Prayer Changes Things ! Part 2

God can change anything through prayer according to His will

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."(Php. 4:6-7)

Prayer changes things only for God's people because "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Rom 8:26-28). "Everything by prayer" does not mean everything in the universe, but rather "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3-4, 11). The "life" refers to eternal life. We pray only for the change that has connection to God's plan of salvation.

However this does not mean that we pray only for spiritual things. Prayer will certainly change material things when that change has a spiritual value and benefit.

Prayer is not for satisfying physical and material lusts (Jas 4:3). It does not mean that we cannot pray for material needs. Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses..." (Lk. 11:3-4) The main purpose of prayer, however, is to help make things "turn out for salvation" (Php 1:19).

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (Jas 5:16) When a righteous man prays there are more changes than he could ever imagine or comprehend. "And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." (Jas. 5:15) The sick person is not only healed but also saved.

Malaysian Woman received Holy Spirit and Healing through Prayer

Many years ago there was a Christian woman in Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia who had been suffering from hemorrhaging, the sickness similar to the one who touched the border of Jesus' garment and was healed (Lk. 8:43-48). This Malaysian woman had also spent her family's savings on doctors and still could not be healed. A member brought her to our church and after hearing the full gospel of salvation she believed in the new birth of water and the Spirit (Jn. 3:3-8).

One evening while she was praying fervently at home she was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with tongues. At that moment she also felt the power of God descended on her and pushed some liquid out of her body. After the prayer she got up and saw a puddle of blood on the floor where she had been kneeling. This woman was completely healed from that moment onwards. She and her husband were baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ.

After many months she met one of her former physicians at the town market. The doctor was surprised that she looked so healthy and asked what happened to her. He also wanted to know who had healed her. She said her doctor is the Lord Jesus Christ. The doctor also believed in Jesus and was baptized into Him.

Prayer Changes Things !!!!!!!!

Prayer of Faith

Mark 11:12-14; Mark 11:20-25; Luke 7:1-10; James 5:13-18; Matthew 9:18-26; James 1:5-8

The prayer of faith is rooted in our confidence in God's Word. When you are sure that what you are praying for is God's will for you, the prayer of faith can be employed. The prayer of faith is knowing God's will, praying it and receiving it from Him. Not forgiving and doubting are the two greatest hindrances to prayers of faith. 

Prayer of agreement

Genesis 11:1-9; Matthew 18:19-20; Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 133:1-3; Acts 4:23; Hebrews 10:24-25; Matthew 28:16-20

The prayer of agreement is when two or more people come together and agree with one another and with the Word of God that something specific will be done. When we stand together in unity - with one purpose, sharing a joint vision and trusting God's Word to be fulfilled - God can work miracles. 

Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving

Psalm 100; Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 149:4-9; 1Thessalonians 5:15-19

Praise and worship brings us into the presence of God. Praising God in both the good and bad times affirms our faith in Him. Praise and thanksgiving are powerful weapons. They disarm the two most deadly weapons to our Christian walk: unbelief and satanic attacks. These two things are manifested in many different ways, but praise and thanksgiving is the two-edged sword that helps us fight against evil.

Prayer of Contemplation

The following steps may help you build contemplation into your prayer life.

·       Establish a time and a place
Establish a regular time and place to give God your undivided attention each day (not in the car or while doing the dishes!). Have everything you need: your Bible, a journal, a pen, etc., so you can move right into prayer. 

·       Keep your purpose clear
Come to this time for the sole purpose of seeking God's face. Keep this time for worship, meditation and listening for His voice. Intercession and supplication are for another time.

·       Be still and quiet
This is a difficult discipline and takes much practice. After acknowledging God's presence, become still and quiet before Him. Relax your mind and breathe deeply, all the while thanking Him silently that He meets you in the stillness. 

·       Meditate on Scripture
Unlike Eastern meditation, our goal is not to empty our mind, but to fill it with the revelation of God's manifest presence. Read small portions of Scripture, asking God to reveal Himself to you. Wait on Him and listen for the Shepherd's voice.

·       Journal your prayers
Write daily love letters to God that respond to the joy of being with Him. Chronicle what He seems to be saying to you in writing.

·       Prepare for wandering thoughts
Don't worry if your mind wanders, especially at first. Jot down things you need to do later; then return your mind to seeking God's face again.

·       Don't fear drowsiness
It is no sin to fall asleep in the arms of God. Of course, if this becomes the norm, you may need to change your sleeping habits!

·       Infuse intercession with contemplation
Whenever the battle in prayer takes its toll, take a few minutes to contemplate the loveliness of Christ, rest in His arms and simply enjoy His presence. Then go back to the work of active prayer.

By Tricia McCary Rhodes

Prayer Moves The Hand Of GOD !!!!! "Fervent Effectual Prayers Avails MUCH "

Prayer of Intercession

Genesis 18:22-33 (Abraham); 1 Kings 18:41-46 (Elijah); 2 Kings 4:32-36 (Elisha); Acts 12:1-18 (The early church)

To intercede means to plead or mediate on behalf of another person. Intercessory prayer means praying earnestly for the needs of others, and seeking God's will for their life. We are called to intercede for others, just as Jesus is interceding for us (Hebrews 7: 25).

Six Essentials of Effective Intercessory Prayer

• Be Sincere
  Prayer is a sacred responsibility, and we need to treat it as such. Samuel told the Israelites, "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you." (1 Samuel 12:23)
  
• Be Discreet
  If you've ever had details of your personal life spread all over church, you know how devastating a little gossip can be. Here's a simple rule for any effective intercessor. Assume every prayer request offered by a friend is for your ears only, even if they don't specifically say so. If you belong to a prayer group, you might ask the person if they mind you sharing their request so others can pray, too. Even if they respond positively, refrain from telling the group any more than is necessary.
  
• Be SensitiveOften, when people have just suffered a traumatic event, they're exhausted with having to retell their story to every person who asks. While we want to demonstrate concern for others, there's no reason to make them relive the ordeal by asking a lot of questions. All we really need to do is let them know we love them, and we're praying.
  
• Be EncouragingAn encouraging card or a sympathetic whisper promising to pray for someone in pain can brighten a dreary day and lift a weary heart. A simple expression of concern can be an incredible source of encouragement to anyone going through a physical, spiritual, or emotional struggle. And through the week, when they become discouraged, they can remind themselves that "Someone is praying for me!"
  
• Be Organised
  So often we glibly promise to pray for someone - and we really mean it - but somehow we simply fail to do so. When you make a commitment to pray for someone, make a note of it. Amid the pressures of daily life, prayer often gets pushed to the back burner. The whispers of our conscience can be drowned by the screams of a hungry baby or the demands of a cranky boss. But no matter what your work schedule is, you can find time to pray.
• Be Committed
  If you consistently have trouble making time for prayer, find a partner and hold each other accountable. Even if you don't have the time to pray together, just remind each other regularly of your commitment to pray. In promising to pray for someone, you've made a sacred commitment. It's a solemn responsibility - with incredible rewards.

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Wheat and Tare, There is a Difference !

He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also. The servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?'

"He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.'

"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?'

"But he said, 'No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

– Matthew 13:24-30, World English Bible

Martin Luther preached a sermon on the parable in which he affirmed that only God can separate false from true believers and noted that killing heretics or unbelievers ends any opportunity they may have for salvation

"From this observe what raging and furious people we have been these many years, in that we desired to force others to believe; the Turks with the sword, heretics with fire, the Jews with death, and thus out root the tares by our own power, as if we were the ones who could reign over hearts and spirits, and make them pious and right, which God's Word alone must do. But by murder we separate the people from the Word, so that it cannot possibly work upon them and we bring thus, with one stroke a double murder upon ourselves, as far as it lies in our power, namely, in that we murder the body for time and the soul for eternity, and afterwards say we did God a service by our actions, and wish to merit something special in heaven."

He concluded that "although the tares hinder the wheat, yet they make it the more beautiful to behold"

Saint Augustine pointed out that the invisible distinction between "wheat" and "tares" also runs through the Church:

O you Christians, whose lives are good, you sigh and groan as being few among many, few among very many. The winter will pass away, the summer will come; lo! The harvest will soon be here. The angels will come who can make the separation, and who cannot make mistakes. ... I tell you of a truth, my Beloved, even in these high seats there is both wheat, and tares, and among the laity there is wheat, and tares. Let the good tolerate the bad; let the bad change themselves, and imitate the good. Let us all, if it may be so, attain to God; let us all through His mercy escape the evil of this world. Let us seek after good days, for we are now in evil days; but in the evil days let us not blaspheme, that so we may be able to arrive at the good days.^[7]

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The Truth Shall Make You ...........

It is time for the Church to wake up and realize that God is true and His Word is true. We cannot bring release to the post-modern mind by rejecting the very truth that will free them. We cannot bring freedom when we distort God’s method of reaching the lost (and yes I said “lost”…they really are lost.) Scripture is God’s voice speaking to us about the method and the methodology.  You see the ultimate issue is once again, biblical authority! The drift away from biblical preaching to a social gospel message is ultimately a rejection of God’s authority…a rejection of His voice in Scripture.I am well aware of the good intentions; I am well aware of the enormous problems socially, politically, and sociologically for people in this deeply sinful and corrupt world. But we do not replace the gospel with a false gospel in the hope that salvation will come by social ministry. The gospel must always be preeminent because without biblical preaching no one can be saved. We can feed the poor but still be eternally lost. “If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 1:3). Love is, first of all, truthful. We “speak the truth in love.” God tells us the truth because He loves us. The gospel is a message first….a message of the good news of God’s offer of forgiveness and His grace to us as undeserving sinners. I must never replace that message with a works-righteousness message, no matter how good my intentions may be. We preach the message first.

So what is the second approach? It is the biblical method of proclaiming the gospel and seeing God transform lives as sins are repented of and deep changes are made in the hearts of people. With the fearless preaching of the gospel comes loving acts and social ministry. Indeed, James informs that faith without works is dead; we see the reality of our faith in the good we do in providing for the tangible needs of those in the body of Christ. We cannot have love if we see a brother in need and do nothing for him. True religion is to take care of the widows and orphans. Jesus preached the message of grace and forgiveness and healed and cast out demons and fed people as signs of His ministry and to point people to the fact that only God can save us. It is God who opens the eyes of the blind physically, but who calls us all to a first priority, to have our spiritual eyes opened by truth.Jesus came to preach the message and to send out His Apostles to do the same. He empowered them by His Spirit with signs and wonders to convince people that the message was indeed from God.The biblical purpose of the gospel is that souls would be redeemed and that in the community of faith God’s kingdom would be seen in the transformed lives of the repentant. An outflow of that are the good deeds that God has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).