God's Word on That

Tag: Prayer

God’s Word can teach us to pray rightly — to move mountains and bring much glory to Our Father in Heaven

  • Prayer Is Communication

    Simply put, prayer is communication with God. It is expressing our devotion to our Father, inviting Him to talk to us as we talk to Him. (Bill Bright)

    Prayer is communicating with our Father God.

    In Kay Arthur’s book, Lord, Teach Me To Pray, she states, “This is where each child of God should be the strongest: in the Word of God and in prayer.” Our motto should follow the disciples’.

    We will devote ourselves to praying and to serving in ways that are related to the word (Acts 6:4).

    Jesus answered, “Scripture says, ‘A person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks’.” (Matthew 4:4)

    And that’s what the Word of God is: our daily bread.

    Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship. And a relationship requires communication. Therefore prayer is essential. There are countless decisions to be made, wisdom to be sought, resources that are needed, transgressions to be mended, love and appreciation to be communicated Thus we are told to pray without ceasing.

    The disciples had to be careful, lest they become so occupied with serving God that they neglect the Word – which is Knowing God – and prayer – which is communicating with God. When Jesus was with them, they saw the place of prayer in His life and they heard His teachings on the importance of persistence in prayer. Thus, realizing they had to know how to pray they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). If the apostles needed to know, don’t we?

  • Let Us Come To Be Taught

    Prayer is the holiest work to which man can rise. It is fellowship with the Unseen and Most Holy Creator who formed you, and with His Son, the Savior of all the world. Powers of the eternal realm have been placed at its disposal! Prayer is the essence of all religion, the channel of all blessings, the secret of spiritual power and spiritual life.

    Let us come to a quiet place, with a heart ready to be taught.

    It is on prayer that the promises wait for their fulfillment, the Kingdom for its coming, the glory of God for its full revelation. We know not how to pray as we ought. It is true we have God’s Word with its clear and sure promises, but sin has so darkened our minds that we know not always how to apply the Word.

    And even when we do know what to ask, how much there is still needed to make prayer acceptable: It must be to the glory of God, in full surrender to His will, in full assurance of faith, in the name of Jesus, and with a perseverance that – if need be – refuses to be denied. All this must be learned.

    Come children, listen to Me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Psalm 34:11).

    Let the deep undertone of all our prayer be the ‘teach’-able-ness that comes from a sense of ignorance and from faith in Him as a perfect teacher, and we may be assured we shall be taught. (Andrew Murray)

    Lord, may each of us grow in Your grace and in the knowledge of Your Son. May we be worshipful and attentive in hearing Your Word preached, eager to learn and change our ways, and ready to use our spiritual gifts and serve as You lead.

  • What Is Prayer?

    Prayer is the recognition that if God had not engaged Himself in our problems, we would still be lost in the blackness. Prayer is that whole process that reminds us of who God is and who we are.

    Prayer depends on faith.

    The key element in prayer is not the amount of faith, but whether faith is present at all. Think on this: it is not how much we understand about Jesus that saves us, but the mere fact that we trust in Him to do so. Thus salvation is a product of faith and the seed of faith appears to reside in the individual upon salvation. Also, the amount of faith does not cause a miracle (a gift from God) to occur, but the presence of faith is that quality which leads to prayer being answered.

    Remember: faith itself is a gift of God – even faith is not a work out of ourselves. Our only action is to respond appropriately to the faith in our hearts. Therefore we should not get worried about whether we have ‘enough’ faith or not. What Christians are called to do is to look into the face of the Father and pray what they do have faith for. If they lack faith, they should honestly pray, “Help my unbelief.”

    “If faith is present at all, even if it is no larger than a mustard seed, it can accomplish wonders.” This is how Jesus describes the incalculable effects of prevailing faith.

    Prayer isn’t about expecting something specific from the Lord, but of releasing something to Him that was already out of your control anyway.

  • Let Us Pray

    “It is under a deep impression that the place and power of prayer in the Christian life is too little understood that this ledger has been written. When we learn to regard it as the highest part of the work entrusted to us, the root and strength of all our work, we shall see that there is nothing that we so need to study and practice as the art of praying aright.”

    In Andrew Murray’s book, School of Prayer, I have learned that praying is our highest calling. It is when we most look and act like Jesus. It is one of the chief channels of influence by which blessings are to be defused on the world. It is our badge of duty and honor to pray to the Father to enter and preside over the people and events that confront us every minute of every day.

    “The Father waits to hear every prayer of faith, to give us whatever we will, and whatsoever we ask in Jesus’ name. God means prayer to have an answer, and that it has not entered into the heart of man to conceive what God will do for His child who gives himself to believe that his prayer will be heard. If what I have written stirs my reader to go to the Master’s words, and take His wondrous promises simply and literally as they stand, my objective has been attained.”

    Christ Jesus is our life. Christ Jesus teaches us to pray by example, by instruction, by command, by promise, and by showing us how to pray Himself – our ever-living Intercessor. It is when we believe this, and go and abide in Him for our prayer-life that our fears of not being able to pray aright will vanish. May Jesus Himself give us a large and strong heart to believe what a mighty influence our prayers can exert!

  • Prayer Is The Asking

    Prayer = Son-bathing. It makes you look different. The more Son you get, the less likely you will burn.

    Let us learn to pray about everything. Let us pray without ceasing.

    Devote yourselves to prayer, being [always] watchful and [always] thankful (Colossians 4:2).

    Pray as you can, not as you can’t.

    Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.

    And the Lord said to Moses: Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? (Numbers 11:23)

    Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14)

    The Everlasting God – the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the [universe] – does not become weary or tired! (Isaiah 40:28)

    As, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You! (Jeremiah 32:17)

    All things are possible with God (Mark 10:27).

    For with God nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37).

    But with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

    What is impossible with men is possible with God (Luke 18:27).

    … All things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23).

    I tell you the truth: Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on hearth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18).

    Wait on the Lord! Be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. (Psalm 27:14).

    In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength (Isaiah 30:15).

    When ambition and pride cause us to forget that it was God who has brought us this far, we must pay the price of our sin. Pride causes us to set ourselves up as gods.

    Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1).

    [Instead] Pray continually (2 Thessalonians 5:17).

    Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6).

    Pride about our good deeds is pointless. God has His own ideas regarding what is good, and He does not always agree with us. If there is anything good about you, believe better things about others. This will keep you humble. [Being humble means being ready for use.]

    And one parting thought for guiding us in the way we should walk:

    Anyone then who knows the good he ought to do and does not do it sins (James 4:17).

  • Showing Gratitude For His Love

    I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever… I will declare that Your love stands firm… (Psalm 87:1-2)

    I will sing of Your love and justice… (Psalm 101:1)

    I will bow down toward Your Holy Temple and will praise Your name for Your love and Your faithfulness (Psalm 138:2).

    Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all the day (Psalm 90:14).

    That those who love Your name may rejoice in You (Psalm 5:11).

    In the morning I will sing of Your love (Psalm 59:16).

    It is good to praise the Lord… to proclaim Your love in the morning… (Psalm 92:1-2)

    I will rejoice and be glad in Your love…  Let Your face shine on Your servant, save me in Your unfailing love…  Praise be to the Lord, for He showed His wonderful love to me… (Psalm 31:7, 16, 21)

    Because Your love is better than life, my lips shall glorify You (Psalm 63:3).

    Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me! (Psalm 66:20)

    Let us give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men (Psalm 107:8,15,21,31).

    The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love (Psalm 147:11).

    Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and Your servant loves them (Psalm 119:140).

    Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble (Psalm 119:165).

    I love Your law. (Psalm 119:113,163,97,127,119)

    My soul keeps Your statutes and I love them exceedingly (Psalm 119:167).

    I shall delight in Your commands, which I love… I shall lift up my hands to Your commands which I love… (Psalm 119:47-48)

    Consider how I love Your precepts; preserve my life, O Lord, according to Your love (Psalm 119:159).

    If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep His covenant of love with you…  He will love you and bless you… (Deuteronomy 7:12-13)

    The great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of love with all who love Him and obey His commands (Daniel 9:4).

    You keep Your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way (1 Kings 8:23).

    Our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love, do not let this hardship seem trifling in Your eyes (Nehemiah 9:32).

    Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord (Psalm 107:43).

  • Called To A Holy Priesthood

    In his book, With Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray incites us to take up our noble calling to be priests and intercessors for the world around us. He calls it “our circle” — the people that we influence and care for personally. Since each believer has his own individual circle, the world is in need of intercessors that can reach more of the lost and the hurting — the world needs you. To be a priest for the people is not only for the Church in general, but for your particular area of influence as well. I will try and sum up what Andrew Murray says of our duty.

    You are a light for the world; let us rejoice to be so.

    As every son of Aaron, so every member of Jesus’ body has a right to the priesthood. It is the highest privilege of a child of God, the mark of greatest nearness and likeness to Him. Every priest is ordained for men in things pertaining to God (Hebrews 5:1; see also Deuteronomy 10:8; Deuteronomy 21:5; Deuteronomy 33:10).

    In the Old Testament, the walk of the priesthood was in harmony with its work — as God is holy, so the priest was to be especially holy. This means not only separated from everything unclean, but holy unto God, being set apart and given up to God for His possession. Their life was to be one of total faith — they were to live on Him as well as for Him.

    All this is the emblem of what the character of the New Testament priest is to be. Our priestly power with God depends on our personal life and walk. We must prove that our consecration to be HOLY TO THE LORD (Exodus 28:36; Zechariah 14:20-21) is whole-hearted and entire. This marks the true priest, the man who only lives for God and his fellow man.

    Are you willing to offer yourself for this holy work? You know the surrender it demands — nothing less than the Christ-like giving up of all, no longer content to have salvation and just do work enough to keep warm and lively. Thoughts of unworthiness or unfitness need not restrain you. The Blood provides an infinite worthiness to make your prayers most acceptable; and the Spirit provides a divine fitness, teaching you to pray according to the will of God.

    You will not only join in the general prayers of the Church for the world, but will also be able in your own circle/sphere to take up your special work in prayer — as priests, to transact requests with God, to receive and know the answer, and so to bless in His Name.

    Come and be a priest, only priest, all priest. Seek now to walk before the Lord in the full consciousness that you have been set apart for the Holy Ministry of Intercession. This is the true blessedness of conformity to the image of God’s Son.

  • Pray the Promises

    There are many earthly saints (and heavenly ones) who urge us on to pray and plead the promises as we have need of them. Only God can satisfy our needs and fulfill our true desires. Pray often. Pray without ceasing. Pray to the Father in the name of the Son by the aide of the Holy Spirit. And see if your world doesn’t change for the better!

    In accordance with Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ Jesus has made us free…” Liberty — we are free to what is in the Bible, what has been handed down to us. We are a welcome guest at the table of the promises of God. Scripture is a never-failing treasury filled with boundless stores of grace. It is the Bank of Heaven; we may draw from it as much as we please, without hindrance. Come in faith and we are welcome to all covenant blessings. There is not a promise in the Word of God which shall be withheld. In the depths of tribulations let this freedom comfort you; amidst waves of distress let it cheer you. When sorrows surround you let it be your solace. This is your Father’s love-token, you are free to it at all times. You are free to the Throne of Grace also. It is a believer’s privilege to have access at all times to our Heavenly Father. Whatever our desires, or our difficulties, or our wants… we are at liberty to spread all before Him. It matters not how much we have sinned, we may ask and expect pardon. It signifies nothing how poor we are, we may plead His promises that He will provide all things we need. We have permission to approach His Thorne at all times — at midnight’s darkest hour or at noon-time’s most burning heat. Exercise your right and live up to your privileges. You are free to all that is treasured up in Christ Jesus: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It matters not what your need is, for there is fullness of supply in Christ, and it is there for you. Oh what a “freedom” is ours! Freedom from condemnation, freedom to the promises, freedom to approach the Throne of God, and freedom to enter heaven. (C. H. Spurgeon)

    And again Charles Spurgeon urges us on to pray the promises:

    God wants you to trust His love, power, faithfulness, and for you to believe He will answer your prayers. When doubt creeps in, bring them honestly before God (Mark 9:24). To believe that the Lord will hear prayer honors His faithfulness, His power, His love, and His generosity as well as His wisdom. To put a crown on the head of Him who saved you, believe that if you ask, He will give. (C. H. Spurgeon)

    Dearest God and Loving Father, Help me!

    According to Your Word, dear Lord, the key to not gratifying the desires of the flesh is to live by the spirit. Kindest Lord, help me to feed the spirit and not the flesh — for I know that changing the way I think will change the way I feel.

    Lord God, Almighty One, I acknowledge to You that, like the ancient Israelites, I eat but am often not satisfied. Help me not to confuse bodily appetites with hunger of the soul. Please help me discern a greater need when I cannot feel satisfied with earthly things. For You alone can truly satisfy the hungry soul.

    Christ Jesus, if You do not condemn me, I have no right to condemn myself. Help me not to get caught up in a defeating cycle of self-condemnation.

    Above all else, dearest God Father, help me to love You with all my heart and soul and strength and mind. And help me to love my fellow man as I would love myself, looking after his/her needs as a caring neighbor should, for that puts a smile on Your face. My loving Father, help me not to grieve the Holy Spirit, for Your joy is my strength.

    Jesus, Lord and Teacher, open our hearts to be attentive; that seeing, we may perceive, and hearing we may understand, and understanding, we may act upon Your Word — to the glory of God our Father. Amen.

  • Praying For My Family

    Father, Almighty and ever-loving, everlasting One, I pray a hedge of protection around my family and me. I know in doing so that You will set a wall of fire around us that no harm can penetrate. Thank You so much for setting Your angels around us. You are our fortress and our place of refuge. We will not be afraid of the terrors by night or any fiery dart satan can throw at us. Because You are our refuge, we know no evil shall befall us, no accident will overtake us, and no plague or calamity shall come near us that You have not given us strength to handle. You give Your angels charge over us to keep us in all Your ways. God Father, I trust You will deliver us from all evil, and be with us in times of trouble. I exalt You, my gracious Father, because You continue to show me and my family salvation every day! I will not look to the future with fear, but will concentrate on the present with faith in You. I love You, O Lord my Strength.

    Our whole family can be saved, for God has promised (Acts 11:14).

    I pray every member of my family will be saved and be invited to Your table. For You want everyone to be saved and to understand truth (1 Timothy 2:4). For Jesus said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26).

    I pray that our love for each other will overflow more and more, and that we keep growing in our knowledge and understanding of Your will; for I want to understand what really matters to You, so I may live pure and blameless until Christ Jesus returns. O please grant we be filled with the fruit of salvation — for this will bring much glory and praise to You, my God and King (Philippians 1:9-11).

    You, O Lord, have called us to demonstrate Your righteousness. You will guard and support us, for You have given us to Your people as confirmation of Your covenant with them. You will make us a light to guide all nations to You. We through You will open the eyes of the blind and free captives from their prisons, and release those who sit captive in darkness (Isaiah 42:6-7).

    I will teach the new disciples to obey all the commands Jesus has given us; and I will be sure that He is with me even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

    Listen! Hear the voice shouting make a highway for the Lord through the wilderness, make straight, smooth roads through the desert for our God. Fill the valley and level the hills, straighten out the curves and smooth off the rough spots. Then the Glory of the Lord will be revealed and all peoples will see it together (Isaiah 40:3-5).

    Jesus, my Lord, my Teacher, You reach into our lives not through instruction but through story. Open our hearts to be attentive; that seeing, we may perceive; and hearing, we may understand; and understanding, we may act upon Your Word. In Your name I stand before You and pray. Amen.

  • Pray Without Ceasing

    Father, in the name of Jesus, my Savior, I offer up thanksgiving and praise that You have called me to be a fellow workman with and for You (1 Corinthians 3:9). I commit myself to pray daily and not to turn coward or lazy — to faint, lose heart, or give up (Luke 18:1 Amplified). Fearlessly and confidently and boldly I draw near to Your Throne of Grace, that I may receive mercy and find grace to help in good time for every need (Hebrews 4:16).

    We need to be diligent in prayer. So much depends on prayer!

    Father God, I live in You and Your words remain in me and continue to live in my heart. Therefore I ask whatever I will and it shall be done for me, for when I produce fruit through prayer, You, Father, are honored and glorified (John 15:7-8). Whatever I ask for in prayer, I believe that it is granted to me, and so, believing, I will receive it (Mark 11:24). The earnest prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available (James 5:16). I am Your righteous because I am in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). So I pray to You.

    This is the confidence I have in You, that whenever I ask anything according to Your wonderful will, You will hear. And if I know You hear whatever I ask, I know I have what I have asked You for (1 John 5:14-15). I have total confidence in this because I makes sure to obey Your commands and stay abiding in You. Therefore I do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in every care, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, I continue to make my requests and needs known to You (Philippians 4:6).

    Dear Lord Jesus, You said, “According to your faith let it be done unto you.” (Matthew 9:29). You said that if we believed, we will receive what we ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22). Lord, As You mature my faith, teach me how to pray effectively, and what to ask of You in prayer. You said, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Mark 5:36). Help me not to be discouraged but to continue to pray and not to be afraid or doubtful; but only to believe and trust in You.