Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out. Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. (James 5:13-16, MSG)
What does it look like to pray hard?
Pray with tenacity.
Then Jesus
taught the followers that they should always pray and never lose hope. He used
this story to teach them: 2 “Once there was a judge in a town.
He did not care about God. He also did not care what people thought about him. 3 In
that same town there was a woman whose husband had died. She came many times to
this judge and said, ‘There is a man who is doing bad things to me. Give me my
rights!’ 4 But the judge did not want to help the woman. After
a long time, the judge thought to himself, ‘I don’t care about God. And I don’t
care about what people think. 5 But this woman is bothering me.
If I give her what she wants, then she will leave me alone. But if I don’t give
her what she wants, she will bother me until I am sick.’”
6 The Lord said, “Listen, there is meaning in what the bad
judge said. 7 God’s people shout to him night and day, and he
will always give them what is right. He will not be slow to answer them. 8 I
tell you, God will help his people quickly. But when the Son of Man comes
again, will he find people on earth who believe in him?” (Luke 18:1-8 ERV)
Pray with intensity.
9 There were some people who thought they
were very good and looked down on everyone else. Jesus used this story to teach
them: 10 “One
time there was a Pharisee and a tax collector. One day they both went to the
Temple to pray. 11 The Pharisee stood
alone, away from the tax collector. When the Pharisee prayed, he said, ‘O God,
I thank you that I am not as bad as other people. I am not like men who steal,
cheat, or commit adultery. I thank you that I am better than this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of
everything I get!’13 “The tax collector stood alone too. But when he prayed, he would not even look up to heaven. He felt very humble before God. He said, ‘O God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, when this man finished his prayer and went home, he was right with God. But the Pharisee, who felt that he was better than others, was not right with God. People who make themselves important will be made humble. But those who make themselves humble will be made important.” (Luke 18:9-14, ERV)
Pray in community.
19 And this: if two or three of you come together as a community and discern clearly about anything, My Father in heaven will bless that discernment. 20 For when two or three gather together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:19-20, VOICE)
Pray with authority.
13 Is there anyone among you who is truly wise and understanding? Then he should show his wisdom by living right. He should do good things without being proud. A wise person does not brag. 14 But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth. 15 That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. 16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. (James 3:13-16, ICB)
“Your deepest prayers are your
sincerest actions. They are always rewarded.” (Apoorve Dubey)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon “Pray Hard: ASK-Ask Seek
Knock, “(installment four) Sunday September 8, 2019,
Pastor Dave Jansen, CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
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