Christian Prayer Life 17 [Romans 12 : 12] / Ephphatha Discipleship Training (Basic Course)

 

 NewZealand / West Side                 Moru

 

 

Christian Prayer Life 17 

[Romans 12 : 12]

 

/ Ephphatha 

Discipleship Training 

(Basic Course) 

 

 

/ By Pastor Priscilla

 

 

"Be joyful in hope,

patient in affliction,

faithful in prayer."

[Rom 12 : 12]

 

 

 

A life of prayer is one

of the most precious

things in our life of faith.

 

 

 

Following Jesus,

we Christians have

had a life of prayer

not only in our easy

daily lives but also

 

 

 

in busy situations

or urgent situations

of hardships. 

 

 

 

The Reformer Luther

wrote the following

in his diary:

 

 

 

“I'm so busy. I

'm so busy these days. 

Therefore, I have

to pray more.”

 

 

 

He is said to have

enjoyed praying for

2 hours and 40 minutes

a day of 24 hours to pay

 tithing on time of prayer.

 

 

 

Why did he try

to pray like this? 

 

 

 

In a word, because prayer

is beneficial, and authority

and a blessing.

 

 

 

Now, we must also

learn what prayer is so

that we can live a beneficial

and blessed life through

the right prayer life.

 

 

 

1. What is prayer?

 

 

 

If prayer is expressed

in one word, it is a

channel of dialogue

with God.

 

 

 

A young child born

into the world has

conversations with his

 parents as he grows up.

 

 

 

Through these

conversations, he can

expresses himself,

 

 

 

ask his parents to do

what he needs,

hank them for it,

 

 

 

and finally he gets to

solve the problems

he faces.

 

 

 

In this regard, the

psalmist David always

prayed to God with

sincere faith. 

(Psalm 17 : 6)

 

 

 

 

When he prayed,

he spoke boldly to God,

convinced that if he seeks

and calls for God,

God will listen to him.

 

 

 

2. How should we pray?

 

 

 

1) Classification of prayer:

 

 

 

 (1) Personal prayer: Hannah

(1 Samuel 1 : 10)

 

 

 

 (2) United prayer (Acts 1 : 14) 

 

 

 

(3) Intercession prayer

(1 Samuel 7 : 5)

 

 

 

 2) The nature of prayer:

 

 

 

 (1) Meditation (Psalm 19 : 14) 

 (2) Silent prayer (1 Sam 1 : 13) 

 (3) Audible prayer (Acts 4 : 24)

 

 

 

We shouldn't force

others to do our way,

criticize or despise them

just because they don't

pray the way we do.

 

 

 

We should not limit

the way of praying

because we can pray

in various ways like

Jesus did.

 

 

 

3) Elements of prayer:

 

 

 

 (1) Giving thanks

 (Philippians 4 : 6)

 

 

 

 (2) Repentance 

(Psalm 51 : 17)

 

 

 

 (3) Praising

(Colossians 3 : 16)

 

 

 

 (4) Intercession 

(1 Timothy 2 : 1-1)

 

 

 

Prayer for God's kingdom

and righteousness

(Matthew 6 : 33)

 

 

 

Prayer for others

 

 

 

- Plea, prayer and

thanksgiving for all people,

especially for leaders

 

 

 

-Prayer for the sake

of our sisters and

brothers, and relatives

(Rom 9 : 3) 

 

 

 

-Prayer for the church

(2 Corin 11 : 28)

 

 

 

-Prayer for myself

 (Ephesians 6:19)

 

 

 

when I open my

mouth to pray,

 

 

 

God grants words

to me in order to

fearlessly make the world

known the mystery

of the gospel.

 

 

 

-Prayer for those

who persecute us

(Matth  5 : 44)

 

 

 'Love your enemies'.

 

 

 

-Prayer for God's kingdom

and his righteousness

(Matt 6 : 33)  

 

 

 

4) Attitude of prayer:

 

 

 

There is something

to think about

before we pray.

 

 

 

That is, we must properly

discern whether our

prayers are in accordance

with God's will.

 

 

 

Only through the

Word of God

and the inspiration

of the Holy Spirit,

 

 

 

and also

through prayer

and counseling

with pastors,

 

 

 

we must immediately

discern the will of God

and offer prayers that

are in line with the

will of God.

 

 

 

(Ex : 1)

President Lincoln

 

 

 

 It was in the

midst of the Civil War. 

 

 

 

President Lincoln always

presided over cabinet

meetings every morning,

received reports of the

situation of the war,

 

 

 

and discussed many

other piled up issues.

 

 

 

However, the war,

which inevitably

occurred in the course

of practicing the good

will of liberating slaves,

 

 

 

somehow did not

unfold in favor of the

Union Troops who

supported President

Lincoln.

 

 

 

One morning,

as soon as the cabinet

meeting began, a minister

said to the president

with a big smile.

 

 

 

“Mr. President!,

while I was praying

last night, I became

convinced that God

would be with us.

 

 

 

 Because God is

on our side, this war

will surely be victorious.” 

 

 

 

President Lincoln,

who was listening

to that, refuted:

 

 

 

“God should not be

on our side.

It is important whether

we are on God's side.”

 

 

 

Brothers and sisters!

What is the difference

between Lincoln's faith

  and that of the minister?

 

 

 

The words

 

 

 

'God is on our side'

and 'We must be

on God's side'

 

 

 

look very similar

and seem like words

that don't make much

difference.

 

 

 

But this difference

is so tremendous

 

 

 

that the result of this

faith can be apples

and oranges. 

 

 

 

"For my thoughts

are not your thoughts,

neither are your

ways my ways,"

 

 

 

declares the LORD.

As the heavens are

higher than the earth,

 

 

 

so are my ways

higher than your ways

and my thoughts than

your thoughts."

(Isa 55 : 8-9) 

 

 

 

(1) Seek God's will,

not my will.

(1 John 5 : 14)

 

 

 

'My thoughts are not

your thoughts.'

(Isa 55 : 8-9) 

 

 

 

2) Prayer of Pleading

 

 

 

-Prayer of visiting a

friend at midnight

for bread.

(Luke 11 : 5-8)

 

 

 

 

(3) The crying prayer

of a widow who visited

a judge with a plea

day and night.

(Luke 18 : 1-8)

 

 

 

(4) Prayer without

any doubt, believing

that we will receive

the answer after prayer.

(Mark 11 : 23-24)

 

 

 

"I tell you the truth,

if anyone says to

this mountain,

 

 

 

'Go, throw yourself

into the sea,' and does

not doubt in his heart

 

 

 

but believes that

what he says

will happen, it will be

done for him.

 

 

 

Therefore I tell you,

whatever you ask for

in prayer,

 

 

 

believe that you have

received it, and it

will be yours.”

(Mark 11 : 23-24) 

 

 

 

(Ex : 2)

Hannah

 

 

 

I see Hannah's life

changed before

and after her prayers

in the Bible. 

(1 Sam 1 : 1-18) 

 

 

 

Hannah offered

a vow to the Lord

with a broken heart (: 10)

 

 

 

and received the baptism

of the Holy Spirit (: 13)

 

 

 

and received

God's answer. (:17)

 

 

 

Eventually,

she was no longer

concerned.  (: 18)

 

 

 

5) Where should we pray?

 

 

 

(1) The house of prayer

 

 

 

-Church (Matt 21 : 13,

Isaiah 56 : 7)

 

 

 

(2) With a heart toward

the sanctuary even in 

other places.

(Dan 6 : 10)

 

 

 

(3) Even from inside

the fish, we can pray

to God in times of crisis.

(John 2 : 1)

 

 

 

You can pray anywhere,

without limiting the place.

 

 

 

However,

it is absolutely

necessary to pray

with one accord,

 

 

 

rasing voices over

a common task

together. (Rom 1 : 14,

 4 : 24, 12 : 12)

 

 

 

Therefore, the secret

and private prayer

in the room is important,

 

 

 

but it is absolutely

necessary to participate

in the united prayer.

 

 

 

Knowing that this is

absolutely important,

we must work hard to

participate in the prayer

meeting eagerly.

 

 

 

"I tell you the truth,

whatever you bind

on earth will be bound

in heaven,

 

 

 

and whatever you loose

on earth will be loosed

in heaven.

 

 

 

"Again, I tell you that

if two of you on earth

agree about anything

you ask for, it will be

 done for you by my

Father in heaven.

 

 

 

For where two or

three come together

in my name, there

am I with them." 

(Matt 18 : 19-20)

 

 

We can pray anywhere,

but it is very important

to go to the place of prayer

 

 

 

that God has appointed,

that is, church, as we can.

 

 

 

6) When should we pray?

 

 

 

There is no fixed

time for prayer. 

 

 

 

When we take a careful

look at Jesus' prayer

times, we can find

it various.

 

 

 

This is as follows.

 

 

 

(1) Very early

in the morning.

(Mark 1 : 35)

 

 

 

(2) He spent the night

praying to God.

(Luke 6 : 12-13)

 

 

 

(3) When evening came,

he was there alone.

(Matt 14 : 22-23)

 

 

 

(4) Prayer through the night

(12 midnight - 4 a.m.)

(Luke 22 : 43~44)

 

 

 

In this way, prayer times

is not specifically set.

 

 

 

However, the official

prayer times set

by the church is mainly

early morning prayer

 

 

 

and all-night prayer and

it is good to participate

in those prayers. 

 

 

 

Keep in mind that

there are special prayers

or fasting prayers

 

 

 

that are offered for

a specific period of time

for individual prayers.

 

 

 

3. Summary 

 

 

 

1) What is prayer? 

 

 

 

Prayer is our conversation

with our Heavenly Fathe

r and our children.

 

 

 

2) Classification of prayer:

 

 

 

 (1) Personal prayer

 (2) United prayer 

 (3) Intercession prayer

 

 

 

 3) The nature of prayer:

 

 

 

 (1) Meditation 

 (2) Silent prayer 

 (3) Audible prayer 

 

 

 

4) What is the

element of prayer?

 

 

 

(1) Giving thanks

(2) Repentance 

(3) Praising 

 

 

 

(4) Intercession 

(5) Prayer for one's

own maturity

 

 

 

5) What should be

the attitude of prayer?

 

 

 

 In the light of the Bible,

we must pray according

to God's will and listen

to the counsel of the pastors.

 

 

 

6) Where should we pray?

 

 

 

It is good to pray together

in the church and in a place

designated by God.

 

 

 

7) When should we pray?

 

 

 

 (1) Early morning prayer

 (2) All-night prayer 

 (3) Prayer at a designated time

(4) Special prayers 

(5) Prayers on all occasions 

 

 

 

8) Why do you think

we need a life of prayer?

 

 

 

It is because through

prayer, comfort, power,

understanding, wisdom,

blessings, revelation,

 

 

 

discernment, knowing God,

answers, etc. are given to us.

 

 

 

4. Conclusion 

 

 

 

Jesus said that nothing

can do this except pray.

 

 

 

For those of us who live

a life of faith, it's

important to have

a life of prayer.

 

 

 

As children of God,

we must know that

 

 

 

we can receive God's

comfort, power,

and blessings only

through prayer.

 

 

 

And also we must

know for sure that

prayer is a way of

communicating with God

and a spiritual channel

to connect with God.

 

 

 

So let's give glory to

God by living a life of

prayer constantly.

 

 

 

 

2021/ 03/31

 

 

/ By Priscilla