Prayer

What is Prayer?

Prayer is simply talking to God. It is a dialogue between God and us. Prayer is more than just words, it is an attitude and an expression of our hearts toward God. 


Who Can Pray?

Psalms 66:18-19 (18) If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened, (19) but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. The word translated "cherished" means primarily to "see" or to "look." Then it comes to mean to "look at with favor", to "respect", "approve." God will not hear the man who is in his heart looks upon sin with any favor or allowance, God looks at sin with abhorrence.  He is of "purer eyes than to behold evil."

Our prayers are prayed to God in the name of Jesus (John 14:13, 14; 1 Timothy 2:5). 

God desires that we ask of Him (Matthew 7:7). 

When we pray we should seek whatever God's will is for the situation.  

We are told to ask anything according to His will (1 John 5:14 & 15).


The Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer is the model prayer.  Jesus tells us how to pray, not what to pray (Matthew 6:5-15, Luke 11:2-4). 


Five Parts of Prayer

  1. Adoration - Worship begins and ends with who God is! Why should God be adored? (See Deuteronomy 10:21)
  2. Confession - Admit your specific sin.  View your sin as God sees it. Ask God to make you aware of your sins (those known and unknown) - 1 John 1:9.
  3. Thanksgiving - Express your gratitude for all that God has done for you (Hebrew 13:15; 1 Thessalonian 5:18).
  4. Supplication - Make specific requests to God (Psalms 20:4 & 5).
  5. Intercession - Pray for the needs of others, who are sick, need help, need to be saved, etc. (Romans 8:26, I Timothy 2:1, Hebrews 7:25)


Pray the Word of God

Remind God of His promises in the Bible (not that he needs to be reminded).  Some of His promises are found in Luke 12:31-32. Romans 4:21, 1 John 5:14-15, 3 John 1:2.


Conditions of Prayer

Prayer must be done with a thankful and clean heart. Our motives and intentions must be right when we o to God in prayer (Psalms 51:10, Philippians 4:6). We can hinder our own prayers (Psalms 66:18, James 4:3, and Matthew 6:5).