Definition of Prayer

Prayer is simply talking to God; it is really that simple. We can talk to Him in the same way we would talk to our best friends or loved ones. We do not have to pray; we get to pray. It is two-way communication. We talk and we must also listen for what He is saying to us. It is important to take time to sit in His presence and seek His voice. There are times we must sit quietly for a while until we hear what He wants to say, but it is always worth the wait!!

Prayer is not a chore; it is a relationship. It is all about pouring our hearts out to our Father, our Friend, our Lord, our Savior. Many times, we only seek Him when we need something or when we are in crisis. We give Him our want/need/wish list and quickly move on, but prayer is much more than that. It goes deeper and our prayer time is what creates, grows, and maintains our intimate relationship with the Lord.

The God of the universe wants to spend time with us. The Creator of all things loves us more than anyone else ever could and He desires to spend time with us. His original intent has always been to have a relationship with us. He desires time with us, but we often fail to make time for Him. We get busy and distracted and forget the importance of setting time aside for Him. He must be our priority and prayer must not be something we only do when we have a moment at the end of our day. There is nothing wrong with praying at night, but our relationship with God must be a priority.

Importance of Prayer

Jesus prayed a lot and He prayed often. He was our perfect example in all things. He showed us how to pray and the importance of prayer. As you read through the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) notice how many times the scriptures say Jesus left the crowd to go pray, and how often He prayed while others were watching.

Matthew 26:36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, “Sit her while I go over there and pray.”

Mark 1:35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left, and went out to a secluded place, and was praying there.

Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, the heaven was opened,

Luke 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray in seclusion.

Luke 6:12 Now at this time Jesus went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

Luke 9:18 Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, “Who do the crowds says that I am?”

If Jesus prayed this much, how much more should we be praying! He valued prayer time. I think He prayed for a few reasons: to show us the importance of prayer, while He was here He wore humanity so it was His way to stay connected to His Father, and also to get directions from His Father. Many times, He said that He did the will of His Father and how can we know the will of the Father if we do not ask? He is not a far-off God; He is just one prayer a way waiting for us to call upon His name. He created us to be in relationship with Him and we cannot create a close relationship without communication. Imagine living with a spouse that you never spoke to, never asked their advice, never shared the good times with, never discussed your heart with. We cannot create intimacy without talking to Him.

God Uses Our Prayers to Accomplish His Will on Earth

These scriptures show He uses our prayers to accomplish His will on the earth: (I am not in any way saying that we are as big as God and that He needs us, what I am saying is by His own design He has chosen to work though us.)

Ezekiel 22: 30-31 “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for [the sake of] the land, that I would not destroy it, but I found no one [not even one]. Therefore, I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have repaid their way [by bringing it] upon their own heads,” says the Lord God.”

He could not find anyone to pray so He had to pour out His judgment. He stuck to His legal system that He created. I never want Him to say of me that He could find no one to stand in the gap for others.

1 Kings 18: Elijah prayed for rain: It was in God’s timing to make it rain again, but He used Elijah’s prayers to make it happen.

How many times have we felt lead to pray for someone or a situation? God uses us to release His will upon individuals, communities, and nations. What if we are not listening to Him when He nudges us to pray?

Persistence in Prayer

Luke 11: 5-8 “Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves [of bread]; for a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to visit me, and I have nothing to serve him’; and from inside he answers, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence and boldness he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”

This verse teaches the importance of persistence in prayer. There are so many times we ask for something to happen and when it doesn’t, we can fall into frustration and bitterness. Sometimes we must just keep bring persistent in our prayer time and in our faithfulness to God.

Examples of Different Types of Prayer

Intercession

Webster dictionary: “to go or pass between; to act between parties with a view to reconcile those who differ or contend; to interpose; to mediate

We must stand in the gap for others and be willing to go into prayer on their behalf.

Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all [a]God’s people.

Praying in the Spirit

Ephesians 6:18 “With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people.”

Romans 8:26 “In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.”

Praise and Thanksgiving

We must always remember to thank Him and spend time in praise and worship.

Psalm 150: 1-6 Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to [the abundance of] His greatness.

3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. 4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute. 5Praise Him with resounding cymbals; Praise Him with loud cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Sitting at His Feet

We must learn how to get and stay in His presence no matter what is going on around us. We must push all distractions away, focus and sit at His feet. This is the place where we are changed, where we grow in Him and where we become more like Him.

Luke 10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was continually listening to His teaching.

Warfare

We can use weapons of warfare against the enemy when he is attacking. We can pray and ask God for help, protection, and direction. We can then verbally assault the enemy and win every battle. We can use the Word of God against him, authority in the name of Jesus, and the armor of God.

Deliverance

When we have open doors, and the enemy has legal rights to our lives we can find ourselves in extreme bondage and torment. We must remove the legal rights, close the doors, and cast out the demons.

Decrees and Declarations

I am not talking about naming it and claiming it or prosperity gospel. I do not believe we can speak things into existence simply by verbalizing what we want. What I am talking about is speaking by faith, declaring the things God has promised in His word, in prophetic words given to us, and things He has spoken to us. We must pray in accordance to God’s will and not just in accordance with what we want. I do believe words can have life or death in them, faith or fear and we must speak faith and life.

John 14:14 “If you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it.”

Mark 11:24For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.

James 4:3 You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires.

Communion

John 6: 53-54 “And Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood [unless you believe in Me as Savior and believe in the saving power of My blood which will be shed for you], you do not have life in yourselves. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood [believes in Me, accepts Me as Savior] has eternal life [that is, now possesses it], and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.”

1 Corinthians 11:24 “and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is (represents) My body, which is [offered as a sacrifice] for you. Do this in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.”

Prayer Groups

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.”

Many great moves of God have been started with small prayer groups. If you do not have one to join, start one. If you do not have space you can even start one online.

Keys to Prayer

We must always be protective of our prayer time because the enemy will try to distract us. A million things will try to pull us away from our prayers, so we must learn to push all distractions away, focus, and get in His presence.

When we sin, we must be quick to run to Him and not from Him. There are times it can be very difficult to pray because we are feeling shame, guilt, and condemnation for something we have done wrong. It is those times that we need prayer the most.

If you are angry with God, tell Him. He already knows! Do not use that as a reason to avoid Him.

Prayer changes us and we cannot be in His presence and stay the same.

During prayer we can ask for anointing, power, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 14:12 “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these [in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father.”

1 Corinthians 14:1 “Pursue [this] love [with eagerness, make it your goal], yet earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual gifts [to be used by believers for the benefit of the church], but especially that you may prophesy [to foretell the future, to speak a new message from God to the people].”

Journal what the Lord says so you can always look back and reflect on the things He says and reveals. We must not spend all our time talking, we must also take time to listen.

We can also create a prayer journal to include prayer request and a place to record when the prayer is answered. Looking back on the journal can and build our faith.

We can also use the Word of God in prayer. It is very powerful when we personalize scriptures and pray them to God. We can also use scriptures to fight the enemy (demons). The Word of God is very powerful.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage];

Blessings,

Nichole Henson, Fullness of Joy Ministry

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