Job 21:15 “What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?”
(a question asked by evil men)
You Can Run but You Can’t Hide From Him
Hebrews 4:13-16 “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. . . . Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy. . . .” (while you still may)
Psalm 2:12 “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.”
Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near . . . he will abundantly pardon”
Pray Unto HIM
Psalm 5:1-2 “Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.”
James 3:17 “But the wisdom that is from above is . . . easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits. . . .”
Isaiah 45:20 “. . . they have no knowledge that set up . . . their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.”
When
Psalm 5:3 “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee. . . .”
143:8 “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning . . . for I lift up my soul unto thee.”
55:16-17 “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”
Daniel 6:10 “Daniel . . . kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God. . . .”
Luke 6:11-12 “. . . Jesus . . . went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
(Is this possibly over-doing it?) NO!
1st Thessalonians 5:17-18 “Pray without ceasing.”
1st Chronicles 16:11 “Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.”
Psalm 105:4 “Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.”
Luke 18:1-8 “. . . men ought always to pray. . . .”
Ephesians 6:18-20 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit . . . for all saints. . . .”
Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer . . . let your requests be made known unto God.”
Where
Matthew 6:5-6 “But thou, when thou prayest enter into thy closet, and . . . pray to thy Father which is in secret. . . .”
How
2nd Chronicles 7:14 “If my people . . . shall humble themselves, and pray . . . then will I hear from heaven. . . .”
Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.”
Matthew 21:22 “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
James 4:1-3 “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
1st Corinthians 11:4-15 “Every man praying . . . having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.”
[that “head” is, Christ (v. 3)]
Romans 8:26 “. . . we knoweth not what we should pray for. . . but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us. . . .”
Ephesians 3:11-12 “. . . In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.”
Luke 11:1-13 “. . . how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
Matthew 6:9-13 “After this manner therefore pray ye. . . .”
(in the name of Jesus)
Matthew 6:7-8 “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions. . . .”
Ecclesiastes 5:2 “. . . let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God . . . let thy words be few.”
James 5:16 “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
(Philippians 3:9 “. . . not having mine own righteousness . . . but that which is through the faith of Christ. . . .”)
(Isaiah 64:6-9 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. . . .”)
Jude 20-21 “. . . praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God. . . .”
1st Corinthians 14:6-20 “I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also . . . in the church. . . .”
(Lifting Hands, Bowing Knees)
Psalm 28:2 “Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.”
(1st Kings 6:16 “And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.” [Definition]
63:1-4 “Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.”
Psalm 141:1-2 “Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”
Lamentations 2:19 “. . . pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children. . . .”
3:41 “Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.”
Nehemiah 8:6 “And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”
1st Timothy 2:8 “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
Hebrews 12:12 “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees. . . .”
Why
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. . . .”
Psalm 9:10 “. . . for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
Mark 9:28-29 “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
With Whom
Ephesians 5:5-17 “Be not ye therefore partakers with them . . . but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
1st Corinthians 10:15-23 “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils. . . .”
2nd Corinthians 6:14-18 “. . . what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?”
Prayers Can be Hindered
Ezekiel 14:3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?”
Proverbs 28:9 “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”
1st Peter 3:7 “. . . ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge . . . that your prayers be not hindered.”
Prayers of the Wicked
Psalm 106:7-15 “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.”
Mark 12:38-40 “Beware of the scribes, which . . . for a pretence make long prayers. . . .”
Prayers of the Righteous
Proverbs 15:8 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.”
10:24 “The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.”
1st Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. . . .”
Psalm 69:33 “For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.”
102:17 “He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.”
(Isaiah 55:1 “. . . and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat. . . .”)
Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.”
(John 4:23-24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”)
Ezra 9:1–10:1 “. . . Ezra . . . prayed, and . . . confessed, weeping and casting himself down. . . .”
Ephesians 1:15-16 “I . . . Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. . . .”
1st Thessalonians 1:2 “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. . . .”
What to Pray for
Romans 8:26 “. . . we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession. . . .”
Psalm 122:6 “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.”
Matthew 24:20 “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day. . . .”
Luke 21:36 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things. . . .”
James 5:13-15 “. . . the prayer of faith shall save the sick. . . .”
1st Thessalonians 5:25 “Brethren, pray for us.”
Romans 15:30 “Now I beseech you, brethren . . . that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. . . .”
Matthew 5:43-45 “. . . pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. . . .”
What NOT to Pray for
John 17:6,9 “. . . I pray not for the world. . . .”
1st John 5:16 “There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”
Prayer Answered Beyond Expectations
Acts 12:1-16 “Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him
. . . and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.” (What are they astonished about?)
Unanswered Prayer (Examples)
Deuteronomy 3:23-27 “And I besought the Lord . . . I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land . . . and the Lord said unto me . . . thou shalt not go over this Jordan.”
(Psalm 106:32-33 “. . . it went ill for Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.”)
Joshua 24:9-10 “. . . But I would not hearken unto Balaam . . . I delivered you out of his hand.”
Deuteronomy 23:3-5 “. . . the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam . . . because the Lord thy God loved thee.”
Matthew 26:36-45 “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
(Romans 5:19 “. . . so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”)
2nd Corinthians 12:7-10 “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.”
Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. . . .”
Delayed Answers
Jeremiah 42:1-7 “And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah.”
Job 30:20-26 “I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.” (Is that so?)
42:12-17 [The Lord answered Job’s prayer in abundance, but LATER than he would have liked!]
John 11:1-40 “When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.”
Deuteronomy 1:20-45 “And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice. . . .”
Psalm 80:4 “O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?” [a question]
[Until Jerusalem is surrounded by her enemies and is without hope!]
[Then enters “the hope of Israel”. –Jeremiah 14:8; Acts 28:20]
Joel 3:13-17 “The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem. . . .”
Zechariah 14:1-3 “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight. . . .”
Certain Prayers by the Lord
John 11:41-42 “. . . but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”
Luke 22:31-32 [the difference between Judas and Peter] “. . . But I have prayed for thee. . . .”
In the Future
Isaiah 65:24 “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
Praying, Holding Hands in a Circle [This appears to be a pagan practice which ought not to be imitated by the church.]
Proverbs 11:21 “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.”
16:5 “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.”
Jeremiah 10:2 “Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen. . . . For the customs of the people are vain. . . .”
Being of One Mind on the Issue
2nd Corinthians 13:11 “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind. . . .”
Philippians 1:27 “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. . . .”
Philippians 2:2 “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
1st Peter 3:8 “Finally, be ye all of one mind. . . .”