Tag Archives: prayed

Pray For One Hour 8

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Matthew 26:40-41, “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

VIII.  Pray for one hour – thanksgiving:  confessing my blessings.  I Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Notice what this verse does not say.  It does not say, “For everything give thanks…”  It says, “In everything give thanks:…”  Sometimes this seems very difficult to do.  Since God tells us to do it then it must be possible.

I remember reading about the Bible commentator Matthew Henry.  He was robbed and his money stolen.  He took this verse to heart and started out by saying that he was thankful that he was the one robbed and not the one doing the robbing.  Wow!  That is giving thanks in a very difficult situation.

So, how are you doing?

Pray For One Hour 3

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Matthew 26:40-41, “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

III. Confession – Temple cleansing time.  Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart:  try me, and know my thoughts:  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

If we are going to spend time with God then we must come to this place.  Confession is saying the same thing about our sin that God says about it.  We try to normalize sin in our day.  It is not sin.  It is just a mistake.  The excuses and justification go on and on.

The thing is that we are not sharing something with God that He does not know.  He knows all.  So, in our confession we are just saying the same thing about it that God says about it.  If we take something that does not belong to us then we are stealing.  That is what God says about it.

When we confess then we remove the things that hinder our prayers from being heard.  I don’t know about you; but, I need my prayers answered.  Sometimes desperately.

So, take some time and just let God search your heart and reveal to you the things that need to be confessed.  Then do just that.  Confess these things and forsake them.  This way you can enjoy sweet fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

So, how are you dong?

Faint in Prayer

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I wish I could say this is original with me; but, I cannot.  It was given to me many years ago.  I cannot even remember who gave it to me; but, I am glad they did.  If I remember correctly I was given a statistic that the average pastor spends fifteen (15) minutes per day in prayer.

As I was thinking about this again it dawned on me that this might be a huge contributing factor to the decline in our nation.  No, I am not writing this to slam pastors and preachers.  I am writing this to open our eyes to a real problem in Christianity.

Why don’t we pray?  Some feel like there is no reason to pray because God knows all and they don’t “feel” like their prayers will make a difference.  Wrong!  Prayer works!  It is one of the mightiest avenues we have to effect the fallen world we live in for now.

We allow anything and everything to get in the way.  Then we do not think prayer is important.  It was important to Jesus.  He commands us to pray.  Look at His words in Luke 18:1, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”

Are you fervent in prayer?  Are you faint in prayer?  Only you and the Heavenly Father know so you might as well be honest.

So, how are you dong?

 

Prayer

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Another way we can prepare for Sunday morning services is to pray.  All too often we allow anything and everything to interrupt our “quiet time”.  It needs to be just that “quiet time”.  I know it is difficult; but, it is not impossible.

As I get older I am beginning to see the truth about this.  I would not want to ascend the pulpit without first having spent quality time and quantity time with the Father.  Why would the LORD Jesus come to Church with me if I never take time for Him?  Think about that for a little while.

We must make prayer a priority in each of our own lives.  We need to rely upon the prayers of God’s people to carry us through.  I am learning this more and more as a Pastor.  If God’s people fail to pray then I will fail.  If I don’t carry through and pray then someone will suffer consequences.

Jesus practiced private prayer.  Look at Matthew 14:23, “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”

Jesus got alone to pray.  We must follow His example.  You and I both know as soon as you or I sit down to read that the door bell will ring or the phone will ring.  Something will happen.  The devil will kick against your time of prayer.  Get ready!

So, how are you doing ?