PRACTICAL HELPS IN PRAYER

PRACTICAL HELP
Prayer promises
Let’s take some time now to listen to God’s promises for you now as you join him intimately in prayer and meditation on his words. You may want to use these passages as part of your daily quiet times, or meditate on only one of these scriptures per day.
Before they call I will answer, while they are still speaking I will hear. (Isa 65:24)
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark11;24)
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who ask receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matt7:7-8)
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. (Matt21:22)
Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them. (Matt18:19-20)
Dearly friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. (I John 3:21-22)  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matt 6.6)   the LORD is near to all who call him, to all who call on him in truth. (Ps 145.18)  In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (John 16.23-24)   Call to me and I wi8ll answer you and tell you great unsearchable things you do not know. (Jer 33.3)
He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. (Ps 91.15)
The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous. (Prove 15.29)    Delight yourself in the lord and he will give you the desires of your hearts. (Ps 37.4)    If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. (Jon 15.7)  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14.13-14).  I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God. (Ps 38.15)   if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (I John 1.9)
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, JESUS got up, and left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he pray. (Mark 1.35)
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (Matt 4.6-7)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phili 4.6-7)
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is any one happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the lord will raise him up. If he had sinned, he will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produce its crops. (James 5.13-18)
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (I John 5:14-15)
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (I Pet 3:12)
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb 4:16)
If my people who are called by my name, will humbled themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 chron. 7:14, emphasis mine)
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. (Ps 130: 1-2)

HINDRANCE TO PRAYER
It is also good to be aware of some hindrances to prayer and what could ultimately affect our intimate relationship with God.
Secret sin- “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened (Ps 66:18)
Indifference- “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke” (Prove. 1:29-30).

Neglect of mercy – “if a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry and not be answered” (Prove 21:13).

Despising the law  (disobedience) – “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable” (prove. 28.9)

Blood guiltiness – when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourself clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight1 stop doing wrong” ( Isa 59:2)
Iniquity—“but your iniquities have separated you from your God—your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isa 59; 2)
Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done” (Mic 3:4).

Lying lips—but your iniquities have separated you from your God, your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongues mutters wicked things” (Isa 59:2-3)

Stubbornness- “they made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry. When I called, they did not listen; so when they  called, I would not listen, says the LORD Almighty” (Zech 7:12-13).

Instability—“He who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the LORD—he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:6-8).

Self indulgence- “when you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3)
TO BE CONTINUED:

~ by ubcky4 on July 16, 2009.