Shalom Saints,
Nearly every hand in the congregation went up when Arthur asked if any of us had ever struggled while trying to pray. Arthur explained that prayer is simply communing with Yehovah. There are not any topics we cannot talk to Him about. The objective of this teaching was to help us resolve any issues we might have with prayer.
Prayer is an essential part of the believer’s life in Messiah. Praying is simply spending time with and having a conversation with Yehovah. Prayers are also one of the 4 pillars of a healthy congregation.
- Apostles’ Doctrine
- Fellowship
- Breaking of bread
- Prayers
Arthur covered numerous topics within the broad category of prayer. Here are the highlights.
- Pray your individual prayers in private. That is the time Yehovah wants to correct you because He loves you.
- How Not to Pray: Avoid vain repetitions.
- A Model Prayer: Individualize each component of the Model Prayer to fit your situation.
- A Lesson on Forgiveness: We must forgive others in order for our Father to forgive us.
- Be Shameless in Prayer: Ask for your needs; have no pride when you approach your Father.
- Be Persistent in Prayer: Keep you petitions before the Father.
- Yeshua encourages us to ask for the Holy Spirit!
- Who should we pray for: ALL people (friends, enemies, those that despise you, etc.)
- Sinner’s Prayer: You may be surprised, but this prayer is NOT in the Bible.
- Prayers of Supplication: Petition, intercessory prayer, praying on behalf of a person or with someone.
- Prayers of Thanksgiving: Being grateful.
- Prayer of Faith: Pray with absolute belief that Yehovah is who He says He is. We cannot fail because Yeshua has secured our success.
- Speaking in tongues: These are unknown tongues to the speaker, otherwise the speaker would not have to ask for interpretation. Speaking in tongues helps to remove blockages in prayer.
Arthur ended the teaching with a prayer for all who were open to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in their lives. As Arthur said, “Don’t be afraid of His Spirit.”
Learn more about your spiritual gifts, Now Concerning Spiritual Gifts
DVD: https://store.arthurbaileyministries.com/collections/dvds/products/now-concerning-spiritual-gifts
Sharon’s Reflections on the Teaching
Prayer is vitally important. It is one of our main communication vehicles with our Creator. I used to view prayer as a one-sided conversation; me to God, telling Him what I wanted. I expected God to answer in the way that I determined, even though my Christian Church told me that He would answer Yes, No, or Later. They never told me that God would have conversations with me.
It was in this ministry that I learned that I needed to be silent and listen to what Yehovah is saying to me. This takes some practice. The obligatory prayers, for example my bedtime prayers, had become so routine that I had to fight against my flesh to stay in a prayer position long enough to settle my mind so I could listen for Yehovah’s voice. I am still working on this.
Being in constant communication with Yehovah helps me in several different ways. First, I am listening for His Word and leading, so I am learning to hear His voice. Second, since I am seeking His directions constantly, I am also learning the different means He uses to communicate to me. Best of all, by staying in communication, I am less apt to feel I have to cram quality time with Him right before I go to bed at night.
My prayer is that you will develop an ongoing dialogue with your Father. He is waiting.
Learn more: How to Hear God’s Voice
DVD: https://store.arthurbaileyministries.com/collections/dvds/products/how-to-hear-god-s-voice-1
Book: https://store.arthurbaileyministries.com/collections/books/products/how-to-hear-god-s-voice
Buzz on the Teaching
We have a Prayer Team at the ministry, coordinated by Karen our Ministry Support Specialist. For the past several months Karen has forwarded the prayer requests of Saints to the Saints who have volunteered to pray. Today was the first time that the local team and out-of-state team members were able to meet together and pray via Zoom.com. The online App works like Skype, but the screen splits so that each person can be seen by all the other persons on the call. It was fantastic! I popped in to say “Hello” to my Sister Saints from Oklahoma and Wisconsin. In addition to daily prayers, the team is planning to Zoom monthly. Praise Yehovah for their dedication and may their petitions be given favor by the Almighty!
----
The safe atmosphere of the fellowship at HOI allows the Saints to share their experiences in the hopes that others will learn. Perhaps you can glean some wisdom from these situations.
- “I was so embarrassed. I wasn’t fully paying attention so when I heard the connecting train number called, I thought it was my train.” What my Sister Saint then told us was that her error ended up with the train master stopping the train that was pulling out of the station and putting her in a golf cart to rush her to the stopped train. When she rushed up the stairs, the Conductor looked at her ticket and told her that she was about to board the same train she just got off of! We were all laughing because as humans, we have all made mistakes on what we thought we heard.
- “Last night, I was so angry and upset that I thought about not coming today.” This Sister Saint had been informed that a grave injustice had been done to a family member and at the moment, there was nothing she could do about it. So she let it fester and it robbed her of a good night’s sleep. Then she remembered not to let negative spirits influence her and not to allow herself to come under that spirit. She was rejuvenated and came to worship with us. Halleluyah!
- One Sister Saint shared a story of how she once became “unclean” because she ignored the Holy Spirit’s leading. She had to choose a partner for an in-class project. The Holy Spirit told her who to choose, but she ignored it and chose another lady. It turns out that the lady she chose was niddah (monthly cycle) and my Sister Saint became unclean by touching her and sitting on the same seat the lady had sat on. We both agreed that Yehovah was working on her ability to hear Him. I can relate because of the training I have been going through recently. Yehovah wants us to hear the subtleness of His voice and leading.
May we all develop ears to hear.
Until next time… Blessings to You and Yours,
Sharon