You ought to ALWAYS pray. (Episode 6)

Luke 18:1
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

 

The sin of not praying.

Prayer is communication with God.  Jesus told us to always pray.  You can tell a spiritual contender from a pretender by their prayer.  

The Spirit knows spirit.  Luke 21:36

There are people that stand up in church and start TALKING but they are not praying.  There are people that in their minds they are praying but their words are not going further than a few feet in front of their mouths.

How do you NOT do that?

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.  

First, you focus on the greatness of God rather than the greatness of the problem.  A good prayer starts off with thanksgiving.  Giving thanks for the greatness of God.  Praising Him for being God.  There are many gods in this world.  Make sure you do as Jesus did when he said “Our Father which art in heaven” (King James Version).  Be specific.  This prayer is actually more about who God is than anything else. Great prayers always are.  When you focus, putting your spiritual aim on the Kingdom of God.  And take your eyes off the world, you can see.  

Secondly, pray God's words back to Him.  That is why David said “this words have I hid in my heart”  You have to learn the words of the Bible for yourself.  No priest, preacher or clergy person is needed to pray for you.  

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5

The concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. First, the New Testament does not teach that there are to be priests in the New Covenant. Instead, the New Testament teaches that all believers are priests. 1 Peter 2:5-9 describes believers as a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood.” Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 both describe believers as “a kingdom and priests.” In the Old Covenant, the faithful had to approach God through the priests. The priests were mediators between the people and God. The priests offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. That is no longer necessary. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can now approach God’s throne with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). The temple veil tearing in two at Jesus’ death was symbolic of the dividing wall between God and humanity being destroyed. We can approach God directly, ourselves, without the use of a human mediator. Why? Because Jesus Christ is our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15; 10:21), and the only mediator between us and God (1 Timothy 2:5). The New Testament teaches that there are to be elders (1 Timothy 3), deacons (1 Timothy 3), bishops (Titus 1:6-9), and pastors (Ephesians 4:11) – but not priests.

And this is why many people have become disillusioned with God or their faith has been shattered.  They have relied upon infallible man to pray for them or to.  

And don’t just repeat the same prayer.  Repeating the Lord’s prayer is a vain repetition.  The Bible says not to do that.  We have adults still saying “now I lay me down to sleep”.  When are you going to grow up from that?

The early believers actually prayed God's promises and God's words right back to Him. We should pray on His promises, too. 

Thirdly, pray specifically for your response to the situation.  Consider the model prayer meeting in Acts 4:24.  The powerful council that had arranged for Jesus' crucifixion has now ordered Jesus' disciples to shut up about Jesus or else. Peter and John reported this to the believers a very volatile situation. Here was their response.

"When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. 'Sovereign Lord,' they said, 'You made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through Your servant David: 'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?' Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak Your word with great boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs...'"

Now, here's the result of their prayer: "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the Word of God boldly." 

Here you go: powerful prayer - explosive results. Let's pray like that if you want to get results like that. We can learn some of the secrets of dynamite prayer from how these early believers prayed under life-threatening pressure. 

Here’s the recap:

First, you focus on the greatness of God rather than the greatness of the problem. This prayer is actually more about who God is than anything else. Great prayers always are.

Secondly, pray God's words back to Him. The early believers actually prayed God's promises and God's words right back to Him. We should pray on His promises, too. Thirdly, pray specifically for your response to the situation. They prayed for boldness. The situation isn't what will decide this. It will be how you choose to respond to the situation. 

Finally, pray for things only God could do - boldness when you feel like running - miracles to show people God's glory.

Frankly, our prayers are often so small, so predictable, so unworthy of the great God with whom we're talking. When you pray to a very big God for very big things, beginning with big things to happen in you, prepare for something explosive to happen. That will be the sound of your God blowing the lid off things!

You see, I am not a just a preacher of the Gospel.  I didn’t learn this in school.  I learned this in life.  I am a recipient of God’s blessings.  I’m jaded.  You can’t impress me because I know God.  You can say anything you’ve done that I won’t give him credit for.  I know the author and finisher of my faith.  

You know it is a sin not to pray.  You can’t represent God as an ambassador without a prayer life.  You can’t really be a real officer of a church without a prayer life.  Don’t fool yourself.  And don’t surround yourself with other fools that agree with you.  

Practice makes saints.

 

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Love you,

Kenn