Pray Without Ceasing

Ancil Jenkins

Newsweek Poll

87%: God answers prayers

54%: pray on a daily basis, including

25%: pray once a day

29%: more than once a day

82% ask for health or success for a child or family member

82% believe God does not play favorites in answering prayers

79%: God answers prayers for healing someone with an incurable disease

75% ask for strength to overcome personal weakness

72%: prayers for help in finding a job are asnwered

54%: when God doesn’t answer prayer, it wasn’t God’s will to answer

51%: God does NOT answer prayers to win sporting events

36% never pray for financial or career success

Newsweek Poll (continued)

3 Questions1. What is “answered” prayer? Is it only when God says “yes”?2. Why do 18% of people surveyed say they turn away from God when their prayers are not answered?

3. What does it mean to “pray without ceasing”?

What Prayer Is NOT

What Prayer Is NOT

•Prayer cannot be selfish (James 4:3)

•Not just help in times of trouble

•Prayer cannot be trivial (does our prayer-life mature as we do?).

•“Yeses” to prayers are not performance-based.

•Prayer does not depend on outward circumstances.

What Prayer IS

What Prayer IS

•Acceptable prayer depends on the condition and attitude of one’s heart.

•It is a child speaking with his/her Father (Matthew 6:9; 7:11).

•It is seeking.

•It is something on which we improve.

•It shows our dependence upon God, and our submission to Him.

•POWERFUL!

An Unknown Author Said…

The size of your GodDetermines the size of your prayer request;

The size of your prayer requestDetermines the size of your answers.

What Are Your Requests?