Be inspired Bible Study 15/12/2016
Topic: Prayer
Text:1thes 5:17
Memory verse:Matt 6:9-13
Questions
1.What do you understand by prayer?
2.Why prayer?
3.Is prayer compulsory? Why or Why not?
4.Why do Christians needs to pray?
5.Types of prayers
6a.Where should we pray?How should we pray and when should we pray?
6b.What are the significant of prayer?
7.How should we pray and in whose name should we pray?
8.Mention from the scripture men/women that prayers help?
9.Should people still pray at the sight of difficult situations such as chronic disease,death e.t.c?
10.Is it right to neglect treatment for illness but pray instead?
Q1. What is Prayer?
Prayer Is Not A Monologue But A Dialogue. Prayer Is Not About Changing God But About Changing Us. To Be Too Busy To Pray Is To Prove How Lazy You Really Are: Prayer Is The Work.- (Anonymous)
When I think about praying, I think about how many times in scripture it states, “Jesus retreated to pray or Jesus was praying at this place”.
The reason Jesus was so connected to the Father was because He had constant communication with Him. Jesus knew the Father because He spent so much time with Him in the place of fellowship. From the anchor text, the disciples asked Jesus, “Teach us to pray NOT Teach us how to pray” – it would seem that they had watched Christ and knew the importance of prayer.
Knowing that we should pray and actually giving oneself to it are two different notions. Also it is not the method or a standard prayer but it is the heart that wants and longs to converse with God that moves His heart.
Then Jesus replies, “When you pray NOT If you pray” – Jesus is saying – You must pray so WHEN you do call on His great name plus continually ask, seek and knock
– As Paul stated in Eph. 6:18 “…praying at all times…” – prayer is not something we just do when we feel like it or when we are in a crisis – it should be our lifestyle.
(Written by Bro Deji)
Questions 3 & 4. Is prayer compulsory? Why or why not.
Prayer is compulsory because it's our weapon of warfare as children of God. Jesus started with prayer n He never do anything without communicating with God, so as a child of God, we should not see prayer as a task but an important part of our lives n endeavor, along 1st Thessalonian 5 v 17 says prays without ceasing, it's was the prayers of other Apostles that got the heaven's attention for Peter's release from prison. A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian.
4. Why do Christians need to pray? Christians need to pray to God, when we pray, we are showing our dependence on God that we can't do without Him. Also prayer make us to know the mind of God, ave a personal relationship with Him, it gives us the access to communicate with God at any time without intermediary, it make us to hear from God. We ought to pray at every moment because prayer is the master key that opens all various doors that we need to open for us to access our spiritual blessings.
(Sis Ademide)
Question 5. Types of prayers
Answer: The Bible reveals many types of prayers and employs a variety of words to describe the practice. For example, 1 Timothy 2:1 says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.”
Here, all four of the main Greek words used for prayer are mentioned in one verse.
Here are the main types of prayers in the Bible:
1. The prayer of thanksgiving:
In Philippians 4:5: thanksgiving or thanks to God. “With thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Many examples of thanksgiving prayers can be found in the Psalms.
2. The prayer of worship:
The prayer of worship is similar to the prayer of thanksgiving. The difference is that worship focuses on who God is; thanksgiving focuses on what God has done. Church leaders in Antioch prayed in this manner with fasting: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off” ( Acts 13:2-3).
3. The prayer of faith:
James 5:15 says, “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”
In this context, prayer is offered in faith for someone who is sick, asking God to heal.
4. The prayer of agreement (also known as corporate prayer):
"After Jesus’ ascension, the disciples “all joined together constantly in prayer” ( Acts 1:14). Later, after Pentecost, the early church “devoted themselves” to prayer ( Acts 2:42). Their example encourages us to pray with others.
5. The prayer of request (or supplication):
We are to take our requests to God. Philippians 4:6 teaches, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God.” Part of winning the spiritual battle is to be
“praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer
and supplication” ( Ephesians 6:18).
6. The prayer of consecration:
Sometimes, prayer is a time of setting ourselves apart to follow God’s will. Jesus made such a prayer the night before His crucifixion: “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39).
7. The prayer of intercession:
Many times, our prayers include requests for others as we intercede for them. We are told to make intercession “for everyone” in 1 Timothy 2:1. Jesus serves as our example in this area. The whole of John 17 is a prayer of Jesus on behalf of His disciples and all believers.
The prayer of imprecation: Imprecatory prayers are found in the Psalms (e.g., 7, 55, 69). They are used to invoke God’s judgment on the wicked and thereby avenge the righteous. The psalmists use this type of appeal to emphasize the holiness of God and the surety of His judgment. Jesus teaches us to pray for blessing on our enemies, not cursing ( Matthew 5:44-48).
The Bible also speaks of praying in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14-15) and prayers when we are unable to think of adequate words (Romans 8:26-27). In those times, the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us.
Conclusively, Prayer is conversation with God and should be made without ceasing ( 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). As we grow in our love for Jesus Christ, we will naturally desire to talk to Him.
(written by Bro Emmanuel)
Below are my answers for No 5 and 6b.
5. Types of Prayer
As we are clear about what prayer is. My own knowledge of what prayer is, is communication between a creation and the creator. Communication as we know is a two way thing and there are divers ways this can be achieved.
First we need to understand how to pray in order to establish the types of Prayers.
In the Scriptures Matthew 6:9-15 gives us steps of how our prayer should go.
First reference God and worship him, ask for forgivess, ask for our needs and ask for guidance. Obviously we need to ask and pray in Jesus name John 14:13.
Types of Prayer
Prayer of repentance/forgiveness: Is a prayer made for forgiveness of sin with godly sorrow. It's when one confess one sin to God and clearly praying and determined not to return to our vomit. Psalms 51, 2 Chronicles 7:14. God hears and answers such prayer done with humility and contrite heart. Remember He sees the entire being so if its not genuine God knows.
Prayer of Breakthrough: 1 Chronicles 4:9-11 is often regarded as prayer of breakthrough/prayer of Jabez, were Jabez called on God after hitting rock bottom of despair and needed divine encounter. Gen 21:16-18 this was where Hagar couldn't watch her son die so she moved away but God heard the boy's cry and sent help. sometimes prayer of Breakthrough can be a cry for help. It can just be a meditation in your heart that God hears. Remember He sees beyond what man can see.
Prayer of Help: Psalms 121, Psalms 46, Psalms 20 are scriptures that shows prayer for help in times of trouble. Prayer on its own is a way to seek the super power of God to any situation.
Prayer of salvation & rededication of life: this is when a soul is regenerated maybe as being initially saved or returning after backslidding.
Prayer of healing: Exodus 15:26, Psalms 107:19-21, Exodus 23:25, Isaiah 53:4-5, Psalms 103:2-4 God whom we serve is Jehovah Rapha the healer. No matter the disease he can heal, replace and restore even when medics say no way out. This doesn't mean we refuse medical help but pray that God's purpose should over take evil report. God performs miracles so with the support of medical help or not He can still do a new thing.
Prayer for Protection: Psalms 91, Isaiah 43:2 He is our protector. I have testimonies of how God protects us. I will share mine for example. Sometimes this year i was sitting in the lounge and just doing things on the laptop suddenly my son said can you hear that sound. When i listened it was a crackling sound like opening a gift wrapper. We traced the sound to a faulty socket in the lounge already melting into the plug. We immediately switch it off and disconnect it. When the UK power came to check it apparently the current of electricity in house fuse box could blow the house and could electrocute as one bath using the hot water anyway it was fixed. This is an evidence of God's protection the house could have blown at night due to this fault but for God's protection. Prayer of protection should be done daily as we cannot see the evil in each day but God can.
Prayer for favour: Psalms 102:13 and the case of Esther shows us that when we pray to God we can encounter favour.
There are many more but I will stop here
6b. Significance of prayer
The significance of prayer is to see the manifestation of God's promise and His will for us. It is also to keep our mind and focus on the supernatural intervention of God. It also to build our spiritual life and keep our spiritual antenna on always. Prayer is a way we develop our relationship with God. The Lord wants us to commune with Him with Him always just as in the garden of Eden before sin came. But thank God through Jesus Christ we can still commune with our father. Prayer is the key to supernatural living in a natural world. Being prayerful is like saving money in the bank one day you will withdraw it. Prayer has its sowing and harvest periods. (Sis Leah)
Question 6a.
Where should we pray? How should we pray and when should we pray?
The answer can be found in John 4:19-24. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that the time is coming when God will neither be worshipped on the mountain nor in Jerusalem but true worshippers will worship God in spirit and in truth. If we can worship God anywhere, we can also pray anywhere. Don't for forget that prayer is a form of worship. There is no specific place to pray. Ww can pray anywhere, in our houses, our cars, kitchens, gardens, anywhere. God is omni present, we can pray to him anywhere because he is everywhere.
How should we pray?
We are to pray by faith to the father in the name of Jesus. John 16:23,24,26. James 1:6.
In addition, Jesus gave us a patter for prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Please note that the Lord's prayer is not a prayer to be memorized and recited to God. It is an example of things that should go into prayer - worship, request, confession, submission etc.
There's no specified posture to take in prayer: you can sit, stand, kneel or lie down.
When should we pray?
We should pray everytime. Eph 6:18, 1 Thess 5:17
R. A. Torrey said "Our whole life should be a life prayer. We should walk in constant communion with God. There should be a constant upward looking of the soul to God. We should walk so habitually in His presence that even when we awake in the night it would be the most natural thing in the world for us to speak to him in thanksgiving or in petition".
(written by Bro Tochi)
Question 8
Mention from the scripture men and women that prayers helped?
Answer
There are a lot of them but I will mention a few.
-Elijah (fire man)
His pray called fire from heaven.1kings 36:40-end
His pray life called people to God
With his prayer the drought was over and the result was rain.
-Daniel's prayer shut the lions mouth
-Hannah prayed and God answer her by giving her Samuel
-Jonah prayed for forgiveness and God answered him
-Jabez cried and prayed and God answered him
David prayed and God had mercy on him
Queen Esther pray and fasted for her people.
Nehemiah was a man of prayer.
(written by Sis Ohla)
Answer to question 9.
Should people still pray at the sight of difficult situations such as chronic disease,death e.t.c?
The answer is yes, we should pray to God and seek His wisdom in whatever difficulty or trial we might find ourselves. Because, one of God’s main reasons for allowing such trials in our lives is to get us to seek Him more fervently as we recognize in a new way how dependent on Him we really are. And, if our trial is due to some sin that was previously a blind spot, He wants us to confess it and turn from it.
God allows sickness in our lives so that His purposes might be fulfilled. Jesus said that one man was born blind so that, “the works of God would be revealed in him” (John 9:3). Other times Jesus said that it was to bring glory to God when He healed the person (John 11:4). Therefore, we can be assured of one thing, that God is working out His purpose in our life through this sickness.
Sometimes, God allows trials or difficulties in our lives for a testimony of His power and glory. One of the best examples of this truth was when a deadly snake bit Paul after he had been shipwrecked on an island. While Paul was gathering wood for the fire, a viper fastened itself on his hand. He shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. The natives of the island saw this and thought that He must have been a murderer because he escaped death in the sea and now justice has not allowed him to live. But, when Paul did not die the people changed their minds thinking him to be a god. Therefore, God used this situation to have the people ask Paul to pray for a magistrate of the island who was sick. God healed this man and then many who were sick on the island came and were also healed. What a testimony this was all because Paul was bitten by a viper (Acts 28:1-10).
Another major reason why we should pray in time of sickness, is because of the comforting principles that God declares in His word, that He would sustain us on our sickbed. (Ps. 41:3). Therefore, we should allow the Lord to strengthen us spiritually by drawing close to Him during this time of sickness. If we seek Him, we would find Him and His grace for whatever is ahead of us (Matt. 7:7-8). Strengthening ourselves spiritually is essential because Solomon also said, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit” (Prov. 18:14)? Therefore, whether we are healed or end up receiving the ultimate healing (death and our new body), the Lord will be with us and sustain us by His grace. David declared concerning the Lord that: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). The Lord also promises: “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him”(Ps. 91:15). I encourage us never to stop praying no matter The situation or circumstances. Even at point of death, prayer is our only strength.
(written by Sis Abiola)
