This quarter we are exploring God's FAITHFULNESS and what it requires of our
lives.  Last month we focused on STEWARDSHIP.  This month we focus on
PRAYER.

Romans 12:11-12, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." 
Prayer is a vital ingredient in living a fervent spiritual life.  It
both flows from and feeds our fervency.  Perhaps more than any other
discipline, prayer reflects a person's desire to seek and to know God. 
Conversely, the lack of prayer indicates a person's lack of faith
(consider Luke 18:8 in its context 18:1-14).  Let us then draw near to
God in prayer.  What does this require? 

Righteousness gains God's ear.  I Peter 3:12, "For
the
eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to
their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."  I Timothy 2:8, "I want men everywhere to life up holy hands in prayer."  II Timothy 2:22, "Call on the Lord out of a pure heart."  Let us pray in righteousness.

Faithfulness gains God's ear.  Many Scriptures urge us to be persistent in our prayers.  Luke 18:1, "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up" (check out His parable, Luke 18:2-7).  The apostle Paul taught us to pray at all times.  I Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (see also Ephesians 5:20; 6:18).  We notice that Paul faithfully practiced
what he preached (I Cor. 1:4; Phil. 1:4; Col 1:2; I Thes. 1:2-3; II
Thes. 1:3; Philemon 4).  Let us pray in faithfulness, unceasingly. 

Prayer confesses God's power. When
all our human efforts prove insufficient, we instinctively resort
to prayer, because we recognize our need for a Higher Power.  The
effectiveness of prayer, then, is not in the prayer (the person
praying), nor in the prayer (the words spoken), but in the Prayee (the One who hears and is able to help).  The Scriptures make it clear that
prayer's effectiveness is that it trusts God's power and goodness to
answer our needs (James 5:14-18; Psalm 3:4; 20:6; Matthew 7:7-11).  Let
us prayer with faith in the Almighty.