POWER IN PRAYER
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20 They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. 1 Chronicles 5:20 (NIV)
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)
10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:10-11 (NIV)
9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace. Psalm 6:9-10 (NIV)
1 Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. 2 O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. 3 When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. 4 Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. 5 You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, 6 who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, 7 who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. 8 Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy. 9 You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. 10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. 11 You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. 12 The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. 13 The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing. Psalm 65:1-13 (NIV)
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. 17 I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. 18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; 19 but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. 20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! Psalm 66:16-20 (NIV)
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. Acts 2:42-43 (NIV)
23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. Ezra 8:23 (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. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
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“Yet the range of prayer is as great as trouble, as universal as sorrow and as infinite as grief. And prayer can relieve all these evils that come to God’s people. There is no tear that prayer cannot wipe away. There is no depression of spirit that it cannot elevate. There is no despair that it cannot dispel. Prayer always brings God to our relief to bless and to aid, and it brings marvelous revelations of His power.” E.M. Bounds
“What does an unused prayer link look like? Anxiety. Instead of connecting with God our spirits fly around like severed power lines, destroying everything they touch. Anxiety wants to be God, but lacks God’s wisdom, power, or knowledge. A godlike stance without godlike character and ability is pure tension. Because anxiety is self on its own, it tries to get control. Anxiety is unable to relax in the face of chaos; continuous prayer clings to the Father in the face of chaos.” Paul Miller
“The world may doubt the power of prayer, but the saints know better.” Gilbert Shaw
“Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.” Martin Luther
“Prayer is the forerunner of mercy….Prayer is always the preface to blessing. It goes before the blessing as the blessing’s shadow. When the sunlight of God’s mercies rises upon our necessities, it casts the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain….If we are much in prayer, our pleadings are the shadows of mercy.” C. H. Spurgeon
“It is by prayer that we couple the powers of heaven to our helplessness … and make the impossible possible.” O. Hallesby
“Pray as if everything depended upon your prayer.” William Booth
“Prayer, praise and thanksgiving all go together. A close relationship exists among them. The Scriptures join these three things together. Psalms is filled with many songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving, all pointing back to the results of prayer. Thanksgiving includes gratitude. In fact, thanksgiving is the expression of an inward, conscious gratitude to God for mercies received. Gratitude is an inward emotion of the soul, involuntarily arising therein, while thanksgiving is the voluntary expression of gratitude.” E.M. Bounds
“A Christian, being only a traveler through the world, must expect a traveller’s fare; bad roads sometimes, bad weather, and bad accommodations; but since his journey’s end and city are in heaven, all his actions, sufferings, prayers, trade, and conversation turn that way. O Lord, grant that mine eyes may always be fixed upon this mark, so as to regulate all my designs and doings accordingly; asking myself in everything, whether it be fit for heaven, and agreeable to the mind of the heavenly Bridegroom, and to the manners of the heavenly citizens.” K. H. Von Bogatzky
“Do not let us fail one another in interest, care, and practical help; but supremely we must not fail one another in prayer.” Michael Boughen
“No prayer is lost. Praying breath was never spent in vain. There is no such thing as prayer unanswered or unnoticed by God, and some things that we count refusals or denials are simply delays.” H. Bonar
“One of the best ways to discover a Christian’s chief anxieties and ambitions is to study the content of his prayers and the intensity with which he prays them. We all pray about what concerns us and are evidently not concerned about matters we do not include in our prayers. Prayer expresses desire. Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire…Paul pours out his soul to God….The basis of Paul’s prayer was the knowledge of God’s purpose.” John Stott
“Prayer is a direct address to God. Prayer secures blessings and betters people because it reaches the ear of God. Prayer affects people by affecting God to move them. Prayer moves the hand that moves the world. The utmost possibilities of prayer have rarely been realized. The promises of God are so great to those who truly pray, that when He puts Himself fully into the hands of the praying ones, it almost staggers our faith and leaves us amazed.” E.M. Bounds
“Hear the prayers of Your people as we call out to You. Give us self-control on those occasions when we’re tempted to demoralize and put people down. Make us aware that a godly life preaches an unforgettable message to the unsaved. Help us remember that we’re soldiers away from our home in heaven, living in a culture that’s lost its way and is in desperate need of Jesus Christ. Keep us easy to live with, strong in faith, unbending in our convictions yet full of grace toward those who are bound by sin and captured by habits they cannot break. Enable us to shock this pagan culture with lives that are authentic, that stay balanced, that are still fun, and that ultimately glorify You, O God . . . just like Jesus did.” Chuck Swindoll
HEART SAVOR
• Prayers change my focus off inadequate self to All-Sufficient Father.
• The Lord hears our cries for mercy and always comes to our aid.
• The Lord’s timing is always perfect – always.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 