Prayer is drawing near to God.
Matthew 6:6-8—But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
James 4:8—Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Psalm 62:8—Trust in him at all times, ye people;
Pour out your heart before him:
God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 145:18—Jehovah is nigh unto all them that call upon him, To all that call upon him in truth.
Proverbs 15:8—The prayer of the upright is his delight.
Psalm 95:6-7—Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before Jehovah our Maker:
For he is our God,
And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Jesus set us an example.
Mark 1:35—And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed.
Matthew 14:23—And after he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain apart to pray: and when even was come, he was there alone.
Luke 11:1-4 KJV—One of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
We put confidence in Jesus’ cleansing blood as we come to God.
Hebrews 10:19, 22—Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way…let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water.
The Holy Spirit helps us pray.
Romans 8:26-27—And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Ephesians 6:18—…Praying at all seasons in the Spirit…
Zechariah 12:10—…The spirit of grace and of supplication…
How to have effective prayer
1. Let the Word of God have free course in our lives.
John 15:7—If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
1 John 3:22—And whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.
Romans 10:17 KJV—Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
2. Have faith in God.
John 16:23-24—Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name…Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.
John 14:14—If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do.
Matthew 7:7-8—Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 7:11—How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Matthew 8:13—As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.
Mark 10:27—With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God.
Mark 9:23—If thou canst! All things are possible to him that believeth.
Mark 11:22-24—Have faith in God. Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. |
1 John 5:14-16—And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him. If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for them that sin not unto death.
James 4:2—Ye have not, because ye ask not.
3. Pray in unity with others.
Jesus has made tremendous power available to His church. When we join together in prayer, His power goes forth to change the world.
Matthew 21:13—My house shall be called a house of prayer.
Matt. 18:18-20—Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
The early church knew the importance of prayer.
This was one of the secrets of the continuous victory we read about in the book of Acts.
Acts 1:14; 2:1-2—These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer...And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind...
Acts 2:41-42—They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Acts 4:23-24, 29-31—And being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said...Now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest forth thy hand to heal...And when they had prayed, the place was shaken...and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
Acts 6:1-4—Now...when the number of the disciples was multiplying ...the twelve...said...It is not fit that we should forsake the word of God, and serve tables. Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will continue stedfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the word.
Acts 12:5—Peter therefore was kept in the prison: but prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God for him. And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and guards before the door kept the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the cell: and he smote Peter on the side, and awoke him, saying, Rise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands...And when they were past the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them of its own accord: and they went out.
Acts 13:2-3—And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia.
Acts 16:23-33—And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison...But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison-house were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened: and every one’s bands were loosed. And the jailor...sprang in, and trembling for fear, fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.
And they spake the word of the Lord unto him, with all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, immediately.
“When a man is born from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished.”
—Oswald Chambers
Warrior Songs
6 I Am Praying for You
33 What a Friend We Have in Jesus
180 The Secret Place
182 Sweet Hour of Prayer |
