John K. Jenkins Sr - Principles of Powerful Prayer - Part 2

We started a couple of weeks ago with part one of this message on the principles of powerful prayer . To recap what we discussed, we examined the sixth chapter of Ephesians and engaged with the fact that Paul provides instructions to the church in Ephesus about the challenges they will face in life . This challenge , he explains, is not with flesh and blood ; rather, Paul tells the church in Ephesus that their battle is against spiritual entities. He clarifies that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers , rulers of darkness , and spiritual wickedness in high places. We began discussing this because , by now , we all understand that life will present challenges and struggles-there will be things that will war against you . Paul instructs the church in Ephesus to prepare for these challenges , emphasizing that when they arise, they need to be equipped for battle. They must be in a position to be able to engage in warfare. In chapter 6:10-20, he teaches them how to put on the full armor of God so that they can effectively do battle against the enemy . I appreciate how he concludes this sixth chapter in verses 18, 19, and 20, focusing on a topic I want to discuss: prayer . Somebody say "prayer." Now, does anyone here still believe that God hears and answers prayer ? Do you truly believe that ? Let me see if you believe it- I'm looking up in the balcony to see if anyone believes that. Okay, everybody up there says they believe; great! So we're exploring these principles of prayer, which consist of seven points. I covered three in the first section, so let me quickly review those three . Verse 18 provides us with these three things. The first is what I call the posture of prayer, where it says, "praying always." This means we should always be in a posture to pray - our hearts should be open, and we should always communicate with God. We don't need to be in a specific place or position; we should always be prepared to pray. So, praying always signifies a posture of readiness, with all prayer and supplication, which I refer to as petition. Somebody say "the petition." That word signifies that we will make our requests known to God. We won't ask people ; rather, we will beseech God , worship Him, and bring our requests to Him. Then it says , number three: I discussed the power of prayer , which involves praying in the Spirit. In verse 18, it states, " praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit." Somebody say "in the Spirit." I talked extensively about what I believe that means : we must learn to let the Holy Spirit pray through us to God. We should be led by the Spirit of God in our prayer life. We don't want to engage in routine, programmed prayers; we want the Holy Spirit to pray through us. Somebody say "through us." Yes, I want to be in a position where the Holy Spirit can intercede for me before God, as we don't always know how we should pray. However, according to Romans 8 , the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us according to the will of God, and that's what I desire. I want to be in a place where God can pray through me on my behalf. Here 's number four, and I will only discuss number four today . I'll hit you with this quickly, and then I'll be done. This is in verse 18 as well : being watchful. Somebody say "be watchful." I want to label this term "being watchful" as prudence. Somebody say "prudence." Now, follow me for just a few moments. If you hang with me, I'll be finished shortly. Prudence , in being watchful , means that I don't fall asleep; I stay awake. I don't go into hibernation. In fact, it means I look attentively and show care and thought for the future. The best way I can describe this is that when you are watchful while praying , you are looking with expectation that God will respond to what you have prayed for. Being watchful means that if I've prayed and have no food in the kitchen , no food in the house, and no money to buy food, and I've prayed about it, being watchful means that after I've prayed, I will go ahead and set the table for a meal because I am watchful for the moment that God is going to make a way out of no way. That 's what it means - I've made a request to God, I've asked Him for something, and I expect Him to act on what I have prayed for . Now, see , the problem is that some of us...