How To Pray
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge,
giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of life;
that your prayers be not hindered.
Communicate !
This is not my strong subject, but here are a few thoughts backed up with scripture.
The word “pray” or a form of it is in 508 Bible verses, so it is pretty important to the author of the Book. Why? – caus’ He wants to communicate with you! He has already spoken through the sure word of prophecy and now it’s your turn to respond.
Volumes have been written about prayer and there are many instructions in the Bible. Without trying to box the word into a corner and make a performance out of it, just communicate with the Lord in whatever way you can.
Awake, sleepy, standing up, sitting down, lying in bed, on your knees, on your stomach and face, outside, inside, here, there, driving, riding, walking, running, eyes open (especially when driving), eyes shut, hands down, hands up, hands folded, morning, noon, night, privately, publicly, wherever you are when you need to get through – all within reason and with respect to others.
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Otherwise, you will be deemed a demoniac of some kind and have no chance of being a faithful testimony to those others. But, you are being watched. Believe me; skeptics are watching to see if the believer prays before he eats. This can be your entrance into witnessing more than you think. Pray for their meal out loud, within reason, and see what happens.
Keep It Going
Pray without ceasing.
Pretty straight forward words, you just can’t do that literally. (Take all scripture literally if at all possible, and descriptive if not, but all true.) But you can always be in a position for your prayers to get through.
You are going to sin (I John 1:8) and you are to seek forgiveness (I John 1:9). You get away from God and He will get away from you.
Why would you want Almighty God to be somewhere other than in your corner? You need the full armour of God at all times to fight the spiritual battle you are always in (Ephesians 6).
In Your Own Words
Romans 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
The Holy Spirit helps us by taking our prayers and passing them to Jesus who passes them to the Father. Prayer involves the triune Godhead (trinity). Your words are given spiritual life by the Spirit of life; therefore unsaved people with a dead spirit have no two-way prayer life. Their prayers dissipate into nothingness or bounce off the ceiling because they have no medium of transport. These verses also tell us that God has no spelling and grammar checks on prayers. Just cough it up in your head or audibly and the Spirit will get it, fix it, and deliver it. He is 100% dependable.
Now, that phrase, “groanings which cannot be uttered”, is used by “tongues-speaking” charismatics as some sort of proof text that they are being spirit-led when speaking in “tongues”. This drives me crazy – can’t they read? “groanings which cannot be uttered” are by the Holy Spirit, not by them. And it says “not uttered”, meaning silent, and they are the ones uttering, exactly the opposite! Better check out the validity of the GED’s.
Public Prayer
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are:
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
When you pray before others, be reasonable. You are praying for some specific purpose, not preaching your own pious sermon. If you are praying before a meal, give thanks for the meal and let us dig in. If you are praying before preaching, ask the Lord to help the preacher and let him get started - no telling how long he is going to speak. Get to the point and let the Spirit handle it.
If you make a show of praying, or giving (Matthew 6:2), in public, you have your reward and that’s that.
Side note – it’s always OK to add a quick prayer for the salvation and safety of your children and our troops.
One And Only
I Timothy 2:5
For there is one God,
and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;
Prayers go to Jesus by the Spirit and then to God, no roadblocking middle man or woman. Jesus is our only mediator and high priest (Hebrews 3:1), seated at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3). He has reconciled us to God (II Corinthians 5:18-20) and is therefore the only worthy one to represent us before the only God (Isaiah 45 & 46, six times “there is none else”).
O N L Y O N E M E D I A T O R
No other method will get to the Father (John 14:6) and no unsaved person has any communication with the Lord or God until they believe in the gospel of Christ as best they can.
Onward Christian Soldiers
Brethren, pray for us.
People in the ministry value the prayers of others. They get to see how God works out his will in a life that is sacrificed for Him. So pray for them every time you think about it. Your preacher needs prayers just like missionaries do. You should value the prayers of the brethren for yourself also. You never know when God is going to honour a prayer request, but He surely may not honour an unspoken request. Get the best odds you can.
Finally, brethren, pray for us,
that the word of the Lord may have free course,
and be glorified, even as it is with you:
Pray for the unsaved, especially your loved ones. Pray that the word of God will not be bound and will penetrate the pride of the unsaved. God can send the right message to unsaved people in unimaginable ways. Ask Him to send the message in any and all ways, nor let that sinner die. He is not willing that any should perish and He will make sure the message gets there in time. You plant and water, including prayer, and God gives the increase.
OJT
Luke 11:1
…Lord, teach us to pray, …
Learn how to pray and do it. And do it with your wife and children, consistently. And give honour to your wife when you pray, that your prayers be not hindered. How do we learn how to pray? On the job training!
Suggestion: There are many scriptures which make great prayers, especially psalms. Use them to pray, especially when others are around and in church meetings. Just say “Dear Lord”, then read the scripture, and say “Thank you Lord, Amen”. Why? Because the word of God is not bound.
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