Teaching on Prayer #01

Pentecostals were very, very much for you know praying in public and praying loud and praying long and very vociferously, excitedly, and all those things, they would work themselves up and we kinda believed that way we’re getting a more intensity was our faith, which it wasn’t.

So, we have to learn not to get ourselves into some type of stereotype way and think that’s the way it has to be. You know, they say, “Put up your lightning rods, so the lightning would come.”

And well, you know, we had a good time. Let’s just put it that way, you know. And it’s about all you could say. There was so few answers to prayer.

But we did have a good time. It became an emotional outlet; so, that’s all right. I’m not against that, but we want to go beyond that in praying.

And then, I went with the Baptist for quite awhile and we were much more conservative. Naturally, we weren’t Southern Baptist; we were North­ern.

And we sort of gathered around, like we’re here, and people took turns in praying, and after a little bit of Bible discussion or study; and it was all right. Fortunately for them, I was in the mode of discerning and picking people out.

And one lady came in, and I said, “Hey, you got a problem with your foot?” She had a bone tumor instantly healed. And so, we had a little excitement. It was good for the soul and for the body.

And it’s all right, but my attitude towards prayer today is more or less to scatter ourselves to kneel and to… you can pray together; it’s all right.

You can pray out loud or just begin concentrating, especially on your heart with the Lord, or you can take turns in praying, whatever you want, or be led of the spirit.

But the point is that prayer always has been a very, very tremendous part of worship, and of community worship before the Lord, to pray together.

Now I’m not going to comment on… about… about ten different things the Bible mentions about prayer, just let you to know where you coming from.

First of all:

(01) Is to pray in secret. Your Father would see it in secret; will reward you openly.

(02) No vain repetition. Don’t think you’re going to gain any ground by saying ‘Praise you Jesus; Praise you Jesus; Thank you Lord; Thank you Lord’ and go into some kind of an experience, you know.

But here’s one that’s tremendously important:

(03) Pray for laborers that the Lord of the harvest will send forth la­borers into the harvest. If there ever was a time to pray for the ministry, it’s now or you can end up with a lemon.

So, that’s very important and one reason why you have these meetings, is so you can really pray that God gives you someone here, if the time of attrition is here, you’ll never… It doesn’t matter.

You’re still to pray, because you don’t know that hour that it’s over. Only God knew the day to shut the ark.

(04) Always pray for journeying mercies. If you’re going on a jour­ney, always pray that God will help you. ‘Watch and pray’, which in my understanding means to ‘look for opportunities’. Don’t deny yourself the privilege of prayer.

But this one’s a tough one:

(05) When you do pray, believe; gear yourself down.

And here’s one that’s tremendously valuable:

(06) To pray for those that despitefully use you. Today, in the era of no peace, no calm, no nothing, the hour of destruction, it is difficult. And I’m a victim of my own stupidity in this area. To just simply pray for those who use you wrong and just go down the road.

As Brother Branham said, “When you’re walking up hill, and the snakes are snapping at you, don’t stop to beat them over the head. Just keep moving up.” Don’t be a snake whipper, a snake cracker.

All right;

(07) Pray and not faint. In other words, learn patience. You will get the answer. Stick with it. If your heart is right, it’s in the Bible. It’s yours. Just hold on. It’s very important to pray every day, we enter not into temptation. I pretty well practice that myself. It’s very scriptural.

(08) Pray one for another that you may be healed. It may be right this afternoon you’re lacking healing, because you haven’t prayed for others.

So, all of these things let you know what’s between you and the Lord, what the church needs. You’ve had prayer requests over the last little while. Lee Miller needs serious prayer. I phoned him last night. I didn’t want to talk with him.

I just talked to his wife, and then I prayed for him. And I believe that the Lord really touched him, because I believe what the Bible says, “Where two of you be agreed upon anything that touches the kingdom of God, it shall be given to you.”

You ensure your own healing by praying for others. Remember those requests such as that.

(09) Remember God’s ministers. You never know if the young man is going to cut the old man’s throat, or the old man’s going to cut the young man’s throat, when it comes to ministering. Now you understand what I’m telling you. I could illustrate that; I’m not going to bother.

Again we know what it is to pray for those that despitefully use us. We don’t need comments on this. So, well, “I don’t think I should pray for that guy”— “should hang him up with a noose.”

The minute that you and I take judgment in our hands, and I do it all the time. It seems I got a terrible time. I’m not going to try to lie to you; just tell you the truth, we take it out of God’s hands.

(10) Don’t blow a trumpet when you go to prayer; just pray.

So, what we’re looking at, then, in the meetings, from now on at all times, just scatter yourselves or do what you want to do. We have… One thing in this church: we are fortunate we have place… room where you can kneel.

I used to read the Scripture years ago, and I’d say “Well, the Bible says kneel; the Bible says stand,” till I found out one day the word when you ‘stand,’ praying, the word stand means ‘steadfast’.

It doesn’t mean to ‘get off your knees’. It means to be `steadfast’, `stand still’. So, I was shocked when I heard that I had to change my whole thesis on my position.

Hey look, you can lie on your back and pray; you can lie on your face and pray, you can be scrunched in a position, your body racked with pain. Position is not it. Jesus knelt, we kneel. Paul knelt, we kneel. I think that’s good.

Some people aren’t in a position to: bad hips, bad knees and things. Hey, the Bible doesn’t say you can’t sit and pray, because It says “always pray”; and I’m sure we’re not on our knees all the time.

So, we’re just talking about these things to be free; and so, we’re just going to go to prayer and not going to say anything special. You know what’s on your heart.

You’ve got loved ones; you’ve got problems that bother you as a person; you’ve lost respect for somebody; you’ve lost feeling for somebody. You’ve been disobedient here and there; the other thing.

We haven’t prayed sufficiently for the church as a community, a body of Christ, to really bear each others burdens and so full fill the law of Christ, all of these things.

Remember, we’re not praying to twist God’s arm. We’re praying ac­tually for ourselves what we can do in communion, fellowship with Him, His Spirit begins to tender us up.

Brother Branham would call “tender us up” you know, make us more loving and kind toward each other, forgiving.

Motivating us to go and do the things that we perhaps don’t like to do, but we must do according to Scripture: walking the extra mile, giving away the coat on top of the… taking your little jacket and giving him your coat, very difficult, turn the other cheek.

All of these things are what Brother Bra­nham would say, “Prayer is not twisting God’s arm or asking Him to change His mind, but prayer is getting us to change our mind.”

So therefore, as we talk of repentance, the change of mind by the Word, we’re doing more than that; we’re moving with all of our hearts, opening our souls to God. This may be it. So, any position is fine and all.

Let’s just bow our heads in a moment of prayer, then we can just do as we desire.

Heavenly Father, You heard a little dissertation here which is just simple, and yet, it is direct; and we’ll be praying each in our own ways. That used to be said, but, although that’s true, ‘praying in our own way’, You didn’t lead us to pray in our own way. You told us to pray ourselves, and you said in certain ways.

May what is from the Word which we spoke these ten or eleven little points, as we enter, as it were a little closet between you and us, may each one, Lord, pray and believe and know that the grace of God and the Holy Spirit from the Word is moving in our lives.

And there is no way that we shall not rise or leave here in an inferior way or lesser way than we came. But it will be clenching that Word, and that Word clenching us, and we moving on together.

We ask your mercies in Jesus’ Name. Amen.