2. Introduction
"The men who have done the most for
God in this world have been early on
their knees. … If God is not first in our
thoughts and efforts in the
morning, He will be in the last place
the remainder of the day."
E.M. Bounds
3. "Prayer does not fit us
for the greater work;
prayer is the greater work."
Oswald Chambers
5. Introduction
"No learning can make up for the
failure to pray. No earnestness,
no diligence, no study, no gifts
will supply its lack."
E.M. Bounds
6. Introduction
"Intercession is truly universal work
for the Christian. No place is closed
to intercessory prayer.
No continent - no nation - no
organization - no city - no office.
There is no power on earth that can
keep intercession out."
Richard Halverson
7. "Our prayer must not be self-centered. It
must arise not only because we feel our
own need as a burden we must lay upon
God, but also because we are so bound
up in love for our fellow men that we feel
their need as acutely as our own. To make
intercession for men is the most powerful
and practical way in which we can express
our love for them."
John Calvin
8. "Our prayer must not be self-centered.
…*we must be+ so bound up in love for
our fellow men that we feel their need
as acutely as our own. To make
intercession for men is the most
powerful and practical way in which we
can express our love for them."
John Calvin
9. Introduction
“When prayer has become
secondary, or incidental, it has lost its
power.
Those who are conspicuously men of
prayer are those who use prayer
as they use food, or air,
or light, or money."
M.E. Andross
11. Introduction
"Talking to men for God
is a great thing,
but talking to God for men
is greater still."
E.M. Bounds
12. Introduction
“I have seen many men work
without praying, though I have
never seen any good come out of it;
but I have never seen a man
pray without working.”
J. Hudson Taylor
13. Introduction
• Prayer is one of the most important
spiritual disciplines to master.
• Yet mastery requires a determined
act of surrender.
• Therefore, it is one of the most
difficult disciplines for us to master.
15. Introduction
“What the church needs today
is not more machinery or better,
not new organizations or more novel
methods, but men whom
the Holy Ghost can use—
men of prayer, men mighty in prayer"
E.M. Bounds
16. Prayer Language
• Supplications (ESV)
– entreaties (NASB), requests (NIV)
– “an entreaty for a particular benefit or
need” - Knight
– a prayer that “gives prominence to
personal needs” -Wuest
17. Prayer Language
• Prayers
– “to bring those for whom one is praying
before God for his general blessing and
care” – Knight
– good wishes, blessings on people
18. Prayer Language
• Intercessions (ESV)
– plead for God’s mercy upon them (NLT)
– “*an+ ‘appeal’ with a note of urgency
and boldness of access… *with+ a
concern for others and perhaps
particularly for their plight or difficulty.”
– Knight
– “to fall in with a person, to draw near
so as to converse familiarly…approach
God in free and familiar prayer” -- Wuest
20. Prayer Language
• All of these words are plural
– There are a lot of prayers going up
– There are a lot of pray-ers
– There are a lot of people being prayed
for
21. Prayer Targets
• People who have been disciplined
out of the church (1:20)
– That they would learn and return
– That they would right the ship of faith
22. Prayer Targets
• People who are leaders in the
national government (2:2)
• People who are in high positions of
local civil authority (2:2)
– That they would lead wisely
– That they would create a
peaceable, free society
– That they would protect innocents and
punish evil-doers
23. Prayer Targets
• People who need to be saved (2:4-6)
– That they would understand the truth
– That the Spirit would convict them
– That they would experience and come
to appreciate God’s love for them
24. Prayer Targets
• People who are in positions of
ministry (2:7)
– That they would feel the weight of
appointment
– That they would proclaim truth
– That they would represent Christ well
– That they would teach only faith and
truth
25. Prayer Targets
• People who are in disagreement with
you (2:8)
– That the disagreement would not lead
to sinful anger
– That there would be swift resolution
– That forgiveness would be extended
26. Conclusion
• Prayer is critical to living a blameless
life and leading a blameless church.
…so, pray.
• I want my prayers to be
faithful, pleasing, and unrestrained.
• I will pray for people with power.
27. “The man who mobilizes
the Christian church to pray
will make the greatest contribution
to world evangelization in history.”
Andrew Murray
