7 Days without prayer makes one weak!

Good morning!

Today my message is entitled “7 Days without prayer makes one weak!”

As we grow to know God more, we find that praying becomes easier and deeper. Our relationship with God becomes more intense and fulfilling. Developing a language of prayer is very important in our walk here on earth.

When we wander off from talking with God, our faith weakens, and we then are susceptible to Satan’s influence and we stumble. If we go without prayer, we become weak Christians. Then we need to cry out to God.

Psalm 143: 1 NIV
Lord, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.

Psalm 18:6 NIV
In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.

When we cry out to God, we find out that God is still beside us and was waiting for us to talk to Him.

Psalm 145:18 NIV
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

Ethel Barrymore is quoted: “When life knocks you to your knees – well, that’s the best position in which to pray, isn’t it?”
Ruth Bell Graham stated: “Pray when you feel like it, for it is sin to neglect such an opportunity. Pray when you don’t feel like it, for it is dangerous to remain in such a condition.”

Philippians 4: 6-7 NIV
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God’s Four Answers by Bill Hybel in his book, “Too Busy Not to Pray.”

In talking with people who are concerned because God doesn’t seem to be answering their prayers, Pastor Bill Hybels uses a little outline he borrowed from a pastor friend of his:
• If the request is wrong, God says: No
• If the timing is wrong, God says: Slow
• If you are wrong, God says: Grow
• But if the request is right, the timing is right, and you are right, God says: Go!

Praying together was important to the early disciples and we should have the same attitude.

Acts 1:12-14 NIV
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.
13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Now let us look at another way we are to pray, and a reason that we need to pray!

The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians about prayer and the need to pray for those in ministry.

Colossians 4:2-4 NIV
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

Wesley Duewel, in his book “Touch the World through Prayer,” gives us a different perspective of prayer.
“There are many ways to “work” with God – through obedience, through service to others, and through sharing His love. But God wants to have even more intimate contact with you. God wants to bring you into His inner circle where you can hear His great heart beating for a lost world. God has created you with the ability to speak to Him and fellowship with Him. Above all else, as His “fellow worker,” you were created to pray – as He prays.”

In your bulletins, you will find an insert that is about praying for the leaders in the church. Please do read it and more importantly, pray for the leaders daily.
Prayer was very important to the apostles and disciples of the early church. In fact, it was so necessary that the apostles concentrated on it in their ministry.

Acts 6: 1-7 NIV – picking seven to look after widows then concentrate on prayer.
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer. He role modeled prayer and believed completely in open communication with God. Some references of this are: Matthew 6: 5-15; Matthew 26: 36-46; John 11: 41-44; Luke 11: 1-13. I challenge you to do a study of what Jesus taught and practiced about prayer – it will enlighten your mind and soul!

E.M. Bounds, in his book “Purpose in Prayer,” states:
“Without prayer the Christian life, robbed of its sweetness and its beauty, becomes cold and formal and dead; but rooted in the secret place where God meets and walks and talks with His own, it grows into such a testimony of divine power that all men will feel its influence and be touched by the warmth of its love.
Thus, resembling our Lord and master, we shall be used for the glory of God and the salvation of our fellowmen. And that, surely, is the purpose of all real prayer and the end of all true service.”

I leave you with this final Scripture on prayer, hoping that you are a wee bit more inspired to pray daily, hourly and minute by minute.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 NIV
16 Be joyful always,
17 pray continually,
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

May God’s awesome presence be near you always and may you never grow weak from lack of prayer.

Let’s pray!