Creating a Culture of Blessing VIII

God’s ways to Pray

Creating a culture of Blessing VIII

Here at Mokuaikaua we are about Creating a Culture of Blessing.

We believe this is God’s mission for our church.

201 years ago a group of missionaries arrived here in Kailua Kona in response to the invitation and prayers of two young men from Hawaii, Henry Opukahai’a and Thomas Hopu.

On April 4 1820, our beloved church Mokuaikaua was founded, Rev Asa Thurston after meeting with the King Kamehameha, and the Queen Regent Kaahumanu, they gave them permission to start churches and schools, King Kamehameha the second Liho-Liho gave his house and canoe house to be the first church and school.

The missionaries came to Hawaii to fulfill the great commission to preach the gospel, baptize them, and disciple them to obey everything Jesus thought us.

Mokuaikaua is committed to carry out this inheritance, April 1820 also marked the beginning of one of the greatest revivals in history, 97% of the population of Hawaii came to Christ, by 1840 Hawaii had the largest church in the world, Haili church in Hilo, a church with 11thousand members.

The aim of a culture of blessing, is to reach out to others, is to be a blessing not only to our congregation but to all who come across our path.

To create a culture of blessing, prayer is a very important part of it, we need to understand and practice prayer.

Prayer is how we communicate, how we have a conversation with our Heavenly Father.

Jesus taught us how to pray,

Mat 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. [1Ki_18:25-29]

Mat 6:8 So do not be like them [praying as they do]; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Mat 6:9 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. [Luk_11:2-4]

Mat 6:10 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

Mat 6:11 'Give us this day our daily bread.

Mat 6:12 'And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].

Mat 6:13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'

He was not saying every time you pray, repeat this prayer, Jesus was giving us principles in how to pray

Our Father who is in Heaven, Holly is your name. your Kingdom come, your will be done right here on earth.

Give us our daily bread, physical and spiritual, forgive me as I forgive, don’t let me fall into temptation, deliver me from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom the power and the glory forever.

We need a relationship, a heart of submission, honor and faith to approach our Father in Heaven, prayer is not about asking and getting everything, we want.

But Jesus said

Joh 15:7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

Jesus encourages us to pray and ask Him,

Joh 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in My name [as My representative], this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified and celebrated in the Son.

Joh 14:14 If you ask Me anything in My name[as My representative], I will do it.

The bible teaches us about different kinds of prayer, this is how we can be practical and give to one another.

Through prayers we impart blessings, through prayers we destroy attacks of the enemy, we create businesses, most of the organizations providing public services today, originated out of prayers, responding to needs. Many inventions began in prayer, solutions for financial provision.

I remember visiting a small village in Switzerland a few years ago the place name is Valle de Joux, is the birth place of fine watch making , they are famous for their watches, and all began as a group of farmers where praying asking the Lord what to do in the middle of their crises, they didn’t have much money and their farms were covered with snow, in prayer God spoke to them to begin to make watch parts and watches, they are very successful and very well known around the world.

Our identity and call, we receive through prayer, there is impartation, creation, and blessings that only comes through prayer.

Today I will cover 3 ways to pray.

1 Petitions

All kinds of prayer

Eph 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all N1 God's people.

A petition is the respectful requests we present to God on our behalf and on behalf of others, for mercy, justice healing,

Luk 18:1 Now Jesus was telling the disciples a parable to make the point that at all times they ought to pray and not give up and lose heart,

Luk 18:2 saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and had no respect for man.

Luk 18:3 There was a [desperate] widow in that city and she kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice and legal protection from my adversary.'

Luk 18:4 For a time he would not; but later he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,

Luk 18:5 yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will give her justice and legal protection; otherwise by continually coming she [will be an intolerable annoyance and she] will wear me out.'"

Luk 18:6 Then the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says!

Luk 18:7 And will not [our just] God defend and avenge His elect [His chosen ones] who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay[in providing justice] on their behalf?

Luk 18:8 I tell you that He will defend and avenge them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [this kind of persistent] faith on the earth?"

Our Heavenly Father is faithful, and just, Keep on praying

2 Pray at all times

Eph 6:18 Keep on praying in the Spirit, with every kind of prayer and entreaty, at every opportunity, be ever on the alert with perfect devotion and entreaty for all God's people,

In the middle of a pandemic and all that is happening around world, anxiety and fear are in the hearts of many people.

Php 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

The easy thing to do is to become anxious, to worry about everything that is happening around us, and to feel hopeless. The right thing is to present our requests to our Heavenly Father who is listening to us.

What is happening in Afghanistan and other parts of the world is heart breaking, injustice, betrayal, persecution, some of the people will not have the courage or the strength to walk through it, our prayers will make the difference.

Praying for each other imparts faith, courage healing, releases provision, finances.

Pray at all times

3 Intercessory prayers, praying God’s desire, prophesying God’s words

Intercession is when we are standing before God on behalf of someone else.

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.

God is looking for His sons and daughters to stand before Him asking for His mercy on behalf of others.

Eze 22:30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

Parents your children may not be walking with the Lord, they may have done many wrong things the Lord is looking for you to stand in the gap and ask for mercy. Don’t give up on them, they need help, addictions are not easily broken, they need your prayers and encouragement. the Lord will answer your prayers.

I’m here today because I had a mother who prayed and interceded for me every day.

To have the confidence that He will hear us, we need to come to Him with a clean heart, filled with faith ready to obey.

In the book of the Acts of the Apostles written by Luke, we read on chapter 7, Stephen praying for Saul.

Stephen was preaching and preforming miracles in Jerusalem and a group of men begin to question him and brought him to the high priest accusing him with lies, and they got very angry.

Act 7:58 and dragged him out of the city and continued stoning him. The witnesses, in the meantime, laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Act 7:59 They continued stoning Stephen as he continued praying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

Act 7:60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not charge this sin on the book against them!" On saying this he fell asleep in death.

Chapter 9 Paul was on his way to Damascus to continue persecuting the church but God heard the prayers of His saints.

Act 9:3 As he traveled he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him [displaying the glory and majesty of Christ];

Act 9:4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice [from heaven] saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting and oppressing Me?"

Act 9:5 And Saul said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He answered, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,

Act 9:6 now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

Act 9:7 The men who were traveling with him [were terrified and] stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

Act 9:8 Saul got up from the ground, but though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

Act 9:9 And he was unable to see for three days, and he neither ate nor drank.

Act 9:10 Now in Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias."And he answered, "Here I am, Lord."

Act 9:11 And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul; for he is praying [there],

Act 9:12 and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him, so that he may regain his sight."

Act 9:13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, especially how much suffering and evil he has brought on Your saints (God's people) at Jerusalem;

Act 9:14 and here [in Damascus] he has authority from the high priests to put in chains all who call on Your name [confessing You as Savior]."

Act 9:15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for this man is a [deliberately] chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

Act 9:16 for I will make clear to him how much he must suffer and endure for My name's sake."

We need to listen but is very important to obey, Aninias had every logical reason to disobey , Saul was a dangerous man to him and his community.

Saul became Paul the apostle one of the most important figures in Christianity, Saul of Tarsus was a Jew, a pharisee member of the Sanhedrim, persecutor of the church, who after becoming a Christian became a follower of Christ, he wrote half of the new testament and began several churches.

As we create a culture of blessing pray for one another with all kinds of prayer, all the time in the Spirit.

All this begins when we make Jesus the Lord of our lives.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Joh 3:16