Seeking God In Prayer

1
Seeking God In Prayer
TIP For additional advice seeMaking Prayer
Powerful by H.P.Mansfield Logos Publications
2
Seeking God in Prayer

• The Lord Jesus example Prayer
• The Essentials of Prayer
• In Christs Name
• Ask in Faith
• Continually in Prayer
• What should we pray for when
• Advice on Prayer
• The Place of Prayer
• The Posture of Prayer
• The Time of Prayer
• James Seven Forms of Prayer

3
The Lord Jesus Example Prayer

• Matthew 69
• 9 After this manner therefore pray ye Our
  Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
  
• 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,
  as it is in heaven.
• 11 Give us this day our daily bread.
• 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
  debtors.
• 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
  us from evil For thine is the kingdom, and the
  power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

4
Our Father

• Baptized - those who are baptized have a special
  privilege of being able to call God Father. The
  un-baptized person can pray but cannot pray to
  their Heavenly Father, because He is not their
  Father.

• Romans 815 ye have received the Spirit
  of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
• Acts 1031 Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and
  thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of
  God.

5
Our Father

• Prayer is directed to the Father
• No prayers are recorded in the Bible to Jesus or
  Christ
• No prayers are recorded in the Bible to Angels

6
Hallowed be thy name

• Nehemiah 15 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God
  of heaven, the great and terrible God, that
  keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him
  and observe his commandments Let thine ear now
  be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou
  mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I
  pray before thee now, day and night, for the
  children of Israel thy servants, and confess the
  sins of the children of Israel, which we have
  sinned against thee both I and my father's house
  have sinned.

• Reverence to God
• We would reverence the Queen of England we should
  reverence the Creator of the earth.
• It is double minded to pray Hallowed be Thy name
  whilst pursuing courses which bring reproach and
  dishonour to Gods name.

7
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as
it is in heaven.
Hopes Being Heard

• The LORD is far from the wicked but He heareth
  the prayer of the righteous
  (Proverbs 1529)
• Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall
  search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah
  2913)
• And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have
  aught against any that your Father also, which
  is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses
  (Mark 1125)
• If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye
  shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto
  you (John 157)
• We have to ask in accordance with the will of
  God, our hopes and aspirations should be in
  accordance with Gods will.

8
Give us this day our daily bread.

• We do not need to pray for things far into the
  future, simply for this day
• Matthew 634 Take therefore no thought for the
  morrow for the morrow shall take thought for the
  things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
  evil thereof.
• This is a prayer for Spiritual nourishment as
  much as for Temporal food

9
The Essentials of Prayer ? Ask in Christs Name
(1)

• To be offered In Christs Name

• John 1413-14 Whatsoever ye shall ask in my
  name, that will I do, that the Father may be
  glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in
  my name I will do it
• John 1623-24 Verily, verily, I say unto you,
  Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He
  will give it you. Hitherto ye asked nothing in my
  name ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy
  may be full

10
The Essentials of Prayer ? Ask in Christs Name
(2)

• John 1516 Ye have not chosen me, but I have
  chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go
  and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should
  remain that whatsoever ye shall ask of the
  Father in my name, He may give it you
• John 157 If ye abide in me, and my words abide
  in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall
  be done unto you
• 1 John 322 Whatsoever we ask, we receive of
  him, because we keep his commandments, and do
  those things that are pleasing in his sight

• The mere appendage of such words to a prayer as
  in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen is
  not sufficient. Christ will only present the
  petitions of those who strive to live according
  to the Truth.

11
Prayers Must be asked in Faith

• Hebrews 116 He that cometh unto God must
  believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
  them that diligently seek Him

• James 15-7 Let him ask in faith, nothing
  wavering for he that wavereth is like a wave of
  the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not
  that man think that he shall receive anything of
  the Lord

12
When ? Continually in Prayer

• 1 Thessalonians 517 Pray without ceasing
• Ephesians 618 Pray always
• Matthew 67 But when ye pray, use not vain
  repetitions, as the heathen do for they think
  that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
  

• Luke 181 Men ought always to pray and not
  faint
• Nehemiah 15 that thou mayest hear the prayer of
  thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day
  and night,

13
What should we pray for and when?

• Only one qualifying statement.
• 1 John 514 According to his will
• Without limit of place Everywhere - 1 Tim.28
• Without limit of time Always - Luke 181
• Without limit of subject
• Everything - Philippians . 46
• All things - Matthew 2122
• Whatsoever - John 1623.

14
Advice on Prayer ? The Place Of Prayer (1)

• Men women have poured out prayers unto God in
  strange circumstances, and in the most unlikely
  places.

• Jonah prayed in the belly of a fish (Jonah 21)
• Paul Prayed on the deck of a storm-tossed ship
  (Acts 2735)
• Nehemiah prayed whilst handing wine to the king
  (Neh.24)
• Hezekiah prayed on his bed of sickness with his
  face turned to the wall (Isaiah 382)
• David prayed amid the ruins of a ravaged city in
  a moment of defeat and despair with his followers
  threatening to destroy him (1Samuel 306)

15
Advice on Prayer ? The Place Of Prayer (2)

• The disciples prayed in the open upon the
  sea-shore (Acts 215)
• Daniel prayed in the privacy of his house with
  his face turned towards Jerusalem (Daniel 610)
• Peter prayed on a mountain (Luke 612928)
• Samuel prayed on a battlefield (1Samuel 79)
• Hannah prayed in public, silently (1Samuel 113)

• In addition to these moments of urgency, there
  were set times for prayer. Whilst it is valuable
  that we make a habit of prayer at certain times
  of day, it is equally important that prayer be
  not limited to such occasions, to become
  expressions of mere sterile formalism.

16
Advice on Prayer ? The Posture of Prayer

• Some prayed with hands uplifted (Exodus 933
  Psalm 282 1 Timothy 28)
• Others stood in respect (Mark 1125)
• David sat meditatively (2 Samuel 78)
• Daniel kneeled in humility (Daniel 610)
• Ezekiel Christ prostrated themselves
  (Ezekiel 98 1113 Matthew 2639)
• The Form of posture does not matter greatly, but
  the state of the heart does.

17
Advice on Prayer ? The Time for Prayer

• At morning Evening - Psalm 1411-2
• Three Times a Day - Daniel 610
• Seven Times a Day - Psalm 119164
• At Noon - Acts 109
• At any time, but make it a habit

18
James Seven Forms of Prayer ?James 513-18

• Personal prayer Is any among you afflicted? Let
  him pray
• United prayer Let the elders pray
• Believing prayer The prayer of faith shall
  save
• Humble prayer Confess your faults one to
  another, and pray
• one for another, that ye may be healed
• Fervent prayer The effectual, fervent prayer of
  a righteous
• man availeth much
• Earnest prayer Elias prayed earnestly that it
  might not rain
• Continued prayer He prayed again, and the
  heaven gave rain

Prayer can be adapted for every occasion and for
any need. Prayer should not become stereotyped,
but should be varied to provide for the
circumstances and particular petition of the
moment