Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.
December 2020
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
Prayer is spiritual communication between man and God, a two-way relationship in which man should primarily listen to God but also talk with Him. Prayer to God is like a little child's conversation with his father. There are many promises in God's Word to encourage us to pray, such as:
Psalm 91:15, "He shall call upon me and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him."
Isaiah 65:24 "And it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
Scriptures tell us that we are to pray for one another. We are assured that God hears and answers prayer that is according to His will.
James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
The word "effectual" means "energized," ... energized by the Holy Spirit.
There seems to be two types of prayer: individual prayer, which includes a man and his wife, who are one, and corporate prayer. Although I have not researched this completely, I cannot think of one scripture when Jesus prayed together with His disciples. He always prayed alone. That is because men do not know how to pray.
Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
And what does the Spirit pray for? that the Lord Jesus Christ might be magnified and lifted up.
Before we actually pray, I want to read a few quotations from Leonard Ravenhill, an outstanding English 20th century evangelist and author. The scriptures I will include are NOT part of his quotations. (quote)
Before we actually pray, I want to read a few quotations from Leonard Ravenhill, an outstanding English 20th century evangelist and author. The scriptures I will include are NOT part of his quotations. (quote)
Preaching affects men; prayer affects God. Preaching affects time; prayer affects eternity. No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying.
Most Christians pray to be blessed. Few pray to be broken.
Psalm 34:18, "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."
Prayer is not a preparation for the battle; it is the battle!
A sinning man will stop praying, and a praying man will stop sinning.
The self-sufficient does not pray, the self-satisfied will not pray, the self-righteous cannot pray.
I believe the place of prayer is not only a place where I lose my burdens, but also a place where I get a burden. He shares my burden and I share His burden. To know that burden, we must hear the voice of the Spirit. To hear that voice, we must be still and know that He is God.
The Sunday morning service shows how popular your church is. The evening services show how popular your pastor is. Your private prayer time shows you how popular God is!
The law of prayer is the law of harvest: sow sparingly in prayer, reap sparingly; sow bountifully in prayer, reap bountifully. The trouble is we are trying to get from our efforts what we never put into them.
The secret of praying is praying in secret. The pulpit can be a shop window to display one's talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off.
A sinning man will stop praying, and a praying man will stop sinning.
The self-sufficient does not pray, the self-satisfied will not pray, the self-righteous cannot pray.
I believe the place of prayer is not only a place where I lose my burdens, but also a place where I get a burden. He shares my burden and I share His burden. To know that burden, we must hear the voice of the Spirit. To hear that voice, we must be still and know that He is God.
The Sunday morning service shows how popular your church is. The evening services show how popular your pastor is. Your private prayer time shows you how popular God is!
The law of prayer is the law of harvest: sow sparingly in prayer, reap sparingly; sow bountifully in prayer, reap bountifully. The trouble is we are trying to get from our efforts what we never put into them.
The secret of praying is praying in secret. The pulpit can be a shop window to display one's talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off.
Matthew 6:5-6, "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
God doesn't answer prayer, He answers desperate prayer!
Prayer in its highest form is agonizing soul sweat. Luke 22:39-46
39 And He came out, and went, as He was wont, to the mount of Olives; and His disciples also followed Him.40 And when He was at the place, He said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.43 And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him.44 And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.45 And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow,46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
Surely revival delays because prayer decays.
The man who can get believers to praying would, under God, usher in the greatest revival that the world has ever known.
Joel 2:17, "Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar."
The understanding soul prays; the praying soul gets understanding.
Prayer is not an argument with God to persuade him to move things our way, but an exercise by which we are enabled by his Spirit to move ourselves his way.
Luke 11:1, "And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."
They did not ask Him to teach them concerning other things, but they came specifically to Him to teach them to pray. There came a day when the disciples realized that something was wrong in their prayer life. I wonder if they found themselves where the church today finds itself so often - trying to get God to line up with our will. We tell the Lord what we need and then tell Him what to do. We tell Him what His word says and that we are standing on His promises.
Our approach to prayer is to attempt to convince God of what we think should happen. If still nothing happens that we want to happen, we enroll someone else to pray with us - let's agree together and that will get the job done. If we both agree, then God has to do it because after all, "if any two agree here on earth" He just has to do it. What an act of trying to convince God to line up with our will!
Do you believe that the Jews, having been with the Lord during all of that time, knew something about prayer? Of course, they knew how to verbalize words and to ask for something, but they had to be taught by Him how to approach God. We need to recognize that we must approach the Father by the Spirit of the Son.
Our approach to prayer is to attempt to convince God of what we think should happen. If still nothing happens that we want to happen, we enroll someone else to pray with us - let's agree together and that will get the job done. If we both agree, then God has to do it because after all, "if any two agree here on earth" He just has to do it. What an act of trying to convince God to line up with our will!
Do you believe that the Jews, having been with the Lord during all of that time, knew something about prayer? Of course, they knew how to verbalize words and to ask for something, but they had to be taught by Him how to approach God. We need to recognize that we must approach the Father by the Spirit of the Son.
Psalm 65:4, "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple."
In all of that time that the disciples had been with Jesus, did they ever pray? I believe that they did, although I am at a loss to find a scriptural example of their praying. Maybe they saw something different as Jesus was praying that caused them to ask Him to teach them how to pray. Words are a symbol of prayer, but prayer is more than words or an expression of our wants, needs, and desires. It is a way of approaching God and the only way to approach God is through the Son with the Spirit - the Spirit of the Son who dwelleth in us. That is real prayer.
The Lord desires to cause all of us to arise and stand before Him, asking Him to teach us how to pray. May we come before Him saying - Lord, here I am; teach me Your ways. As we pray such a prayer, we can be assured that the Lord will do more wonders if we are just willing to make our hearts available to Him.
Matthew 6:5-13
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Our Father in heaven knows our needs before we ask Him. He also knows our greeds, which we sometimes pray for.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.11 Give us this day our daily bread12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Notice that the word "me" is not in the prayer.
Paul prayed for the Ephesians that the eyes of their understanding might be opened. Likewise, we need not only to pray for ourselves, but we also need to pray for all believers. I believe that if we will dedicate more time to intercede for God's people everywhere, that the Lord will move in the midst of His people and there will be a great impact in the church today.
Job 42:10, "And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends:"
Jesus told us in Matthew 5 to pray for those who despitefully use us (or who falsely accuse us) and persecute us.
Let us pause for two minutes and each listener can pray for all those who have falsely accused us or persecuted us.
Paul prayed in Colossians 1:9 for the Colossian church, "I do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." And why be filled with the knowledge of His will? So that our walk might be worthy of the Lord and that we might bring forth fruit as seen in Colossians 1:10.
Let us pause for two minutes and each listener can pray for all those who have falsely accused us or persecuted us.
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Paul prayed in Colossians 1:9 for the Colossian church, "I do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." And why be filled with the knowledge of His will? So that our walk might be worthy of the Lord and that we might bring forth fruit as seen in Colossians 1:10.
Philippians 4:6-7, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Psalm 100:4, Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.
Prayers of thanksgiving.
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Prayers of praise. Psalm 150
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Ezekiel 44,
15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:
16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
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