The Power of Prayer 7/14/2010
James 5:13-18
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him
pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
14 Is anyone among you sick? 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.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will
raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like
ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on
the land for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven
gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
In 6 verses “Pray/Prayer is mentioned 6 times.
(Definition of
“Prayer”-the act or PRACTICE of PRAYING to God.)
James is trying to let us know that “Prayer” is our way of communicating
with God.
Prayers from your heart—
Ps. 34:6--In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all
my troubles.(New Living Translation)
Matt. 7:7--Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Isa 55:6-- Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is
near:
We study last time about “FAITH”.
Matthew 17:21-However, this kind does not go out except by “PRAYER and FASTING”
1.
How Do I Pray?
In Matthew 6:9-13—God gave us an example of HOW we must pray--These verses are know as the “Lords Prayer”
9. Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed
be Your name. ---WORSHIP
10 Your kingdom come.
Your
will be done
On
earth as it is in heaven. –SEEKING
HIS WILL
11 Give us this day our daily bread.—REQUESTING
HIS NORISHMENT FOR OUR DAY
12 And forgive us our debts,
As
we forgive our debtors. --CONFESSION
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But
deliver us from the evil one. –PROTECTION OF OUR MIND
End your prayers on a “Positive”
For
Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Speak to God with
your own words
You have to believe what you pray-Not just mouth service
Mark 11:24--Therefore
I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours.
Sometimes we go “Blindly” into our Prayers, not really
knowing which direction to go
Direction NOT TO GO!
Matthew 6:7-8
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, (babbling--NIV) as the
heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore
like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye
ask him.
Direction TO GO!
1. Talk to Him like a Friend
2. Acknowledge is Sovereignty
3. Be precise in your request
4. Don’t expect ALL of your request will be answered “Right Now”
5. Pray for His Will
6. Don’t find yourself in a rut.
2.
How Powerful Are Our Prayers?
Back to James 5:16--The
effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (NKJV)
The prayer
of a righteous man is “POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE” (NIV)
In James the 18 and 19 verse it mentions Elijah praying for rain to stop
and then begin again. (I Kings 17 & 18)
In I Kings 18:36-38 he prayed for the evening sacrifice
In Mark 9:14-27 tells of a
father that brings his son to Jesus to be healed of being demon possessed.
Jesus issues a command to the demon to be removed and the demon shows off
before he leaves. The Bibles says it
screamed and threw the boy down into a violent convulsion before it leaves.
Mark 9:28-29-
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him
privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
II Corth 10:4-6
says—
4 For the weapons
of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down
arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready
to punish all disobedience when your
obedience is fulfilled.
Let me ask
again….How Powerfull Are Your Prayers…….As “Powerful” as you want them to be!
By having a relationship with Christ and using His weapons, it gives us
the divine POWER to demolish strongholds…
What are our weapons….
1.
Prayer
2.
Hope
3.
Faith
4.
Love
5.
Gods Word
6.
The Holy Spirit
What does it mean…When your obedience is fulfilled?
Being
in tune and determined by “Praying and Fasting”
What does it mean to be in “TUNE and DETERMINED” through “Prayer and
Fasting”?
Eph 6:18 urges us
“18 And pray in the
Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in
mind, be alert and always keep on
praying for all the saints”.
3.
How Do I “TAP” Into
Prayer?
Mark 1:35
35 Now in the
morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to
a solitary place; and there He prayed.
Ps. 55:16-17
16 As for me, I will
call upon God, And the LORD shall save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon I
will pray, and cry aloud And He shall
hear my voice.
Ps. 42:8
8 The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in
the night His song shall be with me—A prayer to the God of my life.
You say that is rough……
I Thess. 5:17-18
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you.
Oh but the
rewards are sooooo great!
I John 5:14-15
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask
anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we
have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
GOD answers our prayers that come into agreement with His will,
regardless of the person asking- the passion behind it or the purpose of the
prayer.
The answer may not always be “YES” but will always be in our BEST interest.
Matt. 26:36-44
39 And he went a
little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou
wilt.
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and
saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the
spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42 He went
away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may
not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
43 And he came and found
them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third
time, saying the same words.
Sometimes are issue’s are not as important to others as to you. You have
to do your own prayer.
When we pray with “Passion and Purpose” according to His will, God
responds with “Power”
Ps.
107:28-30
28 Then they cry out to the LORD in
their trouble,
And He brings them out of their
distresses.
29 He calms
the storm,
So that its waves are still.
30 Then they
are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
4.
What Sort Of
Things Can I Pray For?
GOD’s help, through the “POWER of PRAYER” is good for all requests and
crisis’s
Phil 4:6
6 Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
Here are some accounts for various situations that the Bible gives
accounts for……..
1.
Overcomes your enemies (Ps. 6:9-10)
2.
Conquered Death (2 Kings 4:3-36)
3.
Brought healing (James 5:14-15)
4.
Defeated demons (Mark 9:29)
5.
Opened eyes, changed hearts, heals wounds and grants wisdom (James 1:5)
The “POWER of PRAYER” should be never be underestimated.
It draws from the Glory and Might of the Almighty-Powerful God of the Universe
James 5:16-18
16Therefore confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The
prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
17Elijah was a man
just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain
on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave
rain, and the earth produced its crops.
5.
Is It Possible
To Change The World?
2 Tim. 3:1-5
1This know also,
that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2For men
shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3Without
natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good,
4Traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5Having a
form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Matt 25:1-13-10 Virgins
Verses
11-13-
II Chron. 7:14
if my people…
1. who are called by my name,
2. will humble themselves
3. and pray
4. and seek my face
5. and turn from their wicked ways,
6. then will I hear from heaven
7. and will forgive their sin
8. and will heal their land.
Before we can
change the world, we have to have a change in ourselves. We as Children of God,
need to pray as we have never prayed before. Pray for Revival in our own
congregation before we can change the city or nation.
6.
Want To Have
Power In Your Prayers?
The most powerful resource for the Christian is communion with God
through PRAYER.
The results are often greater than we thought possible.
Some people see prayer as a last resort to be tried when all else fails.
This approach is backward. Prayer should come first.
Because God’s power is infinitely greater than ours, it only makes sense
to rely on it-especially because God encourages us to do so.
Hebrews 4:16 (King James Version)
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