Prayer: Why it is so important

Introduction:

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 4515 Chained Together for 12 Centuries

St. Catherine’s Monastery near Mt. Sinai, Egypt, has preserved the remains of three monks in accordance with their last requests made about 12 centuries ago. One was a doorkeeper who asked to hold his job forever and whose mummy has since been sitting beside the door he guarded in life. The other two monks took a vow, when young, to devote their lives to perpetual adoration, one praying while the other was asleep and vice versa.

Thereafter, they never saw nor spoke to each other again although they occupied adjoining cells. Their only connection was a chain, that ran through the wall and was fastened to their wrists, which each would tug as a signal when ready to begin and end his prayers. They died together and today their skeletons lying side-by-side in caskets and are still united by the same chain.

The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations Prayer and Revival

The prayer that sparks revival begins long before the countryside seems to awaken from its slumber in sin. It starts when men fall on their knees and cry out to God. That’s where true intimacy with God takes place and we begin the journey of being transformed into the image of Christ. And as men are transformed, the course of a nation can be changed.

Wellington Boone

We have been in a sermon series on “what we are all about”.

We have discussed the importance of being in God’s word

We have discussed what biblical fellowship look like

We have discussed the importance of true worship

This week we are going to look at why prayer is so important.

We will not be discussing how to pray, but the significance and the goal of a praying chapel.

There are so many places we could land and talk about the importance of prayer, but there is one passage the Lord laid upon my heart to preach from this week, and it is found in

If you have your bibles turn to

It is page in the pew bibles in front of you.

Let us pray

1 Timothy 2:1–7 NIV

1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

Context

Paul is speaking to young Timothy

Timothy is in Ephesus pastoring

Paul’s may concern according to the first chapter is these false teachers

They were trying to pull the people away from truth of God’s word to follow intellectual reasoning

As we move into Chapter two, Paul deploys his strategy on how to combat these false teachers

His secret weapon, PRAYER

Paul was a man of prayer

Paul knew if the church was going to succeed, the church needs to be a praying church.

1 Timothy 2:1–7 NIV

1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations Prayer and Revival

The prayer that sparks revival begins long before the countryside seems to awaken from its slumber in sin. It starts when men fall on their knees and cry out to God. That’s where true intimacy with God takes place and we begin the journey of being transformed into the image of Christ. And as men are transformed, the course of a nation can be changed.

Wellington Boone

Lords Prayer (teaches us how to pray)

This passage teaches us the necessity of prayer

community

mission to spread the gospel

In this passage we will see:

The importance of prayer (verses 1-2)

The goal of prayer (verses 3-4)

The confidence we have in prayer (verses 5-7)

The Importance of Prayer (verses 1-2)

Paul uses four words for prayer

There is a natural progression within the uses of these words

Petitions: This word literally carries the idea of making request from a sense of a deep spiritual need

Usually the "need or request” is regulated to the individual asking the prayer

Specifically in this context, the one requesting could be requesting based upon the false teachers and the result of that tribulation

Prayers: This is the most common word used in the NT

This prayer is focused on those outside of our own particular need.

Paul says that the focus of our prayer is for all, for everyone, not just my own personal needs

Intercession: This word not only brings about a petition, but a specific appeal for God to work in a particular way in the situation

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (, ESV)

The prayer that sparks revival begins long before the countryside seems to awaken from its slumber in sin. It starts when men fall on their knees and cry out to God. That’s where true intimacy with God takes place and we begin the journey of being transformed into the image of Christ. And as men are transformed, the course of a nation can be changed.

Wellington BooneRomans 8:26-28

Thanksgiving: Thankfulness or gratitude on what God has done or what he will do

Paul commonly opened each of his letters to the various churches with a prayer of thankfulness for what God was doing in the midst of his people

Quotes

These four types of prayer are directed towards all humanity and towards the community of faith

1st, they are asking or beseeching God for all who are surrounding them

false teachers, persecutors, friends, neighbors, and government officials

Why? Why ask God’s blessings upon those who have inflicted so much pain and destruction in our lives

Why does Jesus say pray and love your enemies?

2nd, to pray for the community of faith

That we would live peaceful and quiet lives

The prayer is for our ability to function in this world in a way that allows us to stay on mission.

What is our mission? To proclaim the good news to a dying and hopeless world

In godliness and holiness

1

1 Peter 3:13–18 NIV

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

The importance of prayer, is that we are lifting up everyone, regardless of situation, ethnicity, social or economically, we are called to lift all up to prayer, so that we will have an opportunity to share the good news of Christ Jesus

The goal of prayer

It is a good prayer and it is pleasing to God

Because God’s heart is for every single person to come to know him

There is not a better goal, than the goal of seeing people redeemed by God’s grace

The story of God has, is, and will always be about redemption

2 Peter 3:8–12 NIV

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

The goal of the prayer is for all to understand that God’s heart is about redeeming people

And that they would come to the knowledge of truth

We are praying that the Holy Spirit would reveal in their hearts their need for God, and his desire to bring us back into the family of God

Read

The Confidence We Have in Prayer

We have confidence that God that God will hear our prayer, because we have a mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus

Christ opened the way for us to come to the father

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (, NIV)

“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.” (, ESV)

The result of this confidence in prayer is seen by Paul’s dedication to do the mission that God had him to do

Namely be presenter of truth, to be salt and light, to a people whom God was wanting to redeem.

If we want to make a difference here on this base, if we want to see God do some amazing things in the hearts and minds of people on this base, we need to be a people of prayer.

God demands us to be a people of prayer, and this types of prayer are good and pleasing to God.

There is not guess work, God lines out for us what prayer to pray, and we will see the power of God move upon this base.