Lord, Teach Us To Pray: How to Become a Woman of Prayer

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

How to Become a Woman of Prayer

A Bible Study for Christian Women

by

Beverly Hammett

Copyright 2011 Beverly Hammett

Smashwords Edition

All scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Table of Contents

A Word from the Author

Lesson One: The Necessity of Prayer

Lesson Two: Don’t Give Up

Lesson Three: God and Prayer

Lesson Four: How Does God Answer?

Lesson Five: A Pattern for Prayer

Lesson Six: A Patter for Prayer, Part 2

Lesson Seven: A Pattern for Prayer, Part 3

Lesson Eight: Ways to Improve Your Prayer Life

Lesson Nine: Intercessory Prayer

About the Author

A Word from the Author

Dear Ladies,

If you are reading this book, it means that you too are interested in becoming a woman of prayer. That is exciting! As you embark on this journey, I trust that God will use the things I have shared here in this book to be a help to you.

These lessons were originally used in our church in a Ladies Bible study. Several of the ladies mentioned what a great blessing the study was to them and asked me to put the lessons in print for them. So here is the finished product. I hope it is a blessing to you too.

The worksheets/study guides with each lesson can be used in your individual study, or in a group Bible study. I encourage you to work through the activities, look up the scriptures, keep a prayer journal, etc. If you will do these things along with the lessons, it will help you to grow in your walk with the Lord and in your prayer life.

My prayer for you is that the Lord will help you to become a Woman of Prayer!

Beverly Hammett

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Lesson One

The Necessity of Prayer

This study on prayer has grown out of my own desire to grow closer to the Lord. Since I have been saved, I have had a great desire to know the Lord better, as Paul prayed in Philippians 3:10. The need for learning in the area of prayer is what God has impressed upon my mind more than any other. I know I need to grow in this area, and I am sure there are many others who need it also. Most of us know a lot about prayer in our heads, but it has not yet reached our hearts. It is easy to talk about prayer and so hard to do it.

We are going to investigate all the aspects of prayer. I am hopeful that it will be of use in your life as it has been in mine. I am convinced that the most needy area, the area most lacking in our church, is in the area of prayer—not because we don’t know what it is, but because we don’t practice it. My desire is that this study will motivate you and give you this same desire—to learn more about prayer—that you too might grow closer to the Lord.

Jesus is our example in every area of life, and this is certainly true in the area of prayer. While Jesus was on the earth, prayer was very much a part of His life. He frequently spoke about prayer. He also taught by His example when He prayed. Read and study the following verses on the teaching of prayer by Christ, and also some prayers that He prayed. They will help you to understand what Jesus thought about prayer.

"At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." Matthew 11:25-27

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7

"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." Mark 1:35

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Matthew 6:5-6

"And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." Luke 22:41-42

"And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." Luke 18:1

"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Mark 11:24

"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." John 17:1-5

The disciples recognized that prayer was important in the life of Jesus. He knew the importance of fellowshipping with His heavenly Father. They also recognized the lack of prayerlessness in their own life. This is what prompted one of the disciples to go to Jesus with the request, Lord, teach us to pray.

I too recognized the lack of prayer in my life and the seeming ineffectiveness of my prayers, and went to God with the same request, Lord, teach me to pray. I am glad to say that God is answering that request. I am glad to know that He is still in the business of teaching His children how to pray. By no means have I arrived, but so far it has been an exciting journey. I hope you will pray that prayer with me, and come with me on this journey.

But I must warn you—when I prayed that prayer, I didn’t know just how God was going to work in my life. I didn’t realize the circumstances that He would use to teach me to pray. I didn’t realize just where my journey would take me. The Lord brought home to my heart a truth which I knew in my head but hadn’t experienced yet with my heart. The truth is this: I am helpless without God.

The events the Lord used in my life to really teach me about prayer were a diagnosis of possible cancer, an unexpected surgery and all the events leading up to it. I learned to pray out of desperation. Those events plunged me into an intensive course on prayer. Up until that time I thought I knew how to pray. I spent time in prayer and saw many answers to prayer. But during that time I learned how little I really knew about prayer. I saw how shallow my prayer life really was.

My fears and desperation before surgery and the facing of the unknown brought me to my knees and taught me to cry out to God as never before. The amazing thing is that He heard me and He answered my prayers. He delivered me from all my fears, gave me a sweet peace throughout the whole ordeal, and brought me through everything OK.

As I have read books on prayer, this seems to be the common element in all of them. When we finally get serious about prayer, the trigger is usually desperation, not duty. Andrew Bonar wrote in 1853, God likes to see His people shut up to this—to see that there is no hope but in prayer.

Serious prayer is almost always driven by necessity. We pray because we are without any other recourse. Therefore prayer cannot be taught by sermons or Bible studies. It has to be born out of a desperate need. If I say, I ought to pray, I will soon run out of motivation. Other things in my life will soon look more important and crowd out the prayer time. Because we all live such busy lives, it is easy for the urgent things in our life to crowd out the important things.

No, I must see a great need to pray. I must be driven to pray. Otherwise my flesh will overrule because it likes to get the upper hand. The reason God brings great problems and trials in our life is because He wants to get our attention, show us our need, and then show us great solutions. He wants to show us the riches of His grace, and how poor and helpless we are on our own. Prayer shows us both of these truths.

Prayer is not a natural activity. In fact, when viewed from strictly the human viewpoint, prayer is actually stupid. That is why it is so hard for us to pray. Human nature says, I can do it on my own. I don’t need anybody else. Prayer, on the other hand, is a declaration of our dependence on God. Prayer rips away our self-confidence and puts our confidence where it should be—in God.

We like to prove that we are self-sufficient, independent and strong. However, prayer is the essential activity of waiting on God, acknowledging our helplessness and His power. As we call on Him for help and seek His counsel, we are admitting our own stupidity and lack of knowledge. As we bring our requests before Him, we are acknowledging that we are dependent on Him to meet our needs.

One thing that has been a blessing to me in this study on prayer is reading some of the old-time saints as they wrote about prayer. You can tell by reading through their biographies that they considered prayer an important thing. If you have never read any of their works, I would encourage you to do so. It will be a challenge and an encouragement to your prayer life.

God Invites Us to Pray

What is prayer? Prayer is how we humans approach to God, our Creator. Prayer is communion and fellowship with God. It is enjoyment and access to God. It is asking of God and receiving from God, a direct application to God and immediate connection with God. That is prayer. Through prayer you worship God, honor the character of God, bring your necessities before Him, and enter fully into one of the privileges you have as His child—that of communing with the God of the universe!

It is God’s will that we pray. We have already looked at verses which tell us that. Why does God want us to pray? Because He desires to have fellowship with us. Consider these verses:

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8:14-17

"That which