Rev. Kenneth W Hagin tells the following story: Many years ago a missionary in China was living in constant defeat because of the overwhelming struggles he faced on the mission field. He prayed and prayed and prayed about his situation, repeatedly asking God why he wasn’t seeing any results. But no answer came. Depression and discouragement began to close in from every side. Nothing was working and it seemed that God never heard his prayers. In desperation he decided to leave his mission station, going further into the interior of China so he could seek God without distraction. He planned to pray and pray until he got an answer from God. As the missionary walked into the other mission station, the first thing he noticed was a sign hanging on the wall. It immediately caught his attention. It said, "Try thanksgiving." Immediately the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart and told him that had been his problem; he had continually prayed over and over about the same situation, never thanking God for the answer! He had really been praying in doubt and unbelief. God knew thanksgiving would get him into faith and keep him in faith. The missionary had been praying and asking, but his lack of thanksgiving actually was an act of unbelief! He was acting as if God did not hear him; as if God was not going to answer him. The only prayers that God answers are faith-filled prayers. However, you may not be the one praying the faith-filled prayer. This month’s Habitat for Humanity magazine tells of a lady that had lost everything because of the illnesses and deaths of her father and her husband. The house that she had lived in all of her life was literally falling down around her. A friend contacted Habitat for Humanity. But the lady had lost so much that she had no faith left. When they tore the old house down, she was fearful. When they cleaned up the destruction site and prepared to build her home, she was fearful that they would leave and not return. After the new cement floor was poured she doubted they would come back… and all through the construction of the walls, the roof, and the painting of the house she kept being fearful that they would go home for the evening and never come back. Her faith and hope did not return until someone gave her the keys to the completed house! Someone stood in for her! Our missionary to China immediately returned to his own mission station after he was challenged to praise. He was thrilled with what God had revealed to his heart. The man did not waste time spending a night at the interior mission… he had received his answer from heaven. Nothing had changed but his attitude. He had released his faith through praise! All the way back home, in simple faith he praised God because God had heard and answered his prayers. As he praised, every bit of depression, disappointment, discouragement, and defeat lifted from him. By the time he reached his own mission station, he had such revival in his own heart that God used him mightily to bring a major revival to that entire area! You see, this missionary had known the power of prayer, but he had neglected the power of praise. He came to understand the mighty power in praise. Praising God while the situation still looks bleak is faith! - Kenneth W. Hagin, Rhema News, Nov 2008

Successful Prayer Combines Three Ingredients:

1. Worship

2. Praise

3. Petition

       If we worship – truly worship God – before we enter into praise and petition, our priorities will be right. Since God knows all things, trying to con God will not work. He knows our hearts, so do not try to fool Him.

True praise increases our faith. When we praise God we get the focus off ourselves. This keeps us from praying, “Gimme, gimme, gimme! My name is Jimmy. I’ll take all you’ll gimme!”  When we praise and worship God we are just enjoying His presence. We do not want anything but His joy. It is somewhat like sitting on the couch holding hands with your husband, wife, or girl/boyfriend.

Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.”

We love the song, “Count your Blessings; name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done.” God always wants to bless us; and Jesus never changes:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

 

Let’s talk for a few moments about putting power in our prayers.

 

I.   Deal with any sin in your life. All of us sin…James said, “In many ways we all stumble.” James 3:2a (NIV)

      ~Was it a sin or was it a mistake?

      ~The dictionary and theological definition of sin:

                A transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate.

     ~Theology

                Deliberate disobedience to the known will of God.

                A condition of estrangement from God resulting from such disobedience.

      ~Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong.

      ~The key word here is “Deliberate.” John Wesley defined sin as “A willful violation of God’s known law.”

       Another definition of sin is rebellion.

       Sin can be what we do; it can be what we refuse to do.

 

II.   Realize that God does not act unless we pray. Therefore He expects us to pray! Prayer does not interrupt God!

“If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Note: God Says IF; then He says that He will answer our prayers.

         2 Chronicles 7:12-14: The LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a temple for sacrifices.  When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among My people, if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

• My people

• Humble themselves

• Pray

• Seek My face

• Turn from their wicked ways

     If we do not follow those steps, God is not going to answer our prayers. If you think you do not need to come to God humbly that may be a manifestation of pride. If you can’t recall any sin in your life ask the Holy Spirit – or your family – to reveal it to you!

Exodus 17:8-13  The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

      Here we see it again. No prayer, no success!

      John 15:7 – “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

 

III.  Nothing happens unless we pray.

As a matter of fact, Jesus was born when He was because of the prayers of God’s people. Simeon and Anna had devoted their lives to prayer. God had promised them that they would see the Messiah before they died!

IV.    We should pray boldly… not in anger, not in pride, but let your requests be known to God, and provide supporting scriptures; not for God’s benefit, but to encourage your faith.

         Hebrews 4:16: Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

V.   Prayer is a continuing Source of Power.

         When we offer our prayers in a spirit of obedience and love, God will not deny us. Again, we have to allow God the time and space to work things out, for he will not override our free will nor the free will of another person.

Hebrews 4:1-3 will really make you think!  "Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in My anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' " And yet His work has been finished since the creation of the world.

        When I studied theology one of the classes was on deism. Deism is the doctrine that God is not involved in our day-to-day life. Some say that He “wound up the world like a clock” then left to let it run on its own. Others describe it as God gave us the ability to reason things through, so we do not need a holy book like the Bible, nor do we need organized religion.

       Only lately have I realized that there is some truth in this doctrine. (Very little, actually!) The “truth” is that God gave us everything we need (spiritually) to obtain all of His blessings.

2 Peter 1:2-4 spells it out very well:  "Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

       Translation: Satan cannot put anything over on us and we can conqueror Satan if we will use all the gifts God has provided for us.

 

Prayer is the way we connect the world with God.

The Protestant idea is that all of us are priests. (It is referred to as the universal priesthood of the believers.)  The primary way we practice our priesthood is through intercessory prayer.  WE take our petitions to the Lord on behalf of the people. Then we receive instructions from the Lord to take to those in our spiritual care or at least under our spiritual influence.