Prayer Basics, 1of5

~ Techniques of Prayer ~

“Teach us what we should say to Him” (Job 37:19a).  In this five part series we will look at Techniques of prayer, Types of prayer, Essentials of prayer, Effective prayer, and Topics of prayer. 

How To Pray

Pray with words, pray for forgiveness, and praise God in your prayers.  “Take words with you, and return to the Lord.  Say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips’” (Hosea 14:2).

Pray to God alone—do not pray for a response from others, and pray sincerely not with mere mechanical repetition of words.  “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.  And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen” (Matthew 6:6-13).

Pray to God with other like-minded Christians.  “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19-21).

Pray with confidence.  “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed” (Luke 1:1-4).

When To Pray

Pray in the morning.  “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up” (Psalm 5:3).  “But to You I have cried out, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before You” (Psalm 88:13). 

Pray throughout the day.  “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17).  “Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long” (Psalm 86:3). 

Pray day and night.  (O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You” (Psalm 88:1). 

Pray late at night.  “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25). 

Pray always.  “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). 

Pray when you’re in trouble.  “Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers” (2 Chronicles 33:12).  Note: there are many Psalms which speak about prayer when in trouble. 

Pray when you are emotionally distressed.  “I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed” (Psalm 61:2b). 

Where To Pray 

Pray wherever you are.  “From the end of the earth I will cry to You” (Psalm 61:2a). 

Pray when you are in a disaster.  “If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will … cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save” (2 Chronicles 20:9). 

Pray when you have hit bottom.  “I called on Your name, O Lord, from the lowest pit” (Lamentations 3:55).  “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly” (Jonah 2:1). 

Pray in your local place of worship.  “We will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You” (2 Chronicles 20:9b). 

Pray by yourself in secret. “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

If you found this post personally interesting or helpful, you are welcome to add a link to it on your own blog or website. 

If you would prefer to copy this post, please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/).

Christ Asks Us To Ask

~ Are You Regularly Asking God? ~

All four of the Gospel writers tell us that Jesus Christ hears (and answers) the prayers of God’s people.  Our Lord invites us to “ask” for things which are in accordance with His will for us. 

Matthew  ~  Matthew records Jesus Christ saying, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:19-20).

Mark  ~  Mark records Jesus saying,  “I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24). 

Luke  ~  Luke’s Gospel records Jesus Christ saying, “I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:9-13). 

John  ~  John records the Savior saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:12-14). 

Our Objection  ~  Many will say, I have asked and God has not answered my prayer.  That is a legitimate concern.  We don’t always understand why God answers our prayers differently than our request.  Many times years later we look back and are glad that our prayers were not answered in the way we asked—but actually God’s answer was much better than what we specifically asked.  For a simple overview of four ways God answers our prayers check out a previous ALN post entitled “God’s Four Responses To Prayer” (June 22, 2010).

Our Motivation  ~  One common reason we don’t receive what we ask for is given to us clearly in Scripture.  “You do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.  Adulterers and adulteresses!  Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:2b-4).

The Model Prayer For Christians  ~  Jesus Christ gave us an example of how we should pray—while it is often called “The Lord’s Prayer” it is really an example of how we should pray and what we should ask for.  Jesus said that we should not pray like the unbelievers around us and then provided an illustrative pattern of prayer.  “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.  In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen.” (Matthew 6:8-13).  Even though our God knows what we need before we ask, He still asks us to ask Him! 

the key question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15).  This is the most important question you will ever answer.  If you do not answer it, or answer it incorrectly, you have made the biggest mistake anyone can make!

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

If you found this post personally interesting or helpful, you are welcome to add a link to it on your own blog or website. 

If you would prefer to copy this post, please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/).

Messiah, 173

~ Messiah Would Be God’s Chosen ~

“Search the Scriptures—they testify of Me.”

— Jesus Christ (John 5:39)

The Scripture

“Behold!  My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!  I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.  He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.  He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law” (Isaiah 42:1-4). 

The Messiah  

“But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  ‘Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust’” (Matthew 12:15-21). 

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons”(Galatians 4:4-5). 

~~~ EXPLANATORY “MESSIAH” NOTES ~~~   

(1)  Each Saturday ALN posts an example of a Hebrew Scriptures prophecy (or foreshadowing) related to the coming Messiah which was fulfilled in the birth, life, death, or resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(2)  While extensive it will not be a complete list—there are hundreds of prophecies of the coming Messiah which have been fulfilled by one man—Jesus Christ at His First Coming.

(3)  It is important that there are many more prophecies of the Messiah, yet unfulfilled, which Christians believe will be fulfilled at the time of His Second Coming.  A particularly relevant Scripture verse in this regard is: “Do not despise prophesies” (1 Thessalonians 5:20).

(4)  These posts will typically consist only of Scripture—which speaks for itself.  Sometimes italicized or bold font will be used by ALN for emphasis.

(5)  The numbering of these fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah is used to differentiate individual posts. It is not chronological (either by time of the prophecy or by sequence in the life of the Messiah).  The posting sequence will, for the most part, be in the order that the prophecies appear in Scripture.

(6)  Because of the chosen methodology (#5 above) we will find many specific prophecies repeated multiple times throughout the Scriptures.

(7)  These serial posts are in addition to our regular Tuesday ALN postings on random topics.

(8)  Subscription to ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog is simple—just use the link on the left sidebar.  Once subscribed you will not miss future posts.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

If you found this post personally interesting or helpful, you are welcome to add a link to it on your own blog or website. 

If you would prefer to copy this post, please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/).