The Prayer Bible - FREE Preview

5/22/2018 The Prayer Bible - FREE Preview

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T P BA M T

B y E l m e r L . To w n s & R o y B . Z u c k


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Copyright 2014 Elmer L. Towns & Roy B. Zuck

All rights reserved. is book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of Amer-ica. is book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. e use of shortquotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged.Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations aretaken from the King James Version.

ELT Elmer Towns Version

Scripture quotations marked LB are taken from e Living Bible; Tyndale House, 1997, 1971by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by omas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked PNT are taken from e New Testament in Modern English,J. B.Phillips, trans., Copyright New York: e Macmillan Company, 1960. All rights reserved.

PJB Prayer Journey Bible King James Version

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARDBIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by e LockmanFoundation. Used by permission.

DESTINY IMAGE PUBLISHERS, INC.

P.O. Box 310, Shippensburg, PA 17257-0310

Promoting Inspired Lives.

is book and all other Destiny Image, Revival Press, MercyPlace, Fresh Bread, Destiny ImageFiction, and Treasure House books are available at Christian bookstores and distributors world-

wide.

For a U.S. bookstore nearest you, call 1-800-722-6774.

For more information on foreign distributors, call 717-532-3040.

Reach us on the Internet:www.destinyimage.com.

ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-0433-3

ISBN 13 Ebook: 978-0-7684-0434-0

For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 / 18 17 16 15 14


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ENDORSEMENTS

e Prayer Bible, a prodigious undertaking by academician, administrator, Elmer Towns, demon-strates a wellspring of creativity that joins biblical knowledge with special application to the indi-

viduals prayer life. is is done on a chapter-by-chapter basis through the entire Bible!Don Campbell

Former PresidentDallas eological Seminary

ePrayer Biblewill light a spiritual fervor and fire in your heart to know Christ and Him alone,like you have never known before.

Dr. James O. Davis

Cofounder/Billion Soul NetworkOrlando, Florida

I use e Prayer Bibleevery day in my prayer ministry to God.Jentezen Franklin

Jentezen Franklin Media Ministries

When I think of Dr. Elmer Towns, I think of a man of prayer. Not university leader, though he

is a co-founder Liberty University and dean of the School of Religion and Liberty Baptist eo-logical Seminary and Graduate School. Not author, though he has written dozens of books andhas received the Gold Medallion Award recognizing one of his books as Book of the Year. I thinkof a man of prayer. In e Prayer Bible, Dr. Towns has taken his passion for prayer coupled withhis extensive knowledge of Scripture and written an outstanding resource for believers to growin their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. ePrayer Biblenot only helps believers, newand old, in their devotional time each day, but alsoprovides an excellent tool for teaching Biblestudies on prayer. I highly recommend e Prayer Bible.

Bill JonesPresident, Columbia International University

I have known Elmer Towns for over 36 years and know that he is a man of prayer. His notes in ePrayer Bibleare an accumulation from his life of prayer and I know they will help and encourageyou as you develop and strengthen your own prayer life.

John C. MaxwellSpeaker

Founder of EUIP and e John Maxwell Company

A unique wedding of Scripture and prayer that provides a unique experience of both.Robertson Mcuilkin

President EmeritusColumbia International University


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I have said on many occasions that Elmer Towns has no unpublished thought. Now I can honestlysay, He has no unpublished prayer. is reference Bible will make an immense contribution tothe Christian church and will be the shining legacy by which Elmer Towns is remembered.

Ed StetzerPresident, LifeWay Research

Author, Visiting ProfessorLiberty University Baptist eological Seminary

As one who has spent almost 20 years on the front lines of addressing and confronting the sinof child abuse, God has demonstrated to me time and time again the fundamental importanceof prayer. e Prayer Biblewill undoubtedly provide incredible encouragement and hope for somany who find themselves in lifes darkest moments. I can think of no greater resource for hurting

souls than a Bible that teaches and encourages prayer in every chapter and verse. I cannot wait towatch God use this amazing book to transform lives through drawing many to Himself throughprayer.

Basyle TchividjianProfessor of Law, Liberty University School of Law

Executive Director, Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian EnvironmentFormer Division Chief, Sexual Crimes Division, 7thJudicial Circuit of Florida

I first met Elmer Towns in 1975 when he was writing on evangelism and church growth. I won-dered why he was making such a deep impact on the church of Jesus Christ. Later, I realized hisministry and insights came out of his daily walk with Christ. Now, out of that daily prayer lifehas come a shining example to us all, i.e., e Prayer Bible. If you want to understand the heart ofa great Christian hero, read his notes. If you want to be like Jesus Christ, use the many different

prayers of this Bible to know God, and let His faith work through you.

Stan TolerGeneral Superintendent, Church of the Nazarene

Author and Inspirational Speaker

Its one thing to say that praying through the Scripture is good, but another thing is really to doit. Now with the magnificentPrayer Bible,anyone can do it. Elmer Towns has done the body ofChrist a huge favor by providing this fantastic tool, and I congratulate him for it!

C. Peter WagnerVice-President and Apostolic Ambassador

Global Spheres, Inc.

Colorado Mission

Dr. Elmer Towns does not just write and teach about prayer, he prays!

Dr. Steve Wingfield, Evangelist

Steve Wingfield Evangelistic Association


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Before You Begin

You hold in your hands the Word of God translated into Modern English with aprayer emphasis. isPrayer Biblewas created to lead you into prayer as you read.Most people end up talking to God only aer they read the Bible. But thisPrayer

Biblewas designed so you talk to God as you read. Many phrases are turned intoa prayer as, Lord, You are my Shepherd, I will not want anything (Ps. 23:1).As you read the Beatitudes (the blessings) you will pray, Lord, thank You forblessing me (Matt. 5:2).

Your translators are both graduates of Dallas eological Seminary, known forthorough training in Greek, Hebrew and Systematic eology. Elmer Townswrote his thesis at Dallas examining the Greek wordKardia, i.e., the heart. RoyZucks doctorate was in Hebrew and he wrote his dissertation on e Place of the

Holy Spirit in Christian Education. Besides their commitment to word accuracyof thisPrayer Bible, they translated it with a focus on prayer. Isnt prayer talkingwith God? ey have presented the Bible in a fluid modern language that you

can understand and apply to your life.

You are holding a collaborative work. Elmer Towns translated the New Testa-ment and poetic books. Roy Zuck translated the rest of the Old Testament, yetboth worked together on each others text so that they agreed on the final prod-uct. ey both wanted it to be accurate and faithful to the original text. And theyused the original language from the earliest and best manuscript. (When it wasavailable in 1972, Towns read much of the original Dead Sea Scrolls posted in

e Shrine of the Book, Jerusalem, Israel.)

ere are guidelines when people translate from one language into another. First,translators bring their theological orientation to their work. Both Towns andZuck believe in the verbal inspiration and inerrancy of every word in the originalmanuscripts. ey believe the Holy Spirit guided men of God to write the Wordof God without error. Because God inspired every word, they translated everyword carefully according to the original meaning of the author.

e second guideline was the need to interpret the Scriptures accurately. eydid that following a historical understanding of the biblical background andthe contextin which the Scriptures were written, and a commitment to a literalmeaning in the mind of the author.


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e third guideline was to give attention to each and every word in the Word ofGod. Aer all, the meaning of word reflects what is in the mind of the author, orspeaker. But words have multiple meanings both in ancient Hebrew and Greek.

en words have multiple meanings in todays Modern English. So they chosethe best Modern English words to express the ones in the original text. eyfollowed the Golden Rule of interpretations suggest by Cooper,

When the plain sense of Scriptures makes common sense, seek no othersense: therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literalmeaning.1

e fourth guideline was to relate prayer to passages so that the reader did more

than read the Bible to himself. Rather, the reader prayed each passage to God ashe read the Scriptures.

T H E P R O V I D E N C E O F G O D

Roy Zuck began translating the Old Testament in the spring of 2012. It was aone-year project. He oen told Towns, Im having the greatest spiritual expe-rience of my life. He explained that he had read much of the Old Testament in

Hebrew, but translating thePrayer Bibledrew him closer to God than anythingin his life. Toward the end of the project his cancer gave him tremendous pain.He said, Im praying for strength to finish this project; it could be my greatestcontribution to the cause of Christ. In the providence of God, Roy finished onSaturday, March 9, 2013, and died one week later on Saturday, March 16, 2013.Now Roy knows the original text of Scripture perfectly.

Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they

are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deedsfollow them! (Rev. 14:13, NLT).

N O T E

1. David L. Cooper, Messiah: His Historical Appearance (Los Angeles, CA:Biblical Research Society, 1958), 19.


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G E N E S I S *

Key Word:Beginning (Genesis 1:1)

Key Verses:ese are the generations of (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:27; 25:19;37:2).

eme: Genesis is a book of beginnings. It tells not only the beginning of the

heavens and the earth (creation), but of plant life, animal life, and human life. Ittells the beginning of marriage, worship, government, occupations, covenants,

and the beginning of the Hebrew race, that is Gods people, the Jews.

Genesis tells the beginning of prayer. It tells of False-Prayer (4:6-15), Call-

Prayer (4:26), Responsibility-Praying (6:22), Worship-Prayer (8:20-22), Repen-

tance-Prayer (12:1), Blessing Expectation-Prayer (13:14-18), Protection-Prayer

(15:1), Justification-Based Prayer (15:2 ff.), Intimacy-Prayer (17:1 ff.), Inter-cessors-Prayer (18:23 ff.), Healing-Prayer (20:17), Deliverance-Prayer (21:17),

Frightful-Prayer(22:11-12),Mourning the Dead-Prayer(23:2), Guidance-Prayer

(24:27). is is just the first half of Genesis. You cannot read Genesis withoutpraying to God, and surely Genesis teaches us many ways to pray.Lord, thank You

for a book that explains in a logical way how everything began. I believe the creationstory just as it was created, and I praise You for Your greatness and intelligence that

is evident in the world I see. Amen.

*e key verses for each Bible book are from the King James Versionand NewKing James Versions.

Genesis 1

1

Lord,in the beginning You created the heavens and earth,{93 Creation-In-spired Worship, Ps. 19:1, 2} but You had not yet formed the earth intoits final form, it was void.

2Everything was dark upon the face of the deep, and YouSpirit of Godhovered overthe waters. {446 Spirit-Helped Prayer, Rom. 8:26-27}3en You said, Let light appear and light shone; {450 Spiritual-Insight Prayer, Ps. 119:18}4You saw that light was good, so You divided light from darkness. {500 Truth-Praying,

John 18:32}5You called light day, and the darkness You called night, so the evening and

the morning were the first day. {364 Praise for Gods Sovereignty, Gen. 45:5}


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12

Praise, Ps. 65:9-11} 13so the evening and

the morning were the third day.14You said, Let there be lights in the sky to

divide the day from the night, and let them

give light to the earth,{283 Light-Praying,1 John 1:7} 15and let them reflect seasons,

days and years.

Many people have difficulty understanding

anything bigger than the planet where they

live. But the sun is one and a third million

times larger than our planet. Antares in thenext galaxy is 64 million times larger than

our sun. en Hercules in another galaxy

is 100 million times larger than Antares.

Finally, Epsilon is 700 million times larger

than Hercules. Why so big? Because a huge

God loves huge lights. And experts predict

there are a trillion times a trillion stars, andthe Hubble telescope continues to find more.

Why so many? Because a limitless God loves

an uncountable number of lights around

Him. Lord, You call Yourself light (John

8:12), shine on me today to show me how to

walk for You. You are light (Ps. 4:6; 27:1),

take away my blindness so I can see You bet-ter and worship You with full understand-

ing. Amen.

16-19You made two great lights, the larger

to light the day and the lesser to light the

night, and You also made the stars; so the

evening and morning were the fourth day.{484 anksgiving-Prayer, Eph. 1:16}20You said, Let the waters swarm with liv-

ing creatures, and let birds fly in the open

sky. {170 Food-Provision Praise, Ps. 65:9-

11} 21And all kinds of creatures appeared

Creation beckons me to worship God, e

heavens reveal Gods glory, and the skies dis-

play His powerful crasmanship. Day aer

day they continue to reflect Gods glory, and

night aer night we see His mighty power in

the stars. ey speak without using words;

their message is silently seen in the sky (Ps.

19:1-3, ELT). Lord, I cant deny Your exis-

tence or almighty power; I bow in Your pres-

ence and I confess Your greatness. Accept my

praise and adoration. Amen.

6You said, Let there be atmosphere around

the earth; You divided the waters under

the atmosphere from the waters above the

atmosphere. {484 anksgiving-Prayer,

Eph. 1:16}7

You called the atmosphere sky,and it contained the air that gives life to

all; {311 Morning-Prayer, John 21:4} 8so then

evening and morning were the second day.9You said, Let the waters under the atmo-

sphere be gathered together in one place

and let dry ground appear. {364 Praise for

Gods Sovereignty, Gen. 45:4}10

You calledthe dry land earth, and You called the

waters seas and you said, is is good.11You said, Let the earth bring forth grass

and plants and trees with fruit to give

life, with each having seed bearing fruit

to reproduce itself. {170 Food-Provision

Praise, Ps. 65:9-11}12So the earth brought forth grass and

plants and trees with seed bearing fruit

to give life, with each having seed bearing

fruit to reproduce itself. And You said,

is is good; {388 Provision of Food

Genesis 1


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13

in the waters and all kinds of birds flew in

the sky and You saw that it was good. {388Provision of Food Praise, Ps. 65:9-11}22You said, Be fruitful and multiply, and

fill the waters with living creatures and thesky with birds, and it was so; 23then theevening and the morning were the fih

day.24You said, Let the earth bring forth wild

beasts, crawling things and livestock. {170Food-Provision Praise, Ps. 65:9-11} 25So

You created livestock, crawling things andbeasts of the field, and You said, is is

good. {364 Praise for Gods Sovereignty,

Gen 45:5}26en You said, Let Us make humans

in Our image, and in the likeness of Our-

selves. And You said, Let them rule over

the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, theanimals of the earth and everything that

crawls over the earth. {43 Blessing Chil-

dren-Prayer, Lam 2:19} 27So You created

humans in Your image, in Your image Youcreated them, male and female You created

them. {46 Blessing the Lord-Worship, Ps.

103:1}28You blessed the human and said, Befruitful, and multiply and fill the earth and

make it obey you; rule over the fish of the

sea, the birds of the air, and everything that

crawls on the earth. {179 Fruitful-Prayer,

Matt. 13:8}29en You said, Have dominion over

the whole earth; I am giving to you foodfrom every plant and tree that has life in

its seed-bearing fruit. {47 Blessing-Prayer,Gen 49:28} 30And I am giving it as food to

every animal on the earth, bird in the sky

and everything that creeps on the earth.

31And You saw that everything You had

made was good so the evening and the

morning were the sixth day. {42 Blessing A

Person-Prayer, Num. 6:23-26}

God has always existed, but at an instant

in time He created the earth and the heav-

en(s). e throne, angels, and stars didnt

always exist, until God created them. Why?

God didnt need them, God doesnt need

anything. But God wanted something om

outside of Himself, something He couldntgive Himself. He wanted authentic worship.

So the angels cried out in adoration, Holy,

holy, holy is the LORD of hosts (Isa. 6:3).

e earth reflected His glory (Isa. 11:9).

And the stars told His creative power. Lord,

I worship You as the Creator of Creation, the

Inentor of Space, and the Conductor of theOrchestra who originated the symphony of

time. I bow in Your presence, my Lord of the

Universe. Amen.

Genesis 2

First Days in the Garden of Eden

1God created everything in the heavens

and the earth.2On day seven God finished His creative

work and rested, {93 Creation-Inspired

Worship, Ps. 19:1, 2} and 3He blessed

the day to make it holy. {404 Restor-ative-Prayer, Isa. 55:7}4When He made the earth and the heav-

ens, 5no shrub or plants had sprung up

yet, and there was no rain, and no one to

farm the soil. 6But streams from below the

Genesis 1


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707

The Book of

P S A L M S

Key Word:Praise. All but one sentence in Psalm 150 begins with the word Praise.

Key Verse:Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself isJudge(Psalm 150:6,NKJV,last verse in the Psalms).

eme:e Psalms were written as prayers for the Hebrew people to sing. eirmusic was their deep feelingabout God, or a prayer to God. erefore each psalm

is a worship event. us some psalms are re-written into prayers. Instead of read-ing e Lord is my shepherd, youll pray, Lord, You are my shepherd.Lord,teach me to talk to You through Scripture. Amen.

Each psalm is a mirror that reflects your soul. As you pray them, youll see in thesemirrors your sin and hypocrisy more clearly than ever before. So pray the psalms ofrepentance and turn to God. But youll also see in these mirrors the essence of a godlylife. en pray with the psalmist, As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my

soul for You, O God (42:1). Look deep into each mirror and youll see God. Whilethis is not a theology textbook on God, youll see many aspects of His person andattributes as you read through thisPrayer Bible.Lord, I want to know You. Amen.

e Psalms are poetry, not like English poetry with rhyme and meter, for exam-ple, Roses are red, violets are blue, the angels in heaven, know I surely love you.Hebrew poetry had neither rhyme nor meter. eir poetry had rhythm as theyaccentuated different phrases, so that the poetry was matched phrases. e secret

of Hebrew poetry is that thoughts matched, no matching rhymes or meter.e Psalms are written in prayers so we can identify with them and pray them.But not all the psalms were originally prayers to God. Some psalms were original-ly written as devotional thoughts about God (Psalm 23); a few psalms pour outanger at enemies (Psalms 3 and 4). Some psalms are instructional (Psalm 119),teaching the law of God. But in this book all of them are transposed into prayersin modern language so you can pray the words to talk to God.

Lord, I want You to feel my passionate love for You as I pray these psalms, and I wantYou to feel my anger as I vent my feelings about evil people. Sometimes I pray these

psalms begging You for protection for rest or om relief om pain. Sometimes I

ask You for forgiveness, or for Your guidance in my life. I need to touch You and let

You touch me. I pray these psalms in order to enter Your presence. Amen.


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22I will tell everyone how You came to me;

I will testify of Your goodness to other

believers. {478 Testimony-Prayer, Acts

22:3} 23ey need to know that You take

care of those who trust You;24they need to trust You as I do because

You will come to us when we are in trou-

ble. You will not hide Your face from us

when we need You. I will praise You to

other believers;25I will do everything that I promised.26en weak Christians will be encouraged

to trust You, they will continue following

You throughout their lives.27e unsaved will recognize what You do

for Your children, and they will turn to You

for salvation. {444 Soul Winners-Prayer,

Prov. 11:30} 28Your kingdom shall come

on earth one day, and Your rule will be

recognized by all. {74 Coming-Kingdom

Prayer, Ps. 67; Matt. 6:9}29Your children will enjoy Your kingdom

and worship You, but the unsaved cannot

escape Your coming judgment.30ere will always be a small remnant who

serves You; they are the ones You recog-

nize and protect. ey will declare to all

how You take care of Your children; 31and

each new generation will contain more

believers who will also declare Your good-

ness and care.

Lord, I am encouraged when my leaders

look to You for victory and they are encour-

aged by You. Answer their prayers and give

me victory through their efforts. Amen.

Psalm 23

A Prayer Recognizing Gods

Protective Relationship to You

1Lord, You are my Shepherd; I dont needanything. 2You make me lie down in green

pastures. You lead me beside still waters.

{73 Comfortable Place to Pray, John 18:2}3You renew my spiritual energy. You guide

me in the right paths to glorify Your name.

{307 Minutia-Prayer, Phil. 4:6}4When I walk through dark valleys, I willnot be afraid of death shadows. Because

You are with me, Your rod and staff pro-

tect me. {387 Protection-Prayer, Isa. 43:2,

3}5You prepare a banquet table for me, and

my enemies watch me eat. You pour oil on

my head to honor and heal me. You fill my

cup so it runs over. {388 Provision of Food

Praise, Ps. 65:9-11} 6Surely Your goodness

and mercy will follow me, as long as I live

on this earth; and in eternity I will live in

Your house forever. {215 Heavens-Prayer,

1 ess. 4:13, 14}

God has promised to protect His followers

as they obey and follow Him. Lord, You are

my shepherd, I dont need anything when

Im close to You. You make me lie down

in green pastures and lead me beside still

waters. When I walk through dark shadowsof death, Ill not be aaid because You walk

with me, and Your rod protects me. I look

forward to a satisfying banquet and living

in Your house forever. Amen.

Psalm 23


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P R O V E R B S

Key Word:Wisdom (occurs 54 times) in Proverbs (Proverbs 1:2)

Key Verse: Happy isthe man whofinds wisdom, and the man whogains under-

standing (3:13, NKJV).

eme: A proverb usually expresses familiar truth in a popularly known way and

is expressed in simple metaphorical truth so that people may apply or honor its

teaching. e thrust of Proverbs is apply your heart to wisdom, that you may

gain understanding. is is another way of saying learn to think what is right, soyoull do what is right.

God didnt include a lot of things in Proverbs. ere is no plan of salvation, doc-trine, and messianic predictions. Youll get these topics in other books of the Bi-

ble. Also there are no plots or storyline and no individuals identified by name in

Proverbs, except Solomon, Bathsheba, Ithiel, and Ucal. Proverbs gets its points

across by brief, one or two-line declarations of truth to illustrate proper living.

Personalities are described but are not involved in parables or conversations witheach other, nor do they refer to actual persons. ey are descriptions of actions or

attitudes that we should follow or reject to have a good life.

Youre holding in your hands a book that could change your life. If you will hon-

estly pray the Proverbs, you will gain wisdom; it will help you live better. And

wisdom is truth applied to daily life.Lord, give me wisdom so I will know the right

way to live, then give me strength to live rightly. Amen.

Proverbs 1

A Father TeachesBe Wise

1

Lord,help me learn and obey Your requirements 2so I will always know

what to do. {327 Obedient-Prayer, Col. 2:6}3

Give me all the wisdomI need so I will always be fair and impartial. {534 Wisdom-Directed Prayer, James 3:13}4Help me teach those who dont know all they need to know and do. 5Help me care-

fully listen and learn and become more understanding so I will always do the right thing.

{410 Righteous-People Prayer, 1 Peter 3:12} 6Help me gain much counsel from the wise

so I can become a smart person, and learn to understand things that are difficult. {456


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824

Spiritual-Understanding Prayer, Eph.

3:18}7Lord, I know all wisdom is in You. Help

me understand Your ways and not be

rebellious to despise Your direction. {327Obedient-Prayer, Col. 2:6}8Help me listen to You as a father and obey

You as a mother.9May others see Your principles guiding

my life and may they glorify Your beauty.{478 Testimony-Prayer, Acts 22:3}10

Lord, help me resist the temptation ofsinners and not give in to them. 11When

sinners want me to make illegal moneyand take advantage of innocent peo-

ple, may I resist their temptation. {476

Temptation-Victory Prayer, Luke 22:40}12Because when I destroy the lives of other

people, I am really condemning my ownlife, 13even when sinners promise me exor-

bitant riches and a wealthy home and fur-

nishings 14and they promise to share their

wealth with me. {430 Separation-Prayer, 2Cor. 6:17} 15Lord, I remember You said,

Stay away from them. Dont be like them

or obligate yourself to them 16for they

really intend to break every law and suckthe life out of innocent people. {424 Scoff-

er-Avoidance Prayer, Prov. 21:24} 17Every

plan they make to catch someone snares

them into their own addiction. 18And thehappiness they plan to steal from others

destroys any chance of enjoying it in their

greed. {267 Judgment Prayer, Rev. 17:5}19Lord, I see the eyes of honesty weepingover the crimes she sees in life.20Honesty cries for crimes to be punished.21And I hear the voice of honesty crying in

the empty courts of justice; 22How long

will evil run rampant? Honesty cries.

How long will skeptics be skeptical?

How long will rebels hate Gods ways?

{225 Honest-Prayer, Ps. 17:4-5} 23Lord,

You call us to return to You; {399 Repen-tance-Prayer, Matt. 3:2, 8} You promise to

pour Your Spirit on us; {224 Holy Spir-

it-Praying, Jude 20}You promise to teach

us Your ways. 24Lord, when You call to

the rebel, You also stretch out Your hand

to him; 25but the rebel not only rejects

Your ways, he is also determined to dothe exact opposite and completely rejects

all You stand for. {424 Scoffer-Avoidance

Prayer, Prov. 21:24} 26erefore You will

turn Your back when he is punished. You

will say, You got what you wanted. {267

Judgment Prayer, Rev. 17:5}

27en the rebel will be scared to deathand the consequences of his sin rip him

apart when he cries out in anguish.28Hell cry out for mercy but hell not get

it; hell seek You but Youll not be found.

ere is no second chance in hell 29because

the rebel hated Your way of life and would

not listen and learn from You. He rejectedYour plans for his life 30and refused to do

what You wanted him to do. {267 Judg-

ment Prayer, Rev. 17:5}

A fool is a man or woman who refuses to

follow common sense, who refuses to obey

the rules, and who refuses to do the thingswe call wise. e fool has rejected God; e

fool has said in his heart, ere is no God

(Ps. 14:1). ey hated knowledge and did

not choose the fear of the LORD (Prov.

1:29). Rather than doing the right thing,

Proverbs 1


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J O H N

Key Word:Believe(occurs 96 times)

Key Verse:But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31,NKJV).

eme:John writes to demonstrate Jesus deity, that He is the Son of God, and

that those who believe in Jesus for salvation will have eternal life. en John ex-

horts his readers to be transformed by the indwelling power of Jesus Christ ( John14:20; 15:1-7). John doesnt tell of Jesus earthly genealog y, birth or growth years.

He begins in eternity past. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was

with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). John writes only of eight miracles

in Jesus earthly ministry that are signs pointing to His deity.

e supernatural promise of Jesus to believers is, I in them, and You in Me

(John 17:23). us in salvation Jesus comes to dwell in us on this earth so we

can live for Him. But we are in Christ, a term that occurs 172 times in Scrip-ture. at means we are in Jesus as He intercedes for us at the right hand of

the Father. Negatively Jesus intercedes for forgiveness of our sins (Heb. 7:25),

and positively Jesus presents our prayers to the Father so they will be answered.

Lord, I come to You because Jesus lives in my heart. He motivates me to pray toYou. But also, I come in Christ as He is at Your right hand. Hear my prayers in

Jesus name. Amen.

John 1e Preincarnate Word

1

Iworship Jesus the Word, who is from the beginning; Jesus the Word tells me all about

You, my heavenly Father. {192 God-Recognition Prayer, Eph. 3:20-21}2

e Wordwas face to face with You throughout eternity because Jesus is God.3And without Jesus nothing was created. Jesus does all the things that You, my heavenly

Father, will do. {93 Creation-Inspired Worship, Ps. 19:1, 2}4Jesus has all life in Himself

and gives life to all His creation. {281 Life-Receiving Prayer, John 10:10}5Jesus is the life

of God who is the Light to all who are lost in a dark, forbidding world. Jesus shines in the


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hostile darkness, but the darkness doesnt

even know He exists. {283 Light-Praying,

1 John 1:7}

Lord, I am committed to Your message

which is written in the Word of God. It is

eternal and perfect. I will learn Your mes-

sage, believe Your message, and share it with

others. Amen.

Johns Witness of Jesus6John the Baptizer was a prophet sent by

You who came to tell all about the shin-

ing Light, {358 Powerful-Ministry Prayer,

Acts 2:4} 7that through the Light, all

might be saved. {416 Salvation-Prayer,

Luke 18:13} 8John the Baptizer was not

the saving light, but was the human sent topoint everyone to the Light.9Jesus is the true saving Light who offers

spiritual light to everyone in the world.

{283 Light-Praying, 1 John 1:7} 10Jesus

came to the world that He created, but

those living in the world did not recognize

Jesus as their Creator Savior. {25 Athe-ist-Prayer, Ps. 14:1, 2}11Jesus came to His

own peoplethe Jewsand they refused

to recognize Him.12But as many as recognize Jesus and

receive Him, He will make them chil-

dren of God simply because they believe

in the authority of Jesus name. {416 Sal-vation-Prayer, Luke 18:13} 13ey will be

born again by Your power which is not a

birth of blood, or the choice of people, or

of flesh. {61 Child-Like Praying, 1 John

3:1}

14Jesus had all the celestial glory of heaven

but He clothed His heavenly glory with

human flesh. God living in flesh was the

greatest glory of all. Jesus is the uniquely

begotten Son, and has all the grace and

truth of God. {264 Jesus-Worship Prayer,

Heb. 1:6}15John the Baptizer said of Jesus,

is is the Messiah whom I introduced to

the world, and Jesus comes aer me, but is

preeminently before me. {147 Exalt-Jesus

Prayer, Phil. 2:11, 12}

Jesus is the Word; (1) who is eternal, (2) who

created the universe; (3) who had eternal fel-

lowship with the Father; and (4) who became

flesh when He was born of the Virgin Mary.

We should worship and praise Him for all He

is and does. Lord Jesus, You are the eternalWord of God; I praise You for creating me

and everything in this universe. I worship

You for Your unlimited power and greatness.

Amen.

16His grace was offered and my need of

grace was fulfilled. {152 Faith-Blessing

Prayer, Heb. 11:6}17e law of Moses con-

demned me to death, but grace and truth

by Jesus gave me life. {92 Covenant-Ful-

filling Prayer, Ps. 55:22} 18I could never

have seen You, the eternal Father, but Jesus

Christ came from Your bosom to show

me what You, our Father, is like. {192

God-Recognition Prayer, Eph. 3:20-21}

Lord, I am committed to the Lord Jesus

Christ who became flesh and lived among

John 1


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men. He is the truth and spoke the truth to

us. I have eternal life because of Him. Amen.

Religious Leadersuestion John the Baptizer

19e religious establishment sent dele-

gates to ask John the Baptizer, Who are

you? {279 Life-Defining Prayer, Rom.

12:1, 2} 20John told them he was not the

Messiah. 21en they asked, Are you Eli-

jah or the prophet who will come at theend of the age? John said, No. 22ey

said, Give us an answer to report to our

authorities. 23John quoted Isaiah, answer-

ing, I am a voice crying in the wilderness;

prepare the way for the Messiah. {399

Repentance-Prayer, Matt. 3:2, 8} 24ey

were Pharisees who questioned him.25e religious delegates asked why John

was baptizing with water. 26He answered,

I baptize with water, but there is One

standing among us who will baptize with

the Spirit of God. {30 Baptized-Praying,

Gal. 3:26, 27; Col. 2:11-12} 27He who is

coming aer me is preferred before me,

because He lived before me. 28ese things

happened on the banks of the Jordan

River, but I came baptizing so Jesus might

be revealed to Israel.

Christs Baptism

29e next day John saw Jesus coming to

Him and told the crowd, See that man.He is the Lamb of God who takes away

the sin of the world. 30He said this to let

everyone know Jesus was the One com-

ing aer him. 31John said, I didnt know

who He was. 32John the Baptizer added,

I didnt know Jesus was to be the Mes-

siah until I saw the Spirit come upon Him

like a dove. 33But the Lord who sent me to

baptize with water told me, e One on

whom the Spirit comes, and stops there,this is the One who is the Messiah. He

will baptize with the Holy Spirit. 34en

John, the apostle, said, I then noted and

believed He is the Son of God.

Jesus Meets Six Disciples

35

e next day John the Baptizer stoodwith two of his disciples, 36and as they

saw Jesus walking, he said, Behold the

Lamb of God. 37As Andrew and John

were following Jesus, {314 Multiplication

of Disciples-Prayer, Acts 18:24-26} 38He

turned to ask, What do you want? {279

Life-Defining Prayer, Rom. 12:1, 2}39

atevening Andrew and John talked at length

to Jesus. {512 Useful-Vessel Prayer, 2 Tim.

2:20-21} 40e next day Andrew told his

brother Simon, {358 Powerful-Ministry

Prayer, Acts 2:4} 41We have found the

Messiah, {444 Soul Winners-Prayer,

Prov. 11:30}42

and Andrew brought hisbrother to Jesus. {58 Call-Prayer, Gen.

12:1; Gal. 1:15} Jesus changed Simons

name to Peter, which means he was firm

and solid as a stone.

Lord, may I be zealous to tell family and

iends about Jesus and may I bring them toknow Jesus. Amen.

43e next day when Jesus saw Philip, He

said, Follow Me. 44Philip was from the

same hometown as Andrew and Peter.

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I will pray to You continually and I will

oppose anything that comes between me and

prayer. Amen.

John 3A Night Interview with Nicodemus

1Nicodemus was a Jewish leader who

observed the law, 2and he came to Jesus

at night to compliment Him, saying,

Jesus, You are a Teacher who comes fromGod because You perform miracles that

couldnt be done without Gods help. {192

God-Recognition Prayer, Eph. 3:20-21}3Jesus told him, I say to you, you must be

born again to see the kingdom of God.

{318 New Birth Praise-Prayer, Titus 3:5}4Nicodemus replied, How can a man beborn when he is old? Can he go back into

his mothers womb to be born again?

{127 Doubting-Prayer, Gen. 22:7} 5Jesus

answered, I say to you, unless you are

born again of water and the Spirit, you

will not enter the kingdom of God. {259

Jesus Response-Prayer, Rev. 1:10} 6Whatis born of flesh is flesh, and what is born

of Spirit is Spirit. {353 Physical Before

Spiritual-Prayer, 1 Cor. 15:46} 7Do not

be surprised when I say you must be born

again. {118 Directional Answer-Prayer, 1

Kings 17:9} 8e wind blows anywhere

it pleases. You can hear its sound, but youcant tell where it comes from or goes. at

describes those who are born of the Spirit,

and how the Spirit bestows life on them.

{506 Unknown-Answer to Prayer, Mark

9:24} 9Nicodemus asked, How can this

happen?{545 Wrestling-Prayer, Eph. 6:10-

12} 10Jesus answered, You are a respectedteacher, yet you do not understand these

things. {259 Jesus Response-Prayer, Rev.

1:10} 11Jesus continued, I say to you, Iam telling you what I know, but you willnot believe Me. {478 Testimony-Prayer,

Acts 22:3} 12If you do not believe what I

say about this world, how can you believe

heavenly things? {504 Unbelief-Hindranceto Prayer, Heb. 3:12} 13Since I have come

to earth from heaven, I can explain heav-enly things to you. {478 Testimony-Prayer,

Acts 22:3}14As Moses lied up the serpentin the wilderness, so people could repent

by looking to the serpent. {260 Jesus Suf-

fering Appreciation-Prayer, Heb. 2:9-10,

18}15In the same way the Son of Man will

be lied up so that everyone who looks tohim in belief will be saved. {145 Evangelis-

tic-Praying, Acts 4:31} 16e Father loved

everyone in the world so much that He

gave His only begotten Son to die for eachof them. Now everyone who believes in

the Son will not perish, but will have eter-

nal life. {281 Life-Receiving Prayer, John

10:10} 17For the Father did not send HisSon to condemn the people of the world

but that they might be saved through Him.

{416 Salvation-Prayer, Luke 18:13} 18No

one who believes in the Son will be con-demned, but those who refuse to believe in

the name of Gods only Son are condemned

already. {268 Judgmental-Praying, Acts 5:4,9} 19e verdict of death is handed downbecause light has shined on the people of

the world, but people love darkness more

than light because of their love of evil things.

{283 Light-Praying, 1 John 1:7}20Everyone

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R O M A N S

Key Word:Righteousness(Romans 1:17)

Key Verse:For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; asit is written, e just shall live by faith(Rom. 1:17).

eme:e book of Romans gives the most systematic approach to theology

(what to believe) of all the books in the Bible. Paul makes it clear that He is notthe God of the Jews only but of the Gentiles also (3:29).

Paul began writing: (a) the whole world has sinned and is guilty before God

(1:8-3:23); (b) the death and resurrection of Christ provides justification to allwho exercise faith (3:24-5:21); (c) believers can be delivered from the power of

sin (6:1-7:25); (d) the Holy Spirit gives victory (8:1-39); (e) God has past and

future plans for Israel (9:1-11:36); (f ) God has given guidelines for the practical

Christian life and service (12:1-15:33).Lord, I will learn the essential doctrines ofChristianity and live by them. Amen.

Romans 1

Introduction and the Guilt of the Pagan

1

Lord,the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome telling them he was

a servant who was chosen to preach the good news, {431 Servant-hood-Prayer, Mark 9:35}2which You promised in the Old Testament through the proph-

ets. {264 Jesus-Worship Prayer, Heb. 1:6}

May I always be faithful to my calling, as Paul was to his task. Amen.

3Lord, thank You for the gospel about Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came as a

baby through King Davids line, {264 Jesus-Worship Prayer, Heb. 1:6} 4who was raisedfrom the dead by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate that He is the mighty Son of God. {493

Triumphant-Praying, 2 Cor. 2:14}5Lord, thank You that through Christ all Your mercy

has been poured out on me to be a witness to everyone, everywhere about Your grace;

{258 Jesus Name-Praying, John 14:13}6so they too can believe and become Christ fol-

lowers. {58 Call-Prayer, Gen. 12:1; Gal. 1:15} 7Lord, Paul told his dear friends in Rome


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that You loved them and called them. Paul

prayed for grace and peace to rest on them

from YouGod the Fatherand from

the Lord Jesus Christ. {58 Call-Prayer,

Gen. 12:1; Gal. 1:15}

May Your grace and peace fill my life, as I

walk in Your love and calling. Amen.

8Paul thanked You that the faith of the

Roman believers in Jesus Christ was known

throughout the world {482 anksgivingfor Gods Past Work in Our Lives-Prayer,

Ps. 105:1}9and that it was his duty to serve

You by continually praying for them. {188

God-Glorifying Prayer, Ps. 96:8} 10Paul

specifically prayed that he would have the

opportunity to have a safe trip to come

see them. 11He wanted to strengthen theirspiritual gis so their church would grow

strong spiritually. 12Lord, Paul wanted to

bless the Roman church by sharing his

faith with them, and allow them to be a

blessing to him. {454 Spiritual-Strength

Prayer, Rom. 1:16}

Paul desired to visit Rome to communicate

his spiritual gis to believers because it will

make you strong. When we use our spiritual

gis, we grow as we use them. Lord, give me

wisdom to discover and exercise my spiritual

gis so others can get the same kind of gis

and serve You with their unique expressionof their spiritual gis. Amen.

13Lord, Paul told the Romans that he

planned many times previously to visit

them, but was prevented from doing so.

He wanted to minister to them just as he

had ministered in other Gentile churches.

{180 Fruit-Producing Prayer, Gal. 5:22-

23}14Lord, I have a debt to carry the gospel

to both civilized people, and unreachedpeople groups who have never heard the

gospel. {75 Commitment-Prayer, Ps. 37:5}15Lord, I am ready to preach to any or to

all, just as Paul was ready to preach the

gospel to those in Rome and to everyone

in the world. {82 Confident-Praying, 1

John 5:13}Lord, I am not ashamed of thegood news of Christ, for it is powerful to

get people to believe so they can be saved.16Lord, I agree with the priority that Paul

gave that the gospel must first be preached

to the Jews, then to Gentiles.

e good news is Gods power to forgivemy sins, or Gods power to give me eternal

life, or Gods power to transform a kid who

cursed all the time into one who wanted to

speak only the words of God. ere are great

miracles such as walking on water or heal-

ing a leper, or feeding five thousand people

with five loaves and two small fish. But thegreatest miracle for humansthe power of

Godis to transform a sinner into a saint.

{490 Transformation-Prayer, Rom. 8:29}

Lord, thank You for all I received om You

when I got saved. But the greatest power was

my transformation om a lost sinner into

one who lives for You by faith (1:17). Amen.

e Justified Live by Faith

17When a person puts his personal trust in

the gospel, You declare him righteousfit

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for heaven. is is what the Old Testa-

ment teaches, e just shall live by faith.

Paul tells us to live by faith (Rom. 1:17);

then he adds the phrase, om faith to faith

(1:17). ere are at least 6 different ways to

express faith: {12 All Kinds of Faith-Pray-

ing, Rom. 1:17}(1) objective faith is in the

Bible, what we believe (content), which we

call our statement of faith; (2) saving faith

is for the forgiveness of sins; (3) justifying

faith is when we act on our new position in

Christ because we have been declared righ-

teous; (4) indwelling faith operates in us by

the Son of God who lives in our heart (Gal.

2:20); (5) living by faith is obedience to bib-

lical principles; and (6) the gi of faith is a

spiritual gi to serve God in extraordinary

ways by exercising faith in God, usually toremove barriers. Lord, give me all kinds of

faith to serve You in many different ways.

Amen.

Why the Pagan Are Lost

18Lord, You have revealed that You willpunish everyone who trespasses Your com-

mands because they reject the truth given

them. {268 Judgmental-Praying, Acts 5:4,

9} 19You have revealed Yourself to every-

ones conscience. {192 God-Recognition

Prayer, Eph. 3:20-21} 20Also everyone can

plainly learn from nature that it took apowerful Creator to create this vast uni-

verse, and that it took an intelligent Cre-

ator to put the laws of nature in place to

control everything. Lord, now no one

can give an excuse when they are judged

and condemned because everyone knowsYou exist and You have eternal power. {60

Character of God-Prayer, 1 ess. 5:24}21Lord, everyone knows You exist, but they

wont acknowledge You, or thank You fornatural blessings, or worship You. ey arecontrolled by illogical thought patterns

because they reject the logic of Your exis-

tence. eir minds are blinded and con-

fused. {101 Deceitful-Heart Prayer, James

4:3}22When they think they are wise, they

actually are foolish. {101 Deceitful-HeartPrayer, James 4:3} 23Instead of worshiping

Your glorious presence, they worship godsmade out of wood, or stones that look like

birds, or animals, or snakes, or corrupt peo-

ple. {189 God-Haters Prayer, Ps. 2:2, 3}24Lord, You allowed those who reject You

to do all types of sexual sins, so that theycould fulfill their lust, degrading their

bodies with one another. {440 Sin-Re-

alization Prayer, Eph. 4:22} 25Instead of

believing the truth they knew about You,they deliberately rejected You, choosing

to worship and serve created idols rather

than You, the Creator, who could bless

them. {101 Deceitful-Heart Prayer, James4:3}26Lord, You abandoned them to their

passions because their women turned from

natural sexual practices to abnormal acts.

{269 Justice-Prayer, Ps. 7:17}27eir menturned from normal relations with women

and turned to lustful sexual practices with

one another, men behaving indecentlywith men, so that they pay a penalty with

their souls for their perversion. {269 Jus-tice-Prayer, Ps. 7:17} 28Lord, they refused

to acknowledge You so You gave them up

to their own irrational and corrupt ideas.

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knowledge. I cant possibly trace Your

motives for I dont understand all that You

do. 34Who could ever know Your mind?

Who could ever try to tell You what to do?35Who could ever give You anything? Noone, for You are the supreme God. 36All

that exists comes from You, and is for You.

To You be glory forever.

ere are many things about Gods nature

that we as humans cant understand, but

even in our limited understanding we mustmagnify God for what we know of Him, and

for what we dont know of Him. ere are

many things that God does in this world, or

things that He allows. We may not under-

stand why certain things happen, but we

must worship God, because All things work

together for good to those who love Him(Rom. 8:28). Lord, I worship You for what

I know about You and for what I dont

understand about You. I worship You for all

You do in my life that I understand, and for

all I dont understand. Everything happens

because of You, and through You, and for

Your glory. Amen.

Romans 12

A Living Sacrifice to Serve God

1Lord, I will dedicate my body to You,

as Paul pleaded with all believers to do.Because of Your mercy, I offer myself as a

living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You;

this is the first and best spiritual worship

to You. 2I will not allow myself to be con-

formed to the principles of this world. But

I will let my thinking be transformed by

the power of the Holy Spirit. en I will

discover Your will for my life, which will

glorify You and satisfy my desires.

Lord, I surrender my body to You. May I

live holy to please You, and may I serve You

with all my strength. Amen.

3Lord, because I have received grace from

You, I will not exaggerate my value or

importance. I will honestly estimate the

gis Youve given me by the standards of

faith Youve given me. 4Just as each body

has many parts, and each part has a sepa-

rate function, 5so I am one part of Christs

body who serves in harmonious union

with other believers because we belong to

each other. 6My spiritual gis are differentthan other believers. I belong to the body,

that is, to other believers, and I need all of

them to help me serve You. Lord, Youve

given to each one of us a spiritual gi,

which is an ability to do certain things

well. ose with the gi of prophecy, that

is, speaking for You, should use their giaccording to their faith. 7ose with the

gi of helping others should serve peo-

ple well. ose with the gi of teaching

should teach well. 8ose with the gi of

preaching should do a good job deliver-

ing sermons. ose who have been given

money should use it generously for spiri-tual projects. ose who have the gi of

administration should manage everything

to Your glory. Finally let those with the gi

of mercy-showing, show compassion and

sympathy to the needy.

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ank You for giving me my spiritual gis.

May I discover them, train them, and may

I dedicate my abilities to serve You. Amen.

Sharing Christ with Others

9Lord, I will love everyone as You loved

me. I will not pretend to love people when

I dont. I will seek the good things of life,

and I will turn my back on evil things. 10I

will love others as Your children should,and have deep respect for others. 11I will

serve You with untiring effort, and will

be enthusiastic in all I do. 12I will gladly

accept all Your plans for me and I will be

patient in trouble while always praying to

do Your will. 13Lord, when Your saints are

in need, I will share with them the things

I have and open my home to them. 14Lord,

I will always bless those who persecute me,

and will never curse them.15I will share the

happiness of those who are happy, and I

will empathize with those who are sad. 16I

will treat everyone with equal kindness,

and will not condescend to the poor. I

will not allow myself to be self-satisfied,but will show Christ to the world. 17Lord,

I will never pay back evil for evil. I want

everyone to see my integrity. 18I will try to

get along with everyone, and be at peace

with them. I will not try to get even when

someone wrongs me. 19I will leave revenge

to You because the Scriptures teach, Ven-geance belongs to You, and You will pay

them back for their evil. Also the Scrip-

tures teach, 20If your enemy is hungry, you

must give him food, and if your enemy is

thirsty, you must give him water to drink,

and thus heap hot coals on his head. 21I

will resist evil and conquer it by doing

good.

Lord, I pray for those who hate me or try

to harm me. Enable them to do good, and

bless them with Your presence. I yield them

to You. Amen.

Romans 13Respect for Government

1Lord, I will submit to government

authorities since You have put them into

office and all civil authority comes from

You. 2ose who resist the laws of the land

are rebelling against Your authority over

them and You will punish them. 3osewho behave rightly according to Your

commands should not be afraid of judges.

Only criminals have anything to fear. I

will live honestly and correctly so I wont

be afraid of punishment. 4You put gov-

ernment in place to serve its citizens and

to carry out Your revenge on criminals,punishing them when they break the law.5I will obey the laws for my consciences

sake, and also because Im afraid of being

punished. 6is is the reason I will pay my

taxes, since all officials are Your officers. 7I

will give everyone what I owe them, and

if I owe taxes, I will pay them. When Imrequired to respect officials, I will respect

them and honor them.

Lord, I pray for all leaders over me, that

is, political, business, family, leaders, and

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P R I N C I P L E S O F P R A Y E R

1 - Abandonment-Prayer (Pss. 42:9)When we feel abandoned by God, we need to be sure we are looking for Him in the right

places. Or maybe the reason we havent heard from God is because we block Him out

with our chatter. God may forsake us so that we will examine our motives to see if we

are praying for the right reasons. Perhaps the truth is that God hasnt abandoned us, but

we have forsaken Him. Our feelings of abandonment might also stem from wrong ideas

about God. erefore, when we feel abandoned, we usually search for God more intently

or sincerely. Rather than blaming God for not being there, why not exercise faith and ask

Him to speak when we dont know what we want God to do for us? Yield the outcome

(and ourselves) to Him. Your will be done (Matt. 6:10). Abandonment sometimes leads

to the death of our pleasure, our comfort, our ambitions, or even our immediate happi-

ness. But God doesnt leave us in a state of turmoil when we abandon ourselves to His

will. When we relinquish the desires of our heart and submit to Gods will, we crucify our

self-will to Christ and allow Him to transform our lives. I will say to God my Rock, Why

have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

(Psalm 42:9). (SeeAffliction-Prayer, Forsaken-Prayer, Pain-Praying, Suffering-Prayer).

2 - Abba-Prayer (Rom. 8:15)

e name Abba is a Hebrew term of our modern Daddy or Papa. e name Abba

is an intimate designation we give to God to reflect our close relationship to Him. Our

heavenly Father is both powerful and transcendent, but He is also intimate and closeby. Human fathers are supposed to relate to us as the heavenly Father, but many times

they may not. When we approach our Abba, its our heart speaking to His heart (Pss.

103:13; Isa. 66:13; Hos. 11:1-4; Mark 14:36; Luke 11:2; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). (See Fel-

lowship-Praying, Intimacy-Prayer).

3 - Abiding in Scripture-Prayer (John 15:7)

Jesus promised, If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what youdesire, and it shall be done for you (John 15:7). But that doesnt mean we can get any-

thing or everything. We must meet the conditions, Abide in Me, and My [Jesus] words

abide in you (John 15:7). We abide by (1) knowing the Scripture so we will ask only for

Gods will; and (2) by living Gods Word that qualifies us for answers ( John 14:20, 15:1-8;

1 John 3:22, 24). (SeePrayer, Scripture-Prayer, Word-Praying).


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Principles of Prayer

4 - Absurd-Praying (1 Cor. 15:19)

ose who claim there is no resurrection are ridiculous, that is, they are inconsistent with

reason or common sense. If one accepts the claims of the Bible with its supporting super-

natural claims, then it is only foolish to reject the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Sothose who pray to the Father through Jesus must acknowledge the resurrection of Christ.

ey must faith-base their entire relationship with God on the resurrection (Pss. 16:10;

John 5:28-29, 11:25; Acts 4:2; 1 Cor. 15:19, 43, 44; Phil. 3:21; 1 ess. 4:13-18). (See

Hypocritical-Prayer, Unbelief-Hindrance to Prayer, Unpardonable-Sin Prayer).

5 - Accusation-Prayer Protection (Rev. 12:10)

Satan constantly accuses us to the heavenly Father, so we must pray constantly for spiritualprotection and victory over evil forces. We must rely on the intercession of Jesus our High

Priest, and the prayers of the Holy Spirit ( Job 1:9, 2:5; Zech. 3:1-2; Luke 22:31-32; Rom.

8:26; Titus 2:8; Heb. 7:25; 1 John 4:4; Rev. 12:10). (See Defensive-Warfare Prayer, see

various Victoryprayers).

6 - Advocate-Intercession (1 John 2:1)

Our Advocate is Jesus. As our lawyer He represents us before God the FatherJudge. Jesusprays for our forgiveness based on His blood that paid our penalty. He, the Sinless One,

was substituted for us, the sinners (Rom. 8:31; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 7:24-25, 9:4;

1 John 2:1). (SeeIntercessors-Prayer, Jesus-Agreement Prayer, Jesus Name-Praying).

7 - Affliction-Prayer (Pss. 102:2)

Seek Gods forgiveness and acceptance when we are hurt, alienated, or suffering. is is a

prayer to have our fellowship with God restored (Gen. 16:11, 29:32; Exod. 3:7, 4:31; 1Sam. 1:11; 2 Sam. 16:12; Neh. 1:3; Job 30:16; Pss. 22:24, 102:2; 2 Cor. 2:4, 4:17; Phil. 4:14;

1 ess. 1:6). (SeeDeliverance-Prayer, Pain-Praying, Persecution-Prayer, Suffering-Prayer).

8 - Aged-Prayer (Pss. 90:10)

For those aged persons who enter a time of physical, mental, and spiritual weakness, we

pray that God will keep them true to His standards and that God will protect them spiri-

tually with the strength of Christ (Phil. 1:21) to remain faithful in all things (Noah: Gen.9:20-29; Solomon: 1 Kings 11:1-4; David: Pss. 51:3-13). (SeeFamily-Heritage Prayer).

9 - Agree-Bless Prayer (Matt. 18:19)

When the blessor and recipient of a blessing agree in prayer for a blessing, they ask in faith

(See Matt. 18:19). (SeeAgreement-Prayer).


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