Weapon of Prayer
EPHESIANS 6:10-18 MSG
And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong.
So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made
weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be
able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no
afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about
in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish
against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against
far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can
get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the
shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith,
and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll
need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable
weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.
Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your
eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or
drops out.
1 JOHN 5:14-15
And we can be confident that HE will listen to us whenever we ask
Him for anything in line with HIS WILL. And if we know He is listening
when we make our requests, we can be sure that He will give us what
we ask for.
5 Conditions of Answered Prayer:
- You must have an honest relationship with God.
JOHN 15:7 NKJV
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you
desire, and it shall be done for you.”
3 Ways to Have an Honest Relationship with God:
- Am I willing to confess and forsake sins in my life?
PSALM 66:18 NLT
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have
listened.
PROVERBS 28:13 NLT
People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and
turn from them, they will receive mercy.
1 JOHN 1:8-9 NKJV
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 JOHN 3:20-22 NKJV
For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and
knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have
confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him,
because we keep His commandments and do those things that are
pleasing in His sight. - Am I currently ignoring any of God’s principles?
- Do I really want God’s will for my life?
2. You must have a forgiving attitude toward other people.
PROMISE: MARK 11:24 NLT
“I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve
received it, it will be yours.”
CONDITION: MARK 11:25 NLT
“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a
grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins,
too.”
MATTHEW 5:43-45 NKJV
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.’ 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, that you may be sons of
your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on
the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
3. You must have the right motive in your prayers.
JAMES 4:2-3 NLT
You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You
are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and
wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you
want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you
don’t get because your MOTIVES are all wrong—you want only what
will give you pleasure.
4. You must believe God will answer.
JAMES 1:6-7 NIV
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one
who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
HEBREWS 11:6 NKJV
But without FAITH it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to
God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him.
5. You must pray in Jesus’ name.
JOHN 14:13-14 NKJV
“And whatever you ask in MY NAME, that I will do, that the Father
may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do
it.”
PHILIPPIANS 2:9-10 NKJV
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those
under the earth …