When a man really prays it is not a question whether God will hear him or not, He must hear him; not because there is any compulsion in the prayer, but there is a sweet and blessed compulsion in the promise. God has promised to hear prayer and He will perform His promise. As he is the most high and true God, He cannot deny himself. Oh! to think of this; that you, a puny creature, may stand here and speak to God, and through God may move all the worlds. – C.H. Spurgeon
How Did King David Begin His Day?
How Did King David Begin His Day?
How did King David begin his day? If so we can peer in and see how he often did then could we not glean something about how to imitate this man of God?
Do You Pray and Not Expect An Answer?
Do You Pray and Not Expect An Answer?
Do you find any godly man or woman praying in scripture and they don't expect an answer? What does that mean if you're praying but you don't expect an answer?
The Praying Christ and His Humanity
The Praying Christ and His Humanity
When we reflect on the praying Christ and his humanity we come away realizing all the more that there is no way that you and I can face any day without prayer.
The Intercessor – A Prayer Warrior Who Has the Gift of Intercessory Prayer?
The Intercessor – A Prayer Warrior Who Has the Gift of Intercessory Prayer?
The term "intercessor" occurs only once in the Bible. "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor . . . "
Not An Accident – Jesus Saves On Purpose
Not An Accident – Jesus Saves On Purpose
The Bible never teaches us that Jesus finds any of his people on accident but He specifically goes out seeking for them.
Our Lord’s Three Imperatives of Prayer: Ask, Seek, Knock!
Our Lord’s Three Imperatives of Prayer: Ask, Seek, Knock!
The Lord Jesus Christ gives us three imperatives on prayer: ask, seek, and knock. What greater incentive to pray than to know that whatever we ask...
What Can We Learn From the Syrophoenician Woman?
What Can We Learn From the Syrophoenician Woman?
One of the unique examples we have of faith in the Bible is the Syrophoenician woman. Given everything in the Bible was recorded with a direct application for us.
Did Jesus Pray Using Vain Repetition in Matthew 26:44?
Did Jesus Pray Using Vain Repetition in Matthew 26:44?
What should we make of this, especially considering Jesus' teachings on prayer and not praying using vain repetition?
The Christian’s Secret Life (Part 3): How To Pray
The Christian’s Secret Life (Part 3): How To Pray
Is the "Lord's Prayer" a mindless liturgy to you? Did Jesus mean when we pray, we must use these exact words?
The Christian’s Life in Secret (Part 2): When You Pray
The Christian’s Life in Secret (Part 2): When You Pray
Do you pray? And if so, how do you pray? In Matthew 6 Jesus gives us three categories of people and how they pray.
Have Faith in God: Laying Ahold of His Promises in Prayer
Have Faith in God: Laying Ahold of His Promises in Prayer
In Mark 11:22 and Jesus answered, saying to them, "Have faith in God." This is a command, isn't it? He does not say, ask for faith. He does not say wait for faith.
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
You may know theology, but do you know how to pray? We need to remember that the disciples didn't ask Jesus how to preach, perform miracles, walk on water, etc.
God Is Creating Weakness In Your Life
God Is Creating Weakness In Your Life
Your problem is never that you are too weak. As a matter of fact, what God does in our lives, from the moment we are born again and until we die, is He is constantly working to create weakness in us. The problem is no...
Serpents, Scorpions, and Prayer
Serpents, Scorpions, and Prayer
In all of the accounts of the Bible that concern prayer, one of the most encouraging sections is what Jesus teaches in Luke 11:9-13.
How Can We Pray in the Spirit?
How Can We Pray in the Spirit?
The Bible tells us to pray in the Spirit. What does that mean and how can we do that?
Praying For All The Saints
Praying For All The Saints
As Christians, we are in a spiritual war against the Devil, and we constantly feel the attacks from Satan that come upon us.
Praying at All Times in the Spirit
Praying at All Times in the Spirit
As we put on each piece of the armor of God we need to remember that each piece needs to be put on as we're praying. As important as each part of our armor is...
Effective Prayers Because of a Righteous Life (Part 4)
Effective Prayers Because of a Righteous Life (Part 4)
One thing the Devil fears about the righteous life of the believer is the effective prayers...
Draw Near to God: The Supreme Need
Draw Near to God: The Supreme Need
What is the answer to all of the unfulfilled desires that eat away at mankind? The supreme need for mankind is to draw near to God and to know Him.
The Spirit’s Help in Prayer
The Spirit’s Help in Prayer
First, notice that the Spirit is a helper. Jesus calls Him that. He is not "our little helper", but it is more like the king helping...
Are You in the Inner Circle?
Are You in the Inner Circle?
How often are you looking up and beholding Christ as you go about your day? Do you look to Christ in all that you do? There are some Christians in the innermost circle who keep their eyes on the life-giving rays...
Pray Like a Lawyer
Pray Like a Lawyer
Many people pray, but how many people ask themselves why God should actually answer their prayers? How many Christians know how to argue with God in prayer?
Effectual & Ineffectual Prayers
Effectual & Ineffectual Prayers
The Bible encourages us to pray, and even when our prayers are ineffectual we shouldn't be discouraged because God uses them.
The Christian’s Boldness and Confidence
The Christian’s Boldness and Confidence
Jesus Christ is the Christian's foundation for having bold access to God. It is not our performance that allows us to come boldly before God, but the merits of Christ.
God’s Sovereignty and Our Prayers
God’s Sovereignty and Our Prayers
A concept that some people have difficulty with is trying to reconcile the sovereignty of God with our prayers. Does God's sovereignty make our prayers unnecessary or irrelevant?
Make God’s Name Your Argument in Prayer
Make God’s Name Your Argument in Prayer
God has great concern for His Name and what this world says about Him. We should appeal to God's Name for the sake of answering our prayers. Are your prayers related to God's Name and reputation?
Spiritual Progress: Prayer (Order & Argument)
Spiritual Progress: Prayer (Order & Argument)
When we pray, we ought to be able to make a case before God why He should answer our prayers. We should be able to argue and reason with God...
Paul, Teach Me to Pray
Paul, Teach Me to Pray
What can we learn from the apostle Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3? One notable thing Paul prays for is that Christ would dwell in the hearts of the Ephesians.
We Need Intercessors in the Church!
We Need Intercessors in the Church!
Intercessors don't come from marginally spiritual people. They come from people who walk close with the Lord, and who also love other Christians.
Pray to the Father For Others
Pray to the Father For Others
In the last section of Ephesians 3, we get the privilege of seeing a prayer that's inspired of the Holy Spirit. Paul addressed God as his Father...
Seek God and Go From Fear to Faith
Seek God and Go From Fear to Faith
How did King David go from being full of fear to being full of praise and adoration to God? It was by seeking the Lord through prayer.
Ten Characteristics of How Jesus Prayed
Ten Characteristics of How Jesus Prayed
Jesus prayed to His Father with reverence, in simple language, in an orderly way, while full of faith and confidence, and having an ultimate concern for God's glory.
A Threefold Cord: Secret Prayer, Doing Good, and Self-Denial
A Threefold Cord: Secret Prayer, Doing Good, and Self-Denial
Believer, in this upcoming year live a life with the threefold cord of secret prayer, doing good, and self-denial. As you secretly commune...
The Barrenness of Busyness
The Barrenness of Busyness
King Solomon was an example of someone who had a fatal downward spiral in his walk with God. It didn't happen overnight. It was a slow process of compromise.
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
A Warning Against Lazy Praying
A Warning Against Lazy Praying
When we gather together in our prayer meetings there should be a militancy about those prayers. Is there the smell of war on those prayers? Because we are at war.
Effectual Prayer Empowered by the Spirit
Effectual Prayer Empowered by the Spirit
I am all for sharpening our minds... and a greater theological understanding, but we cannot afford for it to stop there. Does your theology make your heart dance?
The Necessity of Daily Praying and Reading the Bible
The Necessity of Daily Praying and Reading the Bible
As the believer daily renews their mind in the Scriptures, and in prayer they cast themselves upon the Lord - they will walk in purity. When you find a...
Asking in Prayer
Asking in Prayer
John 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
I learned by experience that much prayer is the only means to success.
Ministers, in order to be burning and shining lights, should walk closely with God, and keep near to Christ; that they may ever be enlightened and enkindled by Him. And they should be much in seeking God, and conversing with Him by prayer, who is the fountain of light and love.
We must deliberately seek to meet with God absolutely alone, and to secure such aloneness with God we are bidden to ‘enter into the closet.’ God absolutely insists on this ‘closet’ communion with Himself. One reason, no doubt, that He demands it is to test our sincerity. There is no test for the soul like solitude. Do you shrink from solitude? Perhaps the cause for your neglect of the ‘closet’ is a guilty conscience? You are afraid to enter into the solitude. You know that however cheerful you appear to be you are not really happy. You surround yourself with company lest, being alone, truth should invade your delusion.
The aim of Satanic power is to cut off communication with God. To accomplish this aim he deludes the soul with a sense of defeat, covers him with a thick cloud of darkness, depresses and oppresses the spirit, which in turn hinders prayer and leads to unbelief—thus destroying all power (instead of seeing Hebrews 11:1).
Praying without faith is like trying to cut with a blunt knife—much labor expended to little purpose. For the work accomplished by labor in prayer depends on our faith: “According to your faith,” not labor, “be it unto you.”
Come, my soul, thy suit prepare,
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He Himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee nay.
Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such
None can ever ask too much.
Ask God for anything, but let Him judge as to the manner, measure, and timing of the giving.
Satan, the Hinderer, may build a barrier about us, but he can never roof us in, so that we cannot look up.
George Muller was conscious of being too busy to pray as he ought. His outward action was too constant for inward reflection, and he saw that there was risk of losing peace and power and that activity even in the most sacred sphere must not be so absorbing as to prevent holy meditation on the Word and fervent supplication. The Lord said first to Elijah, “Go, hide thyself”; then, “Go, show thyself.” He who does not first hide himself in the secret place to be alone with God, is unfit to show himself in the public place to move among men.
You and I, in the last analysis, are what we are when we are alone. I confess that in a sense it is easier for me to preach from a pulpit than it is to sit alone in my study; it is probably easier for more people to enjoy the presence of our Lord in the company of other Christians than when alone. Paul would have us enjoy what he himself was enjoying. He had a love for the Lord that rendered him independent of all that was happening.
When a man is speaking to God, he is at his very acme. It is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man’s true spiritual condition. There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christian people so much as our prayer life. Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than prayer.
Some women spend hours preparing physically for church. What would happen if we all spent the same amount of time preparing spiritually for church with prayer and meditation?
If I had spent more time alone with God rather than preaching and planning how I was going to change the world, I would be a very different man.
A Prayer For Abounding Hope
A Prayer For Abounding Hope
Bob Jennings | Topic: Prayer
We have in the immediate context three usages of the word hope (v. 12 could read hope) and thus it could be entitled “A Prayer for Abounding Hope.”