The Power of Prayer

Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

   He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.  

Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
  Psalms 107:28-30

Anything living must grow.  We are living a new life in Christ and we must do what it takes to grow.    

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  2 Corinthians 5:17

Church is not the only time to acknowledge God.  There should be times throughout our day where we are praying, reading, worshiping, praising and sowing.  Sowing of our time, finances, encouragement, or some other type of pouring into someone else.

¨  Prayer – Acknowledge God.    

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  Proverbs 3:6

o   Understand the importance of the acknowledgement of who God is.

¨  Praise -  Praise comes from a natural place.  Anybody can praise God no matter what their lifestyle is.     

Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.  Psalms 150:6

o   From praising God in the flesh, we move to worshipping Him in the spirit.

¨  Worship – Worship is always a spiritual act.  Worship takes precedence over our program.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  John 4:23

¨  Read – What are you reading?  The word of God is what we need to read above all else.  It leads us to sowing.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.  Joshua 1:8

¨  Sowing  - You should know who to sow, how to sow and what to sow.  We have to be careful not to sow to be seen.   We do not sow or pray to be seen, heard or look the part. 

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.  Matthew 6:1

If you are offending with your prayers are you really touching God.  There is nothing in the Kingdom of God that offends.  There is no need in praying if you don’t believe what you are praying.  The end of a prayer relationship is a desired haven.

Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.  Psalms 107:28-30 

We do not just pray when we are in trouble.

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;    Luke 18:1

No matter what distress you are in, you should still be praying because God is a prayer answering God.  Much of this life is already fixed.  It only becomes altered when we do things that are not according to God.  Jesus teaches us how to pray.  Model prayer:  Matthew 6:9-13

Verse 9:  Acknowledge our Heavenly father and promoting unity. 

     ®  He is our Father; there are no big I’s and little You’s in God.

     ®  Praise Him for who He is.

     ®  Learn how to be grateful.

Verse 10 – God’s will is done IN the earth, not ON the earth. 

    ®  We live in the earth and God lives in us.

    ®  We can pray this prayer because we acknowledge He is holy and His kingdom come and His will is done in the earth and therefore anything that is supposed to happen, let it be and If it is not supposed to happen, let it be. 

     ®  Do you want God’s will in your life or not.

     ®  We must pray according to God’s will.  Not our will, but God’s will.

     ®  Learn to love God and accept His will.  Ask God to help you accept His will.

Verse 11 – After declaring God’s will be done, then make your petition known.

     ®  Ask the Lord daily for your ‘bread’; word, will, direction.

Verse 12 – Ask forgiveness of our wrongs even as we forgive those that have wronged us.

Verse 13 - God cannot tempt us with sin.   No matter what, we still have to be obedient to God’s will.

     ®  End in praise acknowledging that we can do nothing without God.

Types of Prayer

Asking:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  Matthew 7:7

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.  Hebrews 4:16

     ®  Bold and ashamed do not mix

     ®  Bold and guilty don’t mix

     ®  Bold and hiding don’t mix

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.  Matthew 21:22 

If you have faith, if you believe, you shall receive.  You must have faith.  You trust and believe in the rapture, but you don’t believe that God can answer prayers?

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.  Mark 11:24

The contradiction of this scripture is not only disbelief but thinking that whatever you pray is going to happen as if God is a genie.  If we are centered in God, we do not ask against the will of God.  

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 

At some point, we should mature and hear God or damnation will be on you and then you’ll pray.   Allow God to order your steps.  

  

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.  Psalms 37:23 

We don’t just pray when we need, we pray to live.  Without God’s direction, we are lost.  

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;  Psalms 63:1   

Pray to God through God:  would you ask for something that is not of God?

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.   If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.  John 14:13-14

We don’t pray from a fleshly place. 

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  Colossians 3:2 

If we seek the Kingdom, then we know that things in the natural will come.  Therefore, we don’t have to pray for natural things, i.e., a house, car, etc.

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:  Isaiah 1:19

What we don’t want to do or refuse to do is self-examination.  We don’t want to ask the hard questions: 

 Ö  what am I doing wrong

 Ö what is hindering my prayers,

 Ö what is hindering the open heaven,

 Ö what is hindering what God has for me,

 Ö  am I a hindrance to the word of God,

 Ö  what am I not doing,

 Ö what am I not doing today that I used to do,

 Ö am I a transgressor (going backwards; not doing what you used to do) and not even know it? 

Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.  Proverbs 13:15 

We need to take God serious, it’s no longer about how long you’ve been in God.  We need passion for the things of God and not the material things of the world.  Get serious and recognize that God is getting ready to come and souls are at stake.

Prayer & Fasting:

And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.  Mark 9:29   

It’s impossible to have a prayer life and not add fasting to it.  Fasting is for the purging and cleansing of our spirit; not to twist God’s arm to get something you want.  We cannot afford to dummy down God with a bunch of foolishness.

Faith:  

But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.  Acts 9:40

At some point, we need to learn to pray by our self; need to go to God for our self by our self.  You can’t take everyone to prayer or worship with you, but we can all praise together.  Everyone cannot go up in worship with you and everyone does not need to hear your prayers.  Some things God wants to download only in you.   

We have to be careful to not allow others to put their convictions on you.  Conviction is personal.  

Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.  Romans 14:22  

This is not a group salvation. 

And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.  Acts 2:40 

Restoration: 

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  James 5:14-16 

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and un-prayed for.”   Charles Spurgeon

Even in your wrong, you should know that someone is praying for you.  Elders of the Church are to be men and women of faith.  Don’t be too proud to confess your faults and get it right.  The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous. 

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.  Proverbs 29:2 

We should not be afraid when there is getting ready to be a transfer to the righteous.   

And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.  Jeremiah 29:7 

We have to become a defensed city.  We have to ask God to order our steps so that nothing can come against us.

Prayers of Thanksgiving:

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Pray in the spirit, not the flesh

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  Ephesians 6:18 

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7 

Quit equating God to a human!

Peace comes from an active prayer life

Excerpts from Word Enrichment

Bishop Joel C. Lofton

Biblical Studies

10/19/18
03/31/20