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PRAYER is the KEY in the

morning and the LOCK at
night.

THE PRIORITY OF
PRAYER

Mark 1:35-37
Very early in the morning, while
it was still dark, Jesus got up, left
the house and went off to a solitary
place, where he prayed. :36 Simon
and his companions went to look
for him, :37 and when they found
him, they exclaimed: Every one is
looking for you!
:35

Our Heavenly Father

does not consider
prayer an optional
part of the Christian
life. The Bible tells
us that two-way
communication with
God is essential.
Prayer is our only
way to communicate
with our Creator.

Despite of Jesus busy life:

preaching, teaching, healing,
feeding people and many others,
Jesus Christ always sets a time for
prayer.
He went to a solitary place for him
to focus in his prayer by talking to
God the Father.

He sets as an

EXAMPLE for us to
follow.

Through praying and listening to what

God will reveal to us, it develops our
expectant attitude; we receive the
opportunity to be healed; we receive
the peace and comfort that He
promises; and that He is giving us the
assurance that God will answer our
petitions in His own time. This develops
our stronger faith in Him because we
are learning to trust God more.

Therefore, we need to
discipline ourselves in
prayer.

HOW?

1. Have an expectant attitude

We must believe that God
has something important
to say to us. It could be a
strengthening reminder
of His love, an insight into
our situation, or the
answer to a petition. With
such an outlook, well be
listening more than we
are speaking.

Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask
for in prayer, believe that you have
received it, and it will be yours.

2. Focus on our Heavenly

Father

When we praise the

Lord, our minds will
let go of worldly
things and center
our thoughts on
Him. Thinking of His
perfect character
and sacrifice at the
cross makes us
ready to hear from
Him and obey.

Psalm 4: 1,3
:1 Answer me when I call you , O God
who declares me innocent. Free me
from my troubles. Have mercy on me
and hear my prayer.
:3 You can be sure of this; the Lord set
apart the godly for himself. The Lord
will answer when I call to him.

3. Willingness to See Ourselves

the Way God Does..
The Holy Spirit works in us to produce
Christlikeness. That means
uncovering what is unholy and
replacing it with righteousness. It also
includes our awareness of something
that is true or existing, when we
demonstrate godly character.

God wants us, His children, to be

like Jesus, who is a humble, loving
and compassionate.

The godly are those who are faithful to

God. Like King David, he knows that
God would hear him when he will call
and answer him.
We too, can be confident that God
listens to our prayers and answers
when we call Him.

Sometimes we think that God will not

hear us because we have fallen short
of his high standards for living. But if
we trusted God for our salvation, God
has forgiven us and he will listen to us.

When you feel as though your prayers are

bouncing off the ceiling, remember as a
believer you have been set apart by God, and
that he loves you.
He hears and answers your prayers although
his answers may not be what you expect.
You need to look at your problems in the
light of Gods power, instead of looking
God in the shadow of your problems.

4. Surrender to His
Leadership

When we submit to
Him as Lord our
petitions will be
more in line with
His will. It develops
faith in us that
what we are
praying for will be
answered by our
loving God.

Psalm 37:7
Surrender yourself to the
Lord and wait patiently.

Surrender/Submit your life means:

1. Waiting for Gods leading without
knowing where hes sending you.
2. Waiting for Gods timing without
knowing when it will come.
3. Expecting a miracle without knowing
how God will provide.
4. Trusting Gods purpose without
understanding the circumstances.

You know you are surrendered to God

when you rely on God to work things
instead of trying to manipulate others
by forcing your agenda and controlling
the situation.
You let go and let God work. You dont
have to always be in charge. Instead of
trying harder, you trust Him more.

5. Having A Regular
Appointment..

It takes commitment to
develop a life of strong
faith. Daily activities
will crowd out our
conversations with the
Lord unless we set the
time and place to pray.
Its easy to be caught
up with ministry that
you neglect times of
solitude, individual
worship, and prayer.

Perhaps, you need to redesign your

schedule to find time for earnest prayer.
It is vitally important to:
1. Seek the Lord before your busy schedule
takes over your thoughts.
2. Withdraw from noise and demands so you
can focus on God.
3. Take Jesus attitude of regular communion
with the Father.
4. Reflect on the priorities Jesus had for his
life.
5. Determine to pray on a more regular basis,
not just in times of crises.

Every time Jesus traveled, the multitudes

approached Him with their needs. Even
though there were many people for Christ
to help, He would regularly step away from
the demands of the crowd to interact with
His Father.
If prayer was important for Jesus, then
it must be important for his followers
( for all of us). Pray even if you have to
get up very early in the morning to do it!

Mark 6:45-46
Immediately Jesus made his
disciples get into the boat and go on
ahead of him to Bethsaida while he
dismissed the crowd. :46 After leaving
them, he went up on a mountainside
to pray.
:45

John 15:7
If you abide in me, and my words abide in
you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be
done for you.

Would you give

prayer that
same priority?