INTRODUCTION
Prayer is a very important part of the Christian life. It is through prayers that we speak with God and as a child of God, you must learn to pray. When our Lord Jesus Christ was here on earth, He lived a prayerful life and commended us in Luke 18:1 that “Men ought always to pray and not to faint”. Also in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, every believer is instructed to pray without ceasing. Since God Himself attached such great importance to prayer, it becomes necessary for us to study this subject. As we study, believe God to make us prayerful person from now on. The Lord will help us.
- WHAT IS PRAYER?
PHIL 4:6, 1 SAM 1:10-11,17; EX 32:31-34; JN 12:27-28.
Simply put, prayer is a process of making our request know to God; a process of communing with God. When we pray, we speak to God and God speaks to us and answers our prayers.
Hannah spoke to God in prayers, and God answered her and spoke to her through Eli the priest. Moses also prayed and spoke to God and God spoke to Him. The same thing happened with Jesus.
Prayer is a communion. When we pray, speak to God our Father and expect and allow Him to speak to us.
- WHY DO WE NEED TO PRAY?
- God created us to be dependent on Him.
Gen 2:17, Deut 8:3, Jer 17:5-8, 2 Chron 16:7-7,12.
We were not made to be independent of the Lord. His delight in His creation is that we will depend on Him and that He will control aspect of our lives. It is as we willingly depend on Him that life will have a meaning for us. He wants us to depend on every word that comes out of His mouth. But when we struggle to do things by ourselves and depend on our own strength and natural ability to get things done, we enter into a curse and we are bound to fail. Even if we seem to be succeeding initially, we shall still fail and be put to shame at the end.
- God is not only our Creator but our Father.
2 Cor 6:18, 1 Jn 1:3
As our Father, God desires to commune with each of His children in fellowship. This enhances our relationship with Him. A child that stays more with his father, talking to him and learning from him will soon begin to behave like his father. It is as we spend time daily with our heavenly Father even in the place of prayer and in studying His word that we become more and more like Him.
Without the Lord, we can do nothing. Yet the only way we can communicate with Him is by prayer. You must make up your mind to be a prayerful Christian. A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian.
PRAYER 2
HOW TO PRAY. LUKE 11:1-4, MATTHEW 6:9-13
The Lord Jesus Christ gave us a prayer pattern in what is generally known as “Our Lord’s prayer” in these scriptures. That prayer is not just meant for us to say, but to pattern our prayer after it. It is not meant for a thoughtless mental exercise but a heartfelt personal prayer to God, patterned after “Our Lord’s prayer”. So Matthew 6:9 says, “In this manner, therefore pray”. Let us now look closely at that pattern.
- OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN……
Matthew 6;9, Rom 8:15, Psalms 123:1
When we pray, we are not speaking into the air. We are speaking to a person: God, our Father. We must therefore be particular about whom we are talking to, with His proper address. He is our Father who dwells in heaven. When we are speaking to someone and we face him and address him directly and specifically, we get his attention. So also, when we pray, we must be specific about whom we are speaking to; “Our Father who art in heaven…”
- HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME……
Matthew 6:9, Psalms 100:4-5, Psalms 103:1-2.
When we pray, after properly addressing our prayer to God, the next thing is to worship and praise Him. He is our maker, our God and our Father, we are the sheep of His pasture. Praise Him for that, worship Him. Also remember His benefits; what He has done for us and praise His holy name. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
- YOUR KINGDOM COME. YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
Matthew 6:10, 1 Tim 2:1-2, Jer 29:11.
Next is to make God’s purpose on earth our first subject of request. Pray for God’s will and thoughts to be done in our life, in our community, in our country and in the church as it is being done in heaven. No one questions the will of God in heaven. It is done expressly. So also must it be done here on earth. We can pray in detail at this point, based on His will that we know. The Holy Spirit will direct us on what to pray for.
- GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD……
Matthew 6:11, Phil 4:6,19
Next comes personal requests for our needs. Instead of worrying about about anything, pray about everything. He is our Father. He is able to bear our responsibilities.
