I receive prayer requests daily, as I am sure most people do. Some of them are not even legitimate. There are fake reports that have been going around the internet for years and every so often keep cropping up again. I will whisper a quick prayer to some requests and for others I will take time and intercede. I am just wondering, when I see how many prayer requests there are, if people actually pray, and if they do, do they believe that their prayers will be answered. Do we believe that our prayers are powerful or do we just have a faint hope that maybe God will hear them? Here are a few facts about prayer:
Our prayers are precious to God.
Revelation 5:8, And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 8:3, Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.
God commands us to pray.
1 Chronicles 16:11, Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.
Hosea 14:2, Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.”
Matthew 7:7, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.
Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told His disciples a parable they should always pray and not give up.
This is the parable in Luke 18:1-8 The parable of the persistent widow.
John 16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.
Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray continually.
James 5:13 Is any of you in trouble? Let him sing songs of praise.
Did you notice that James 5:13 said ‘sing songs of praise’? If prayer is speaking to God, then surely singing praises to God is also prayer. Communication with God is prayer. It is just in another form. There are worship leaders who sing out the most beautiful prayers to God spontaneously. Whatever form our prayers take, we have to pray.
If you read through the Old Testament there are so many examples of prayer that was answered. Moses, Gideon, Hannah, Samuel and Solomon, to name but a few. In the book of Acts there are many examples of answered prayer.
Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
In Acts 3:1-10 is the account of Peter and John healing a crippled man. Acts 5:12-16 tells of many people being healed by the apostles. In Acts 12 Peter miraculously escapes from prison.
Luke 11:9 So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
As we can clearly see, the bible is full of accounts of prayers being answered, and also of commands to pray. God wants us to communicate with Him. He wants to have a relationship with Him. If we believe this, then why do we so often doubt that our prayers will be answered? We pray and then we allow doubt to creep in and that’s how the enemy subtly steals our faith. Before we know it, we’ve stopped praying, stopped believing that prayer is going to make any difference at all. It’s so sad. Perhaps we’ve been so badly let down by the people that we trusted to make a difference in our lives that we put God into that same category and don’t want to trust Him either.
Psalm 37:5 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Psalm 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
I would like to put a challenge out there. Start praying with faith and trust. Believe that God is going to provide what He promises to. Don’t doubt, and see what the Lord is going to do.
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