Ephesians 1:18. Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know, what is the hope to which has called you, what are the riches of the glorious inheritance in the saints.
Before we start, I have a
Questions
Why do we need to
pray?
Why It’s Important
for Us? And
How to pray?
Why do we need to pray?
Prayers
allow us to worship and confess our sin and Prayer bring near to our Savior
Jesus Christ. Prayer is communication between Father and his children (us).
Prayer guides us in our bad times, helps us to avoid bad decisions, Prayer leads
us to become a good person and Prayers helps us to be in good relation with our
Lord. Let us read II Chronicles 7:14
II Chronicles 7:14
14. If my people who are called by my name humble themself and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land
John 15:7
7. If you abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for
you.
John
15:7 says if people ignore His words (prayers, bible reading) then the word of God
(holy spirit, blessings of God) also goes further away from people, thus it
creates distance between people and God. When people keep praying and the gap
between God and people decreases, when that happens we live a blessed life.
Also when Jesus used to live among us Jesus used to pray to Father frequently.
Let us read Matthew 14:23
Matthew 14:23
23. And after he had
dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When
evening came he was there alone.
Matthew 26:36
36. Then Jesus went
with them to a place called Gellan’ame, and he said to his disciple “Sit here
while I go yonder and pray”.
Mark 1:35
35. And in the
morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to be a lonely place,
and there he prayed.
In
Matthew 14:23, 26:36 and Mark 1:35 we can see that Jesus frequently used to
pray to Father. In Matthew 14:23 after
teaching to crowds he went to the mountain by himself and he returned when evening
came.
In
Matthew 26:36 He ordered His disciples not to follow him while he went to
pray. We can see Jesus used to pray alone quite frequently
And
in Mark 1:35 He woke up early morning and prayed. He showed that prayer brings us closer to God. Prayer gives us strength, and hope, and brings people closer to god.
Prayer is the only way to communicate with Jesus like Jesus used to pray to His
Father
Why prayer is important for us?
Ephesians 6:12
12. Far we are not
contending against flash and blood, but against principalities, against the
power, against the worldly rules of the present darkness, against the spiritual
hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Prayer
helps us to fight against darkness that is hidden within ourselves, Our fight is
not against other people, our fight is against corruption within our heart,
against bad influence, against bad habits, against temptation, and again lust.
Matthew 26:41
41. Watch and pray
that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak.
Prayer
is important to fight against temptation and to fight against evil, bad habits.
Prayer strengthens our minds and our hearts against worldly desires. The Holy Spirit
guides us from danger and bad decisions.
How
to pray?
Praying
is a conversation between Father and his children. When we were kids we used to
ask our parents sincerely, quietly and sometimes secretly. We are going
to see some bible verses about how we should pray to him.
·
Pray regularly (I
Thessalonians 5:17)
I Thessalonians 5:17
17. Pray constantly
As
it’s written in I Thessalonians 5:17, we have to pray constantly means
regularly, every day and shouldn’t be for showing others or our parents or our
children but with good heart and with purity
Matthew: 6:7
7. But when you pray,
go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret;
and your father who sees in secret will reward you.
Our
Father sees and looks over us, when we pray alone he answers our prayers. He
loves us when we pray and talk to him. He sees our daily struggles and joys when
we come to him and seek his strength.
I John 1:9
9. If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.
Pray
with belief and be humble, and confess that we are a sinner because we are born
with sin, and we make mistakes now and then by confessing to Him He cleanses our
sins, God is great he forgives and is faithful to our sincerity.
Philippians 4:6
6. Have no anxiety
about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
Leave
every anxiety and worries before Lord Jesus Christ and pray that you are alive
give thanks that your sins are forgiven in the name our Jesus Christ and request
prayer.
Mark 11:24
24. Therefore I tell
you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will
be yours.
Faith and belief in our Saviour Jesus Christ, and believing in him give our
fruits, what I can say is what we believe is what we are
going to receive. Believing in Him is our biggest strength.
James 5:16
16. Therefore confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The
prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Matthew 5:44
44. But I say to you,
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
James
5:16, Main focuses on confession and prayers between communities, confession and
prayers make bonds between communities strong. Prayer of principled
men/women becomes powerful and effective.
Let’s read Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus told to his disciples
to love enemies because we are sons/daughters of Father who is in heaven, the
one who created The sun, earth and all stars can he not win over evil. What reward
will you get when you love your people but when you show your prayer and
kindness for them, therefore you try to be like Him because Father is perfect.
Matthew 18:20
20. For where two or
three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Again in Matthew 18:20
where one or three or many gathered to pray, He listen to them and their prayers
will be heard and his presence will be among them. There is always some catch
all people believe in Jesus Christ and believe that he was crucified and rose
from death for their sins and honest among themselves.
Matthew 6:5, 7 and 8
5.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand
and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by
men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
7.
“And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think
that they will be heard for their many words.
8.
Do not be like them for your Father knows what you need before you ask him
Jesus told us not to show
off, and pray long with empty phrases because they will remain unheard, Father
already know what our hearts desire. It’s not like a who does better prayer but
who has a clean heart and humbled their self.
Conclusion
Jesus already taught
us how to pray and he ordered us how not to pray. Pray is not a show-off but it’s a conversation between Father and children. Be humble, be perfect, cry for sin,
ask forgiveness, and believe that you are forgiven. Pray for enemies, pray for communities,
guide your brothers and sisters, when you pray in a group and remember Christ died
and rose for you and most importantly pray for each other. Don’t blame but
guide.
Matthew 7:7 “And, ask it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
Amen