WHAT IS PRAYER?

Prayer is basically talking with God. It is simply expressing your heart and spending time with Him. It is not a one way activity, God speaks, we listen, we speak and God listens to our hearts. Prayer can be exciting, powerful and fulfilling.

I am going to be focusing mostly on intercession, but I also wanted to provide an overview on other types of prayer that will hopefully inspire you to pursue your own personal study on this subject.

Types of Prayer

A. Thanksgiving
B. Petition
C. Prevailing
D. Intercession

A. Thanksgiving - Giving thanks to God for all things in your life. We are commanded to give thanks in all circumstances. Being thankful is being grateful for his protection, provision, blessing, and most of all for his Son.

B. Petition - We ask God for the specific things we need in our life. Give us our daily bread. Give us the things we need to survive, a roof over our heads, employment etc. Petitions are usually self orientated, presenting our personal needs to our Heavenly Father, in trust that He will provide. Be specific in your petitions, pray in details and not in generalities.

C. Prevailing Prayer - fervent consistent insistent prayer until a breakthrough takes place, whether in your personal life, or for someone else (intercession). Example Believing for emotional or physical healing.

Biblical Example: Luke 18:1-8.(NIV) Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, `Grant me justice against my adversary.' "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, `Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

D Intercession - Love on its knees in prayer, for others. Pleading on behalf of the needs of someone else. Standing in the gap, that is, praying prayers of repentance, etc., identifying yourself with the sins of those for which you are in prayer.

Biblical Example: Nehemiah, a godly man, identified with the sins of his people, praying prayers of repentance, asking the Lord to forgive and to have mercy and to raise up once again the nation of Israel.

Conversation between Man and Jesus

Man: Its impossible.
Jesus: All things are possible. Luke 18:27
Man: I am too tired.
Jesus: I'll give you rest. Mathew 11:28
Man: Nobody really loves me.
Jesus: I love you. John 3:16
Man: I cant go on.
Jesus: My grace is sufficient for you. II Corinthians 12:9
Man: I have no guidance.
Jesus: I'll direct your steps. Proverbs 3:5,6 & Psalms 32:8
Man: I am afraid.
Jesus: I've not given you the spirit of fear. II Timothy 1:7
Man: I feel all alone.
Jesus: I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

Pilots run out of fuel, pray, land near Jesus sign

Pilots run out of fuel, pray, land near Jesus sign
Wed May 21, 7:50 PM ET
It seemed like an almost literal answer to their prayers. When two New Zealand pilots ran out of fuel in a microlight airplane they offered prayers and were able to make an emergency landing in a field — coming to rest right next to a sign reading, "Jesus is Lord."
Grant Stubbs and Owen Wilson, both from the town of Blenheim on the country's South Island, were flying up the sloping valley of Pelorus Sound when the engine spluttered, coughed and died.
"My friend and I are both Christians so our immediate reaction in a life-threatening situation was to ask for God's help," Stubbs told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
He said he prayed during the ill-fated flight Sunday that the tiny craft would get over the top of a ridge and that they would find a landing site that was not too steep — or in the nearby sea.
Wilson said that the pair would have been in deep trouble if the fuel had run out five minutes earlier.
"If it had to run out, that was the place to be," he said. "There was an instantaneous answer to prayer as we crossed the ridge and there was an airfield — I didn't know it existed till then."
After Wilson glided the powerless craft to a landing on the grassy strip, the pair noticed they were beside a 20-foot-tall sign that read, "Jesus is Lord — The Bible."
"When we saw that, we started laughing," Stubbs said.
Nearby residents provided them with gas to fly the home-built plane back to base.

GOD IS WATCHING US

Malachi 3:3 says:
'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'
He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
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Go Ahead To Seize Our God Given Destinity

If God is for us, who can be against us? Rom 8:31To reach your God-ordained destiny you must do these 7 things:
1) Refuse to give in to wrong thoughts. Guard your mind. Make it a walled city that refuses to allow negative thoughts and harmful influences to penetrate.
2) Resist any temptation toward introspection. Only the Holy Spirit has the right to search the hearts and minds of men. When the Lord is ready to reveal an area of your life that need correction, He will.
3) Fight, using God's Word. Let the Word of God found in Scripture, be your strength in time of difficulty and testing. In the wilderness temptation, Jesus used the Scripture to put Satan to flight. And the weapon of God's Word still works today.
4) Listen to the still small voice of God within. God doesnt play hide and seek with His will. Discipline yourself to spend unhurried time with Him and you willthrive.
5) Shift to a higher level of faith. Before killing Goliath, David had to kill a lion and a bear. Today we are contending with issues that require us tomove to a new level of faith.
6) Get into proper alignment. God's aligning His people, putting together those who will stand as one in the day of battle. it is imperative to know who you can go to war with. You only discover such people in times of testing. Treasure them.
7) Ask God to give you understanding about the place you are in. Knowing you are in preparation for your destiny will keep you from pulling back, vacillating or throwing in the sponge. The word for you today is, press through and seize your God-given destiny!

THE STORY OF THE "PRAYING HANDS"

THE STORY OF THE "PRAYING HANDS"

No-one knows if this story is true but it could well be!!

Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood. Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder's children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.

After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines. They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg.

Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht's etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.

When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you." All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, "No ...no ...no ...no."

Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, "No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look ... look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother ... for me it is too late."

One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands," but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love "The Praying Hands."

More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home, school or office.

The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one - no one - ever makes it alone!

Author Unknown.

2 cor 12: 9,10

And he said unto me," my Grace is sufficent for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness" .... Most gladly therfore will i rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of christ may rest upon me.
therefore i take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for christ's sake: for when i am weak, then i am strong.

God has not promised
skies always blue, flower strewn pathways all our lives through.
sun without rain, Joy without sorrow,peace without pain.
but... God hath promised
strength for the day, rest for the labor, light for the way, grace for all trials,help from above, unfailing sympathy,undying Love!!

The Reading of psalm 23

There was once a Shakespearean actor who was known everywhere for his one-man show of readings and recitations from the classics. He would always end his performance with a dramatic reading of Psalm 23. Each night, without exception, as the actor began his recitation -- "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want" -- the crowd would listen attentively. And then, at the conclusion of the psalm, they would rise in thunderous applause in appreciation of the actor's incredible ability to bring the verse to life.
But one night, just before the actor was to offer his customary recital of Psalm 23, a young man from the audience spoke up. "Sir, do you mind, if tonight, I recite Psalm 23?" The actor was quite taken aback by this unusual request, but he allowed the young man to come forward and to stand front and center on the stage to recite the psalm, knowing that the ability of this unskilled youth would be no match for his own talent. With a soft voice, the young man began to recite the words of the psalm. When he was finished, there was no applause. There was no standing ovation as on other nights. All that could be heard was the sound of weeping.
The audience had been so moved by the young man's recitation that every eye was full of tears. Amazed by what he had heard, the actor said to the youth, "I don't understand. I have been performing Psalm 23 for years. I have a lifetime of experience and training, but I have never been able to move an audience as you have tonight. Tell me, what is your secret?" The young man humbly replied, "Well, sir, you know the psalm...but I know the Shepherd." It makes a difference.

Sermon on Lying

A minister told his congregation, "Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. To help you understand my sermon, I want you all to read Mark 17." The following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver his sermon, the minister asked for a show of hands. He wanted to know how many had read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The minister smiled and said, "Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying."

FACTS ABOUT BIBLE.

Psalms 118 is the middle chapter of the entire Bible? Before Psalms 118, Psalms 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible? After Psalms 118, Psalms 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible? That there are 594 chapters each before and following Psalms 118? That if you add up all the chapters except Psalms 118, you get a total of 1188 chapters. And incidentally, 1188 or Psalms 118 verse 8 also happens to be the middle verse of the entire Bible. The central verse should have a fairly important message don't you think? "IT IS BETTER TO TAKE REFUGE IN THE LORD THAN TO TRUST IN MAN." You may say that all of the above is simply coincidental. But how amazing that directly in the center of all of God's Word is a verse that sums up what the world needs so desperately to do .... put our faith in God instead of our abilities. Submission to God is the first step in having a wonderful relationship with Him and His creation.

I know...

I know He is the beginning, so why do I worry about the end?
I know He is the creator, so why do I wonder who will destroy?
I know He has forgiven me, so why can't I forgive myself?
I know He is a healer, so why do I speak of sickness?
I know He can do all things, so why do I say I can't?I know He will protect me, so why do I fear?
I know He will supply all my needs, so why can't I wait?
I know He is my strength and my salvation, so why do I feel weak?
I know that everything and everyone has a season, so why when someone's season is over do I weep instead of rejoice?

I know He is the right way, so why do I go the wrong way?
I know He is the light, so why do I choose to walk in darkness?
I know that whatever I ask of GOD, GOD will give me, so why am I scared to ask?
I know tomorrow is not promised, so why do I put off for tomorrow what I can do today?
I know that the truth shall make me free, so why do I continue to lie?
I know He gives us revelation, knowledge and understanding, so why do I lean on my own understanding?
I know I should live in the spirit as well as walk in the spirit, so why do I choose to live in the spirit but walk in the flesh?
I know that when praises go up, blessings come down, so why do I refuse to praise Him?
I know I am saved, so why do I refuse the word He has given me?
I know He has a plan for me, so why am I rushing it becauseI am eager to do His will, when it is His time not my time?