I. How A Christian Should Pray V. 18
A. Praying Always
1. On every occasion, at all seasons.
2. 1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you… (The prophet Samuel praying for the leaders of Israel)
3. Bible Exposition Commentary– Never have to say when you pray, “Lord, we come into Thy presence,” because you never left His presence!
4. Prayer ought to be as normal to the Christian as it is for a soldier to have his weapon in his hand. Paul likens this conflict as unto warfare.
B. With all prayer
1. All kinds of prayer in general. Formal, silent, vocal, secret, crying out, meditative.
2. Psalm 5:1-3 Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation. 2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. 3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.
3. 1 Timothy 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men…
C. With Supplication
1. Special prayer for particular situations. Specific prayer.
D. In The Spirit
1. The Christian has the Holy Spirit indwelling them, the 3rd Person of the Godhead.
2. Ephesians 6:12 We don’t fight against people, but unseen spiritual hosts of wickedness.
3. We have limited knowledge and are unable to see into the realm of spiritual things with our human faculties. Therefore, we are disadvantaged if we depend on ourselves.
4. We can, however, be prompted to pray by the Holy Spirit, who is God.
5. He sees the unseen spiritual world, & He can lead us in knowing how & when to pray.
6. By the Spirit, we can be forewarned, fortified, & strengthened as we pray appropriately.
7. Not only do we know that we should pray, but we are inspired about how to pray.
8. Recited prayers, written prayers, etc., may have their place, but as in war, a soldier of Christ must be able to respond spontaneously in prayer according to the need.
9. Romans 8:26, 27 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
10. Spirit led praying will always be according to God’s truth, and according to the need of the situation.
E. Being Watchful To This End
1. Watchful- agupneo- to be sleepless, keep awake, to be circumspect, attentive, ready.
2. It is the opposite lifestyle of the spiritually sleepy, lethargic, or lazy Christian.
3. Matthew 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
a. The temptation for the disciples was going to abandon Jesus when he was opposed.
b. Satan still tempts Jesus’ disciples to abandon Him during times of opposition.
4. Matthew 26:40, 41 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
5. Satan is called The Tempter. We need to pray because of temptation.
6. Peter and the others didn’t pray, & they deserted Jesus, and Peter denied knowing Him.
7. We must remember that we are engaged in a Spiritual War. Even during times of rest and relative calm, we need to be watchful like a soldier.
F. With Perseverance
1. Perseverance- To give constant attention to a thing, to give unremitting care to a thing.
2. Bible Exposition Commentary- Not everybody is so constituted that he can sincerely spend a whole night in prayer, but all of us can persevere in prayer far more than we do.
3. Once again, remember the image of a soldier, perhaps even resting, but alert.
4. It speaks of the Christian who has a constant attitude of prayer & prays often.
5. NOTE- Prayer is a discipline that we need to cultivate, not just a spontaneous action in time of need. Therefore, it must be done not just emotionally, but intentionally.
6. Robert Law– “Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven; it is getting God’s will done on earth”.
7. The body tires in prayer; the mind wanders in prayer, the soul is restless in prayer, but by God’s Spirit, we can overcome these distractions & win battles in people’s lives.
G. For All The Saints
1. Saints- hagios- holy and set apart for a sacred purpose.
2. Jesus prayed, “Our Father, who art in Heaven”, not, “My Father…”.
3. Soldiers might not like each other, but they support each other for the benefit of all.
II. Paul’s Request For Prayer Vs. 19, 20
A. “And For Me”
1. Personal, intentional, humble request.
2. Paul was an apostle, personally commissioned by the Risen Christ.
3. He had had visions of Paradise, visions from God, deep revelations of truth from God.
4. Miracles had been done through him.
5. Yet he was not ashamed or embarrassed to ask for prayer.
6. To purpose to not ask for prayer is not a spiritually right thing to do.
7. If we are prompted by the Spirit of God to ask others for prayer, it is sin to refuse.
8. To be a Christian in God’s Kingdom means that we are to “lose our life”.
9. We sometimes are embarrassed, don’t want the attention, feel uncomfortable, etc.
10. As prompted, we are to ask from prayer. That is obedience to God.
B. Prayer For Boldness To Speak Of Jesus
1. Paul desired to have fearless, confident freedom in speaking.
2. His message was the Gospel, his audience was whomever would listen.
3. Paul was an ambassador in chains. Chained to a Roman guard, whose shift changed every 6 hours.
4. His previous boldness had brought him much suffering. See 2 Corinthians 11:23-29
5. Notice that Paul did not pray for comfort, release, freedom; he prayed for boldness.
6. He prayed for boldness to speak more about Christ, which was why he was in prison.
7. Paul’s life was already “lost in God”, so his life was about serving God, not self.
C. Summary
1. Some of us need to be prayed for today: healing, make confession, direction, comfort.
2. Some need prayer so that we would be people who pray. We need to learn to pray