PRAYER - THE NEGLECTED POWER OF GOD

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1 PRAYER - THE NEGLECTED POWER OF GOD INTRODUCTION I believe the church needs a fresh understanding of the power of prayer that's available to each and every one of us, both individually and corporately. The current emphasis on prayer throughout the Body of Christ, worldwide is nothing less than a phenomenon that the Holy Spirit is obviously bringing light and revelation to. The Biblical examples from scripture and throughout church history should be enough to get us on our knees and picking up again this powerful weapon and mantle that God has made available to His people. It's not just houses of prayer that the Holy Spirit is raising up, but He is also provoking pastors and leaders in the Body of Christ to once again bring back corporate prayer in their local churches and within their communities. The emphasis on re-building altars of prayer in homes is critically important and happening today. When we pray we actually come into the presence of the King of the Universe. When we pray we give God permission to speak to us and inspect our lives. When we pray we give God the authority to break-in, to manifest His will on the earth as it is in heaven. When we pray we encounter the heart of a passionate God who longs to fellowship and know us intimately. When we pray we are actually admitting our need of God and humbling our lives to His leadership. When we pray, the Holy Spirit is drawn to us and His Power and His presence comes to dwell among us. Let's not try to reinvent the wheel by trying to come up with a better way of doing Church then what the Holy Spirit has clearly laid out to us in Holy Scripture. And the LORD said to him: I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 1 Kings 9:3 I. RESTORING THE POWER OF CORPORATE PRAYER In western society we have made faith to be more of a personal thing rather than a corporate expression of one's faith. But when studying scripture and seeing the testimony to church history, we have to conclude that faith in Christ is primarily a corporate faith not personal faith. A. The Prophet Elijah: Israel was gathered together at Mount Carmel Elijah challenged them to return to the Lord once again. He re-built the altar of the lord that was torn down and began to cry out to God and offered sacrifices on the on the altar. God answered with fire and the destruction of the false prophets.

2 Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down... Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God! 1 Kings 18:30, B. The King Jehoshaphat: when Jehoshaphat was informed that a great army had gathered against him and Judah, the king responded by calling for a corporate fast and seeking the Lord's help. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar (which is En Gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 2 Chronicles 20:2-4 C. Moses, Aaron, Hur & Joshua: When Israel's arch enemies, the Amalekites came out fight them at Rephidim, Moses called for the help of two aids (intercessors) to give Joshua the victory in warfare. Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Exodus 17:8-13 D. The 120 in the Upper-room: How was the Church birthed? What did Jesus COMMAND His disciples to do in order for them to receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit? God's strategy was not a conference, a large event nor the gathering of statistics of a region. It was not lights, smoke machines and the latest sound and visual technology that helped give birth to the early church. It was the simple act of corporate prayer and worship unto the God of the universe that drew the Holy Spirit. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which, He said, you have heard from Me These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. Acts 1:4, 14

3 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4 II. GOD GAVE THE CHURCH A NAME The choosing of a name is not only very important but also very significant. A name gives identity and honor to the one or thing being named. A facility named in the name of a person gives honor to the one whose name is being placed on a hospital, university or library. A name also could reveal the calling and identity of a person's life. A. God's people are called THE HOUSE. Receive this revelation in the book of Isaiah chapter 56:7. They're the lord said his people would be joyful and feel His acceptance by simply being in His presence. Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations. Isaiah 56:7 B. The House of Prayer was so important to God's heart that He confirmed to King Solomon that the temple was to be a place where His presence and counsel was to be sought. Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place. 2 Chronicles 6:40 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:15 C. The House of Prayer is so important to Jesus that each of the four gospels records Jesus entering into the temple to cleanse it. Three of the four gospels records His zeal to restore the temple to be the place where God's people are to seek Him in prayer (Matt. 21:13, Mk. 11:17, Lk. 19:46, Jn 2:17). D. It is interesting to note that both at the dedication of Solomon's temple and in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, fire from heaven came down as a confirmation from a Holy God upon a people that He desires to be sought from.

4 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD s house. 2 Chronicles 7:1-2 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:3-4 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Exodus 19:18-19 III. WHY PRAYER IS SO IMPORTANT We have to understand the importance of prayer from the perspective of heaven. We have made prayer more about us then it is about seeking God and His will. When we see how prayer allows God to govern the universe and how it draws His will and presence to us, we will begin to prioritize it. A. Through prayer His will is REVEALED: In God's sovereignty and wisdom, the Lord chose the method of prayer as His strategy to make known His perfect will. Prayer was designed to draw His people into His presence, thereby allowing our hearts to connect to His. This place of intimacy allows the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the secrets of God's heart. This produces a partnership between God and man. Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:23-24 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:12

5 B. Through prayer His work is MANIFESTED: As we make it our need to seek God, we ask Him to not only reveal His will to us but to also manifest it in all the earth. What burdens Him now burdens us. What He yearns to see, we begin to yearn to manifest. This yearning in our hearts consumes us thereby making us partners with God in the work of the Kingdom. Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them. Psalm 106:23 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30 So He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Luke 11:2 C. Through prayer His Joy is FULFILLED: Probably the greatest reason why God wants us to pray is because it gets us into His presence. The dream and ultimate fulfilling joy of God is to be one with His creation. No doubt, this is the ultimate purpose for prayer. Prayer is God's way of becoming one with man. It's the reason why He revealed Himself the way He did to Moses, David, His prophets and His apostles. He not only encountered their lives but He also revealed to them secrets on how mankind can draw near to God and enjoy oneness with their creator. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. Exodus 25:8 And he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for thus was the commandment of the LORD by His prophets. 2 Chronicles 29:25 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. Ephesians 1:10