What Jesus Says About Prayer
Jesus taught us How to Pray! The Bible records these words-Matthew 6:1-34
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"TAKE heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. |
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"Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. |
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"But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, |
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"that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. |
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"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. |
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"But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. |
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"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. |
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"Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. |
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"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name. |
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Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done On earth as it is in heaven. |
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Give us this day our daily bread. |
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And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. |
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And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever. Amen. |
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"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. |
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"But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. |
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"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. |
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"But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, |
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"so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. |
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"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; |
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"but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. |
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"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. |
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"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. |
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"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! |
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"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. |
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"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? |
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"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? |
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"Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? |
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"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; |
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"and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. |
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"Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, Oh you of little faith? |
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Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' |
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"For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. |
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"But seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. |
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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. |
National Call to Prayer has these Scriptural references and teachings as our foundation for what we believe is our ministry.
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"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. |
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"Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. |
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"For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. |
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So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. |
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And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. |
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Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’ But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" [Isaiah 56:7] |
God's House is always meant to be a place of prayer!
We have made it something else - a place of teaching,
a place of fellowship, a place of community services,
even a place of Worship. These are ALL good things.
We have all neglected the "church" as the primary focus
on Prayer as Jesus instructed us to do in these scriptures.
National Call to Prayer is about the business of returning
His House to the Place of Prayer!
When we are in the Place of Prayer, we can be energized with the
Power of Prayer through the Prayer of Agreement. This is why we need prayer partners such as our spouse, our parents, our children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, and co-workers. Here is what Jesus said about this:
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"Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. |
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"Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. |
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"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." |
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Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" |
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Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. |
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So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. |
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"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." |
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Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?" |
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But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: |
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"The baptism of John--where was it from? From heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' |
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"But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet." |
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So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know." And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. |
This authority that Jesus has is a "Righteous Relationship with The Father!"
Through His sacrifice on the cross for us, WE are in Right Standing with God!
Because of what Jesus did for us that we could never, ever DO for ourselves; WE have a covenant relationship with Almighty God AS IF WE were actually agreeing with JESUS in our Prayers!
When WE get concerned about the things that JESUS is concerned about, we have all of heaven's undivided attention through Prayer.
As if God says, "There is my son, and there is my daughter,
can you hear what they are saying about My Son - Jesus?"
Imagine THAT - Jesus and I can actually AGREE in Prayer!
Somebody say - AMEN !