Prayer

Wednesday July 6, 2011
Speaker:

In 1 Tim. 2:1-4 Paul write to Timothy exhorting him first of all to supplicate, pray, intercede, and give thanks for all men, for kings, and for all who are in authority. Our first ministry is to pray. It’s the first step in every endeavor. Praying is not just for a certain group of people but is what all believers are to do. Prayer is meant for answers. It is being with the Lord, but it will bring miracles and change. Spending time with God without getting answers is like spending time with Tiger Woods and never talking about golf with him. Don’t let the devil make you think that your prayers aren’t working. Your prayers for the President of our country are effective. You do have a sphere of influence; you will get more details when praying for those people and situations. Pastor Dale shares two experiences of answered prayer, one concerning the sale of a house and another concerning friends for his boys when they were living in Moscow. Prayer is the first step in being a Christian. You don’t need to know how to pray. Just do it! You’ll learn to pray by praying. You need to be encouraged to pray. There are different kinds of prayer: supplication, faith, salvation, consecration, thanksgiving, intercession, and others. Some prayers don’t work in certain situations. First John 5:14, 15 says that we can be confident that if we ask anything according to His will (what is in the Word), He will hear us, and that we will have the petitions that we have asked of Him. Your prayers will work when you know the will of God, so you don’t have to say, “If it is Your will.” We have confidence when we know what the will of God is from the Word of God. Pray to get the will of God. Then you can pray with knowledge. When we pray the Spirit will tell us what to pray. Eph. 6:18 says that we are to pray always with all manner of prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Intercession is praying for someone else. Your life of prayer is effective. The highest forms of prayer are praise and intercession.