CONTENTS

 PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii                         

 

 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  xix

 

1   ANSWERS TO PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

    God Wants Us to Know We Can Receive Answers to Prayer . . . . . . . . .  21

    How to Receive Answers to Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26

    Why Prayers Aren’t Always Answered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36

    The Blessings of Answered Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37 

 

 2   AROMA OF PRAYER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39

    The Golden Altar of Incense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39

    The Brazen Altar  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  40

    Burning the Incense  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   43

    Keeping Our Prayers As Sweet As Incense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   44

 

3   AUTHORITY IN PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   46

    Our Position of Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   46

    Executing Our Authority with Power  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  49

    The Use of Our Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   52

 

4   BURDEN IN PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  55

    The Burden of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  55

    God Calls Us to Be Burden Bearers with Him  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

    How to Recognize a Burden  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

    Preparing for Burdens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

    Carrying Burdens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  60

 

5   CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

    What Is Confidence? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  62

    Why Do We Need Confidence? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

    What Makes Us Confident? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

 

6   DEFINITION OF PRAYER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  74

    The Nature and Meaning of Prayer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

    Various Descriptions of Prayer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

    The Forms of Prayer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

 

7    DESIRE IN PRAYER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  85

    What Is the Biblical Meaning of Desire? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   85

    God’s Desire for Us  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  87

    Our Desire for God  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

    Our Desire to Pray  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

    How to Develop and Deepen Desire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

 

8   EARNESTNESS IN PRAYER   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

    What Does It Mean to Pray with Earnestness? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

    What Does Earnestness in Prayer Not Mean?   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

    Why Should We Pray with Earnestness?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

    How to Develop Earnestness in Prayer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

    Levels of Earnestness  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

 

9   EVANGELISM AND PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  101

    What to Pray for Ourselves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  101

    What to Pray for the Lost  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  106

    A Strategy for Evangelism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  110

 

10   FAILURE IN PRAYER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

    Failure in Getting to Prayer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  113

    Failure in Prayer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

 

11   FAITH AND PRAYER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  121

    What Is Faith? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

    The Different Kinds of Faith  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

    The Growth and Development of Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

    How to Pray with Faith  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

 

12   FASTING AND PRAYER   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

    Jesus Has Taught Us to Fast  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

    We Have the Examples of Many that Fasted  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

    Our Neglect of Fasting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  136

    How True Fasting Has Been Described  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  137

    Various Types of Fasts  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  138

    Five Wrong Reasons to Fast  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

    Twelve Right Reasons to Fast  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

    Guidelines for Fasting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  143

 

13   FORGIVENESS AND PRAYER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  145

    Being Forgiven by God  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   145

    Forgiving Yourself  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  148

    Forgiving Others  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

 

14   GOD’S IDEA  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  155

    Arguments that Prayer Is Not God’s Idea  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

    Proof that Prayer Is God’s Idea  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  156

    God’s Ten Idea’s or Purposes for Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  157

 

15   HOLINESS AND PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  161

    The Meaning of Holiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  161

    The Extent of Holiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  162

    Why Be Holy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  164

    How to Be Holy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

    Seven Things to Practice for Holiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  170

 

16   HOLY SPIRIT AND PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  177

    Who Is the Holy Spirit? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  177

    Prayer for the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  180

    How the Holy Spirit Helps Us Pray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  181

    Eight Things We Can Pray that the Holy Spirit Will Do for Us . . . . 184

 

17   HOW TO PRAY – PART 1  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  189

    Eight of Jesus Teachings on Prayer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189

 

18   HOW TO PRAY – PART 2  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

    Introduction to the Prayer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

    The Address – “Our Father in Heaven” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  203

    The Six Petitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205

    The Doxology  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  213

    The Use of the Lord’s Prayer in My Personal Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . 214                                 

 

19   IMPORTUNITY IN PRAYER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  218

    Importunity in Prayer Demonstrated in the Scriptures . . . . . . . . .  218

    The Great Demand of Importune Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  224

    The Process of Importune Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   227

    How to Pray with Importunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

    The Results of Praying with Importunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229

 

20   INTERCESSION – PART 1  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  231

    The Father’s Role in Intercession  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  231

    The Intercession of Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

    The Intercession of the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  237

 

21   INTERCESSION – PART 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

    The Definition of Intercession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

 

22   INTERCESSION – PART 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  246

    Who to Intercede for and What to Pray for Them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

    Our Great Responsibility to Intercede . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

    The Blessings of Intercession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  255

 

23   JESUS’ NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  257

    What Does It Mean To Pray in Jesus’ Name? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .257

    The Use of Praying in His Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   261

    How Do We Know If We Are Really Praying in His Name? . . . . . . 263

 

24   KNEELING AND PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  264

    Why Should We Be Concerned about Our Prayer Posture? . . . . . . 264

    Six Prayer Positions and What Each One Symbolizes . . . . . . . . . . . 265

    A History of Prayer Posture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

 

25   LENGTH OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

    How Long Should We Pray? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

    How to Pray Long . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276

    Planning to Pray Long . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

 

26   MINISTRY OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

    What Is a Prayer Ministry? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

    Who Are the Participants of the Prayer Ministry? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

    Christ Our Life and Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

    The Power of the Prayer Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

    How to Set Up a Prayer Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

    Intercessors – The Workers of the Prayer Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . .   296

 

27   NECESSITY OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300

    Prayer Is Necessary to Obtain Personal Salvation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

    Prayer Is Necessary for Spiritual Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301

    Prayer Is Necessary to Help Us Stand Firm Against the Devil . . . .302

    Prayer Is Necessary to Obtain Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

    Prayer Is Necessary for Obtaining Fullness of Joy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

    Prayer Is Necessary for Obtaining Mercy and Grace . . . . . . . . . . . 304

    Prayer Is Necessary for Obtaining Freedom from Anxiety . . . . . . .305

    Prayer Is Necessary for Obtaining the Power of the Holy Spirit .  305       

    Prayer Is Necessary to Carry Out God’s Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

 

28   OBEDIENCE AND PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  309

    What Is Obedience? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

    How to Obey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  311

    The Results of Obedience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

 

29   POSSIBILITIES OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

    The Wide Scope of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

    Asking God for Big Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  322

    What about Miracles? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

    Moving Mountains through Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334

 

30    POWER IN PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  336

    The Source of Prayer Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

    The Instrument of Prayer Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  337

    The Purpose of Prayer Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

    The Acquisition of Prayer Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

 

31   PRAISE AND PRAYER – PART 1  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347

    What Is Praise? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

    What Is Prayer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349         

    The Origin and Basis of Praise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

    Common Praise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  351

    The Difference between Petitionary Prayer and Praise . . . . . . . . . . 352      

    The Interdependence of Petitionary Prayer and Praise . . . . . . . . . . 353

    Staying On the Path of Praise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .354

    The Use of Praise in Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  356

    The Use of Praise in Warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  357

    The Use of Praise in Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

 

32   PRAISE AND PRAYER – PART 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .360

    Examples of Praise from the Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  360

    Examples of Praise from Various Bible Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363     

 

33   PRAYERLESSNESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

    Six Reasons Why Prayerlessness Is Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

    Four Deadly Sins That Keep Us from Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

    Seven Ideas to Help You Overcome Prayerlessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374

 

34   QUIETNESS IN PRAYER – PART 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  377

    How God Speaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

    Why God Speaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382

    How to Hear God’s Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

    Respond To His Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

 

35   QUIETNESS IN PRAYER – PART 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

    What Is a Quiet Time? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  387

    How to Have a Quiet Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  389

    Sample Outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  394

    Making It Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

 

36   QUIETNESS IN PRAYER – PART 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

    The Importance of Solitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

    How to Find Solitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

    Hindrances to Finding Inner Solitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401

    What to Do While In Solitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

    The Blessings of Solitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410

 

37   QUIETNESS IN PRAYER – PART 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .413

    What’s the Devil up To Regarding Our Prayers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  413

    Who Are the Devil’s Servants that Try to Pervert Our Prayers?  . . 414

    Don’t Be Fooled by the Devil’s Counterfeit Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421

    How to Stay on Track with Your Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .423

 

38   REVIVAL AND PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .426

    What is Revival? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

    Our Great Need of Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  428

    The Pattern of Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

    The History of Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .432

    Preparing for Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

 

39   SPECIFIC PRAYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

    What It Means to Pray Specifically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

    Why It Is Important to Pray Specifically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  437

    Why Some Prayers Are Not Specific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439

    How to Pray Specifically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .440

 

40   SURVEY OF PRAYER – PART 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

    The Prayers of Abram-Abraham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

    The Prayer of Abraham’s Servant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446

    The Prayers of Jacob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  447

    The Prayers of Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  448

    The Prayers of Moses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450

 

41   SURVEY OF PRAYER – PART 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

    The Prayers of Joshua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

    The Prayers of the Sons of Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

    The Prayers of Gideon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462

    The Prayer of Monoah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .463

    The Prayers of Samson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   464

    The Prayers of Hannah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

    The Prayers of Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467

 

 

42   SURVEY OF PRAYER – PART 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .469

    The Prayers of David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  469

    The Prayers of Solomon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .475

    The Prayer of Jabez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

    The Prayer of Asa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  478

    The Prayer of Jehoshaphat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .478

 

43   SURVEY OF PRAYER – PART 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .480

    The Prayers of Elijah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .480

    The Prayers of Elisha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  482

    The Prayers of Jonah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  483

    The Prayers of Hezekiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .485

    The Prayers of Isaiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487

    The Prayers of Habakkuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488

    The Prayers of Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .489

    The Prayers of Ezekiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .490

    The Prayers of Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  491

 

44   SURVEY OF PRAYER – PART 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

    The Prayers of Ezra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

    The Prayers of Nehemiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496

    The Prayer of the Leaders of the Levites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  498

    The Prayers of Jesus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  500

    The Prayers of the Early Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .504

    The Prayers of Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .506

    The Prayer of John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  510

 

45   TRAVAIL IN PRAYER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .512

    What Do We Mean by “Travail In Prayer”? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .512

    The Source of Travail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  515

    The Struggle of Travail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

    The Process of Travail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518

    Why Do We Need to Travail In Prayer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

 

46   UNITED PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  522

    United Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522

    Group Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  525

 

47   VIGILANCE IN PRAYER – PART 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .532

    What Is Vigilance? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532

    Two Purposes for Vigilance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  533

    Why Is Vigilance Necessary? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

 

48   VIGILANCE IN PRAYER – PART 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

    Vigilance by the Power of the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

    Vigilance by Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  542

    Vigilance by Our Understanding of the Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543

    Vigilance by Resisting Sin and Satan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

 

49   WORD AND PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .553

    The Word Teaches Us to Pray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  553

    Abiding In the Word Gives Us Power to Pray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555

    Prayer Gives Power to the Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  560

 

50   XANADU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566

    The Beauty of His Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566

    The Beauty of His Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

    The Beauty of the Inner Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .570

    How to Better Experience the Beauty of the Inner Room . . . . . . . . . 572

 

51   YIELDING IN PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

    What Is Yielding? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  575

    What Do We Yield To? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .576

    How to Yield to God and Not to Satan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578

 

52   ZENITH OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .583

 

PARTS OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .583

    Prayer as Confession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584

    Prayer as Praise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586

    Prayer as Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587

    Prayer as Petition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589

 

PURPOSE OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

    The Overall Purposes of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

    Of Confession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

    Of Praise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593

    Of Thanksgiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .594

    Of Petition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595

 

PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

    Attentiveness to God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

    Priorities of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

    Power in Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602

    Responsibility to Intercede . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  603

    Only to God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .604

    Answers to Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  605

    Confidence in Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607

    Hear Us! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  609

    Importunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

    Necessity of the Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .612

    God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   613

    His Desires and Burdens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

    In His Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  616

    Specific Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618

    Transparency in Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619

    Hindrances to Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .621

    Resisting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623

    Obey Him . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  625

    Need for Unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  626

    Earnestness in Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628

 

PEAK OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631

    What Prayer Basically Is: Soul to Soul Communication . . . . . . . . . . . 631

    The Different Parts of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  639

    The Means and the Purpose of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643

    United Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  649

 

PRACTICE OF PRAYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653

    Find Places to Pray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653

    Use Prayer Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655

    Develop Prayer Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660

    Have Special Prayer Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  669

 

NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   677

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a short excerpt from chapter One.

Now let us look further into why we can know that we can receive answers to prayer.  Here are six reasons:

 

1.  In all of Jesus’ teachings on prayer He has emphasized strongly that we can receive answers.  In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus instructed His disciples on asking and receiving.  He told them that if they will just ask, He will give to them, if they seek they will find, and if they knock the door will be opened to them.  Here it seems that asking, seeking, and knocking are all ways of asking, asking that gets more and more intense.  Seeking is more intense than regular asking, and knocking is more intense than seeking.

But I think this passage is teaching more than just our intensity in prayer.  I see this kind of prayer as a progression of prayer that involves us in the process.  God wants us to be involved in prayer, in bringing about the answer.  He doesn’t just want to hand us what we desire on a silver platter.  So here Jesus I think is teaching: ask what you desire, but then when God gives you some insight into what exactly He wants to give you, go out and seek for it—put some feet on your prayers.  Then next, when you think you have found what you have been praying for, knock on the door. And when the door opens, test it to see if it is what God wants you to have.

An example of this kind of prayer would be when we are praying for a job.  We would begin our prayer by asking God for the kind of job we desire.  But it doesn’t end there with verbal asking.  We don’t just keep asking and not do anything.  No. The next thing we naturally do when we desire a job is to “seek”—to look around for a job.  We would look in the paper or on-line at the help wanted ads, etc.  But it doesn’t end there.  We would get on the phone and call places that interest us and then go and talk to the person offering the job.  That’s the knocking part of prayer.  So we don’t just sit on the couch and pray!  We put feet to our prayers!  God wants us to be involved in the process of prayer.

Notice that at each level, or at each step on the journey Jesus tells us that God will give us an answer.  He said, “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

The basis for God’s answers, Jesus explained (vv. 9-11), is the fact that He is our Heavenly Father and He loves us.  His love and goodness is far beyond that of our earthly fathers.  Jesus’ teaching here is that if our earthly fathers who are sinful give us every good thing that we need and ask for, how much more will our Heavenly Father give to us when we ask Him.  

On another occasion, in Luke 18:1-8, Jesus told a story about a widow who repeatedly came to the town judge, pleading for justice.  According to the story, the judge did not fear God or regard man,

and he really didn’t want to help the woman.  But because of her persistence in coming, he finally said to himself, “Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

Then Jesus said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.”

Here again, as in the first story, the teaching I believe is that of contrast.  If the earthly, unjust judge gave justice to the woman because of her persistent pleading, God as our judge will certainly give us help when we pray, and much more speedily, because He is good and just.

In these two teachings of Jesus on prayer the central theme is on the persistence of prayer—that if we are persistent He will surely give us an answer because He is good.  But there are other themes of prayer in Jesus’ teachings that likewise show us how the Father wants to give us answers.  In Mathew 21:18-22 and in Mark 11:20-24 the theme is having faith.  Read these stories for yourself and see how Jesus emphasizes that if we have faith we can surely receive answers.  He says in Matthew 21:22, “And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.  Then also in Mark 11:24 He says, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

In the gospel of John the emphasis of Jesus’ teachings is on abiding and asking in His name.  In John 14:13-14 Jesus states, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”  In John 16:24 Jesus says, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”  Last, in John 15:7 Jesus says, “If you a- bide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

Notice, in all of the above verses, the emphasis Jesus puts on our receiving—that if we have faith, or abide, or ask in His name, we will definitely receive what we ask for.  He says, “…you will receive” (Matt. 21:22), “…you will have them” (Mk. 11:24), “…I will do it” (Jn. 14:14), “…you will receive…” (Jn. 16:24), and “…it shall be done for you” (Jn. 15:7).  There is definitely no uncertainty in these teachings of Jesus that God will give us what we ask for when we meet the conditions (Italics added for emphasis).

 

2.  God has made it our nature to ask in prayer in order that we may receive.  We are not speaking of the old nature here.  It is not in the sinful nature to want to pray and expect answers.  If you are without God you never want to pray, and when you do pray you are surprised when answers come.  But when we invite the Holy Spirit to fill us and when we learn how to pray from Him, God works in us the desire to pray and expect answers.  Therefore, it is the new nature in us that desires to pray and to receive answers.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:16 that we are temples of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in us.  He was of course speaking to only believers; God’s Spirit dwells in each believer.  He dwells in us individually, but also corporately—in the church (1 Pet. 2:4-5).  In Matthew 21:13 Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer…” In that context He was speaking of the Jewish temple.  However, I think we can also conclude that since we (individually and as a church) are temples of God, Jesus was also speaking to us.  Yes, in our new nature, we naturally want to pray and to receive answers, because He has made us a “house of prayer.”  In this house of prayer, where the Spirit dwells, He will give you His heart, His desire.  And when we lift that desire up to God, when we ask Him according to that desire, that is what prayer really is.

Now when I said God gives you a desire I did not necessarily mean only a desire to pray (though that is included).  God will give you a desire for a specific thing that He wants you to have, or for a specific change to take place in you or another person.  That desire for that thing will naturally bring you closer to God, fill your heart with joy, and give you confidence that what you are praying for will happen.  For if He gives you the desire for a thing then we know it is His will and we will feel His abiding presence with us.

3.  It is God’s nature to hear and answer prayer.  It is well established in the Bible, by various declarations (especially in the Psalms) and by ample evidence, that God hears and answers prayer.  In Psalms 5:3 David declares, “My voice

You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.” Again in Psalms 65:2 David says of God, “O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.”

In Hebrews 11:6 we find the clear teaching that God is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him.  This is His nature.  This is who He is.  He is a God who listens to our prayers and rewards us with an answer.

He answers the prayers of all His creatures who cry out to Him for mercy and for daily needs.  Look out and see how God has fed and clothed the whole earth.  Not even the little birds lack food and shelter (Matt. 6:26-28).  He answers the prayers of Christians in particular because we are His own special people whom He died for and whom He has adopted into His family (1 Pet. 2:9; Eph. 1:5-7).  What a good Heavenly Father we have.  He is always watching out for us.  He cares for all our needs and wants because He loves us so much.

He wants to answer our little requests as well as our big requests.  He cares about the little things we ask for, not because they are so important in themselves but because they are important to us.  For just as a mother sees to the little things that an infant child cries out for, God cares about the little things that we ask for.  Likewise, God wants to give us big things too—and a lot of things.  He says to us from Psalms 81:10, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”  Again, from Jeremiah 33:3, He says to us, “Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

4.  God’s answers to prayer show evidence of the existence of God and give us proof of our right relationship with Him.  Anyone who comes to God in prayer must believe, at least a little, that He exists (Heb. 11:6).  But when He rewards us with an answer, we have unmistakable evidence of His existence.  Says E. M. Bounds, “There is no proof so clear and demonstrative that God exists than prayer and its answers.”

Furthermore, when we receive answers from Him, it not only strengthens our own faith, but it plants the seed of faith in others around us who have witnessed His answers.  This was Elijah’s expectation for the people of Israel—that when they witnessed what God would do they would believe.  Thus he prayed, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God…” (1 Kin. 18:37).

Answered prayer not only gives us proof of His existence, it gives us confidence that we are on the right track with God—that we have a right relationship with Him and that He is pleased with us and with our prayers.  Again E. M. Bounds states, “Answer to prayer is the convincing proof of our right relations to God.”

But it not only gives us confidence and proof; it gives those around us proof.  Surely, those around Elijah knew, because of his answered prayer, that he was a man of God.  When people around us see how God answers our prayers they will also regard us as men and women of God.  When this happens (and it will) we must always be careful to give God the glory so they will praise Him and not us.

5.  When we receive His answers we share in His work and will.  God has chosen us who believe to bring to pass His will on earth.  But we can’t do it under our own power.  He has designed that we accomplish His work and will through prayer.  That is, through prayer He will give us strength, wisdom, confidence, and any help we need to accomplish His work.

In Luke 19:10 it says, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  When we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, we in effect are joining Jesus in His work of seeking and saving the lost.  And when we pray for the lost and He answers our prayers, we can know that His work is being done though us.

 

6.  Answers to prayer bring God glory and bring us joy.  In John 14:13 Jesus said, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  Then in John 16:24 Jesus said to His disciples (and to us), “Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” Here we see clearly that the purpose of answered prayer is to glorify God, that He would be glorified in the Son.  But we see also that the outcome for us is that our joy is made full. I believe that when we pray in the Holy Spirit, according to His will, this will always be the outcome for us.  For when we are used in the service of God to bring Him glory by our prayers, the Holy Spirit will always fill us up with joy.  That is what will naturally happen.  It is the joy of the Holy Spirit bubbling up in us; it is the overflow of the glory of God in us.

Now what we are talking about is not prayer itself.  The act of prayer, the obedience of prayer, does not necessarily bring God glory.  Prayer is what is expected of us, but it is the answers that come from our prayers that bring Him glory and us joy.  The whole point of prayer is to get answers.

E. M. Bounds has said, “It is not the marvelous array of argument and eloquence in praying which makes prayer effectual.  Not one or all of these are the things which glorify God.  It is the answers which brings glory to His Name.”  Again Bounds wrote, “Better not to pray at all than to go through a dead form, which secures no answer, brings no glory to God, and supplies no good to man.”