Title: Prayer! must not rest
Contents
The Apostle Paul said, “Pray without ceasing” in today’s text.
Look at Jesus.
① He fasted and prayed for 40 days in the wilderness to prepare for the three-year public life.
Prayer is so important that we have to do it even when we are starving.
②Jesus did not stop praying even during his public life.
In Mark 1:35 it says, “In the early morning Jesus got up and went out to a secluded place, where he prayed… “This is the beginning of morning prayer. Matthew 14:23 says, “After he had sent out the crowd, he went up by himself to the mountain to pray, and at sunset he was alone there… “This is the aid of late-night prayer. Luke 6:12 says, “Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and prayed to God all night long… ” This is the beginning of the all-night prayer. Prayer is so important that we have to pray until we give up such an important sleep.
③Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane even after finishing his public life and prayed.
Luke 22:44 “Jesus prayed more earnestly and with all his might, his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
In this way, Jesus prepared through prayer, worked through prayer, and finished with prayer.
Let us all imitate Jesus who prays and become believers who pray.
The famous German musician Haydn was a devout Christian. One day, famous artists gathered for a discussion, and the topic was “How can we overcome when pain comes?” was to do. Some people go to their friends when they are in pain and complain about the pain. Some drink strong alcohol and forget the pain for a while. Some people dissect and fight as upset as they are. However, even this did not solve the fundamental problem. At this time, Haydn said, “There is a small prayer closet (warehouse) in our house. When suffering comes, when my heart is troubled, or when despair hits me, I go into this closet and kneel before God and ask for help. When I come out of the closet to pray, I have peace of mind and hope.”
Prayer does not matter whether or not it is in the life of the saints, it is not necessary to do it or not, it must be done.
Jesus also said in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, so that you may not fall into temptation” and in Mark 9:21, “This kind of spirit does not come out except through prayer.” He said that we would become people of power through prayer. You did.
According to the Old and New Testaments, the people of prayer always had power.
Moses raised his hands in prayer and defeated the Amalekites (Exodus 17:12).
Elijah's prayer, fire fell from heaven (1 Kings 18:38),
King Hezekiah's prayer was healed of a deathly disease (2 Kings 20:1-5),
Daniel's prayer shut the lion's mouth (Daniel 6:22),
Acts 7:55-60 Deacon Stephen's prayer opened the door of heaven,
In Acts 9:40, Peter's prayer raised Tabitha from the dead.
In Acts 16:25, Paul's prayer made the jailer repent.
The people introduced in the Bible now are so wonderful, even so, in Acts 12:5, “Peter was in prison and the church prayed earnestly to God for him.” It means 'a crowd'. Here, we are talking about common saints. However, common saints also had difficulties in the church and the servant of the Lord, so they prayed earnestly for many days, and even without ceasing, an angel of the Lord appeared and rescued Peter from prison!
God does not only hear the prayers of pastors and elders, but He hears anyone who believes in Jesus and prays in the name of Jesus.
The prayer that every saint should pray like this,
(1) You must do it earnestly.
In Luke 22:44, Jesus prayed earnestly, and in Acts 12:5, the early church members also prayed earnestly for Peter, the servant of the Lord. Hel) 'actenos' translated as 'desperately' refers to "intelligent and earnest prayer." If you are not sure, understand it as a prayer for the liver to be pickled. If you pray for death, God answers it.
(2) You must put all effort into it.
Acts 1:14 says, “They were all devoted to prayer… ”, in Acts 2:42, when the members of the Early Church gathered, “We put all our effort into prayer. The power of prayer became the driving force for evangelism, and it became the spiritual strength to endure (overcome) persecution.
(3) You must cry out.
Psalm 39:12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD;