How, Why, When, Where & What We Should PrayIf you use any of this in your sermon you must quote, "This is from a disabled man named Robert S. Howard". Thanks for doing that. Philippians 4:5-7 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
What was the first thing the Early Church did after Jesus' ascension? "They returned to Jerusalem…to an upper room" and "continued with one accord in prayer and supplication..." Acts 1:12-14 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. 1) How & Why We Should Pray.Matthew 6:1-15 Don’t pray for your daily needs in public. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Confession, Repentance, Supplication, Atonement, Intercession 2) When We Should Pray1 Thessalonians 5:17-22 Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. But when there is Sin in my life, I know I can pray. This prayer is with Repentance made to the Heavenly Father… Look at these scriptures - Psalms 32:1-6
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. David show’s the blessedness of forgiveness as no other does. - In Psalms 51:1-4, 7, 10, 12, 14
?1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. David made a confession and repented to God. Where was David at that time, not in a church. C) In Jonah 2:7-10 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. Jonah made a confession and repented to God. Where was Jonah at that time, not in a church.
3) Where Should We Pray
Isaiah 56:7 7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. Matthew 21:13 13 ...It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer;... We can pray anywhere and you should pray anywhere you are but, if you want to have you prayer go up with two or three witnesses, pray in God’s House. Matthew 18:20 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. God honors prayer in his house.... Acts 12:1-11 Vs. 5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. 4) What Should You Do Now? I wonder if our country could use that type of prayer... 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, 19-22 13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. I want God’s Forgiveness of my Sin and Healing for Our Country, but it starts right here in God’s House 19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; 20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. 21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and unto this house? 22 And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers…
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