The Centrality of Prayer (1)

The Centrality of Prayer (3)

Why Do We Ask and Not Receive (3)

We have God's promise that when we ask He will answer. But why is it that when we do ask, we do not receive answers to our prayers? In this third part, we look at some more reasons why this is so.

Why Do We Ask and Not Receive (4)

We have God's promise that when we ask He will answer. But why is it that when we do ask, we do not receive answers to our prayers? In this fourth part, we look at some more reasons why this is so.

Intercessors: God's Great Need

When God does not want to take an action which ordinarily He should take, He would want someone to plead with Him to refrain from doing what He should do, but which He does not want to do. Therefore, in the absence of an intercessor, God will be compelled to carry out His judgment. For this reason, we see that God greatly needs intercessors who will stand in the gap on behalf of sinners and those who are under God's impending judgment.

Marks of an Intercessor

We see what marks an intercessor out before God, and particularly, those who God will listen to when they intercede on behalf of others.

The Intercession Challenge

In our generation, intercession is a major challenge. We find many people who are more interested in their own needs than in the needs of God for the salvation of mankind.

Thank God for Intercession and Intercessors

We need to be thankful to God for the people He has raised to intercede on behalf on sinners, otherwise many of us would not be saved. We also need to be thankful to God for the intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

The Mountaintop and the Valley

There is a marked difference between the experience on the mountain in the presence of God, and the valley when one returns from the mountaintop--where the flesh again resurfaces. We consider how we can maintain the blessings of the mountaintop when we return to the valley.

The Prophet and the Professional

There is a difference between a prophet and a professional. We use the difference in the response of Joshua and Moses to the sound of the noise that came from the Israelite comp to depict this difference. The prophet relies on God to give him information, but the professional depends on his experience.

Dealing with the Gold Calf

We look at the real issue with the gold calf with a view to dealing with it once and for all.

The Prayerless Christian

We look at the issue of praying as a verb and sad state of many Christians who are not praying; hence, "The Prayerless Christian" Many Christians have become prayerless because they give up on praying or do not continue to pray--they faint or give up! We mustn't do this!

The Praying-amiss Christian

Having discussed the prayerless Christian, we shall now turn our attention to another category of Christians, "The Praying-amiss Christian" These Christians do pray unlike the prayerless Christian, it is just that they always pray amiss. The intention is to correct our praying, so that we pray aright. Else, we find the praying-amiss Christian being frustrated and may in fact shift to praying to someone other than God.

The Praying-Less Christian

Another category of Christians are those who do not pray enough. They pray, but not to the extent of arriving at a breakthrough.

When You Pray: The Necessity of Praying

The Lord did not say "If you pray" but "When you pray" signifying that prayer and praying is mandatory, not an optional extra. Hence, we discuss the necessity of praying.