Notes on Prayer

"Forgive us Lord for holding hands with darkness.  Forgive us Lord for idolatry.  Forgive us Lord for playing games in your presence.  We look for true intimacy" Psalm 2:12 Jason Upton

The people of the land have used oppression and extortion and have committed robbery; yes, they have wronged and vexed the poor and needy; yes, they have oppressed the stranger and temporary resident wrongfully.  And I sought a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.  Therefore have I poured out My indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their own way have I repaid [by bringing it] upon their own heads, says the Lord God.  Ezekiel 22:29-31

*Keep close to Christ.

“IF YOU REMAIN IN ME and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”
—John 15:7.

*Keep trusting God.

“If you BELIEVE, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
—Matthew 21:22.

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
—Mark 9:24.

*Surrender calmly to God’s will.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, he hears us.”
—1 John 5:14.
*Wait patiently on God.

“I WAITED PATIENTLY for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.”
—Psalm 40:1.

*Don’t hang on to any sin.

“If I had CHERISHED SIN IN MY HEART, the Lord would not have listened.”
—Psalm 66:18.

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
—James 4:3.

“If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.”
—Proverbs 28:9.

*Feel the need of God.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
—Matthew 5:6.
*Persist in prayer.

“‘Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?’”
—Luke 18:5, 7.

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James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 Isaiah 65:24
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.

"So how do we work with the Lord in the plowing stage of the harvest? Prayer is an important aspect of the plowing process. We plow the harvest field with our prayers and our lives, and God plows it by bringing problems and difficulties that, like a plowshare, turn the soil of people's hearts over. As a worker in God's harvest field, you need to be sensitive to the need for plowing." taken from Online Bible College lesson es106-11

"Prayer and seeking the Lord is not the same thing.  When you mouth is moving but your heart is not connected you are not praying you are playing."  Cultivating a Seeking Heart