Emmanuel Evangelical Church Chippenham

From 18^th January 2007:

In this session we will consider what effect prayer has.

Background

Prayer is personal communication from us to God.

Last week we asked the question: “Why does God want us to pray?” As we studied Matthew 6:5-13 and Matthew 7:9-12, we saw that God doesn’t want us to pray because he doesn’t already know what we need, but because we are expressing and gaining from such a dependence on our Heavenly Father who loves us.

This week we’re going to begin to look more closely at the mechanics of prayer.

What effect does prayer have?

The Lord Jesus says that there is a clear connection between seeking things from God and receiving them: Matthew 7:9-11 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

Please look at the following passages and, noting the context, ask how ‘effective’ prayer has been in each case:

1. Exodus 32:9-14
2. 2 Chronicles 7:12-16
3. 1 John 1:8-9

What do you conclude concerning the ‘effectiveness’ of prayer?