Effective Prayer

Sunday, October 12, 2008
  1. Pray at all times.
    • There are many things God has equipped us with, to effectively run our race. One of them is prayer.  
    • Pray at all times—on every occasion, in every season. Seasons change—pray in every season and don’t stop praying. 
    • Pray with all manner of prayer and entreaty. Different prayers for different situations. 
    • To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance. The enemy won’t give you a break—don’t give him one. Pray with strong purpose and perseverance. Weak, faithless prayers are not answered. 
    • Intercede—stand in the gap—in behalf of all the saints.
    • Intercede means: to plead on another's behalf; to act or interpose on behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition; to act as mediator in a dispute; to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups.
    • 1 Corinthians 14:15 - Pray in your earthly language; pray in your heavenly language.
  2. Pray in the Spirit.
    • Romans 8:26-27 NKJV - Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
    • We pray in the Spirit when we don’t know what to pray.
    • When we pray in the Spirit, we are praying the perfect will of God; therefore it is very important to pray in the Spirit even if you think you know what to pray.
    • As you pray in the Spirit, you grow in sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit, and He will lead you and prompt you even as you pray in your earthly language as to what to pray.
  3. Confidence in prayer.
    • 1 John 5:14-15 AMP - And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. 15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.  
    • If God hears us, He will answer us.
    • How can we be sure that He hears us?
    • If we ask the Father for anything according to His will, we know that He hears us. You can be confident that you are heard and that the answer is on the way. 
  4. Pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus.
    • Under the Old Covenant, people knew God as God, but Jesus showed us an added dimension of Him as a loving, heavenly Father. 
    • If you are a born-again, blood-washed believer, then God is your Father. John 16:23-28—Ask Me nothing—ask the Father in my Name. 
    • John 14:13-14 NKJV - And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
    • We don’t ask Jesus for anything.
    • We ask the Father in the Name of Jesus. We ask according to His will as revealed in His Word.
    • Our joy is full because He answers our prayers.
    • Jesus said, “Don’t keep asking Me. The Father Himself loves you directly.”
  5. Jesus our High Priest.
    • Under the Old Covenant, men came to God through a priest and heard from God through the prophet. Under the New Covenant, Jesus is our High Priest. 
    • Hebrews 4:14-16 - Come boldly to the throne of grace. 
    • Because Jesus loves us, because He totally understands what we face, because He took our place, we can now come to God, based on what Jesus has done, and boldly ask for help in the Name of Jesus. 
    • People who are timid before God do not have a revelation of how much He loves us and what He has done for us.
  6. Effective prayer.
    • James 5:16 KJV - The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. NKJV - The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. AMP - The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. 
    • There are three things at work here. A righteous man; praying fervently; expecting an answer. The result is powerful, dynamic and effective!
    • Fervent prayer. Fervent means: having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; having or showing great emotion or zeal; ardent; extremely hot; burning; glowing.
  7. Righteousness and answered prayer.
    • 1 Peter 3:8-12 - For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers.
    • Righteous in heart and motive, righteous in word and righteous in action.
    • Love God and your neighbor; do good, not evil; clean up your mouth; pursue peace.  
    • God’s eyes are on the righteous—He is constantly watching over you. 
    • His ears are tuned in to your voice and He hears your prayers. Remember, if He hears, He answers. 
    • Commit to righteousness, because you are called to inherit a blessing! 

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