DISCIPLES OF JESUS MINISTRY

PRAYER                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      1Th 5:16 Rejoice always,

     1Th 5:17 pray without ceasing,

     1Th 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Persevere and persist in prayer

Resist the devil and he will flee

Access the throne room of heaven,

You must decrease, and He must increase  (Irene McGough 2005)

Our greatest need is for us to continually study God's Word. Meditate upon the Bible day and night (Joshua 1:8) to put on the whole armor of God that you and I might be able to effectively overcome the forces of evil (Ephesians 6:10-18). Jesus answered Satan with the Word of God (Luke 4:1-13). We can do the same and pray without ceasing.

As we pray

We should consistently honour God with thanksgiving and praise. As we give Him first place in our thoughts and actions, Satan and his demons will have no place in our lives.

Prayer is made up of:

Petition

Reverence

Adoration

Yearning

Expectation

Requests

Acts stands for Acts of the Apostles but here is another Acrostic

Adoration of God

Confession of sins to God

Thanksgiving to God

Supplication or asking for things in prayer

CORPORATE PRAYER

Mat 18:19  Again I say to you that if two of you shall agree on earth as regarding anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in Heaven.
Mat 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.

When we pray in unity with our brothers and sisters God is listening. God answers prayer. If we pray with our brothers and sisters we are together coming before the throne of grace. God here's our individual prayers, but when we pray in unison God is really pleased.

Act 4:31  And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness.

Wow, this verse is really powerful, our prayers are immediately heard , the Holy Spirit gets to work, The very foundations of a building can be shaken. Do we realise what power is available to us in prayer and that God answers prayer?
So let's pray together for one another, for backsliders, for those who are sick, for unbelievers, for our families and friends who are unsaved, for believers in other countries going about God's work, for the work of the ministry here and for our home churches.
If we unite in a prayer for anything
God is therre in the midst of us

God hears our prayers, we have access to the throne of God and when we join in unity we are God's powerhouse.

 So let it be said of us that we are a people of prayer, when we pray as a body of the church and tap into the power of the Holy Spirit, souls will be saved, people will be healed, all kinds of prayers will be answered. So, let's pray

Joh 14:13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Joh 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

ASK, RECEIVE, JOY. When we are praying we are praying in Jesus Name

Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

What does it mean to be united in prayer? Why is it that so often when people gather together in prayer the prayers go unanswered?

Jesus is there when we meet with one accord in one spirit in His Name.The word "accord".should be viewed with the depth and degree which God wold attribute to it, Jesus is in the midst "wherever two or three are gathered.." not just assembled?? NO!! The disciples and others were assembled in "one accord.." Jesus Christ IS there. Without that, He will NOT be there. Why? Because "where envy and strife are there is every evil work.." Jesus wants us to be of one accord... "Father I pray that they ALL may be one as we are one, that the world may believe that you have sent me. And my glory have I given them that they may be one as we are..."

Acts 1:14
"These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren."

Phi 2:2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Rom 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

There should be no division in the body of Christ. When we are united not only in what we are praying for, but in all aspects of our fellowship one with another, and when we stand on the same grounding doctrinally, when we share the same goals a total unity of the body and we all have our focus on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith then we can be said to be of one accord.If as Christians, we are not, " with one accord" then the blessing is bound to tarry!

We need to get our own hearts right before we approach the throne of God.

1. humble ourselves....
Confessing to each other before God and publicly before man that we are not what we claim to be.

2 pray...
Praying toward God's throne of grace, asking forgiveness,

3. seek My face....
Seeking His face is not the same thing as prayer. Prayer is communication to God. Seeking His face is searching for Him to look upon you. Seeking His grace, seeking first His kingdom and his righteousness.

2Ch 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, 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.

If we are truly praying of one accord and one mind, giving ourselves totally over to the Holy Spirit's prompting, God will move mountains, souls will be saved, miracles will happen and God will movwe through this ministry by the power of His Spirit.

The early church was guided by the Word of God waited at the Throne of God and were dependent on the Spirit of God to accomplish that which had been commanded by the Lord.

PRIVATE PRAYER

Psa 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God! I will be praised among the nations, I will be praised in the earth.


Hush, be still God is here. We need to learn to be quiet, to allow God to speak to us, before reading our Bibles we should ask God to speak to us through His word. At the start of a new day ask God's blessing on it..    Prayer is the excitement of encountering God, prayer is the Christian's vital breath.
How does God speak to us? It's not always in the same way, we are all individuals, sometimes it will be in a forceful way, sometimes through a prophetic revelation, sometimes through dreams and sometimes through a still small voice, sometimes He speaks to us through an appreciation of Nature around us, His glorious creation.

God likes to hear our prayers.

1Pe 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears open to their prayers. But the Lord's face is against those who do evil.


Job 33:26 he shall pray to God, and He will be gracious to him; and he shall see His face with joy, for He will restore to man his righteousness.


God promises to hear our prayers.

2Ch 7:14 if My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2Ch 7:15 Now My eyes shall be open, and My ears shall be open to the prayer of this place.

Does God always answer prayer?

Joh 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.

Luk 11:9 And I say to you, Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened to you.

Psa 91:14 Because He has set His love on Me, therefore I will deliver Him; I will set Him on high, because He has known My name.
Psa 91:15 He shall call on Me, and I will answer Him; I will be with Him in trouble; I will deliver Him, and honor Him.
Psa 91:16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.

Sometimes God's answer is no, or not at the moment. but, he will always answer our prayers in some way.

2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord three times, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.

How to pray.

Mat 6:5 And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6 But you, when you pray, enter into your room. And shutting your door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.
Mat 6:7 But when you pray, do not babble vain words, as the nations. For they think that in their much speaking they shall be heard.
Mat 6:8 Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask Him.
Mat 6:9 Therefore pray in this way: Our Father, who is in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread;
Mat 6:12 and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

The Greek word Jesus uses for ‘Father’ in the Lords prayer is ‘pater’

When He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane He prayed ‘Abba pater’

We as believers are adopted into God’s family. We too can say Abba Father for we are sons and heirs. Abba is the Eastern word for Daddy.

We have the privilege of coming before God and praying “our father in heaven”

Hallowed-  most holy, glorious, wonderful is your name oh God –this is worship when we recognize this in our spirit man and pray to Him with adoration.

We desire to see the glory of the Kingdom of our God manifest among us and we should seek in the Word or in  prayer to know the will of God where it can be known and pray accordingly.

Our Lord has promised to provide for our needs and when we seek His help He says “Ask and it will be given to you.”

We must forgive others as Overcomers has taught us if we expect God to forgive us, we can’t harbour grudges.

We should ask the  Father to protect us from falling into temptation, May we be delivered from the fiery darts of the evil one.

God’s is the Kingdom , the power and the glory so give Him all the praise and all the honour.

 Eph 6:10 In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].

Psa 145:10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your loving ones shall bless You [affectionately and gratefully shall Your saints confess and praise You]!

Psa 145:11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power,

Psa 145:12 To make known to the sons of men God's mighty deeds and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.

Psa 145:13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

1Ch 29:11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and Yours it is to be exalted as Head over all.

Pro 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the [consistently] righteous man [upright and in right standing with God] runs into it and is safe, high [above evil] and strong. (AMP)

1Ch 16:9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His wondrous works and devoutly praise them!

Joining with others in prayer.

Mat 18:19 Again I say to you that if two of you shall agree on earth as regarding anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in Heaven.


We are commanded to pray and give thanks to God

1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
1Th 5:18 In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.


We have the Holy Spirit to help us pray.

Gal 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.


Prayers should be offered up:

IN THE SPIRIT

Eph 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching to this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

1Co 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

1Co 14:15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

IN ASSURANCE OF FAITH

Heb 10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies having been washed with pure water.

WITH THE HEART

Jer 29:13 And you shall seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.


Psa 119:58 I looked for Your favor with all my heart; be merciful to me according to Your Word.

WITH CONFIDENCE THAT GOD WILL HEAR OUR PRAYERS

Jo 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
1Jo 5:15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.


WITH BOLDNESS

Heb 4:16 Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

So, Let's go boldly before the throne of Grace in our time of prayer. Prayer is also about worship and praise.

Pray thanking God for all His many blessings. Thank Him , praise him , give Him all the glory for He alone in worthy of our praise.

Exo 17:8 Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

Exo 17:9 And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand."

Exo 17:10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Exo 17:11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

Exo 17:12 But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Exo 17:13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Exo 17:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."

Exo 17:15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner,

Exo 17:16 for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."

The Amalekites attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 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.”

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites started winning. 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  either side of him —so that his hands were heald steady until sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

Moses was faced with a crisis. An enemy army has just arrived near Israel’s desert camp intent on wiping out Israel.

Moses calls in  Joshua and he announces the approach they will take. “Joshua,’’ he says, “tomorrow you take the best fighting men we have; lead them out on the plains to meet the enemy; and fight with courage. I am going to take two men with me, climb the hill that overlooks the plains and raise my hands toward heaven. I’m going to pray that God will give supernatural protection on our troops and complete victory. Then I will watch and see what God does.”

   Notice too how Joshua agrees with Moses for he too believes in the power of prayer. Moses stretches his arms toward heaven again and brings the matter to the Lord. Immediately the battle’s momentum shifts back to Joshua and the Israelites, and once again they are driving the enemy back. And then it strikes Moses. He must keep his arms stretched toward heaven in prayer if he wants to open the door for God’s supernatural intervention on the battlefield.

Moses must keep his arms stretched toward heaven in prayer if he wants to open the door for God’s supernatural intervention on the battlefield.

Moses discovered that day that God’s power is released through prayer. God’s prevailing power is released in the lives of people who pray with expectancy, believing by faith that God is going to give the victory over the situation they are praying about.

In verses 15 and following we see that Moses is intent in giving the glory to God, for it was God who gave the victory, just as it is God who will give us the victory today . Moses built an altar – Jehovah Nissi (Heb) “The Lord my banner”which might refer to the lifting up of the rod as a banner  to God. The presence and power of God was the banner under which they enlisted, by which they were given strength and might and unity, so they erected this altar to God  in this day of their triumph. In the name of our God we must always lift up our banners, expect great things from God because He is God and He will give us the victory over adversity  and give Him all the praise and all the glory for answered prayer.