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A STUDY ON PRAYER

by ANNE MANNING
4/07/2009 / Bible Studies

WHAT IS PRAYER?
Jer 33:3 CallI will answer prayer is a 2 way communication with God. Prayer is expressing our devotion to our heavenly Father, and inviting Him to talk to us as we talk to Him.

WHO CAN PRAY?
Anyone can pray, but only those who have a personal relationship with Father God, and walk in faith and obedience to Christ can EXPECT to receive answers to their prayers.

WHY ARE WE TO PRAY?
1.God commands it. Luke 18:1, Mark 14:38, Phil 4:6, Colossians 4:2, 1Timothy 2:1,2.
2.To have a fresh relationship with our Father. Luke 11:3 - This dayour daily
3.To receive spiritual nurture and strength to live a victorious life.
4.To maintain boldness for a vital witness for Christ. Acts 4:29 - grant boldness
5.To experience the power of God to change the course of nature, people, and nations.

TO WHOM DO WE PRAY?
We pray to the Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When we pray to the Father, our prayers are accepted by Jesus Christ and interpreted to God the Father by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26,27,34).

WHEN SHOULD WE PRAY?
Continually - (1Thess 5:17). Prayer is an attitude. It is not always necessary to be on our knees or in a quite room to pray. We can be in touch with God constantly, wherever we are. It is like a telephone line plugged in, with the line clear for calls both ways.

WHAT SHOULD WE INCLUDE IN OUR PRAYERS?
There are certain basic elements, which should be included in our communication with God.
A - Adoration. Hallowed beTo adore God is to worship and praise Him, to honour and exalt Him in our hearts and minds, and with our lips.
C - Confession. Forgive usAs we begin to adore God, the Holy Spirit begins to reveal any sin in our life that needs to be confessed. We need to respond to this.
T - Thanksgiving. Col 4:2 Be vigilant in thanksgiving. Thanksgiving to God, for who He is, and for the benefits we enjoy because we belong to Him, enables us to see that He controls all things - not just the blessings but the problems and adversities as well. As we approach Him with a thankful heart, He becomes strong on our behalf.
S - Supplication. Give usPetition for our needs and the needs of others. Pray for renewal in your inner man, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and empowerment by Him. Pray for others - your spouse, children, parents, neighbours, friends and enemies, nation and all those ruling over you. Pray for the salvation of the lost, for a daily opportunity to introduce others to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

THE ASPECTS OF PRAYER
Luke 11:9,10
ASK - Asking involves so much. We ask for others and ourselves. We ask for help, provision, souls. Ask and keep on asking. The more we ask the more we receive.
SEEK - Seeking speaks of looking for something. We look for God's will, we look for new treasures from His Word, answers to life's problems. Seek and keep on seeking. The more we seek the more we find.
KNOCK - Knocking speaks of opening something that is closed. Our eyes - Ps 199:18, our ears - Job 36:10,15. Knock and keep on knocking. The more we knock the more is unlocked to us.

CONDITIONS FOR ANSWERED PRAYER.
1.Right relationship with God - Our Father - Luke 11:2. Psalm 24:3-5 - Who may ascend?
Clean hands speak of our actions. A pure heart speaks of our thoughts. Having no
falsehood speaks of our integrity. Such a one will receive blessing from the Lord.
2.Right relationship with others - 1 Peter 3:7
3.Repentance - 2 Chronicles 7:14
4. Praying God's will 1 John 5:14 His will is found in His Word.
5. Simple faith - 1 John 5:15 - We KNOW we have the requests that we ask of Him.
John 11:40 - If you BELIEVE you will see. Faith believes before seeing.
Mark 15:32 - The Pharisees wanted to see first.
Mark 11:24 - Those things you ask for in prayer BELIEVE that you receive them and you will have them.
Matt 9:29 - According to YOUR faith be it unto you.
Matt 21:22 - All things, WHATEVER you ask in prayer, BELIEVING, you will receive.
6.Giving thanks - 1 Thess 5:18 - IN everything give thanks - not necessarily FOR everything.
2 Chronicles 20 - God's character never changes.
7.Sincerity - Jeremiah 29:13 You willfind Me when you searchwith all your heart.
8. Obedience - 1 John 3:22 - We know that we receive because we keep His commandments
Deut 28:2 Blessings will come and overtake us.
1 Pet 3:12 God's eyes are on the righteous.
James 5:16 The prayer of a righteous man avails MUCH.

REASONS FOR UNANSWERED PRAYER.
1.Disobedience leading to the absence of God's presence - Deuteronomy 1:42,45.
2.Secret sin - Ps 66:18, 1 Peter 3:12.
3.Doublemindedness - James 1:6,7. Swinging between faith and doubt hinders answers.
4.Selfish motives - James 4:3 - Praying with selfish motives, to gratify ourselves rather than bring glory to God.
5.Neglect of mercy - Pro 21:13 he who shuts himself to the cry of the poor, will also cry himself and not be heard.
6.Neglect of wife!! 1 Pet 3:7

LUKE CHAPTER 11 - THE PRAYER CHAPTER

VERSES 2-4 - FOUNDATIONS FOR PRAYER
Our Father -> Prayer stems from relationship - a parent-child relationship.
In heaven -> God is far superior and shouldn't be taken for granted because He is our Father. Ecclesiastes 5:2 - Don't be rash with your wordslet them be few.
Hallowed be -> Worship. Your Name speaks of the character of God. His Names reveal the various aspects of His character.
Your Kingdom come - Submission. Desire His kingdom instead of ours!
Your will be done -> Servanthood.
Give us this day -> Dependence.
Forgive us -> Repentance. This is a daily walk.
As we forgive -> Forgiveness towards others. In the proportion that we forgive, we will be forgiven. Matthew 6:14,15.
Lead us not -> Humility. No one is above temptation. A desire for holiness and dependence on God to be holy.
Deliver us -> Helplessness. Acknowledgement of our frailty and need for God's intervention.

VERSES 5-8 - INTERCESSORY PRAYER - to a friend for a friend
Friendship is a two way process, ongoing, stoked by expressions of love, increasingly close. There are degrees of friendships.
V.5. At midnight - willing to face discomfort on behalf of others. Compassion goes beyond comfort. He too must have been fast asleep. The level of intimacy made him bold enough to disturb his friend.
Three loaves - Not just some food. Knew the specific need of his friend and asked specifically. He knew what and how much to ask for. Specific prayer receives specific answers.
V.6. I have nothing - Recognition of helplessness. In our own strength we can never meet anyone's need but we have a GOD who is all sufficient. El-Shaddai - all sufficient One (many breasted one). He can meet every need so we come to Him.
V.7. He will answer - There is nothing such as an unanswered prayer. A prayer based on relationship must receive an answer. Only a deaf or dead person does not answer. The response may not be positive but the answer is always there. We need to listen for the answer.
Do not trouble me - Negative response. The answer came but it was negative. A real friend would not do this. But why?
The door is now shut - What shut the door? Go back and check the foundations of prayer. Use the appropriate key.
My children are in bed with me - Hindrances to movement. Something preventing response.
I cannot rise - Not I will not rise I am helpless because the door is shut and the children are in bed. He did not say I do not have 3 loaves to give you.
V.8. Though he will not rise because of friendship, yet because of persistence he will rise and abundantly supply. Persistence is ensuring that all the foundational principles are intact. If the answer is not positive persist. Check out all the areas in verse 2-4. When all are intact, he will rise. Intercessory prayer must be answered - YES, because it is always based in the will of God. It is based on God's character, which is compassion. Feeling what another feels in his situation, and GOD is a good Father who will not see His children hungry for bread.

VERSES 9-13 - PERSISTENT PRAYER
V.9-10. Jesus encourages us to intercede and persist in intercession assuring us that answers are guaranteed.
V.11. GOD is our Father and meets our every need.
V.12. Needs must be specific and specific prayers receive specific answers. "Your will be done" prayers are very often cop-outs to knowing God's will. We pray these when we don't know what or how to pray for something. But when Jesus prayed this He knew the Father's will was for Him to go to the cross according to the Scriptures. It was Jesus' will too to die for mankind. John 10:18 -He said, 'No man takes my life from Me, but I lay it down'. So His will was in line with the Father's will. In the garden of Gethsemane, His weak flesh was playing up and He couldn't bear the thought of the whole thing. This prayer actually meant - Father, both our wills are in harmony. At this point of time I am shaky because of what I have to face to do our will, so my human will is playing up. Now Father I bring this weak human will of Mine into subjection to Yours in the spirit, and I submit to You. So let Your will be done, not mine (what I feel at this moment).
Stubborn faith changes God's heart
Matt 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-30
V.22 A gentile woman reaches out by faith for her need.
V.23 Jesus ignored him. Why?
He was torn between His compassion and His mission. Torn between reaching out to people who had no faith and being reached to by people of great faith. He had no heart to send her away. Faith honors God and God cannot ignore faith.
V.24 Jesus verbally declares His mission, gut His heart is being drawn to this woman.
V.25 Faith springs forth worship. God loves worship. It brings His presence and with it, His power!
V.26 Jesus again verbally refutes the woman.
V.27 The syro-phoenicain won't give in. Lord, I've come so far. I refuse to turn back. Jesus' heart melts with compassion.
V.28 Oh woman, great is your faith. Great faith does not speak of a large amount of faith but long enduring faith that crosses every obstacle until the goal is achieved. Her goal was healing and she achieved it.
V.23 Jesus was silent - Was it rejection? She persisted.
The disciples resisted her. She persisted.
V.24 Jesus gave instruction for the correct basis of prayer - Relationship.
V.25 She responded by calling Him Lord and worshipping Him.
V.26 Jesus equated her to a lap-dog or house dog. Instead of being insulted she used the key.

VERSES 14-23 - SPIRITUAL WARFARE PRAYER
The key to spiritual warfare is unity in the spirit. A kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. Desolation means plundered and empty. Since the beginning of the Church age the biggest problem of the Church has been division. Jesus' last prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was for the unity of His followers to be so evident to the world that through their unity expressed through their love for each other the whole world would know that the Father had indeed sent Jesus. The key to spiritual warfare is obedience to God's Word. When we obey Jesus' command to be united, we bind the strong man and overcome him. There are only two ways about this - either for or against. We can be either all for unity or against it.

VERSES 24-26 - COMPLETE PRAYER
When we wage spiritual warfare in prayer, we should follow up until it is complete. Leaving a job half-done can have worse results than before we ever started praying for it. We should be willing to go all the way in prayer, until the complete victory is won.

WHAT ARE OUR PRAYERS LIKE?
Incense - Revelation 5:8
WHAT DO OUR PRAYERS DO?
Causes havoc in Satan's kingdom on earth - Rev 8:5. At the right time, with God's anointing our prayers have their effect on earth.
So let us pray with our foundation right, our faith intact, frequently sorting out anything that goes wrong, and as Jesus promised, our prayers will be fruitful. Amen!

JESUS AND PRAYER
Matt 14:23, Luke 5:16, Luke 9:18, John 6:15 - He went away alone to pray.
Matt 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46 Crisis at Gethsemane.
Matt 27:46, Mk15:34, Lk 23:34,46 Forgives His enemies while they are piercing Him!
Mark 6:46 - He went away to the mountain to pray.
Mark 1:35 - In the morning, a long while before daylightHe awoke early to pray.
Luke 3:21 When Jesus prayed, the heaven's were opened!! Before any ministry His prayer life pleased God.
Luke 6:12 - He continued all night in prayer. Before choosing the twelvebig decision!
Luke 9:28, 29 - As He prayed His face was altered. Prayer changes us.
Luke 11:1 - As He was praying His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray.
Hebrews 5:7-9 - His prayers were heard because of His Godly fear.
John 17:1-5 - Jesus prayed for Himself.
John 17:6-19 - For His close friends.
John 17:20-26 - For all believers.
All through His earthly life Jesus drew strength from prayer in the presence of His Father.
Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25 - Jesus' prayer life continues in heaven until He comes again.

PRAYER SHOULD BE A CHRISTIAN'S WEAPON OF FIRST CHOICE, NOT A LAST MINUTE RESORT WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS!

My writing is inspirational and Bible Study based. God the Creator has gifted me with the ability to write creatively. I want to use this for His Glory. My writing may be freely used to help and bless people through their journey of life. More on my website http://www.annemartinmanning.blogspot.com

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