The Power of Praying Scripture

CCI Fellowship's podcast focuses on reaching God, each other, and the community. They discuss the power of prayer and its different types. They emphasize the importance of knowing God's will and having communion with Him. They debunk misconceptions about prayer and stress the significance of praying in agreement. They also mention the timing of God's answers and give examples of Jesus and Nehemiah as prayerful individuals. Welcome to CCI Fellowship's podcast. Thank you for joining us. At CCI Fellowship, we are reaching God, reaching each other, and reaching our community. We pray that this week's message challenges you in your walk with the Lord, causes you to grow in your faith, and encourages you in your love for the Word of God. Let's open our Bibles in John chapter 14, verse 12 to 14. Amazing. John 14, verse 12 to 14. I'm going to read from the New International Version, and it says, this is Jesus speaking, it says, Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than this, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. This is Jesus speaking. So, I've got a question here. What is prayer for you? Maybe some of us may have different questions, but we may come to a middle point, different answers, sorry, but we may come to a different, a middle point in which it may be talking to the Lord, having communion with the Lord, speaking to Him. And I'm not a professional in studying the Greek words, but in the last couple of messages that the Lord put in my heart, definitely I love to go to a specific word, and to study the Greek word, because during the history, there are some words that maybe we're not still using, and by studying the Greek and the origin of that may bring us how the writer, the spirit that the writer had to write that specific word. So, for example, in Spanish, I don't know if you have heard of this color, carmesí. I'm sure that you haven't heard of this color, but in Scripture, there's a verse that says, referring to the blood of Christ, rojo carmesí. And now, that's Spanish, but this is just to make an example, and now we can say in good Honduran, rojo sangre, or to refer to a specific kind of red. But that's why I love to bring this Greek words and the appliance, how we can apply this word. So, the word for today is proséu somai, which means to pray, I pray, offer pray. This is composed of two words, basically two words, pros, which means towards, or exchange, and eu somai means to wish and to pray. So, if we come, we bring these two words together, we can say properly to exchange wishes. So, applying to pray, literally, is to interact, interact with the Lord by switching human wishes or ideas for His wishes as He imparts faith. There is a term that while I was studying for this, it's a divine persuasion, but let me get to this later on. We've heard that we have different types of prayer. If I ask you today, how's your prayer life today? Some of you may answer today, yeah, I pray, I talk to the Lord like the whole day. I'm praying with Him when I get into a car, when I wake up, when I'm having lunch, and maybe you have this prayer life with the Lord. Some other people may say, I'm awake at 3 a.m. to have a special time with the Lord, then at 12 p.m. I have some special, and this is specific times. Or some may answer, well, I only pray when I'm going to eat, or praise you God. And you are pretty confident that you have this relationship with the Lord, but speaking about the types of prayer, I'm not going to get deeper into this, that's definitely, that's a good sermon topic, but we can hear that there are different types of prayer. We have intercession prayer, we have supplication, we have a prayer of faith, we have a prayer of agreement, a thanksgiving, a healing prayer, praying for others, praying of thanksgiving, prayer of praise, a petition, and the list may go on. But let's go to what Scripture tells us. In 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 1 to 2 says, I urge them, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. We hear, for example, in Timothy, we can say that we have petition prayers, intercession and thanksgiving prayers. But definitely prayer, as we are going back to the Greek words and the appliance of this Greek word, is having an interaction, communion with our Lord. There are some misconceptions about our perceptions about prayer. For example, we can think of the will of God like a very big river and hard water flowing through this river, and sometimes people think that by asking a prayer, you can change the course of that river. But that's the will of God, and sometimes people think that prayer will make God change his mind. Is that prayer? To make God change his mind about something? Or other perceptions of prayer is, if I pray the same prayer often, there is more probability that the Lord answers me. That's another perception of prayer. I'm going to continue praying, and I'm not saying this like, stop praying for what you are praying today. No, that's not the sense of this, but specifically like the same words, like saying harder and harder and harder, the same prayer over and over again, like the exact same words. There are some doctrines that does this, but they don't even know what they are praying about or what's the words that are coming out of their minds. Also, another perception of prayer is, if I declare it, I will have it, and that's part of the prosperity gospel that is being preached around the world right now. So basically, prayer is, I can summarize it in this way, and prayer is coming to the presence of the Lord, bringing a specific topic and a specific petition, and you knowing the answer, you having communion, the Lord answering. We read, the first verse that we read, it's John 14, it says, you may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it, but Lord, I will ask you for a Ferrari, and you will do it. That's a commonly asked question. For example, the other common question is, if two Christians, and they are having the Super Bowl, and one is praying for the Chiefs to win, and the other one is, sorry, Pastor John, I forgot your team, the Steelers, okay, and the other one is praying for the Steelers, what does the Lord, who the Lord will answer? So basically, the answer for that is, for things that come in communion for the will of God. You knowing the will of God. And that's a very tricky question about if two teams, if one person is praying for it, but what does, how does that impact the Kingdom of God in this earth? How does that bring glory to God? Even if a whole team is Christian, how does that bring glory to God by winning? Even they can give glory to God even by losing, and how they react even to losing, but I'm not going to answer to that. We're not in an ESPN podcast or something like that. We're preaching. We're in the house of the Lord. But I want to bring also, to make clear, and I don't want to confuse anyone by all the things that I say. Our perceptions that people may have, and at some point, I used to have this about prayer. Or also, we are very alert, obviously, we know that there is power, and in Scripture we know that there is power in the things that go out of our mouths. But obviously, for example, maybe we're thinking of a flat tire, and well, I used to, last week I had a flat tire. Let's hope that in this trip I won't have a flat tire again. And people get like, oh no, there's power in the name. How does this align to Scripture, and how does this bring glory to God? Those are like some examples that personally, I've been in those kind of thinking and saying, so this is why I'm bringing this. So, also, I want to say this, that there is power, there is power in the prayer in agreement. Okay? So, if you don't know how to pray, but well, let me get to that point. But there's power of agreement in prayer. In Matthew 18, verse 19 to 20 says, again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father. For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them. There is power in agreement, and I love how this applies, and I've experienced it in your marriage life. How you agree in something with your wife, but then again, praying for something specific is to bring this petition to the Lord and know His will over a specific topic. Our first prayers when we are coming to God, we want things to happen like right away when we pray for them, but we are not, our hearts are not prepared. We are not prepared to receive something that we are praying for, and God knows everything. He knows our hearts, He knows us better than us, and as a good Father, He knows when to answer a prayer. So we can say that God's timing is perfect. Not earlier, not after, it's perfect timing. I remember a friend of ours with Francis, in which she was having a very, very difficult time in her life, and one of the words that we said, well, it's time to seek the Lord over this, what is He thinking, what does He want to do, what's His will over this? The answer of her was, oh yeah, I've tried for the last month that Christianity thing, that God thing, and I haven't had any answer. So when we are praying, our hearts need to get lower so that God can come into our hearts and change our carnal mentality and the things that we want now. Even in finances, we've seen how this works and how we've been affected over that, God, we want this, and obviously we're going to be speaking over finances today. So one of the examples that we think of prayer, go over scripture, and have some examples of people praying. What can you say? Well, one of the most famous places in scripture about praying is Jesus praying, and we know over in the Gospels, we can read how much time He spent with the Lord, even in prayer. So how much prayer do we need to have in communion with our Lord? But also we have other examples, for example, it's popping into my mind, Nehemiah, when he heard about what was happening with his people, and he started praying, and he felt really sad, and he had spent a lot of time in prayer, and what's the result of praying? And he heard the Lord, and he knew that the Lord wanted to use him to lift up the walls and lift up a nation. So that's the effect of prayer. Also another example that I love, and we're going to go over this today, is obviously Moses. Moses, when he had these specific times with the Lord in his tent, in this tent, and let's go over it. Let's go to Exodus chapter 33, verse 7, Exodus chapter 33, verse 7 to 9, I'm going to read it. Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the tent of meeting. Anyone inquiring the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp, and whenever Moses went out of the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrance to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. Sometimes we think that, Lord, I would love to experience this kind of thing. Like if I'm entering to a specific place, and that clouds may come down and you come in to speak to me. But people, we have that at this moment. We have the presence of the Lord. It's abiding in us. We have that. We can experience it. I love this, and actually Adriana said this comment before we were talking about something, other thing, but it caught my attention that in the Old Testament, the Lord used specific people in specific times in which he came to meet specific people at a specific moment to do a specific task. But now we have the presence of the Lord abiding in us. We know his will, that it's in scripture. We have it all. So here Moses has, I love this, the tent of meeting. And part of encouraging you today, and I'm learning from this today, don't feel that I'm doing all these things, and it is to have a tent of meeting. Which is your tent of meeting? For some it will be maybe the car, for some maybe will be the war room. It became like very famous after a movie they did, they had like this war room and that's amazing, but that your tent of meeting, I want to encourage you that spending time at the tent will be spending time with the Lord. It's saying more and more and more and more. Let's go to verse 12, the same in Exodus 33, it says, Moses said to the Lord, you have been telling me, lead these people, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, I know you by name and you have found favor with me. If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people. And the Lord replied, my presence will go with you and I will give you rest. Then Moses said to him, if your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all other people on the face of the earth? You can see an interaction here, Moses and the Lord like speaking face to face. How many of you will long to have these experiences with the Lord in which you are asking Him something and you can feel the presence of the Lord and He's telling you what exact thing to do. And even Moses in this verse, in verse 12, he says he remembered a promise that the Lord said to him, lead these people and also other promises. I know you by name and you have found favor with me. He was calling promises that the Lord had given to Moses at some point. So in verse 17 says, and the Lord said to Moses, I will do the very thing you have asked because I am pleased with you and I know you by name. How amazing is that? Definitely Moses was not praying. Well, maybe at that time there were not Ferraris or something physical to move, but he was praying and asking the Lord that His will be done and not his. Don't let us go if your presence don't go with us. That was a prayer today. Lord, if you are not going with me into that stage, please don't let me go. And I felt the Lord was telling me, was encouraging me, go, go, because definitely I'm going to be speaking about His word and the word of God never returns void. So how many of us at this point are praying? How are our prayers being prayed? What are you asking for? Are you asking in alignment to the scripture and that's where we go? Obviously, I want to encourage you to go to Matthew 6 and read the whole chapter. It's amazing. But we have our very famous model of praying that the Lord said the prayer shortly. In Matthew 6, verse 9 it says, this then is how you should pray and most of you may know this. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. These are words specifically being written that the Lord's prayer, but that's another sermon that we can go deeper into the Lord's prayer. But definitely first He teaches us, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, to enter the presence of the Lord, not with our petitions, but instead of glorifying the Lord and admiring who He is. Your kingdom come and your will be done. Lord, not my will, but your will. Lord, I'm having this burden right now, but let's talk about this, but your will be done in my life. Your will be done over this situation. Give us our daily bread, our provision, Lord. Give us our provision, whatever we need, even in Matthew 6 afterwards, and that's what we are going to, maybe we have some time, but even He is saying that He will provide everything for us. That not even the birds, they don't, siembra en mi cosecha, I forgot this word, sow and reap, but they are confident that the Lord will provide. And then, forgive us our debts, the writer is not specifically speaking about finances, but he is speaking about sins, about things that have maybe, that we have big faults in front of God, and also have we forgiven our debtors, and lead us not into temptation. We're going to be tempted. Jesus was tempted in the desert, and how, and this is the main point of this sermon, how did Jesus reply, even in going through temptation, the word of God. A lot of friends have been calling me, and praise God that they are being accountable with me, and I can be accountable also for other friends, but whenever they come, man, I'm being tempted by this way, and definitely the first thing that comes into my mind, let's read scripture together, let's pray, and let's deny the enemy in your life, but deliver us from the evil one. Here it is, prayer is not the means of exercising your own will, prayer is the means by which we cause earth to come into alignment with the heavenly realm. How many say amen to that, that was really good, prayer is not the means of exercising your own will, prayer is the means by which we cause earth to come into alignment with the heavenly realm. Can we declare anything for us in the Bible, any scripture, for example, if we are reading scripture and Jesus cried, how can you apply that scripture to this specifically? But declaring, and this is another topic, another sermon, about things that we need to, when we go over scripture, we need to know to whom it was written, in what circumstances, but here's the key, how the Holy Spirit is speaking to you over this specific, it happened to me, maybe I'm over a proverb, maybe I'm over a psalm, maybe I'm over something specific, another part in scripture, it pops into my mind and it brings a breath of life, it brings confidence that the Lord is speaking to me. What's the difference of someone grabbing the scripture for the first time, and that's why I lead you into this prayer today, because when you read the scripture and the Holy Spirit is guiding you, scripture is alive, it's not textbook, it's not just words, the Holy Spirit brings discernment, even if you are not a scholar, even if you haven't been reading scripture over the years, but if you have the Holy Spirit, there's going to be specific times in which He will guide you. John 5, 14-15 says, this is the confidence that we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we ask of Him. Praying scripture is reminding of God's promises, that He may establish His will in our hearts. And with this, I'm closing, there's power, who remembers the Greek word for power, dunamis, it sounds like dynamites, if we pray both prayers, that's awesome, and there are different kinds of prayer, and you have your personal prayer life, but what happens if you're praying for something specific, and you pray according to scripture, according to His will, Lord, what's the will, what bad decision should I take over this situation, the Lord's will is already written, and it's in His scripture, He's never going to contradict whatever He wants for you, and His will is good and perfect. For example, we need to have also a go-to verses in every season of our lives, for example if we're having a situation of fear, let's go to Psalm 91, let's ruminate, let's pray over it, whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty, I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust, surely He will save you from the fall of the snare, and from deadly pestilence, He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge, His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart, you will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day. If you have anxiety, if you're dealing with anxiety, Philippians chapter 4 verse 6 to 7 says, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present requests to God, and this peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Provision Matthew 6, as I said before, but I want to close with this, I don't know how to pray, I don't know how to start a prayer life, let's start with this golden scripture that it's in Romans 8 verse 26, and it says, in the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness, we do not know what ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us to wordless groans. By encouraging what I felt the Lord was telling me to bring this day, is to encourage you guys. First of all, to have a prayer life, we'll need to have communion with our Lord daily, and not only once a day or when we have lunch, to have a prayer life daily, but also when we pray, let's remind the Lord His promises for our lives. And with this, I want to close, let's make a small prayer before I close. Thank you Lord for this message, for this scripture being brought today Lord. Lord work in our hearts, that there is a passion inside of our hearts, that there is willingness Lord to seek your face. Lord that in every situation we can come to you, and that we know that you will answer. Thank you Lord for this day, for this service, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.