Study in Prayer

Almost everyone is familiar with what is traditionally called, “The Lord’s Prayer.” It is in Matthew 6:9-13. What Jesus is saying in these passages of scripture is not, necessarily, a prayer for us to pray word for word. But in it, Jesus gives us some principles in connection WITH prayer that will work for us today.

Matthew 6:9-13, “After this manner therefore, pray. Our Father which is in Heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. Forgive us of 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, forever, Amen.”

Some things that people have said about the Lord’s Prayer are a little misleading. You see, this prayer is not “The Lord’s Prayer” in the sense that Jesus taught this for the Church to pray. Jesus gave this prayer to HIS DISCIPILES to use when they asked Him to teach them how to pray.

Certainly, this prayer is not how the New Testament church should be praying. For this is the method Jesus taught His disciples to pray BEFORE His death, burial and resurrection. In other words, Jesus gave this prayer to His disciples to use at a time when they were still, technically, under the Old Covenant.

Actually, the Lord’s Prayer was given to the disciples as a way to pray during the transition between the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the New Covenant. In that sense, Jesus was giving His followers a way to pray during that interim period between covenants. Jesus’ followers had a sort of “promissory note” on their salvation because they believed in Jesus. Amen.

Under the Old Covenant, no one asked anything in the Name of Jesus. But, as we have already talked about previously, under the New Covenant, when the Church prays, we are to pray to the Father IN THE NAME of Jesus.  There are some things, however, we can learn from the Lord’s Prayer. That is what we will be going over, starting today, and running the next few days.

First, we need to PRAY TO THE FATHER.

Jesus began by saying, “After THIS MANNER…”

That indicates a PATTERN. Not a word for word diatribe! I know that steps on the theological toes out there. But get over it. Amen!  Don’t shout me down when I’m preaching good!

We know that everyone is not a child of God. Under the New Covenant, ONLY those who have been born again are considered CHILDREN of GOD.

Jesus followers could pray this way, saying “Our Father…” because, as I just said, they basically had a “promissory note” from Jesus that, because they believed in Him, they were going to be born again soon after His resurrection. 

The unsaved today could pray this prayer all day long, but the only effect would be like someone reciting some poem from memory. It means nothing in their heart.

The word “FATHER” is not for the unsaved. It is ONLY for those who have been “born again.” It is ONLY for those who are in the  Kingdom of God.

A very simple example, would be, let’s say one of your friends was the son of a very wealthy and influential billionaire. He invited you to spend the weekend with him at the family estate. There are several sibling of this person and they all refer to their father as “Father.” Not dad. Not daddy. Not Mr. So and So. They call him, “Father.”  That is perfectly natural and shows respect and, at the same time, demonstrates they are part of the family.

How would it sound, if you, when addressing this same man, called, “Father” instead of “Mr. So and so?”  It would seem a little awkward, right? You may even get some quizzical looks, perhaps some rebuke. Why? Because YOU do not have the relationship they do. YOU are not part of the family unit. You are an outsider. You have no right nor authority to address him by the term used by his children, “Father.”

Well, this is the same way concerning “The Lord’s Prayer.” It is ONLY to be used, effectively, by born again children of the Most High God. Amen!

Let’s Pray!

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 One of the first principles Jesus emphasized to His disciples (and to us) was “Do not pray to be seen my men.”  In Matthew 6:5, He said, “when you pray, do not pray like the hypocrites do…”

Now, I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be labeled by Jesus as “praying like a hypocrite.” Amen? 

Jesus went on to explain how the hypocrites in His day prayed. He said they loved to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, so they could be seen by men. But Jesus told us how WE should be praying as well. He said, “But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to the Father which is in secret. And your Father which sees you in secret will reward you openly.”  Praise God! Amen!

Now, that does not mean that ALL of our praying should be done privately. For instance, we can see the early Apostles praying as a group. We see them praying when people were gathered together again and again in the Book of Acts.

What Jesus is trying to get across to us is simply this: There is a possibility in public praying, when people are gathered together to pray as a group. In those situations, we may, without thinking, pray like a hypocrite, only praying to be seen by men.

I remember one church I went to, they would go around the room, pew to pew, down the row, and everyone would take turns praying out loud. If it got to you and you did not want to pray, there would be that awkward silence and, “with everyone’s head bowed and eyes closed” – you could see some eye brows start to “lift up” a little bit to see who was holding up the procession… amen!  That was a sort of “peer pressure” to have you conform to the group standard of “taking your turn to pray publicly.” And for those that did cave into that pressure, I’m sure they qualified for this verse – as a hypocrite.

Jesus was trying to get us to understand that praying like that is only to get the accolades of men. And when we do pray like that, that is all the reward and all the answer and all the praise we are going to get – from men.  God is not going to answer most prayers that are prayed just for peer pressure or to be seen by men. Amen!

Certainly, Jesus DID NOT SAY, “never pray in public.” He also did not say, “never pray in a group setting.” If Jesus would have said that, that means HE violated His own rules because He prayed with His own Apostles. No, the thought He is simply making is one of MOTIVE. Do not pray to be seen praying by other people. If that is your only motivation – you are wasting your time and their time – and God’s time. Amen!

You need to build your prayer life in your private time with the Lord. I used an example about a professional golfer before. When he makes that tournament winning difficult shot under pressure, everyone calls it a “miracle shot.” But he practiced that same shot hundreds, if not thousands of times, all alone, perhaps for years.

Getting your prayers answered works the same way. It starts with your alone time with God. If you do not perfect your prayer life in your alone time, then when pray publicly, you will not obtain the results you want because you have never perfected your prayer life. That means you are praying like a hypocrite.

“Oh, let me pray for you…” and then you ramble on, quoting the two or three scriptures that you have memorized…and tell the person “Go in peace, amen!”  And all the while, Jesus is looking down, pointing you out to everyone around the Throne Room in Heaven, saying, “Look at the hypocrite!”

Yeah, don’t be THAT GUY! Amen!

Let’s Pray!

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You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

 We have been talking about how tongues and interpretation of tongues can and should be used by believers, both in our private prayer time and in public settings. But there is also a gift of prophecy that can be utilized in our private prayer time as well, as the Holy Spirit inspires us to do so.

In First Corinthians 14:1, Paul tells the church at Corinth (which also applies to believers today), to “follow after love and desire spiritual gifts, but rather, that you may prophesy.”

Someone once said, “To prophesy only means to preach.”  In one sense, that is true. Preaching may include prophecy, because, in a general sense, prophecy is inspired utterance of speaking. 

But, if prophecy is simply preaching, Paul told the entire congregation that every single one of them should aspire to be a preacher! And we know that is not the case. Amen.

If prophecy only meant to preach, what does First Corinthians 14:39 mean? Let’s read it, “Wherefore, brethren, COVET TO PROPHESY…”

Paul did not tell them to “covet to preach.” He told them to “covet to prophesy.” The bible also tells us, in First Corinthians 14:3, “he that prophesies speaks unto men to justification and exhortation and comfort.”

The bible also tells us that ALL scripture is given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that every believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit. This means every believer should have a measure of the ability to prophesy already in his inner spirit man. As we already covered, if you speak in other tongues, interpret tongues and sing praises to God in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs while in tongues – you are exhorting, edifying and comforting yourself in your private prayer time. Amen!

Then, there is the PUBLIC use of the gift of prophecy. To keep this simple, let me reference back to the public interpretation of tongues. You should not prophesy publicly until you are well experienced in private prophetic interpretation. As you prophesy to yourself and these things begin to come to pass, you are gaining experience in being sensitive to the Holy Spirit in this gift.  

What I would recommend, is to keep a private journal. When you are inspired in the prophetic, write it down, date it and then keep it. Don’t share it publicly. 

When what you prophesied comes to pass, go back, write down the date and exactly how it was fulfilled. This is track record for your reference.

After awhile, you will begin to see patterns emerge. As you gain more experience, the Holy Spirit will know He can trust you, as you are not running all over town blabbing about how “God showed you this was going to happen,” type of talk.

Then, He may show you something specific about a person or region, etc. Write it down. Date it. Then wait. As it comes to pass, again, write down the date it happened and when it came to pass and exactly what happened.

You are establishing a track record of sorts, for your prophetic gift.

Then, when you truly, 100% believe this is a gift you are operating in, share it with your ministry confidant. Your pastor or minister and get their opinion. Only then, once you have sought the counsel of two or more trusted advisors, should you make known publicly that you are operating in a prophetic gift.

Don’t be like Balaam. He operated in the prophetic. He also operated out his human spirit on the things the Lord was showing him. And it did not end well for him, either. Amen.

Let’s Pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

Scripture For Today:

James 5:13

“Is any among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise!”

Supernatural Prayer and Praise

Just as believers can pray out their own interpretation of their own praying in tongues as the Holy Spirit leads, they should also be able to sing praises to God in the same way, with their spirits and with their understanding.

This should go on your daily prayer time with the Lord. Paul said, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also; I will also SING with the spirit and I will SING with understanding also.” That is First Corinthians 14:15.

In Ephesians 5:18-19, Paul talks about believers praising God in song by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as they are continually being filled with the Holy Spirit. He said, “and be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but BE FILLED with the Spirit; and speaking to yourselves in Psalms and Hymns and SPIRITUAL SONGS, SINGING and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

Paul wrote this to the church at Ephesus where they were already born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. We know that because he addressed the letter to “the SAINTS which are at Ephesus…” He was writing to spirit filled believers. Amen!

And since he was writing to spirit filled believers, that means he was writing to you and I today. That’s why his letter was inspired and put in the Bible – for us! Amen! 

Don’t shout me down when I’m preaching good!

In the Bible, water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. That is why it called “being baptized by the Holy Spirit.” After our initial experience of being filled with the Spirit, we can continue to come back to the well to be refreshed. Amen.

That is why Jesus said in John 7:37, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, “If any man THIRST, let him come to me and DRINK.”

Jesus is saying that believers should drink all we want of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is encouraging us to drink and stay filled with the Holy Spirit.

That is why we were told in Ephesians 5:19, “…speaking to yourselves in Psalms and Hymns and SPIRITUAL SONGS, SINGING and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

These psalms, hymns and spiritual songs are not songs you get out of your song book. They are given to you by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit at the spur of the moment. They are a manifestation of the gift of speaking in other tongues. 

Sometimes, they may rhyme or have a certain rhythm to them. Other times, maybe not. But there is still a Holy Spirit led type of poetry to them.

A good friend of mine has a gift of Holy Spirit inspired poetry. This is a special gift he was given by God and he shares it and teaches others how to flow in it as well. I’ll put the link to his website down below in the show notes for you. Go check it out.

Lloyd Portman website: www.godcastinghub.com

Let’s Pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2

Yesterday, we talked about the interpretation of tongues in your private prayer life as compared to doing so publicly. We referenced First Corinthians 14:27-28, which reads, “If any man speaks in an unknown tongue, let it be by two or at the most three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; let him speak to himself and to God.”

As I said before, this scripture is talking about tongues and the interpretation of tongues in a public church service or in a group. In this scripture, the word “interpreter” is the one who has a GIFT of interpreting tongues. As I covered yesterday, that does not mean someone who has been doing so in their private prayer time.

Now, I want to cover something that may upset some of you, again, today. Glory to God.

Paul infers in this scripture that an person with the GIFT of interpreting tongues is present during the public assembly where tongues will be spoken. That does not mean an interpreter is present in every meeting. And where there is no interpreter present, then tongues should not be spoken publicly.

“Well, brother Bob, how would someone know if an interpreter is present?”  I’m so glad you asked!  This is the sensitive part that will have someone get mad, right here. Are you ready?

Who is doing the inspiring to speak in an unknown tongue during the service?  The Holy Spirit, right?

Do you think the Holy Spirit knows who is and who is not present? Do you think the Holy Spirit knows whether or not a qualified person with the GIFT of interpretation is present in the meeting?

Well, the obvious answer would be, “YES.” Am I right? The Holy Spirit is God and He knows everything, right?

So, what Paul is saying here, is that IF a person is sensitive enough to flow with the Holy Spirit in the speaking of tongues publicly, that person should also be sensitive enough to KNOW when NOT to speak publicly but only speak to themselves under their breath. 

If this person is someone who follows the Holy Spirit perfectly, they wouldn’t speak out publicly when no interpreter is present, because the Holy Spirit would know that and would not inspire them to do so.

You see, if it were just up to the Holy Spirit, everyone would be qualified to speak in tongues publicly and also have the Gift of Interpretation publicly. But we are human beings and not perfect. That is why believers must LEARN how to yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in a more perfect way. 

That is why God has given us instructions in the Bible, in His Word, regarding these special gifts.

The very fact that Paul specifically said, “…if there is no interpreter present…” also implies that an interpreter could always interpret any message given in tongues.

One more word that will upset some of you. I’ve been in services where someone will just start to speak out in tongues…and then give the interpretation THEMSELVES.  Folks, let me tell you right now, this IS NOT SCRIPTURAL.

I was in a church for several weeks with meetings and this same person would speak out in every single service – and give the interpretation themselves.  Finally, I had to pull the pastor aside and talk with him about this. He agreed 100% with me.

I went back a few months later and, in the course of our conversation, I asked him about that person. He said when he talked with her about it, she became angry, got up and left and never came back.  You see, she was doing it for attention. She may have thought she was operating according to a gift, but in actuality, it was the devil trying to disrupt the service.

The very fact she became angry when the pastor confronted her privately, and never came back again, is proof that people who do this are under a demonic deception. What they are doing IS NOT SCRIPTURAL.

Again, the person speaking in tongues IS NOT to give the interpretation publicly. And if the Holy Spirit is the one doing the inspiring, He will not have you give a vocal, public session of speaking in tongues when HE knows there is no qualified, gifted person present who will do the interpretation apart from you. Amen. And AMEN.

Let’s Pray!

Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.

You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2