Topic: Prayer

Praying for the Lost

• Salvation has already been purchased for all mankind and forgiveness awaits all who will receive it.

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Hebrews 10:10-12 NIV And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (11) Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. (12) But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

The Bible teaches us that Jesus paid the price once for all mankind. He purchased our salvation so the work of redemption has been completed.

Colossians 1:13-14 NLT For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, (14) who purchased our freedom [with His blood] and forgave our sins.

• Salvation must be received.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Salvation must be received.” quote=”Salvation must be received.”]

So, for us to pray prayers such as, “Lord save so and so…” are unscriptural because the work of salvation is complete and in God’s heart and mind it is established and mankind just needs to receive what God has already done.

Romans 10:13-15 NIV for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (14) How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (15) And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

A preacher is one who simply proclaims, declares or shares the truth. A preacher is not necessarily one who stands in a pulpit.

That means that all of us who are believers today are believers because someone was sent to us to tell us the Good News of the Gospel.

Why were they sent?

• Preachers are sent because someone prayed.

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Matthew 9:35-38 NIV Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. (36) When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (37) Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. (38) Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

We work with God in asking Him to send forth the laborers into the harvest and He does the sending. The laborers do the preaching and start the process.

Someone might say, “Well, if the Lord wants to send forth laborers into the harvest, why doesn’t He just send them?” But God cannot do any more on earth than what we permit Him to do. We permit God to move in our lives and in the earth by obeying His Word and by praying.

It is still up to the person to receive God’s free gift but at least they shall have heard.

God knows exactly the right person who can reach your unsaved loved one and can influence them for the Lord.

You can also pray that God will pour out His goodness in their lives so that it will bring them to a place of repentance.

Romans 2:4 NKJV Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

The correct way to pray for lost friends or loved ones is like this:

Lord, I ask You, the Lord of the Harvest, to send forth perfect laborers into the life of _____________ to share the Good News of the Gospel. Let them say it in a special way so that they will listen and understand it. I believe that they will not be able to resist the drawing of your Spirit as you bring them to repentance by overwhelming them with your goodness and love. I thank You for it, in Jesus’ Name.

You can also pray for their supernatural protection especially if they are involved in activities that could endanger them.

Praying for the Found

I believe that most Born Again believers genuinely want to follow after the things of God and His direction for their lives.

Sometimes the enemy is able to come in and bring confusion and questions because they do not know what they are supposed to be doing.

• When people do not know what to do, they always revert to do what they do know to do.

[clickToTweet tweet=”When people do not know what to do, they always revert to do what they do know to do.” quote=”When people do not know what to do, they always revert to do what they do know to do.”]

Proverbs 4:18 NIV The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

1 John 1:7 NIV But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Ephesians 5:8-9 NLT For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! (9) For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

• Light or revelation from God’s Word is essential for our lives to be different and better.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Light or revelation from God’s Word is essential for our lives to be different and better.” quote=”Light or revelation from God’s Word is essential for our lives to be different and better.”]

It is still the individual’s choice to walk in the light they receive.

Paul outlined the prayers that we can pray for believers (and for ourselves) in the following epistles:

Paul prayed for: 

Ephesians 1:15-16 NKJV Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, (16) do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

Ephesians 1:17-18 NKJV that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, (18) the eyes of your understanding being enlightened… 

1. Wisdom and revelation in the deep, intimate knowledge of God. 

Ephesians 1:18 NKJV …that you may know what is the hope of His calling…

Hope = expectation

Calling – invitation to a banquet, (metaphorically) an invitation to the Kingdom and its benefits

2. Knowledge and expectation of obtaining the benefits and privileges of the Kingdom.

Ephesians 1:18 NKJV …what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

3. Knowledge of what we will inherit eternally.

Ephesians 1:19-20 NKJV and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (20) which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

4. Knowledge of the resurrection power of God at work in us and for us. 

Here is an example prayer you can pray for loved ones or friends that are saved (and yourself):

Father, in the Name of Jesus, I pray for ____________. I pray that You would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the deep and intimate knowledge of You. I pray that they would discover and obtain the benefits and privileges of the Kingdom and that they would know the depths of their eternal inheritance in Christ. I pray that they come to know and experience the immeasurable and unlimited power of God that is in work in them and for them which is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Amen.

Other Pauline prayers can be found in:

Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (15) from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, (16) that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, (17) that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height– (19) to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:19 AMP [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

Colossians 1:9-12 NLT So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. (10) Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. (11) We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, (12) always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light.

 

What Is Worship?

• Worship is the highest kind of prayer.

John 4:23 NKJV But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

• Worship is to love God.

Deuteronomy 11:1 NKJV “Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always.

Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV (37) Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ (40) On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The greatest thing that you can do is love God. We think the greatest thing is to serve God but if you love Him, you will serve Him but if you don’t love Him, you won’t serve Him. The way to serve God begins with loving God.

• Worship is love expressed.

Love must be expressed.

If you are married and you never express your love, your marriage is in trouble. You keep that love alive by expressing that love.

We are the only beings on earth that can communicate heart to heart.

Worship is love communicated. It is you communicating your love to God and God communicating His love to you.

You were created to receive God’s love and give God’s love back to Him. No other being in creation was created to do this. 

Why Do We Worship?

 Deuteronomy 31:1-2 NKJV (1) Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. (2) And he said to them: “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’

Moses knew that his time of leadership was over because he could no longer come in and go out and could not lead the people to do the same thing.

Joshua 14:11 NKJV (11)  As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.

Coming in and going out were warfare terms. You came in from war and you went out to war. A leader needed to know how to lead the people to come in from war and how to lead them out for war.

Coming In – You come in to the Presence of God so that you can be refreshed and refilled from war.

Going Out – You go out from the Presence of the Lord to make a difference for His Kingdom.

We say it this way because the entire purpose of warfare in the Old Testament was to establish that God was the one, true and living God.

God used the smallest nation in existence at that time to establish His Name throughout the entire world by making them the strongest through His supernatural help and strength.

His heart is for the world and He chose Israel to be the light in the world.

We are in a war in life and we need to learn how to come in and how to go out. 

1. Let’s learn to come IN to the Presence of God.

Acts 3:19 AMP So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord; 

Matthew 11:28-29 AMP Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer. 6:16.] 

Ezekiel 46:9 NKJV (9)  “But when the people of the land come before the LORD on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and whoever enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate.

• Whoever comes in to worship one way should go out another way.

God is saying, “When you come into My Presence, you should leave differently than when you came in.”

It is possible to attend church physically and not attend church spiritually. It is possible to be here in body and not in spirit.

If you ever come to church burdened and you leave burdened, you didn’t come to church.

If you bring burdens to church with you (and you should), and you do not leave them here, you have not attended church. You have not worshipped God and have not entered His presence.

In His presence, He takes our burdens. This is not just at church but also in our daily lives taking time to worship God in your quiet time with Him.

2. Let’s learn to go out WITH the Presence of God.

Ezekiel 46:10 NKJV (10)  The prince shall then be in their midst. When they go in, he shall go in; and when they go out, he shall go out.

The Presence of God is what makes us different from any other organization. 

• The beauty of church is that God’s Presence goes with you when you leave.

Matthew 6:25 NKJV “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

 Philippians 4:6 NLT Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.

We are wired and created to fix things. Your mind works to come up with solutions to fix things. Anything that threatens us, annoys us, or bothers us, we want to fix it to keep it from happening again. Once we have gone through some type of difficulty, we don’t want to experience that again so we try to fix whatever caused the difficulty.

We do have situations that arise in life that we do not have the ability to fix. They are bigger than we are, tougher than we are, and beyond our control. Your mind is wired to find answers and solutions and will race to try and find them and this leads to worry.

However, Paul is telling us in this verse NOT to worry.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV (23) Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Worry is not birthed in your spirit but in your mind.

Anxious (Greek: merimnao) To be worried, anxious or fretful. In the NT used in conjunction with everyday life: finances, hunger, or some other basic provision of life.

Mark 4:18-19 NKJV Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, (19) and the cares of this world (merimno), the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke (to choke or suffocate) the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 

• Worry is the result of a fruitless search for life’s answers in your human mind. 

Your mind is a wonderful tool, but your mind can only give out what you put into it. If you do not put the information into your mind, you cannot ever retrieve that information.

• You can never recall an answer from your mind that has never been put there.

There are just some things that your mind does not have.

Your mind does not always do a perfect job of giving you back everything you put into it. It can sometimes give back what you put in it in a way that is a little bit inaccurate. You can study hard in school and still did not make a 100.

• If you face a new problem, then the answer is going to have to come from the Lord. 

James 1:5 NLT If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

When you are searching for the answer in your mind by going over and over the problem to look for the solution, you only cause yourself more anxiety and frustration.

The spirit of man is where God lives in you and this is where He speaks to you.

• God is going to reveal the answers you need primarily from His Word. 

Paul gives us five steps on how to lay down worry and take up prayer: 

Philippians 4:6 NKJV Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 

1. Prayer (Greek: proseuche) a meeting birthed out of a face-to-face relationship where there is an exchange. (exchange worries for peace)

2. Supplication (Greek: deisis): a request for a very specific, particular need. (not “God bless the world”) Telling God exactly what is happening and what you need Him to do for you.

3. Thanksgiving (Greek: eucharista): an outpouring of grace and wonderful feelings that flow freely from the heart in response to someone or something.

Paul is telling us when we “earnestly” ask God for something, we should always follow it up with and “earnest outpouring of thanks”.

Make it a goal to be just as passionate about your thanksgiving as you are about making your request.

4. Requests (Greek: aitima) to be adamant in requesting and demanding assistance to meet tangible needs.

It also expresses one who possesses a full expectation to receive what was firmly requested.

John 15:7 NKJV If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 

Hebrews 4:16 NKJV Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

5. Known (Greek: gnoridzo) to declare something or make something very evident. 

Expanded, interpretive translation of Philippians 4:6:

“Don’t worry about anything – and that means nothing at all! Instead come before God and give Him the things that concern you so He can in exchange give you what you need or desire. Be bold to strongly, passionately, and fervently make your request know to God, making certain that an equal measure of thanksgiving goes along with your strong asking. You have every right to ask boldly, so go ahead and insist boldly that God meet your need. When you pray, be so bold that there is no doubt that your prayer is heard. Broadcast it! Declare it! Pray boldly until you have the assurance that God has heard your request.”

• There is a confidence that arises in your heart the more that you give thanks for the answer. 

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. (7) Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 

• The more you give thanks that you have the answer, the peace of God will become a guard over your heart and mind.

• We must realize that things in our everyday lives are directly connected to our times in prayer.

• Prayer has a direct and immediate impact on the battles of life. 

Exodus 17:8-14 NIV The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. (9) Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” (10) So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. (11) As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. (12) When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up–one on one side, one on the other–so that his hands remained steady till sunset. (13) So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. (14) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”

The staff was a big deal to these people. They understood and remembered what God had done in using Moses’ staff to show his power to the Egyptians.

This was not a one-time event. This is a model for God’s people in the ages to come.

The Israelites won the battle not because of what was happening in the valley but rather what was happening on top of the hill where Moses was.

• What happens on the higher plane of prayer has a direct bearing on what happens in the lower plane of everyday life. 

The reason that God’s people fail to pray is because they do not get that connection. 

Psalms 76:1-3 NLT God is honored in Judah; His name is great in Israel. (2) Jerusalem is where He lives; Mount Zion is His home. (3) There He has broken the fiery arrows of the enemy, the shields and swords and weapons of war. Interlude

The Psalmist is saying the same thing. In His presence is where battles are won. He is saying we won the battles because of what happened at God’s throne.

• God makes it clear – what happens before His throne has a direct bearing on the situations that we encounter in life.

Exodus 17:11-12 NIV As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. (12) When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up–one on one side, one on the other–so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

Notice that Moses got tired but Joshua and the soldiers did not. 

• Most believers do not realize that prayer is spiritual battle. (It is WORK!)

We all believe in the effectiveness of prayer but we do very little of it because of the battle that goes along with it.

We get distracted, we get tired, and we get bored. Your flesh does not like to pray. Peter, James and John could not pray with Jesus for 60 minutes without going to sleep.

Why do we even need to pray? Doesn’t God love us and isn’t He aware of what we go through in life?

• Prayer is connected to the authority that God gave to man in the beginning. 

When God created Adam, He gave him amazing authority and prayer is the acknowledgement of that authority.

Genesis 1:26 NIV Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Psalms 8:4-6 NIV what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (5) You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. (6) You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:

When Adam sinned, he surrendered that authority to God’s enemy, Satan. 

Luke 4:6-7 AMP And he said to Him, To You I will give all this power and authority and their glory (all their magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and grace), for it has been turned over to me, and I give it to whomever I will. (7) Therefore if You will do homage to and worship me [just once], it shall all be Yours.

This was a temptation for Jesus. If Satan did not have this and could not give it, then this was not a temptation. 

• Jesus came to the earth to win back that authority, not for God, but for mankind. 

Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man 81 times.

Luke 5:24 NKJV But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”–He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 

Luke 4:3 NKJV And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 

John 16:33 NKJV These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Jesus never once sinned and won the fight with temptation every single time so the world had nothing on Him. And he was born here.

• Jesus died as the Son of Man but rose again as the Son of God.

Matthew 28:18 NKJV And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 

To use your God-given authority in prayer, you must:

• Be born here.

• Your sin problem must be dealt with.

We must pray because God will never force His will into your life.

• Prayer is the invitation by someone with authority given to God to use His power in the earth.