Biblical Truths — Prayer

 

When you pray: Matthew 6:5-14  5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

 

 9 "Pray, then, in this way:

         'Our Father who is in heaven,

         Hallowed be Your name.

    10 'Your kingdom come

         Your will be done,

         On earth as it is in heaven.

    11 'Give us this day our daily bread.

    12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

    13 '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.]' (the Lord’s Prayer in King James)

 

 14 "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

 

You prayers should begin by honoring and praising God: Hallowed be Your name... Hallowed means set apart as holy, respected, honored greatly; revered. Psalm 105

 

Begin your prayers in the morning: At the beginning of a new day, get up and pray …In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice… (from Psalm 5:3), Mark 1:35

 

Pray in faith: Psalm 5:3 says In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. It is not saying you are ordering your prayer, as in commanding it, but it is saying you are ordering your prayer, implying faith that you will receive it. It is a humble request while believing. Pray believing as if you have already received your prayer.  Mark 11:24  "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Psalm 27:13

 

Pray in God’s will: When you yearn for God’s will in your life, trusting Jesus and not yourself, you will realize that God’s will is the only will you should have. God knows your needs and He will provide for them. You must trust Him and lean not on your own understanding…   Proverbs 3:5-6 

    5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart

         And do not lean on your own understanding.

    6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

         And He will make your paths straight.

 

Somewhere in the Bible your very need is reflected. It is there. Pray God lead you to it; believing. John 15:7-11  7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. 11 "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. Matthew 26:39

 

In the Lord‘s prayer, Your kingdom come Your will be done... is before Give us… Seek God’s will before you even ask for food. Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 

Pray from God’s Word: Use the prayers that are in the Bible when you have a request. Speak the words back to God that others have prayed to Him from His word. Also, speak the words of the promises of God back to God. Since I was just led to this verse I will use it: Solomon prayed this in 2 Chronicles 6:16 "Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David, my father, that which You have promised him, saying, 'You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to their way, to walk in My law as you have walked before Me.' In the same way as Solomon used God’s promise to David in his prayer, you should also seek God’s words, for your prayers, from His word. Thank you God for leading me to that scripture! (italics is mine).

 

Pray, forgiving others and confessing sin: Forgive those who you have something against. Go to those and ask for forgiveness of those who have something against you. Notice, the Bible does not say you are to go to someone you have something against before you pray (this goes with come out from their midst). Mark 11:25, Matthew 5:22-24, Psalm 66:18, Galatians 5:7, 2 Corinthians 6:17

 

In the Lord’s prayer: 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Notice, as we have forgiven our debtors. The Lord’s prayer shows that you should have already forgiven before you pray. I am not saying there is anything wrong with asking God to help you forgive. That is fine. The Lord God is the One who makes that possible.

 

Pray in humility: The Pharisee and the Publican

 

Luke 18:9-17  9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' 13 "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' 14 "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." 15 And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. 16 But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

 

Matthew 23:12  "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Psalm 51:17

 

Pray in confidence: Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need

 

Pray in courage and wait on the Lord: 2 Samuel 7:27, Psalm 27:14

 

Pray you not be led into temptation. In the Lord’s prayer: 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil…

 

Types, and elements, of prayer:

 

Adoration — Your prayer is one showing praise and adoration God. Psalm 63:3, Psalm 18:1-3, Psalm 77:11-15

Confession — Your prayer is one of repentance and of confessing your sins to God. Psalm 32:3-5

Supplication — You pray completely humbling yourself and beg God for help. Psalm 6:8-9, Psalm 18:4-6, Psalm 25:16-22

Thanksgiving — You thank God. Psalm 30:12, Psalm 35:28

Intercession — You pray to God on behalf of someone or many people. Jeremiah 29:7

Petition — You pray making requests for needs (you order your prayer, as above in Psalm 5:3). Just read the book, The Psalms

 

Colossians 4:2  Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

 

1 Timothy 2:1-2 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

Matthew 7:7  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Also, Meditate —  Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Psalm 119:97-104

And Worship in song —  Psalm 100:2  Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Psalm 13:6, Psalm 33:1-3

and … Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. Remember, Exodus 14:14  "The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent." This does not mean that you are not to pray at all times (Ephesians 6:18, Luke 18:1) because you are to. Don’t pray as if you don’t believe (Matthew 6:7) and to be reverent when you pray. This does not mean you cannot cry to Him day and night. Luke 18:7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?

For more on prayer see PrayerToday.org

 

Thank you Lord for Your leading as I wrote!

 

 

If you’re not saved, Come to Jesus!