Prayer

To become an expert in the field of prayer is to discover that nothing can be withheld – also to
discover that it is not possible to become an expert, only a slightly more experienced novice.
Dan Brooks

To attempt to cover prayer in any depth in this class is patently impossible. For those familiar
with prayer, we know it is multifaceted, living and changing. It breathes life where there is
death, it speaks into existence things that cannot be spoken, it bypasses laws of nature and man,
and it is specifically formatted for each believer exactly the way God want to communicate.

First, we have to understand what prayer is and is not.

The first thing is, prayer can only occur if it has the ear of God. If it does not contact God, if it is
words spoken out of memory or function, then it is not prayer, but a recitation.

Prayer is both easy and difficult. It is God which provides the power and authority behind the
prayer, it is us who devote the time and energy required to make prayer effective.

Prayer has two definite purposes.

1) to consummate the relationship between us and God.
2) To affect the will of god upon the earth

Prayer has a currency – faith. Prayer is an investment in the currency and the expenditure of it.
Without prayer, faith has little to motivate it. A prayer of true faith has the power to do
everything that God is capable of performing.

Prayer should never be toil – it might be labor and it might be grievous but it should never be
toil. Prayer should always bring peace and comfort or at least speak peace and/or comfort into a
situation.

Prayer is the vehicle that takes us from the carnal to the spiritual. It can take us outside the
realms of our bodies, and even transport us from one place to another.

Prayer is purposeful; it is driven by desire, a fundamental desire to be closer to the savior of our
souls. Without prayer, we would have no method of interacting with God on a spiritual level.

Of all the disciplines, this one act is central to their success. It ushers us into perpetual
communication with the Father.

Meditation is inner focused and examines us from the inside.

Fasting is a means of enhancement of prayer
Study transforms our minds.
Prayer brings us to the deepest and highest work of the human spirit.

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William Carey “Prayer – secret, fervent, believing prayer – lies at the root of all personal
godliness.”

To pray is to change. It is the central avenue that God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling
to change, then we will quickly abandon prayer as a useless commodity in our lives. It is not
possible to truly pray and not be changed. Prayer brings us closer to the heartbeat of God, close
to the revealing light of his presence. When we prayer, his powerful presence will enhance our
need to change. William Blake described these as “beams of love”. How unfortunate is it that
many of us spend a great deal of time and effort to construct “beam proof” dwellings. As we
prayer, he slowly and carefully reveals these structures and sets us free from them. It is not a
work of our own hands; it is a work of prayer.

James 4:3 KJVR Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it
upon your lusts.

James 4:1-3 MSG Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from?
Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your
own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. (2) You lust for what you don't have
and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get
your hands on it. You wouldn't think of just asking God for it, would you? (3) And why
not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to. You're spoiled
children, each wanting your own way.

In prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God’s thoughts; to desire the things and he desires; to
love the things that he loves; to will the things that he wills.

This point of view is not overnight, it is progressive, slowly taken shape within us at a pace that
only God can prescribe.

Prayer is something that should be an integral part of our lives.

Mark 1:35 MSG While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a
secluded spot and prayed.

Great men of prayer, page 34.

We become discouraged, believing that these giants of faith are so far beyond what we are
capable of, that we despair in the attempt.

God always meets us where we are, not where we are going to be.

We will change and grow with Godly training and experience.

If everything in the universe is set, God knows the beginning from the end, why pray?

The bible teaches differently.

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1 Corinthians 3:9 KJVR For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry,
ye are God's building.

Epictitus: We can never fail to be happy, he argued, if we learn to desire that things should be
exactly as they are.

Those who pray boldly are able to change Gods mind.

Exodus 32:10-11 KJVR Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against
them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. (11)
And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax
hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with
great power, and with a mighty hand?... (14) And the LORD repented of the evil
which he thought to do unto his people.

Jonah 3:10 KJVR And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and
God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

This should come as liberation – what you are going through is not necessarily
permanent. Through prayer, it can be changed.

This is also a great burden. The evil in the world becomes our responsibility to labor
against.

Is this enough motivation?

Learning to pray

There are enough books written about prayer to fill an entire library and reading any
one of them might provide insight into a misunderstood area. But, if you wish to
become a true student of prayer, which ones to you read?

Some good books to choose from:

E M Bounds
Andrew Murray
Watchman Nee
Smith Wigglesworth

These books can teach you from anecdotal points of view.

We can no more learn how to learn from a book than we can learn about our spouses or
our children from a book. It is not possible.
We must become a student of the master.

What did the master teach compared to what we do?

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Never conclude any prayer with the words “if it be thy will” unless it is a prayer of
submission.

To pray “what is your will” is entirely different and acceptable. In fact, this prayer
should permeate our existence.

To pray effectively, one must know the will of God concerning a matter. For this reason,
the vast majority of prayer should be a time of listening, not speaking.

In every way, prayer is an exploration of God and us. P.T. Foresythe says “prayer is to
religion what original research is to science.”

Prayer is a learning process. It requires research and reflection on its effectiveness and
depth. For this reason, the prayer journal is an essential tool to discovery.

If something does not work in prayer, it does not mean that prayer does not work. If TV
does not work, we do not declare that the science behind the TV is faulty.

We can determine if our prayers are affective if the thing that we pray begin to come to
pass. If they don’t work, then adjustments are necessary.

One of the most critical aspects of praying for others is to be in contact with God so that
his life and power can flow through us into others. We often assume that we are in
contact when we are not. You can pray with all the faith of the world, but if God does
not hear your prayer, it is wasted. Prayer without the ear of God is vain repetition.

Matthew 6:7 KJVR But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for
they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Don’t begin on the larger and weightier matters first. Start with the small items. You are
welcome to pray for cancer, but if you have not had a prayer answered concerning a
headache, how effective are you? A success in small corners leads to success in larger
areas. If we are patient, listen well, and are still, we will learn not only who God is but of
his power.

Lets look at the bible.

Luke 11:1-4 KJVR And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when
he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught
his disciples. (2) And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in
earth. (3) Give us day by day our daily bread. (4) And forgive us our sins; for we also
forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us
from evil.

We often look at this as a prayer, but it is not.

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It is a formula for prayer.

Part 1)
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Recognize who it is that you are talking to. Do not be quick to bypass this point.
Regardless of how dire your problem is, if you have time to pray, it is important to
obtain his ear first. This is worship and adoration.

Read the psalms, praise him, and worship him. Don’t leave until you feel that he has
given you his undivided attention. This is where everything is personal and you find
what God put in you as the tool to worship him.

Sing; dance; jump; whatever God has put in you to do for him, do that as a sacrifice.

Part 2)
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

It is important to know his will concerning the matter before ever going any farther.
May time, the Holy Spirit will take over and pray for us – we do not need to question
what is being prayed for the spirit knows exactly what is needed.

Part 3)
Give us day by day our daily bread.

Notice the focus of the prayer – it is for others and their needs. Everything in your
prayer should be primarily for others. If you spend all your time in prayer for yourself,
you will become weak because god gives us strength that we might serve others.

Part 4)
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

Repentance and cleansing of our sins – again this is a collective. If you are praying for
someone to be healed, would a better healing be of their sins?

Part 5)
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Prayer for strength and protection of the collective.

Notice that there was only a very small amount for you. Sometimes, it may be necessary
to pray just about you, but it should not be the norm. Prayer for others will net you what
you need for yourself, without a problem.

A place of prayer should be private. I at one time actually tried to pray in a closet, but
that did not work well.

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Matthew 6:5-6 KJVR 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.

This, for some people, is very difficult to come by. If you need time to pray and you have
a small house, go into some room, close the door behind you. Tell everyone that you are
going to prayer and please don’t disturb you.

It is very important that a time of separation in prayer be found. We are trying to

communicate with the one who puts the stars in place. Does he desire a few minutes of
dedicated time?

When you pray, we may become concerned at our lack of faith. The bible tells us that we
can get what we need through a grain of mustard seed, but it also says “help my
unbelief”.

One of the primary keys to praying effectively is passion. Are we praying because we feel
we need to or are we truly interested in our prayers being answered. We re to pray for
people not as things but as people we genuinely love.

If we have God given compassion, our faith for them will grow. An inner sense of
compassion is the truest sense that our prayer is in his will. We may introduce
meditation upon a specific person to determine Gods will. If it is Gods will that you
pray, you will feel peace or compassion. If you feel dread or misgivings, then don’t pray.

Some things are put into people’s lives for them to learn, and if we are putting our
efforts into trying pray those things out, then our prayers will be ineffective.

How long should a prayer be? How long does it need to be?

How often should we pray?

Ephesians 6:18 KJVR Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Ephesians 6:11-18 MSG So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made
weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to
everything the Devil throws your way. (12) This is no afternoon athletic contest that
we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-
death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. (13) Be prepared. You're up
against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every
weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your
feet. (14) Truth, righteousness, (15) peace, (16) faith, (17) and salvation are more
than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's
Word is an indispensable weapon. (18) In the same way, prayer is essential in this

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ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes
open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.