The powerful weapon called Prayer.

This message was preached by Colin D Cruz at Word of Grace Church  Pune, on the 14th of July 2013. To listen to the AUDIO please CLICK HERE

Proverbs 18:21- “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit”.

The tongue has great power. The world was created with the spoken word. The tongue is involved in salvation. 

Last week we saw the negative effect when the tongue is used negatively.

But we can use the tongue to build up, to release God’s power into different situations. Today, I want to focus on the use of the tongue for prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:17- Pray continually. Other versions say- without ceasing/ constantly. It’s a simple and specific command stating that praying is a way of life and a part of the church life.

What does God expect of us?

1.      Luke 11:

V.1- one day when Jesus was praying…

1. Prayer was a part of Jesus’ life. They saw Jesus do amazing things and they saw Jesus praying- they asked him to teach them how to pray. And  that is how we have the Lord’s Prayer which is really a framework.

·        Praise God first- Honor Him.

·        Pray for things Kingdom related

·        Ask God for your daily bread- ask that we are dependent on Him for everything

·        Seek forgiveness and acknowledge your weaknesses

·        Pray for help in temptation- the world, the flesh, the devil and the war against our souls

Then Jesus tells them a story to help them understand better. In v. 5, the friend asks boldly for bread at midnight. This is a parable of contrast. If your friend will oblige you, how much more will God!

 Jesus then goes on to ‘ask, seek and knock’- it’s a progression. So don’t just ask once but persevere.

Then he gives another comparison of the earthly father and Heavenly Father. Jesus is using contrast to the point of it being ridiculous. So how much more will the Father give! These parables are to build faith as what  God wants, is for us to be bold and persevering.

Do we have unanswered prayers?

So how should we pray? Often we pray ‘soft prayers’. That is not what we should do. God wants us to be impudent and shameless in our prayers.

Hebrews 5:7- Jesus practiced this-Jesus prayed with loud cries and tears. When is the last time you prayed like this?

V.7- ‘and He was heard’. We need to get out of our middle class properness.

Jesus at Gethsamene (Matt 26:38) - deep emotions being expressed, great anguish in prayer facedown. We need to change the way we pray and battle with intensity.

Q. What about unanswered prayer then? - Sometimes, it takes a long time, but don’t give up even when tempted to.

2   2.      Luke 18:1- Parable of contrast.

Jesus told them this so that they will always pray and not give up.

v. 3- widows in those days were poor and vulnerable. But she kept persisting. And in v. 4-5, finally, the unjust judge gives in to get rid of her.

v.7- but how much more God? In v.8, He asks, “will He find faith on the earth?” i.e. it takes faith to believe and keep praying. Maybe you know someone unsaved, sick, in bad financial situations, relationships, jobs, etc. Pray and do not give up.

    3.   Acts 10:3- Cornelius was not a Jew but was God-fearing. But one day things changed- he had a vision that changed everything. Peter has a vision simultaneously.

Till this time the gospel is only shared with the Jews, but through this event Cornelius and his whole family are saved. In v. 44-47- this is the first of the gentiles coming to salvation and this opens the doorway for millions of us.

Pray persistently for that ‘one day’ to happen in your life.

  Mark 1:35- Jesus prayed early in the morning. As we ask, seek and knock- thing will begin to happen. 

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.

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