Prayer

In Luke 11:1, one of Jesus' disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray." It was obvious that Jesus' strength came from His time in prayer.

What is prayer?

Basically, prayer is communication between you and God. "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)

Just try to think of trying to cope with your problems if there was no way to communicate with God. Remember that God created us for fellowship with Him. He desires that we learn to spend time with Him in prayer.

Why Do People Fail to Pray?
We often convince ourselves that we can make it without prayer.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

How to Pray
Be real; be yourself. You must be honest, genuine, open with God. "Who may stand before the Lord? Only those who do not practice dishonesty and lying." Psalm 24:3-4

Come before God as a child. "The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child." Matthew 18:4

Talk to God as you would a friend. "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend." Exodus 33:11

Pray without ceasing. "Pray at all times." 1 Thes. 5:17
Pray with persistence. "Pray and never give up." Luke 18:1
Pray believing. ".... all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you." Mark 11:24
Prayers must be specific. Pray generally -- you'll never know. Pray specifically -- you'll see God at work.

God always answers prayer, in His time.
God sometimes says, "No."
God sometimes says, "Wait."
God sometimes says, "Yes," and can even say "Yes" but in a different way than you expected. Usually when you seek God, and you are praying according to His will, He will answer your prayer far beyond what you could ever dream.

Pray with action.
A prayer can never take the place of action. Like love, it must be expressed in action and not merely words. "Be ye doers of the word." James 1:22

Don't just pray:
"Dear God, please help John today. I know that he is having a problem and needs Your help."

Example of how to pray:
"Dear God, I really hurt for John. I want Your will for his life to be accomplished today. If there is any way that You can use me, I am available. Please make me sensitive to any doors that You might open to use me in his life today." Be specific for his needs according to God's will and for your needs in this request as well.

Elements of a Prayer
Remember A-C-T-S.

A - Adoration is praising God for who He is. This can be done by reading scriptures of praise or through music.
C - Confession is agreeing with God about your sin. True confession always includes repentance, which is a change in your life. Confession is important for spiritual growth.
T - Thanksgiving is thanking God for what He has done.
S - Supplication means requests. These are the things that you ask God for. There are two categories.

1. Petition is praying for our own needs. We pray when we are in a bind. We pray for our daily needs. We need to pray for character development, physical abilities and material needs.
2. Intercession is praying for others, for salvation as well as areas listed above. "...far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you." 1 Samuel 12:23

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