Prayer Pointers

Prayer Pointers

“...Behold, he prayeth.”

Acts 9:11

Saul, just knocked down on the road to Damascus, physically blinded but spiritually alert, did not have to take a course in New Testament praying before he could pray.  He is found immediately on Strait Street with his life straightened out and praying.   As you read the Epistles you see that Paul became a great prayer warrior.

In this lesson we want to look at some “Prayer Pointers” that will help strengthen our prayer lives and will help us become prayer warriors affecting the world.

Prayer Positions

Sitting                         Acts 2:2;Luke 10:13

Kneeling                      Acts 9:40; Ezra 9:5;                                                                  Daniel 6:10;Acts 20:36;                                         Acts 21:5

Bowing                         Psalm 95:6;                                                                             Exodus 34:8

Prostrate                      2 Samuel 12:16;                                                                       Matt.26:39

Standing                      Mark 11:25

Walking                      Genesis 13:17

Lying on Bed                                  Psalm 63:6

When To Pray

Early Morning                         Psalm 63:1;                                                                                   Mark 1:35

Morning                       Acts 10:9;                                                                                Psalm 5:3; 88:13

Noon                                                Acts 10:30

Evening                       Psalm 55:17;                                                                                              Matt. 26:38-41;                                                                              Matt. 14:23

Midnight                    Acts 16:25

Day and Night            1 Timothy 5:5;                                                                                      2 Timothy 1:3

All Night                     Luke 6:12

Multiple Times            Psalm 55:17;                                                                                              Daniel 6:10

Unceasingly                                   1 Thess. 5:17

Always                         Luke 18:1

“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”  (Psalm 55:17)

As you develop your prayer life and personal prayer ministry, you should look for prayer opportunities. When someone mentions a need to you and asks you to pray, why not respond, “Yes I will pray about that.  In fact, why don’t we pray about it right now.”  Thetus Tenney says, “an immediate prayer at the time of a confessed need can be very effective.”  Jesus prayed this way.  He met people with needs and asked them “What do you need?”  He then prayed for them and they had their healing or miracle immediately.

Where to Pray

In the Church               Mark11: 17; Acts 22:17

In the House              Daniel 6:10; Acts 9:39-40;Acts 10:30

In the Street                                  Acts 16:18

Going to Church          Acts 3:1

Prayer Closet                                  Matt. 6:6     

Housetop                      Acts 10:9

Wilderness/Forest       Luke 5:16

Garden                                        Matt. 26:38-41

Solitary Place                          Mark 1:35; Luke 9:18

Mountain                    Matt. 14:23; Mark 6:46;                                          Luke 6:12; 9:28

In Jail                                       Acts 16:25

Waterside                     Acts 16:13

Anywhere                    1 Timothy 2:8

Everywhere                                     Ephesians 6:18                   

 

How To Pray

“Here’s what I want you to do.  Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God.  Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage.  The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense His grace.  The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant.  They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.  Don’t fall for that nonsense.  This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.  With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.”(The Message, Matthew 6) 

Levels of Prayer

Ask                              Petition/Requests

Results       “you shall receive”

Seek                             Devotion

Results       “you shall find”

Knock                         Intercession

Results       “door will be opened”

 

Into the Day

I got up early one morning

And rushed right into the day;

I had so much to accomplish

I didn’t have time to pray.

Troubles just tumbled about me

And heavier came each task.

Why doesn’t God help me, I wondered,

He answered “You didn’t ask.”

I tried to come into God’s presence.

I used all my keys at the lock.

God gently and lovingly chided,

‘Why child, you didn’t knock.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty.

But the day toiled on grey and bleak.

I called on the Lord for the reason-

He said, “You didn’t seek.”

I woke up this morning

And paused before entering the day.

I had so much to accomplish

That I had to take time to pray.

(Author Unknown)

David Bryant, founder and president of Concerts of Prayer International suggests six portions of prayer.

Prayer Portions

Rejoice      Worship and Praise

Repent      Confession of Sin

Resist                              Battle Satan and forces

Request      Ask and Intercession

Recommit                          Yield ourselves to God

Receive       Listen for God to speak

Jesus asked a penetrating question after teaching on the subject of prayer. He inquired,  “…When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”  (Luke 18:8)  He was asking, “When I return, will there be faith or won’t there?  Will people still be praying and trusting God in faith?  What type of world will I find; a world filled with sin or a world filled with the power of God?  What is going to be happening in your country? What will it be like where you minister?” Jesus’ question comes immediately after his parable on prayer that began with “…men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”  (Luke 18:1)  Lots of us make commitments to pray and it lasts for some time and then we give up.  If we would persist in prayer we could make a difference in our lives and the world that we live in.

The church will not have growth and revival without a large and consistent prayer ministry base. 

What was the cause of David winning the battle?  One phrase keeps recurring in David’s life; “and David inquired of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 23:2,4) What was the cause of Joshua being deceived by the Gibeonites that came to him dressed like they had come on a long journey? His failure was because he “...asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.” (Joshua 9:14) How will you be successful in the battle?

“What, could you not watch with me one hour?  Watch and Pray.”

  (Matthew 26:40)