419 – Prayer Life

God

419 – Prayer Life

By Steve Jaynes

The following are the notes from “Prayer Life”. I have all the Scriptures written out so it will be easy for you to follow along. 

An active prayer life is one of the things that I've seen that helps in having a successful life. In the Scriptures, we can see some types of successful prayers. The lessons learned are precious in helping us have successful and more abundant lives.

Acts 13:1 – 3 “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. ³ And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”

Fasting means a method of devotion. Something you do to think about the things of God. Things to help you do that include study of God's Word, going to Bible studies, listening to teachings, and an active prayer life. This is a good thing for a group of people to do together. This podcast will examine examples of different types of active prayer life.

Matthew 6:1 – 18 “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. ² Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. ³ But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: ⁴ That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. ⁵ And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. ⁶ But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. ⁷ But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. ⁸ Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. ⁹ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. ¹⁰ Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. ¹⁴ For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: ¹⁵ But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. ¹⁶ Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. ¹⁷ But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; ¹⁸ That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

The majority of our prayer life is private between you and God. It's not for a show to others. It is not for a show of anything of any type. It is just between you and God. Let's look at some more exsamples of prayers.

Mark 1:35 – 38 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. ³⁷ And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. ³⁸ And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.”

Jesus got alone with God and then did what God wanted to be done. He didn't listen to the people. He listened to God and went to the next towns.

Acts 10:1- 2 “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, ² A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”

Cornelius prayed to God always. He was devoted and prayed.

Acts 10:9 “On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:”

Peter utilized some spare time while waiting for lunch to pray. He used his spare time for a profitable reason for himself and evidently for others as seen as you read the whole record.

Acts 10:30 – 31 “And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, ³¹ And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.”

Cornelius's prayers were heard. Our prayers will be heard also. Cornelius's was a memorial. And it is because we can read it in the Bible today. it's immortalized.

Acts 12:5 – 17 “Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. ⁶ And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. ⁷ And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. ⁸ And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. ⁹ And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. ¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. ¹¹ And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. ¹² And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. ¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. ¹⁴ And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. ¹⁵ And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.”

Acts 14:21 – 23 “And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, ²² Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. ²³ And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”

Acts 16:25 – 32 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. ²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. ²⁷ And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. ²⁹ Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, ³⁰ And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ³¹ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. ³² And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.”

Acts 20:32 – 36 “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. ³³ I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. ³⁴ Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. ³⁵ I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. ³⁶ And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.”

I look at this much like a football coach might do before a game when he brings his players in, and he says come on in here, guys, take a knee and then gives them the pet talk, saying hey, we got a mission today. We got something to do. Let's get out there and give our best in that type of thing.

In the next episode, we'll look at the effect of the holy spirit and perfect prayer.

God Bless You Abundantly

Steve

If you want to keep informed of all we are doing here with our podcast, you can look at the website. Here's the link.

https://stevejaynes.com/

Podcast listeners, You are invited to Zoom this Sunday at 10:30 AM EST. All you need to do is click on the website (https://stevejaynes.com/zoom-dial-in) and attend the meeting. We do the zoom most of the time.

Thank you to all who help support The More Abundant Life podcast. We are a listener-supported podcast. I want to thank those who generously give to keep the podcast available. The podcast is heard worldwide by those who want to know how to understand the Bible when they read it accurately. Your support helps keep the accuracy of The Word available around the world as listeners can freely avail themselves of these podcasts wherever they get their podcast. Once again, thank you for supporting me. 

We believe the Bible is the revealed Word and will of God. The Bible means what it says and says what it means. We let the Word of God speak for itself by using keys and principles on how the Bible interprets itself. By being 100% listener-supported, we do not sell any part of the podcast. The podcast is for only those who favor letting the Word of God speak for itself. If you want to support the podcast, you can visit the website: stevejaynes.com. On the top of every page, there's a donate button.

Don’t forget to rate the show and give it a good review. An excellent rating could make the show available to more people.

The Announcer: Maurice Coleman

Intro and Outro Music: Larry LoVerme's version of “Be Thou My Vision.” 

To get in contact with Steve to ask questions or share something feels free to email or text me. If you would like to have a conversation, let’s set up an appointment to have the call. Tell me the best time, morning, afternoon, or evening, and which day or day will work for you. I would need to know the time zone. I will get back to you with the day and time.

I would love to hear from you and talk with you.

[email protected], 207-595-1577 (Please start with a text first so that we both will have the time to communicate fully.)