Prayer

What is prayer?

• The word pray in Greek means to "prostrate yourself." In the Church today, prayer means simply talking to God.

Why do we pray?

• God commands it (Psalm  50:15, Matthew 6:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• Prayer is worship
• It is for our good, the exercise of Christian life (Romans 12:12, James 5:13, Jude 1:20, 3 John 1:2)
• Through prayer God can comfort us, give us his peace, and preserve our faith (Psalm 34:1-17, Psalm 118:5, Luke 22:40)

How do we pray?

• The Holy spirit assists us in praying, especially when we don't know how to pray or what to pray for (Romans 8:26, Ephesians 6:18-20)

• Adoration (Psalm 18:46-49, Hebrews 13:15)
• Confession (Psalm 51, Luke 18:9-14)
• Thanksgiving (1 Chronicles 16:7-13, 1 Thessalonians 1:2)
• Supplication
• For yourself - Petition (Psalm 122:6, Luke 11:9-10)
• For others (everyone) - Intercession (Jeremiah 27:18, Matthew 5:44, Philippians 4:6, 1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Does God hear and answer our prayers?

• God always hears the prayers of the faithful, but not of unbelievers (Isaiah 65:24, Proverbs 15:29, James 1:6-7)
• Prayers of the righteous are powerful (James 5:16)
• God is close to us when we pray (Deuteronomy 4:7)
• In a way God always says yes. If we pray for what God has promised, such as peace, faith, forgiveness, mercy, God always gives it to us. If we pray for supplications, then we also ask that God's will be done, and it always is.
• God answers yes our supplications if we ask for the right things (Matthew 7:7-8)
• God answers no to our supplication if we ask for the wrong thing (James 4:2-3, 2 Corinthians 12:8-9)