Praying GOD’S Love over your life As well as others..!

Praying GOD’S Love over your life As well as others..! Though our feelings come and go, GOD’S love for us does not. 1 Thessalonians 2:13

For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received [it] not [as] the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. The Bible is a book full of promises; there are ( MANY ) prayers in the Bible. If you study the prayers of the Bible, you begin to notice that the prayers GOD honors and answers are those that repeat his promises back to HIM. There are an estimated 650 prayers listed in the Bible. The first time prayer is mentioned in the Bible is Genesis 4:26 Genesis 4:26

“And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.” The Bible records JESUS praying 25 different times during his earthly ministry… In the Bible, Paul mentions prayer, 41 times. ( prayers, prayer reports, prayer requests, exhortations to pray ), etc. Although prayer can (and should) be done from [any] bodily position, the Bible [ does ] list five specific postures: 1.Sitting - (2 Sam 7:18), 2.Standing - (Mark 11:25), 3.Kneeling - (Chronicles 6:13; Daniel 6:10; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60, 9:40, 20:36, 21:5; Ephesians 3:14), 4.Prostrate (With one’s face to the ground) - (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:35), 5.With hands lifted up (1 Timothy 2:8). In (Luke 11:1-4), JESUS tells HIS disciples how they / we (should) pray. Some people pray this verbatim - and that’s O.K. But, this prayer [is] in fact - “A ( model ) of prayer.” JESUS provides us with (five) areas of focus: 1.That GOD’S name be honored – 2.The focus on HIS everlasting glory (“Father, hallowed be your name”); that GOD’S kingdom come – the focus on his eternal will (“your kingdom come”); 3.That GOD’S provision is given – the focus on our present (“Give us each day our daily bread.”); 4.That GOD’S forgiveness is granted – the focus on our past (Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.); 5.That GOD’S deliverance will be provided – the focus on our future. The Bible lists (at least) nine main types of prayer: 1.Prayer of faith (James 5:15), 2.Prayer of agreement (Acts 2:42), 3.Prayer of request (also known as petition or supplication) (Philippians 4:6), 4.Prayer of thanksgiving (Psalm 95:2-3), 5.Prayer of worship (Acts 13:2-3), 6.Prayer of consecration (also known as dedication) (Matthew 26:39), 7.Prayer of intercession (1 Timothy 2:1), 8.Prayer of imprecation (Psalms 69), 9.Praying in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). A Christian never prays alone! We tend to think of prayer as primarily a solitary and private activity. But the Bible tells a different story. The prayers of even [one] Christian is the occasion of a divine conversation in which The FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT all participate. (Romans 8:1-5 confirms this.) When we pray, we talk to GOD. We talk to JESUS. We talk to The SPIRIT. What’s more, Revelation 8:3-5 pulls back the curtain of heaven to show us that the prayers of all the saints are gathered together in the heavenly places and are poured out together to accomplish GOD’S great purposes. Even one person in prayer is never truly alone ! ! ! Matthew 18:20

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto GOD” - and when we read Revelation 19:1-8 we see that GOD’S people in heaven are doing just that. Their sin is removed, their human weakness is put to right, and they eternally shout with thanksgiving the perfected desire of their hearts: “Hallelujah! Revelation

Chapter 19

1And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

5And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. Praying with other people teaches us about prayer . . ! Chances are, most of what you know about prayer, you learned from hearing someone else pray. Mary learned to pray from Hannah (Luke 1:46-55; 1 Sam. 2:1-10). Saul (later Paul) doubtless learned something about prayer from Stephen (Acts 7:57-8:1). Even JESUS taught his disciples to pray by giving them an example (Matt. 6:9-13) and by taking them by the hand and leading them together to the place of prayer (Luke 9:28; 11:1; 22:39-46).

I would like EVERYBODY to try something… First of all - do ( not ) just ‘read’ the Bible. STUDY IT. Every Word. And, as you do, try this ~ I want you to pray about it ! Acts 6:4

“But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” Prayer is ( MORE ) than an occasion at mealtime, or in times of persecution. the book of Acts reveals that the early church was serious about praying together. They prayed together in the temple and in their homes, when they were sick. Again and again we find them all together, devoting themselves to prayer. Pray with your friends and your guest’s. When you invite friends and guest’s Into your home, are you not showing them your ''invirons''? (( you know, your room. Your 'digs' - "( ya dig..? )" Whatever the reasons are, “do we (not) owe them a duty to their souls?? “ ( YES, is the answer. ) Is it not an occasion to fellowship? To speak about GOD? (( Another YES. )) GOD’S GRACE & LOVE ? The saving Power of JESUS ?! ((( YES, YES, YES ! )))

By including our guests in our times of family prayer, we provide for their spiritual needs. If they are fellow-believers, our prayers will be an encouragement to them, welcoming them into the spiritual life of our home. If they are (non-Christians ) - (your) prayers can stand as a testimony before them, pointing them to the one who is LORD of our home. Who knows ~ Because of your household prayers, we may one day find past dinner guests seated beside us at the wedding supper of the Lamb? ( ...think about it….) Rely on the Spirit of GOD in prayer. Pray with persistence (Luke 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Pray with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2; Philippians 4:6-7). Pray with a spirit of forgiveness toward others (Mark 11:25). Pray with the right motivation. Pray for the things for which the Bible commands prayer. We are told to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44); for GOD to send missionaries (Luke 10:2); that we do not enter temptation (Matthew 26:41); for ministers of the Word (Colossians 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 3:1); for government authorities (1 Timothy 2:1-3); for relief from affliction (James 5:13); and for the healing of fellow believers (James 5:16). Where GOD commands prayer, we can pray with confidence that we are praying according to HIS will. Selfish motives will not be blessed by GOD. Follow the example of godly characters in Scripture. Paul prayed for the salvation of Israel (Romans 10:1). David prayed for mercy and forgiveness when he sinned (Psalm 51:1-2). The early church prayed for boldness to witness (Acts 4:29). These prayers were according to the will of GOD, and similar prayers today can be as well. Now go……! May your prayers and supplications be in accordance with GOD.