Prayer Basics
I trust your week is going well and you are resting in knowing that God is in complete control.
This coming January, I will have written on the subject of prayer and praise for three years and believe me, I have looked at these topics from right to left, left to right, up, down and inside and out! I have used every scripture reference I could find and read from others whom I really respect. From the hows, the whens, the wheres and the whys—I have covered prayer and praise as the Lord has directed.
So is there something I’ve left out? Is there something yet to be discovered? Probably so because like our Heavenly Father, who is many faceted, His Word and His Ways are past finding out! (Rom. 11:33) Just when you think you know all there is to know about a subject, you really come to realize, you are only just beginning!
Which brings me to this thought. From time to time, we should go back to the basics to refresh our hearts and our minds and to keep us on course as to the motives of prayer. With that in mind, here are 5 very basic and simple reasons we, as a church, dedicate one service every week to prayer and praise.
1. We pray because we love God.
We spend time with God in prayer and communion because we love him. Just as a man and woman in love desire to be together and communicate, so we - if we love God - will desire to be with Him and to fellowship with Him in proportion to our love for Him.
2. We pray because we depend on God.
God is our source. He is our life (Colossians 3:4). Through prayer we receive the comfort, the strength and all the other resources that we need in life - both naturally and spiritually. Prayer - relationship to God - is as necessary to the spiritual life as air to the natural life.
3. We pray in order to resist temptation.
“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” (Mt. 26:41). Much sin is the result of the sin of prayerlessness. Through lack of prayer, we are weak, and Satan gains the advantage in our lives.
4. We need to pray because it is necessary for men to invite God to act in salvation.
God gave the earth to Adam and his descendants. We must invite God to work here. If no-one invites God to work here, Satan (the god of this world through man’s universal rebellion - 2 Corinthians 4:4) will dominate the affairs of men. By inviting God often and specifically, multitudes can be saved that would otherwise be lost.
5. We need to pray because God commands us to pray.
“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2). “Then he [Jesus] spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1). The need to pray is as great as the authority of God which commands us: “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is so vital to all that God wants to do on the earth, and so essential to us, that God commands us to do it all the time.
So, considering these very basic thoughts, let’s join us hearts and our faith together as we agree this week for:
• A fresh passion for God’s presence in our Worship
• A fresh hunger for the Word of God
• A fresh fire of the Holy Ghost to inhabit us
• A fresh desire to see the glory of God revealed in us and through us
• A fresh zeal for the lost and for soul winning
o A fresh vision to see our city changed by the power of God—starting with our local neighborhoods
• A fresh faith for the supernatural healing and provision of God
• A fresh revelation on giving
Someone might say, “Ps Becky, I’m fine. My life is ok. I don’t need to come and pray.” Friends, prayer is not just about your needs. Corporate prayer is about the needs of others. Scriptures tell us in Gal 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Church, we want to encourage each one of you to join us this Wednesday night @ 6:30 in the lodge for a time of powerful, corporate prayer and praise. You will be so blessed by making that special effort.
Finally, don’t forget the new Sunday service times—9:00 am for Equip (great food and fellowship) and 10:00 am for one powerful service. Invite someone to come to the house of the Lord this weekend and let’s see their lives changed forever!
Have a fantastic week!
Ps Joe and Becky and the team