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The Theology Of Prayer
James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 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. (ACCOUNTABILITY) The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (MUCH – BUT NOT EVERYTHING)
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
è HOW CAN THAT HAPPEN? – ANSWER = THE THEOLOGY OF PRAYER
( what prayer WILL and WILL NOT do)
Let’s build a foundation to work on…
Gen 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. è THIS WAS GOD’S PLAN FOR MAN!
God Gave him a place… leased the planet to the Adam. (mankind) We know this because…
Gen 1: 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
WHAT A GIFT! The creator gave a portion of His creation to another part of His creation!
( we can build a building – but not a planet!)
SUBDUE… HAVE DOMINION OVER… I am leasing this place to you!
I STILL OWN IT… BUT I AM PLACING IT IN YOUR CONTROL!
God says… there is one major clause… Don’t eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (SATAN ALWAYS LIES & TWISTS!)
After the damage was done… They started trying to AVOID & run from God. (TYPICAL REACTION)
God asked Adam… Have you eaten of the tree? Everyone started blaming everyone.
Listen to God’s response…
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
NOTE: – THE REASON GOD WAS ANGRY…
Adam had allowed his family to talk him out of what he had gotten from directly!
Eve didn’t know what Adam knew! She hadn’t experienced what he had!
BOTTOM LINE: Adam still could live on the planet…
BUT NOTICE: God has removed his direct care for them and placed it in their hands.
Adam… this is still your place… but you have introduced a major obstacle into your world.
You have Sublette it to the devil.
Rom 5: 18 Therefore as by the offence of one (ADAM) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (JESUS) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Because Adam was the father of us all… we were all bound by his Subletting.
This world was not Adam’s to give… but his sin allowed Satan a piece of his authority. (subleased)
Eph 2: 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
The reason our world is in the MESS it’s in is because so many people live – led by the spirit of Satan.
POINT: GOD IS NOT CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED FOR DAY TO DAY CARE of MANKIND
( God turned the gardening over to Adam…) Now man has to share with the devil!
Men have been given a free will to exercise in any way they desire.
Eccl 9: 11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. 12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
That explains WHY a man can be standing at gas pump and all the sudden be gunned down by a sniper.
That is why a tornado can hit your house… or a sickness can hit your body… Why a man can stop to get a drink at 7-11 and get beat ½ to death.
WHY?: Demon possessed and demon led men are acting out evil upon our world.
Led by the winds of political ideals such as communism and socialism.
LISTEN: WE LIVE IN A SPIRITUAL CESSPOOL THAT WARS AGAINST US EVERYDAY!
Old song is true… “This world is not my home… I’m just a passing through!”
Listen to the description given to the saints…
Heb 11: 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
YOU WILL CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE UNTIL YOUR WILLING TO CONFESS THAT!
Do you understand….? We are a pilgrim & and a stranger!
Pilgrims are ones who sojourn in a strange land… they are not weak men!
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
LISTEN: You cannot come to God with a list of demands. You do not negotiate salvation!
Whatever you want to keep he will let you have… and turn you over to it! (idolatry)
I John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
As long as your heart is in this world you will never walk in liberty!
YOU MUST CONFESS IT – I AM A STRANGER AND A PILGRIM
I Pet 2: 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
WE LIVE IN A SPIRITUAL CESSPOOL OF EVIL… Bad things will happen to good people!
II Thes 2: 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
THE CHURCH IS THE FLY IS SATAN’S OINTMENT!
When these bad things happen to good people…. WHERE WAS GOD? Right where he always is…
RIGHT HERE… AS CLOSE AS THE MENTION OF HIS NAME! J (prayer)
God is not obligated to SOLVE every issue and FIX every problem of man.
Our mess is mostly a self inflicted mess! He is not the creator of our confusion!
è As a basic rule… God does not get involved in the day to day affairs of man UNLESS he is invited!
Man has been given the right of self rule! He can make his own choices!
God does have CERTAIN prophetic STAKES set in the ground… Things he will make SURE happen.
Dan 2: 19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
BUT ONLY to the degree that he accomplishes his over all will! Day to Day is in men’s hands!
EXAMPLE:
The reason a rag tag group of men beat the British in the revolutionary war is because God
needed a UNITED States to fulfill end time prophecy… and protect Israel! –
– Red Coats found him PRAYING in the woods for God help!
– George Washington was shot in one battle… holes in clothes… but no blood!
( South lost the civil war because God needed a UNITED not divided states)
THE THEOLOGY OF PRAYER IS THAT PRAYER IS WHAT INVITES
GOD INTO THE DAY TO DAY AFFAIRS OF MANKIND!
If I lease you a car and it breaks down because you didn’t maintain it right… I am not obligated to solve your problem. BUT – I might be willing to help if asked.
– Our RELATIONSHIP could draw me in!
I John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
GOD IS CONCERNED ABOUT HIS PEOPLE IN THIS EARTH… But we need to pray!
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Everything doesn’t work to the good of everyone! There is allot of bad things… But we have a promise!
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BACK TO OUR TEXT: Is there any sick among you? LET THE ELDERS PRAY!
Why? Because sickness is in the earth as a result of sin. God CAN override it!
James 5: 16 Confess your faults one to another, (STAY HUMBLE) and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (BUT NOT ALWAYS)
NIV: à “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective”
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
THE SUPERNATURAL is those times when the NATURAL laws are suspended – God intervenes!
But he intervened BECAUSE men and woman INVITED him into their situations through PRAYER!
Matt 17:14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
THE DISCIPLES ASKED… HOW COME WE COULDN’T DO THAT?
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Since mankind Sublette to the devil… they have certain rights and powers and licenses to operate.
BUT PRAYER…. CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! That is why those snipers got caught!!!
DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW WHY SATAN RESISTS US SO HARD CONCERNING PRAYER?
He doesn’t mind us talking about it or singing about… just as long as we don’t do it!
SATAN HAS A FREE REIGN UNLESS THE SAINTS START TO PRAY!
è PRAYER will create a TABLE IN THE MIDST OF THINE ENEMIES!
Prayer will keep demonic spirits from destroying your home!
Phil 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. ( KEYS to Stability & Victory! )
We live in such a cesspool… but God gave us this ability to pray because we are his sons…
AND ON TOP OF ALL THAT… HE GAVE US THE “GIFTS” OF THE SPIRIT!
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
When someone says… Let’s PRAY about this matter… Don’t think your are helpless!!!
è God changed the weather patterns for the prophet and caused it not to rain for 6 months!
è God stopped the earths rotation for a few hours for Joshua!
Joshua 10: 12 Then spake Joshua ( PRAYED) to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
BUT BE CAREFUL…
James 4: 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Prayer is not some simple cure all… it is not having God on a string… But prayer makes a difference!
But you can change history with prayer! (“history belongs to the intercessors)
II Kings 20: 20:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, 3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. 6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
If we could only understand WHAT prayer can do.. it would motivate us to do it!
But we get discouraged because we don’t see what’s happening behind the scenes.
IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN PRAY WITH YOUR ABOUT?
