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Effectual Prayer for Perilous Times
Copyright 2021 by David W. Cloud
This editon Oct. 2021
ISBN 978-1-58318-308-3
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Published by Way of Life Literature
PO Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061
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www.wayoflife.org
Canada: Bethel Baptist Church
4212 Campbell St. N., London Ont. N6P 1A6
519-652-2619
Printed in Canada by
Bethel Baptist Print Ministry
Contents
Way of Life Bible Institute ......................................................4
Introduction .............................................................................5
Keys to Effectual Prayer ........................................................15
The Practicality of Prayer .....................................................45
Prayer in the New Testament ...............................................58
Prayer in the Old Testament ..............................................226
Review Questions ................................................................245
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Bibliography .........................................................................253
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Introduction
“Prayer is asking the God who sees all to look, the God
who knows all to take note, the God who forgets
nothing to remember, the God who works all things
after the counsel of His own will to do this thing I am
asking, the God who cannot lie to fulfill His promises.”
_____________
Memory Verses and Student Projects
Memory Verses: Eph. 6:18; Php. 4:6; Col. 4:2; 1 Th. 5:17; 1 Ti.
2:1; Jas. 5:16; 1 Pe. 4:7 e
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Student Projects:
Estimate how much time you spend daily in intercessory
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prayer.
Make a list of ways that you can add more prayer to your
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daily life and ministry.
List the answers you have received to prayer in the last year.
Using This Course
This Bible course has two major divisions. The first division
consists of the Introduction, Keys to Effectual Prayer, and The
Practicality of Prayer. The second division consists of the
expository studies on major passages on prayer in the Old
and New Testaments.
Depending on the objective and the time available to the
teacher (or the student, if the course is taken as self-study),
the course can be limited to the material in the first division
or it can be extended to include all of the studies.
6 Effectual Prayer for Perilous Times
What Is Prayer?
Prayer is communion with God, talking with God, praising
God, asking things from God, interceding for others with
God. It is “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks” (1 Ti. 2:1).
Prayer is spiritual warfare (“praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with
all perseverance and supplication for all saints,” Eph. 6:18).
Prayer is the provenience of man. Animals don’t pray. And as
far as we know, angels don’t pray.
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The Bible’s Strong Emphasis on Prayer
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Nothing is more important in the Christian life and ministry
than effectual prayer.
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In light of the following Bible facts about prayer, it has rightly
been said, “No prayer, no power; little prayer, little power;
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much prayer, much power.”
Prayer is mentioned at least 550 times in the Bible, 174 times
in the New Testament, 35 times in Acts, 48 times in Paul’s
epistles. Paul taught something about prayer in practically
every one of his epistles.
James, Peter, John, and Jude mention prayer 11 times.
Prayer is a major emphasis of Christ’s teaching (Mt. 5:44;
6:5-15; 9:38; 17:21; 21:22; 26:41; Mr. 13:33; Lu. 11:5-13;
18:1-6).
The prominent saints in the Bible were praying people (e.g.,
Enoch, Abraham, Hannah, Deborah, Samuel, David,
Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Nehemiah, Paul,
Lydia).
Introduction 7
Prayer is one of the four foundational characteristics of the
first church in Jerusalem (“they continued steadfastly in the
apostles doctrine and fellowship, and breaking of bread and
prayers,” Acts 2:42).
Prayer is to be “first of all” in the churches (1 Ti. 2:1-2).
God’s people are to pray without ceasing (1 Th. 5:17), to
continue instant or steadfast in prayer (Ro. 12:12), to pray
always (Eph. 6:18), to continue in prayer (Col. 4:2).
The prayers of the saints are kept before the throne of God as
sweet odors before Him and are effectual in producing His
great works on earth. Prayers are mentioned at the opening of
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the seven-sealed book which contains God’s plan for
overthrowing the rebellion on earth and establishing Christ’s
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eternal kingdom (Re. 5:8; 8:3-4). These are not the selfish
prayers of nominal believers; these are not the prayers of
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those who pray for comfort and help while they live
lukewarm, worldly lives; these are the prayers of the saints
who are living according to God’s will and praying according
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to God’s will, like the saints recorded in Scripture.
Prayer is a major part of spiritual warfare in the battle for
truth and righteousness in this present world. Paul
mentioned prayer prominently in his description of the whole
armor of God. “Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Eph. 6:18). The
devil does everything he can to stop or hinder effectual
prayer. He tries to make the saint think that his prayers won’t
change anything, that it doesn’t matter whether or not he
prays, or how much he prays. He tries to focus the saint’s
attention on his sin and failings and cause him to become too
discouraged to pray.
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The Wonder of Prayer
God knows all things and is in control of all things. God
knows all His works from the beginning of the world (Ac.
15:18). He declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10).
In Him we live, and move, and have our being (Ac. 17:28). He
knows when a sparrow falls (Mt. 10:29). He changes the times
and the seasons and removes kings and sets up kings (Da.
2:21). The believer is foreknown by God (Ro. 8:29). The plan
for my body is written in God’s book before I am formed in
the womb (Ps. 139:16). God knows my downsitting and my
uprising (Ps. 139:2). He besets me behind and before (Ps.
139:5). God works all things together for good to those who
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love Him and are the called according to His purpose (Ro.
8:28). God has an eternal plan and he is working all things
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after the counsel of his own will (Eph. 1:9-11).
But prayer is necessary for God’s will to be done in this world.
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Jesus taught us to ask (Lu. 11:9, 13).
We see this in the Psalms. Consider Ps. 71:3-9. The Psalmist
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knows that God is his fortress, but he asks God to be his
fortress. He knows that God has been his strength and help
from birth, but he asks God to not forsake him in old age.
We see this in God’s commands to pray for the peace of
Jerusalem (Isa. 62:6-7).
The Power of Prayer
“What wonders prayer has wrought! The Word of God
teems with its marvelous deeds. Believer, thou hast a
mighty engine in thy hand, use it well, use it constantly,
use it with faith, and thou shalt surely be a benefactor to
thy brethren” (C. H. Spurgeon).
“There is nothing like that of prevailing prayer--of
Abraham pleading for Sodom, Jacob wrestling in the
Introduction 9
stillness of the night, Moses standing in the breach,
Hannah intoxicated with sorrow, David heart-broken
with remorse and grief, Jesus in sweat of blood. Always
there is cost of passion unto blood. Such prayer prevails.
It turns ordinary mortals into men of power. It brings
fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God” (Samuel
Chadwick, Prevailing Prayer).
“Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of
God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is, and all
that God has, is at the disposal of prayer. But we must
use the key. Prayer can do anything that God can do,
and as God can do anything, prayer is
omnipotent” (R.A. Torrey, Power of Prayer).
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Moses’ intercessory prayer for Israel changed the course of
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history (Ex. 32:7-14).
Hannah’s prayer opened her womb and gave her a baby boy
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who was destined to be a mighty judge and prophet in Israel
(1 Sa. 1:9-18).
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Elijah’s prayer stopped the rain for three years (Jas. 5:17) and
then brought the rain again (1 Ki. 18:42-45).
Hezekiah’s prayer added 15 years to his life (Isa. 38:1-5).
The Jerusalem church’s prayer brought the filling of the Holy
Spirit and boldness in speaking God’s Word (Ac. 4:31) and
the miraculous release of Peter from prison (Ac. 12:5-19).
Prayer can bring spiritual revival to God’s people.
Prayer can awaken lost souls.
Prayer can convert lost souls.
Prayer can empower the preaching of God’s Word.
Prayer can encourage disheartened saints.
Prayer can protect endangered saints.
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Prayer can bring renewed and increased vision for God’s
work.
Prayer can bring conviction and disciplinary power to bear
upon backsliders’ hearts.
Prayer can convert youth and make disciples of them.
Prayer can call workers for the harvest.
Prayer can help keep peace in a nation.
Prayer can heal the sick in accordance with James 5.
Prayer can bring God’s infinite resources to bear upon any
situation.
Prayer can get things from God! He says, “... ye have not
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because ye ask not.” If Bill Gates or some other rich man said
that to us, we would probably waste no time asking for all
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sorts of things. We would prepare our list. But God is the
richest Man, yet we don’t ask. We fret and worry and depend
on our own small resources instead of asking for things from
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the hand of Almighty God. When we do ask, we tend to ask
for little things instead of great things, thus limiting God by
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our lack of faith. “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the
wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall
receive any thing of the Lord” (Jas. 1:6-7).
Prayer is the first cure for every problem in the Christian life
and ministry, whether it be spiritual deadness and
backsliding, lack of wisdom, fruitlessness, powerless
preaching, dullness of hearing, worldliness, losing the youth.
Consider some statements about the importance of prayer:
“No prayer, no power; little prayer, little power; much
prayer much power.”
“Prayer moves the Hand that moves the universe.”
“The man who kneels to God can stand up to anything.”
Introduction 11
“Prayer is the greatest weapon against the enemy of our
souls.”
“The neglect of prayer precedes all backsliding from the
grace of God” (W.G. Ketcheson, Prayer the Golden Key).
“No Christian is greater than his prayer life. The church
has many organizers, but few agonizers; many who pay,
but few who pray; many resters, but few wrestlers; many
who are enterprising, but few who are interceding.
People who are not praying are playing.”
“Every great movement of God can be traced to a
kneeling figure” (D.L. Moody).
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“A prayerful life is always a powerful life; and a
prayerless life is always a powerless life.”
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“Prayer is not everything, but everything is done by
prayer.”
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“You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but
you cannot do more than pray until you have
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prayed” (A.J. Gordon).
“The history of missions is the history of answered
prayer” (Samuel Zwemer).
“I have found in ‘the Morning Watch’ my strength and
my stay. The problems are solved before I meet them.
God hears and answers. Instead of letting my
circumstances get on top of me and sending me to a
sanitarium with a nervous breakdown, I am able to keep
on top of my circumstances. I know of no greater thrill
than the thrill of my ‘Morning Watch’” (Oswald J. Smith,
The Morning Watch).
Through prayer we have seen God do great things, such as
enabling us to publish a monthly magazine for 38 years and
build Way of Life Literature from nothing. I believe in asking
God for things, and He has given me most of what I have
12 Effectual Prayer for Perilous Times
asked for. He wants us to ask, so long as we are not asking
amiss to consume it upon our lusts (Jas. 4:3). God wants to
give. I have asked for trips around the world and expensive
camera equipment and automobiles and houses and all sorts
of things in God’s will.
Through prayer, we have often seen people healed of
sicknesses. When I was in intensive care with acute
pancreatitis in 2014, my vital signs and organs were
deteriorating quickly. The first four days was a fog of pain and
misery. I was taken off of all food and liquids and fed only
through an IV. I could only breathe with the assistance of
supplementary oxygen. The doctors said they had done all
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they could, but I wasn't improving. But as soon as we sent out
a notice and began receiving word that people were praying, I
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began to heal. We received calls and emails from 1,000 people
in 37 countries. When I was still on oxygen, some men in the
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church gathered around my bed and prayed, and within 15
minutes my oximeter reading went from 60 to above 90 and I
could breathe normally without supplementary oxygen. I
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never put that oxygen mask back on, and the next day I
walked out of the hospital.
Through prayer we have seen many people delivered from
demons. One young man was learning about the gospel when
he decided to attend a charismatic church. When the people
laid hands on him, he became demon possessed! On a bus
ride afterwards, he forced the passengers to shout praises to
Jesus, warning that if they didn’t participate, he would kill
them. Through prayer he was delivered of the demons and
called on the Lord to save him. He attended Bible school and
became a preacher.
Through prayer, the Maoist insurgency in Nepal was turned
back. The insurgency gained strength year by year, from
1996-2006, and the Maoists vowed to turn Nepal into a
communist state. More than 19,000 people died in the
Introduction 13
fighting and terrorism. They vowed to close the churches and
turn the public schools into a Maoist indoctrination system.
There was nothing to stop them. The king was overthrown;
the army was powerless to stop the Maoist advance; the
political parties were inapt and hopelessly divided in the face
of the threat. Nothing but earnest, believing prayer can
explain the fact that the Maoists gave up their goal and joined
the political process within a democratic system.
The Physical Position of Prayer
There is no one right way of praying in regard to the physical
position.
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Kneeling is an honorable way to pray (2 Ch. 6:13; Ps. 96:6;
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Da. 6:10; Lu. 22:41; Ac. 9:40; 20:36; 21:5; Eph. 3:14).
David prayed sitting down (2 Sa. 7:18).
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Hannah prayed standing (1 Sa. 1:26).
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We are taught to pray without ceasing, which would
encompass all physical positions (1 Th. 5:17).
The Neglect of Prayer
In spite of the emphasis on prayer in Scripture, prayer is
neglected in most Baptist churches.
Many churches have no regular prayer meetings in which the
people actually spend time in prayer. Recently I attended a
mid-week prayer meeting of a fundamental Baptist church,
and the prayer time consisted of four minutes of silent prayer.
And if a church does have any sort of real prayer meetings,
they are poorly attended, typically.
Thank the Lord there are exceptions to this, but
prayerlessness is all too typical.
14 Effectual Prayer for Perilous Times
It is frightful. No wonder there is such a widespread lack of
spiritual zeal and power in churches. No wonder the homes
are so weak, the youth so worldly, and so few souls are being
converted.
We must “double down” on prayer. The two most
fundamental things that a church can do to increase its power
and fruitfulness are to maintain a regenerate membership
(being exceedingly careful about baptism and receiving
members) and to greatly advance the church’s prayer life.
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Keys to Effectual Prayer
This is a summary of the Bible’s most important lessons on
prayer.
My maternal grandmother was a prayer warrior, and her
prayers were doubtless instrumental in my dramatic
conversion at age 23. She was the first person who taught me
some practical “secrets” of answered prayer. Since then I have
learned many other “keys” to effectual prayer, particularly the
following:
Outline
Praying e
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Praying on praying ground
Praying in God’s will
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Praying in faith
Praying with confidence that prayer changes things
Praying with boldness
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Praying with fervency
Praying with persistence
Praying for specific things
Praying with fasting
Praying with prayer partners
Praying for wisdom
Praying in everything
Praying without anxiety
Praying as partnership with God
Praying
The first key to effectual prayer is to pray. To have answered
prayer and power, we must simply pray. Pray, pray, pray!
16 Effectual Prayer for Perilous Times
We must pray in a private prayer closet, pray with the wife,
pray with the husband, pray with the family, pray with
friends, pray with the church, pray in prayer meetings, pray
while driving, pray while walking, pray while running, pray
while shopping, pray when you feel like praying and pray
when you don’t, when you are healthy and when you are sick,
when you are happy and when you are sad, when it seems like
your prayers are zooming into the very presence of God and
when it seems like they aren’t reaching the ceiling.
The first key to effectual prayer is not to study prayer or to
talk about prayer or to take prayer requests or to think about
prayer. The first key is simply to pray!
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Praying on Praying Ground
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Praying ground is to have a right standing before God in
Christ and to approach God on the basis of that standing.
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“If we would pray aright, the first thing we should do is
to see to it that we really get an audience with God, that
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we really get into His very presence. Before a word of
petition is offered, we should have the definite
consciousness that we are talking to God, and should
believe that He is listening and is going to grant the
thing that we ask of Him” (R.A. Torrey).
This is accomplished in the following ways:
Praying ground is to be saved and know it; it is to be
confident of Christ and His perfect atonement.
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience, and our bodies washed with pure
water” (Heb. 10:22).
A true heart is a heart that has genuine faith as opposed to
the hypocrite.
Keys to Effectual Prayer 17
A true heart is to have full assurance of faith in Christ, as
Peter had: “We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God (Joh. 6:69).
A true heart is to have a heart that is sprinkled from an evil
conscience. An evil conscience refers to being unsure of the
sufficiency of Christ’s blood. It is to trust to some extent in
dead works (self-righteousness, religion, sacraments, etc.)
rather than 100% in Christ (Heb. 9:14).
To be sprinkled from an evil conscience is to have confidence
in the sufficiency of the blood of Christ to save me completely
and forever. To have one’s body washed with pure water refers
to believer’s baptism which is a picture of the believer dying
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with Christ, being buried with Christ, and being raised up
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with Christ. The washing of the body with water typifies the
washing of the soul through regeneration. Baptism is merely a
figure. It is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh
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(through immersion in water) that saves, it is faith in the
resurrection of Christ that saves (1 Pe. 3:21).
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I remember praying to God as a child. I attended church with
my parents from my earliest years, and it always came
naturally to me to talk to God, but I didn’t know God
personally in redemption. I was like Samuel who “did not yet
know the LORD” (1 Sa. 3:7). When I was 23, I repented
before God and put my faith 100% in Jesus Christ as Lord
and Saviour (Ac. 20:21), and it was then that I began to learn
to pray effectually as a child of God. Only then could I say
with Paul, “For God is my witness whom I serve with my
spirit in the gospel of his Son...”
Praying ground is to be confident of my standing in Christ.
I must know what I am in Christ and what I have in Christ.
The Practicality of Prayer
To increase a church’s prayer life is one of the most
fundamental things that can be done to increase spiritual life,
power, growth, and fruit.
There are many ways that individuals, homes, and churches
can increase in prayer.
A private prayer closet. I am convinced that the reason why
it is so difficult to get the Lord’s people to attend real prayer
meetings is that so few of them have an effectual private
prayer life. Christ mentioned a prayer closet in Matthew 6:6.
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This simply refers to a quiet, private place where the
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individual meets with God. Effectual congregational prayer
begins with effectual private prayer. God’s people must be
prayer warriors in their private lives. They must engage in
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intercessory prayer for their families, their church leaders,
their friends in Christ, their nation, the unsaved. The
churches must teach and exhort the people to have private
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prayer closets. Mothers with young children can find it
difficult to have a private time, but it can be done when the
children are sleeping, either before they wake in the morning
or during a nap time. And the mother must discipline the
children to be quiet at times. This is for their good and for her
mental well-being.
Prayer by husbands and wives. The husband’s first prayer
partner should be his own wife. We see husbands and wives
praying together in 1 Corinthians 7:5 and 1 Peter 3:7. In the
latter verse, the husband is warned that mistreatment of the
wife can result in his prayers being hindered. Pray together
for each of your children from conception.
Prayer at family devotions. The family’s prayer should not be
routine and ritual. The parents need to lead the children in
46 Effectual Prayer for Perilous Times
how to pray and what to pray for. Praying for specific things
and seeing God answer is a powerful witness to and spiritual
education for the children.
Prayer partners. Paul believed in prayer partners. See Ro.
15:30-32; 2 Co. 1:11; Eph. 6:19; Php. 1:19; Col. 4:3-4; 1 Th.
5:25; 2 Th. 3:1; Phm. 22; Heb. 13:18-19. Paul sought prayer
partners, and he showed us that the requests should be
specific. There is great power when God’s people agree
together in prayer for specific things. I could write a large
book filled with the answers to prayer we have experienced
through prayer partners. I’m not talking about a prayer letter
to a group of people, such as a missionary prayer letter,
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though that certainly has its place. Here I’m talking about a
select number of men and women who are known to be true
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and active prayer partners for me and my situation in
particular and whom I can depend on for prayer support. I
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learned the importance of prayer partners early on in my
Christian life. My maternal grandmother taught me this.
After an unsuccessful battle to quit smoking that lasted
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several weeks, I was able to quit after asking for prayer from
the church. I have seen a steady stream of miracles in answer
to prayer for 48 years, such as starting Way of Life Literature
and O Timothy magazine and new churches and full-time
Bible schools. Every time I have started a new ministry, I did
not have the resources to do it, and I had to proceed by
earnest prayer, and prayer partners were always an important
part of the process.
Corporate prayer. Prayer offered as a church during the
services is important. We have seen great answers to prayer
by this means. These days we have some of our young men
with good testimonies lead the church in praying for the
following: prayer for the nation according to 1 Timothy 2:1-5,
prayer that God will send forth laborers into His harvest
according to Luke 10:2, prayer for our children according to 2
Prayer in the New Testament
In this section of the course, we intend to look at every major
passage on prayer in the New Testament.
Instead of starting in Matthew, we will begin with two
passages on prayer in 1 John, because these passages give
foundational truths about prayer that must be kept in mind
when studying other passages.
1 John 3:18-22
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in
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tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know
that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts
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before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater
than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our
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heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward
God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because
we keep his commandments, and do those things that
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are pleasing in his sight.”
Answered prayer requires walking in obedience to God. An
obedient Christian walk has been called “praying ground.”
“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep
his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in
his sight” (1 Jo. 3:22). “The greatest secret of prevailing prayer
is what John records from his own joyous experience in 1 Jo.
3:22 ... Notice those wonderful words: ‘Whatsoever we ask,
we receive of him.’ Think of it! Not one prayer, great or small,
goes unanswered. Then notice the reason: ‘Because we keep
his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in
his sight’ (1 Jo. 3:22). A life entirely surrendered to doing
God’s will as revealed in His Word and to doing the things
that are pleasing in His sight--a life completely at God’s
disposal--is the secret of prevailing prayer. Do you wonder
Prayer in the New Testament 59
why you do not get what you ask for, why you cannot say, like
John, ‘Whatever I ask I get’? It is not because he was an
apostle and you are just an ordinary Christian. It is because
he could say, ‘I keep His commandments and do those things
(and only those things) that are pleasing in His sight,’ while
you cannot. It is because his life was entirely surrendered to
God, while yours is not” (R.A. Torrey, God’s Power in Your
Life).
John explained the obedience walk in chapter one of his
epistle. It means to walk in the light with God and to confess
your sins (1 Jo. 1:5-9).
1 John 3:18-22 is a foundational passage on prayer. The rule
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of comparing Scripture with Scripture requires that we always
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keep this truth in mind when interpreting passages on prayer.
For example, John 14:13 says, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in
my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in
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the Son.” This promise cannot be interpreted properly except
by comparing it with 1 John 3:22. To pray in Christ’s name
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means to walk in obedience to His will.
Obedience produces the right thinking so that the believer
has a spiritual mind and prays according to God’s will.
Compare Psalm 37:4. If I delight in the Lord, He gives me the
right desires and then He fulfills those desires. This is in
contrast to praying according to one’s carnal lusts (Jas. 4:3).
This truth is emphasized throughout Scripture. Compare Ps.
66:18; Pr. 15:8; 28:9; Isa. 1:15-17; Jas. 4:3; 1 Pe. 3:12; 1 Jo.
5:14-15
1 John 5:14-15
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if
we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth
us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask,
60 Effectual Prayer for Perilous Times
we know that we have the petitions that we desired of
him.”
1. Prayer must be according to God’s will.
This is what it means to pray in Jesus’ name. It is like using
someone else’s checkbook or credit card (“buy a bag of rice
and get yourself a candy bar”).
This is why we must always pray, “Thy will be done.” Prayer is
not demanding; it is asking. This is the example that Christ
gave in the Garden of Gethsemane (“nevertheless not as I
will, but as thou wilt,” Mt. 26:39). The child of God must
always be ready to accept a red light from God.
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2. We learn to know God’s will through God’s Word (1 Co.
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2:15-16). We don’t depend on our intuition and feelings. To
know God’s will we must study the Bible and learn to rightly
interpret it. The prayer of faith is prayer based on God’s Word
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(“faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,”
Ro. 10:17).
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3. We can have confidence in prayer as we know God and His
will (“confidence ... we know,” 1 Jo. 5:14-15).
Whatever God has revealed in Scripture as His will can be
prayed with confidence. When God has revealed that He
wants to do a particular thing, and when I pray for that thing,
I can have complete confidence that it will be done. For
example, praying for salvation (Ro. 10:11-13), praying for
laborers for God’s harvest (Lu. 10:2), praying for government
leaders that we might lead a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and honesty (1 Ti. 2:1-4), praying for the
strengthening of churches (1 Ti. 3:15), praying for spiritual
wisdom (Col. 1:9), praying to walk worthy of God’s will (Col.
1:10), praying for spiritual fruit (Col. 1:10), praying to know
God (Col. 1:10), praying for strength for the Christian life
Prayer in the New Testament 61
(Col. 1:11), praying for God’s Word to have free course and to
be glorified (2 Th. 3:1).
Matthew 6:5-18
“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. But when ye
pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they
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think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not
ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what
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things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner
therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed
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be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us
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not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if
ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither
will your Father forgive your trespasses. Moreover when ye
fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they
disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when
thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou
appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in
secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee
openly.”
The Son of God on earth was a Man of prayer, and in this
marvelous passage He teaches His people how to pray.
62 Effectual Prayer for Perilous Times
1. Effectual prayer is not for show after the fashion of the
Pharisees (Mt. 6:5).
If prayer is for man’s sake, it is hypocrisy. I think of some
church members who have a very poor testimony, but when
they pray in church they sound so spiritual! Only the Lord
knows man’s heart, but oftentimes this is doubtless just a
show. God hates hypocrisy. What we are in church on Sunday,
we must be on Monday in the home, at the school, on the job,
and around our friends.
2. Effectual prayer flows from an intimate relationship with
God (“pray to thy Father,” Mt. 6:6).
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Effectual prayer is not a religious ritual; it is communicating
with God as Abba Father. It requires that the supplicant know
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God as Father through repentance and faith in Christ. Christ
is describing an intimate, private walk with God. The secret of
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answered prayer is the supplicant’s day-by-day walk with God
in the most secret and intimate part of his life.
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3. Prayer should first be a private matter between me and
God (Mt. 6:6).
This does not mean that public prayer is not important; it
means that prayer starts in my private life and flows from my
private life, and if I don’t have an effective private prayer life I
should not pray in public.
There are at least four kinds of prayer: private closet prayer
(Mt. 6:6), continual prayer (1 Th. 5:17), corporate prayer or
praying with others (Mt. 18:19-20; Ac. 4:24, 31; 12:5, 12; 2 Co.
1:11), desperate prayer (Mt. 14:30).
4. Effectual private prayer requires a shut closet (“enter into
thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door,” Mt. 6:6).
Prayer in the New Testament 63
You need to find a private, quiet place, and you need to find
the right time when you will not be distracted. If there is any
opinion, it is not honoring to God to have one’s devotions in a
place and time where there are distractions. I am convinced
that when you are supposed to be having a conversation with
one person, it is rude to talk on the phone with or text
someone else. How much more is it rude and dishonoring to
God to fail to give Him your full attention when you are
reading His Word and praying? Seek wisdom from God in
this matter. Mothers with young children can find it difficult
to have a private time with the Lord, but it can be done when
the children are sleeping, either before they wake in the
morning or during a nap time. And the mother must
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discipline the children to be quiet at times. This is for their
good and for her mental well-being. “Some are hindered in
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prayer by selecting an unfit time and place. There are times
when you may expect a knock at your own door, do not just
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then knock at God's door. There are hours when your letters
arrive, when customers call in, when trades-people need
attention, when workmen want orders, and it would be
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foolish to be going into your closet just then. ... I am alluding
now to times specially devoted to supplication, and I say
choose a season and a place where you can be free from
interruption. A pious lad who had no place at home to pray
in, went to the stable and climbed up into the hay-loft; but
very soon some one came up the ladder and interrupted him:
the next time he took care to pull the ladder up after him, a
very useful hint for us” (Charles Spurgeon).
Notice the wonderful promise that Christ gives to those who
pray privately before the Lord (Mt. 6:6). God has taught us to
pray, and He has given us great promises to encourage us.
5. Effectual prayer is not vain repetition (Mt. 6:7-8).
64 Effectual Prayer for Perilous Times
This is not a warning against repetition in the sense of
praying for the same things persistently. The Bible encourages
that (e.g., Lu. 18:1).
It is a warning against vain repetition.
- Hindu mantras and Buddhist prayer wheels are examples.
At the Boudha stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal, Buddhists
circumnavigate the stupa clockwise a prescribed number of
times while whirling their prayer wheels. The prayers which
are written on the wheel and on paper inside the wheel are
supposed to be activated by the repetitious rituals. The
heathen think that mere repetition brings some sort of
blessing (i.e., Hare Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram). The
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heathen think that they can arouse God by making noises and
repeating religious incantations.
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- Nominal Christians engage in vain repetition when they use
rote prayers and ritualistic liturgy. For example, the Lord’s
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Prayer itself has been made into a rote ritual. Catholic prayer
beads are an example of ritualistic, repetitious prayers. The
practitioner prays the Lord’s Prayer six times and the Hail
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Mary 50 times! Consider the Scala Sancta in Rome. These are
supposed to be the 28 steps that Christ ascended to appear
before Pilate. Supplicants climb the stairs on their knees while
repeating at each step, “My Jesus, through the sorrow you
suffered in being separated from your dear Mother and your
beloved disciples, have mercy on me. Holy Mother, pierce me
through in my heart each wound renew of my Savior
crucified.”
- Contemplative prayer, which comes from the Catholic
monastic movement and has swept through evangelicalism in
the 21st century, also uses vain repetition. For example, the
“Jesus Prayer” consists of repeating the name “Jesus” with
every breath. In another form, the Jesus Prayer consists of
repeating, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me,” or, “Lord
Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” This is
to be repeated throughout the day. J.P. Moreland and Klaus
