The Prayers of Jesus – Prayer and Other People

Matthew 6:9–13 — 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

No matter how else you may be gifted, God has called you to and equipped you for a ministry of intercession (praying for others)!

THREE FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS ABOUT INTERCESSION…

1. God WANTS to go to work in the lives of other people.

2. God wants YOU to WANT him to go to work in the lives of other people.

3. We express our desire and invite God to work through PRAYER.

Unforgiveness doesn’t punish the offender. It punishes the offended, until it’s forgiven.

To forgive, do these three things repeatedly… 1.

2.

3.

Luke 11:5-13 5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

We need the kind of intercession in which we, with shameless persistence, boldly approach God’s throne asking for the bread of eternal life for everyone around us!