Effective Praying

Read Luke 11.1-13.
In Luke 11.1, Jesus is praying. It is his habit. His disciples, over time, begin to put together the large amount of time he spends praying and how that immediately afterward, rivers of healing and saving and life-changing power flow out of him. One day, as he finished and began to stir around, one of them asks him to teach them how to pray.
Finally.
He didn't try to teach this until they asked.
It is hard to teach people how to pray, who don't see it's value.
It’s still that way.
You can live and die, and never learn how to pray effectively.
You can go to church where others pray and get results.
You can be in the ministry and hope that others will do your praying for you.
You can live and die, so close to victory, and never experience it.
Don't do it!

Ask Jesus to teach you how to pray.


I. The Lord Jesus Teaches His Disciples (Trainees) His Pattern for Prayer. (11.1-4) This pattern is the Master Plan and the other kinds of prayer are absorbed into this pattern. (See 1 Timothy 1.18-2.8)
II. He Teaches Intercession for the People You Meet, Who Do not Yet Know the Father for Themselves. (11.5-13) This is His secret to the prayer of Intercession. This is the WORLD”S BEST KEPT OPEN SECRET FOR EVANGELISM and to the advance of the Kingdom of God in your family, neighborhood, workplace
a. Our Biggest failure in following Christ in America is a prayer failure! We start praying when we should be commanding. We start commanding when we haven’t prepared in prayer (“A man has come to me in his journey and I have nothing to set before him.” And Matthew 17.14-21) We run to Lazarus when we first get word of his need, instead of waiting two more days and then going to Lazarus following God’s Pillar of Fire and Pillar of Cloud. We speak for him without hearing from him. Read John 15.1-8 and take his advice.
b. Notice the details of this story
i. You are the person who has had a friend that came to him in his journey
ii. You go to the Source of Bread; that is the Father in Verses 2 and 4.
iii. You can go at midnight.
iv. The Father knows you and he knows his own children, who are with him … But he doesn’t know your friend!
v. He says, I cannot rise and give you bread for that man, because the door is locked. In the case of sinners, the door is locked by them, and the father will never force himself on them.
vi. The only hope for lost humanity is that someone who has access to God enter His presence for them and persist until he gives them enough bread (miracles, signs, wonders, Holy Spirit convincing of their sin, Jesus salvation, and fast approaching judgment unless they turn, healing power, etc.)
vi. Is this not what Jesus did immediately after being filled with the Holy Spirit? He prayed and fasted 40 days and nights, and immediately after that, the miracles and healings began accompanying his preaching. He continued that pattern up until his death (See Mark 1.35-38)
viii. What if it is hard to pray like that? You had better do it anyway.
ix. “I don’t know how!” Here’s how: Refuse to take NO for an answer. Decide it is the will of God before you start, based on his word and your fellowship with him. Then:
1. Ask and keep on asking
2. Seek and keep on seeking
3. Knock and keep on knocking

x. The Father says, “Don’t bother me. (Often, when you start intercession, this is how it seems. The situation seems dark and hopeless. But you can go at midnight! You can pray it through! You can get heaven’s bread for the one you love and care about!) The door is locked…and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you. But I tell you this ─ though he won’t do it for friendship sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.” (11.7, 8 in the New Living Translation)

Let’s close this discussion out by saying that Paul and all the early church put prayer first, before any attempt at ministry or outreach. And I don’t mean like we say, “Let’s have a word of prayer before we go.” I mean Acts 13.1-3. I mean Acts 4.29-31.
God is calling us to pray for those He does not know as his own, just as Jesus came to earth for those He did not know. The results will be huge!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who have you met at work, at the store, in your neighborhood? How far can you believe God? Ephesians 3.22 (NLT) “Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
Don’t fall for the devil’s lie, that you can’t pray.
Just go get on your knees with an open Bible and this outline … and set an alarm, and refuse to leave his presence for an hour. Do it again tomorrow. You’ll be shocked at what he can teach you if you ask, and then don’t get right up and walk away.
Stay there and PRAY!