Growing

Prayer
Part One
 Review
Knowing, Growing, Understanding, Living,
Giving
Structured plans are the best.
God has given us the plan, and the rules
for executing the plan.
Every Christian needs to develop a plan
that will help them help others get to
heaven.
 Prayer
Indicator of our faith.
When we pray to God, we accept in our
minds His existence. The more we pray
the more we accept Him. The more we
accept His presence, and our faith is
strengthened.
 Prayer Is A Privilege
But all too often, taken for granted.
How easy to speak to the mayor,
governor, president, King of other nations?
But speak to God, and His ear is attentive
to our prayers.
With millions praying at the same time,
How can God listen to my prayer? If God
could speak the world into existence, then
God can hear my prayers.
 Prayer Is A Privilege
The moment we begin our prayer:
God already has heard it.
God is attentive.
Sometimes God answers our prayers.
We do not know or recognize the answer
sometimes, but God does things in His
way, and not necessarily how we think it
should be done.
 The Privilege of Prayer
God is not distracted from our prayers.
Earthquakes and Tsunamis in another
part of the world will not interfere with our
prayer.
Millions praying at the same time will not
interfere with our prayer.
God is not human, so God can do this.
We are distracted by so many different
things, and our minds wander about.
 The persistence of prayer
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without
ceasing
Obviously we could not function very well
if we were always praying. Could not eat,
sleep, work, etc.
So this means the attitude of prayer that
we maintain in our daily lives.
 Prayer Examples:
Praise
Psalms 150:1 (NKJV) Praise the LORD! Praise
God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty
firmament!
Psalms 18:3 (NKJV) I will call upon the LORD,
who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved
from my enemies.
Psalms 113:3 (NKJV) From the rising of the sun
to its going down The Lord's name is to be
praised.
Psalms 50:23 (NKJV) Whoever offers praise
glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct
aright I will show the salvation of God."
 Praise
Psalms 34:1 (NKJV) I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalms 71:6 (NKJV) By You I have been upheld from
birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.
Psalms 7:17 (NKJV) I will praise the LORD according to
His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of
the LORD Most High.
Psalms 21:13 (NKJV) Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own
strength! We will sing and praise Your power.
 Praise
Psalms 22:22 (NKJV) I will declare Your name to My
brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
Psalms 28:7 (NKJV) The LORD is my strength and my
shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I
will praise Him.
Psalms 52:9 (NKJV) I will praise You forever, Because
You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I
will wait on Your name, for it is good.
Psalms 67:3 (NKJV) Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
 Praise
Psalms 86:12 (NKJV) I will praise You, O
Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will
glorify Your name forevermore.
Psalms 102:18 (NKJV) This will be written
for the generation to come, That a people
yet to be created may praise the LORD.
Psalms 106:1 (NKJV) Praise the LORD!
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is
good! For His mercy endures forever.
 Praise
Psalms 111:1 (NKJV) Praise the LORD! I will
praise the LORD with my whole heart, In the
assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
Psalms 111:10 (NKJV) The fear of the LORD is
the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding
have all those who do His commandments. His
praise endures forever.
Psalms 112:1 (NKJV) Praise the LORD! Blessed
is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights
greatly in His commandments.
Psalms 119:171 (NKJV) My lips shall utter
praise, For You teach me Your statutes.
 Praise
Psalms 135:3 (NKJV) Praise the LORD, for the
LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is
pleasant.
Ephesians 1:6 (NKJV) to the praise of the glory
of His grace, by which He has made us
accepted in the Beloved.
Psalms 138:2 (NKJV) I will worship toward Your
holy temple, And praise Your name For Your
lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have
magnified Your word above all Your name.
 Praise
The idea of praise is to glorify God for what He has
done and who He is. This goes beyond the idea of
thanksgiving, which will be discussed later.
When we look at the glorious nature of God and see
the work of God in nature, we are compelled to give
honor to Him. We notice that God alone is worthy of
praise. We might want to show our appreciation to
people or give them the honor due them for
something they did, but this is not praise in the
spiritual sense. God wants us to praise Him. He
wants this praise for Himself, not others. Remember
that God said that He was a jealous God, when He
was giving the Ten Commandments.
 Praise
You might be compelled to think of some
songs that we sing about praise to God.
Think about this. We might sing with all our
might "Praise the Lord", but we might hold
back from speaking "Praise the Lord". If God
is worthy of praise (and He is), we should
declare it. We must also be careful not to
over-use or abuse the phrase.
 Conclusion
Prayer is indicator of our faith
Prayer keeps us in the knowledge of the
presence of God.
God is attentive to our prayers (if we are
righteousthis will be discussed later.
Praise is one of the many parts of a
prayer, and should be used often.
Invitation.