Survey of Firstfruit Fundamentals
Lesson 5: Prayer- Part 2
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"Success is nothing more than a few basic spiritual disciplines, practiced every day."
"Success is the natural
consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals."
Subject:
Prayer - Part 2
Question 4
Where do I pray?
For those with Google Earth or Google Maps go there at your next opportunity.
The rest of you can consult any World Atlas. Take a look at the entire planet,
including the cities, the mountains, the valleys, the deserts and the entire
surfaces of the seven seas. Any of these locations work. You can pray to God
anywhere, at any time and for any reason.
You may pray at home and at work. You may pray to God in a bathroom, a public
restroom or the outhouse out behind the barn. You may pray in the locker room
at work, in your car at a stop light or from you seat on the airplane at 33,000
feet. You may pray in the dark or the light at noonday. Firstfruits can pray
in the football huddle, a crowded elevator or at the bottom of a coal mine.
Notice these locations of these prayers:
In Battle:
2 Chronicles 13:14
And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they
cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
On a Stake:
Luke 23:42
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Jesus at a tomb of Lazarus
John 11:41-43
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And
Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard
me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand
by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come
forth.
In the wilderness:
Matthew 4:1-2
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the
devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an
hungred.
Clearly Jesus was praying in the wilderness.
We see Jesus praying in many different locations within scripture. Follow His
example and pray anywhere and everywhere.
Question
5
Do I have to pray
on my knees?
How one prays will be according to both scripture and belief, including personal
elements of belief. If you feel that all prayer by you must be on your knees,
then do so. As a general question, it is not so much about the position of the
body as it is about the attitude and reverence of the heart.
In Question 4 in this section on Prayer that asks the question of where we can
pray, we saw clearly that firstfruits can pray virtually anywhere. We see
examples in scripture of praying in the heat of battle or nailed to a stake.
There are many places and situations where getting on one’s knees is not
possible or practical.
The way you pray is important. The most important aspect of the prayer is the
heart-to-heart communication between you and God. How you pray will be a unique
procedure that is all your own, based on your knowledge of scripture, your
experience, your beliefs and the Holy Spirit that is in you.
The scriptures where you see coming to your knees are these: 2 Chronicles 6:13;
Daniel 6:10; Acts 7:60; Acts 9:40; and Acts 21:5. Let me read one.
Acts 7:60 …the
stoning of Stephen
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to
their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Clearly one reverent way of praying. There are others. The key here is to love
God, reverence Him and do all things to the glory of God.
Question
6
What if I fall
asleep during my prayer in bed?
First, this has happened to virtually every firstfruit in the history of
firstfruits.
Second, This does not mean that God is necessarily angry or that you just lost
your salvation. You may be guilty of falling asleep but you are not to feel
guilty. Let us go back to the example in Question 2 in this section regarding
being invited to the White House to meet with the President of the United
States. Be honest with yourself and answer the question, “How would you
prepare?” If it were me, I can tell you that among a myriad of preparations,
that I would make sure I was fully alert. We must do the same when preparing to
meet with God in the throne room, which is virtually where you go in prayer.
Some tips and recommendations for your official times and places for prayer:
1] Prepare a special place for prayer. Make it a place and time where you will
be fully alert.
2] When choosing a place, consider somewhere other than the bedroom, if falling
asleep is a problem for you. Bedrooms and beds are inherently designed to
suggest and/or bring on sleep.
3] Consider doing your formal times of prayer just after you have slept and even
after you have had a morning shower. Choose your most alert time of the day for
prayer. Some of you are night people and others morning people. Choose
appropriately.
4] Use natural stimulants in preparation for these formal times of prayer,
including coffee, cold water on the face and hands or even after some
stimulating exercise, such as a walk around the block or a brisk swim in the
pool.
5] Write your prayers out or have a subject outline on paper or card stock.
Hold them and focus on them throughout the prayer.
Question
7
How long or short should my prayers be? Does God get mad if I pray for the
same things over and over [not speaking of repetitions
here]?
Prayers may last a total of one second and consist of just one word or utterance
[Help! or Please]. They may also last for
hours or days. There is no limit, one way or the other. Having said this, one
needs to be circumspect in his/her preparation for the prayer. You are the
steward of your prayer life to include how you will conduct the prayer period
and what topics you bring. Be ready for prayer. Reference my sermon, “Silence”
Parts 1 and 2 where we speak to coming before Almighty God in silence.
There are examples of short prayers in the Bible such as those of Hezekiah and
Stephen. Remember that God has full knowledge of what your desires and needs
are before you even ask.
Matthew 6:7-8
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think
that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye
have need of, before ye ask him.
This verse is speaking to a practice of the heathen [non-firstfruit]
who brings chanting and conjured up repetitions. This is different than us
coming before God for the same reasons on a regular basis. If one is sick and
continues to be sick for weeks and months, it is perfectly fine to pray about
this over and over to God. In addition, no problem or desire remains static in
this life, so your prayers, though for the same subject will modify themselves
as you move through time.
Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered.
The Spirit of God in us helps us with our prayers.
Question
8
I know that I am sinning and it seems that I am making little progress. In
a situation like this, does God even want to hear from me?
Absolutely He does!! We have already discussed how important firstfruits are to
God and the fact that if you are in the salvation process, you have the Holy
Spirit that connects you to God. You are in the salvation process and this
makes you God’s property. You are therefore sanctified and justified. There is
no higher level of importance that these.
Overcoming sin is a process and you are overcoming sins and making progress in
these areas continually from baptism to death.
Romans 8:30
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them
he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Titus 3:7-8
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life.
8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm
constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain
good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
2 Timothy 2:21
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto
honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good
work.
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace,
with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
You are justified and sanctified as long as you are a firstfruit in the
salvation process. Clearly you have work to do all your adult life in this
process but God is never going to forsake you.
Let me end with these words. They are the words of Paul to the Philippians but
let them today be my words to you…
Philippians 1:2-6
2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ.
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in
you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Quotes on
Prayer
--Prayer is the key of the morning and
the bolt of the evening.
--Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.
--God, our Creator, has stored within our minds and personalities, great potential strength and ability. Prayer helps us tap and develop these powers.
--One of the greatest attacks of the enemy is to make you busy, to make you hurried, to make you noisy, to make you distracted, to fill the people of God and the Church of God with so much noise and activity that there is no room for prayer. There is no room for being alone with God. There is no room for silence. There is no room for meditation.
--Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.
--Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; man cannot live in health without them.
--Prayer begins where human capacity ends.
--I believe in prayer. It's the best way we have to draw strength from heaven.
--For me, prayer is not so much me setting out a shopping list of requests for God to consider as it is a way of 'keeping company with God.'
--Prayer is simply talking to God like a friend and should be the easiest thing
we do each day.
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