PREVAILING
PRAYER
BREAD
17 pray
continually; 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)
1 Then
Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray
and not give up. 2 He
said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither
feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that
town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my
adversary.’ 4 For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even
though I don't fear God or care about men, 5 yet
because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so
that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!’ 6 And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And
will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day
and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell
you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of
Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’” Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)
16 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. 17 Elijah was a man just like us.
He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for
three and a half years. 18 Again
he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. James 5:16-18 (NIV)
18 And
pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18 (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)
12 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 3:12 (NIV)
8 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the
wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him. Proverbs 15:8 (NIV)
29 The Lord is far from the wicked but he hears
the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs
15:29 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Prayer
is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God,
through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such
things as God has promised, or according to His Word, for the good of the church,
with submission in faith to the will of God.”
John Bunyan
“Restraining
prayer, we cease to fight; Prayer makes the Christian’s armor bright; And Satan
trembles when he sees The weakest saint upon his knees.” William Cowper
“If
God knows what things we have need of, before we ask him, where lies the
advantage of
prayer?
If he is ready, of his own free will, to assist us, what purpose does it serve
to employ our prayers, which interrupt the spontaneous course of his
providence? The very design of prayer furnishes an easy answer. Believers do
not pray, with the view of informing God about things unknown to him, or of
exciting him to do his duty, or of urging him as though he were reluctant. On
the contrary, they pray, in order that they may arouse themselves to seek him, that
they may exercise their faith in meditating on his promises, that they may
relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into his bosom; in a
word, that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for
themselves and for others, all good things.”
John Calvin
“Prayer is
always the preface to blessing. It goes
before the blessing as the blessing’s shadow.
When the sunlight of God’s mercies rises upon our necessities, it casts
the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain.
Prayer is thus connected with the blessing to show us the value of
it. If we had the blessings without
asking for them, we should think them common things; but prayer makes our
mercies more precious than diamonds.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
“Prayer must be incessant and should not
lack desire, spirit, or action. The knees may not always be bent, but the
spirit is always in the act and communication of prayer. The spirit of prayer
should sweetly rule and adjust all times and occasions. Our activities and work
should be performed in the same spirit that makes our devotion and our prayer
time sacred. Blessed is the person of God who thus understand prayer, at any
point, at any time. A full current of prayer is seen flowing from him.” E.M.
Bounds
“The
prayer of the feeblest saint on earth who lives in the Spirit and keeps right
with God is a terror to Satan. The very
powers of darkness are paralysed by prayer; no spiritualistic séance can succeed
in the presence of a humble praying saint.
No wonder Satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work till we
cannot think in prayer.” Oswald
Chambers
HEART
SAVOR
·
Fervent
prayer pleases God.
·
Prayer
precedes blessing.
·
Satan
trembles when the saints pray.
