by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
I. Prayer is not necessarily natural<\/p>\n\t
A. The disciples asked their Lord to teach them to pray – Lk 11:1-4<\/p>\n\t B. We know a lot about prayer, because we have seen others pray and we imitate\n\t them.\n\t C. But sometimes we assume things that are not true because we don’t know exactly\n\t what is going on.\n\t
II. What is prayer?<\/p>\n\t
A. [Solicit answers]<\/p>\n\t
B. I Tim 2:1-3<\/p>\n\t
1. Supplication – a request regarding a need<\/p>\n\t
2. Prayer – to worship<\/p>\n\t
3. Intercession – an interview, a request<\/p>\n\t
4. Giving thanks – gratitude<\/p>\n\t
C. Phil 4:6<\/p>\n\t
1. Prayer – to worship<\/p>\n\t
2. Supplication – a request<\/p>\n\t
3. Thanksgiving<\/p>\n\t
D. It is the primary way followers of God talk to the creator.<\/p>\n\t
1. To ask<\/p>\n\t
a. A way to ask for something from God – James 4:2<\/p>\n\t
b. Ask in Jesus’ name – John 16:24<\/p>\n\t
c. To help others – II Cor 1:11<\/p>\n\t
2. To ask for pardon<\/p>\n\t
a. James 5:16 – Ask for others<\/p>\n\t
3. To praise<\/p>\n\t
a. I Sam 2:1-10 – Example of Hannah’s prayer<\/p>\n\t
b. Ps 66:19-20 – Blessings on God for hearing David’s prayer<\/p>\n\t
4. To give thanks<\/p>\n\t
a. I Thess 5:18<\/p>\n\t
5. To seek communion<\/p>\n\t
a. James 4:8-10<\/p>\n\t
b. Eph 3:12 – Access with confidence<\/p>\n\t E. Mt 6:5-6 – Prayer is a private matter between the pettioner and God. It is not\n\t meant for public display. Though some prayers are delivered publicly.\n\t
III. How does God hear your prayers?<\/p>\n\t
A. Do you need to shout loud? Do you need to do something to get His attention?<\/p>\n\t 1. I Kings 18:19-39 – The priests of Baal thought they could attract their\n\t god’s attention with much noise and self-mutilation.\n\t
2. Notice Elijah’s taunts. Our God is never unaware.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. Prayer is not necessarily natural A. The disciples asked their Lord to teach them to pray – Lk 11:1-4 B. We know a lot about prayer, because we have seen others pray and we imitate them. C. But sometimes we assume things that are not true because we don’t know exactly what is going…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[1510],"class_list":["post-63697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-prayers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":89816,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-you-pray-that-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":63697,"position":0},"title":"Would You Pray that Prayer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jonathan Banning In Psalm 7, King David makes a shocking petition to God, \"O' Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands... let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; and let him trample my life down to the ground and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29528,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-and-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":63697,"position":1},"title":"Jesus and Prayer","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeff Wolverton Sentry Magazine, December 2002 Jesus as Our Intercessor The intercession of the Holy Spirit does not set aside the intercession of Jesus Christ. \"And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67666,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-ask-for-forgiveness\/","url_meta":{"origin":63697,"position":2},"title":"Is it wrong to ask for forgiveness?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, I hope you are well, My question here is twofold. First, I was taught that we shouldn't ask for forgiveness; instead, we should thank God for his forgiveness. This, though, feels both right and wrong. This confuses me a bit because nowhere in the Scripture does it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42486,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-appropriate-to-say-a-prayer-in-a-restaurant\/","url_meta":{"origin":63697,"position":3},"title":"Is it appropriate to say a prayer in a restaurant?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, Mr. Hamilton! My husband and I have been studying the book of Matthew, and we have a question about Matthew 6:5-6. \u00a0How do these verses apply to saying a prayer of thanks before a meal in a restaurant? \u00a0We have read your answer to the question, \"Must a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56948,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-holy-spirits-intercessory-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":63697,"position":4},"title":"The Holy Spirit’s Intercessory Prayer","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tanner Campbell In this article, we will put Romans 8:26 under a full investigation. The text explains that \"the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24516,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-make-your-prayer-life-better\/","url_meta":{"origin":63697,"position":5},"title":"How do you make your prayer life better?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What should you do if you have been baptized and trying to live the Christian life, but your prayer life is not as it should be? You go for weeks without praying and asking God to forgive your sins. 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