The power of prayer


The power of prayer


Have you ever doubted if God hears your prayers? Have you ever wondered if your prayers matter? I know I have! For a long time, I thought it didn’t matter if I prayed because I thought God didn’t listen to me. It turned out I was praying wrong. 


Let’s start with the Lord’s Prayer.  Here is the example God set out for us. 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:9-15


Our Father which art in Heaven:

Jesus teaches His disciples that God is our father who resides in Heaven. The Apostle Paul restates this by exhorting the believer to address God as "Abba" (Aramaic for "Daddy"- the kind of intimate word that a child would use to his or her father)


 • Hallowed be thy name: 

The first of seven requests in this prayer. "Hallowed" means holy. As we pray this line we are reminding ourselves that God, who is separate from us, is also completely pure and faultless. We are giving and showing reverence to Abba. 


• Thy kingdom come: 

God's kingdom is to do with His ways and order. Here we are asking that God's ways happen here, as they are fully obeyed in Heaven. We invite God and his ways and orders. 


• Thy will be done: 

The third request in this prayer is that God's will occurs. We are aligning our will with God's will, submitting ourselves to Him, and asking that His way triumphs. We are surrendering


• Give us this day our daily bread: 

This is our request to be filled and fed spiritually. We need God in all areas of our life (physical, spiritual and mental), and this is a daily need. We need to come back to God regularly, each day- indeed, many times each day and many ways, for we can quickly become independent and self-seeking. Jesus reiterates this daily dependency when he exhorts us to not "worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" Matthew 6:34 

• And forgive us our trespasses: 

Different versions of this prayer use different words here - sometimes "trespasses", "debts" or "sins". Here we bring to mind the ways in which we have failed God and others, and ask the Lord for His forgiveness. 


• As we forgive them that trespass against us: 

We must forgive others just as we have been forgiven! 


• And lead us not into temptation:

We are praying for strength to resist sin and temptation here. 


• For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. Forever and ever. Amen. The prayer finishes with a closing doxology, that is, a hymn of praise to God.


When we pray it doesn’t have to be like this. It can be an on going dialogue with God. It can be out loud, in a whisper, in tongues or silently in your thoughts. The important thing is to pray! 


if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14


The devil doesn’t want us to have victory! He doesn’t want us delivered and healed. But God does! And all he is wanting is for us to ask! 


And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Ephesians 6:18


Praying in the spirit takes selfishness out of prayer. We lay aside our pride to focus on Him!


Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18


We must give thanks, admiration and praise to the Lord! He is our Abba, Jehovah Jireh. He is enough!


Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

Matthew 18:19

When we gather together and agree in prayer, the Lord is there!!!! He will hear our prayers and answer us! The faith of many is multiplied! There is power in numbers! 


This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

1 John 5:14

Abba Lord wants us to ask of him! He delights in answering our prayers! If you love giving a gift to those you love, how much more would God delight in answering our prayers? 


Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Jeremiah 29:12


You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.

Job 22:27


Prayer is a connection line with God. He delights in giving us good and perfect gifts! HE LOVES US! 


Satan is a liar though and wants to discourage you. Don’t fall for it! God is listening and eager to answer you!

Comments

Post a Comment

Check out this post!

The names of God

Image
  Not to long ago I was praying and I heard "I am Elohim. All you need to do is ask." I had no clue what Elohim meant! So I went to my walking, talking Hebrew dictionary, Corey. He said Elohim means mighty one, the supreme one. Elohim emphasizes the the power and might of God. He is might to heal and save. This got me thinking about the song Because of Who You Are. It goes:  Because of who you are I give you glory Because of who you are I give you praise Lord because of who you are I will lift my voice and say Lord I worship you because of who you are Jehova Jireh, you're my Provider Jehova Nissi, you reign in victory Jehovah Shalom, my Prince of Peace Lord I worship you because of who you are This song often is playing in the background of my brain. The bible mentions numerous names that describe the characteristics of God. When we are worshipping or praying, I can call on our Lord by not just his name, but a characteristic with his name. This gives us power to remind no
Read more

Rest for the weary

Image
  This morning I was reading a devotional about stress and depression. A few things stuck out.  Jesus is always there with you through your highs, lows, wins, and losses in life. He simply invites you to come to Him. He’s not there to shame you, to tell you that you’re less than something because you’re suffering. Instead, He's there to provide you hope, love, rest, and relief. You don’t have to try to carry the weight of life alone. We have a Heavenly Father that will take our burdens and give us rest.  Can you picture Jesus standing there with outstretched arms, mail pierced hands saying, “I know you’re going through a rough time. Come to Me. You’re tired. Lid is hard sometimes. Life has put something on you that you can't do by yourself. But you you don’t have to do this alone. Only I can give you that true rest that you need. Do you want rest for your soul, body and mind? I promise you that I’ll give it to you. I’m gentle, loving, patient, and kind. Let me help you. Let me
Read more

About Corey

Image
  Corey Richardson I was born and raised in the blue ridge mountains of North Carolina in the Baptist Church. I had made a commitment to Christ at the age of 13 but I soon backslid in my teenage years. Falling into drugs, alcohol, and riotous living. At the age of 19, during a suicide attempt, I heard the voice of the Lord call out to me saying, “I have a purpose for you.” Immediately I put down the gun and repented of my sins, turning back to Christ as my Lord and savior. Not long after that, the Lord called me to preach,  filling me with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I hid this fact for many years, as I was still very much a part of the Baptist denomination which held a firm stance against the gifts of the Spirit. It was this and other doctrines that the Baptists held that I soon found myself to be at odds with. I eventually became a Pastor of a non denominational holiness church at the age of twenty years old. I would soon be kicked out of that church for
Read more

Spiritual sight

 This weeks Torah portion is called “Re’eh” which means to see. It initiates a time of introspection before we get into the High Holy-days. The Torah portion starts with Deuteronomy 11:26- “See, I am setting before you today a blessing  and a curse“ The Hebrew word Re’eh is singular as though Moses was writing this for each individual to see for himself. But what exactly are we supposed to see? God sets forth both the blessing and the curse within his word. Curses for disobedience and blessings for obedience. These are the consequences of his Law. He wants us to see past the letter or the duty of the Law. To see both the blessing and the curse of our actions.  The curse of the Law is death upon all those who have disobeyed it. Which includes all of us. We’ve all sinned and failed to meet the righteous requirements of the Law. But our Messiah became a curse for us and hung on the tree in our place. So that the Blessings of God’s promises might be given to those of us which believe. At t
Read more

Free Indeed

Image
 When I was 3, my uncle sexually molested me. Just recently, 31 years later, I have started to understand the ripple effect of this.  The day my mom found out about the molestation, my mom said “It started like a rock in my stomach the day I found out. I obsessed over it and how I had failed you and what I wanted to do to him. That caused it to take over my life and mind.” That lead to a deep depression in my mom. She would spend years fighting that depression.  It also lead to depression, fear and anxiety in myself. When it came time for school, I cried every day begging my mom not to leave me. I would have panic attacks and throw up. Around 13, I started having flashbacks and started antidepressants. The cycle looked like this: Molestation➡️moms depression➡️ mom overdosing➡️ being in an abusive marriage ➡️ Uncle Keith committing suicide (he was not the one who molested me) ➡️mental break down➡️ divorce ➡️ legalism and curse on Corey and my marriage The enemy found a foothold in my li
Read more