Church that is built on the Word and Prayer

WHAT IS PRAYER

1. Prayer is communication with God: Prayer is a privilege given to those who are called children of God through Christ Jesus. Christians are able to fellowship with God through this privilege. Prayer is spiritual communication with God.

Exodus 33:11
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Genesis 18:22-33
The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. [a] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare [b] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge [c] of all the earth do right?" 26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." 29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
John 12:28
28Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again."

2. Prayer is spiritual breathing: We are called to pray without ceasing.

Psalm 116:2
Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
17pray continually
Colossians 4:2
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Ephesians 6:18
18And 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. Prayer is precious work: It is spiritual laboring.

Matthew 9:37-38
37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Exodus 17:8-16
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." 15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The [a] LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."
Luke 22:44
44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Genesis 32:24-25
24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

4. Prayer is the weapon and method of spiritual warfare.

Ephesians 6:12, 18
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 18And 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.









HURDLES TO PRAYER

Those who desire to live a life of prayer must examine themselves to see if there are any hurdles, roadblocks to answered prayer before diving into fervency of prayer.

1. Doubtful heart: Prayer is channel to confessing your faith. To have a doubtful heart is antagonistic to faith, a roadblock to answered prayer.

James 1:6-8
6But 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. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Mark 11:23
23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

2. Unrepented sins: Becoming Christian doesn’t mean we are perfected beings so we do at times fall to our sinful nature. However, when we sin, we approach the Lord with sincere heart of repentance and seek His forgiveness. Unrepented sin may not lead to cancellation of our salvation but it will be a stumbling block to answered prayer.

Isaiah 1:15, 59:1-2
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
Psalms 66:18
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

3. Stingy heart: Christians who are living in the grace of God must always desire to have the likeness of His heart. God is not pleased when we ask of Him, and yet do not give to those around us. We must seek to have a heart that is meek and kind. Generous as the Lord is. Those who desire and pray for God’s help and prosperity must live even more so in this manner.

Matthew 25:31-46
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

1 John 3:17
17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
Proverbs 21:13
13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.

4. Broken relationships with others (heart of unforgiveness): Through the blood of Christ, we have become one with God and with fellow believers. Christians must keep/protect unity. Thus we should not quarrel amongst each other, and if instances should arise, must forgive one another. Quarreling and unforgiveness breaks up relationships and can become hurdles to answered prayer.

Matthew 5;23-24
23"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. 25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.[
1 Peter 3:7
7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Matthew 6:15
15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Luke 6:37-38
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."




5. Wrongful purpose: No matter how hard/fervently we pray, if there is wrong purpose/intent, God will not answer that prayer. Ultimate purpose of prayer is to glorify God who answers prayer. Those who pray should seek after the Holy Spirit’s leading/guidance to rightful purpose/heart for prayer.

James 4:3
3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
John 14:13
13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
1 Corinthians 10:31
31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

6. Idols: People have at least one idol in their life. An idol is someone or something that we consider more precious than God or what we put our faith/confidence in. Christians must get rid of all idols in their lives. Those who pray must rely only upon God and pray unto Him alone.

Exodus 20:4
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
Leviticus 26:1
1 " 'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.
Psalms 135:15-18
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see; 17 they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
Ezekiel14:1-3
1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 3 "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?

7. All things that prevent/interfere with prayer life: Unanswered prayer can simply be because people don’t pray. Therefore those who pray must resolve/rid of things within themselves and those factors externally that interfere and keep us from prayer.

James 4:2
2You 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.
Matthew 26:40-43
40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
42He 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." 43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
Luke 5:15-16
15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Luke 14:15-24
15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." 16Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
18"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' 19"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
20"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' 21"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15What harmony is there between Christ and Belial[a]? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."[b] 17"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you."[c] 18"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."[

Church that is built on the Word and Prayer
Pastor Sung Chul Lee, Dallas Central UMC
1/6/10
notes taken by Laura Park