Introduction to Prayer Series

Introduction to Prayer Series

Prayer is how we communicate with God, and through prayer, we feel the presence of God. We do not need to go to a particular building of worship known to us as “the church.” The Bible instructed us on how to pray. “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that men may see them. Truly I say to you; they have their reward in full. 6, “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “So do not be like them; for your, Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:5-7

Part 1: Power of Prayers 

Part 2: An Act of Obedience

Part 3: Act of Submission and Dependency

Part 4: Posture in Praying

Part 5: Answered Prayer 

Part 6: House of Prayer

Part 7: In Jesus’ Name

Many believe that when you are a Christian, you must say in Jesus’ name at the end of a prayer. This is indeed being taught so that we may receive what we are requesting, and this teaching is based on John 14:13-14 as stated: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” This is being used many times in the pulpit, Sunday school, and Bible study and becomes a part of every prayer, but this is a misapplication of the above verse. This may burden those who believe and may not have received what they asked for. Again, we are compromising the word of truth. This treats the words “in Jesus’ name” as a code for answered prayer. This is unbiblical because, with the lack of knowledge of the word of God, they can easily be a victim of false teachings.

Learned people of the past taught us that when we pray, we can ask, and it will be given to us. God is graceful and loves His children, and giving us what we ask is because He will give it to us anyway in His own time, even without using the name of the Son Jesus. We pray in the name of the Son to give honor and praise for His mission accomplished. Almost everybody ends their prayers by attaching, “In Jesus’ name.” Pastor Rick Warren stated, “What is so special about Jesus’ name? Honestly, for a long time, I had no idea. I’d hear everybody end prayers with, “In Jesus’ name. Amen.” I thought maybe it was a signal that the prayer was about to end, like a spiritual sign-off — “10-4, good buddy” — or the way the great 20th Century news anchor Walter Cronkite would end all his broadcasts by saying, “And that’s the way it is.” Pastor Rick 

Praying in Jesus’ name means praying for things that will honor and glorify Jesus. If what we say in prayer is not for God’s glory and according to His will, we can repeat it many times “in Jesus’ name,” and it will come back void, meaningless, and without effect. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us; and if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). It is according to the will of God that He will act on His word. Saying “in Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer is not a passcode, but praying according to the will of God is essential. Praying for things in line with God’s will is the essence of praying in Jesus’ name. It is not the words in the prayer that matter; we can put flowery words, scriptural words, or they called it pastoral prayer; if the purpose behind the prayer is to uplift oneself to many ears or to attract attention, then he is just making a noise to the ears of the listeners.

Prayer in obedience and submission to the will and purpose of the Almighty God will surely be heard, and the answer to our prayer will come sooner than later or in God’s time. We do not need to kneel, lay down flat with our stomachs, raise our hands looking above our head, clasping our hands. Any posture does not matter; our fervent prayer and pure heart will be a plus. No matter what you do, always give thanks to the Father, and you already did a short prayer.

Continue to Read Part 1: Power of Prayers