PRAYER

1. Elements of Prayer – A.C.T.S
2. ADORATION – praising God for who He is

– (Psalm 8:1-4)  O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. {2} From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. {3} When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, {4} what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

– (Psalm 95:6-7)  Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; {7} for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

– (Luke 1:68-75)  “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. {69} He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David {70} (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), {71} salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us– {72} to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, {73} the oath he swore to our father Abraham: {74} to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear {75} in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

1. CONFESSION – admitting our transgressions to God

– (Psalm 25:18)  Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.

– (Isa 6:5)  “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

1. THANKSGIVING – expressing our gratitude to God

– (Psalm 103:2)  Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits–

– (Eph 1:3)  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

– (1 Thess. 5:18)  give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1. SUPPLICATION – requesting from God

– (Mat 6:11)  Give us today our daily bread.

– (Phil 4:6)  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

– (James 1:5)  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

2. Hindrances to Prayer
3. False MOTIVES

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

1. SIN

– (Isa 59:1-2)  Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. {2} But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

1. IDOLATRY

– (Ezek 14:3)  “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?

1. STINGINESS

– (Prov 21:13)  If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.

– (Luke 6:38)  Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

1. UNFORGIVING Spirit

– (Mark 11:25)  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

1. Wrong RELATIONSHIP Between Husbands and Wives

– (1 Pet 3:7)  Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

1. UNBELIEF

– (James 1:5-7)  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. {6} But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. {7} That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;

3. Praying Effectively
4. Pray with a THANKFUL heart

– (Heb 13:15-16)  Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name. {16} And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

1. Pray with a lifestyle of OBEDIENCE

– (1 John 3:22)  …receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

1. Pray in HARMONY with God’s will

– (Mat 26:39)  Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

– (1 John 5:14)  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

1. Pray in FAITH

– (Mark 11:24)  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

– (Heb 11:6)  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

– (James 1:6-7)  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. {7} That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;

1. Pray in Jesus’ NAME – by His authority

– (John 16:23-24)  In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. {24} Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

4. Praying for Others (Intercessory Prayer)

– (Phil 1:3-4)  I thank my God every time I remember you. {4} In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy

– (Col 1:3)  We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

– (1 Thess 1:2)  We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.

– (James 5:14-15)  Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. {15} And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.