Principles of Effective Prayer - Part 1

#1 · February 6, 2008, 7:33 am

Quote from Forum Archives on February 6, 2008, 7:33 am
Posted by: <@...>

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1 NIV)

In case you haven’t heard yet, it’s time for increased prayer. Why? Because there’s a stirring in the spirit realm. Because it’s time for the latter rain and the end-time harvest. Because it’s time for the Body of Christ to stop shadow boxing and learn to properly wield the sword of the Spirit and exercise the dominion Jesus gave her. It’s time for increased effectual, fervent prayer.

My grandmother once lay in a hospital’s Critical Care Unit while my grandfather, a quiet man who dearly loved an awesome God, walked the halls and prayed fervently. For 39 days, Grandmother lay in Critical Care. For 39 days, Granddaddy rebuked the spirit of death. For 39 days, not one person died in the Critical Care Unit. And yes, my grandmother fully recovered.

A small group of women volunteers worked to prepare food for hundreds of missionaries when the news arrived that another large group of missionaries had arrived unannounced. There wasn’t time to purchase and prepare additional food; there was only one thing to do. We joined hands and began to pray, asking God to multiply the food as He had the loaves and fishes in Bible days. He did, and every missionary was well fed.

For many years, my dad worked a very unsafe job in the most dangerous part of town. Mom and I began praying in agreement over his situation, asking God to move him out of danger without any loss of pay or rank. Within two weeks, Dad announced that he and some of his friends had decided to retire and go to work for another organization. God arranged it so that he went from working in the most dangerous part of town to the most elite.

A friend and I determined to stand against a particular situation that put a large number of people at risk for great harm. The situation was beyond our ability to change; we needed God to intervene. We decided to fast together, and made a list of the specific things we would pray for. Within a very short time, every item on that prayer list had been supernaturally taken care of.

I share these instances to let you know what I mean by effectual, fervent prayer. In part 2, we’ll look at four different types of prayer.

Heavenly Father, please teach us to pray. Amen.

Posted by: <@...>

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1 NIV)

In case you haven’t heard yet, it’s time for increased prayer. Why? Because there’s a stirring in the spirit realm. Because it’s time for the latter rain and the end-time harvest. Because it’s time for the Body of Christ to stop shadow boxing and learn to properly wield the sword of the Spirit and exercise the dominion Jesus gave her. It’s time for increased effectual, fervent prayer.

My grandmother once lay in a hospital’s Critical Care Unit while my grandfather, a quiet man who dearly loved an awesome God, walked the halls and prayed fervently. For 39 days, Grandmother lay in Critical Care. For 39 days, Granddaddy rebuked the spirit of death. For 39 days, not one person died in the Critical Care Unit. And yes, my grandmother fully recovered.

A small group of women volunteers worked to prepare food for hundreds of missionaries when the news arrived that another large group of missionaries had arrived unannounced. There wasn’t time to purchase and prepare additional food; there was only one thing to do. We joined hands and began to pray, asking God to multiply the food as He had the loaves and fishes in Bible days. He did, and every missionary was well fed.

For many years, my dad worked a very unsafe job in the most dangerous part of town. Mom and I began praying in agreement over his situation, asking God to move him out of danger without any loss of pay or rank. Within two weeks, Dad announced that he and some of his friends had decided to retire and go to work for another organization. God arranged it so that he went from working in the most dangerous part of town to the most elite.

A friend and I determined to stand against a particular situation that put a large number of people at risk for great harm. The situation was beyond our ability to change; we needed God to intervene. We decided to fast together, and made a list of the specific things we would pray for. Within a very short time, every item on that prayer list had been supernaturally taken care of.

I share these instances to let you know what I mean by effectual, fervent prayer. In part 2, we’ll look at four different types of prayer.

Heavenly Father, please teach us to pray. Amen.