by David Scott Robertson
Prayer.
A vital component of any Christian’s lifestyle.
Believers in Jesus can do more after they have prayed
But they cannot do more until they have prayed.
God, it seems, has linked the internal workings of His activity on earth
To the effectual, fervent prayer of righteous men and women.
As I understand it,
There are different types of prayer,
All of which find valid expression in the scriptures.
I want to share a prayer principle and then give you three Bible references
Just so you don’t think I’m making this stuff up:
There is personal prayer – praying on behalf of yourself.
1. (James 4:2 NIV) You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
2. (Phil 4:6 NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
3. (Mat 7:7 NIV) "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
There is intercessory prayer – praying on behalf of others.
1. (Ezek 22:30 KJV) And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
2. (1 Sam 7:5 NIV) Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you."
3. (1 Ki 13:6 NIV) Then the king [King Jeroboam] said to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before.
There is prayer with fasting – a dynamic duo.
1. (Mark 9:28 KJV) And when he [Jesus] was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
2. (Mark 9:29 KJV) And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
3. (Ezra 8:23 NIV) So we [Ezra and leaders in Israel] fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
(Est 4:16 NIV) "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me [Esther]. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."
There is “agreeing” prayer – the principle of divine synergy.
1. (Mat 18:19 KJV) Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
2. (Deu 32:30 NIV) How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
3. (Eccl 4:12 KJV) And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
There is praying in the Spirit – in perfect harmony with God’s will.
1. (1 Cor 14:14 NIV) For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
(1 Cor 14:15 NIV) So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.
2 (Eph 6:18 NIV) 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.
3. (Jude 1:20 NIV) But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
You must believe and not doubt when you pray.
1. (James 1:6 NIV) But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
2. (Mat 9:28 NIV) When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied.
(Mat 9:29 NIV) Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you";
3. (Mat 21:22 NIV) If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
You must have faith that God hears and answers prayer.
1. (1 Ki 9:3 NIV) The LORD said to him [Solomon]: "I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
2. (2 Ki 19:20 NIV) Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.
3. (2 Chr 30:27 NIV) The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.
And now I want to share with you something that was a revelation to me.
I had been familiar with these aforementioned types and characteristics of prayer,
But yesterday, out in the front yard, I discovered a new type of prayer.
I was enjoying my day off work,
And boy was it a beautiful, warm Spring day in Tennessee (tennis anyone?)
I had plenty of chores and errand to do and the thought of sneaking off
And hitting some tennis balls or pleasuring riding my bike was tempting.
En route to tackle my todo list or pursue my wish list,
My father-in-law drives up
With his pickup bed full of all sorts of plants, shrubs, and a few trees to plant in his yard.
Well, I had a decision to make.
What do I do?
Do I tend to my own business
Or do I help my father-in-law tend his yard?
I chose to put my own agenda aside and help.
A half an hour or so later,
On my knees in the dirt digging a hole to put a plant in,
Right then and there in this most unlikely spot,
I heard the Lord speak to me…clearly.
Here I had been minding my own business,
Or, more accurately, minding someone else’s business,
When God unexpectedly showed up on the scene.
I hadn’t even been thinking about God.
I hadn’t been thinking about anything spiritual.
In fact, knowing me, I was probably doing a little mumbling under my breath
Griping to myself that now I won’t have time to get the oil changed on the van today.
But I heard so clearly the voice of the Lord say to me:
“You have My attention.”
A few more phrases came explaining to my heart
The principle of getting the attention of God when I am serving others.
God so gently, so sweetly, began to bring revelation to me that
When you are doing something that you don’t necessarily want to do,
But you do it anyway,
You draw the attention of the Father.
When you do something
Because it is the right thing to do,
The selfless thing to do,
The sacrificial thing to do,
The thing that Jesus would do if He were there…
That moment is sacred in a way and garners the attention of God.
In that moment,
I felt the irresistible urge and prompting of the Holy Spirit to begin to pray.
To pray those types of prayer that I mentioned earlier.
I prayed personal prayers.
I prayer intercessory prayers.
I happened to be fasting all day yesterday
So the divine synergy of fasting was in effect.
I prayed in the Spirit in my heavenly prayer language.
I prayed in faith and did not doubt that God was hearing me, clearly.
Later in the day,
I mowed the lawn for a friend
And felt the irresistible urge and prompting of the Holy Spirit to begin to pray again.
So I made my requests known to God.
Later that evening,
I helped two other friends move to their new apartments.
As I was picking up chairs, a microwave, and lots of boxes,
Once again, I felt the irresistible urge and prompting of the Holy Spirit to begin to pray.
So as I worked, as I served others, I called on the name of the Lord.
So, yesterday, on a Monday,
I got a massive sermon preached to me out in the yard.
And to me, it was revelation.
The point and principle I carried with me to bed,
And awoke with this morning to write it down so you could read it later,
Was that if I want to “turbo-charge” my prayer time,
One additional way to accomplish that
Is to find a need and meet it.
To seek out somebody who could use a helping hand and lend it.
And while I’m lifting, or mowing, or digging for others,
As an act of service to them,
I have discovered that it becomes a spiritual act of worship to God.
And in those precious times of serving others,
There is a clear word from heaven that will come:
“You have My attention.”
DSR
4/2/02