Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Prayer: A New Testament Approach
    Prayer: A New Testament Approach
    Prayer: A New Testament Approach
    Ebook117 pages1 hour

    Prayer: A New Testament Approach

    By Brenton Williams

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    How many prayers are uttered each day? Billions. How many are heard and acted on? Not quite so many. How can our praying be more effective? How can we increase the levels of answered prayer?

    This book outlines a New Testament approach to prayer. It’s a radical departure from usual prayer thinking. Friendship is promoted as the basis for effective prayer and love is the atmosphere in which it happens.

    Its content doesn’t contain new methods or prayer ‘secrets’. It does have the capacity to transform your prayer experience and make it more realistic and effective.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrenton Williams
    Release dateJul 23, 2018
    ISBN9780463078211
    Prayer: A New Testament Approach
    Author

    Brenton Williams

    Brenton Williams was born in 1947 to non-christian parents and, apart from attending a local Sunday School, had no Christian faith or beliefs.He met his wife, Coral, in 1970 who was a member of The Salvation Army and converted that year. He joined The Salvation Army as a member and in 1975 felt a call from God to full-time ministry. He and his wife trained and became Salvation Army Officers for 11 years moving around New Zealand to various posts.His search for truth led him to question some of the tenets of the Army and in 1984 he left The Salvation Army to start a small charismatic group where he still ministers today.The truths in his books are based on first-hand experience and a desire to discover a real and true faith. Central to that is a close and intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. His heart desire is to help other believers come to know Jesus as a friend and lover and thereby prepare them for an eternity of wedded bliss with their chosen bridegroom.

    Read more from Brenton Williams

    Related to Prayer

    Related ebooks

    Prayer & Prayerbooks For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      HOW IS YOUR VISION? 5 Tips To Establish God’s Plan For Your Life

      Jun 24, 2019

      A church in a community bought a piece of property and built a building. They were excited about serving the Lord. They wanted to win the lost for Christ and encourage the believers to live for Jesus. They really had a vision for God. It was their de

      6 min read

    • Article

      Radiance

      Dec 30, 2022

      Radiance
      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Aug 19, 2019

      Thank you for your wonderfully illustrated Biblical series of articles that you regularly publish. I find that I can’t concentrate like I used to, and love the short, precise, and factual articles. I have learnt so much from reading them. I was fasci

      7 min read

    • Article

      Max Lucado

      May 28, 2021

      Max Lucado
      2 min read

    • Article

      “Lord Heal Our Nation”

      Sep 23, 2022

      “Lord Heal Our Nation”
      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Nov 27, 2020

      I I believe b that we are living in the end times as we read about in all the books of the Gospel and listen to what Jesus had said. He warned of pestilences and famines. I believe that Covid-19 is one of the pestilences, as well as all the locusts t

      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Oct 2, 2020

      Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to ke

      8 min read

    • Article

      Letter To The Editor

      Mar 16, 2020

      My working environment is non-Christian and I work very hard with long hours every day. After a few months, through the mighty and powerful work of the Holy Spirit, I started a prayer group at our workplace, but I have been doubting if this is the pl

      6 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Dec 30, 2019

      Letters To The Editor
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Best Time to Share the Gospel

      Nov 19, 2021

      “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6 Wow, it’s almost Christmas aga

      2 min read

    • Article

      Forward March!

      Sep 4, 2020

      Forward March!
      5 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The EDITOR

      Jul 21, 2023

      D ear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to k

      6 min read

    • Article

      Allan & Janine Bagg

      Jun 24, 2022

      Allan & Janine Bagg
      9 min read

    • Article

      Reader Testimony

      Dec 31, 2021

      For as long as I can remember, I have had so-called symptoms of Bi-Polar mood disorder. I can also claim symptoms of PTSD. At risk of giving anything not of God any kind of recognition or sense of pride in itself, I hesitate to write too much about t

      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The EDITOR

      Dec 29, 2023

      D ear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to k

      7 min read

    • Article

      Letter To The Editor

      Feb 10, 2020

      I refer to the “Old Age Homes Are Not Good Enough” letter in your January issue of JOY! Yes, old age homes in African and Eastern societies are not common, because the youth make up the larger part of these populations. In India for example, more tha

      5 min read

    • Article

      A New Day Of Pentecost The Spirit Of Prayer

      Dec 1, 2023

      Over the last few issues, I have shared guiding principles that the early Church lived by (Acts 2:42). This included apostolic doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. Last month, we looked at the Christocentric prayer of Paul and the

      2 min read

    • Article

      Church UNUSUAL Insight from Dr Jonathan David

      Apr 13, 2020

      Church Unusual lifts the paradigms of pastors and Christian leaders to see the church beyond its natural element and environment. It is the avenue and vehicle for the Kingdom of God manifesting here on earth as it is in heaven. When this happens, God

      3 min read

    • Article

      Ask Val

      May 20, 2022

      Ask Val
      2 min read

    • Article

      Spirit World Revival Ministries

      Oct 2, 2020

      Spirit World Revival Ministries is a healing, deliverance, and prophetic ministry under the leadership of Apostle O’neil and his wife Pastor Samantha Muthien. This is a moving ministry, taking the Gospel to the nations, reviving souls, and restoring

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Prayer

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Prayer - Brenton Williams

      PRAYER A NEW TESTAMENT APPROACH

      Brenton Williams

      Copyright © 2017 by Brenton Williams

      All rights reserved, including translation. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, electrostatic photocopying, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the permission of Brenton Williams.

      Published by Brenton Williams,

      6 King Street,

      Petone,

      Wellington 5012,

      New Zealand.

      Unless otherwise stated, scriptures are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishers. All rights reserved worldwide.

      Distributed by Smashwords

      Edited by Paul Corrigan's Editing Works!

      Cover artwork by Stefan Jurczenko

      Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

      ISBN: 978-0-473-40837-4

      CONTENTS

      1. A billion prayers

      2. Losing my religion

      3. Jesus’ two-fold mission

      4. Choosing how to pray

      5. Religion or experience?

      6. Friendship, part one

      7. Friendship, part two

      8. Friendship’s foundation

      9. Jesus and the church

      10. Church prayer meetings

      11. What flavour is your church?

      12. A new prayer perspective

      13. Applying the new perspective

      14. Improving our success rate

      15. The prayer that is always answered

      16. The prayer of agreement

      17. How often should we pray?

      18. Effective prayer

      19. Final thoughts, part one

      20. Final thoughts, part two

      Other books by Brenton Williams

      Chapter 1

      A billion prayers

      Prayer. Where do we start on that subject? Perhaps a definition will help. The Oxford English Dictionary defines prayer as: ‘A solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or another deity.’ Prayer entails people living in a physical realm trying to connect with a being who is spiritual and who lives in a spiritual realm. That being is all-powerful and can do anything. That’s why people pray - to get help with problems they can’t solve themselves.

      Let’s stop for a moment and think about that. There are many expressions of faith in the world - Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, to name just a few. All of them practise prayer. Some of that prayer takes place in public services. The bulk of it is personal and private. Some prayers are worked into liturgies and those doing it need only give the appropriate response at the right time. Tibetans use prayer wheels. Spinning these is another way of offering prayers.

      There are 7.4 billion people in our world. If one person in seven utters a prayer each day that’s over a billion prayers. That means billions of words world-wide are winging their way to heaven for God’s attention.

      How many of them make it?

      Do any catch God’s attention or do most of them never make it past the roof? Is there a great sorting house in the sky that discards some prayers and passes others on for action? What are the chances of your prayer being heard among the cacophony of the other billion prayers? What can we do to make our prayers effective so that they get results?

      That’s the purpose of this book. Like you, I have prayed countless prayers over of my life. I have attended prayer meetings that implored God’s action on different subjects.

      Looking back, I am embarrassed at some of the things I prayed for then and glad that many of those prayers weren’t answered. I now understand that lots of the things I prayed about then were none of my business.

      I have taken part in prayer chains and other devices that were meant to harness group prayer without meeting. I have fasted and prayed thinking that to be a particularly powerful form of prayer. I have prayed with one or two other believers believing what Jesus said in Matthew 18:19-20 [bold added] :‘Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.’

      For a time I toyed with the idea of being an intercessor - someone who intervenes through prayer on others’ behalf. I interceded for the nations and our city only to discover that such subjects were far above my pay-scale and most of my prayers were just my own ideas. I didn’t have any insight into what Jesus was doing so had to use my imagination. Not a good idea for serious prayer.

      I have ‘stormed the forts of darkness’ and warred in the spiritual realms to defeat evil forces. I particularly enjoyed believing that I could cast down Satan’s empire. That bubble burst when I discovered that Jesus had already done that through his victory on the cross. He has all the authority on earth. Satan doesn’t. His authority is only valid in his realm - under the earth. He is a defeated foe and we are the winner’s occupation troops.

      You might think that after trying and failing at every form of prayer I would be discouraged and have given up. Not so. I believe in the effectiveness of prayer more strongly now than before. Prayer works. You just have to understand its principles and use them correctly.

      That’s the reason for this book. I hope to strip away all the wrong thinking and wrong practices surrounding prayer and introduce a true perspective that will make your praying effective. I want to help you have confidence that what you pray will be heard and will bring results. No more prayers that stop at the ceiling.

      Ready to find out how to do that? Then let’s get started.

      Chapter 2

      Losing my religion

      Let’s start by looking at the spiritual landscape that existed when Jesus came to earth. The Jews had a temple system of communicating with God like pagan systems did then. In that system an unworthy and sinful person approached a righteous and pure God and tried to initiate an interaction. Isaiah captures the situation perfectly in the following verses: ‘In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’’ [Isaiah 6:1-5]

      Those verses capture the Old Testament situation perfectly. God is an immense and powerful being who is utterly righteous. Those approaching him are sinful and unworthy. The two can never meet on a level playing-field. To have even a remote chance of communicating with each other a complex system of blood sacrifices was needed. The blood of the sacrificed animal temporarily covered the sin of people and gave them a small window of opportunity for interaction.

      The situation was similar in the pagan world. Although there were many gods they were unapproachable to ordinary people. Each god had their own temple with a priesthood that oversaw how people related to that god. Gods were remote and powerful beings who toyed with human lives. Being on their good side was a plus. No-one wanted to be on their bad side.

      Prayer was difficult and uncertain. Because God was so remote and people so sinful their chances of communicating were slim.

      Some of that problem was solved by the introduction of prophets. By speaking through selected men God could say things to the Jews.

      Unfortunately, the Jews didn’t want to listen [probably because God wasn’t saying what they wanted to hear]. They rejected the message and usually did the same with the messenger. Being a prophet was fraught with danger. People wanted God to listen to them but didn’t want to hear what he had to say.

      Even the great men of God had a bumpy time trying to interact with this righteous God. Moses blew his chance and never got to enter the Promised Land. Elijah did a great job of getting rid of the prophets of Baal but then surrendered to depression and wanted to die. David had the best chance of anyone because he sincerely loved God. He wrote the most amazing things in the Psalms but also fell and committed adultery. Men just couldn’t get along with a righteous God.

      The problem was sin. When Adam and Eve committed the original sin it corrupted their unsullied lives. The result was banishment from God’s presence. Paul says: ‘Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?’ [2 Corinthians 6:14c] As long as sin remained in the human race God would always be a remote and unapproachable being and prayer would be fraught with difficulty.

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1