 Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
-Laying down your life may not be dying for someone but living for them.
-Giving yourself to pray for others is love.
-This is intentionally going to the Lord for others.
Psalm 2
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
Psalm 149
1 ¶ Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.
4 For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints rejoice in this honour and sing for joy on their beds.
6 ¶ May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,
7 to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron,
9 to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the LORD.
-What a privilege to cover our families, church and friends with prayer.
-What a friend we have in Jesus …what a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer.
5.Praying in the Spirit
-Testimony from Lisa.
1 Corinthians 14
14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
Acts 8
12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women.
13 Simon himself believed and was baptised. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14 ¶ When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money
19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
Acts 19
1 ¶ While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples
2 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3 So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied.
4 Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus."
5 On hearing this, they were baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
1 Corinthians 12-14-Message Translation
-It is important that you be baptized in the Holy Spirit and have a prayer language.
-God may or may not use you in the public gift of tongues…but you need to be able to pray in the Spirit.
-Make it a point to use the different Kinds of Prayer