Dwell on: Prayer
Things to dwell on • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsPrayer, it is a privilege it is powerful and should be practiced
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“Prayer Meeting”
“Prayer Meeting”
As the church, the Ekklesia, the called out, the separated, we have the honor to go to our Lord in prayer. We go personally, we go corporately, and hopefully we go often. The point is to go.
(insert Prayer meeting picture)
The bulletin invited everyone to prayer meeting, the sign, the Facebook posts, but the day came and few if any show up. Prayer meetings oftentimes are the least attended functions of the church vs. fellowship meals where all come. One feeds the soul, the other the body, which has eternal value?
As Christians we have the honor to have God’s Word about prayer in our hands.
Prayer takes persistence (Lk18:1-8)
I think that I should give scripture about persistence
1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.
3 “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,
5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said;
7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Persistent prayer by faith that takes diligence
Prayer takes diligence (Eph6:18-20)
18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Prayer takes devotion (Col4:2)
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
Prayer should be unceasingly (1The5:17)
17 pray without ceasing;
May our prayers be unending in our prayers for there is
Privilege of prayer
Power of prayer
Practice of prayer
In the light of Jesus concern and Paul’s exhortation lets get into it!
Privilege of prayer
Privilege of prayer
Are you privileged? What does privilege mean? Let it be defined as a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. So, why is prayer a privilege?
It is not a privilege for all (Pro28:9; Isa59:1-2)
9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.
Pro
for the one who turns from God, knowing of God is not the same as knowing God, for knowing God you will heed to His Word.
There there is the one who He does not listen to who is separated from God.
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
That shows us this that God’s ability, God’s hand is not too short, is not limited, nor His ear not able to hear, but our willingness to surrender our sinful nature to Him separates us from Him where he will not hear. And may it be further evidenced by this next point.
It is not limited by God’s ability but by our willingness (Heb2:17-18; Heb4:14-16)
17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
HEb2:17-18
He came so we could come to Him, He came, was tempted, suffered so He could come to our aid when we are tempted. Are we willing to come to Him as our High Priest in prayer, to the one who came in the flesh, faced the temptations, endured the suffering just so He could come to our aide?
But may this be backed up with more scripture
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Heb4:14-15
16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Privilege in prayer, we can do it, with confidence! Because he came through the heavens, came in the flesh, was tempted and can sympathize with our weaknesses we are able to draw near to Him!
It is privileged for the children of God (Gal3:26)
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
We have the privilege in prayer because we are children of God. We are children of God because of our obedient faith in Jesus Christ. To the faithful may we be ones who come to understand the power of prayer.
Power of Prayer
Power of Prayer
In dwelling on prayer part of prayer is the power of prayer. The power manifests itself in several areas.
In continued forgiveness of sins (1Jn1:7-10)
beyond our salvation, which is when our sins are forgiven there is the continual forgiveness
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
Forgiveness of ill intentioned heart (Act8:22)
22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
To the one with the ill intentioned heart
It is the antidote for anxiety (Php4:6-7)
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
It is peace bringing (Php4:8-9)
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
It is strength finding (Eph3:14-16)
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
It is powerful and effective (Eph3:20; Jm5:16)
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
Proof of the power that is effective
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
It opens doors of service, or continued service (1Cor3:5; Col4:3)
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
God gives each of us, as servants of Christ the opportunities
3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;
prayer opens doors for the Word to be shared
Then if you looked at Act4:23-31 you would be able to see
but wait, there is more power in prayer, we are only part way through.
It is in prayer we oftentimes find the boldness (Eph6:19-20)
19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
There is healing in prayer (Jm5:16)
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
I know I just read this verse before, but here it is to point out the healing that comes through prayer.
It is powerful in working in and for others (1Tim2:1-4)
1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
1Tim2:3-4
3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
As Christians we have the honor, the privilege to go to the Lord in prayer, prayer that is powerful should be put into practice shouldn’t it?
Practice of Prayer
Practice of Prayer
Bet you have heard the term “practice makes perfect.” Well practicing prayer is a good thing, let’s look at some of practiced prayer from the scripture.
Practiced prayer reminds us He hears our prayers (Ps55:17; Dan6:10)
Look at a man after God’s own heart says
17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice.
It was not always in praise and adoration but in supplication and complaint too, it was with confidence knowing God would hear
10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.
Practiced prayer for Daniel was consistent regardless of the situation.
Practiced prayer should be part of decision preparation (Lk6:12-13)
Jesus practiced prayer and if He did it is good for us to do it. Here is an example of Jesus practiced prayer
12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
He had decisions to make and He went to the Father in prayer.
Practiced prayer should be done in hard times (Act16:25)
Practiced prayer should be used in those hard times, even then with thanksgiving
25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
It was not acceptable have a poor or down countenance around the king, it could cost you your life. Nehemiah had to answer to the king, so he offered up a spur of the moment prayer.
Practiced prayer can be done on spur of the moment too (Neh2:4-5)
4 Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
Practiced prayer can be in the heat of the battles too (1Chr5:20)
We all face hard times, trying times and even spiritual battles, and prayer in the heat of the battles is a good thing.
20 They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.
Prayer that is practiced improves your private life and our life as the church as we pray for others.
Prayer is a wonderful privilege, may we exercise it often
Prayer is powerful, may we tap into that power often
Practiced prayer helps us to be perfected in Christ by our reliance and trust in Him in and for all things.
(Heb4:16 picture slide here)
16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
(Dwell on prayer slide here)
invitation, does God hear your prayers, do you want others to join with you in prayer?
For God wants to hear your prayers and to do so sin needs to be taken care of as mentioned in Isa59:2. (invitation; expand)
(Dwell on prayer slide here -2) song, (exit slide)