Day 3 of 10 Days of Prayer
FERVENT PRAYER Makes Power Available
James 5:16(b) AMP “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”
Our prayer should be fervent – What is fervent prayer?
“I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.” Charles Spurgeon
“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing form our prayerless studies, prayerless work and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” Samuel Chadwick
“What a man is on his knees before God, that he is, and nothing more.” R M McCheyne
“The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history.” Andrew Murray
Psalm 119:145-152 (Amplified Bible)
145I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord; I will keep Your statutes [I will hear, receive, love, and obey them].
146I cried to You; save me, that I may keep Your testimonies [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them].
147I anticipated the dawning of the morning and cried [in childlike prayer]; I hoped in Your word.
148My eyes anticipate the night watches and I am awake before the cry of the watchman, that I may meditate on Your word.
149Hear my voice according to Your steadfast love; O Lord, quicken me and give me life according to Your [righteous] decrees.
150They draw near who follow after wrong thinking and persecute me with wickedness; they are far from Your law.
151You are near, O Lord [nearer to me than my foes], and all Your commandments are truth.
152Of old have I known Your testimonies, and for a long time, [therefore it is a thoroughly established conviction] that You have founded them forever.(A)
A. Fervent Prayer is Whole-Hearted Prayer
“I cried with all my heart ”
B. Fervent Prayer is Focused Prayer
“O Lord” “I cried to Thee”
C. Fervent Prayer is Expectant Prayer
“answer me”
“save me”
“cry for help”
“I wait for Thy words”
“Revive me”
D. Fervent Prayer is Responsible Prayer – Ready To Obey
“I will observe Thy statutes”
“I shall keep Thy testimonies”
E. Fervent Prayer is Constant Prayer (takes every Opportunity to come before God)
“I rise before dawn”
“My eyes anticipate the night watches”
F. Fervent Prayer is Rooted In the Word
“That I may meditate on Thy word”
G. Fervent Prayer is Rooted in God’s Character
“according to Thy lovingkindness”
“according to Thine ordinances”
H. Fervent Prayer Is Not Moved By Circumstances
Enemies are Near
“Those who follow after wickedness draw near. They are far from Thy law.”
I. Fervent Prayer Acknowledges His Presence
“Thou art near, O Lord, And all Thy commandments are truth.”
J. Fervent Prayer Flows Out Of His Faithfulness
“Of old I have known from Thy testimonies, That Thou hast founded them forever.”
PRAYER DIRECTIVES:
1) We have our Labour Day Picnic on Monday. We want every detail to go off without a hitch, so the Church can enjoy fellowship with one another. We are believing that lots of family & friends will join along.
2) Our All Out Sunday Service is on September 7th and we are launching a new sermon series, DOORS! Believe for a full house of people whose hearts are ready to experience Jesus’ love.
3) Let’s pray for our children, and students of all ages, as they return to school. May they transition into their new routines successfully and enter this school year with confidence. They will experience favour in their classes with both the students and all of the teachers.
4) Believe that as we prepare and launch all of our fall programming at the Church that every aspect of the planning and execution go well. Let’s pray that many will plug in and we’ll move together as one.
St. Bellarmine in his book, “The Art of Dying Well”, in prayer if one will, “… think Whom he[she] is addressing, and what he[she] is asking for, and who it is that is asking, and of Whom he[she] is asking it…”. This has helped deepen my prayer this past week. To consciously think(or meditate) on the fact we(each and every one of us), is the righteousness of God through Christ asking the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and everything with them
*in them is absolutely amazing. How can prayer not change our lives? Fervent prayer need not be exhausting though. The two most fervent times I spend in prayer are when I light candles in cathedrals – I do it so God will have grace and mercy on all souls, both on the living and especially on the dead – and during Christian meditation – my word is Maranatha. It is Aramaic for, “Come Lord”, and is the last word of the Bible. I feel it sums up what we are all asking, for our Lord Jesus to come into our lives. It goes back to the 4th Century to St. Cassian and was reintroduced to Christians in the 1970’s by a Benedictine Monk named John Maine. Thomas Merton also wrote much on prayer in the 1960’s. These outer sources are wonderful guides, they have helped me greatly, but, for truly fervent prayer, all one must do is look inside to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Thanks Stefan … “Look inside to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” Good advice!
Lord I rest in your goodness, in your love for us, in your plans and purposes for our church and everyone in it. I truly believe and thank you that everything we are doing through our church people in whatever capacity this fall, will bear such fruit of your love and goodness for us. We trust you for such increase, blessing, revelation, fun, relationships and MORE than we can imagine for you are great!
Jesus please enable us to pray with your faith: “We live by the faith OF the the Son of God”.