PLEASING
PRAYER
BREAD
12 Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 (NIV)
The
prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 5:16 (NIV)
7 What
other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray
to him?
Deuteronomy 4:7 (NIV)
14 if my
people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my
face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will
forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and
my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (NIV)
2 Listen
to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning
I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
Psalms 5:2-3 (NIV)
11 “For I
know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12 Then
you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from
captivity.”
Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NIV)
20 They
were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies
over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered
their prayers, because they trusted in him.
1 Chronicles 5:20 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Life is
war. That’s not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is
owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime
walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers
of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we
try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the
den. God has given prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call
headquarters for everything we need as the kingdom of Christ advances in the
world. Prayer gives us the significance of frontline forces and gives God the glory of a limitless Provider. The one who gives the power gets the glory.
Thus, prayer safeguards the supremacy of God in missions while linking us with
endless grace for every need.” John
Piper
“Their
fear set them a praying, and that was a good effect of it. God brings us into straits that He may bring
us to our knees.” Matthew
Henry
“There
comes a time, in spite of our soft, modern ways, when we must be desperate in
prayer, when we must wrestle, when we must be outspoken, shameless and
importunate. Many of the prayers
recorded in Scripture are ‘cries,’ and the Hebrew and Greek words are very
strong. Despite opinions to the
contrary, the Bible recognizes such a thing as storming heaven- ‘praying
through.’ The fervent prayer of a
righteous man is mighty in its working.” Cameron Thompson
“The
one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing
from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at
our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” Samuel
Chadwick
“Pleading the promises
of God is the whole secret of prayer.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer but
unoffered prayer.”
F. B. Meyer
“Prayer is a
shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan.” John
Bunyan
“God shapes the
world by prayer.” E.M.
Bounds
“In believing
prayer, we learn to connect our present troubles to the good and perfect will
of God. We refuse to believe that chance
rules our lives. We withstand the
temptation to imagine that God is capricious or malicious. We know he has a higher purpose and that he
is not dealing with us as our sins deserve. As we bring our troubles to Jesus in
prayer—asking his will to be done—we approve the will of our Father in heaven.
We see our sufferings in the greater reality of his good, acceptable, and
perfect will. In prayer we ‘turn crisis
to Christ.’ Our heart becomes tuned to
his heart and we sing the song of grace.”
John F. Smed
HEART
SAVOR
· I am to be
faithful in humble prayer. The fervent prayer
of God’s people avails much. Prayer is
the heritage of all who call upon the Lord.
· My prayers
are to be request not demands. God is God
and I am not. I am His servant. May it be to me what He deems best.
· God’s answers
to my prayers are always for my good and His glory.
