THE PURPOSE OF THE TONGUE.
TO PRAISE.
TO PRAY.
TO PREACH.
AS THE OVERFLOW OF THE HEART
THE TONGUE IS PREPARED FOR A PURPOSE.
PRAY PERCEPTIVELY.
PRAY PERPETUALLY.
PRAY PURPOSEFULLY.
PRAY POLITELY.
PRAY PATIENTLY.
PRAY PERSISTENTLY.
PRAY PRIVATELY.
PRAY PERCEPTIVELY
Realize WHO it is that we are engaging with.
Ecclesiastes 5:2.
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
BEING SLOW TO SPEAK AND QUICK TO
LISTEN APPLIES TO PRAYER AS WELL.
James 1:19.
Let every man be quick to listen but slow speak.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER IS ALSO LISTENING WE CAN’T BE TALKING ALL THE TIME BUT WE CAN BE LISTENING ALL THE TIME.
LIKE THE PROPHETS AND THE APOSTLES WHO PENNED THE SCIPTURES WE CAN HEAR FROM GOD ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
IN FACT, PRAYER IS MORE ABOUT
LISTENING THAN SPEAKING.
GOD IS NOT LOOKING FOR VAIN
REPETITIONS AND SCRIPTED
CONVERSATION, LET US MAKE OUR
PRAYERS AN INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE,
WHERE THE LORD HAS AN OPERTUNITY
TO SPEAK AS WELL.
IF YOU ARE GIVEN TO MUCH TALKING
THEN FORCE
YOURSELF TO HEAR GOD SPEAK, BY
READING HIS WRITTEN WORD.
God speaks to us through HIS WORD and in the absence of all other directives this must be our guide. It is also the standard by which we judge whether we are hearing from God, man, our own flesh or Satan.
Acts 17:11.
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
It is possible to know the voice of the Lord as we cultivate a close relationship with Him and we have His Word as a safeguard to prevent us from going astray.
If you hear a sermon or teaching, check it against God’s Word.
If you receive counsel or advice or if you have a dream or a vision, check it against the Word of God.
When you stop listening, God stops talking.
Mark 4:23-25. He who has ears to hear let him hear. Consider carefully what you hear, with the measure you use it will be given to you and even more. He who hears will be given more, he who does not hear even that which he has will be taken away.
1 Samuel 15:22.
Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings… as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice.
Obedience is the response that keeps the dialog going. If we refuse to do what God tells us, we risk deafening our spiritual ear.
Psalm 66:16-20.
Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
MATTHEW 6:7.(ESV)
And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
WE HAVE LOOKED AT SOME EMPTY PHRASES THAT PEOPLE USE IN THEIR PRAYERS,LIKE PLEADING THE BLOOD ETC
LET US KEEP OUR PRAYERS BIBLICAL
Matthew 6:5-15.
(JESUS TEACHES HIS DISCIPLES)
This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
1 John 5:14-15.
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.
1 John 5:15.
If we ask anything
according to his will, he hears us.
Proverbs 21:13.
Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.
Do we like Jesus pray
“Nevertheless, not as I will, but as YOU will”
Are your prayers been heard?
Hebrews 5:7.
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears … and He was heard because of His reverent submission.
Matthew 26:38-44.
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
GOD’S WILL MAY BE UNCOMFORTABLE FOR US
Matthew 26:38-44.
He went away a second time and prayed, My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.
GOD’S WILL MAY BE UNCOMFORTABLE FOR US
James 5:16-18.
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a human being, even as we are. 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 produced its crops.
We as a nation not too long ago prayed for rain and GOD graciously answered but imagine being in Elijah's position and been required by GOD to pray that it would not rain for 3 & 1/2 years, not something that would not make you popular with the rest of the country!
1 Kings 17:1.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.
Elijah Fed by Ravens
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.
So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
1 Kings 17:1.
Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath
Sometime later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.
Praying to God does not necessarily mean that your trouble will disappear, it may mean that God will tell you why He is not going to remove your trouble, and He promises to give you the strength to endure whatever you may be going through.
Luke 22:43.
And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
Philippians 4:11-13.
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
But he said to me,
My grace is sufficient
for you, for my power
is made perfect in
weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
That is why, for Christ’s sake,
I delight in weaknesses, in insults,
in hardships, in persecutions,
in difficulties.
For when I am
weak, then I am
strong.
Is it Biblical to state that suffering, poverty and oppression are not GOD’S will for His Children?
Hebrews 11:35
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.
They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute,
persecuted and mistreated, the world was not worthy of
them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living
in caves and in holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith.
Galatians 4:13-14.
As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.
For my first 16 years of Full time Ministry, I had an elder who was a quadriplegic. Many people prayed for him to get out of his wheelchair, some even tried to pull him out, one even bought him a new pair of shoes for when he stood up and started to walk.
Job 42:7-10.
After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.
So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly.
Job 42:7-10.
You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.
So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.
1 Timothy 2:1-8.
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.....Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.
Pray for your Leaders.
Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:44.
Pray for those who persecute you.
The example of Jesus.
Luke 23:33-34.
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left.
Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
WHAT IS GOD’S WILL?
Acts 9: 13-15.
Lord, Ananias answered, I have heard many reports about this
man, and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem, and he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.
But the Lord said to Ananias,
Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name
to the Gentiles and their kings
and to the people of Israel.
Acts 9: -16-17.
I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
2 PETER 3:9.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Matthew 9:35-38.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
Matthew 9:35-38.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
God gave the apostle Paul and his prayer life as an example for Christians of all time. In a similar way, He has given modern day Christians the example of George Mueller as proof to His church that He still always hears prayer.
“In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals,” Mr. Mueller said. “I prayed every day without a single intermission….”
Eighteen months passed before the first was saved. Five years lapsed, then the second was converted. Six years passed before the third was converted. The last two remained unconverted.
Pastor Charles R. Parsons, in an hour interview with George Mueller towards the close of his life, asked him if he spent much time on his knees. Mueller replied, “I have been praying every day for fifty-two years for two men, sons of a friend of my youth. They are not converted yet, but they will be! How can it be otherwise?”
Mr. Mueller not only prayed for the conversion of lost souls, but he also prayed in firm faith, confident they would be saved. When he was asked on what ground he so firmly believed this, his answer was,
There are five conditions which I always endeavor to fulfill; in observing which I have the assurance of answer to my prayer:
I have not the least doubt because I am assured that it is the Lord’s will to save them, for he willeth that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth 1 Tim 2.4. and we have the assurance ‘that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us’ 1 John 5.14.
I have never pleaded for their salvation in my own name, but in the blessed name of my precious Lord Jesus, and on his merits alone see John 14.14.
I always firmly believed in the willingness of God to hear my prayers Mark 11:24.
I am not conscious of having yielded to any sin, for ‘if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me’ when I call Ps. 66:18.
I have persevered in believing prayer for more than fifty-two years for some, and shall continue till the answer comes: ‘Shall not God avenge his own elect which cry day and night unto him?’ Luke 18.7.
Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Mueller’s friends, were still not converted.
He wrote, But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.
In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted, but after he died!
Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable Jesus told about prayer, saying:
Luke 18:1.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER IS TO ALIGN OURSELVES WITH GOD’S WILL
AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Prayer involves “requests” not demands (Phil. 4:6)
Demanding things from God treats Him as our servant, not our sovereign.
It whistles to Him as our bellhop, rather than submitting humbly to Him as our King.
Christians should be careful even in the use of imperative verbs when we pray. It might be better if we used the word “please” in our prayers.
Manoah gave us a good example:
Judges 13:8,15.
Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.
PRAY POLITELY.
Thankfulness should permeate our prayers.
Philippians 4:6.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
Colossians 4:2.
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN: IS TO SAY PLEASE
AND THANK YOU.(WE NEED
TO REMEMBER THAT IN
OUR PRAYERS )
There are three answers to prayer
Yes
No
wait
Psalm 27:14.
Remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 37:7-9.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
GOD’S TIMING IS ALWAYS BEST…..
WAIT FOR HIM TO OPEN A DOOR.
REMEMBER GEORGE MUELLER’S PATIENT PRAYERS FOR HIS UNSAVED FRIENDS
Lamentations 3:25-26.
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
DON’T PICK GREEN FRUIT, WAIT PATIENTLY.
DON’T CO-ERSE PEOPLE TO PRAY A SINNERS PRAYER.
Luke 18:1-8.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.
For some time he refused. But finally, he said to himself, Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you; he will see that they get justice, and quickly
IN YOUR CLOSET, DON'T PARADE
Matthew 6:5-15.
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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
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. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Luke 5:16.
But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.