Starters
For The
Prayer Meeting
By
Bob Hill
Table of Contents
Starters for the Prayer Meeting 4
What is a “prayer meeting starter” ? 4
I. Old Testament 6
A Prayer of David - Ps 25 6
The House of God - the Gate of Heaven 8
“By Many or by Few” 11
Prevailing Prayer as seen in Jacob 14
The God of Hills and Plains 17
Speaking to the Rock 19
Our Ever Giving God 21
Arguing with God 23
A Praying King 25
Elijah, a Man Of Prayer 27
II. New Testament 29
But Prayer 29
Jesus’ Dying Prayers 32
Prayer Meetings 35
"Pray without ceasing" 39
“Behold he is praying” 41
Exceeding Abundant Encouragement to Prayer 43
Bold Praying 45
Mary’s Example in Prayer 48
Our Continual Responsibility to Pray 50
Paul’s Prayer for the Colosse Christians 52
Paul’s Requests for Prayer 54
Paul’s Prayers for Others 56
Steadfast Devotion to Prayer 58
The Ultimate Answer to Prayer 61
We have Prayer because there was a Resurrection 64
Prison Praying 66
The Church Was Born in a Prayer Meeting 68
Persistent Praying 70
Sound and Sober Praying 73
The Kind of Spirit In Which to Pray 75
Agonizing Prayer 77
Corporate Boldness 79
III. Topical 81
1. Praying and the Persons of God 81
The Trinitarian Aspect of Prayer 81
The Attributes of God in Prayer 83
To Whom Should We Pray? 85
Praying in the Name of Christ 88
Jesus Teaching on Prayer 90
Jesus Teaches on Corporate and Answered Prayer 93
How the Spirit Enables Us to Pray 95
“Praying in the Holy Ghost.” 97
How does the Spirit Help us in Prayer 98
The Cry of the Spirit: Abba Father 100
“The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with Groanings” 103
2. Miscellaneous 106
The A.C.T.S. of Prayer 106
Adoring God 108
Confession in Prayer 111
Corporate Prayer: What Is It 113
Corporate Prayer: The Open Secret 115
Corporate Prayer: How to Have the Manifest Presence of God 118
Paul’s Exhortation to Corporate Prayer 121
Thanksgiving in Prayer 123
Supplication in Prayer 126
The Act of Prayer has its own Benefit 129
American Christians 130
Boring and Blasting, Ours and His 132
Fervent Praying 134
How to Pray 135
In Praying We Should 137
Intercessory Prayer: Some Biblical Examples 138
Intercessory Prayer: Who and What 140
Intercessory Prayer: The Test of our Praying 142
Joy in Prayer 144
Kneeology 101 146
"Let us lift up our heart” 148
Missionary Praying 150
Perseverance in Prayer 153
Pray Big for God’s Glory 155
Prayer--What it Does 157
Praying for Preaching 159
The Pray-er’s Attitude 161
Pray the Lord of the Harvest 163
Prayer, What It Is 166
Prevenient Praying 168
Three Biblical Principles for Corporate Prayer 170
The School of Prayer Part 1 172
The School of Prayer Part 2:The Content of Prayer 175
The School of Prayer Part 3: Importunity 177
The School of Prayer Part 4: A Package Deal 179
Unpossessed Possessions 181
Violent Praying 183
What Prayer Is Part 1 185
What Prayer Is Part 2 186
What Prayer Is Part 3 188
What Prayer Is Part 4 190
What Prayer Is Part 5 191
What Prayer Is Part 6 191
What Prayer Is Part 7 193
Why Importunity Is Needed 194
The Principle Business Of The Church Is Prayer 197
True Grounds for Prayer 199
3. Revival 202
Never a Revival Without Mighty Praying 202
Prayer and Revival 203
Revival Prayer Meetings 205
4. Testimonial 206
A Call for National Repentance 206
Pray for Kings & Governments 207
Edward Payson 210
The Moravian Prayer Experience 212
The Testimony of C.H. Spurgeon 216
Starters for the Prayer Meeting
(Or For personal prayer time meditation)
What is a “prayer meeting starter” ?
A “prayer meeting starter” is a short Bible study on the subject of prayer, designed to get the pray-ers focused on the task at hand and to give the Holy Spirit an opportunity to prepare us for prayer.
A real prayer meeting is not a Bible Study. When we try to combine them, the meeting becomes a Bible study and prayer is minimized. The difference between a Bible study and a prayer meeting is in its primary purpose. The Bible study’s purpose is to communicate the truth of what the Bible says. The prayer meeting’s purpose is to unite in real and fervent prayer. To try to do both in one meeting is more than the human mind and body can endure in one meeting. Prayer deserves to be maximized and is worth a meeting exclusively for prevailing in prayer.
Robert Murray McCheyne said “A great part of my time is spent in getting my heart in tune for prayer.” This is true for the individual in secret prayer, but it is also true for the corporate prayer meeting. Corporate prayer needs careful and prayerful preparation: we need to prepare our hearts, pray for those leading the meeting, and pray for the Holy Spirit to make it the meeting He wants it to be.
How do we have a prayer meeting that is not a Bible study but is still nurtured by The Word of God? We suggest that the meeting be started with the Word of God. Not just the reading of it but the explaining and applying of it to our lives. Further, we suggest that the subject matter be “prayer” not a miscellaneous topic or text from the Bible. We need to hear what the Bible has to say concerning prayer, especially when we start to pray. It is at that time that we need to prepare our hearts and get our spirits in a praying mode.
Following are articles designed for the leader to use as “starter talks” to begin the prayer meeting. The “starter” should be long enough to develop a single idea and prepare the hearts for prayer, but not long enough to detract from prayer time. It should not become an end in itself, but a means to the end of prevailing prayer. It seems that it takes at least ten minutes and should normally take no longer than fifteen minutes. A one-hour prayer meeting with 15 minutes of receiving what the Word of God says about prayer and 45 minutes of fervent praying is a good basic plan to follow.
The need for the “starter” is that the pray-er is not always and naturally in a mental and spiritual mood to pray. These starters are designed to stir our hearts and minds to prayer. They could be used for corporate or personal prayer times.
We cannot anticipate specific needs and situations. Our plan is to give enough material for a beginner to be able to communicate a complete thought if he just reads the material with a few comments. Those leaders with more experience may not want to use all the material given. We suggest the "cafeteria" method---pick out what is right for the particular occasion.
It might be desirable to give the starter notes to the pray-ers in the meeting. They can keep them for future use in their secret prayer time and/or use them when they pray with others.
Eph 6:17-18 says “And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.” The Word of God is the Spirit’s sword, not ours; it is for Him to use as He sees fit. We hope that the starters will be an instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit to inform, inspire, and invigorate the pray-ers as they start to prayer.
I. Old Testament
A Prayer of David - Ps 25
This is a good portion of Scripture to meditate on as we go to prayer and even to pray to God as our prayer. Our experiences are not that much different from David’s, remember, "These things happened to them as examples and were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come." 1 Cor 10:11
1-7 David speaks to the Lord for Himself
“1 O Lord, I come before you in prayer.” Prayer is a specific act, not merely an attitude. It is something we do, not just think about.
“2 My God, I trust in you.” Trust here means “to confide in, so as to be secure and without fear” Who else can we go to. None other can understand or help.
“Please do not let me be humiliated; do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!” David prays for himself as he confronts his enemies. If we are in God’s will, our enemies and God’s enemies are the same. God cannot be defeated and neither can we.
“3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.” God is trustworthy and will not fail us. David could sympathize and pray for others because of his own experience. We can never go wrong relying on God.
“Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted and humiliated.” God will deal with the wicked in His time.
“ 4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord! Teach me your paths!” This is the attitude of an effectual pray-er. We must seek God with all of our heart and complete submission. We must be teachable and leadable.
“5 Guide me into your truth and teach me.” Truth and doctrine are inseparable from one who is in communion with God.
“For you are the God who delivers me; on you I rely all day long.” It is vain to look for our help from any other source.
“6 Remember your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord, for you have always acted in this manner.” It seems that we humans constantly forget the goodness of the Lord, but He doesn’t forget to be compassionate to us.
“7 Do not hold against me the sins of my youth or my rebellious acts! Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord”
8-10 David acknowledges the character of the Lord
“8 The Lord is both kind and fair; that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live. 9 May he show the humble what is right! May he teach the humble his way!” The proud cannot learn the things of God nor can they pray when they have a stubborn will.
“10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable to those who follow the demands of his covenant.” God’s methods and objectives are always good to His people.
11 David appeals to the Lord for forgiveness
“11 For the sake of your reputation, O Lord, forgive my sin, because it is great.” David is concerned about God’s honor, he want his sin forgiven and his life maintained so God will not be dishonored. All of us have a great weight of sin but it is those who come to God that feel it most. Feeling our sinfulness is not a disqualification of coming to God but it is an integral part of it.
12-15 David speaks about what the Lord does
“12 The Lord shows his faithful followers the way they should live. 13 They experience his favor; their descendants inherit the land. 14 The Lord 's loyal followers receive his guidance, and he reveals his covenantal demands to them. 15 I continually look to the Lord for help, for he will free my feet from the enemy's net.” They that pray to know God’s will are assured to know it, understand what He wants from us and have his protection. God reveals His secrets to those who dwell in secret with Him. We have no greater enemy than our depraved nature that so often snares us; but the Lord will deliver us as we commune with Him.
16-22 David speaks to the Lord again
“16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and oppressed! 17 Deliver me from my distress; rescue me from my suffering! 18 See my pain and suffering! Forgive all my sins! 19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me; they hate me and want to harm me. 20 Protect me and deliver me! Please do not let me be humiliated, for I have taken shelter in you! 21 May integrity and godliness protect me, for I rely on you! 22 O God, rescue Israel from all their distress! ” Many negative words are used to describe David’s condition. When we are going through the trials it feels as if we are alone. All we can do and all we should do is rely on our God; He is able to rescue us.
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The House of God - the Gate of Heaven
In Gen 28 we have the story of Jacob deceiving his father and his having to leave for fear of Esau. Verses 12-19 tell us of the dream he had as he traveled, “He saw a stairway erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it and the Lord stood at its top. He said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the ground you are lying on. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using your name and that of your descendants. I am with you! I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!’ Then Jacob woke up and thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!’ He was afraid and said, ‘What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!’ Early in the morning Jacob took the stone he had placed near his head and set it up as a sacred stone. Then he poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel...” The Hebrew for Bethel means “house of God.” Jacob was afraid but not with a servant-like fear, but child-like fear; not a fear of the wrath and displeasure of God, but an awe of the greatness and glory of God.