A Passion for Prayer

Pastor Rex Deckard

The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of Prayer

When to pray….

• MARK 1:35 In The Morning

• DAN. 6:10 Three Times A Day

• I THES. 5:17 Pray Without Ceasing• • LUKE 6:12 Continued All Night

• ACTS 10:2 Prayed –Always

• I THES. 3:10 Night And Day Praying

Researcher George Barna reports that while 86% of

Americans profess belief in a prayer-answering God, only 58% of them set

aside time to pray each day.

Highly effective praying people all report that prayer doesn't "just happen." One

has to make time for it.

Where to pray…

MATT. 6:6 Enter Into Thy Closet

ACTS 2:46 From House

To House

MARK 1:35 A Solitary

Place

ACTS 3:1 The Temple

TYPES of PRAYER

• There are a variety of ways that we come to God to pray Praise &

Worship

The Word

Intercessions, Travail

Supplications

Petition

How to Pray

• JUDE 20 In The Spirit

• JAMES 5:15 In Faith

• MARK 11:24 Believing

• JAMES 5:16,17 Fervently & Earnestly

• HEB. 4:16 Boldly

• ACTS 3:6 Positively

The Early Church and prayer…

Book of Acts CycleBook of Acts Cycle

Prayer

Prayer

Rev

ival

Rev

ival

Persecution

Persecution

But even if we know when, what, where and how, what

we must have is

Passionate Passionate prayer!prayer!

William Sciscoe says,

• It is entirely possible to be busy, but barren.

• Speaking words on our knees is not always praying.

Prayer must find a passion!

Passionate prayer is needed for the kind of world that we live in today! Paul said,

• Making mention of you in my prayers ... that God ... may give ... you ... wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him ... that ye may know .. exceeding greatness of his power..."

• The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much! James 5:16

Effectual = “energeo”

THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION HAS A MOTTO:

"IF I FALTER - PUSH ME ON. IF I

STUMBLE - PICK ME UP. IF I RETREAT - SHOOT

ME!"

PRAYER LIFTS MEN OUT OF THE EARTHLINESS AND LINKS THEM WITH THE HEAVENLIES. MEN ARE

NEVER NEARER HEAVEN, NEVER MORE GOD-LIKE,

NEVER IN DEEPER SYMPATHY AND

TRUER PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST, THAN WHEN

PRAYING.

~Ravenhill

THE MOST POWERFUL FORM OF PRAYING IS

POSITIVE, AGGRESSIVE, MIGHTILY

OUTGOING AND CREATIVE. IT MOLDS THINGS,

CHANGES THINGS AND BRINGS

THINGS TO PASS. ~Ravenhill

PRAYER IS THE ONLY ELEMENT IN WHICH THE HOLY GHOST CAN LIVE AND

WORK.

PRAYERS OUTLIVE THE

LIVES OF THOSE WHO UTTERED

THEM; OUTLIVE A GENERATION,

OUTLIVE AN AGE, OUTLIVE A WORLD.

IT IS ONLY WHEN THE WHOLE HEART IS

CRIPPLED WITH THE PASSION OF PRAYER THAT THE LIFE-GIVING FIRE DESCENDS, FOR

NONE BUT THE EARNEST MAN GETS

ACCESS TO THE EAR OF GOD.

HEAVEN IS TOO BUSY TO LISTEN TO

HALFHEARTED PRAYERS OR TO

RESPOND TO POP CALLS.

ONE NIGHT ALONE IN PRAYER, MIGHT MAKE

US NEW MEN, CHANGED FROM

POVERTY OF SOUL TO SPIRITUAL

WEALTH, FROM TREMBLING TO TRIUMPHING.

WHAT THE CHURCH NEEDS TODAY IS NOT MORE

MACHINERY OR BETTER, NOT NEW

ORGANIZATIONS OR MORE AN NOVEL METHODS, BUT MEN WHOM THE HOLY GHOST

CAN USE –

MEN OF PRAYER, MEN MIGHTY IN PRAYER.

THE SERMON IS FORCEFUL BECAUSE

THE MAN IS FORCEFUL. THE SERMON IS HOLY BECAUSE THE MAN IS HOLY. THE SERMON IS

FULL OF THE DIVINE UNCTION BECAUSE THE

MAN IS FULL OF THE DIVINE UNCTION.

PREACHING THE WORD IS ESSENTIAL; SOCIAL QUALITIES

ARE NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED, AND

EDUCATION IS GOOD; BUT UNDER AND ABOVE ALL ELSE,

PRAYER MUST BE THE MAIN PLANK IN THE PLATFORM OF

THE MAN WHO GOES FORTH TO PREACH THE

UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST TO A LOST AND

HUNGRY WORLD.

THE SERMON CANNOT RISE IN ITS LIFE-GIVING

FORCES ABOVE THE MAN.

DEAD MEN GIVE OUT DEAD SERMONS, AND DEAD SERMONS KILL.

EVERYTHING DEPENDS UPON THE SPIRITUAL CHARACTER OF THE

PREACHER.

IT WAS CLAIMED FOR AUGUSTUS CAESAR THAT HE FOUND ROME A CITY OF WOOD, AND LEFT IT A CITY OF MARBLE.

THE PASTOR WHO SUCCEEDS IN CHANGING HIS PEOPLE FROM A PRAYERLESS TO A PRAYERFUL PEOPLE, HAS DONE A GREATOR WORK THAN DID AUGUSTUS IN CHANGING A CITY FROM WOOD TO MARBLE.

THE APOSTLES KNEW THE NECESSITY AND WORTH OF PRAYER TO THEIR

MINISTRY, SO THEY APPOINTED LAYMEN TO LOOK AFTER THE DELICATE AND

ENGROSSING DUTIES OF MINISTERING TO THE POOR, THAT THEY (THE APOSTLES)

MIGHT, UNHINDERED,

"GIVE THEMSELVES CONTINUALLY TO PRAYER AND TO THE MINISTRY

OF THE WORD."

SURRENDERING THEMSELVES TO PRAYING, PUTTING FERVOR, URGENCY,

PERSEVERANCE, AND TIME IN IT.

Thetus Tenney says,

There is no lack of power, plan or provision available to us through God. "...we have received ... the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are

freely given to us of God" I Corinthians 2:12

All these things are freely given to us, but are ineffective

unless we realize them and release them!

Paul wanted us to experience…

"And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who

believe, according to the working of His mighty

power"

Ephesians 1: 19

Passion comes from desire…DESIRE IS NOT MERELY A SIMPLE WISH;

IT IS A DEEP-SEATED CRAVING; AND INTENSE LONGING FOR ATTAINMENT.

DESIRE PRECEDES PRAYER, ACCOMPANIES IT, IS FOLLOWED BY IT.

DESIRE GOES BEFORE PRAYER. PRAYER IS THE ORAL EXPRESSION OF

DESIRE.

THE DEEPER THE DESIRE THE STRONGER THE PRAYER.

WITHOUT DESIRE, PRAYER IS A MEANINGLESS MUMBLE OF WORDS. SUCH FORMAL PRAYING, WITH NO

HEART, NO FEELING, NO REAL DESIRE ACCOMPANYING IT, IS

TO BE SHUNNED LIKE A PESTILENCE.

Passion can come from desperation and fear, as well…

Peter was in prison and the Church was being hunted down like criminals- and so

they prayed.

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled

together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of

God with boldness." And then in verse 33: "And with great power gave the apostles

witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all."

Evangelist Joe Hankins says,

God not only wants His people to pray, but He also wants them to agonize in

prayer.

I have this conviction, a conviction as deep as my soul, that there never

was and there never will be a real Holy Ghost, Heaven-sent revival until God's people agonize in prayer. I just do not

believe that one ever comes any other way.

When there is a revival, somebody has paid the price on his knees, maybe just one

man or one woman.

(continued)

Yes, I believe that one person who is willing to stay at the

throne of grace until God opens the windows of Heaven, one person who prays in the

spirit of the song, "I Would Not Be Denied," can bring a revival from Heaven. I think Pentecost,

I know Pentecost would not have come had nobody

prayed.

the Bible is full of promises of revival and the power of God in answer to prayer. I put the two

together because to me they are absolutely inseparable and

synonymous. A revival means the power of the

Holy Spirit coming upon the people of God. That is what it means to me. You can organize, you can preach, you can sing, you can have enthusiasm, you can have tent meetings, but you can have no revival without God's power.

Prayer warrior Vesta Mangun asks,

Would you answer for me, what is prevailing

prayer of faith? First, permit me to tell what it is not.

It is not programs, education, personal charisma, personality, oratory,

administration, advertising, how we win friends, influence people,

architectural triumphs, real estate, embellishment of music, robed

choirs, stained windows, carpet, pews, aquderments, polishery,

refinement, or money. Everything we do must be underlined by prayer.

The prevailing prayer is not fox hole praying, half-hearted, lukewarm,spasmodic, blowing hot, blowing cold, or just when you are in trouble.

It is not a little lay me down to sleep bed time prayer either. The prevailing prayer of faith is the spirit itself making intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. It is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe in it working in us.

It is the mighty weapons to the pulling down of strongholds. It is the wrestling against principalities and powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. It is the portrayed prayer, groaning prayer, fasting prayer, weeping, speechless prayer, and the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous; it avails much. It is the ascending and descending, taking petitions and bringing back answers. It is the most perfect form of prayer.It can touch the highest heaven and can shake the lowest hell

600 B.C. Sun Tzu, a Chinese General and ancient expert on the art of war says that

"When you are stronger than the enemy, strike him at his head.“

Didn't Jesus use similar words,

"You can not take the house of a strongman unless you first bind the strongman"?

Prevailing, passionate, fervent prayer storms the Devil’s strongholds and strikes him at the head!

The driving force behind passion is

• Intense desire• A burning love• A strong sense of calling,

purpose and identity• Fear for the safety of the

things and ones that we love

• Great vision and faith