Jesus said,
"My house shall be called a house of prayer"
Matthew 21:13
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I will repeat the scripture:
Jesus said,
"My house shall be called a house of prayer"
Matthew 21:13
Prayer is to be such an obvious part of the gathering of Christians that people will call that gathering "a house of prayer".
Prayer should be pervasive in our lives
Scripture tells us to pray "without ceasing... at all times... in everything... continually." 1
What are the conditions for prayer to be effective?
We are to ask with faith, without doubt, with proper motives, doing God's business, according to His will, while in fellowship with Him. These conditions were presented from the scriptures in subchapter 4.11, "Conditions for Effective Prayer."
Scriptural Prayer
One may ask... What kinds of Prayers can I pray so that God will say "yes"? Well, scripture is always a part of prayer. Prayer that is inconsistent with scripture will not be honored by God. Many do not know how to pray because they do not know scripture. Many do not know the prayers which the apostles prayed.
So, we can offer prayers that God will say yes to... if we pray scriptural prayers.
Now, I will present six ways to pray scriptural prayers:
- Scriptural Prayer for Couples
- Scriptural Prayer for Families with Children
- Pray the Endorsed Prayers by Topic
- The Philippians Prayer Model: PPP
- Pray Large Sections of Scripture.
- Pray Acrostics
Scriptural Prayer for Couples
Enter into intimate spiritual interaction with God and your soul mate. This could be your spouse or someone you are dating. It's easy and requires no preparation. I call it the "Two Step Devotional for Couples". Click here to get started.
Scriptural Prayer for Families with Children
Bring the power and peace of God into your mealtimes with your family. Teach them spiritual warfare using prayer and the word of God. It is called "Pass the Sword". Click here and invite God to empower of those precious minutes that you have with your children.
Pray Endorsed Prayers by Topic
It is hard to have a good prayer meeting if we don't what God wants us to pray. If that describes you, this is the place to begin... the Endorsed Prayers.
I was praying one day and this question came to my mind. Am I praying a legitimate prayer? In other words, am I asking for something that God will grant? I spent time in the word daily, but had trouble remembering what scripture actually said about prayer.
So, I downloaded all the verses in the New Testament that used the words pray, prayed, praying or prayer. I categorized them and culled out the repeats. I ended up with a broad spectrum of topics that the apostles and Christ prayed about or instructed others to pray. Then I added some prayers from the Old Testament. I called them the "Endorsed Prayers".
I was surprised that the Endorsed Prayers were very different from the prayers which I typically prayed. The Endorsed Prayers changed my life.
The apostle Paul wrote "Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ." But, if we don't pray the prayers the apostles prayed, we certainly can't imitate the apostles.
Five of the Endorsed Prayers come from Christ. Twenty-two are from the apostles and five from prophets. So, thirty-two Endorsed Prayers are presented in this book.
The Endorsed Prayers are prayers regarding knowledge of God's will, enlightened eyesight, revelation, power, strength, wisdom, love, unity, obedience, faith, words for witnessing, tranquility, intimacy with God, escape from temptation, forgiveness, praise, thanksgiving, salvation, opening doors for the Gospel, spreading God's word, enemies, rebuke, and mercy.
In all, thirty-two prayers are presented and explained, from the scriptures, in chapter 4.
In your prayer meeting you can pray the Endorsed Prayers by category.
The thirty-two prayers have been arranged into five categories, so you can choose the type of prayers that fit the purpose of your meeting. The five categories are shown below:
- Endorsed Prayers for Spiritual Communication (subchapter 4.2)
- Endorsed Prayers for Spiritual Needs (subchapter 4.3)
- Endorsed Prayers for Making Disciples (subchapter 4.4)
- Endorsed Prayers of Praise (subchapter 4.5)
- Endorsed Prayers for Physical Needs, Etc. (subchapter 4.6)
So,
1) Go to one of those subchapters.
2) Text a link for that subchapter to the members of your prayer group.
3) Pray the prayers in that subchapter. The scripture for each prayer is there in that page, along with explanations.
Philippians Prayer Model: PPP
The Philippians prayer model is from Philippians 4:4-8. I am praying that this prayer model will spread through all the earth. I am asking God to start a great awakening through His simple model of prayer.
Please join me on your knees. Please prayerfully consider God's words. Most of you who are reading are reading from Africa and Asia. But where ever you are, I am praying with you, in Spirit, through these words.
My Father in Heaven, please fill your children all over the world... those reading here from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North and South America... fill us with praise as we encounter every obstacle... that we will be Your light in this dying world... that Your name be lifted higher and higher and higher! Amen.
(Pause for Prayer)
(Pause for Prayer)
If you have prayed with me on your knees, please continue.
The prayer model is PPP. PPP stands for Problem, Pray, Praise. When we encounter problems, our old corrupt nature2 tempts us to grumble and complain... even though scripture tells us to "do all things without complaining... that we may be seen as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:14-16). Prayerfully consider God's holy words below:
- "Do all things without complaining and arguing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, holding up the word of life" (Philippians 2:14-16).
When the world sees how we react to hardship, that we don't complain and argue, but that we point to the word of life... that we respond to hardship with praise... we become a desperately needed light to the dying world. Do you see it? If not, then please pray for understanding.
(Pause for Prayer)
If you adopt PPP as your response to suffering, your life will change... you will be a light to the world.
When you encounter a problem... instead of being upset, you will:
1) Pray
2) Praise
Its PPP!
- Problem
- Pray
- Praise
When a Problem occurs, you Pray about it and then Praise God. Praise Him for who He is, what he has done and will do.
So, there are two steps to follow every time we encounter a Problem. The first thing that we do is Pray a request regarding that problem. Then we Praise Him... PPP.
There is much evil, pain and suffering in this current age. If we dwell on those things in our personal thought life, peace and joy are lost. If we complain about them to others, their peace and joy is injured as well. But, in PPP, peace and continuous joy are received by all (Philippians 4:4-8).
By God's power and grace, the PPP in the Philippian Prayer Model can change attitudes and lives.
Please prayerfully consider God's holy words:
- "4 Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, "Rejoice!" 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:4-8).
All three elements of PPP are present in verse six.
- "In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6).
"Anxious" represents the Problem, the first P. "Prayer and petition" represent Pray, the second P. "Thanksgiving" represents Praise, the third P.
When you perceive a problem (4:6), you pray to God about it (4:6) and then praise God (4:6). This results in:
- peace (4:7)
- in Christ's presence ("in the Lord", 4:4... "at hand", 4:5 )
- a gentle spirit (4:5)
- which is obvious to all men (4:5).
All together it is the way to "rejoice always in the Lord" (4:4).
When you encounter tragedy... When evil, deceitful and harmful people invade your lives... how do you respond? Do you dwell on those things for long periods... boiling in anger with griping, complaining and judging? I am embarrassed to say that, for much of my life, I have been the king of complaint. God has forgiven me. But the scriptures above make it abundantly clear that we should respond to adversity with prayer (v 6) and then meditating on things which are "true... honorable... just... pure... etc..." (v 8).
Here is verse eight again:
- "Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things."
What is more true, honorable, just and pure than God? What is more lovely, of good report and virtuous than God? In other words, we are to meditate on what God is, what He has done and what He will do. So... we are to praise God. Paul ends his list with the word "praise", as this one word indicates no specific object of praise but instead, fully incorporates the previous seven. In fact, Hebrews 13:15 tells us to praise God continually. So, every time we encounter a problem, we are to praise God... for what He is, has done and will do!
I suggest that you offer your praise audibly, so Satan can hear you. Let Satan know that every time he persecutes you he will have to listen to lavish praise from your lips to your God3. As you praise God audibly, you let Satan and all of the demons in the spiritual realm know that suffering in your life results in praise, praise, praise. Let Satan know that the results of all his hard work in your life culminate in praise to your God! That is a foretaste to Satan of what will come when his works are judged according to the book of Revelation.
How did I hear of PPP?
As I was preparing to lead a Bible study prayer group on Philippians 4:4-8, I asked God to give me a way to transform the group so that that scripture would become our way of life. In that moment, PPP entered my mind.... Problem, Pray, Praise. We started by doing it together, in our next meeting. We change together. As each of us adopts the Philippians prayer model, PPP, we help each other to change.
So, how do we do this in a prayer meeting?
One person briefly mentions a problem to God, briefly prays a request to God about that problem, and then praises God. This may take a minute or two. Then another person in the group does the same thing:
- briefly mention a Problem to God
- Pray a request about that problem
- Praise God abundantly
Then the other members of your prayer group do the same thing. You may take turns in your group in a clockwise fashion or pray spontaneously. Each person may pray one or more times. This may go on for five minutes, thirty minutes or for hours.
In this process, a habit is established regarding what Christians do when a Problem appears. We Pray and Praise. Its PPP... every Problem results in Prayer and Praise to God.
On your first time to pray the Philippians Prayer Model as a group, you may want to prayerfully read and discuss Philippians 4:4-8 first. Then explain PPP and begin.
Goal
Spend very little time talking to God about the problems. Spend more time praying about the problems. Spend the most time praising God.
Summary of PPP
- Problem
- Pray
- Praise
You can combine PPP with other prayer methods like prayer acrostics and prayer starter words. I will briefly present both of those now. A more detailed section on prayer acrostics is presented later, down the page.
Combine PPP with Prayer Acrostics
I will show you what I mean using the prayer acrostic, FOLLOW CHRIST. FOLLOW CHRIST is acrostic 1 and is fully described, from the scriptures in subchapter 4.8.
Each of the twelve letters in the acrostic F.O.L.L.O.W. C.H.R.I.S.T. represents the main idea behind each of those twelve Endorsed Prayers.
F: Faith
O: Open
L: Lead
L: Love
O: One
W: Words
C: Confession
H: Harvest
R: Revelation
I: Intimacy
S: Sovereignty
T: Thanks
Prayers in the acrostic F.O.L.L.O.W. C.H.R.I.S.T.
F: Increase our Faith!
O: Open a door for the word!
L: Lead me to the Rock!
L: Increase our Love!
O: Make us One!
W: Give me Words to present the Gospel!
C: Forgive me!
H: Send workers into the Harvest!
R: Reveal yourself!
I: Draw me into your Intimate presence!
S: You have a Sovereign plan for today!
T: Thank you!
The first prayer in this acrostic is F, Increase our Faith. So, here is how I would combine this acrostic with PPP in a prayer group. I might pray this prayer:
Lord, my friend David has an important test coming up. His future career path will be determined by his performance on this test and he is afraid (Problem). Lord, please multiply David's faith one thousand fold. Then he will have no fear. Jesus said "why are you afraid oh you of little faith?" So, please multiply David's faith one thousand fold again and again and again (Prayer). I praise You for what You will do (Praise). Whether David passes the test or not, I believe that You will multiply his faith. You will "work all things for good" for David because he loves You and is called according to Your purpose (Romans 8:28). You will lead David in accordance with your will regarding his career path, whether he passes this particular test or not.
Now you try. Combine PPP with each of the Endorsed Prayers in the acrostic FOLLOW CHRIST.
Combine PPP with Prayer Starter Words
In your prayer group, you can mention starter words to stimulate prayer and help them to improve their problem response habits. Tell them that you will mention a word and ask them to offer a prayer about that word using the Philippians Prayer Model, PPP. For example, say:
Politician
Then someone in the group might pray. "Lord our politicians have difficult decisions to make now (Problem). Please guide them (Prayer). I praise You because You will work Your will through their decision, whether it is for blessing on the righteous or judgement on the persecutors of Christ (Praise).
Here are some other prayer starter words you may try:
Corrupt politician, dictators, unbelievers, cancer, marriage, war, educational system, immorality, church leaders, unity, anger, fear, depression, grumbling, complaining, confession, Google, Facebook, internet, weather, money, TV, cell phones, elementary school teachers, university professors, evolution, naturalism, pantheism, atheism, students, false doctrine, pregnancy, prayer, son, daughter, food, shelter, war, faith, love, joy, peace, patience, hospitality, etc.
Also try: God's word, will, presence, gifts, Holy Spirit, angels, people, creation, holiness, perfection, sovereignty, kingdom, justice, judgement, second coming, timing etc.
You can also use all of the words in the acrostic FOLLOW CHRIST as prayer starter words: Faith, Open doors for the word, multiply our Love, etc. In all there are nine prayer acrostics in this book. So, there is no shortage of acrostics and prayer starter words to combine with PPP. To see the other eight prayer acrostics, see subchapter 4.8 titled, "Prayer Acrostics: Kings, Follow Christ, The Way and Power". Click here to open that page.
It's simple. Just mention a prayer starter word and ask the group to pray about that word using PPP.
Anytime you feel anger or fear its time for PPP. Mention the Problem to God. Pray a request to God about that problem. Then Praise God.
Its as simple as PPP! And its the power of faith and scripture to change lives, churches and nations!
Power 3 in 1 Meeting
The Power 3 in 1 Meeting combines:
- Three intimate scripture readings from subchapter 1.1
- Three standard discussion questions
- Three part Philippians Prayer Model, PPP
A Power 3 in 1 Agenda and Leader's Guide are available. You may provide the agenda to attendees better control the flow of the meeting. You may print the agenda on paper or simply provide them a link to read on their phone. Click below for the agenda and leader's guide. There is also a link for starter words which you may provide to attendees as a prayer catalyst.
Pray Large Sections of Scripture
The Four Step Bible Study is presented in chapter 7. The Four Step Bible Study moves participants by degrees, in a non-threatening way... to integrate silent prayer and voluntary audible prayer into Group Bible Study. The goal is to learn how to listen prayerfully, read scripture prayerfully and speak prayerfully. Then to live prayerfully... to pray through an entire book of the Bible, from beginning to end... to walk by the Spirit.
Four Step Bible Study
This is not like any Bible Study you have ever attended. Every step is prayer. Go to chapter 7 to see the Weekly agenda, Leader's Guide, Lists of Endorsed Prayers and all other supplementary materials. All of it is provided for free.
Leaders simply provide attendees with a link to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting. Then you follow the Four Steps together from the agenda in subchapter 7.1. There is no need to print materials or hand outs. Everything is available online, through your phone. Supplementary materials are provided immediately below the Agenda for reference during or after the meeting.
Click Here to read the introduction to the Four Step Bible Study.
Prayer Acrostics
Subchapter 4.8 presents five prayer acrostics. The last three present an easy way to remember the Endorsed Prayers.
They are:
KINGS,
FOLLOW CHRIST,
THE WAY and
POWER
When you say all four of them together it makes a sentence that is also easy to remember. Kings follow Christ, the way and power.
Go to subchapter 4.8 or click here to see them.
The all-important evangelical and disciple making prayer acrostics, PASS and HOW SO, are presented in subchapters 4.9 and 4.10 respectively. These prayers are the nuts and bolts of disciple making ministry.
The acronym WWW J CHRIST L P is an abbreviation for twenty eight of the workings of the Holy Spirit. It is presented in subchapter 3.6. Your group can go down the list offering praise and thanksgiving along with other requests.
So,
1) Select an acrostic from subchapters 4.8, 4.9 or 4.10.
2) Text a link for that subchapter to the members of your prayer group.
3) Then go around the room praying each prayer in the acrostic for your selves, and others, by name if you wish. The scripture underlying each prayer is there in that page, along with explanations.
Subchapter 4.8 also presents the Weekday Prayer Acrostic. It leads you to pray for a different people group each day of the week. But you can use it to pray for seven different people groups for any acrostic.
Pray a prayer acrostic for:
- Church Leaders and Missionaries,
- Malicious enemies and persecutors,
- Unbelievers,
- Work,
- Thrones (Government, Rulers),
- Family and
- Saints (Believers).
Footnotes:
1) 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 4:6 and Hebrews 13:15, as presented in subchapter 4.12.
2) Ephesians 4:20-22
3) For more information see subchapter 5.2 titled, "Sources of Suffering and the Role of the Holy Spirit". Also see micro-subchapter 3.1L titled, "Interaction Between God and Satan in the Spiritual Realm".