School Of Prayer  2023
Theme:  Lord Teach Us How To Pray
Scripture:  Luke 11:1-13; Matthew 6:5-15; Matthew 17:14-21

Get ready for the weird

Please do yourself some favour:

• Shelve and put aside all what you know about Prayer
• Cover and switch off all what you have heard and learnt before about Prayer
• Open a new chapter of needing to know and learn something for the first time
• Get ready to hear some WEIRD about Prayer!

W - Wonderful
E - Exciting
I - Interesting
R - Real
D - Different

In Luke 11:1-13 and Matthew 6:5-15; what did the disciples asked for?

This MUST be our cry too.

Teach us to pray

• Teach us to follow and live by your prayer life
• Teach us how we should pray

In response the Lord Jesus showed and gave the disciples the Three Area Prayer

• This is a guide to prayer
• A pattern of prayer
• A formula of prayer (Luke 11:2-4)

First let’s look at the chemistry of prayer

Many times our prayers go unanswered, probably we have prayed AMISS

• Prayed wrongly
• Prayed incorrectly
• Prayed out of order
• Prayed defectively

“You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasure.”  James 4:3

Let me prepare you for this WEIRD teaching on prayer by reminding you the chemistry of WATER

The chemistry of Water:

• Breaks Water to its
  1. Molecular Structure
  2. Atomic Structure
• Water is a simple molecule consisting of one oxygen atom bonded to two different hydrogen atoms

The Chemistry of Water is the Formula of Water

Jesus in Luke 11 taught His disciples the  ‘Prayer Formula’ in Hebrew

Let us look at Prayer from Hebraic perspective

Sometimes we miss the cream of the Word – the Word of God, because we understand it from the translations of our languages other than the FIRST HAND – original language.

The word Prayer in Hebrew language is PALAL

PALAL in Hebrew has two letters and the second letter is repeated. The letters are:

Pey or Peh: 

• The seventeenth letter of Hebrew alphabet
• Its numeric value is 80
• Its pictograph is an Open Mouth, Speaking Mouth
• It speaks of Speaking, Declaring

Lamed: 

• The twelfth letter of Hebrew alphabet
• It is positioned at the center of Hebrew alphabet
• Its regarded as the heart of Hebrew alphabet
• Its numeric value is 30
• Its pictograph is a Shephard’s Staff or Ox- Goad
• It speaks of Learning, Teaching, Voice of Authority

The Message from PALAL

• To speak with your mouth (Pey) to the Voice of Authority
• To speak with your mouth to the One with Ultimate Authority
• To speak with your mouth the Voice of Authority by the help of the One with Ultimate Authority.
• PALAL is the kind of prayer man of authority prays standing in the gap between man and the One with Ultimate Authority

*Intercessory Prayer*

 Discipline of prayer

Since prayer is speaking with the mouth the Voice of Authority, by the help of the One with Ultimate Authority, prayer demands discipline.

Matthew 17: 14-21 (vs21“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting”)

• By FASTING the Lord Jesus did not confine it to refraining from food alone.
• Fasting here means Discipline
• Effective prayer that drives demons and breaks yokes demands discipline
• Prayer requires more time investment
  • Pray unceasingly (2Thessalonians 5:17
  • Select particular time of prayer (Psalm 119:47; Psalm 5:3; Mark 1:35)
• Regular meeting with god at a quiet place
  • Choose a quiet place for prayer (Matt 6:6; Luke 6:12; Luke9:28; Matt 14:23)
• Mix your prayer with the word
  • Be rooted in the Word (John 15:7-8; 1John 3:22; James 5:16)
• Prayer takes sacrifice
  • We must give up time on cell phone
  • Don’t make or answer calls during prayers –switch off
  • Not every prayer petition or prayer answers are for public
  • Be mindful with whom you share prayer petitions and testimonies (eagles do not fly with sparrows)

NO ATTENDING TO CALL DURING INTERCESSIONS

NO FOOD DURING INTERCESSIONS

FIND A QUIET PLACE – WITHOUT DISTURBANCES

• We must give up time on food
• We must give up time on friends and family
• We may even need to sacrifice some works we do to have good prayer time (Acts 6:
  • Apostles gave up an opportunity to serve widows, in order to focus on prayer

WHAT IS GOD CALLING YOU TO SACRIFICE IN ORDER TO FOCUS ON PRAYER?