Chapter 1: Lord, Teach Us To Pray Have you noticed how often the apostle Paul uses war talk

to describe the Christian life? He employs words like: struggle, wrestle, conflict, soldier, warfare, striving. Then, near the end of his life, he writes to Timothy in his 2nd letter: I have fought the good fight. Clearly the Christian life is not for wimps. We are called to be soldiers. Were waging war against a ruthless enemy. In the most detailed passage on the Christian as soldier, Ephesians 6, we read from Vs. 10 about the spiritual armor the Lord has provided. Among other items, the apostle Paul mentions the shield of faith, the girdle of truth, the helmet of salvation. All these are defensive items, designed for the soldiers protection against the assaults of the enemy. In Vs.17 he refers to the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Then Vs. 18 tells us: With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. Notice carefully: to wear the full armor of God without praying is something like having a guy dressing up in a soldiers uniform, having his sword in its sheath at this side, and saying, Look Ma, Im a soldier! But he hasnt drawn the sword from its sheath, he hasnt engaged the enemy. That certainly wont frighten Satans forces or push them back. Prayer is the key weapon of offense. When we pray we are, as it were, unsheathing the sword and enabling the Holy Spirit to use it effectively against the devils forces. Guilty Your Honor! However, many of us if taken to court and charged with being weak or lax in prayer, would have to plead guilty. Some, because were just plain lazy. Others, because we want to pray but dont know how. After weve said three hallelujahs and five praise the Lords and prayed God bless me, my family, my friends, we dry up verbally. We dont know how to go on from there. Then, when we hear a message that challenges us to a greater commitment to prayer, we feel condemned. The result: we pray even less than we did before. Weakness in prayer

keeps us prisoners of war spiritually - weve surrendered our weapons of warfare because of ignorance, or discouragement, or both. And the devil celebrates! Come With Me I want to invite you to join me in a quest. I believe the Lord has spoken to me specifically through the request of His disciples recoded in Luke 11:1 Lord, teach us to pray. Ive been a Christian now for over 50 years, and of course, I do pray. But I think youll agree that we need to learn to pray more and more effectively, especially in the light of these difficult times. 1 Peter 4:7 tells us, The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. If Peter could say 2000 years ago. the end of all things is at hand , Im sure youll agree with me that we are now right in the last minutes of the end of the age and the coming of Jesus again. We know from His teaching that these days will be increasingly marked by the spread of evil, of lawlessness, and of what He termed Distress upon nations. Our calling as His Body, the Church, is to prevail in this spiritual conflict and shine brightly for Him as the world grows morally and spiritually darker. We have the armor of God to protect us from the assaults of the enemy. And we have the awesomely powerful weapon of prayer to drive back the forces of evil and enforce the victory of the Cross of Christ. We need to just do it! We need to get down to fervent, consistent, believing prayer. So, Why Not? Ill bet youre saying Amen to that. Why then dont we do so? Let me share with you what Ive found can be a great hindrance to prayer. Subconsciously, we may be viewing the call to prayer as a kind of punishment, a sort of hard labor sentence that God wants to impose upon us! Because were painfully aware of our shortcomings, we imagine that the Lord is going to force us to do this unpleasant, awkward exercise to make us feel sorry weve been lo lax, to teach us a painful lesson. Of course we dont articulate this thought but it is there. If not so, why would we be so reluctant to step up our prayer life when we know we

should pray? So, let me say very emphatically: God doesnt call us to pray as a form of punishment. Fuzzy Faith Cleared Up I want to share two verses with you which God used to clear this up for me early on in my Christian walk. Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with loving-kindness. God loves us, not because we are lovable, but because He is Love, and the Cross of His Son Jesus proves that. Because He loves us, He draws us to Himself, He wants to commune with us. After all, true love involves communication with the object of love right? So then, every impulse that you and I have to seek the Lord, to pray, originates with Him. I have loved you .. therefore I have drawn you. You and I can choose to respond to His drawing love in prayer and worship, or we can choose to keep Him - as it were - at arms length. But, prayer is not a form of spiritual punishment. The Lord loves you and wants you to spend time talking with Him. The second verse that the Lord used to change my attitude to prayer is found in Proverbs 15:8(b) The prayer of the upright is His delight. So, if youve had a picture somewhere in your subconscious mind that, to really pray, you have to bang on the gates of heaven and struggle to gain the Lords attention, get rid of it now. The Bible states: The Lord loves you, and wants to draw you to Himself in close communion. If youve turned your life over to Jesus and youre walking straight your prayer is a delight to Him. Lord, teach us to pray. Thats our petition, thats our request. How? How do we learn then to pray? Let me illustrate. Lets say you want to learn to swim. You enroll at a gym for swimming classes and you sit at the poolside listening to a Swimming Instructor giving a lecture on swimming. You and the others with you loudly applaud the instructor for giving an excellent lecture, and then you go home! What has this done for you? Youve

heard the teaching, but you still cant swim; you havent even gotten your bathing suit wet! To Learn To Swim Is To Get Wet! The only way you will learn to swim is to get into the water and Do It. Sure, you may flounder around for a while but if you have a good instructor, he or she will see to it that you dont drown, and as you do it, you get better at doing it. Get the point? We can listen to countless excellent teachings on prayer - all very necessary. But, unless we actually get down to pray we will never learn, we will never develop an effective prayer life.As with learning to swim, we may splash around for awhile, but we have an excellent Instructor - we have the Holy Spirit, the Comforter - the One called along side to help. He will teach us as we go along. Prayer is the way we commune with God, and prayer is the way we engage the enemy and push back the forces of Satan. Oh, The Possibilities! Let me share with you one a very important, faith-building point. It concerns the possibilities of prayer. In Ephesians 3:20 we read: Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, or as I like to put it, God is the God of Much More. This truth is beautifully illustrated in the account of a childless woman who cried to God for a son. We read about her in 1 Samuel Chapter 1. For an Israelite woman to be unable to bear children in those times was regarded as something close to a disgrace, and Hannah was greatly distressed, feeling the shame of her condition acutely. However, instead of merely sitting by the poolside listening to swimming lectures, she got into the water and she began to pray. She prayed persistently, and she prayed passionately. In fact, as he was watching the way she poured out her soul to God, Eli the priest thought she was drunk (1 Samuel 1:13,14). This tells us that at times our prayers are not necessarily well-constructed speeches but are often desperate cries of distress and expressions of deep need. In due time, God answered Hannahs prayer, and Samuel was born

(1 Samuel 1:27). A Son, and Much More! Now see the exceeding, abundant aspect of God at work here. Samuel grew up to be a prophet of God, the first prophet Israel had in a long time, and he began to turn the nation back to God. (2 Samuel 3:20). Hannah prayed for a son, and God answered her prayer. But, in answering her plea, God did much more than she could ever have asked or imagined. God gave the nation a prophet to guide Israel back to His ways. Indeed the possibilities of your prayers are enormous for God is the God of MUCH MORE. Wont you join me in this quest? Wont you say, Lord, teach me to pray? I dont want to be like a soldier dressed up for a grand parade but never uses his weapons. I dont want to be just a listener to lectures on swimming - I want to get into the water and do it! Remember: the prayer of the upright is Gods delight: Lord, as we pray, teach us to pray.

CHAPTER 2 : Two Essential Truths In our quest to become more effective in prayer, its important to keep two essential truths in mind. The first is Faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us: And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Remember, we are talking to the One who said in Jeremiah 31:3, I have loved you .. therefore I have drawn you .. Our very desire to pray is a result of His drawing love tugging at our hearts. We need to respond to that in prayer. Then, remember He is utterly reliable and trustworthy. In Numbers 23:19 we read, God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Faith In Faith? And heres another point: dont get hung up about whether your faith is strong enough for you to pray. Just trust God and tell Him what you need to tell Him. We dont have faith in faith; we have faith in God. So, look away from yourself, your weakness, your unworthiness, and look to God in simple faith. Remember: we are not blessed for the worthiness of our faith. Rather, we are blessed because of the worthiness of the One in whom we have faith. Our Admittance Ticket The second feature for an effective prayer life: our admittance ticket to Gods Office - His holy presence, is the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ: Hebrews 10:19&22, Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faithsprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Its such a relief to know that God accepts us into His holy presence not because of our own holiness but because of the precious blood His Son Jesus shed for our sins on the Cross.

Old Testament Object Lesson In Old Testament times the worshippers could only approach the Lord by offering an animal as sacrifice for their sins. In fact, the only one ever allowed into Gods inner room - the Holy of Holies - was the High Priest. This he could only do once a year on the Day of Atonement. On this day an unblemished lamb would be sacrificed for the sins of the nation. The High Priest would then enter through the curtain, the veil, to where God had His mercy seat. This veil kept the Ark of the Covenant with its mercy seat from the gaze of the people. The Lord was teaching us that no human being can approach Him and live as we are all sinners and He is absolutely holy. Merely to look upon Him would bring death unless an innocent substitute had been sacrificed in order to atone for the sins of the people and to give the priest access to enter Gods Throne room. This, of course, points to Jesus, our sinless substitute who died on the Cross to atone for our sins. Hebrews 10:12 reads: but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of the Father Vs. 18 goes on: Now where there is forgiveness of these things(sins), there is no longer any offering for sin. Jesus has offered Himself once, and thats enough! Therefore, the way into the Holiest is now open to all who have repented and had their sins forgiven because of the Blood of our innocent substitute, Jesus Christ. Thus, the Bible tells us we dont have to creep up to Gods Office door and cringe just outside hoping that He may hear our feeble petitions. As we read in Vs. 19 we have confidence to enter, not because weve accomplished anything but because of what Jesus accomplished for us when He shed His blood on Calvary. Vs. 22 then encourages us: let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, Im sure youve noticed our first 2 essentials are tied together: 1) we pray with faith, and 2) we have confidence to draw near to Him in prayer because of the Blood of Jesus. Theres More! Let me share with you just 2 more verses which speak of the Blood of Christ as the essential faith factor in our relationship with the Lord.

Romans 5:9 says we have been justified by His Blood. That means we have been acquitted in Gods Courtroom of all charges against us. We walk out of Gods courtroom free because Christ has paid our penalty. Ephesians 2:13 tells us we have been brought near by the Blood of Christ. So, dont let the devils lies cheat you. Dont stand far off from God because the Blood of Jesus has bought you forgiveness. You have been acquitted of all your guilt, and youve been brought near to the Lord by His precious Blood. So, lets do it! Lets draw near to God with a bold faith; lets learn to pray persistently. Lets give ourselves to prayer passionately. This is how well push the enemy back, as soldiers of Christ. Two Big Questions But what about the question I raised earlier: what do I do when Ive thanked the Lord for His goodness, asked Him to bless me and my loved ones, and asked Him to meet my immediate needs - for example, my financial and or health concerns? Where do I go from there? And another question: How can I be sure Im praying in the will of God? This is where the Scriptures come in. Remember Ephesians 6:17? One of the items of spiritual armor mentioned there is, the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. When we speak the Word of God in prayer I believe we (in a sense) draw the sword from its scabbard and give the Holy Spirit opportunity to use it against the enemy. Let me share with you some of the prayers recorded for us in the Bible, and show you how I use them at times to help me in my petitions to God. In Colossians 1:9-12 we have the prayer of the apostle Paul for the church at Colossea. Consider: If the Lord inspired him to write down that prayer then I believe we can be quite sure that it is a prayer according to Gods will. So if you and I pray that same prayer, or portions of its essential content, we must be praying in the will of God, right? Colossians 1:9-12 9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to

His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. Try Doing This I would read it through the passage out loud. Then, I would talk to the Lord about it. Something like this: Lord, I ask that you will fill me with the knowledge of your will in all wisdom and give me spiritual understanding of Your will. Help me to live a life that is a credit to You; I want to please You in every area of my life. Then, I could pause here and think of specific areas of my life wherein I need Gods help. I pray, Father, help me to please You in my role as a husband, and as a father and so on. Im sure you get the idea. I make the prayer my prayer and I elaborate on specific portions of that prayer for my specific situation. It doesnt end there! I can then pray the same portion of Scripture for someone else. Lord, help Jim in his situation to know Your will. I pray Your will help him to please You in the way he behaves at his work where hes mixing with some difficult people. Get the idea? And, as you pray the Scriptures back to God in this way, the Holy Spirit guides you as to where to go next in your prayer. Moreover, by praying the Scriptures with faith, you give the Holy Spirit opportunity to use Gods Word as a sword to repulse the spiritual forces of darkness in your life. Come With Me! I hope youll join me in this quest, this desire to become more and more effective in prayer. Lets begin every new day with this petition: Lord, teach me to pray. And then lets do it!

CHAPTER 3: The Critical Factor for the Christian In Luke 11:1 we read: It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." Its clear that the critical issue for the Christian is Prayer. As we race towards the end of this age and the soon coming of our Lord Jesus the Bible warns us that the pressures against Gods people will increase. Jesus warned of the increase of lawlessness of distress upon nations and of the rising persecution of His people by the world (Matthew 24). I truly believe that were living in the last minutes, prophetically speaking, of the last days. Thats why Im all the more committed to this personal quest: Lord, teach me to pray. I invite you to join me and let us learn afresh to pray consistently, persistently and with passion. A Double Benefit As I have already mentioned, I find it very helpful to pray the Scriptures back to God. This brings a double benefit: 1) The Bible tells us that the Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit. Of course, this cannot be referring to a closed Bible carefully placed at your bedside. Its talking about reading the Word, and speaking it out in prayer. This is in effect drawing the Sword from its sheath and putting in into use against the enemy. 2) Praying the Scriptures out loud gives substance to our prayers and it gives direction. Whats more, in praying the Scriptures we can be sure were praying in the will of God, for He inspired the writings of these Scriptures for our benefit. So, lets use the Scriptures in prayer, particularly the prayers of the Psalmist in the Old Testament and the prayers of Paul recorded in the New. Let me give you just a few references that you could follow up. For Example Psalm 31 is a good passage of Scripture to pray out loud if youre having a hard time. The particularly relevant portions are

Vss. 1-4 where the Psalmist calls on God to deliver him, to defend him, and to save him. He affirms his faith in Vs. 3, You are my rock and my fortress. And in Vs. 4, You are my strength. Notice the balance here, with request and confession or affirmation of faith. Request Affirmation Deliver me vs. 1 You are my Rock & my fortress vs. 3 Rescue me vs. 2 Be to me a rock of strength vs. 2 It is very important to maintain this balance in our praying. True prayer is not all petitions and neither is it all praise. It is a balanced mix of both petition & praise, request & affirmation we plead with God, and we affirm our faith in Him. In confessing who He is: you are my rock and my fortress we affirm our trust in Him. In asking Him to come to our aid, we put our faith in Him into action and we show that we trust Him with our problems. When Troubles Roll! Another Psalm which records the prayers of someone in real distress is Psalm 55. In fact, the Psalmist is so distressed that he says in Vs. 6, I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Suggestion: do resist the temptation to pray for wings as the Lord wont answer that prayer! Escapism is not a feature of a true believers life! Rather, have faith, get the Sword out of its sheath begin to pray the Word of God so that the Holy Spirit can use the Scriptures you speak to repulse the enemy and set you free. Do as the Psalmist does in Vss. 4 & 5 when he pours out his heart to God: 4 My heart is in anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fear and trembling come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. Detailing the Problems He lists the reasons for his distress in Vs. 3: the voice of the enemy torments him and the oppression of the wicked does him harm. In Vs. 12 he records his distress at the fact that he has been betrayed by someone he trusted and that it really hurts! Im sure you can identify with his pain here.

Then, sensibly, in Vss. 16&17 he says, 16 As for me, I shall call upon God, And the LORD will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray a cry aloud , and He shall hear my voice. The Psalm closes with his affirmation of faith: Bloodthirsty & deceitful men shall not live out half their days.. but I will trust in You. (Vs. 23). You see, you can read these passages of Scripture out loud and make them your own prayer to God. And you can read out the affirmation of faith and make it your own. As you do so the Holy Spirit acts, things begin to happen in the unseen world, our faith is strengthened and very often, the situation is changed. Something Old, Something New There are several prayers recorded in the New Testament which you can use in this way as well. In the previous chapter I gave you Colossians 1:9-12. Now let me share with you just one more - Ephesians 3:14-21 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Here the apostle Paul prays four things for the Church, and 4 things that we need in our own lives. In Vs. 16 he prays for strength in the inner man. In Vs. 17 he prays for stability. He writes, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. Dwelling permanently as opposed to just visiting us from time to time. We need this kind of conscious stability so that we dont allow our fluctuating emotions and our troubled circumstances to drag us down.

In Vs. 18 he prays for a continually growing understanding of Christs measureless love for us. And in Vs. 19 he prays that we may grow up spiritually to Gods fullness. Then in Vs. 20 Paul makes this affirmation of faith: he says that God is able to do far more than we can ask or imagine! So, what do we have in this prayer that is relevant to you and me? 1. We have a plea for inner strength to stand up to pressure without collapsing. 2. We have a plea for stability in our faith so that were not swayed this way and that by our trials and our emotions 3. He asks the Lord for a continual growth in our understanding of God measureless love in Christ. 4. He prays that we will enter into Gods fullness, to a place where we can draw on His fullness by faith so that we can have what we need for every situation we face. Use It! Dont you agree that this prayer is relevant to you, to me, anywhere, all the time? So, use this portion of Scripture to pray to God frequently. Use the passage also as an outline for your prayers for others as well. This will widen your prayer vocabulary so you dont just dry up after a few bless me & my brother and his wife prayers. Moreover, in praying these prayers recorded in the inspired Scripture you can be sure youre praying in the will of God. It gives you direction in prayer, it gives content so you wont dry up after just a few words. Above all, praying these Scriptures gives the Holy Spirit opportunity to use the Scriptures as a Sword to put Satans armies to flight. New Testament prayers you can use as a prayer guide: Ephesians 1:15-23 Ephesians 3:14-21 Colossians 1:9-12 Matthew 9-13 Philippians 1:9-11 Galatians 3:19