Prayer

II Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing;" verse 18 - "in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Here the word translated pray means supplication.

Abraham is the first to be recorded to pray. Genesis 20:7 "...he will pray for you." 21:17 "And Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children." here the word is Palal which means to ask mentally or offically.

Psalm 122:6 "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem..." the word for pray here is shaal which means to demand, beg, consult,desire earnestly.

Psalm 55:17 "Evening, morning and noon, I will pray and He will hear my voice." here the word for pray is siyach which means to converse, utter, pray. The inference is aloud.

Matthew 19:13 Children were brought to Jesus that He might lay hands on them and pray for them.

Luke 18:1 Jesus told a parable to show that they ought to pray and not lose heart.

I Timothy 2:8 Paul writes "...I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dessension."

James 5:13-19 gives us our commission as Christians. You really need to read it through about 3 times.

We are to come to God on behalf of others. It goes back to Abraham in Genesis 20:7 We are the point of contact for people in need. We pray for them ... God answers the prayers and He provides the answer. God is the one who does the work -not us - not our pastor - not the guy on TV ---- It is God!

We are to pray in faith according to Mark 11:23. Belive when you pray, speak it out and in verse 24 we see that it will be granted. God grants prayers in faith but it is God, not you or anyone else. You are responsible for being obedient. You are not responsible for the result, that is God's territory. Don't try to "make it happen". Matthew 17:21 talks about prayer and fasting. When dealing with the demonic it is necessary to seek God's face and fast before him in order to get yourself clean and preparred for the confrontation. Ephesians 6:13 tells us that having done everything to stand. Stand firm in faith. Please read the whole chapter (Ephesians 6).

When you are dealing with another person and their will, you need their permission to take authority over them and the things that are troubling them. You can take authority and cast out demons, but if they are not wanting free from them, they will be worse off than before and you will have done them a disservice.Matthew 12:43

When doing intercession, you need to enter into prayer for a season and then commit the problem to the Lord. Pray for the person or situation as God moves or directs you. Do not become obsessed or consumed by the situation to the point that you continue in prayer for extreme lengths and do not accomplish anything else for the Kingdom. The evil one can afflict all around you and in doing so afflict you if you do not pray in faith and commit the results to God. Do not let a battle become your only war. There are times to withdraw, having done all you can do, and let God deal with the situation.
----submitted by Randy Felton of Potter's Clay Ministries

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