Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

James 5:17-18 ESV

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.  18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

I. The Role of the Person Who Prays
A. God hears & moves at the prayers of His people, who all possess an equal nature before the without equal God. (Ephesians 4:20-21)

II. The Role of Privacy and Place in Prayer
A. Public prayer has its place and private prayer requires a place in order for it to be optimal. (Matthew 6:5-6)
B. The place we pray in private doesn’t have to be special, but it will become special when we pray there.

III. The Role of Passion in Prayer
A. Passion in prayer means pouring your heart out to God not just reciting your to do list to God.

IV. The Role of Persistence in Prayer
A. Persistence in prayer requires we pray for something potentially for a long time without receiving an answer.
B. Persistence in prayer is not bothersome to God because God the Father wants to bless and say yes to us. (Luke 18:1-8)
C. Persistence in prayer means not just leaving a message but calling back until God answers with a yes or no.

V. The Role of Praying God’s Word in Prayer
A. The best way to pray according to the will of God is to pray the Word of God back to Him. (Philippians 4:6-7, 1 John 5:13-15)
B. Jesus prayed the Word of God back to God, & for us to experience the same kind of closeness with Him that He knows with the Father. (John 17:20-21)

Next Week: The Truth about Pursuing the Lost & Apostasy — James 5:19-20