Minor Prophets, Major Message

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Minor Prophets,Major Message
The Power of Prayer II
Our Winter Series at Living Water

• Pastor Brett Peterson

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Psa 1051 Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon
His name Make known His deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him Speak of all
His wonders. 3 Glory in His holy name Let the
heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. 4 Seek
the LORD and His strength Seek His face
continually. Psa 1055 Remember His wonders
which He has done, His marvels and the judgments
uttered by His mouth,
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How important was prayer to Jesus?

• Lets pause and glimpse into the life of Christ

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Mat 1423 After He had sent the crowds away, He
went up on the mountain by Himself to pray and
when it was evening, He was there alone.

• Have you made an appointment with God to get
  alone with Him and pray every day?
• If Jesus needed this, how much more do we?

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Mar 135 In the early morning, while it was
still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and
went away to a secluded place, and was praying
there.

• Jesus started His day and ended His day in prayer.

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Luk 612 It was at this time that He went off to
the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole
night in prayer to God.

• Jesus realized the importance of prayer.
• How about you?

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Heb 57 In the days of His flesh, He offered up
both prayers and supplications with loud crying
and tears to the One able to save Him from death,
and He was heard because of His piety.

• Prayers a seeking, asking, entreating,
  entreaty to God or to man
• Supplications an olive branch approaching in
  humility to request a favor and give praise to
  someone worthy

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Piety 1) caution, circumspection,
discretion1a) avoidance1b) a reasonable
shunning2) reverence, veneration2a) reverence
toward God, godly fear

• Jesus prayers were heard because of His piety!
• Remember, last week we discovered

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Pro 289 He who turns away his ear from
listening to the law, Even his prayer is an
abomination.

• 1. If you disregard the law of God, your prayers
  will not be heard.

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Mic 34 Then they will cry out to the LORD, But
He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide
His face from them at that time Because they have
practiced evil deeds.

• 2. If you practice sin, your prayers will not
  be heard!

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1Pe 311 "HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO
GOOD HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. 1Pe 312
"FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE
RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER,
BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO
EVIL."

• 3. If you fear God, turn away from evil and do
  good, forgive and seek peace, your prayers will
  be heard!

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Jas 516 Therefore, confess your sins to one
another, and pray for one another so that you may
be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous
man can accomplish much.

• 4. if you confess your sins to one another, your
  prayers will be heard!

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Praying without ceasing is including God in your
life!But how often should we pause from our day
to set aside time to pray?

• Our only examples are found in scripture.
• Lets see what God shows us in His Word

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Dan 610 Now when Daniel knew that the document
was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof
chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem)
and he continued kneeling on his knees three
times a day, praying and giving thanks before his
God, as he had been doing previously.

• Daniel prayed three times a day.
• The hours of prayer were the third hour, the
  sixth hour, and the ninth hour. Thats 9am,
  12pm, and 3pm.

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Act 215 "For these men are not drunk, as you
suppose, for it is only the third hour of the
day

• 9 AM Prayer gathering

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Act 109 On the next day, as they were on their
way and approaching the city, Peter went up on
the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

• 12 PM Prayer gathering

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Act 31 Now Peter and John were going up to the
temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.

• 3 PM prayer gathering

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Plus, we already read about Jesus praying early
in the morning and at night, so
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Wouldnt it be great if we purposed to pray at
least FIVE times per day?When we wake up,9 AM,
12 PM, 3 PM,and before we go to bed

• And, in between our appointments with God, we
  included Him in our lives, we asked for His
  counsel and guidance, we prayed about decisions
  (remember Nehemiah last week)!!!

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Our model for prayer
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Mat 69 "Pray, then, in this way 'Our Father
who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Mat
610 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On
earth as it is in heaven.

• 1. Praise and worship God
• 2. Pray for the end times to start and Christ to
  return
• 3. Pray for Gods will to be done in all things

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Mat 613 'And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.'

• 6. Ask God to give you a way to escape temptation
• 7. Ask God to deliver you from evil
• 8. Praise Him and thank Him!

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Prayer is the most powerful force in the Universe!
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The one concern of the devil is to keep
Christians from praying. He fears nothing from
prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless
religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our
wisdom, but trembles when we pray.Samuel
Chadwick
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James 42b You do not have because you do not
ask. Jas 43 You ask and do not receive,
because you ask with wrong motives, so that you
may spend it on your pleasures. Jas 44 You
adulteresses, do you not know that friendship
with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore
whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God.
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Mat 77 "Ask, and it will be given to you seek,
and you will find knock, and it will be opened
to you. Mat 78 "For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who
knocks it will be opened.

• How do we ask?

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Joh 1623 "In that day you will not question Me
about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if
you ask the Father for anything in My name, He
will give it to you. Joh 1624 "Until now you
have asked for nothing in My name ask and you
will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
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Jesus says we can ask anything in His name, and
we will get it!Remember interpret scripture
with scripture..
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1Jn 514 This is the confidence which we have
before Him, that, if we ask anything according to
His will, He hears us. 1Jn 515 And if we know
that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that
we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
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We need complete faith in God in order for our
prayers to be answered as well
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Jas 16 But he must ask in faith without any
doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf
of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. Jas
17 For that man ought not to expect that he
will receive anything from the Lord,

• Why? Because when the miracle comes, we will
  explain it away rather than giving God glory!

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• And without faith it is impossible to please God,
  because anyone who comes to Him must believe that
  He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly
  seek Him.
• Hebrews 116 (NIV)

• But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt .
  . .
• James 16 (NIV)

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• 16. . . take up the shield of faith, with which
  you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the
  evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the
  sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
  18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions . . .
  be alert and always keep on praying for all the
  saints.
• Ephesians 616-18 (NIV)

• Consequently, faith comes from hearing the
  message, and the message is heard through the
  word of Christ.
• Romans 1017 (NIV)

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• 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as
  you teach and admonish one another with all
  wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and
  spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to
  God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or
  deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
  giving thanks to God the Father through him.
• Col. 316-17 (NIV)

• 18 . . .be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to
  one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual
  songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the
  Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father
  for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus
  Christ.
• Eph. 518-20 (NIV)

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• They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching
  and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread
  and to prayer.
• Acts 242 (NIV)

• We will . . . give our attention to prayer and
  the ministry of the word."
• Acts 63-4 (NIV)

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We have access to the very throne of God through
prayer!
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Heb 1019 Therefore, brethren, since we have
confidence to enter the holy place by the blood
of Jesus, Heb 1020 by a new and living way
which He inaugurated for us through the veil,
that is, His flesh,
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Heb 1021 and since we have a great priest over
the house of God, Heb 1022 let us draw near
with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
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1Pe 47 The end of all things is near
therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit
for the purpose of prayer.
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We need to be people of prayer!Even pray about
the little things!
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Php 46 Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God. Php 47 And the peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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Mar 1117 And He began to teach and say to them,
"Is it not written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A
HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS'? But you
have made it a ROBBERS' DEN."
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Joh 1626 "In that day you will ask in My name,
and I do not say to you that I will request of
the Father on your behalf Joh 1627 for the
Father Himself loves you, because you have loved
Me and have believed that I came forth from the
Father.
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Col 42 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping
alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving
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Eph 610 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in
the strength of His might. Eph 611 Put on the
full armor of God, so that you will be able to
stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Eph
612 For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the
powers, against the world forces of this
darkness, against the spiritual forces of
wickedness in the heavenly places.
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(18) With all prayer and petition pray at all
times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on
the alert with all perseverance and petition for
all the saints,
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The number one reason prayer isnt a priority is
because we have taken a wartime walkie-talkie
and turned it into a peacetime intercom. John
Piper
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I Peter 56-10 6Therefore humble yourselves
realizing you cant make it without Gods
helpunder the mighty hand of God, that He may
exalt you at the proper time, 7casting all your
anxiety on Him PRAY, because He cares for you.
8Be of sober spirit not influenced by anything
but Gods Word, be on the alert. Your adversary,
the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, Jam
47 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil
and he will flee from you. firm in your faith,
knowing that the same experiences of suffering
are being accomplished by your brethren who are
in the world. 10After you have suffered for a
little while, the God of all grace, who called
you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself
perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
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William Cowpers hymn expresses it wellAnd
Satan trembles when he seesThe weakest saint
upon his knees.
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John Wesley put it this wayGive me 100 people
who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but
God . . . such alone will shake the gates of
hell . . .
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Rom 129 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor
what is evil cling to what is good. 10 Be
devoted to one another in brotherly love give
preference to one another in honor 11 not
lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord 12 rejoicing in hope,
persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13
contributing to the needs of the saints,
practicing hospitality.

• Two different words in the Greek.
• Vs. 10 - 1) the mutual love of parents and
  children and wives and husbands 2) loving
  affection, prone to love, loving tenderly

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Devoted to prayer

• Devoted here 1) to adhere to one, be his
  adherent, to be devoted or constant to one
• 2) to be steadfastly attentive unto, to give
  unremitting care to a thing
• 3) to continue all the time in

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And here is our radical action plan 6am, 9am,
12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm
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Mark you calenders, put it in your blackberry or
PDA or smart phone or wherever you put your
reminders! Lets become people of prayer!6am,
9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm
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IT IS GOODPaul Wilbur
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It is good to praise the Lord, And make music to
Your name O God Most High,To proclaim Your Love
and faithfulness, All the day and through the
night.
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(chorus)Lai lai lai...
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You make me    glad by Your deeds, O Lord, So I
sing for joy at            all Your hands have
made,How great are Your         works O
Lord,Elo-him, Baruch, Hashem.
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(chorus)Lai lai lai...
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May I dwell in Your          courts O Lord,
There to flourish like the trees of
Lebanon,Planted in the house of                
Adonai,There to live forever more.