Pray

WHAT IS THE PRAYER MEETING?  

Work as if you were to live 100 years; pray as if you were to die tomorrow. -Franklin

James 5:16, Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

            I am not sure about your testimony but I was not raised in church. I had no understanding of sin, righteousness, Jesus, salvation, etc. It wasn’t until after I got saved that I began to understand the value of prayer and the Midweek Prayer Meeting and Bible Study. It is neglected by many but blessed by others.

            There is something special about the midweek Bible Study and prayer meeting. Yes, we make our request known. Yes, we get down around the Old Fashion Altar. Yes, we sing old hymns that brings us Bible Doctrine. Yes, we praise the Lord and let Him have His way! Do you attend Midweek Services? If not, why not? If you do, share something you enjoy about them.

BE PRAYING  

            The Action of Prayer Leads to Awesome Power!

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6

            Our faith in our omnipotent Saviour is on display when we pray and leave our burdens with Him. When we pick those burdens back up, we are saying God isn’t BIG enough to handle our problems. We are saying we are more capable of handling our problems more than He is. We are saying He doesn’t know what He is doing.

            Complete faith in God is making those requests known and leaving them with Him. Rejoicing before the request is made, during the period He hears them, and after the request is made. You see, when we have faith in God, we understand our Lord and Saviour knows our every need. You can rest assured He hears your prayers and He will answer them on His time table! When we put prayer in action, He gives us the power to remain faithful, remain focused, and to remain fruitful!

WHEN THE ENEMY IS CAMPED OUTSIDE  

Remaining confident in our Saviour in times of crisis is the natural thing for a Christian to do.

And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. 2 Chronicles 32:20

            In 2 Chronicles 32, we have the story of Sennacherib, the Assyrian King and his army plotting to take Jerusalem. Hezekiah did not fret or worry; he prepared and prayed. He had this to say about Sennacherib, “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles.”

            Are you facing an enemy today? Is the enemy camped outside your door? No matter what or who that enemy might be, remain confident in knowing the Lord our God, Jesus Christ, is the there to help us and to fight our battles!

PRAY FOR YOUR PASTOR!

Do you need some help or hope from the Lord; pray for your Pastor!

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Hebrews 13:7

            Before you go to church this morning spend some time in prayer for your Pastor! He has been diligently praying for the services and the needs of the church. Wouldn’t it be great if not only he went to church prayed up and having the power of God on him but the church did as well? Wouldn’t it be great if the Holy Ghost showed up and stirred someone heart? Wouldn’t it be great if someone got saved today? Well, He may if you pray for your Pastor!

WAIT UNTIL YOU HEAR SOMETHING!

Patient waiting is often the highest way of doing God's will. -Collier

I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1

 When David cried out to the Lord he didn’t do as we do to the Lord today. He didn’t relentlessly pester the Lord, day after day. He didn’t question the Lord’s motives or His actions. David, patiently, waited on the Lord.

            It would do you and me a great service to follow David’s lead in waiting. What do we need to wait on after we pray? Well, Pastor, wait on the Lord to give you the flock He wants you to have. Mom, wait on the Lord to give you the desires of your heart. Dad, wait on the Lord to give you the promotion you have worked so hard for. Single lady, wait on the Lord to give you the man of your dreams. Single man, wait on the Lord to give you the Proverbs 31 woman. High School student, wait on the Lord to open the next door of your life. College student, wait on the Lord to give you the career God wants you to have.

Waiting is hard, being out of the will of God is harder!

COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN…

            If Christians spent as much time praying as they do grumbling, they would soon have nothing to grumble about. -Anonymous

           Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.             Proverbs 1:28-31

            But preacher, “I enjoy complaining!” I really believe some people LOVE to complain! They complain if it’s too hot…then ten minutes later it’s too cold. The Lord can meet all of their needs and they would still complain because they He didn’t give them something they wanted!

            Sometimes I really want to say…well…what have you done about it? Have you prayed? Have you done anything to improve the situation? Have you contributed anything to improve what you’re going through? When we don’t… we are saying, “God can’t handle this problem. God doesn’t need to hear about my problems. God isn’t concerned about me.

           Remember what James 4:2b-3 says,”…yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

            You want peace in your life…ask God.

            You want financial freedom…ask God.

            You want joy in your life...ask God.

            You want contentment in your life…ask God.

            You want to be saved…ask God.

            Do you get the point yet? DON’T JUST COMPLAIN...PRAY!

What am I to do Preacher?

We are not told that Jesus ever taught His disciple how to preach, but He taught them how to pray. He wanted them to have power with God; then He knew they would have power with man. - D.L. Moody

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

There is a constant battle between the flesh and the spirit. We are constantly bombarded by the temptations of life and our flesh is like, “Feed Me!” The world throws every temptation at our flesh so the Spirit of God that abides within will be suppressed and we could potentially cave to our fleshly desires. What should I do preacher? Pray! Pray! Pray! And be reminded of Scripture: Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4