WHY PRAY? (2)

1. What is the procedure for prayer?

a) To pour out our troubles.

i) 2I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. (Psalm 142:2 NIV)

b) To plead for help for our needs.

i) 16Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 NIV)

c) To tune into God constantly.

i) 17pray continually, (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV)

d) To ask in Jesus’ name.

i) 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:14 NIV)

e) To believe an answer will come.

i) 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22 NIV)

2. What are the problems of prayer?

a) Disobedience – if we refuse to obey, there is no point in praying.

i) Samuel said, “Why do you (Saul) consult me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to the one of your neighbor – to David. Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today.” (1 Samuel 28: 16 – 18)

ii) In this case God brought Samuel back from the dead to give Saul a prediction regarding his fate, a message Saul already knew. There is no way justifies efforts to contact the dead and communicate with persons or spirits form the past. God is against all such practices (Galatians 5: 19 -21).

iii) God had strictly forbidden the Israelites to have anything to do with divination, sorcery, witchcraft, mediums, spiritists, or anyone who consults the dead (Deuteronomy 18: 9 – 14).

iv) Sorcerers were put to death. (Exodus 22: 18)

v) Because of Saul’s disobedience, God did not speak to him and Saul had to consult a medium to bring Samuel back from the dead to get a directional answer from God.

b) Irreverence (disrespect) – we must go to prayer recognizing God’s awesomeness.

i) 10He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10 NIV)

c) Lack of concern – if we refuse to hear others’ needs, God will refuse to hear ours.

i) 13Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered. (Proverbs 21:13 NIV)

d) Sin – un-confessed sin separates us from God and makes communication impossible.

i) 2But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2 NIV)

e) Un-forgiveness – we must forgive others, so God can hear our prayers and forgive us of our sins.

i) 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. ” (Mark 11:25 NIV)

f) Doubts (lack confidence in; uncertainty) take the power away from our prayers.

i) 8Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. (1 Timothy 2:8 NIV)

g) Unbelief – our prayers must be rooted in our belief and trust in God.

i) 12See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12 NIV)

h) Wrong motives – praying only to fulfill our pleasures and desires is no praying in God.

i) 3When 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 NIV)

3. Prayer focus

a) Ask God for prayer anointing to overcome prayerlessness.