1 John 5:14
“We are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.” – 1 John 5:14
How do we know what Jesus’ followers believed about their participation in God’s Kingdom?
“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” – Colossians 4:2
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him (Jesus). Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 NLT
The evidence of their following Jesus: “Luke gives considerable attention the role of prayer in the early church: first, he refers to the prayers of individuals such as Stephen (Acts 7:59), Saul (Acts 9:11), Peter (Acts 10:9; 11:15), Cornelius (Acts 10:30-31) and to Paul and Silas (Acts 16:25); second, he records time of corporate prayer among the believers when they selected Matthias (Acts 1:24), prayed for Peter’s release from prison (Acts 12:5; 12), commissioned Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:3), appointed elders to certain churches (Acts 14:23), and when Paul said farewell to the Ephesians elders (Acts 20:36) and the church in Tyre (Acts 21:5).” – Arthur G. Patzia The Emergence of the Church
“Prayer which is felt as a mighty force is the…product of much time spent with God.” – E. M. Bounds Power Through Prayer
Relationship Time: Quantity Time – Quality Time
Purpose – in alignment with God’s purpose
“if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” – Jesus in John 15:7
James 4:2-3, 6-8 “Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” “And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ (Prov. 3:34 Greek) So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” – James 4:2-3, 6-8 NLT
“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” – Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13
What do we learn? Why is New Testament prayer passionate? Because it is personal, persistent, and on purpose. We can all participate in God’s Kingdom by learning to pray fervently.
Questions to ask ourselves: Is prayer a priority to me?
What should we do? Plan it. Pursue it. Weekly Prayer Calendar ideas