Prayer

Prayer

Prayer is Commanded:

      Phil. 4:6 ¶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Prayer is to be offered:

To God,  Psa. 5:2 Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God, For to You I will pray. 

To Christ, Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Through Christ,  Heb. 10:19 ¶ Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

God hears,  Psa. 65:2 O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.

God Answers,  Is. 58:9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;You shall cry, and He will say, “Here I am.’
‘If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

Prayer is described as:

Bowing the Knees, Eph. 3:14 ¶ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

Looking up, Psa. 5:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.

Lifting up the soul, Psa. 25:1 ¶ To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

Lifting up the heart, Lam. 3:41 Let us lift our hearts and hands
To God in heaven.

Pouring out the heart, Psa. 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, you people Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

Pouring out the soul, 1Sam. 1:15 ¶ But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

Calling upon the name of the Lord, Gen. 12:8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

Crying to God, Psa. 34:6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

Drawing near to God, Psa. 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

Crying to heaven, 2Chr. 32:20  Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven.
Should be offered up:

In the Holy Spirit, Eph. 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

In Faith, James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

In full Assurance, Heb. 10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water

In a forgiving spirit, Matt. 6:12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.

With the whole heart, Jer. 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

With humility, 2Chr. 33:12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

With truth, Psa. 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

With desire to be heard, Neh. 1:6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.

With a desire to be answered, Psa. 102:2 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your ear to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
Night and day, 1Tim. 5:5 Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

Without ceasing, 1Th. 5:17 pray without ceasing,

Everywhere, 1Tim. 2:8 ¶ I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

In everything, Phil. 4:6 ¶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Accompanied With:

Repentance, 1Kings 8:33 ¶ “When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple,

Confession, Neh. 1:4,7 ¶ So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Neh. 1:7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.

Weeping, Hos. 12:4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in Bethel,
And there He spoke to us—

Self-abasement, Gen. 18:27 ¶ Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:

Fasting, Acts 13:3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

Watchfulness, Luke 21:36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Praise, Psa. 66:17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.

Thanksgiving, Col. 4:2 ¶ Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

Prayers are granted:

Through the Grace of God, Is. 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more.
He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears He will answer you.

Sometimes immediately, Dan. 10:12 ¶ Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.

Sometimes after delay, Luke 18:7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?

Sometimes differently from our desires, 2Cor. 12:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
2Cor. 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Beyond expectation, Eph. 3:20 ¶ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

Jude 1:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,

And to present you faultless

Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 

Jude 1:25 To God our Savior,

Who alone is wise,

Be glory and majesty,

Dominion and power,

Both now and forever.

Amen. 

Ken Clouse, 

NE Mi. Ref. Soc. Lay Member