The Motor of the Unstoppable Church

Eph 6:18

BIG IDEA: The motor of the unstoppable church is powerful prayer. 

1. Pray frequently  

2. Pray dependently  

Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” 

3. Pray varyingly  

650 prayers in the Bible. Roughly 450 recorded answers to prayer. 

Posture of prayer: 

     -sitting (2 Sam 7:18)

     -standing (Mark 11:25)

     -kneeling (Eph 3:14)

     -face to ground (Mark 14:35)

     -hands lifted up (1 Timothy 2:8). 

     -loud cries (Heb 5:7)

     -normal voice (Ps 5:3)

     -silently (1 Sam 1:13) 

     -long prayers (John 17)

     -short prayers (Matt 14:30). 

Areas of focus: 

     -God’s name be honored (Matt 6:9), that 

     -God’s kingdom come (6:10)

     -God’s will be done (6:10)

     -God’s provision is supplied (6:11)

     -God’s forgiveness is given (6:12)

     -God’s deliverance is provided (6:13) 

Descriptions of prayer: 

     -Thanksgiving (Ps 95:2-3)

     -Imprecation (Ps 69)

     -Confession (Ps 32:5-7)

     -Adoration (Ps 29:2), 

     -Faith (Ja 5:15)

     -Corporate prayer (Acts 2:42)

     -Supplication (Phil 4:6)

     -Preparation (Acts 13:2-3)

     -Dedication (Matt 26:39)

     -Intercession (1 Tim 2:1) 

     -In the Spirit (Eph 6:18). 

4. Pray alertly  

John Piper “prayer is not an intercom for increased convenience in our secluded cottages but a walkie-talkie connecting the general’s headquarters with the transportation line and the field hospital and the front-line artillery…When we try to turn prayer into a civilian intercom to increase our conveniences, it stops working and our faith begins to falter…the power of prayer was not given to the church to win comforts but to wield a weapon.” 

5. Pray seflessly

1 Samuel 12:23 “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.”