THE
SUSTAINING POWER OF PRAYER
BREAD
5 If
any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without
finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But
when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a
wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That
man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in
all he does. James 1:5-8 (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)
8 Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. 9 The LORD
has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD
accepts my prayer. 10 All my
enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace. Psalm
6:8-10 (NIV)
29 The LORD is far
from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs 15:29 (NIV)
13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the
room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew;
Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the
Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They
all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 1:13-14 (NIV)
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in
prayer. Romans 12:12 (NIV)
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and
thankful. Colossians 4:2 (NIV)
17 Pray continually. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. 7 And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
BREAD
“A prayerless soul is a Christless soul.” Charles Spurgeon
“Life doesn’t have to get easier to be good. All you have to do is just get closer to a good God. Commit to more than a prayer life. Make your life a prayer.” Ann Voskamp
“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
“Faith
is to prayer, what the feather is to the arrow; it feathers the arrow of
prayer, and makes it fly swifter, and pierce the throne of grace.” Thomas
Watson
“Our attitude of surrender and dependence upon God is best evidenced by our prayer life.” Chip Ingram
“Men may spurn our
appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons; but
they are helpless against our prayers.” J. Sidlow Baxter
“Prayer is infinitely powerful and a priceless privilege. It is abjectly humble and an absolute necessity.” Sylvia Gunter
“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
“Philippians 4:6 instructs us to pray about
everything. If Paul had wanted us to limit our praying to everything big, he
certainly would have told us. God is as interested in your small, seemingly
insignificant requests as he is your kingdom-level, life changing needs. God’s
interest in your prayers isn’t dependent upon their relative kingdom
weightiness. Its’ based on his love for and interest in you. Praying for the
little things teaches you to depend on God. Since prayer is communication and
dialogue with God, praying for little things teaches you to enjoy his presence. Seeking God in the little things increases
your gratitude and offers perspective. You
should pray for little things, because they often turn into big things.” Anonymous
“Pleading the promises
of God is the whole secret of prayer.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“‘Dost thou want nothing, O poor soul? Hast thou nothing to ask? Oh yes!
You say, a great deal. Well then,
draw near to thy gracious King and Bridegroom without fear. Lo! He
holds out His golden scepter to thee, saying, ‘Only ask: not the half, but the whole of My kingdom
shall be granted; nay, I will give myself unto thee!’ O dear soul, pray, and tell Him everything
that is wanting, be it ever so great or ever so small. His loving-kindness will hear even the least
petition; nay, He will seem to be ignorant of what thou dost not tell Him. But whatever is poured out before Him is
actually addressed and lodged in its proper place, and does not lie upon thy
heart any longer, but upon His heart, which cannot rest till you are
relieved. And if you have experienced
His help aforetime in great or small things, you may depend on His readiness to
help you out of troubles hereafter; only be earnest in prayer for His
help. We often imagine we were willing
and drawing near to Him, but He was unwilling, and refused our request; but it
is not so: He rather draws us, and
desires our relief more than we do; for it is He that works even this willing
mind.” K.H.
Von Bogatzky
“The
chief purpose of prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer.” R.A.
Torrey
“Groanings
which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.” Charles
H. Spurgeon
“The great
tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer but unoffered prayer.” F. B.
Meyer
HEART SAVOR
- · As His child, I am to be anxious about nothing rather pray about everything. Even though I am small, I have a very big God.
- · As a child has no problem running to their daddy for help and needs met, as God as my Father I should have no problem running to Abba either. The beloved of the Lord is to rest secure in Him for He shields him all day long.
- · Be faithful in prayer.
