Prayer:
a
hands-on
Workbook
Eric Summers
How often do you pray? Why do you pray? What
do
you
pray
for?
When
things are going well, prayer for some is little more
than saying a
blessing over the evening meal or joining fellow
believers during the
opening of a church service or Sunday School
class. For others,
prayer occurs only during a crisis situation such as an
illness,
accident, or job loss. Although God does expect
our prayers at
these times and for these reasons, He desires so much
more.
God desires an intimate relationship with His children. Think about your own family and the impact good communication has on the relationships between husband and wife and parents and children. Just as honest, frequent communication builds a family so does a strong prayer life build the relationship between God and His children. This is the method by which we establish and nurture our relationship with our Heavenly Father and could be considered one of the most valuable aspects of prayer.
It is my desire to assist you, by providing various Bible verses and examples of walking with our Heavenly Father, so you can have a more intimate relationship with the Creator of the Universe and to help you become a more mature believer. Prayer should be an integral ingredient in the life of a Christian. To enhance your prayer life, take a step-by-step journey through the scriptures God has provided for our instruction, and follow the suggestions for prayer I provide in this article.
God desires an intimate relationship with His children. Think about your own family and the impact good communication has on the relationships between husband and wife and parents and children. Just as honest, frequent communication builds a family so does a strong prayer life build the relationship between God and His children. This is the method by which we establish and nurture our relationship with our Heavenly Father and could be considered one of the most valuable aspects of prayer.
It is my desire to assist you, by providing various Bible verses and examples of walking with our Heavenly Father, so you can have a more intimate relationship with the Creator of the Universe and to help you become a more mature believer. Prayer should be an integral ingredient in the life of a Christian. To enhance your prayer life, take a step-by-step journey through the scriptures God has provided for our instruction, and follow the suggestions for prayer I provide in this article.
In Times
of Catastrophe
A prayer that God expects us
to lift
up to Him is to pray for yourself, friends and family
when undergoing
some kind of catastrophe, and this type of prayer is
very
important to God and to us. This could be
losing a job,
having a
serious accident, someone has been diagnosed with cancer
or some other
serious disease, a child gets in trouble with the law
and so
forth. An even larger catastrophe we should pray
for is when the
people of a country encounter a serious natural event
such as a
hurricane, an earthquake or a tsunami. The people
of the country
of Japan come to mind with the devastating earthquake,
tsunami and the
radioactivity that several of their nuclear reactors
released in spring
of 2011. The people of Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia and
Tennessee experienced several powerful tornadoes and
many
people lost their lives and had their homes, businesses
and schools
damaged or even destroyed. In both circumstances
people are
having to make do with whatever support the local
churches, Red
Cross, state and federal governments can provide.
| At this moment, lift up in prayer
to
God the people of Japan, the government of Japan
and those volunteers
and organizations that are assisting in helping
those families that
have lost loved ones, that have lost homes,
schools and businesses. |
| Pray to The Lord for the people
in
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee that
were injured and
perhaps lost everything in their homes during the
Tornado outbreak in
April, 2011. Pray for those families that
had members that lost
their lives or were injured. Pray for those
people that lost
their businesses and
pray for those communities that had their schools
damaged during the
storms. |
| Pray for those cities along the
Mississippi river that have experienced some of
the worst flooding that
has happened in the last century. Many have
lost
everything in their homes and many businesses are
being severly damaged
by the flood waters. |
| Many people have lost their
lives, have
been injured, have had their home or businesses or
schools destroyed in
the midwest part of the USA, and in particular
Joplin, Missouri because
of severe tornadoes. Please get on your
knees and pray for the
families that have experienced these terrible
storms in late May, 2011. |
| You may know of a specific
individual
or a specific family that has experienced some
kind of serious disease
or injury or a death in the family. Lift up
to The Lord a request
for help and comfort for them. You may want
to let them know that
you are praying for them. |
| When catastrophes occur, pray for
the people of the Red Cross, local and national
governments, rescue squads, fire fighters, local
churches and people of the community that
volunteer to help out those that have encountered
floods, fires, earthquakes and other natural
disasters. |
Sometimes we have to Suffer
We do sometimes have to suffer, because
it is God's will.
The story of Job in the Old Testament is an example; he
suffered
perhaps more than anyone in the Old Testament era
suffered. He
lost everything--his wealth, his family and his
health. We know
that Job was later restored to good health and received
again a family
and many
riches. Job is also mentioned as being among His most faithful several
times later
in the Holy Bible. The
suffering of God's prophets, apostles and missionaries
of the entire
Church Age is well known, but this suffering happens
because God wants
to increase our Heavenly rewards. Here is
the verse:
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: (KJV)
If we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us: (ASV)
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: (KJV)
If we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us: (ASV)
| Pray to God and give thanks for
the
trials, difficulties and suffering we must go
through so He can
increase our faith. Remember, we need to
also be faithful to God
when things are
going well for us. We should also be
faithful to God when we are
persecuted for being faithful to Jesus Christ. Ask for God to
overcome any
difficulties and suffering that you may have to
endure to demonstrate
your faith in Him.
Remember, that we will have an adverse judgment at
the Judgment Seat of
Christ if we deny that we are believers in Jesus
Christ when we are
persecuted and if we deny obeying the Holy Spirit
when you know God
wants you to do something for Him. |
We Don't Always Have to Suffer
I
believe that there is suffering that God sometimes
allows to happen in
the
life of a Christian because prayer has been neglected as
part of
their daily life. God very much wants to have a
day-by-day,
moment-by-moment interaction with His children. He
wants to hear
from
you more than just asking Him for something, He
wants to be part
of
the very fabric of your life. He very much wants
to hear from you
how
much you love Him and to let Him know how important
that He is to
you.
If this communication is neglected, He will sometimes cause serious difficulties in your life so you will reach out to Him. When you do, your prayer to ask Him for help is always listened to by Him. He will sometimes allow a sickness or injury or other difficulty to continue because you are then in a dialogue with Him. A daily dialogue is what He very much wants between Himself and you. Sometimes this suffering will happen over many years, perhaps even to death. During this time most Christians will then pray daily for relief from their suffering. Sometimes He answers yes to requests for healing of body and mind. My daughter is a teacher in an elementary school and she requested prayer for a student of hers that had brain cancer. In our Thursday Bible study time, we prayed for him and several weeks later, his cancer was in remission; this was indeed a miracle! Praise be to God! He doesn't always heal once a person has a disease, but sometimes He does. We don't know if He will say yes, but we should ask Him for this healing. Sometimes He rewards your persistance with healing of the body and mind.
Wouldn't it be better if we would reach out to God and pray to Him for more than relief from our pain? We should continually pray to Him, especially when things are going well in our life. This will show to God that fellowship with Him is priceless.
If this communication is neglected, He will sometimes cause serious difficulties in your life so you will reach out to Him. When you do, your prayer to ask Him for help is always listened to by Him. He will sometimes allow a sickness or injury or other difficulty to continue because you are then in a dialogue with Him. A daily dialogue is what He very much wants between Himself and you. Sometimes this suffering will happen over many years, perhaps even to death. During this time most Christians will then pray daily for relief from their suffering. Sometimes He answers yes to requests for healing of body and mind. My daughter is a teacher in an elementary school and she requested prayer for a student of hers that had brain cancer. In our Thursday Bible study time, we prayed for him and several weeks later, his cancer was in remission; this was indeed a miracle! Praise be to God! He doesn't always heal once a person has a disease, but sometimes He does. We don't know if He will say yes, but we should ask Him for this healing. Sometimes He rewards your persistance with healing of the body and mind.
Wouldn't it be better if we would reach out to God and pray to Him for more than relief from our pain? We should continually pray to Him, especially when things are going well in our life. This will show to God that fellowship with Him is priceless.
| Ask for forgiveness from God
because
you pray very infrequently to Him or only pray
when you seek to have
Him remove your suffering. If you decide now
in your heart to
pray daily to God,
especially for fellowship with Him, give thanks to
Him for the
opportunity to pray to Him. Today, begin a
time when you simply
fellowship with God. Give thanks to Him for
the many blessings
that you receive from Him. Give thanks to
Him because one day you
will be in Heaven with Him and will enjoy being in
His presence.
Remember, that God is the creator of the
Universe. Go outside and
find
something in nature that is beautiful and tell Him
that He is a
wonderful artist and creator. Finally, tell
Him that you love
Him and that He is the most important person in
your life.
If you pray daily to God
and establish this time of fellowship with Him,
you will have joy in
your life that is priceless. |
Could the Christians in the USA use a Revival?
If you read the newspapers or
the
news on the Internet or watch much television, you
probably feel
sick inside
at times at all of the violence, abortions, drug and
alcohol abuse,
sexual immorality, gang violence, bullying in schools,
crime,
dishonesty in business,
and other evil that is happening in the United
States. There's a
solution to this problem of national sin:
2 Chronicles 7:14 (ASV 1901) If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble 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.
The "people" in this verse are all of the Christians that reside in the USA and by obeying this verse God could start a great revival in the United States. All are blood bought from Jesus dying on the cross and Jesus saving those He calls (Doctrine of Election). All have faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation but unfortunately, there are too many Christians that are simply not living the sanctified life that God expects all to follow after they become a believer. This is why sin is destroying this country. If we are willing to follow this verse, then yes, there can be a revival in this country and it can start with you and me. Again, note that God is talking about "my people" and not the unsaved.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (ASV 1901) If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble 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.
The "people" in this verse are all of the Christians that reside in the USA and by obeying this verse God could start a great revival in the United States. All are blood bought from Jesus dying on the cross and Jesus saving those He calls (Doctrine of Election). All have faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation but unfortunately, there are too many Christians that are simply not living the sanctified life that God expects all to follow after they become a believer. This is why sin is destroying this country. If we are willing to follow this verse, then yes, there can be a revival in this country and it can start with you and me. Again, note that God is talking about "my people" and not the unsaved.
| Go to a quiet place and get down
on
your
knees. If you are not living for God, but
mainly for yourself
admit
to God that you have sin in your life and be
specific about each sin (I John 1:9 ASV
1901): If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and righteous to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.).
Pray to Him for
forgiveness of your various sins and ask Him to
help you overcome your
sins. Make a commitment to The Lord that
with His help you will
try very hard to avoid all of the sins that you
are currently
committing. This prayer should not be done
just one time, but you
should pray the prayer for Revival periodically in
your life, even
daily. God will hear your prayer and be very
pleased with you
being humble. If enough Christians that are
now failing God by
the way they live their lives will pray, humble
themselves and repent
of their sins, God will send a great revival in
the USA and heal the
country of its many problems. For a more
in-depth article on how
to live for God and not yourselves, read: How
to Crucify Self. |
| There are two kinds of
sins: evil
we commit, such as lying, gossiping and
adultery. There are also
the sins of omission: there are good deeds that
God has shown you in
some fashion that He wants you to do; however, you
refuse to accomplish
a
good deed He has prepared for you to do. If
God has placed on
your heart one or more good deeds that He wants
you to accomplish, but
you have not responded, then pray for forgiveness
from our Heavenly
Father. You should then go and start working
on these good deeds
you know you should accomplish. Let the Holy
Spirit lead you when
working on any good deed God wants you to
accomplish. Again, go to a
quiet place and lift up this prayer to God. |
My response to the
question
heading this section is: yes--Christians
in
the
USA
could
use
a
revival.
The
question
I
have
is:
Will
many
Christians
in
the USA actually follow through with a commitment to
follow the verses given in 2 Chronicles 7:14 so God will
send a
revival? I believe that a few of us are repenting
of our sins,
praying and turning from our wicked ways, watching for
His return and
turning to a life of service for Jesus Christ. I
hope that I am
wrong, but the signs of the times shows that there are
many Christians
in the USA that would rather enjoy their sinful life
than to live the
rest of their lives in service and dedication to
God.
Sometimes You may have difficulty Praying
The Holy Spirit helps us to pray:
(ASV
1901)
Romans 8:26 And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmity:
for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the
Spirit himself maketh
intercession for [us] with groanings which cannot be
uttered;
Romans 8:27 and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to [the will of] God.
Romans 8:27 and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to [the will of] God.
| If you have difficulty praying at
certain times in your life, don't despair--this
condition happens to
all of us at times. What I do is to just
think about the trials
and difficulties that I am undergoing. I
then ask God to be aware
of these difficulties: "Lord, please help
me." The Holy Spirit of
God knows exactly what you are undergoing and will
say the perfect
prayer to God. The Holy Spirit will
translate your groans and
pains up to God and ask for help and comforting
from God to you. God wants to be a part of your
life
when you are in despair and the words of prayer
don't seem to
come easily for you. |
Communication should be Two-Way
Did you know that God also
wants to
communicate with you? Today, He doesn't talk
directly to us like
He did through the prophets, priests, kings and
shepherds of the Old
Testament era and the Apostles and disciples of the New
Testament
era. However, He does speak to us today through
the holy
scripture--the Holy Bible. The Bible is the
divinely-inspired
word of God, so if we read the Bible, we are hearing
from God what He
wants us to hear. The best way to hear from God is
to start with
chapter one of a book of the Bible and read the complete
chapter and
try to understand what He has to say. Then to
continue with the
Book until you finish it. If God wants you to
respond to what He
has to say to you through the scripture, the Holy Spirit
will touch
your spirit and let you know that God wants to hear from
you via
prayer.
| Start by opening the
Book of James and reading chapter one. If
the Lord touches
you, then lift up a prayer
to Him regarding the verses you read. Many
chapters of the Bible are
discussions on how we
should live a holy and righteous life for
God. Pray and ask God
to help you live for Him and to obey whatever is
mentioned in the holy
scripture. If you
continue this reading of scripture and praying to
God for understanding
and for the power to obey the scripture, you will
grow in your
spiritual life. Jesus said: If you love me, you
will keep my
commandments (Matthew 14:15 ASV 1901). |
Pray for your enemies
| Matthew
5:43
Ye
have
heard
that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor,
and
hate thine enemy: Matthew 5:44 but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; Matthew 5:45 that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. Matthew 5:46 For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? Matthew 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others?] do not even the Gentiles the same? Matthew 5:48 Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (ASV 1901) Because of our fallen nature, this is a very difficult set of verses to obey, but Jesus Himself commands us to follow what He teaches, even if it is very difficult to accomplish. Lift up a prayer for some person that may be treating you poorly or taking advantage of you and simply doesn't care about your feelings. Ask God the Father to bless them and to even save them if they are not a Christian. Don't just pray for them for just one time, but instead pray for them as long as the Holy Spirit is encouraging you to pray. |
Genesis--the first prayers
Genesis
4:25
And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and
called his name
Seth. For, [said she], God hath appointed me another
seed instead of
Abel; for Cain slew him.
Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah.
We have only scant information about the first prayers mentioned in the Holy Bible. However some of the descendants of Seth prayed to Almighty God and I am sure that God somehow responded back to them in some way. This was a very hard life, because they had very primitive means to make a living in those days. They most likely asked God to help them when toiling in the fields. Adam and Eve probably asked for The Lord to comfort them after their son, Abel was murdered by Cain. God's response to them was to bless them with a son, Seth.
Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah.
We have only scant information about the first prayers mentioned in the Holy Bible. However some of the descendants of Seth prayed to Almighty God and I am sure that God somehow responded back to them in some way. This was a very hard life, because they had very primitive means to make a living in those days. They most likely asked God to help them when toiling in the fields. Adam and Eve probably asked for The Lord to comfort them after their son, Abel was murdered by Cain. God's response to them was to bless them with a son, Seth.
| If you have lost a loved person
recently or one of your loved ones is sick or has
emotional troubles or
is in trouble with the law, lift prayers up to God
for His comfort and
His help. If the work load you are
experiencing is very heavy,
also lift this up to God and ask Him to help you
bear this heavy load. |
Pray for Your Family
| Each day, take some time to be
together
and read a chapter or two from the Holy Bible and
then discuss what you
have read. Each day, ask a different family
member to do the
reading. After the reading of the verses,
just go around the room
and ask each person to mention their blessings
and their
difficulties for the day. Then, ask each
person in the family to
lift up to God a prayer for the needs mentioned. |
Pray for your co-workers and neighbors
| Sit down with your spouse and
pray for
each of the neighbors that you have contact
with. Pray for any
sickness or other difficulty you know that they
may have. Lift up
a similar prayer for the people you work with. |
Pray for Persecuted Christians across the World
Persecution of Christians
across the
world gets very little notice in the news media.
However, many
believers in Christ across the world are losing their
jobs and
businesses, are being beaten and harassed and some are
even being
murdered. We should not forget them, but should
ask our Heavenly
Father for His blessings on them.
| Go to a quiet place and give
thanks if
the Lord allows you to live in a country where you
can still worship
God and attend worship services and be able to
read the Holy
Bible. Lift up prayers for those Christians
in parts of the world
where they are being persecuted for their faith in
Jesus Christ.
Ask the Lord to give these believers the spiritual
strength to continue
in their faith and to even be kind to those people
and governments that
want to intimidate them and even want to take
their lives. Ask
for special blessings on the pastors, deacons and
teachers in countries
that are ministering to persecuting Christians. |
Pray for Elected Officials and Public Workers
Our elected leaders also have their faults but God wants us to continually pray for them.
| Pray for our national leaders:
the
President and Vice President; the leaders of the
Executive branch of
the US Government; the members of the Judicial
Branch. Pray for our state leaders: the Governor and members of each of the state government branches; the principals and leaders of our schools; the state police department; and the administrative branches of state government. Pray for our local leaders: the mayors and county executives; the county police department; the school principals and department leaders; the county administrative leaders and their staffs. Pray for all the workers that are in the Federal, State and Local Governments. |
Pray for the Military
| Pray for the officers,
non-commissioned
officers and enlisted men and women of the U.S.
Military and
reserves.
Pray that The Lord especially protect the military
serving in harms'
way. Pray for their spouses and children. |
Pray for the Nation of Israel
In Genesis (ASV 1901) said to Abraham:
Genesis
12:1
Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country,
and from
thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the
land
that I will
show thee:
Genesis 12:2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make they name great; and be thou a blessing;
Genesis 12:3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Genesis 12:2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make they name great; and be thou a blessing;
Genesis 12:3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
| Pray for the Prime Minister of
Israel,
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Parliament of Israel; the
military leaders and
other military personnel; the school teachers and
children; the mayors
and district leaders; college professors and
students; the house wives
and younger children and those that are farmers
and general workers. Ask for God's
blessings upon all the
descendants of Jacob, including the ten lost
tribes of Israel. |
Pray for Your Pastor, Deacons and Teachers
I'm sorry to say, but my observation of
pastors, deacons and teachers of churches that I have
attended is that
most have not directed the church members to walk closer
to God; they
have done little to help their congregation
understand and
to walk with God by living a sanctified life. A
friend of mine
once remarked "the pastor dunks them and then drops
them". My
friend was talking about once a new believer is
baptized, that Baptism
is as far as the pastor is willing to go to help the new
believer to
indeed actually live a sanctified life that is dedicated
to God and to
avoid
evil. Evangelism is great and pastors are called
to this
righteous work. They are also called to help
direct the
congregation to actually live a life that is crucified
to this
world.
In some congregations the church members don't even know who their deacon is because the deacons never contact the members or let them know that they are there to support them in their daily walk with Jesus Christ. Pray for your deacons so they will be even more active and so they can encourage their flock members to be more faithful to God.
The teachers in the churches I have attended generally teach only the material in the "official" sunday school materials. Each week I read the materials and the lessons almost always avoid the most difficult passages. These would include for example, The Judgment Seat of Christ, Election of the Saints, Watching for Christ's return and prophecy of the end times. Pray that your teachers will be courageous and will also explain to their class members the verses in the Bible that may not be popular, and are usually skipped in the Sunday School quarterlies, but are needed because God has decided that they are needed for our spiritual growth.
In some congregations the church members don't even know who their deacon is because the deacons never contact the members or let them know that they are there to support them in their daily walk with Jesus Christ. Pray for your deacons so they will be even more active and so they can encourage their flock members to be more faithful to God.
The teachers in the churches I have attended generally teach only the material in the "official" sunday school materials. Each week I read the materials and the lessons almost always avoid the most difficult passages. These would include for example, The Judgment Seat of Christ, Election of the Saints, Watching for Christ's return and prophecy of the end times. Pray that your teachers will be courageous and will also explain to their class members the verses in the Bible that may not be popular, and are usually skipped in the Sunday School quarterlies, but are needed because God has decided that they are needed for our spiritual growth.
| This prayer will be different for
most. Some of you have pastors, deacons and
teachers that lead
you to live a sanctified life for Christ and to be
watching for
His return for the First Fruits Rapture.
Some will also talk
about prophecy of the end times and preach from
the Book of
Revelation. If you have those types of
leaders in your church
pray for them that they continue teaching all of the
scripture, not
just what the congregation wants to hear. If you do have church leadership that is not preaching and teaching all scripture, even those verses that are unpleasant to hear about, then you should pray for them. Ask God to lay on their hearts and minds that the leaders should be preaching and teaching what God wants them to preach and teach. Remember, that if your church leadership is not teaching all of the Bible, it is up to you to read all verses and to ask God to help you understand the scripture and to apply it to how you live your lives. You will have no excuse at the Judgment Seat of Christ that "I didn't know that I should be watching for Your return or to be living a sanctified life for God." Jesus expects you to read the whole Bible, to pray and then to apply the scripture to the way you live your life. Finally, pray for each and every member of your Sunday school class or Bible study class whether at church or held in a home. Pray for those members you know are faithful to God--ask Him to strengthen their faith even more. Finally, pray for those members of your church that only appear at church on Christmas or Easter. Remember, God is all-powerful and can touch the hearts of anyone He choses to; even those that rarely think about Him or rarely worship Him. |
The Lord's Prayer
9 “This,
then, is how you
should pray: “‘Our
Father in heaven, hallowed
be
your
name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'" (Matt 6:9-13 NIV)
This is the most important prayer in the Holy Bible. Jesus gives us a brief outline of how to pray to God the Father. We can pray this prayer directly to God as is. However, we can also say this prayer in our own words; lifting up and giving special emphasis on different parts of the prayer as the events in our lives change. Here are some observations about this prayer:
10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'" (Matt 6:9-13 NIV)
This is the most important prayer in the Holy Bible. Jesus gives us a brief outline of how to pray to God the Father. We can pray this prayer directly to God as is. However, we can also say this prayer in our own words; lifting up and giving special emphasis on different parts of the prayer as the events in our lives change. Here are some observations about this prayer:
- We pray our prayers to God the Father. I believe that we can also pray to Jesus Christ. See the last prayer in the Bible, Revelation 22:20 where the Apostle John beckons for Jesus to return.
- We praise the name of God the Father, of God the Son and the Holy Spirit of God.
- We are watching and beckoning for God the Father to send Jesus Christ back for the First Fruits Rapture, then the seven year Tribulation, then for Jesus Christ to rule over the earth in the Millineum Kingdom.
- We ask God to supply our physical needs. This could include food, clothing, shelter and employment.
- We are sorry for our sins and ask God for His forgiveness of our sins
- Similiarly, God expects us to forgive any sins that people commit against us. We are to also pray for those that sin against us.
- We ask God to keep us out
of
the Tribulation. This is
the
hour of temptation or testing that will happen to
unfaithful
Christians, the rebellious and unsaved of the world, the
Jews, and the
gentiles that God saves during the Tribulation. If
we are
faithful, we will then be members of the First Fruits
Rapture and miss
all seven years of the Tribulation.
- Similarly, we ask God to deliver us from the evil one who is the Antichrist. This is a prayer that we escape the Tribulation.
| Before you pray, read and re-read
the
Lord's prayer and the eight observations I have
listed above.
Then
pray your own prayer about these ideas that Jesus
has brought up in
this most wonderful prayer. |
Escaping the Tribulation
Our minds should be
thinking
about Heavenly events and we should want very much to be
in Heaven,
serving Jesus Christ, God the Father and the Holy
Spirit. We
should be aware that the Tribulation will begin in the
very near
future, perhaps even this year and Jesus wants very much
that you will
want to be with Him. He gives us a very important
verse that will
help keep us from being in the Tribulation:
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36 KJV)
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36 KJV)
| Kneel in a quiet place and humbly
tell
The Lord that you don't want to be a Christian
left behind after the
First Fruits Rapture and then ask Him to take you
to Heaven
before Jesus initiates the Tribulation. Pray
like: "Lord, please
let me escape the persecution and difficulties of
the Tribulation and
let me stand before Jesus Christ for the judgment
of my works. I
pray that I am accounted worthy to escape all
seven years of the
Tribulation." This is a prayer that should
be lifted up to God
every day of your life. If you lift up this
prayer, God will lead
you to be a more faithful Christian and to be
watching every day for
Jesus' return for the First Fruits Rapture. |
Fellowship with God the Father and God the Son
(1 John 1:7
KJV) But if we walk
in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all
sin.
This verse confirms that if the believer walks in the light, he will have fellowship “one with another.” This verse is not talking about fellowship with other believers (although that is very important), but fellowship with Jesus Christ. The verse also confirms that if we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sin.
This verse confirms that if the believer walks in the light, he will have fellowship “one with another.” This verse is not talking about fellowship with other believers (although that is very important), but fellowship with Jesus Christ. The verse also confirms that if we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sin.
| Go to a quiet place and get on
your
knees. Lift up a prayer of thanks to Jesus
Christ for His
forgiveness and for acting as the High Priest for
forgiveness and
cleansing for the daily sins you may commit.
Tell Him that you
are greatly
enriched by His presence in your life and for Him
to continue to guide
you in your daily walk with Him and to praise Him for one
or more blessings
that you have received from Him. Let Him know that
He is the most
important person in your life. |
(Psalms 103:1 ASV 1901) Bless Jehovah, O my soul; And all that is within me, [bless] his holy name.
| While still on your knees, lift
up a
prayer to praise to God our Father.
Recognize His great power and
might, His infinite knowledge and wisdom, His
patience with you, the
holy and righteous deeds He performs and the Holy
Bible He has given
for you to read and apply to the way you
live. |
Avoid Pretense when you Pray
An important prayer to
understand is
the prayer of the Pharisee and the Publican:
Luke 18:9 And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought:
Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luke 18:12 I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get.
Luke 18:13 But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner.
Luke 18:14 I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Luke 18:9 And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought:
Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luke 18:12 I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get.
Luke 18:13 But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner.
Luke 18:14 I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
| To God, our attitude when we pray
is
just important as what we pray about. We
should be very humble
when we pray and not to even attempt to glorify
ourselves when we
pray. Lift up a prayer to God for Him to
have mercy on you
because you are not perfect in your thought, word
and deed. Ask
Him to continue to remind you of your weaknesses
and to help you
improve in the way you think and behave. Ask
Him to remind you of
His greatness, not your greatness. |
Walking with God
I mentioned at the beginning
of this
article is that having fellowship with God is one of the
most important
reasons for prayer. Enoch had a very close and
personal walk with
God and is described in Genesis:
Genesis 5:18 And Jared lived a hundred sixty and two years, and begat Enoch:
Genesis 5:19 and Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Genesis 5:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
Genesis 5:21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
Genesis 5:22 and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Genesis 5:23 and all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
Genesis 5:24 and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (ASV 1901)
Enoch is one of the most faithful of God's saints before the flood. He was called by God to a walk with Him and Enoch responded by praying with God as he was doing his work in the fields or was tending to his sheep and cattle or was on his knees before he went to bed at night. Enoch spent a considerable amount of time with God, so he knew of the immense value of this personal contact with Him. God appreciated Enoch's love for Him and simply removed him from this earth. We are not told if God took Enoch to Heaven to be with Him or not. I suspect that He did just this, because Enoch did not die like all of the rest of the pre-flood saints did (of course, Noah and his family did survive the great flood). The only other saint that did not die was Elijah, who was also taken to be with God and serve Him in Heaven. The important truth about Enoch is that he greatly valued his time with God and the fellowship they had in conversation together. God also valued this conversation they had together. Since the walk is recorded in the Holy Scripture, perhaps we can learn something--that a walk with God, a fellowship with God is something that we should pursue.
Genesis 5:18 And Jared lived a hundred sixty and two years, and begat Enoch:
Genesis 5:19 and Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Genesis 5:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
Genesis 5:21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
Genesis 5:22 and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Genesis 5:23 and all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
Genesis 5:24 and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (ASV 1901)
Enoch is one of the most faithful of God's saints before the flood. He was called by God to a walk with Him and Enoch responded by praying with God as he was doing his work in the fields or was tending to his sheep and cattle or was on his knees before he went to bed at night. Enoch spent a considerable amount of time with God, so he knew of the immense value of this personal contact with Him. God appreciated Enoch's love for Him and simply removed him from this earth. We are not told if God took Enoch to Heaven to be with Him or not. I suspect that He did just this, because Enoch did not die like all of the rest of the pre-flood saints did (of course, Noah and his family did survive the great flood). The only other saint that did not die was Elijah, who was also taken to be with God and serve Him in Heaven. The important truth about Enoch is that he greatly valued his time with God and the fellowship they had in conversation together. God also valued this conversation they had together. Since the walk is recorded in the Holy Scripture, perhaps we can learn something--that a walk with God, a fellowship with God is something that we should pursue.
| Do you want to start a walk with
God
and to let Him be a part of your daily life, in
addition to your walk
with Him when in your church building? If
so, start tonight with
this walk. Before you go to bed, get down on
your knees and pray
to God and let Him know that you want to
fellowship with Him at several
times during the day. When you get up the
next morning, pray to
Him and give thanks to Him for the many blessings
He gives you.
Ask Him to remind you during the day to pray and
fellowship with
Him. When driving to work notice something
beautiful on the way
and recognize that He created all of the beauty in
the world.
Please don't close your eyes when doing this
prayer. When you get
to work, ask Him to help you do a good job.
At lunch time, give Him thanks for the food you eat and for giving you the employment that you now have. On the way home, praise Him for listening patiently to your prayers. Keep your eyes open when driving home. When you get home, read a few chapters of the Holy Bible and ask Him to help you understand the scripture. If you have an especially difficult time letting go of some bad habit (such as swearing or impatience with your children) ask Him to give you the strength to overcome these bad habits. After dinner, don't spend the whole evening watching television. Instead, read a few more chapters of the Bible and then pray your own version of the Lord's prayer. At the end of the day, thank Him for the honor of talking with Him during the day and helping you to live your life for Him, not just for yourself. |
I
believe
that
Enoch
serves
as
a prototype for
the
Church of Philadelphia. Members of this
church
will miss all seven years of the Tribulation and be
taken through the
open door to Heaven just before the Tribulation
begins (Revelation chp
3 and chp 4). So, to be a member of the First
Fruits Rapture and
to miss all seven years of the Tribulation you need
to be the most
faithful of Jesus' saints during these last few days
of the Church
Age. I believe that the most faithful will be
obeying the truth
found in the Bible and will be having
fellowship with God on a
continuous basis, especially with prayer.
Praise
In
the
beginning,
God
created the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1:1)
Sometimes, even many times we just take God for granted. We get caught up in the affairs of the day and sometimes neglect our appreciation of God and what He has created. If you do something for someone, say you buy your wife a present or your children something that they have asked for, don't you want them to appreciate what you have done for them? Well, God also wants to be appreciated for the many things He has done for us and continues to do for us. We certainly appreciate the gift God has given us, the gift of salvation through Jesus' death on the cross, and His burial and resurrection. Let's go a little further, reaching upwards to God for an even deeper experience with your relationship with Him. Do you appreciation His infinite wisdom, intelligence, power and design and creation of the universe? In my opinion, this is an extremely important event and we should think about His creation of the sun, moon and stars and the earth He has given us to live on and that He has keep us safe from all the dangers that could effect the earth.
Revelation 4:11 Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created. (KJV)
Sometimes, even many times we just take God for granted. We get caught up in the affairs of the day and sometimes neglect our appreciation of God and what He has created. If you do something for someone, say you buy your wife a present or your children something that they have asked for, don't you want them to appreciate what you have done for them? Well, God also wants to be appreciated for the many things He has done for us and continues to do for us. We certainly appreciate the gift God has given us, the gift of salvation through Jesus' death on the cross, and His burial and resurrection. Let's go a little further, reaching upwards to God for an even deeper experience with your relationship with Him. Do you appreciation His infinite wisdom, intelligence, power and design and creation of the universe? In my opinion, this is an extremely important event and we should think about His creation of the sun, moon and stars and the earth He has given us to live on and that He has keep us safe from all the dangers that could effect the earth.
Revelation 4:11 Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created. (KJV)
| Go to a quiet place and read the
first
few chapters of Genesis and then think about the
universe that God has
created. Praise God for all of the things
that He created during
the six days of creation. Recognize and tell
Him that He created
the Universe and all living beings--animals,
birds, sea creatures and
mankind. Let
Him know you truly believe that mankind was
created by Him and that we
did not evolve
from lower forms of life. |
Malachi
3:6
For I, Jehovah, change not; therefore ye, O sons
of Jacob, are not
consumed. (ASV 1901)
God's character is so pure, holy and righteous. We should understand that He never changes; He is the same today as He was before He created the universe. Because He never changes, we can absolutely rely on Him because of His perfect character. God's patience with me is so great, I am amazed that before now He has just not zapped me and forgotten about me, but He has not. He continues to tap me on the shoulder and to communicate the following kinds of spiritual thoughts to me:
"I'm here and I want to fellowship with you. I appreciate your company and your time with me and very much do I want you to tell Me that you love Me. I want you to ask Me for wisdom so you can understand the Holy Scripture even better. I'm now commanding you to work on improving the way you live your life for Me, so I'm going to describe several faults that I want you to work on so your character will look more and more like the character of my precious son, Jesus."
Now, I don't actually hear any words, but somehow God the Father communicates with me via the Holy Spirit and I know when He wants to fellowship with me and what He wants me to do to serve Him and how I should live my life in a righteous manner for Him.
God's character is so pure, holy and righteous. We should understand that He never changes; He is the same today as He was before He created the universe. Because He never changes, we can absolutely rely on Him because of His perfect character. God's patience with me is so great, I am amazed that before now He has just not zapped me and forgotten about me, but He has not. He continues to tap me on the shoulder and to communicate the following kinds of spiritual thoughts to me:
"I'm here and I want to fellowship with you. I appreciate your company and your time with me and very much do I want you to tell Me that you love Me. I want you to ask Me for wisdom so you can understand the Holy Scripture even better. I'm now commanding you to work on improving the way you live your life for Me, so I'm going to describe several faults that I want you to work on so your character will look more and more like the character of my precious son, Jesus."
Now, I don't actually hear any words, but somehow God the Father communicates with me via the Holy Spirit and I know when He wants to fellowship with me and what He wants me to do to serve Him and how I should live my life in a righteous manner for Him.
| Get down on your knees and give
thanks
to God for being so patient with you. Let
Him know that you have
great admiration for His Holy
and flawless character. Tell Him that you
appreciate that He
never changes and that He always fulfills His
promises. Thank Him
that He has chosen you to be a member of His
eternal family. |
We should continue to appreciate
His gifts to us: good health,
employment, our family, homes, cars, vacations and
so on.
We should also appreciate Him giving us
difficulties and
testing to overcome with the help of the Holy
Spirit. He always
helps us through the tough times and if we walk with
Him during these
eras of our life, our character is improved and
can even more
appreciate His presence in our lives.
| Go to a quite place and give
thanks to
God for the many gifts He has given to you,
especially His presence in
your life. Thank Him for the tests, even the
difficult ones, that
occur in your life. Thank Him for moulding
your character by the
Holy Scripture and by the presence of the Holy
Spirit. He does
this testing because He wants you to have the
character of His Son,
Jesus Christ. |
The Last Prayer in the Bible: the Beckoning
In Revelation we have the following invitation:
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.
The Holy Spirit and the Bride of Christ, His most faithful followers, invite the readers of the last chapter of Revelation to beckon for Jesus to return for the First Fruits Rapture.
| If you want Jesus to return and
to take
you to Heaven in the First Fruits Rapture and miss
all seven years of
the Tribulation, then lift your own prayer for
this blessed event up to
God the Father. The First Fruits Ministry staff
has prepared a
beckoning for the return of Jesus: The
Beckoning. If you beckon for
His return, this
shows that you are indeed watching as He
commanded: (Mark 13:33
KJV) Take ye heed, watch
and pray: for ye know not when the time
is. |
Note how John the Apostle responds to this invitation:
Revelation 22:20 (ASV 1901) He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus.
Final Exercise
| Check out from your church library a copy of Strong's Concordance of the Holy Bible. Find and write down the Bible verses associated with the words: pray, prayed, prayer, prayers, and praying. Slowly, read each of these verses from your Bible (there will be over a hundred) and as the Holy Spirit leads you, pray to God your own prayer of thanksgiving, adoration and praise. It will probably take several days or even weeks to complete the reading of all of these verses but you will be greatly blessed by knowing that God places a great deal of importance upon praying to Him for all your needs and giving thanks for all of His blessings. |
Amen
God bless you for reading this
article and for lifting up
these
prayers
to God and I hope that you will continue with daily
prayer to our
Heavenly Father for the rest of your life. In this article
I have only shown
you the very
first steps in a
prayer life. You need to read the
whole Bible and then to decide for yourself what you
should pray for. If you do, God will bless
you with His
presence and His agape love.