Prayer
Bibleway Christian Life Centre

Prayer – Part 1

1. What Is Prayer

A. Prayer is Communion with God i.e. communicating with God by talking with Him out loud. (Ps. 5:1-3, 142:1-2) It is by prayer that we make our requests known unto God (Phil 4:6-7), thus taking the situations, circumstances, cares and experiences of life out of our hands and putting them into God’s. (1 Pet 5:7, Ps. 55:22).
B. Prayer is a general term encompassing all of the many expressions of communication between man and God.

2. Why Must We Pray?

A. Because God takes pleasure in your prayer. (Prov. 15:8, Ps. 65:2)
B. Without prayer your relationship with God breaks down. (Ps. 32:3-4)
C. Because you will get nothing from God without prayer (Jam. 4:1-2, Lk. 11:9)
D. Through prayer you can have whatsoever you desire (Mk. 11:24, Ps. 37:4-5)
E. Because through prayer you experience deliverance and protection from the Devil’s power, e.g., temptation. (Matt. 6:13; 26:41)
F. Prayerlessness is sin. (Jam. 4:17, 1 Sam. 12:23)

We can now see that without a consistent prayer life our Christian experience remains nothing but a hollow shell.

3. How Do We Pray?

A. The Bible lists four basic categories, avenues, methods of prayer (1 Tim 2:1). These are as follows:

* Supplications: This is primarily Asking, Seeking and Knocking. (Matt. 7:7-8, Lk. 11:9-10)
* Prayers: This refers to general, routine prayers, e.g., food blessing, journeying mercy, spontaneous short prayer for a specific need. (Mark 6:41)
* Intercession: This is intense prayer on behalf of, or in the place of, others. (Jer. 27:18, Rom. 8:26)
* Giving of thanks: This is where you spend time in thanksgiving, praise and worship before God. (Ps. 101:1)

B. The Lord’s Prayer is the perfect pattern for prayer, in that it includes all of the above 4 categories. (Matt. 6:913, Luke 11:1-4) Please notice the order of prayer:

1. Praise/acknowledgement
2. Spiritual things/the Kingdom
3. Material needs/wants
4. Cleansing and protection from evil
5. Praise and thanksgiving

NB: This prayer begins and ends with praise and it puts spiritual things before material things. It involves repentance and is unselfish. This is the perfect pattern for prayer.

C. We must pray in the name of Jesus, i.e., on the grounds of His righteousness and not ours. (Without His Name our check will not be cashed by Heaven’s bank) (Jn. 14:13-14, Col. 3:17)

D. We must pray in faith, believing that God hears and that He will answer. (Heb. 11:6, Mk. 11:23-24)

4. When Should We Pray?

A) Every morning
B) Every night
C) In the time of need
D) As often as we can
Ps. 5:1-3, Mk. 1:35
Ps. 88:1-2, 55:17
Ps. 4:1, 46:1-4, 142:1-7
Eph. 6:18

Practical Application of the Lesson

The only way that you can practically apply this lesson is to begin praying, i.e., talking to God aloud. The very best time to pray is early in the morning. The Lord’s Prayer pattern was clearly designed to be prayed at this time. Make it your practice to use this pattern every morning before you start the day until it becomes habitual.

As you develop consistency in this area, you will begin to discover the dynamics and the joys of prayer. This will take your relationship with God into heights and depths beyond anything you could currently imagine. It is impossible to explore the wonderful world of Christian life without first going through the door of prayer.

Prayer – Part 2
Home Bible Study

Introduction

Prayer is the great means by which Christians come into the presence of God to worship Him and to receive from Him the guidance, the help and the strength which they need at all times. Prayer is a daily necessity for the believer and therefore every Christian should set aside regular times each day to spend in personal prayer and Bible reading. The most powerful and influential person in the world is the Christian who knows how to pray and to get his prayers answered. To be able to pray in this way we must follow carefully the instructions of God’s Word, which are set out in this study, and we must have the help of the Holy Spirit.

1. With what two things should we enter God’s presence? (Ps. 100:4)

a) _________________________________

b) _________________________________

2. What happens when we draw near to God? (Jam. 4:8) ________________________________

3. When should we pray?

a) Lk. 18:1, Eph. 6,18 ______________________________________________

b) Ps. 5:3 ________________________________________________________

c) 1 Chr. 16:11 ___________________________________________________

d) 1 Thess. 5:17 ___________________________________________________

e) Lk. 18:7 _______________________________________________________

4. What kind of prayer produces great results? (Jam. 5:16) ________________________________

5. If we want God to hear and answer our prayers, what must we do?

a) Jn. 9:31_________________________________________________________

b) 1 Jn. 3:22 _______________________________________________________

c) Mk. 11:24, Jam. 1:6-7 _____________________________________________

6. How did David say he would begin each day? (Ps. 5:3) _________________________________

7. At what three times did David decide to pray each day? (Ps. 55:17)

a) _______________________________

b) _______________________________

c) _______________________________

8. For whom should we pray particularly?

a) 1 Tim. 2:1-2 _______________________________________________

b) Eph. 6:18 _________________________________________________

c) Matt. 9:38 ________________________________________________

9. What are two of the things that should accompany our prayer? (Eph. 6:18)

a) _____________________________________

b) _____________________________________

10. In whose prayer does the Lord delight? (Prov. 15:8) ___________________________________

11. What should a Christian do instead of worrying? (Phil. 4:6) ____________________________

12. In whose name should we pray, and with what motive? (Jn. 14:13) _______________________

13. Upon what two conditions may we ask for what we will from God?

a) _____________________________________________

b) _____________________________________________

14. Write down four things, found in the following verses, which will hinder the answers to our prayers.

a) Ps. 66:18 __________________________________________

b) Jam. 1:6-7 _________________________________________

c) Jam. 4:3 ___________________________________________

d) 1 Pet. 3:7 __________________________________________

15. In order to overcome satanic forces, what must we sometimes join with prayer? (Mk. 9:29) ___________________________________________________________________

16. If we have anything against another person, what should we do before we pray? (Mk. 11:25) ____________________________________________________________________

17. If we pray according to the will of God, of what two things may we be confident? (1 Jn. 5:14-15)

a) __________________________________________________

b) __________________________________________________

18. When we do not have strength or knowledge to pray aright, who helps us to pray according to God’s will? (Rom. 8:26-27) _______________________________________________________

19. If we meet with other Christians for prayer in the name of Jesus, what promise has Jesus given us? (Matt. 18:20) _______________________________________________________________

20. What two wrong mental attitudes must we guard against when praying? (1 Tim. 2:8)

a) _______________________________________________________

b) _______________________________________________________

21. If we are praying alone, what does Jesus tell us to do? (Matt. 6:6) ____________________________________________________________________________

22. How does Jesus say that this kind of prayer will be rewarded? (Matt. 6:6) ____________________________________________________________________________

23. What is the result of getting our prayers answered? (Jn. 16:24) ____________________________________________________________________________

Memory Work

John 15:7 – Write out this verse from memory:
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This article ‘Prayer’ was excerpted from Milk of the Word: Discipleship Manual by Bibleway Christian Life Centre. 1993. It may be used for study & research purposes only.