PRAYER

1
PRAYER

• Luke 111
• And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a
  certain place, when he ceased, one of his
  disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray,
  as John also taught his disciples.
•  

2
PRIVILEDGE OF PRAYER

• Matthew 68-9
• Be not ye therefore like unto them for your
  Father knoweth what things ye have need of,
  before ye ask him.
• After this manner therefore pray ye Our Father
  which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

• Prayer is beyond any question the highest
  activity of the human soul. Man is at his
  greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes
  face to face with God
• Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones

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PERVERSIONS OF PRAYER

• Long on words but short on love
• Mark 1240 Which devour widows houses, and for
  a pretence make long prayers these shall receive
  greater damnation.
• Self centred not God centred
• Matthew 65 And when thou prayest, thou shalt
  not be as the hypocrites are for they love to
  pray standing in the synagogues and in the
  corners of the streets, that they may be seen of
  men. Verily I say unto you, They have their
  reward.

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PLACE FOR PRAYER
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PLACE FOR PRAYER

• On Every Occasion
• Luke 181 Men ought always to pray and not to
  faint
• 3 times per day, Daniel 610
• In the evening, 1Kings 1836
• Before meals, Matt 1419
• After meals, Deut 810
• At midnight, Acts 1625
• In trouble, 2Kings 193-4
• Every day, Psalm 863

• In Every Place
• 1Tim 28 I will therefore that men pray every
  where
• In a cave, 1Kings 199-10
• In battle, 2Chron 1314-15
• On a mountain, Luke 612
• In the belly of a fish, Jon 2
• By the seashore, Acts 215-6
• On a housetop, Acts 109
• In a prison, Acts 1623-26
• On a bed, Ps 43-4

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PASSION IN PRAYER

• If it is performed in a formal or customary and
  overly manner, you would be as good to omit it
  altogether for the Lord takes our prayers not by
  number but by weight. When it is an outward
  picture, a dead carcass of prayer, when there is
  no life, no fervency in it, God does not regard
  it. Do not be deceived in this, it is a very
  common deception. It may be a mans conscience
  would be upon him, if he should omit it
  altogether. Therefore, when he does something,
  his heart is satisfied, and so he grows worse and
  worse. If you find a deadness and unaptness, an
  indisposition in you, you must lift up your souls
  to the Lord and not give over until you are
  quickened. And this is to perform the duty in
  such a manner as the Lord accepts, otherwise it
  is hypocritical performance for this is
  hypocrisy, when a man is not willing to let the
  duty go altogether, nor yet is willing to perform
  it fervently, and in a quick and zealous manner.
  
• John Preston

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PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER

• Ephesians 618 Praying always with all prayer and
  supplication in the Spirit, and watching
  thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
  for all saints
• Prayer was the only aspect of Christs life in
  which we learn that he expended energy
• Luke 2244 And being in an agony he prayed more
  earnestly and his sweat was as it were great
  drops of blood falling down to the ground.

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PRACTICE OF PRAYER

• Loving Praise
• Psalm 341 1 will bless the Lord at all times
  His praise shall continually be in my mouth
• Gratitude and Thanksgiving
• Jonah 29 I will sacrifice to Thee with the
  voice of thanksgiving
• Reverence
• Is 65 I am a man of unclean lips, and I live
  among a people of unclean lips for my eyes have
  seen the King, the Lord of hosts
• Patient Obedience
• Psalm 5110 Create in me a clean heart, O God
  and renew a right spirit within me.
• Confession
• Psalm 243-4 Who shall ascend into the hill of
  the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart who
  hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor
  sworn deceitfully.
• Unselfishness
• Matt 613 For thine is the kingdom, and the
  power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
• Humility
• Luke 2242 Not My will, but Thine be done

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POWER FOR PRAYER

• Praying In The Spirit
• Ephesians 618 Praying always with all
  prayer and supplication in the Spirit
• In the name of Christ, for things consistent with
  His will and nature
• James 43 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye
  ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your
  lusts.
• By being filled with the Spirit
• Ephesians 518 And be not drunk with wine,
  wherein is excess but be filled with the Spirit
• Experiencing the help of the Spirit
• Romans 826-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth
  our infirmities for we know not what we should
  pray for as we ought but the Spirit itself
  maketh intercession for us with groanings which
  cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the
  hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
  because he maketh intercession for the saints
  according to the will of God.

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WHERE DO YOUR PRIORITIES LIE???????????

• Have you prayed today?
• Have you thanked the Lord who died for you?
• Are you praying for this youth group?
• What about the prayer meeting?
• Do you care about souls going to Hell?
• Do you care about Christ?

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WHO IS THE REAL YOU???

• It is the highest activity of the human soul,
  and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate
  test of a mans true spiritual condition. There
  is nothing that tells the truth about us as
  Christian people so much as our prayer life. . .
  . Ultimately, therefore, a man discovers the real
  condition of his spiritual life when he examines
  himself in private, when he is alone with God. .
  
• Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones