December 24 | Standing for Prayer

Series | The Life of Revival

Scripture | 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “…pray continually.”

Lesson 24 | Standing for Prayer

The night of Jesus’ arrest He asked His disciples if they could pray for just an hour, but they ended up falling asleep.  The Bible says in Mark 14:37, “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?”

I still believe Jesus is asking us as His disciples, “Can you pray with me for an hour?”  We will sit down and watch a two-hour movie and time will just fly by.  We will watch our favorite sporting games and three hours will pass like seconds and we will even get excited when it goes into “overtime.”  However, when it comes to daily private prayer with the Lord hardly any Christian spends an hour or more in devotion to God.  Plus, when many do, it becomes as a “chore” instead of a joy.

We as a church should be ashamed and embarrassed that the Lord Himself has asked us to pray with Him for an hour and we put everything before our time alone with Him and give Him the last seconds of our day.  We come to Him when we please and often make our prayer time like a burden we want to be done with as soon as possible; Lord forgive us!

Is it any wonder we don’t see our lost family members saved?  Is it any wonder our schools are still full of violence?  Is it any wonder that our church services are weak and powerless?  Is it any wonder our marriages are falling apart?  Is it any wonder that liberalism is taking over our universities?  Is it any wonder that most Christians feel weak and beat up?  Is it any wonder there is corruption in our government and big businesses?  Is it any wonder our children have more in common with MTV than the book of Acts?  When one looks at the prayer life of most Christians is it any wonder we are the way we are? If Jesus, God in the flesh, made time to pray for hours at a time, how much more should we pray for at least an hour a day?

Make a personal stand for prayer in the following three ways: (1) Develop a consistent prayer life everyday; (2) Encourage your family and those around you to faithfully pray and seek God’s face; and lastly, (3) Pray without ceasing.  Make prayer and communion with God as normal as thinking to yourself.  Become aware of God’s presence everywhere you go.

Reflection | How is your prayer life? 

Action | (1) Explain from the Bible why you should stand for prayer.  (2) Pray that God will use you to reach out to others who don’t pray to encourage them having a prayer life.  (3) Lastly, for more information regarding standing for prayer read the following books, “Prayer,” by E.M. Bounds and “The Fourth Demension,” by David Cho.

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Zechariah 6:1-7:14, Revelation 15:1-8, Psalm 143:1-12, & Proverbs 30:24-28. Click here to read online.