8/3/14 Breakthrough Prayer

    Jesus said “My house shall be called a house of prayer”.  He expected His people to be people of prayer.
    James wrote in his book:
James 5:16 (B) NKJV
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
AMP
The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].
MSG
The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.
NLT
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
    Prayer is a powerful weapon God has given to His church.  Prayer accomplishes many things.  God expects his people to pray.
    Let me tell you two stories about prayer.  Several years ago, one night, I got extremely sick.  By the next morning I couldn’t take it any more and went to the hospital.  I was barely able to walk in, I looked horrible.  Early the next morning they determined I must have surgery and I went in as they discovered that I was poisoning myself with a major blockage.  They repaired it and the doctor said I would go home in a few days.
    Well, my inside system shut down and I was extremely sick.  I couldn’t even keep jell-O down.  Nothing they did worked.  On day nine of this saga, my brother, Roger, called me.  He asked how I was doing.  I told him how bad it was.  He prayed for me over the phone.  As he prayed I felt something lift out of my body.  The next morning I ate some kind of mushy cereal.  A few hours later I ate some ice cream.  Then the doctor came in and I told him about eating.  He said he was waiting for that to happen and I could go home.
    Fast forward to two years ago.  I got the call that Roger had a heart attack.  He was in the hospital and they did surgery to repair the blockage.  He laid there unresponsive.  We watched him for thirteen days, and then watched him die.  During this time there were literally thousands of people praying.  We had powerful times of the presence of the Lord in his hospital room.  Yet, he died.
    Why the two different results?  God knows.  Hold on to this thought as we look at the book of Acts again.
Acts 12:1-4 NKJV
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
    James was the first of the Apostles to be martyred.  Herod was an evil leader who was only playing political games.  When he saw he got political brownie points for James’ death, he put Peter next on the list and had him arrested.  If you are not familiar with the story, you are going to see that the outcomes were completely different.
    What was the response of the church?
Acts 12:5 NKJV
5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.
    The early church faced much opposition.  They responded with earnest and intense prayer.  Their situation looked impossible.  James had been killed.  Herod took Peter in custody and guarded him with  sixteen soldiers.  The church lived with the absolute assurance that “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective”.  What did the church do?  They prayed.
    Let’s look at the story of what happened.  It is found in Acts 12:6-17.
    What do we learn from this?  We don’t always know the outcome.  We have to trust God to do what He knows best.  However, this is not an excuse to not do anything.  This is not an excuse to not pray and pray intensely.  The early church set the pace and this example is what has worked down through the centuries.
    This story is one illustration of what the church did.  They were serious about intense corporate prayer.  Remember, Jesus said His house would be a house of prayer.
    God’s powerful presence and prayer to together.  Prayer meetings are where the battle is fought.  Without prayer, preaching, teaching, singing or spiritual activities will never bring the true power and presence of God.
    Because we are in a spiritual battle, we must fight with spiritual weapons. The conflict is intense and the enemy is powerful.  God is more powerful.
Ephesians 6:12 NKJV
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
    This describes the battle.  It is against evil forces that influence the world around us.  The battle we fight is not political.
    What are we to do?
Ephesians 6:13 NKJV
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
    Take up God’s armor and use it.
Truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, God’s Word.
    Ending with:
Ephesians 6:18 NKJV
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--
    Pray in the Spirit.  Persevere with the saints and be a powerful force of prayer.
    I would guess that the majority of believers say their prayer life needs improvement.
Questions:
Why is it so hard to pray?
What can we do about the level of our prayer lives?
What is it going to take to make the necessary changes in our prayer lives?
    I don’t know if we can really answer this question with words, but -- do you really see the power of prayer and the necessity of growing in our prayer lives?  Do you really hunger to have a powerful corporate prayer life together?  Do you think God wants to fill us with His power and presence as we get serious about prayer?

Communion - a time of searching our hearts and remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross.

Prayer