ROYAL PRIESTHOOD INTL. MIN.
PRAYER CONCEPTS:
PRAYER CONCEPTS:
ANSWERED PRAYER
Faith-based confessions bring into existence those things God has promised. As you confess what God says about you, the evidence will manifest (Isaiah 44:26).Here are some confessions to help to establish your faith for answered prayer. In the name of Jesus, I declare that I have a blood-bought right to answered prayer.
In the name of Jesus, I declare that I have a blood-bought right to answered prayer. The Word of God is my guarantee. Father, by prayer, supplication and with thanksgiving, I can make my requests known to You. You hear the prayer of the righteous and answer them. Your eyes are on me and Your ears are open to hear my prayers.I am connected to Christ Jesus, and I am anointed. In everything I do I am more than a conqueror. Because I abide in You, and Your Word abides in me, I see the manifestation of answered prayer. When I speak Your Word, it does not return without accomplishing what it was sent to do.Lord, I thank You that I walk in favor with man and with You. Wherever I go and whatever I do, Your favor goes before me. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much. Therefore, I believe I receive what I pray for right now. In Jesus' name, Amen!
Scriptural references:Philippians 4:6
· 1 Peter 3:12
· 2 Chronicles 7:15
· Romans 8:37
· John 15:7
· Isaiah 55:11
· Luke 2:52
· Acts 2:47
· James 5:16
“GUIDELINES FOR INTERCESSION”
“GUIDELINES FOR INTERCESSION”
In II Corinthians 10:13-16 there is found a principle for drawing lines of Christian responsibility. In his writings, the Apostle Paul indicates that he will keep within the limits of his commission which God has allocated to him for his measuring line. By this we see that it is not the job of the intercessor to cross lines of scriptural authority by seeking God for direction concerning the operation of another person’s ministry.
As a intercessor for a ministry, it is your responsibility to pray for the one who must give an account to God for all ministry decisions. Pray according to the Word of God that the person for whom you are interceding will hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, that the voice of a strange he will not follow. Directions for the ministry should not be predetermined by the intercessor before praying begins. Remember, it is to his own Master that the Minister will stand or fall, and his Master is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4). Also remember to pray for specific situations such as a prayer requests and for meetings so that the needs of the people who receive ministry will be met.
GUIDELINES FOR INTERCESSORY
PRAYER DEPARTMENT LEADER
GUIDELINES FOR INTERCESSORY
PRAYER DEPARTMENT LEADER
The Intercessory Prayer Department Leader - is one who is assigned by the pastor to look after the business and duty of prayer on behalf of the church and to support its God given vision – must be of good and attested character and repute, full of the Spirit and wisdom of God. (Acts 6:3)
The Leader should be spiritually sensitive to unity within the prayer group. If he/she sees that there are those in the group who are having difficulty praying in a particular way, he should not pursue that directive for prayer. How can two walk together except they be in agreement? (Amos 3:3)
It is when we are united in prayer, that the power of God is released. Everyone praying in unity together with the leader. It is not the responsibility of the group to pray contrary to the prescribed agenda, or the decisions of the church leadership. Stick to the agenda, don’t give your personal opinions, or add things that are not on the agenda. Your job is to lead prayer according to the agenda, and not teach or give guidance to the group. This is the responsibility of the Prayer Department Leader and not yours to make that decision. It only brings confusion, to the prayer room, and allows the enemy to come in and cause disruption and disagreement.
The prayer room or group leader must be mature enough to be willing to wait before God and remain teachable. In a multitude of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 24:6) A God given leader is one who has learned to recognize and obey spiritual authority.
THE DUTIES OF THE
GROUP LEADER ARE TO:
THE DUTIES OF THE
GROUP LEADER ARE TO:
1. Stay in close contact with the pastor in order to promote harmony and keep prayer within the perimeters of the church vision and the Word of God. At the discretion of the pastor, prayer coordinators may attend staff meetings and come into the church office for private consultations when needed.
2. Maintain order in the group by setting guidelines according to scriptural principles.
3. Unite the people in the group by setting forth specific areas of prayer.
4. Nurture group members – help them to develop Christian Character while being knit together in Love.
5. Make and keep members aware that they are a part of a much larger body. The leader must discourage and avoid the development of a clique or secret group. He must keep the door open for new members (intercessors) to join the group.
6. Pray for the needs of the group members outside the group prayer time.
7. Be ready to teach on intercession when needed.
GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER LEADERS
GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER LEADERS
A member of an intercessory prayer group must be teachable, willing to yield to reason, a student of God’s Word, a worshiper of the true God, and respectful of his assigned leader. If a true intercessor has difficulty with a direction offered by the leader, then it is advisable for the leader to listen to his intercessors. However, the final decision must remain with the one in charge.
When that person’s decision is to overrule the objection and to proceed as he sees fit, this is where the intercessor meets with his first soul- searching test of commitment: “Has God really called me to pray for this man and this church? If so, am I willing to submit to this established leadership? If I am not willing to submit, is it because I am seeking position or power for me instead of God’s blessing for others?” Many times, these questions are not easily answered.
A group member must realize and remember that the Group Leader is acting in the place of the Pastor, and represents an important link in the chain of command set in the church. The motto or slogan of each prayer group member should be the admonishment given to all believers in the book of Hebrews: Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them, for they watch for your souls……….(Hebrews 13:17).
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A GROUP MEMBER ARE TO:
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A GROUP MEMBER ARE TO:
1) Lay down his life for the brethren by setting aside the fulfillment of his own personal desires and needs for the sake of others. It is each member’s responsibility to pray for his own family in private. Generally, group intercessory prayer time is for specific prayer for others; therefore, personal prayer requests by individual group members should not be submitted at this time.
2) Be confident unwavering in his commitment to God, his pastor, his group leader, and to the particular church body for which the group is praying.
3) Prepare his/her heart for prayer ahead of time usually 15 minutes before starting prayer. Each member must make sure he is free from resentment, unforgiveness, criticism, and judgementalism. (Matt. 6:12; 7:1.) Each should yield his members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
4) Submit to leadership and follow the flow of the group spirit under the direction of the leader. No individual member should insist on having his own way. (I Cor. 13:4-8.)
5) Share at the appropriate time, what the Holy Spirit has ministered to him/her personally in given areas of prayer.
6) Be careful not to neglect other areas of ministry in the church. Rather, each member should be a doer of the Word and the work of God. (James 1:22,25.)
7) Spend time with God in praise and worship – apart from the group prayer time.
8) Place a guard over your mouth. The prayer group member must not fall into pride by boasting about the things God is revealing during intercession. The true intercessor is not seeking position, reputation, or attention, but is always looking for ways to glorify and serve God the Father. (II Corinthians 10:17.)
Over the years, I have attended many prayer groups. Each one had its own personality. I have seen positive results produced by all different types of prayer activity. We have to ask ourselves how this can be. The only possible answer is that the heart motives of the group are more important to God than the outward form or prescribed procedure. We know that God’s Word does not return to Him void of power and purpose.
When God’s people come together with pure hearts, unselfish motives, and faith in Him, believing that He will perform His Word, then their intercessory efforts produce prayers that avail much. (James 5:16.)
The problem with prayer group intercession arises when (individual groups) begin to believe that the way they conduct their prayer service is the (one and only) “correct” manner, and that everyone else is wrong. This attitude has been a tool of the devil to bring intimidation, distrust, and disharmony into the church with the intention of stopping real heart-felt fervent prayer on behalf of the saints.
My position is this: Let each prayer group develop according to the pattern which it believes God has given it. Let each of us follow after the Spirit Who will never cause us to violate the Word of God. Lets’ covenant to remain teachable and to be willing to conform our own personal or group opinions to the Word of God. Amen!
BROADEN YOUR VISION
BROADEN YOUR VISION
The Holy Spirit desires to broaden the scope of your prayer life. The Father has a plan for mankind and He desires that you become involved in that plan. He wants you to expand your prayer borders beyond the confines of your home and your local church. (However, do not neglect these vital areas of Prayer)
In Psalms 2:8 (KJV) the Father said: “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessions.”Broaden your vision. Allow the Lord to imprint His intercession on the tablets of your heart – delegating prayer assignments to you as He wills. He wants you to become "Kingdom Minded" in preparation for the return of Jesus. Expand your prayer vision to include nations. Get beyond the needs of your family as well as those situations in the church.
Remember, these problems originate in the spiritual realm and affect the soul, resulting in various forms of behavior. Pray the will of God to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Problems should not dictate your prayer life. You should be led by the Spirit of God, carrying out His prayer assignments. Whether it is for the family, the church, the community, or the nation, remain faithful to your assigned prayer burden until it is fulfilled. Act like Jesus. Walk like Jesus. Talk like Jesus. Adopt the same attitude and purpose which was in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 2:5). In His present day ministry, Jesus is the High Priest who intercedes before the Father – God.
CHOOSE TO LOSE SELF
CHOOSE TO LOSE SELF
Lose Self is to Find Life
The level of your prayer life will always correspond to the level of your spiritual development. As you grow spiritually, your prayer life will develop to different heights. soulish, emotional prayers will give way to effectual prayers that issue from the heart of God revealed in you. Effective prayers are not motivated by emotions, but by the Spirit of God. Jesus said to His disciples:
I still have many things to tell you, but you can't handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is.
John 16:12 (THE MESSAGE)
Are you ready to receive truth - truth about personal strongholds, truth about yourself? If we are to become effective as channels of intercessory prayer, we must lay aside our egotistical love for self and let go of self-preservation tactics. When you choose to love God and seek first His righteousness, the personal strongholds will be exposed and you will use the name of Jesus to cast them down. Dare to become vulnerable to God who loves you unconditionally. Your desires will change, and you will pray for "God's Kingdom" to come and His will be done on earth even as it is in heaven.
Jesus said that he who loses his life shall find it. (Matt.10:39.) As we grow in grace and the Holy Spirit reveals more truth to us about ourselves, we have to make choices. God will not deliver us from ourselves. He performs His will in us as we submit to the constant ministry of transformation and renew our minds to the Word of God. It is time to let go of all things that so easily beset us.
God loves us enough to bring correction and give us instruction. This correction may be painful, but it is exciting to experience the ministry of transformation administered by the Spirit. Prayer makes tremendous power available to us when we believe. And when we grow in confidence, our prayers make tremendous power available to others.
I am so thankful that God loves us enough to correct and discipline us, shows us where we are missing the mark. Our lives become the road God walks when we make a determined choice to be conformed to the counsel of His will.
Apostles Richard and Kellie Cianchetti
PRAYERS ANSWERED
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Unanswered Prayers: The
Most Common Reasons Why
One of the greatest benefits afforded to every Christian is the privilege of answered prayers. In the Bible, Jesus made this tremendous promise, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matt 21:22). However, despite the Lord’s willingness to answer prayer, it is obvious that some prayers have gone unanswered. Why is this? The following are the most common reasons why some prayers do not get results:
1. Lack of Fellowship with God and His word
John 15:7“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” Unanswered prayers are sometimes a result of absence from fellowship with the Lord and His Word. Jesus promised that if we would remain in His fellowship, and allow His Word to remain in us, this would produce results in prayer.
2. Not seeking to Please the Lord
1 John 3:22 “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” Answers to prayer come when we seek to keep His commandments and please the Lord with our life. This is not to suggest that we “earn” answered prayers, any more than we can earn salvation which comes only by faith (Eph. 2:8-9). He answers our prayers from his “grace” and “mercy”(Heb. 4:16), not merely from our good deeds. However, keeping His commandments and pleasing the Lord is a product of our obedience to His word, which is faith in action (James 2:20). What are His commandments? He commanded that we are to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbor as our self (Mark 12:30-31). Further, Jesus said we are to love our brethren as He has loved us. “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you”(John 15:12). Lack of love, bitterness, and unforgiveness is the root of many unanswered prayers, since faith works by love (Gal 5:6).
3. Unconfessed Sin in One’s Life
1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”
There is no doubt that sin will disrupt the flow of God’s blessings and answers to prayer. The psalmist, David wrote, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear”
(Ps. 66:18). All acts of rebellion and disobedience to God is considered sin. Sins of “commission,” are those overt acts which are done in disobedience. However, sins of “omission,” are those things we don’t do in obedience, but know we should (James 4:17). The remedy for all sin is to confess it to God, forsake it, and ask Him to forgive you (1 John 1:9).
4.Improper Motives
James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” Our motives in our prayer requests are of concern to the Lord. He wishes to help us in our time of need, but is not obligated to answer prayers which will merely feed our carnal, worldly appetites and (lustful) pleasures. Our motives and desires can be corrected by humbling ourselves, and drawing near to God (James 4:8-10).
5. Not asking in God’s will
1 John 5:14-15 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
God will only answer those prayers that are in “His” will. When we ask anything that is in His will, we can have assurance that those “petitions” (requests) are granted to us. God’s will is revealed through His Word, the Bible. Anything promised by His Word is His will, and we can be confident that He’ll honor our prayers based on His Word.
6. Don’t know how to pray
Luke 11:1 "........Lord, teach us to pray...”
Some lack effectiveness in prayer simply because they don’t know what the scriptures teach about prayer. Jesus gave His disciples an outline for prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Take the time to study it. Other passages teach that prayer is primarily to be a private, intimate time with the Lord (Matt. 6:6), to be intermingled with praise and thanksgiving (Acts 16:25, Phil. 4:6). Times of fasting with prayer are beneficial to strengthen our faith and power in prayer (Acts 14:23, 1 Cor. 7:5). Jesus often went to secluded places to spend prolonged periods in prayer (Luke 6:12, Matt. 4:2).
7. Lack of Faith
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
We cannot please God without faith. Prayer is not merely “begging” from God. It is “believing” God and His Word! Faith will come forth and grow as we devote our attention to the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Our faith can also be “built up,” by praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20).
8. Misunderstanding of Faith
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Many do not understand that faith is believing in the reality of things, even though we cannot see them(Heb. 11:1). Jesus said that “when” you pray, you must believe that you “receive” your answer at that moment. The word, “receive” comes from the Greek word, LAMBANO, which means “to receive now” (present tense). He then says we will “have” them. "Have" comes from,ESOMAI, which means “to possess later” (future-tense). So, when we pray we must believe in the finished results of our prayer, and we will eventually experience the tangible results sometime later.
9. Wavering faith
James 1:6-7 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;” There are those who allow every “wind” of feelings or circumstances to influence or discourage their faith. They vacillate back and forth, like the waves tossed about in the sea. One day they believe, but the next, they’re ready to give up, and so forth. Such persons usually base their faith on their feelings or emotions instead of God’s Word. They who waver in their faith cannot expect to receive “anything of the Lord.” Our faith must become stable, steadfast, and consistent to receive from God.
10. Failure to apply spiritual Authority
Mark 11:23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” There are times that some prayers may not get far until we incorporate the spoken authority of the name of Jesus. The reason for this is that the problems we face may “sometimes” be a product of an evil spiritual origin. As Paul writes, “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” (Eph 6:12). In such cases, our prayers may need to engage in what we call “spiritual warfare” to obtain results.
The need for this type of prayer is most obvious whenever Christians deal directly with demonic activity. For this evil operation to cease, our prayers need to include the exercise of spiritual authority against the devil in the name of Jesus, commanding him to leave (Acts 16:18). Therefore, as Jesus indicated, there will be times that we may need to literally speak to mountains (symbolic of obstacles and problems) and tell them to move in Jesus’ name.
11. Lack of Perseverance
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Probably the greatest reason that some prayers go unanswered is because many give-up praying and believing before they receive their answer. As long as we have the promise of God’s Word, be patient and persistent - keep believing, and don’t quit, no matter how long it takes! God has a “due season” when He will bring the answer to pass.
GLORY TO GOD