Principles of Prayer

1. Talk with God about everything

Phil 4:6
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; NKJV

2. Ask in Jesus name.

John 15:16
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. NKJV


John 16:23-24
23 "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. NKJV

3. Believe and praise God

Mark 11:23-24
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart , but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray believe that you receive them, and you will have them. NKJV

Phil 4:6
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; NKJV


4. Be Persistent

1 Thess. 5:17-18
17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. NKJV

Rom 12:10-12
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; NKJV

5. Pray alone and with others

Matt 6:6-7
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. NKJV

Mark 6:46
46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. NKJV

Luke 9:18
And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" NKJV


John 6:15
Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. NKJV

Matt 18:19-20
19 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." NKJV

Acts 12:12
12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. NKJV

6. Let the Spirit Help You

Rom 8:26
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. NKJV

Jude 20
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, NKJV


Luke 18:1-8, The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"

6 Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" NKJV

This parable spoken by Jesus was intended to give a contrasting view between God, who is perfectly just, and a judge, who was unjust. If an unjust judge, who did not fear God or regard man, was convinced to avenge the persistent widow by her continual requests, how much more will God avenge or answer the requests of His own children who cry out to Him continually? God will not put them off but will act speedily to answer their requests.

This story ends with a good question to be considered. “When the Son of Man comes, will He find that persistent kind of faith on the earth?” Some have suggested that it is a lack of faith to keep asking for something over and over, because God has heard already so we should just wait for the answer. Repeating the request over and over implies we do not believe God has heard or that our faith is somehow deficient.

In this parable, Jesus is saying that faith will not quit until the answer comes. It is not that God is reluctant to act on our behalf but often He tests our tenacity to see just how serious we are. Are we asking something just because we know we should or is it because we want it really badly? God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Whatever is achieved through much diligence will also be cared for with the same diligence.

The unjust judge became wearied by the widow’s continual asking, but God does not: we are more likely to get tired of hearing our own prayers repeated than God ever would. God responds more to faith than to the need. Faith is expressed by a continual persistence to get the desired answer. When the blind man heard that Jesus was passing near where he was begging, he cried out with a loud voice to attract His attention. Some standing near by told him to be quiet but he cried out all the louder, with persistence, because he wanted Jesus to restore his sight. Jesus may have passed him by if he had not cried out: not because He did not care or know about his condition, but because Jesus was searching for someone with faith that He could respond to.

Another example is the woman from Canaan, in Matthew 15:22-28, who came to Jesus asking for healing for her daughter. He ignored her request at first and then His disciples told Him to send her away. He informed her that he was sent only to the household of Israel and that healing was the children’s bread, not to be given to dogs. She persisted, willing to receive the crumbs that fell from the master’s table. Jesus then responded to her faith. She was not intimidated by those who wanted her to go away nor was she put off by Jesus’ slow response. The insinuation that she was a dog did not offend or cause her to hesitate, but her persistence got the answer that she needed.


Luke 18:1
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. NKJV

THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD II

The Spirit of God speaks the word of God through His people.

Acts 4:31
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. NKJV

The infilling of the Holy Spirit empowered them to speak the word of God with boldness. The chief priests and the elders had threatened Peter and John and commanded them to no longer speak in the name of Jesus, but when they returned to their companions they gathered together and prayed that they all would receive boldness to speak the word of God. They refused to be intimidated by man but obeyed God.

1 Corinthians 12:3
3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. NKJV

The Spirit of God and the word of God agree as one. Anyone who is speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit could not curse the name of Jesus or speak against Him. It requires a revelation of the Spirit for one to confess and declare Jesus as Lord and Christ. Peter received a revelation and declared Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God. He did not come to that revelation through human reasoning or from observing Jesus in the natural realm, but through the Father, by the Spirit.

Eph 5:18-19
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit , 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. NKJV

Men who are filled with wine lose control of their speech, usually to foolishness and vulgarity, but being filled with the Holy Spirit leads to inspirational songs, hymns and spiritual songs. On the day of Pentecost, all who had been filled with the Spirit began to speak in different languages under the influence of the Spirit. Some bystanders accused them of being drunk on new wine. They had lost control of their speech, not to cursing, but to blessing and proclaiming the mighty works of God.

Heb 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. NIV

Whenever God speaks, whether through the lips of humanity or from the pages of scripture, His words are like a sharp, two-edged sword, having the ability to cut through and expose the contents of the heart. When Peter preached in Acts 2:36-37:

36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" NKJV

And again when Stephen was preaching in Acts 7:54:

When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. NKJV

Even though, in both situations, the people were cut to the heart by the word that was preached, one group became repentant and the other flared up in vicious anger. The word discerned and exposed the thoughts and intents of their hearts and brought them to a place of decision.

This is evangelism in the book of Acts. They went everywhere preaching the word with signs and wonders following them. They were led of the Spirit of God and spoke under the unction of the Spirit. We need both the Word and the Spirit at work with us to be affective evangelists.

In combination with the power of the word, spiritual gifts are given to minister to both unbelievers and believers alike. In 1 Corinthians 12: 8-10 we find a list of the gifts that are a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit through the believer; the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, and the working of miracles and so on. Through these gifts God reveals Himself to those in need. Powerful gifts can add a real “wow” factor to the ministry but the potential for spiritual pride to enter also increases.

Another work of the Spirit is to produce fruit in the lives of every believer. In Galatians 5: 22-23, we find them listed as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. These are qualities in a believer’s life that are foundational for the operation of the supernatural gifts. Though we may have great faith to move mountains, work miracles, prophesy or speak in other tongues, if we lack the fruit of love we are only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

We cannot put off evangelism until we master all these areas or we will never get started.
The Christian life is a growing process. Eating healthily (the word of God), coupled with plenty of exercise (sharing our faith), causes strong growth in our personal lives and, in turn, adding souls to the Kingdom.