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Let's talk about. . . .Prayer

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Posted by: JeriRose12

We pray on here a lot.

If you're like me, you want your prayers to be effective.

I am especially looking for guidelines from the Bible that explain HOW to pray effectively and explain why our prayers may not be getting answered.

Of course, I am not talking about prayers prayed opposite of God's will (like prayers that we can marry someone unsaved or prayers that God will bless living together in sin or other things we may be praying for that the Bible says are wrong).

My guiding principle is this:

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.

Then, of course, it is determining what the will of God is. . . .

Also, I can not think of any SCRIPTURES that tell us how to pray for the lost to get saved. I know many people have written various guidelines regarding this. . . .but I have not seen anyone quote a scritpure that tells us how we should prary for the unsaved. If I missed something that is in the Bible, by all means tell me. There are many prayers that Paul prayed for the saints, but is there a specific prayer for the non-believer?

~JeriRose~


Posted by: JeriRose12

Hear are some scriptures that say why our prayers may not be heard or may be hindered:

13 Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be heard. (Proverbs 21:13)

15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of blood.
16 “ Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor;
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.
18 “ Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
(Isaiah 1:15 - 17)

7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Peter 3:7)

13 And this is the second thing you do:
You cover the altar of the LORD with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
14 Yet you say, “For what reason?”
Because the LORD has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
15 But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
16 “ For the LORD God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

“ Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”
(Malachi 2:13 - 16)

12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12)

7 Yet from the days of your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

“ But you said,

‘ In what way shall we return?’

Do Not Rob God
8 “ Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,

‘ In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the LORD of hosts,

“ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the LORD of hosts;
12 And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
(Malachi 3: 7-12)

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
(Matthew 6:5 - 15)

23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23 & 24)

12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. (Daniel 10:12 & 13)


~JeriRose~


Posted by: Jon Henry

Quote:
Originally Posted by JeriRose12
Hear are some scriptures that say why our prayers may not be heard or may be hindered:

~JeriRose~
Amen and amen and amen sister Jeri


Posted by: eagle4him

Matt 18:14...that none would perish This is the will of God!

God promises to hear the prayers of the righteous and not those that live in sin.


"Therefore 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."
James 5:15-17


"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
1 Peter 3:11-13


Posted by: Rachel R

The Holy Spirit of God is within the Believer.

There is no where to send our prayers.

Prayers are conversations with God and God is INSIDE us.

There is prayer which is talking and listening to God and then there is taking the sword of the Spirit and speaking the Word of God into the earth.

There is binding and loosing. The connections we speak are supported by heaven, and the connections we break by speaking are supported by heaven.

Those aren't really prayer, they are declarations.

Jesus' only work now is to sit by the Father and back up the words that we speak. His work was finished on the cross.

Once he turned it all over to the church, he went to sit down by the Father (at his right hand) and now his work is to intercede for us. He makes sure that what we say is backed up.

That is what the sword of the Word is for. The only offensive weapon in the armor of God is speaking the Word.

What we speak comes to pass for good or evil. If we continually curse ourselves and others, those curses happen. We cooperate with the enemy and empower him to destroy. We block God's power. (When there was no faith it says in the Word that Jesus could not do much to help the people.)

When we speak in agreement with God and his purposes, we empower God to flow through the situation.

We are to rise up in the power supplied by God and become the people that we will be FOREVER.

Prayer is the interaction between Father and child, Brother and sibling and the messages are carried by the Holy Spirit within us.

Prayer is communication on a wonderful level.

Prayer is bringing the Kingdom. Now.

Rachel R




Posted by: walkin2e

Romans 8 verses, 27, 28




26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

And Jude verse 20:
20But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,


walkin2e


Posted by: JeriRose12

Yes, prayer is a wonderuful conversation with God (except when I start venting to Him ). And I always ask Him that my prayers may flow from a relationship with Him, BUT. . . .I am not satisfied that just having a conversation doesn't always seem to bring the results I am believing for. Again, I am not talking about anything contrary to His Word. I am talking, for instance, about asking Him to heal me, talking to Him about how much better I could do what I am called to do if He would heal me. And, yet, I am not healed. Yes, the conversation was great, and I grew closer to Him (the ultimate goal), but, if we are supposed to represent Christ in the earth, shouldn't I also no longer feel pain?

I thank you for your input, guys. Thanks for the scriptures. These are all encouraging me of things I may have forgotten when it comes to praying. I beleive the #1 result of prayer should be an intimate relationship with God, and I am achieving that. Just. . . .what would lead to seeing more miracles manifest?

We had a sermon today based on the story where Peter walked on water. That sermon was about God wanting us to pray RISKY prayers. Peter prayed something RISKY! I think we often are praying for something too small. . . .like, "Lord, give me the rent money," when maybe we are supposed to be praying "Lord, give me a place that I own, with NO payments owing." (Something I am praying right now.) God is too big for me to settle for praying "Give me an $8.00 an hour job." The minister today said he prayed, "Lord, bless this situation." The Lord stopped him and asked what he meant. The prayer really could mean many different things. God wants us to get specific. This minister is looking to start his own church, and now he is praying toward that. . . .and stepping out in faith and walking on water. . . .and believing God to rescue him should he sink and help him keep walking on water. . . .

For instance, when I pray to get healed, why do I WANT the healing? Just to feel better? Or am I praying the far riskier prayer of "Lord, heal me so I can have the stamina to travel to Africa?" (Just an example, though there is a girl there I would like to meet). I keep thinking God wants me well for a far bigger reason than flying around Taco Time like crazy, better able to keep up with the hectic pace. So. . . .am I praying risky prayers like, "Lord, if that's You, ask me to come to You," or safe prayers like, "Provide enough money for me to pay my bills." Especially with money, I believe we pray too small. We want money for bills, when God wants us to finance something MUCH BIGGER.

Well, even if I don't understand a lot about how prayer works, I now received an answer according to God's ears being open to the cry of the righteous. I cried out to Him about financial situations yesterday, and today my sister and I came up with a plan to help me get a lap top computer THIS WEEK. I have some saved; she owes me some; she can put it on credit, and I will make payments to her. Long story short: my prayers were answered!!!

This leads to another point I firmly believe about prayer. I want the lap top for my writing and for this prayer ministry. . . .so God is providing in a miraculous way something needed for ministry. I believe every one of my comuter miracles is because I use the computer mostly to do my ministry. I do not believe God is going to provide me with a fancy car, because what need do I have of it? I don't think it's necessarily wrong to own the fancy car, but, really, why do I need it? I NEED the lap top.

Yet, I do not even want to limit Him regarding the fancy car. Rich people who get their money by wicked living, have nice cars. So, I think it's OK for Christians living right to own them.

But if you look closely at the pattern in The New Testement church, they were given the money and nice things TO DO MINISTRY.

~Jerena~