 Okay welcome back let's continue on this same subject there are some comments on the chat I'll begin with those okay so get through to saying I was just taking everything for granted and Lucy is saying sister we sometimes say why did why did this happen okay we say why did this happen why did God allow this to pass why did God keep quiet when yeah some wrong things are happening in our nation we were to pray to bring God's authority okay yes sister so as I've been sharing we know that we have a full deputization a proper deputization so when God put us here on the earth he gave us dominion and we can exercise that dominion through our prayer just a moment Daniel is saying what should be the duration of prayer what should be the duration of prayer there's no such hard and fast rule Daniel but we will talk about the importance of discipline in prayer that's when we can allocate some time for prayer and it'll be very helpful so that there's no such rule like you should pray for one hour two hours five hours we don't find any such rule given by God however for the sake of disciplining ourselves in prayer we can set aside some time and say I will pray for one hour every day and I will pray for five hours during the weekend so all this we can regulate on our own I hope I have answered your question any anything else any other thoughts fine so we've understood that as God's people I'm just using the word church when I say church it's everyone who's born again so it's not I'm not referring to local church I'm from this church I'm from that church no we are all part of the body of Christ we're all part of the kingdom of God and the Bible tells us that the church remember Jesus said I give you the keys of the kingdom and then he said I will build my church I will build my church who is the church every born again believer the church is you and me we are the church I am the church so he will build his church meaning all of us and he says the gates of hell will not prevail against it that tells us that the church or the body of believers is a very powerful spiritual entity we are not a weak spiritual entity no oh the church so sad look at the church as far as Jesus is concerned he said look I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it so what is Jesus saying the body of believers is strong spiritually very strong and they are so strong that the church will destroy Satan and his kingdom the gates of hell refers to Satan refers to the demons Jesus said that I'm giving this kind of authority to the believers the gates of hell will not prevail against it so we must remember church that we are blessed with dominion and authority that Christ Jesus has given us and we have to use it you tell me what is the use if we don't you know we don't utilize the authority that has been given to us so we may have the keys to the building let's say the owner of the building says I'm giving you the keys you can come anytime you can use the facility you know use it but if I take the keys and I keep it in my cupboard and I easily lock it up okay and I'm not using what has been given to me or let's take for example somebody gives you a wonderful laptop you can do so much on the laptop but what do we do it close the laptop pack it off in a nice bag you keep it on a shelf look at it every day what's happening you've been given the authority you've been given the opportunity we've been given what we need but what's happening we are just not using it when you are not using it whom should we blame God gave it right he already gave us what we need but we didn't use it so that can happen in the lives of believers we know yes I have all this you know I can exercise my authority against the devil I can pray a believing prayer and receive answers to it but I'm not using it why should I use it then whose mistake is it whose fault is it it's not God's fault he already gave us the authority so this is what we must awaken to or realize that God wants us to partner with him he's saying come on I have given you the keys of the kingdom to bind and to lose right and I'm building my church the gates of hell will not prevail against it so we have to take our authority and we have to start releasing it so today what am I trying to tell us prayer is one way when we start praying we can release that authority that God has given us and things happen in our lives things happen in people's lives now the question that most of us may have had in the last session when I was telling God wants us to partner with him God will do the work God intends to do the work but he wants a human being to pray you know and to do whatever he wants us to do we may have thought God is already powerful why does he need my help isn't it yes or no yeah that's the question we all have God is all sufficient okay with one word he can create he has created he speaks and he creates why does God need me why does God need a human being self-sufficiency we use that word self-sufficient means God is sufficient by himself he does not need an additional being to come and you know help him and strengthen him and courage no he's fine he's God almighty he's already self-sufficient all right but you notice that there are scriptures in the Bible like Jeremiah 29 and verse 12 it says then you will call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you so God is inviting us and he's saying I know I can do it I know I have all the authority but I am asking you come pray so prayer is God's invitation God has designed prayer even though he can do it there is process there is a purpose there is a way in which God works and he's inviting us as human beings and he's saying I want you to pray so it's by choice God's choice that he wants us to pray okay and we all know there are scriptures like call unto me and I will answer you I will show you great and you know wonderful things that your eyes have not seen so God is calling us he's saying I want you to pray there is a purpose associated with prayer so I want you to engage in prayer think about the life of Jesus even Jesus could have said oh father God can do everything Jesus became a man so in your subject on Christology you will study that Jesus was fully God and he was fully man so as fully man he was limited just like us isn't it normal feeling the the weather and experiencing all the things that human beings experience so Jesus became 100% man he could have just imagined that Father God will do Holy Spirit will do but we find that Jesus himself had a life of prayer why is Jesus praying he's already son of God why should he pray remember we have been given the authority we can release our authority through prayer and so Jesus also knew the way Elijah prayed the way Daniel prayed Jesus prayed there is a reason why we must pray the way God has designed prayer is such that God can do but he wants us to also pray and partner with him so the life of Jesus is an amazing testimony for us we will study about the practice of prayer in the life of Jesus how much he prayed he prayed in the morning he prayed in the night he prayed through the night he prayed for days so Jesus also engaged in prayer and he taught us in Luke 18 he said men should not be discouraged but they should pray okay we must not be discouraged but instead look to God pray always speak to God communicate with God so prayer is God's design and God wants to engage us you know when at home sometimes we see and this is not the exact example okay just for our understanding I'm saying like if a parent or a or a mom or a dad they are cooking they may tell the child who is just learning to help them around at home they may say okay keep the plates or cut this vegetable now we can ask the question why the parent can't cut it the father can't cut it the mother can't cut it why should the child cut it because it's a partnership how that they can't do it they can do it but there is a process there is a system there is a design where they want the child to engage and it is somewhat similar can God not do it can God not heal the people can God not save people he can do it but the way he has created the world is he's saying you pray to me you call unto me right and then I will show you great and wonderful things so prayer is God's design who invites us to pray God is inviting us to pray so this gives us a lot of confidence so if God has planned it it should work if I engage in that system it has got to work okay so one particular scripture very very powerful Ezekiel chapter 22 and verse 30 it is there in your notes you can look into it if your notes are open right now so Ezekiel 22 and verse 30 it says so I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before me and on behalf of the land that I should not destroy it but I found no one so there is a situation where you know people are against God you know in a region in a given region or a community they are against God what is the result of sin what happens when we sin what's the result punishment death death okay the both of us are coming death just tell us that so when we engage in sin there are consequences or results out for us so what is God saying in this passage he's saying who are these people they're not living righteous so what should happen whatever needs to happen next they deserve punishment they deserve to have the consequences but what is God saying in verse 30 he's saying look I know the results what they should face I know that but look at the heart of compassion that God has he's saying I'm looking for a man who can stand in the gap okay so why is God looking for a man to stand in the gap in the same verse that I should not destroy it that I should not destroy the land I should not destroy the people so when is it that God will not destroy the people if you can find one person who's ready to pray that's the kind of partnership don't you think it's amazing that to pray for so many people how many people does God want to intercede in this verse in this passage he's yeah only one person he's saying if one person will pray I can forgive if one person will pray I won't destroy but so sad the passage says he found no one okay sometimes we feel I'm only one person what will happen if I pray maybe you know at least 10 of us must pray or the whole church must pray yeah there is we will study about corporate prayer and the power of corporate prayer but even if one person is praying mighty things take place right in this situation God is saying I won't destroy the land if I find one person to stand in the gap stand in the gap is simply intercession or prayer praying for the people so this is how you know we understand partnering with God in prayer so you and I we may be sitting here today right we are in Bangalore and we think how can I how can I make a difference to my city how can I make a difference to my people just pray start to pray even one person standing in the gap what does it say God listens right God touches the lives of people God will cause things to change and that is the kind of power that prayer carries I'm sure you would have heard testimonies of so many such people one person praying for the whole land and revival began from there we will we will talk about you know men and women of God people like Evan Roberts of the Welsh revival young man and he just he was just praying praying praying some people told him also why why do you want to pray like this okay it looks funny you're praying all the time but he knew that God had called him to pray and he started praying and we know that the revival broke out because it started with Evan Roberts and slowly many more people joined him and a revival broke out in Wales so that's the Welsh revival like that there are many stories you can talk about people like John Hyde John Hyde is known as a a man of prayer or praying Hyde was his other name because he prayed so much and he he blessed the you know north of India like the Punjab region that's where he lived and it made a tremendous impact on the people around one man who started that prayer movement and who began to pray so never think what can God do I'm only one person I'm praying what difference can it make look at that the scriptures tell us in Ezekiel 22 God's not looking for a not you know if there's a crowd it's great but at least one person one person prays it's like partnering with God and God can do what he wants us to do right or God can do what he wants to do so let's understand you know prayer is partnership God is waiting when are they going to pray you know when will they speak to me when will they ask their requests he wants to he wants to bless he wants to save but he wants us to pray that's when things will happen so this is the understanding of prayer what did we say this this morning a prayer is talking to God all that but let's remember prayer is also partnering with God so when we partner with God it is very powerful so why should we pray okay we simply ask the the question why should I pray the answers to that question this is a system that God has created I already read at least two scriptures where you know God says pray okay call unto me you will come and pray to me so God has created this design which means it will work anything that God creates do you think like it it will be successful the system correct it will be successful right so God is saying prayer is my design if you pray you will see the results of it so that is why we must pray because it's God's design second is through prayer we can release our authority okay so do we want to conquer the devil do we want to be victorious do we want to overcome life's challenges do we want to take up the position that God originally you know when God created man what did he say you have dominion I want you to be the ruler I don't want you to come under or be subdued by all these other creatures no I want you to rise above and today we who are in Christ Jesus we know that those Satan took that authority when man sinned what did Jesus do for us once again Jesus gave us the authority that's how you know Jesus said things like I give you the keys of the kingdom why the devil is now defeated okay it's no longer his authority I have given you the authority the church has the authority so we can now fulfill the purposes of God we can release our authority through prayer so that is why we must be so eager and excited about praying we can also engage in prayer because I told us that it's a ministry right we want to serve someone we can pray for them if you look at the life of Job Job in the Bible you would remember that he went through a lot of difficulties he went through so many challenges and in that time when he's going through a lot of difficulty you know he makes this statement in Job 9 and then Job 16 he says I wish there was at least one person who would pray for me so when people are going through difficult situations I don't know if you have experienced this but I can relate to this when you're going through a tough time sometimes we just maybe we're not even able to pray right in those moments it's so great if somebody else is praying for us okay when somebody else is upholding us in prayer so why should we pray because when we pray we are able to help others you understand the way Job wanted somebody if somebody prays for me it would be so nice in that manner today we can be those people who are praying for others and we are helping them actually when we pray for them we are helping them in the spiritual realm so that's another reason to pray and why should we pray another you know these days we want rewards even if people shop they are like okay how many points did I get what are the rewards compensation what am I going to get so people want rewards isn't it look at this Jesus in his teaching about prayer he also said if you go pray in secret then what will happen Matthew 6 6 the father will reward you openly so there is another reason why you and I must spend time in prayer there is a reward okay so is it okay to want a reward from God I think it's fine when God wants to give the reward no so it should be fine so we can receive a reward from God when we practice this this personal devotion with God okay whenever we are praying let's remember this yeah I'm spending time with God and maybe initially it's challenging to sit and pray to focus on God but remember there's also a reward Jesus said if you go shut your door you pray in secret the father will reward you openly so God will also bless us is what he is saying when we pray so again let me just quickly go over all the reasons why we must pray firstly because it is God's design and it will work secondly we are saying that we will be able to release that dominion that God has given us through prayer thirdly we are saying we can help people or bless people through prayer and fourth is that there is a reward associated with the life of prayer so all this is an encouragement for us to actually pray now what will happen if we do not pray if we don't pray what will happen if we pray so many wonderful things happen if we don't pray what will happen okay nice so Sagar is saying the blessing that God has for us we are not we won't receive it it won't come into our lives yep that's true we'll miss the reward no he said there's a reward so we're missing the reward what if we don't pray what will happen okay serene says no connection with God all right that makes sense so then you're not developing your relationship with God and elder Eric Dennis says no communion with God that's true no fellowship with God what will happen if we don't pray okay very nice sister God cannot work in our lives okay so we had one answer in class where Aman said that Lucifer will attack or Satan right the kingdom of darkness can have an easier access into our lives that's correct and sister get through can you come again please can you share your point God cannot work in our lives we cannot bless this huh so God we won't see God working in our lives he won't bless our lives true uh partnership is lost uh says Lucy yeah so all these things will happen you lose sight of the presence of God there is a disconnect isn't it so we're not praying we are just doing huh I have to do all these things activities Christian activities sometimes it happens we are so busy worship cleaning this that but we're not spending time with God relationship not much activities full and we are so tired by the end of the day but we are actually missing out on that you know precious practice of prayer then all these things that we are talking about you know losing our relationship with God losing that connect with the presence of God and opening the door for Satan to attack no blessing all these things happen so it is actually a risk for a believer if we are a believer and we're not praying it's a huge risk that we are taking uh and and you know we we are not utilizing uh the opportunity for prayer that God has given us so here there are some thoughts listed uh regarding what happens when we don't pray it says you lose the opportunity to invite God to work in life situations and other matters then we fail in our responsibility on the earth when we don't pray and we fail to receive personally into our lives when we don't pray and uh I'm sure nobody wants that so it's just better for us to uh invest time and prayer now let's move ahead okay one more thought uh that Eric Dennis is sharing temptation we we get into temptation okay and we may miss out what God wanted to give us all right that's true uh in the Lord's prayer there is that line lead us not into temptation so when there is temptation when we are facing temptation what is a good thing to do pray when we have a uh uh you know a good prayer life we can overcome temptation better so that is true so we will overcome temptation better uh and Daniel is saying when we don't pray we are worldly all right yeah so when we don't pray we miss that connection with God and Sanjay says our prayers can be the light in the darkness sure yeah because we are releasing the purposes of God he has called us to be salt and light uh so when we pray we act as the light in the darkness all right so these are all um reasons why we must pray so I really hope that um what we are learning will help us to develop our prayer life okay so let's not just treat this like okay I have to finish the course I have to write the assignments I have to pass I have to go to the next semester we understand all that but more than that whatever I'm learning is it helping me apply how has my prayer life changed that's the question that we want all of us to consider all right uh fine so let's move forward we'll go to the second chapter here which says uh the foundation for prayer so we can pray correctly effectively if we have a good foundation right so if the foundation of this building is strong this building will um you know it it will last for many years to come uh and uh people can sort of benefit from this building but what do you need for a good building or a tall building you need a strong foundation okay uh what if you have a tall building and a very poor small foundation we won't even enter that building because it's gonna crash tomorrow or you know sometime it will crash because there is no foundation so in the same way for us to develop an effective successful prayer life we must have a good understanding of what prayer is about and what prayer is not and how exactly God wants us to pray so that is what we will discuss in this chapter uh what let's quickly touch on the wrong foundation what is the wrong foundation for prayer um when we look at prayer as a ritual okay I'll explain ritual means uh you know in some religions and philosophies they have disciplines they say that okay you must wake up at a certain time and you have to do this you have to do that you have to wash your hands you have to you know turn around so many things are there these are all activities which help you know the understanding is uh it helps in their spirituality so it becomes a ritual you don't give much thought to it you just do it because you're supposed to do it so in the same way in our life as a believer if we are treating prayer like a ritual um you know how it is right sometimes for us believers when you wake up morning prayer when you when you are going to have breakfast you have to pray then you know when you're going to bed you thank you Jesus for this day you know bless me as I sleep protect me this and that okay amen sleep it's just a ritual this time I have to pray that time I have to pray and uh I'm just practicing it I don't even think about it I don't even worry about my connect with God I just keep doing it so praying as a ritual it's not that beneficial okay so prayer should not be treated as a ritual you have to pray we have to pray like a rule it's not like that there is so much more to prayer we mustn't treat prayer as a ritual then prayer as an obligation or a religious duty sometimes we may think if I don't pray God will get angry I don't know what will happen today oh I miss my prayer I hope God doesn't get angry we take it like a religious duty I have to do it because God requires it of me again there's no heart behind it right so it's not God is not you know pushing us to to make us do our religious duty did you pray today did you do this today did you say this scripture today God doesn't treat us like that so prayer is not a religious duty or an obligation where you know you have to do it so that's not how it works again prayer is not lip service lip service means that uh you know sometimes we can say things that we don't mean like even for example uh it's very unfortunate but it happens even the Lord's prayer we may say it like I am not connected to what I am saying I am saying something but maybe in my heart I'm thinking about lunch or I'm thinking about tea right so what's this it's just lip service where I it's not about my relationship with God it's just lip service or the Pharisees in the in the scripture we know that they said something oh God you're so great and this and that but their lives were not genuine right following God so what we understand here is see God is not looking for a show how well we can pray it doesn't matter to God because he sees our heart so prayer is not a lip service where we uh try to please God with the words that we are speaking so prayer is not that then prayer is not twisting God's arm twisting God's arm means have you all seen when sometimes um you know like in in industries and all they have these unions right and they will have their demands say oh you must pay us so much you must give us leave you must do this let's do that but when the maybe the company is not answering that demands pass what most of the time what do they do they'll fast right they'll do in Hindi they'll say bhuk hatal they just do one hatal and they'll say if you don't then we will not eat we will not drink water it's like threatening isn't it so is prayer that are we threatening God God I'm praying five times I'm praying 10 times I'm fasting I'm giving I'm serving in the church now you have to help me you have to bless me it doesn't it doesn't make sense that's not the scriptural way that we pray so twisting God's arm means it's like forcing God I am doing all this you better do this it should not prayer is not that so we must remember it I know sometimes maybe because of our past patterns of thinking we still continue like that maybe we have seen people they say that oh I'm giving God this offering I'm giving God that offering I did this ritual so I know God will help me right but in the biblical sense our relationship with God is not transactional meaning give and take I'll give you this you give me that prayer doesn't work like that it's more of a relationship so we must be careful not to twist God's arm or I will make God bless me we can't do that then what else about prayer is wrong prayer without faith you know sometimes we can just say that our prayer is good so I have to pray I'm praying but we may not believe we may say something like okay God you know I want I want you to help me to choose the right career but somewhere in our hearts we don't have faith that God will help me so we have backup plan right plan B plan C plan D I'm asking God he may or may not help then I will do something else so praying without believing is also something that we don't see in scripture so when we pray we need to be intentional and we need to understand that yeah God wants me to pray these things I'm sure God is going to answer he's going to guide me so having that belief and praying is important then praying to prove one's spirituality okay and how superior we are so going back to the Pharisees Jesus said you know they used to stand in public and they used to pray all these wonderful prayers but he told he taught about prayer and said please don't do that go into the secret and only your father in heaven is watching you in prayer he will reward you openly so when we when we engage in prayer as public display so it may be you know we pray in very good language some Cambridge English and everything we think oh God will get impressed my language is amazing for God I don't think it matters that much as much as it's genuine it's coming from our hearts right so this public display is for what to please people only people can get pleased and they might say oh they pray so nicely they pray so long sometimes praying long can get you some appreciation but for God it doesn't matter and that's not genuine prayer right so let's be careful of these things so to prove our spirituality to pray nicely or pray a lot of scriptures we are quoting a lot of scriptures quoting a lot of you know some quotes and some names of godly men and women only the people will get impressed but what is the point God should get impressed isn't it so proving our spirituality through prayer that's something that we must keep away from then praying without knowing God's instructions on prayer when we learn from the word of God how what are the promises right and what is God's heart what are the purposes of God and then we pray it's more likely that our prayer will be successful isn't it but if we don't go by that we are going by whatever we think we want it may not necessarily happen in our lives okay so it's something like you know Jonah's story where God says I want you to go to to Nineveh I want you to go minister to the people tell them about me but what did Jonah do his plan is different he said oh god I don't want to go there they are terrible people I'll go to Tarshish I'll escape okay but you see the purposes of God are something else but here we are we are doing something else we need to first find out God what do you want me to do what does your words say about this what does your plan say right so when I first take all that and then I start to pray in line with what God wants then I will see the results but if I'm doing something opposite I won't see the results so these are all the things that we must remember and that is why we are studying about prayer so that we can understand the principles we can understand what the word of God says then when we pray it will be effective okay now the last point which is given here is being more concerned about our eloquence okay or having a people pleasing attitude when we pray when in public when we pray you know we may want to please the people around us that's also the wrong attitude to pray so anything else that you see as the wrong way to pray or the wrong foundation for prayer I've discussed quite a few but anything more you you may want to add to this sister praying to God without confessing your sins hmm so praying to God without confessing our sins yeah we could say so because we know that in the Lord's prayer also Jesus taught us he there is that statement which says forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us so forgiveness is important but if you're not practicing it and then we are expecting God to answer our prayers yeah we may we may find that we're not getting answers because of that you're right hmm so unforgiveness bitterness in our hearts will hinder the answers to prayer what prayer is what is a wrong foundation for prayer sorry praying against the will of God yeah yeah so basically you've expanded on what I said earlier I said that you need to know the word the instructions on prayer and then pray but what you're saying is if you're praying against for example you know we will talk about all these things later the will of God is the I'm giving you a very broad example in the Bible it says right second coming of Jesus it will happen the second coming of Jesus now if I pray Lord I no need second coming okay you change your plan you do something else you think my prayer will be answered no I'm going against the plan of God I can't pray such prayers because it's not in the Bible it's not according to his instruction so if I pray something opposite I won't see the results of that isn't it so same thing applies in many other areas we have to be careful to know the instructions of God's word or let's say you know sometimes we have prayers like that person was so evil to me I pray let him you know let him be sick or let him do this terrible thing in in their life or something we pray something evil over them do you think such prayers are valid I remember one somebody told me and I I wanted to laugh but I didn't laugh they said that somebody who was very rude to them they were digging a well in their house so apparently this person prayed let there be no water God I pray no water they should never get water no matter how deep they dig and I was thinking oh my goodness that's a wrong foundation for prayer I don't think God is going to listen to prayers like that because it's not part of his nature isn't it so things like this we have to understand who is this God that we are praying to what does he want what is his heart what is the purpose then you pray then you receive the answer but if you're praying opposite obviously it can't happen sure so yeah I think some good thoughts here fine so there are all these wrong foundations but let's talk about the right foundation or the strong foundation so I am going to list out all the truths for the right foundation and stop there we will pick it up in the next class so what are these these you know seven truths one is understanding the nature of God you know who is this God that we are praying to so when I understand the nature of God I can pray correctly and receive answers second intimacy with God to have a strong relationship with God when I have a strong relationship remember I said Jesus had such a strong relationship with the father he was praying a lot he was strengthening his walk with the Lord and in the life of Jesus we see success maybe one one word be healed no demon come out everything he is saying is happening why because he was functioning from a place of strong connect or we use the word intimacy intimacy is closeness with God then redemptive heart of God redemptive heart of God we'll discuss later it simply means that God is a God who restores he's a God who redeems he redeems he even if something is destroyed usually we find that he will work in such a way that even the destruction will turn into something beautiful that's the way our God works so the redemptive heart of God we will talk about that we can pray based on the promises of God if God has given that promise we can pray through and we will see the results partnering with the Holy Spirit so the Holy Spirit can help us when we are praying that is also very strengthening in our prayer journey understanding our position in Christ and living a life of surrender so I've just listed it out for us today but we will look at each one in in depth when we come back next week all right so if there are questions we can take it up but if there are no questions let's close with the word of prayer uh yes kofi yeah I would like to know is it wrong for me to uh said God should not let anybody who is a sinner in my family to die this kind of prayer is it good uh kofi could you come again I didn't hear the first part of your question I want to know would it be classified as a wrong way of prayer if I ask God or I pray God should not let someone who is a sinner in my family to die is it a wrong prayer God should not let anyone who is a a sinner sinner meaning they are not born again yes to die in my family so you don't want anyone who's not born again to die yeah meaning you want them to live and be saved and repent yeah okay so it's a valid prayer kofi because we we do have a scripture let me just um second beat a three nine uh it says the Lord is not slow to anger about his promise as some count slowness but his passion toward you not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance so the prayer that you're praying is based on the scripture even God does not want them to die without knowing knowing him therefore your prayer is a valid prayer and it's a good thank you sure thank you thank you so much all right so let's uh wrap up um would anyone like to pray and close close yeah and just take the mic and pray fast heavenly father we come in your presence Lord thank you for this time Lord Jesus Father thank you for helping us thank you for teaching us the importance of prayer you yourself as an example of prayer Lord Jesus help us to implement in our lives from today our father thank you for teaching us more and more of the Holy Spirit we commit this day in your hands teach us more we want more for Jesus mighty name we ask amen thank you thank you everybody so meet you next week God bless you have a wonderful