UNCEASING
PRAYER
BREAD
16 Be
joyful always; 17 pray
continually; 18 give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ
Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
35 Very
early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Mark 1:35 (NIV)
13 Is any
one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of
praise. 14 Is any
one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and
anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in
faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has
sinned, he will be forgiven. 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 5:13-18 (NIV)
2 Devote
yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God
may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ,
for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Colossians 4:2-4 (NIV)
14 They
all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 1:14 (NIV)
42 They
devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts
2:42 (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)
12 Epaphras,
who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always
wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God,
mature and fully assured. Colossians
4:12 (NIV)
12 Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 (NIV)
BUTTER
“And
we do well to remember that this gracious God, who has condescended to place
His almighty power at the command of believing prayer looks not lightly on the
blood guiltiness of those who neglect to avail themselves of it for the benefit
of the perishing….” Hudson Taylor
“Prayer is not an indifferent or a small
thing. It is not a sweet little privilege. It is a great prerogative,
far-reaching in its effects.” E.M. Bounds
“I believe the excellence of
prayer often consists in its brevity.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
“We are never more like Christ than in prayers of intercession.” Austin Phelps
“The chief purpose of prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer.” R. A. Torrey
“The work of praying is prerequisite to all other work in the Kingdom of God. It is by prayer that we couple the powers of heaven to our helplessness … and make the impossible possible.” O. Hallesby
“If you want that splendid power in prayer — you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ.” C. H. Spurgeon
“When my eye is
filled with my own management of things, I am not prepared to see God acting
for me; and, in that case, prayer is not the utterance of my need, but the mere
superstitious performance of something which I think ought to be done, or it
may be, asking God to sanctify my plans. This will never do. It is not asking
God to sanctify and bless my means, but it is asking Him to do it all
Himself. We have to get over the idea
that prayer is giving God advice on how to accomplish our plan.” CH
Macintosh, 1879
“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
“God is at work in response to our prayers, whether we see something
happening or not. If we are truly praying, ‘Thy will be done,’ forces are at
work beyond our comprehension--and often, beyond our vision. But they are
working just the same.” David
Jeremiah
“God
shapes the world by prayer.” E. M.
Bounds
“The
Word of God represents all the possibilities of God as at the disposal of true
prayer.” A. T. Pierson
“If
there is one thing I think the Church needs to learn, it is that God means
prayer to have an answer, and that it hath 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.” Andrew
Murray
“‘When
I get to China,’ I thought to myself, ‘I shall have no claim on anyone for
anything. My only claim will be on
God. How important to learn, before
leaving England, to move man, through God, by prayer alone.’” Hudson Taylor
“If we are consistent men and women who take God at His word, who
believe that prayer changes things, who will pray without ceasing, who will not
lose heart at our praying, who day after day will pray no matter what seems to
be happening around us, who keep trusting God, then there will come a time
when God will say, ‘I can answer that believer's prayer because that's a person
who can handle the answer.’”
David Jeremiah
HEART SAVOR
- · God delights in the prayers of His children.
- · The One Who gives the power gets the glory.
- · Jesus tells us: 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:9-13 (NIV)
