Chapter 3: The Blessings of Prayer

Chapter Introduction
WHAT IS PRAYER? To petition, to beseech (beg), to smooth down, to bend or bow (to humble oneself), to ask, to wish.

Philippians 4:6 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

Prayer is simply talking to God and letting Him know our needs. God does not want us to spend our time worrying. He wants us to trust Him. We manifest this in prayer by turning our problems over to God. We talk to Him about our problems and ask God for His help and then we go on with the rest of our life, trusting God to take care of everything. In the same way little children trust their parents to supply their needs, we as Christians should trust our heavenly Father. Children do not worry about where their next meal comes from. Children just know their parents will take care of them.

Prayer is talking to God, whatever the purpose.
Prayer includes a number of things. Prayer is petitioning God, asking for His help. Prayer is also taking the time to thank Him for what He has done. If we just stop and think a minute or two we would realize how numberless the blessings are that we are continually receiving from God. Prayer is also a time we can just talk to God as one would talk about their innermost thoughts with a friend. We also need to realize that prayer would not be complete without asking God for His forgiveness because of the many sins we commit against Him.

WHY WE PRAY Philippians 4:6 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

One of the main reasons most people pray is they have problems in their lives. Prayer is letting God know our problems and our needs. We should not be worrying about our problems. Prayer is asking God for His help and then one of the hardest things for us to do sometimes is after turning it over to God for us to let go and have the patience to wait for God’s answers. We are to be like little children in that when they want something, they know in order to receive it, it must come from their parents, so they ask their parents for what they want and they trust their parents to supply their needs. Have you ever known a child worrying about where their next meal comes from? Children don't worry about it, they just know their parents will provide.

Whether or not we continue to worry about a problem after we have prayed to God and supposedly turned it over to Him, is probably one of the biggest indicators of how much we trust in God. A Christian who has ulcers from worrying about problems is something that should never happen.

Acts 6:4 "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."

This verse and the surrounding verses teach a very valuable lesson about the importance of prayer. If you remember, the Church in its infancy was growing rapidly. This was shortly after the establishing of the Church on the day of Pentecost. Every year, according to history, from the Passover to Pentecost, Jews from all over the world came to Jerusalem to worship God and they remained there for around 50 days until Pentecost. The city of Jerusalem swelled to approximately 10 times its normal size. After the church was established on the day of Pentecost, instead of returning to their homes which were in “every nation under heaven”, the Christians remained in Jerusalem to learn more about this Messiah. If the Jews, who obeyed the gospel, were in the same proportions as the rest of the Jewish population in Jerusalem at the time, for every Christian who lived in the area of Jerusalem, there was at least nine who did not. So as time went on and those who were from other places ran out of money and food, it was impossible for the Christians who lived in Jerusalem to support the Christians from other countries. The need became so great they began to sell their property in order to meet the need of the saints. This is the situation that existed at the time of Acts Chapter 6. The Christian’s from other lands began to complain to the Apostles because they felt their widows were not being taken care of equally.

The Apostles tell the Church, “Look here, let’s get some help here, We Apostles are being distracted from the more important work of praying for the work and the work itself.” The spiritual work of the apostles was more important than feeding the hungry. Prayer is more important than any part of the physical needs of the Christians. Prayer is to be and always must be an essential part of taking care of everything we do. How many times do you think a work has failed, because we have allowed ourselves to be distracted by the physical needs of people and have not devoted ourselves to prayer and the spiritual work of the church?

I Timothy 4:4-5 "For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."

When something is sanctified it means it has been set aside as special, dedicated for a special purpose. The Bible in these verses says it is prayer and the Word of God which sanctifies. Two important reasons we pray before our meals is to set aside the food to be used for the nourishing of our bodies and to show our appreciation to God for the blessings we receive. We as Christians should automatically pray to God and ask His blessings and give Him thanks, whether we are simply praying for food, offering thanks for the communion, praying for a new work, or anything we are doing at all. We need to learn to dedicate anything we do with prayer and then continue to pray for its success during the life of the work. I sincerely believe if we spent more time praying for the work of the Lord, we would have a lot less failures in the work. When we start off a new day with prayer, we have sanctified the day to the Lord or in other words we have set it aside as special and we have prepared ourselves for service to the Lord. The same is true of any work we become involved in. Fervent Prayer is essential to the success of any work.

HOW WE ARE TO PRAY
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

It is very plain what the Holy Spirit has revealed about the role of women in the public worship service and in praying publicly. They are to be in silence! Only male members are to pray aloud in the public worship services. The woman’s role in the public prayer is to be praying silently. This does not mean the private prayers of women do not accomplish as much and perhaps more for the work than the prayers, both public and private of men, it simply means that for whatever reasons, both stated and unstated, God does not want women to be praying openly and publicly. As Christians, we are to be pleasing to God and it should be enough for us that this is the will of God.

1 Corinthians 14:14-17 "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified."

Paul here reveals several important facts about prayer. The first thing we want to notice is if one of us as a faithful male member of the Lord’s Church is chosen to lead the prayer for the congregation we need to realize how great an honor has been bestowed upon us and how seriously we need to take the honor. We are to pray in such a way the entire congregation can hear us. This is why at my home congregation, we ask the men who are chosen to lead the prayer, to come up to the front or to stand up, in order they can be heard by all. The men chosen to lead the prayer must realize they are praying for the entire congregation and speak loud enough to be heard by all.

I enjoy leading prayers in the worship service very much, yet I have had to give it up because the Parkinson’s disease I am afflicted with has affected my voice to the point I can never be sure it will be loud enough to be heard by people standing near me let alone the entire congregation. I believe in the Word of God strongly enough I have voluntarily had to give up the leading of public prayers and teaching publicly because that is what the Word of God says and that is enough for me.

Saying amen at the close of a prayer is the scriptural way of acknowledging the prayer and adding one’s agreement. This is why it is so important the public prayer is said loud enough and plain enough for all to hear. Saying amen is not just a means of saying “OK, this prayer is over, we can get to the next part of the worship service.” The word amen, basically means, “I agree and give my approval to the things prayed.” If the man who is leading the prayer, prays for something amiss, DO NOT SAY AMEN. Saying a-men at the closing of prayer means you are adding your approval and voice to the prayer and we do not want to give approval to false doctrines that might be advocated in a prayer we have not been able to hear. This is why it is important for the leadership in a congregation, the Elders, and the teachers to teach everyone how to pray, so problems will not arise during the worship service.

Please forgive me for going off on a tangent, but I think many people even in the Church misunderstand a simple truth taught in these verses about teaching or praying in an unknown tongue. I have heard preachers say from the pulpit stand these verses are teaching the speaker cannot understand himself when he is speaking or praying in an unknown tongue or as the original Greek implies through the context, in a foreign language. I disagree and believe strongly that is not correct. What Paul says is “... but my understanding is unfruitful.” The phrase “my understanding” means I understand something. The phrase, “my understanding is unfruitful” simply means if I teach or pray in a foreign language or in such a way that the listener can not hear and understand me, the things I have learned and understand do not bring forth fruit in the listeners. They are not edified and I have not fulfilled my responsibility.

Matthew 6:9-13 "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

Here Jesus gives us a model prayer. This was never intended by God or Jesus to be an exact prayer to say word for word, but rather one to teach the manner we should pray and some of the things we should pray for. Let us investigate the components of this model prayer and see what we can learn.

Our Father which art in heaven,

From the way Jesus opens the model prayer, we learn all prayer is to be directed to God the Father, we do not pray to Peter, Paul or John, or to any dead saint, or even to Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit, but to God the Father only. Many religious organizations and individuals teach and practice different, but that does not make it scriptural. The Holy Spirit has taught us very clearly all prayer is to be directed to God the Father.

Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Here in Ephesians, Paul reminds us of the same thing Jesus taught in the model prayer, all prayer is to be directed to God the Father. We are not to direct our prayer to anyone other than our Father who is in heaven. This includes praying to Jesus for any reason, even for salvation. This clearly teaches one is not to pray, what the world calls “The Sinner’s Prayer”, where they say the alien sinner who wants to be saved should simply say “Lord Jesus, come into my heart and save me.” It is wrong to pray to anyone other than God the Father at anytime and any place.

I have heard it said Stephen the first Christian martyr prayed to Jesus, when he said in Acts 7:59-60 “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” When Stephen said, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge”, I do not believe Stephen, who had just had a vision of Jesus in Heaven, standing on the right hand of God, and was talking directly to Jesus could be said he was praying to Jesus anymore than any of the disciples or any one, such as Pilate, who talked to Jesus while he was on the Earth could be called praying to Jesus. In any case, the Bible clearly teaches we are to pray to God the Father, and even if Stephen as he was dying, prayed to Jesus, it does not change what the Bible clearly teaches.

Hallowed be thy name.

Jesus continues on in His model prayer to teach us not only should every prayer be directed to God, but in addition, anytime one is praying to the Creator of the Universe, they should be in such awe of God, they should additionally give praise, honor and reverence to God. In my opinion, anytime anyone is talking to the Heavenly Father, they should be in a sense of shock, that the Almighty, Omnipresent God, would care enough for them He would take the time to listen to them, words of praise should automatically and humbly fall from their lips.

Romans 16:27 "To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for-ever. Amen."

Paul, in closing the book of Romans and writing about God ties words of praise to the name of God and shows even the purpose of the ministry of Jesus Christ was to bring glory to God the Father. So we can easily conclude our prayers would not be complete if we did not give praise to God in some fashion.

Thy Kingdom Come,

The Bible shows in many different ways, the terms “the Kingdom of Heaven”, “the Kingdom of God”, and “the Kingdom” are all referring to the Church of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. While Jesus was on the Earth, before his resurrection and subsequent ascension into heaven, He prayed for the Church which was to come and taught his disciples to pray for the Church also. But now the Church is here, does it make sense for one to continue to pray for the Church to come? No, it does not, but we can and should pray for the Church every time we pray. There are many more things we could pray for the Church than I can write, but to mention a few, we can and should pray for the unity of the Church, we should pray Christians everywhere would strive together to have true peace in the Church, we can pray for mission efforts throughout the world and we can pray for the Evangelists, Elders, Deacons, and teachers to allow the wisdom from above to guide them in all they do. When every Christian remembers to pray for the Church and the various works the local congregation is involved in as well as praying for mission fields around the world, I believe we will see a revival that has not been seen since the days of the Apostles.

John 17:20-21 "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me."

Jesus is in His hour of greatest trial and tribulation. He knows He is about to die on the cross and at the time of His death, the future Church was still one of his greatest concerns. I believe every time we pray, the Church should always be on our hearts and minds. We should also pray for the leaders in the Church, that God would grant them the wisdom, humility, and courage to serve the Church properly.

Luke 6:28 "Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you."

Not only should we pray for the saved, but we also need to pray for those who are lost, and those who have not always treated us right. We especially need to learn to pray God will help us to have the proper attitude towards our enemies and He would help us to come in contact with them in such a way as to give us the opportunity to teach them about the gospel plan of salvation. It is also appropriate we ask God to help prepare their hearts, to put them in such a place they would recognize their need for the Saviour and help us to be in contact with them at that time. I believe we should also ask God to give us the wisdom to recognize the opportunities He makes available and He would help us to prepare our minds and we would have studied the scriptures in such a way we would have the knowledge to help them see their needs. There are many ways we can and should pray for the growth of the Church, both numerically and spiritually.

Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven.

In these simple words, Jesus teaches we should pray, first of all for ourselves, we would have the humility to submit to the will of God in the same way the angels in heaven submit and are servants of the Most High. Just think about it, if God tells an angel to go to a certain place and do a certain thing, what does that angel do? The angel does just what God told the angel to do. Do you think the angel asks “Why?” or “How long do I have to go?” The closest example I know of in the Bible to show the attitude we should have is when God told Abraham at the age of 80 to leave his Father’s house and to go. Abraham packed up his things, and left his home behind. He wandered around the rest of his life, because he trusted in God. Would you do that? That is what is necessary for God’s will to be done in earth as it is in Heaven.

In Heaven all beings are under obedience to God, the only way that could happen on the earth is if every human being is given the opportunity to obey from the heart that form of doctrine. Does this not sound like the Great Commission? Basically, with every prayer, if we are praying for God’s will to be done in earth as it is in heaven, we are asking God to open up fields for us to go and harvest.

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Just saying we love the Lord is clearly not all there is to serving God as shown in these verses. We must show it in our day to day decisions. Do we plan our lives around God, from things as simple as making sure we can be to the worship service of the Church to the type of job we take or don’t take? We need to be as Jesus was when He said, not My will but Thine be done, then He proved He meant it every day of His life, up to and including the day of His death.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Here we acknowledge the fact we depend upon God for our daily necessities and we can count on God to supply them. We also need to recognize the fact there is a tremendous difference between our daily necessities and the tremendous blessings God has given us. Our daily necessities include things like enough food to eat today, enough clothes to protect me from the elements today and to keep me modest, a roof over my head and the heads of my family and in today’s world, perhaps a means of transportation so I can go to work so I can go to the worship service of the Church, and so I can pick up people to take them to worship God also. Anything more is not necessities, but luxury. There is no way I can call the two cars I have necessities. There is no way I can call my computer a necessity. I enjoy very much the fact these things make it easier for me in life, but they are not necessities.

Psalms 37:24-25 "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Here David expresses a truth, even though Christians may be persecuted or have problems in their lives because of doing the right thing, God still has control over the world. God promises through David if we continue to stand with God, it always turns out for the best to serve God. Our daily necessities will be taken care of.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

We are reminded for God to forgive us of our sins when we sin against Him, we must not only obey God, but we must also have a forgiving heart. In many different ways, we are reminded the debt a fellow Christian or anyone else for that matter, could owe us is minor when compared to our debt to God.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

We are reminded to acknowledge we understand the Church, the future, and all things are in God's hands. When we truly realize this, we can face anything that comes along, because we trust in God and know He will not let us down.

I am reminded of a story I heard in one of my Dad's sermons years ago. There was a passenger liner sailing upon the ocean. A great storm arose and the big ship was being tossed to and fro and seemed in danger of sinking. The passengers were panicking. As they were filled with fear, one of them noticed this little boy who seemed calm and fearless. One of the passengers asked the little boy, "Aren't you afraid?" The little boy answered "No, because my father is the Captain of this ship and he will not let anything happen to me" How much do we trust God to take care of us and protect us. Even if God sees fit to allow me to die in a horrible fashion, like His son did, do I trust God enough to still serve Him?

Amen

The word “amen”, basically means “let it be so”. This is the scriptural means given by God in which each Christian acknowledges and agrees with the things being prayed. This is how we make the prayer the entire congregation’s prayer, by simply saying amen. What a powerful word. If God listens and answers the prayers of one child of His, how much more do you suppose He listens and answers the prayers of an entire congregation?

Matthew 6:6-7 "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."

When we are praying for ourselves, we are to be private in our prayers. But whether we are praying for the Church publicly or privately, we are not to use vain repetitions, such as just repeatedly saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Our prayers should be thought about and prayed from the heart with the spirit and with the understanding.

BLESSINGS THAT COME FROM PRAYING
Acts 8:22 "Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee."

The Bible teaches here and in many other places prayer is essential to having our sins forgiven. If a baptized believer has sinned and if they repent either they or another child of God can pray for them and they will be forgiven. Nowhere does the Bible even hint they must wait until they are at a public worship service to take care of their sins. But it does make sense both logically and from a scriptural perspective, if a sin is public, it is known by others, all that know of the sin should also be made aware of the repentance and prayer. Otherwise, if I have sinned and another person knows about it, unless they become aware of my repentance and the fact prayer was said for the sin, they will not be able to deal with me as a faithful brother in Christ. There would be a veil between us. But it is important to realize the difference between what is necessary for God to forgive us and the need to let our brothers and sisters in Christ know we have made things right with God.

But it important for us to realize if we do not pray and ask for forgiveness, none will be forthcoming. Time erases human memories, but not God’s. If we sin and 20 or 30 years go by and we have not repented and had prayer about the sin, humans might forget and accept us back, but God insists upon repentance and prayer.

The forgiveness of sins is a blessing comes from praying. This is a tremendous blessing Christians enjoy, no one else in the world possesses this blessing. We have the ability to go to God at any given time and have the slate wiped clean. This is truly a fantastic blessing and while having the ability to have our sins wiped away is priceless, there is not enough money in the world to have it, it comes free when we obey the gospel.

Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Whenever we are being tempted, if we stop and look for the way of escape God has promised, we will find it. If we stop and pray, prayer brings strength to overcome temptation. Not only can prayer help us to overcome temptation, but if we get to know ourselves and the areas we are weak in, areas where we are prone to temptation, if we stop and pray to God, prayer can bring us strength to avoid and even to overcome temptation. Which do you think is better in the eyes of God, to pray ahead of time and avoid temptation or to be overcome and wait until we have repented of the sin, so we can then pray and receive forgiveness? Of course it is always better to avoid temptation in the first place. This is a big step in a Christian’s growth, when one realizes the power prayer can have in their life.

Matthew 21:21-22 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer , believing, ye shall receive."

If we trust in God and pray for the things we have need of, God will see to our needs and answer our prayers. We need to always realize we do not have all knowledge, at times God's answer may be no, because God knows what is for the best.

James 5:15-16 "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

If we pray in faith, the sick will be healed. Why do you think some congregations have prayer boards and NewTestamentChurch.org sends out prayer requests? Because we believe in the power of prayer and we believe the more Christians you have praying for you the more likely it is God will answer our prayers. If the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, how much more do you think the fervent prayer of a righteous congregation will avail?

If we confess our faults to one another and pray for one another, our sins will be forgiven. Isn’t this a marvelous thought, we have the power to make things right between a child of God who have become estranged from their Father God Almighty Himself. Also another purpose for the Church is before we sin, if we are struggling with a problem, if we go before the Church and ask for help, we can overcome that problem, fault, or temptation.

Colossians 4:2-3 "Continue in prayer , and watch in the same with thanksgiving; 3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:"

These verses teach us about another blessing we have because of prayer. If we pray for the Evangelists and the teachers and ask God to open doors for them, then God will open up opportunities for them and help them know what to say. But the same as any prayer, we must believe and trust in God and then He will answer those prayers. Our prayers can soften the hearts of the alien sinner. Thus we should continually pray for the work of the Church and for those who serve God and the Church and our prayers can and will make a tremendous difference. How much do you want the alien sinner to be saved? Do you want it enough to pray diligently for God to soften their heart? I have seen examples of wives who have prayed diligently for their unsaved husband for years and I have seen the joy that comes when God answers their prayers, not by saving them through some miraculous means, but by eventually their hearts being opened and receptive to the gospel plan of salvation.

Several times I have seen it happen. One time in the late 1970s, I was working with the North Area Church of Christ in Sacramento, California and we had gone through a period of six months where we had not had any visitors to the congregation, let alone any conversions. As a congregation, we began meeting expressly for the purpose of praying for the work. Additionally, we asked each member of the congregation to mention the work every time they prayed. Within the next 2 weeks, we had over a dozen visitors from the local community just dropped into the worship services and most of them were baptized. I believe so much in the power of prayer because I have seen it happen too many times to doubt.

Acts 10:4 "And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, 'What is it, Lord?' And he said unto him, 'Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.' "

Another blessing our prayers bring us is every time we pray, our prayers rise up before God as a memorial. Memorials are designed to help us remember someone or something such as the Vietnam Memorial, the Washington Memorial, and others. Our prayers act as a memorial before God, they rise up before him as sweet incense and they cause us to be brought favorably to God's thoughts.

Matthew 9:37-38 "Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest."

Here is another blessing that comes from our prayers, if we pray and ask God to send laborers into the fields, he will answer and send laborers. But we need to be prepared either to become one of those laborers if God chooses to send us or to be willing to help to financially support those whom God does send. It is our responsibility to pray to God to bless the work, but our responsibility does not stop there. We must then do what we can to act as tools for God. One of the blessings which can come from prayer is the spiritual and numerical growth of the Church. Just think, we have the power to shape the hearts and minds of men through our prayers.

Luke 11:9-13 "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

Anytime we begin a study, open a new mission field, or start any work, we need to be heavily involved in prayer about that work. God has promised His word will not return unto him void, but it will accomplish what its task is, thus it behooves us to pray. If we pray believing God is answering the prayer, it will happen. God said it and we believe it. Look at the great things God has accomplished in Africa, in India, in the Philippines, in Cuba and elsewhere around the world.

Anytime we start a sermon, or a study, or a book, or any project, if we pray and search the scriptures, we will find the truth and our project will be much more successful. Additionally if we pray and ask for God to strengthen the Holy Spirit we received when we were baptized, He will answer. God is our heavenly Father and if He takes care of the Lilies of the Field, how much more will He take care of us whom He loves. If anyone will give prayer the place it should have in their lives, they will no longer have a single doubt about the power of prayer. Just imagine, in any given moment, when we are being buffeted by problems and trials and tribulations, we can stop and turn to God in prayer. The God who is so powerful when He imagined the universe and spoke the words to create it, the creation had to take place. There was no way to stop it, we have the attention of that All-Powerful God, the God who loves us and wants to help us. The next time you are feeling overwhelmed. STOP! Look out at the universe and all of its immense glory and mystery, think of the power that was necessary to create it. That is God. He is listening to you. If God can create the universe and life itself, surely He can solve any problem you may have. All you need is to trust in God and turn it over to Him.

How the World Has Changed the Prayer in the Public Worship Service
The religious world has even corrupted the way God has specified we are to talk to Him in such a way that clearly most who even try to talk to God are not being listened to. The ways prayer has been perverted can be seen in many places and many ways. For example many religions have turned prayer into a way to make money. They have people send in money and they either pray for them or they send prayer handkerchiefs, the answer to those prayers being based in part at least on the amount of money has been donated. Others forgetting Jesus condemned those who pray using vain repetitions run around saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus and believe they are praying and God is pleased, even though they are violating a number of commands of God, as was noted, praying vain repetitions and praying only unto to the Heavenly Father.

Many of the religious world have gone so far as to say we are to pray to Mary the Mother of Jesus, or to angels or even to dead Christians who they claim are with Jesus and since they have the ear of Jesus or of God, these dead people can intercede directly for us. All of this having no basis in the scripture, but the religious world does not care.

Since the Bible teaches us very clearly God prefers simple prayers, and does not want us to be repetitious in our praying, we need to remember praying is just talking to our Father in Heaven using ordinary everyday language in such a way everyone can understand and thus make it their prayer also by saying amen at the closing of the prayer.

Chapter Summary
Prayer:

1. Sanctifies (dedicates things and people to God's work)
2. Brings forgiveness of sins which have been repented of.
3. Is an important part of the Christian work
4. Brings Strength to overcome temptation and to avoid it.
5. Brings us before God as a Memorial.
6. Strengthens the Holy Spirit which we receive when we are baptized.< br /> 7. Brings strength and wisdom to the leadership of the Church.
8. Opens doors for the ministers of the gospel.
9. Is thanking God for what we have been blessed with.
10. Is talking to God and asking for things we need.
11. Helps bring our daily necessities from God.
12. Helps bring recovery from physical and spiritual illness.
13. Helps send labourers into the field.
14. Helps the various works that are going on.
15. Helps us to be guided unto the truth when we study.
16. Strengthens the Holy Spirit within us.