1. Prayer
All NKJV unless otherwise specified
Did Jesus pray?
Luke 6v12
12
Now it came to pass in those days that He (Jesus) went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Mark 1v35
35
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He (Jesus) went out and departed to a solitary place; and
there He prayed.
Mark 11v24
24
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
 God has promised that a prayer offered up in faith (without doubt) will be answered. It may not be according to our
desired timing, but it will be answered.
But………
James 4v3
3
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
James 4v3 (NIV)
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own
pleasures.
 On the one hand, God is saying that whatever we ask for in prayer, if we believe, we will receive. On the other hand
God says what we ask we do not receive because of our wrong motives.
 How do we distinguish the difference? What are the wrong motives that God refers to above? They are self-centered.
They are centered on gratifying the lusts of our eyes and flesh.
 It is interesting to note around the fall of man that Eve saw and coveted, as can be seen in the below verse:
Genesis 3v6
6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one
wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
 Adam and Eve knew the will of God, but they chose instead to gratify their own lusts
 Therefore praying to God for things to satisfy our own lusts is praying our will be done, and not His will be done.
Matthew 6 v5-13
5
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners
of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6
“But you, when you pray, go
into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees
in secret will reward you openly. 7
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they
will be heard for their many words. 8
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of
before you ask Him.
Matthew 6 v25-34
25
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what
you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither
sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27
“Which of
you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how
they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29
“and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these. 30
“Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much
more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or
‘What shall we wear?’ 32
“For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these
things. 33
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own
trouble.

2.  God is saying here that we should seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these “other” things
shall be added to us. If we have a heart of prayer in seeking God’s kingdom, praying that His will be done on earth,
and finding (which comes from seeking) his will which is revealed to us in His WORD (BIBLE), then God will take
care of all of our “other” needs.
How should we pray then?
Matthew 6 v9-13
9
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11
Give us this day our daily bread.
12
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
 God’s kingdom come – the world is under the spell of Satan. Satan has blinded mankind through this world system
that has been set up. This world system appeals to the fleshly desire of man (just as it did to Eve), such as fancy cars,
houses, image/looks, status, money, power, greed, self-sufficiency, etc, etc. God’s kingdom is not under this spell, and
never will be. God’s kingdom is the only way out of this world system.
 Your Will be Done – What is God’s will? It is found in the Word. We are to search the Word and pray over the Word.
Prayer can be done with an open bible in front of you. God has given us a multitude of promises in His Word. We can
pray these over our lives and over the lives of others, and then over our cities and nations. God’s word also contains
warnings and curses, which are also the Will of God. We can likewise pray that we will remain obedient to God’s
Word in all of these cautions. God wants us to align our will to His will.
 On Earth as it is in Heaven – Sin has caused an imbalance in the universe, and this has happened on planet earth.
God’s plan for the earth is for it to be restored (redeemed) to its original state. This WILL happen at a point in the
future. And God’s will is that none should perish….Matt18v14 14
“Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in
heaven that one of these little ones should perish. We are the Earth – We were made from the dust of the Earth.
 Give us this day our daily bread – John 6 v31-35 31
“Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave
them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you
the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33
“For the bread of God is He who comes
down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34
Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35
And
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall
never thirst. - Our bread of life is Jesus. Just as we need food on a daily basis, we need the true food of life, Jesus, on a
daily basis.
 John also referred to Jesus as the Word – John 1v1 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. – If we seek Jesus daily in the Word (Bible) and in prayer, our daily needs will be met.
 Forgive us as we forgive others – Matthew 6v14 14
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you. 15
“But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
And also Hebrews 12v 14,15 14
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15
looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble,
and by this many become defiled; And again Matthew 5v44 44
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who
curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
 And do not lead us into temptation – Hebrews 4v15 15
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with
our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. – Jesus can help us not to fall into
temptation, for He overcame all temptation. We are to pray for this help daily.
 But deliver us from the evil one – Matthew 12v29 29
“Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his
goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. – The strongman referred to here is
Satan and/or his demonic princes. Jesus has given us authority to bind and loose – Matthew 18v18 18
“Assuredly, I say

3. to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven. For deliverance, the strongman must be bound. This now moves into the realm of spiritual warfare.
 God has given us authority over the earth, and when we ask, we give God permission to respond to our request.
Persistence in Prayer
Romans 12v12
12
rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
Philippians 4v6 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
 Do not stress/worry/be anxious – God is in control
 Pray about all situations – as often as you can remember – wait and see the results !!!
 Pray with a heart of thankfulness – God has given us life, everlasting life. He has given us potent promises.
James 1v6
6
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7
For let
not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
 God has promised answer to prayer. God does not lie. As long as we ask within the ambit of God’s will, we will
receive answers to prayer. So ASK. – James 4 v2(b) (NIV) “You do not have, because you do not ask God”.
Hebrews 5v7 (NIV)
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save
him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
James 5v16 (NIV)
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is
powerful and effective.
1 Peter 3 v12
For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against
those who do evil.”
The Unjust Judge
Luke 18 v1-8 (NIV)
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town
there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him
with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though
I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she
won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God
bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will
see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
Old Testament Persistence - Elijah
1 Kings 18v41-44
41
Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42
So Ahab went up to eat and
drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43
and
said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven
times he said, “Go again.” 44
Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand,
rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
The topic of praying in tongues will be covered at a later stage. This powerful form of prayer comes once a person is
baptized with the Holy Spirit.