SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
BREAD
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalms 19:14 (NIV)
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 (NIV)
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, 5 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!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 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? 8 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?” Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 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 6:10-20 (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. Philippians 4:6-7 (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)
BUTTER
“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” Samuel Chadwick
“All we love is in his hands. He hears our prayers and our tears when there are no words. He counts them as liquid intercession, which is precious to him (Ps. 56:8a). He is our Mighty Warrior and contends with those forces that are contending with us (Isa. 42:13; Ps. 35:1).” Sylvia Gunter
“Pleading the promises of God is the whole secret of prayer.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“Satan has, in fact, a plan against the saints of the Most High, which is to wear them out. What is meant by this phrase, ‘wear out’? It has in it the idea of reducing this minute, then reducing a little further the next minute. Reduce a little today, reduce a little tomorrow. Thus, the wearing out is almost imperceptible; nevertheless, it is reducing. The wearing down is scarcely an activity of which one is conscious, yet the end result is that there is nothing left. He will take away your prayer life little by little and cause you to trust God less and less and yourself more and more, a little at a time. He will make you feel somewhat cleverer than before. Step by step, you are misled to rely more on your own gift, and step by step, your heart is enticed away from the Lord. Now, were Satan to strike the children of God with great force at one time, they would know exactly how to resist the enemy since they would immediately recognize his work. He uses the method of gradualism to wear down the people of God.” Watchman Nee
“The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer but unoffered prayer.” F. B. Meyer
“Come, let us offer Him the great, universal sacrifice of our love, and pour out before Him our richest hymns and prayers.” Ephrem the Syrian
“You know the value of prayer; it is precious beyond all price. Never, never neglect it.” Thomas Buxton
“The church may hold its confirmations by the thousands, it may multiply its baptisms, and it may administer its sacraments innumerable times, and yet be as far from fulfilling its true mission as human conditions can make it. The principle need of the church is neither people of money nor people of intelligence, but people of prayer.” E.M. Bounds
“Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan.” John Bunyan
“God shapes the world by prayer.” E.M. Bounds
“Prayer meetings are the throbbing machinery of the church.” Charles Spurgeon
“Prayer is that mightiest of all weapons that created natures can wield.” Martin Luther
HEART SAVOR
• God delights in the prayers of His children.
• Prayer is communing with the God of all creation – never, never neglect it.
• Praying God’s Word back to Him pleases Him and delights His child as well. We can never pray so fervently and believingly as praying back His Word.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 