Quotes on Prayer

1.    The most powerful prayer is to pray God’s word because God’s word will not be returned void.

2. Prayer is the beans of sustaining your faith which sometimes can grow weak.

3. Prayer is powerful, it can heal. Prayer can give and can change lives. – Pope Francis

4 Prayer helps us find strength for today and hope for tomorrow. – CS Lewis

5. Prayer – lays hold of God’s plan for our lives. – Elizabeth Elliot

6. When you are done in the dark, listen and God will give you a very precious message. – Oswald Chambers.

7. In prayer worship, God implants Himself into us. – CS Lewis

8. When I wake up in the morning, I have work/work/work to do. So much work that I have to spend the first three hours in prayer. – Martin Luther

9. To get nations and people back on their feet, we need to get them on their knees first. – Billy Graham.

10. I do not believe that one can earnestly seek and find the priceless treasures of God’s Word and His calling on your life without an effective prayer life. – Ravi Zacharias

Nothing is impossible when God is on your side – help is found in God’s Word.

1.    Hope (Psalm 42:5)

2.    Waiting (Ps. 27:14)

3.    Anxiety (1^st Peter 5:7)

4.    Courage (Deuteronomy 31:6)

5.    Peace (John 14:27)

6.    Helplessness (Psalm 34:17)

7.    Anger (Ephesians 4:26-27)

8.    Forgiveness (1^st John 1:5-10, Matthew 6:14-15)

9.    Hurt (Psalm 147:3)

10. Weariness (Matthew 7:28)

11. Strength Philippians 4:13

12. Fear (Joshua 1:9)

THIS IS A TIME FOR SPIRITUAL FITNESS, PRAYER, THE POWER OF HOPE

 Hope for believers is not an illusion. It is the assurance that good things are going to happen based upon the promises in God’s Word. IF YOUR MARRIAGE IS FAILING, IF YOUR BUSINESS OR FINANCES ARE SINKING, IF YOUR CHILDREN ARE IN TROUBLE, IF YOUR HEALTH IS AT RISK, THERE IS HOPE IN THE LIVING GOD.

TAKE TIME TO PREPARE FOR PRAYER

Jesus is taking time today to prepare a place for us; John 14:1-3. Preparation for prayer is very important so that God will hear our prayers.

Here are 8 prayer principles:

1.    Repent of all known sin; 1^st John 1:5-10 (there are 5 ifs here - our choice).

2.    God cannot hear us if we do not repent of sin; Psalms 66:18-20.

3.    Forgive others otherwise God cannot forgive us; Matthew 7:14-15.

4.    Do not worry. Worry is a sin; Matthew 6: 24-34.

5.    Like Solomon, ask God for wisdom; James 1:5-6, but ask in faith; Hebrews 11:6.

6.    You have not because you ask not. Keep on asking; Matthew 7:7-8, John 15:7.

7.    Always address your prayer to the Father; Matthew 6:9-15. Ask everything in the name of Jesus; John 14 13-14. Remember the Holy Spirit intercedes for us (the meaning of intercession is to meet with, to make a petition Romans 8:25-28).

8.    For husbands only: Dwell with your wife with understanding and honour because if you do not your prayers will be hindered (cut off). Remember, your wife was created to be your helpmeet which means DIVINE AID (Genesis 2:18).

The Holy Spirit intercedes for us to Jesus Christ who then intercedes for us to the Father; Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25. Remember to please the Holy Spirit and do not grieve the Holy Spirit because you are the Temple of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:28-32).

Final Thoughts

1.    God dwells in the praises of His people; Psalms 22:3.

2.    David Wilkinson said, “the blood of Jesus Christ is the most powerful force in the universe.”

3.    Apply the precious blood of Jesus to your prayer requests.

4.    Consider taking communion as often as possible but, like prayer, take time to prepare; 1^st Corinthians 11:17-34.

5.  Waiting for God is not laziness.

6.  Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort.

7.   Waiting for God means activity under command.

8.   Waiting means readiness for any new command that may come.

9.   Waiting is the ability to do nothing till the command is given. If the eagles can do it so can we; Isaiah 40:31.                                                                                                           17

Learning to Wait on the Lord

We will not survive spiritually if we do not learn to wait (Psalms 130:5-6).

WAIT WITH PATIENCE

WAIT IN PRAYER. “Out of the depths, I have cried to you Lord. Lord hear my voice.” Psalms 130: 1-2

WAIT ON PURPOSE. My soul waits silently for God, alone. He is my rock and my salvation. He is my defence; I will not be shaken.” Psalm 62:5-6

STAND IN FAITH EVEN WHEN YOU ARE HAVING THE HARDEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE

Isaiah 40:31: The prophet Isaiah gives us a great example of waiting: “But those who wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.”

There are many amazing facts about eagles but here are just a few:

1.    They mate for life.

2.    They return to the same nest year after year.

3.    When it comes time for their children to leave the nest, they mount their children on their wings and then fly into the air and flip them off. If the youngsters can’t fly, they catch them and take them back to the nest and try it again in a few days.

4.    Eagles have been known to fly as fast as over a hundred kilometres per hour and if there is a storm they fly into the storm and use the currents of air to accomplish their goals.

That’s what makes this verse so motivating for us in our lives.

This is Amazing

God Reveals to Us How We Are to React to a Pandemic

Solomon’s Temple Prayer – 2^nd Chronicles 6:12-42

Verses 1 to 3 – God promises Solomon a place to worship.

Verses 4-11 – Solomon blessed the people.

What is the power of the spiritual blessing? A Biblical blessing is a statement which involves the blessing of God upon the life of another person; Numbers 6: 24-26.

Solomon’s Temple Prayer

Solomon the King knelt down with arms lifted up to heaven in front of all his people. It is important to remember that when God asked Solomon what he wanted, Solomon’s response: He asked for wisdom; 1^st Kings 3:3-13. God has extended the same offer to us; James 1: 5-6.

Solomon prayed for 12 things:

1. God’s faithfulness – verses 14-16
2. God’s continuous faithfulness – verses 16-17
3. God’s omnipresence – verses 18
4. Plea for answer to prayer – verses 19-21
5. Plea for just judgement – verses 22-23
6. Plea for forgiveness of sin – verses 24-25
7. Forgiveness and rain from heaven – verses 26-27
8. Plea for God’s help in a time of pestilence/war and sickness – verses 28-31
9. Blessings on Gentiles who are seeking God – verses 22-23
10. Plea for God’s help in war even if no sin had been committed – verses 34-35.
11. Plea for help in war when sin had been committed – verses 36-39
12. Plea for God’s continued presence and blessing – verses 40-42                               19

2^nd Chronicles 7:1-11 – Result of Solomon’s prayers: Divine acceptance and God’s Glory entered the Temple.

2^nd Chronicles 7:12-22

God appeared to Solomon a second time, 20 years after the dedication of the Temple; 2^nd Chronicles 8:1.

2^nd Chronicles 7:13-15 - God obviously knew that the people would not be obedient after Solomon’s dedication prayer. This is God speaking to us today: In verse 13, God says “if” three times, which means it is His choice, and there are 1,522 instances of the word “if” in the Bible.

1.    “If I stop the rain…”

2.    “If I command locust to devour the land…”

3.     If I send pestilence…”

Today, there are billions of locusts destroying the food supply in parts of Africa and East Asia. Pestilence is a contagious, infectious disease greatly affecting us today with COVID-19.

Verse 14 – To me, this is one of the most incredible verses in the Bible because it is directed to us today. “If [our choice] my people who are called by name will do four things…”

1. Humble themselves which means to bend the knee. It is used in 2^nd Chronicles 34:27. Spurgeon said voluntary humbleness is what God is looking for (that’s what Solomon did).
2. Pray. Pray means to make supplication, to ask for. There are at least 12 preparation steps for prayer in order for God to even hear our prayer. Details to follow. Two of the most important are repentance; 1^st John 1:5-10 (5 “ifs” in that chapter) and forgiveness of others; Matthew 6:14-15.
3. Seek my face. Seek me to search out, to worship or to request; Psalm 80: 7,19.
4. Turn from your wicked ways. Turn means return to the starting point or to relinquish. Solomon used the word turn three times in his prayer; 2^nd Chronicles 6:26,37,42.

If We Do These 3 Things Here is God’s Promise to Us

1. I will hear you from Heaven. Hear means attention.
2. I will forgive your sin as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12).
3. Heal our land which means to mend like a physician, to repair thoroughly, DIVINE INTERVENTION. The word heal is also used in Isaiah 53:5 in the context of our salvation.
   

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Music by David Johannesson