04/23/23

 

 

Jn 16:23 (NKJV) — 23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing (speaking of his resurrection). Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 

 

Prayer is one of the most essential and yet most neglected disciplines Christians are to attend to. They may attend church, but they will rarely attend prayer meetings. As a result, they miss out on many blessings from the Lord because they don’t know them and don’t ask him properly for them. This may be because they have not been taught the importance of prayer. 

 

I want to make sure I am not negligent in teaching you the importance, necessity and power of prayer. Therefore, I intend to encourage you with this message today to. 

 

Make Prayer A Priority!

It’s Your Portal To The 

Kingdom Of God

 

Let us understand that God is willing to give us whatever we need and ask for, but we must honor him by asking him for them in prayer. God has given us the great privilege to come before him and ask for anything we desire, and he will give it to us. That means for us, as children of God, all things are possible for us through prayer!  Most assuredly, I say to you, WHATEVER you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  

 

No good thing will God withhold from us.  Such is his love for us, that he gave his only son, and he will also give us the simple basic things we need. But he will do more, he is willing to give us much more than what we need so we can experience a more abundant life. He has given us his exceedingly great and precious promises (2 Pe 1:4) in his word so we may know what to ask him for. Not only will he give us things that we see in his word, he says 

 

Je 33:3 (NKJV) — 3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ 

 

He will tell us other things that we don’t even know to ask about so that we can ask him for them. 

 

What a wonderful privilege! Actually, when you study the catechism you begin to see some of these things as you hear from the Holy Spirit speaking to you.

 

When we look at the miracles that were performed in the Old Testament, we see them as great events. But God has promised even greater things for us now because we can use the name of Jesus to ask. It is time we begin to take back what the enemy has stolen from us! 

 

Unfortunately, it will take more effort than many of us are willing to commit. It will take a prayer warrior!

 

There’s a old statement that I remember from years ago that I want you to keep in mind:

 

“You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.”

 

• Summary: 

• • It was our Father’s intention to give man dominion over the earth. 

• • Adam gave up dominion and gave it to satan. 

• • Jesus honored the Father and asked Him to restore dominion for man and paid the price for man’s deliverance; The Father did. Then, 

• • Jesus then tells us to use his name to also ask the Father for dominion over the earth for us. 

• • • In our asking we show faith and the Father, rewards our faith.

• • Jesus is our example of how to pray

• Adam was originally given dominion over all the earth (Ge 1:26) but lost it seeking things of the world. He disrespected the word of God the Father.  Let us not be guilty and miss out on the wonderful blessings too by failing to make prayer a priority as the word of God tells us.

• • God gave back all authority to Jesus (Mat 28:18) as He told him prophetically in Psalm 2.

Ps 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 

• • • “Ask of me” meant praying.

• • • God gave him

• • • • the nations for an inheritance

• • • • the ends of the earth for his possession 

Jesus got whatever he asked of the Father because the Father told him to ask. 

• • • • Jesus tells us to also to ask and we are told to use his name to make our prayers successful.

• • • • Whatever we ask for in his name, he will give it to us.

• • Jesus redeemed us and gave dominion back to us on condition also asking for the things we want using his name. 

Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 

 

We have been given a great privilege to ask using the name of Jesus. It is as if we were him. One day, we will be just like him, but in the meantime, we are, hopefully, conforming daily more to the image of him. 

 

We should learn to use his name, not just like abracadabra, or open sesame, but with a true understanding that we have been given authority to use it and with an understanding of what it means.

Mt 28:18 (NKJV) — 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 

 

(Php 2:10–11 (NKJV) — 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. )

 

Why? Ps 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 

 

• • Dominion has been re-establish for us through Christ Jesus, but we must ask for things in his name, just as God told Jesus to ask.

Ps 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 

Honor must be given to the father through Jesus. That is the reason why the world hates the name of Jesus and why churches are coming under attack because they promote the name of Jesus.

 

I encourage you to read Psalms 2 to get a better understanding. Jesus also said:

 

Jn 14:12–14 (NKJV) — 12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. 

• • • These works are accomplished through prayer in the name of Jesus! 

• • • We can do the same things that Christ did. But the real challenge is do we have the faithfulness to pray as Jesus did?

 

• • We must learn to ask and apply ourselves diligently to prayer to show our faith and our faith will be rewarded! 

• • • Prayer is an act of faith! (Luke 18:7)

• • We have been told that anything we ask for in prayer we can receive.

(Ps 34:15 (NKJV) — 15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. 

 

2 Ch 16:9 (NKJV) — 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.)

 

• • • God wants to bless us, but he has made the condition of blessings be contingent upon us asking him in the name of Jesus. 

• • • Jesus sacrificed his life not only for us to have eternal life, but for us to have abundant life.

 

• • The reason we do not have things in this life the way we desire is because we do not ask. (Jas 4:2–3 …you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. )

 

• • Just as Jesus was told to ask, we must learn to ask so that we may receive all that God desires for us to have. See how Scripture repeats this

Mt 7:7–8 (NKJV) — 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

 

Mt 7:11 (NKJV) — 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

 

• • • We must ask, and then ask, and then ask, and then seek it, and then seek it and then seek it and then knock, and then knock, and knock again knowing our prayers will be heard and we will receive what we ask for. 

• • • God will do it because we are his children!

• • • • Please learn to start seeing yourself as a child of God!

 

• • Jesus taught us to pray for the restoration of his kingdom.

Mt 6:9–10 (NKJV) — 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 

 

• • • He told us to pray in this manner. The kingdom may not in the lives of other people, but if we pray sincerely and fervently, we need to believe the kingdom shall be for us and our family. 

• • • We must learn to pray knowing that God will hear our prayers. When we ask for things in Jesus name, we show our faith in him.

 

Asking (Praying) is Just as important as studying the Word!

 

• Asking - praying - is just as important as studying the word. What two things did the apostles say they would devote themselves to? 

Ac 6:4 (NKJV) — 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 

• • Prayer may seem to be ineffective to some, but prayer is one of the two most important and powerful things a person can learn to do.

• • • Study of the word and prayer!

• • • Just a few things to share before we continue

 

• • • • Prayer requires effort. To be effective one must work at prayer.

• • • • • Like Jacob who refused to stop wrestling in prayer until he got his blessing.

• • • • • We are to pray without ceasing!

• • • • Prayer is eternal.

• • • • • The words of prayer enter into the ears of God. God is eternal. So the prayers you speak are heard by him and are eternal with him.

• • • • Prayer is the portal to the Kingdom of God and his supernatural power. 

• • • • •  Mt 19:26 (NKJV) — 26.. “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

• • • • • The civil rights struggle was won first by prayer before protesting in the streets.

• • • • Prayer unleashes the forces of God into the world.

• • • • • Ps 103:20 (NKJV) — 20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. 

• • • • Prayer commands the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

• • • • • That will be done

• • • • Prayer is the currency of God, money is the currency of man.

• • I’ve got a lot more but not time for more…But let’s take the time to look to see how…

Jesus Made Prayer a Priority

 

Jesus told us that men are to always pray and not give up. 

Lk 18:1 (NKJV) — 1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 

 

• Jesus knew he had to ask to make things come to pass. Therefore, he was a prayer warrior! He made prayer a priority in his life. Let’s just look at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and see how they describe his life.

 

In Matthew

• • Mt 14:23 (NKJV) — 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

• • • He recognized the importance of solitude and silence in fostering intimacy with God. 

• • Mt 6:6 (NKJV) — 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 

• • • This reveals that prayer is not just something we just do publicly, but it is something we do privately to develop a more personal relationship with God.

• • Mt 26:39 (NKJV) — 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 

• • • He knew he had to ask according to the will of God. So do we!

1 Jn 5:14–15 (NKJV) — 14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 

 

In Mark

• • Mk 1:35 (NKJV) — 35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 

• • • Jesus prioritizes his prayer time by getting up early in the morning to do so.

• • Mk 6:45–46 (NKJV) — 45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 

 

48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 

• • • This reveals Jesus’ reliance on God’s power by prayer. He sought God’s assistance before walking on water. 

• • • Notice Peter: Mt 14:28–29 (NKJV) — 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 

This was a prayer.

29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 

• • • • Peter asked for the miraculous to occur. We can ask for miracles also!

• • • • Miracles occur as a result of prayer! A prayer taps into the power of God.

 

In Luke

• • Lk 5:16 (NKJV) — 16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. 

• • • He went where there were not crowds of people.

• • Lk 6:12–13 (NKJV) — 12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 

• • • This passage reveals that Jesus did not make important decisions lightly; he sought guidance from God through prayer.

• • • • If he sought the guidance of God, how much more so should we?

• • Lk 9:28–30 (NKJV) — 28 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 As he prayed (prayer is the portal), the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 

• • • Prayer is the portal to the kingdom of God.

• • • Moses and Elijah crossed over!

 

In John

• • Before raising Lazarus

Jn 11:41–42 (NKJV) — 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 

• • in John 17, we have the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the New Testament. This chapter is often referred to as the High Priestly Prayer, where Jesus prays for himself, his disciples, and all believers. He acknowledges his dependence on the Father

• • A side note: Je 29:11–12 (NKJV) — 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 

• • • To make the plans of God be manifest in your life requires prayer. You must learn to ask God for what you want.

 

• Summary: 

• • It was our Father’s intention to give man dominion over the earth. 

• • Adam gave up dominion and gave it to satan. 

• • Jesus honored the Father and asked Him to restore dominion for man and paid the price for man’s deliverance; The Father did. Then, 

• • Jesus then tells us to use his name to also ask the Father for dominion over the earth for us. 

• • • In our asking we show faith and the Father, rewards our faith.

• • Jesus is our example of how to pray

 

What have you got to lose by praying? Absolutely Nothing!

 

What have you got to gain by praying? All that you can believe to ask for and more!!!

 

•  Remember now: Just as Jesus was told he had to ask, we have to ask

Ps 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 

 

Jn 16:23 (NKJV) — 23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing (speaking of his death and resurrection). Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 

 

Let us be diligent now Make Prayer A Priority!  It’s Your Portal To The Kingdom Of God