.A Study in Discipline  

    “Prayers that are Powerful and Effective”      

                                  See Daniel 1:8-20 and Daniel 2:1-49                             

Daniel 6:1-10, “It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, ² with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. ³ Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴ At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. ⁵ Finally these men said, ‘We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.’⁶ So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: ‘May King Darius live forever! ⁷ The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. ⁸ Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.’ ⁹ So King Darius put the decree in writing.¹⁰ Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”  

                 A Study in Persistence                                                     
“Prayer that is Powerful and Effective” 

 See Genesis 2519-34 and Genesis 32:1-32

Genesis 31:3, ”Then the Lord said to Jacob, ‘Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.’”

Genesis 32:24-30, ”So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ ²⁷ The man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered.²⁸ Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.’ ²⁹ Jacob said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.’”

Tim Keller: “Jacob held on at the risk of his life to get the blessing for him; but Jesus held on at the cost of His life to get the blessing ___________________.”

The Final Ingredient                                                                      “Prayer that is Powerful & Effective”

Matthew 21:18-22, “Early in the morning, as Jesus was on His way back to the city, He was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then He said to it, ‘May you never bear fruit again!’ Immediately the tree withered.²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. ‘How did the fig tree wither so quickly?’ they asked.²¹ Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”’”

John 14:12-14, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it.”  

Matthew 17:20-21, “He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.’” 

So what does it mean to ask something in Jesus’ name? 

Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” 

Luke 18:1-8, “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” ⁴ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”’⁶ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?’”

What About the One Praying?                                       “Prayer that is Powerful & Effective”

James 5:16b-18, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”

1.Positional rightness: Jesus followers are those who have experienced God’s once-for-all ___________________through their acceptance of what Christ did for them by dying on the cross.

See  John 13:1-12a

Matthew 5:23-24  “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Praying With Intensity                                            “Prayer That is Powerful and Effective”

James 5:16-18, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”

See Mark 9:14-29

Jeremiah 17:5, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.’”

Zechariah 4:6, “So He said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.’”