Prayer: The Believers Path to Success

Author: Pastor Sandy Banks – 10/24/2013, 10/31/2013, 11/7/2013, 11/14/2013, 11/21/2013, 12/5/2013, 12/12/2013, 12/19/2013, 1/2/2014

Summary:

I firmly believe the reason why many Christians do not experience victory is because they lack an important foundational key to success—prayer. Contrary to common religious beliefs or to what most Christians have been taught or think, prayer is not pleading with God or bargaining with Him to get Him to act on our behalf. Neither is it characterized by a lot of “spiritual” sounding clichés that do not line up with the Word of God. Prayer is simply communicating with God.

  1. Men ought to always pray and not to faint. (Luke 18:1, KJV, AMP; Luke 11:2, KJV, AMP)
  2. Prayer is the foundation or building blocks of every Christian endeavor. (Psalm 127:1; John 15:4-7; Colossians 1:9-11)
  3. Regardless of who you (Christian) are and what abilities you may possess, unless what you’re doing is backed by prayer, it will eventually fail.
  4. All Christian failure is a prayer failure.
  5. This is based upon you either not hearing or listening to what the Lord is saying to you.

1)If you are to be successful in any endeavor, you must obtain your plans from God through prayer.

  1. Things required when praying.
  2. All prayer must be prayed to the Father in Jesus Name. (John 16:23-24, KJV)
  3. Scripturally we do not pray to Jesus.
  4. We do not pray for “Jesus sake.”
  5. Forgive. (Mark 11:25, KJV)
  6. Faith works by love. (Galatians 5:6, KJV)
  7. It is impossible to walk in the love of God and in unforgiveness at that same time.
  8. Kinds of prayer. (Ephesians 6:18, KJV, AMP, MSG)
  9. Prayer that changes things, not God. God never changes!
  10. Always find out first what the Word of God says and not what you think it says. (Psalm 119:89, KJV)
  11. God’s Word is His part of your prayer life.
  12. Five types of prayer that changes things.
  13. Agreement. (Matthew 18:19-20, KJV, AMP)
  14. Binding and loosing. (Matthew 18:18, KJV, AMP, CEV)
  15. Petition. (1 John 5:14-15)

1)Prayer of faith – this is a prayer for you that has to be based on God’s revealed Word, which is His will and can never contain “if it be thy will.” (Matthew 21:24; Mark 11:24)

  1. Supplication. This is an earnest, heartfelt, fervent prayer. (James 5:16, says that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.)

1)Prayer for yourself. (Philippians 4:6, KJV)

2)Prayer for other Believers. (Ephesians 6:18, KJV; Acts 12:5 KJV; Colossians 4:12, KJV)

3)Prayer for all men including those in authority. (1 Timothy 2:1, KJV, AMP)

4)Prayer for laborers to be sent into God’s harvest. (Matthew 9:37-38, KJV)

5)Prayer for the outpouring and moving of the Holy Ghost. (Zechariah 10:1, KJV, MSG)

  1. Prayer of thanksgiving and praise.

1)Philippians 4:6

2)Giving of thanks in the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 14:17, KJV, AMP)

3)Prayer of commitment. Casting all your cares upon the Lord. (1 Peter 5:7; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Philippians 4:6)

  1. Prayer of consecration/dedication and worship.

1)Consecration/dedication is the only prayer where “if it be thy will” can be used and not be in unbelief.

  1. Prayer is simply communicating with God by speaking His Word to Him in faith and then believing that you receive what He has already done and given to us in Jesus.
  2. When we pray this way, results are inevitable.
  3. Hebrews 4:12 clearly describes the power of that Word. It says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
  4. Verse 14 encourages believers to “hold fast to our profession.”
  5. In other words, speak God’s Word, because it is power-packed!
  6. When we pray, believing that we have already received what we are praying, God will make our prayers come to pass.
  7. He honors His Word, not our emotions.
  8. Prayer should produce rest, or peace of mind. (Hebrews 4:1-3, KJV, AMP)
  9. Many people pray fear-based prayers and hope they are getting through to God, but they really don’t have confidence in what they are praying.
  10. The Bible says that when we believe the Word, we will enter into a state of rest. (Hebrews 4:3, KJV)
  11. The integrity (the quality of being honest and fair; firm adherence to a code of moral values; incorruptible) of the Word speaks for itself, and will never fail. (Matthew 24:35, KJV; 1 Peter 1:23, KJV)
  12. By allowing the Word to be the foundation of our prayer life, our confidence in our prayers will soar to new heights.
  13. You will have to come to a point that you know in your “knower” that God’s Word is infallible (absolutely trustworthy or sure; unfailing in effectiveness; certain), and have no doubt that what God says is true and that we already possess it.

1)God is not a man that He should lie. (Numbers 23:19)

2)My covenant will I not break. (Psalm 89:34, KJV)

3)God cannot lie. (Titus 1:2 KJV)

4)It is impossible for God to lie. (Hebrews 6:17-18, KJV, AMP)

  1. I urge you to begin to pray the solution or answer to your problems first, rather than “bombard heaven” with desperate pleas.
  2. Prayer is the vehicle or language through which you and the Father fellowship with one another.

1)Remember that prayer is simply communicating with God.

2)Communication means that you’re not the only one talking.

3)Most of the time in prayer, we do all of the talking and never allow God to get a “word in edge wise.”

  1. It is through your conversation with Him that your faith to believe His promises through Jesus Christ will come to pass.
  2. As you spend time with Him in prayer, you will begin to recognize His voice more clearly.
  3. God desires to direct you at every turn, and a developed prayer life will make it easier for Him to guide you.
  4. God has already done everything He is going to do; the work has already been completed.
  5. Our responsibility is to pray faith-filled prayers that are based on God’s Word and expect to receive results.
  6. Prayer is absolutely essential to our walking in the manifestation of God’s promises.
  7. Prayer is a key to getting results as a Christian. Our prayers are heard. (Psalm 34:16, KJV, CEV, NCV)
  8. When we make the Word of God the foundation of our prayer life, we are guaranteed victory. (2 Corinthians 1:20, KJV, AMP, CEV, NLT)
  9. We must not allow what we think or permitreligion or tradition to blind us to the truth of what prayer really is.
  10. Faith is a spiritual force that works on physical things. (Galatians 5:22, KJV)

1)Force – the ability to cause change; Power that is made operative against resistance; to compel or impose upon through pressure.

Scripture References:

  • Luke 18:1
  • Luke 11:2
  • Psalm 127:1
  • John 15:4-7
  • Colossians 1:9-11
  • John 16:23-24
  • Mark 11:25
  • Galatians 5:6
  • Ephesians 6:18
  • Hebrews 4:12
  • Hebrews 4:1-3
  • Matthew 24:35
  • 1 Peter 1:23

*Key:

KJV – King James Version

AMP – Amplified Bible

MSG – Message Bible

TLB – The Living Bible

NLT – New Living Translation

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