Powerful Praying

Just to be clear, my view on this has changed recently, but this article is being kept for reflection later and for comparison to later material that will show up here. Hey.. we all grow spiritually right?

Beezy

Just some notes I took from a sermonic podcast I listen to and thought I'd share.

Sermonic Notes

Lon Solomon "Prayer" - Part 8 of the series "Spiritual Boot Camp"

How do you pray with the power to reach the possibilities of God's promises in our lives? How do we pray with the authority and power that the believers before us had?

Promises of God regarding answers to our prayers

(ASV) Eph_3:20 - Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

(ASV) Jer_33:3 - Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things, and difficult, which thou knowest not.

(ASV) Jas_5:16-17 - ....The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working. Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months.

What are the requirements we should meet in order to pray effectively?

There are 4 principles every believer should keep in mind when praying before God.

1. Pray with clean hands and a pure heart.
Psa_24:3-4
Psa_66:18

We need to ensure that we clear our hearts of any sins we may be harboring, anything we know we've done wrong, Something we should do in every prayer is to repent of these things before we make requests. We need to make sure our hearts are in the right place and cleaned.

2. Pray with a forgiving spirit
Mar_11:25-26

We need to ensure that we clear any hard feelings or anger and bitterness towards anyone else before we continue in our prayer. From Jesus' own lips he tells us that our prayers will be effectively ignored if we are harboring hate or ill will towards any of our neighbors. When we pray with these things in our hearts, it's like trying to grow a garden in soil heavily mixed with salt. NOTHING can grow in soil of this kind. You can't mix prayers and these sort of feelings and expect to reap anything fruitful.

3. Pray in faith
Mat_21:22
Mat_13:58
1Jn_5:14

When making requests from The Father we should ask with the belief that we will receive the blessings we ask for. Matthew 13:58 says Jesus didn't perform miracles in his own hometown because they did not believe. What good is it for God to reward unfaithfulness? What benefit to the body is unbelief? This kind of wavering mind is not rewarded. We need to have a strong understanding that God WANTS to fulfill our requests according to his word and his promises. God WANTS to ensure blessings in the lives of his children, but not just for blessings sake. By blessings it doesn't necessarily mean "stuff" but also includes love, peace, and security knowing that we are his children and that we are taken care of in him physically and eternally. We can pray for whatever we desire! Praying for wealth and success are not off limits! HOWEVER, we need to understand that these things shouldn't be for our own vanity (see number 4). Remember every granted prayer is according to his will for our lives and his ultimate plan for salvation for the people of this world. However God chooses to answer such prayers is up to him and not to be limited by any circumstance, human interference, or limitation of any kind, including unbelief.

4. Pray with the Glory of God as our motive
Isa_42:8
1Ki_18:36

Our prayers shouldn't be vain. What we request should directly go to our personal desire to see God glorified in the Earth. If we're praying for wealth and success for our own vanity, then this prayer is NOT in line with the will of God, however praying for wealth or success for the advancement of The Kingdom agenda is perfectly fine and we can expect God to reward this kind of prayer. God is interested in revealing his power in might in our lives as well as everyone else's. When Elijah went against the prophets of baal (1 Kings 18), his prayer to God was not one requesting that God would prove him right in front of others. He didn't ask for retribution or harm to anyone. He simply asked that God would take the opportunity to prove his might. The Bible doesn't say that any time passed between the time of the prayer and the time of God's action. The Bible shows that this was an immediate response to the prayer Elijah offered up. God immediately took the opportunity to show himself strong and mighty before the people.
With these principles in our hearts, we open ourselves to be used more completely and powerfully by God. When God can see that we would make no effort to take any recognition or praise, rather we would take the attention received and say "HEY! LOOK AT GOD!!", God is more willing to use us as vessels of His glory.

This is how a believer can wield the true power of prayer in life. By remember that it's to be used for God's glory, only when our hearts are pure and forgiving, and strong with faith that God will perform.


Amen.