NOTE: At the end of the introduction and each chapter in the book, you will find study questions and prayers for daily growth. Please look up and study each scripture reference, answer the study questions and pray the prayers. Above all, spend time talking to God about the things He reveals in each chapter. Remember friend, you will not learn to pray by merely “reading” about prayer. You will learn to pray by “praying” about the things you read.

After you have read the introduction, please turn to page 10, look up the scriptures, answer the study questions, and pray the prayers for daily growth on page 11.

Before you read any further, please pause and ask God to revolutionize your walk with Him.

CHAPTER ONE

Understanding the Three Foundations of a Powerful,

Biblically Balanced, God-Focused Prayer Life

A SOLID PRAYER FOUNDATION

No building can be stronger than the foundation upon which it is built. The same is true of our prayer life and relationship with God.

In the title of this chapter we note three words of crucial importance.

What are some powerful forces you have witnessed or learned about? ___________________

_____________________________________________________________________

What elements describe a powerful force? ______________________________________

How do these forces compare to the power one has in prayer?

_____________________________________________________________________

If you are to experience a powerful prayer life, you must first establish a solid prayer foundation.

Before you begin to study the Three Prayer Foundations, pause and ask God to help you honestly evaluate your daily level of prayer.  

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest) where do you rate your level of prayer power?

__________________ Why? ____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

FOUNDATION ONE

PRAYER TIME MUST BE VIEWED AS THE ESSENCE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP

WITH GOD AND NOT MERELY SOME DUTY OR RITUAL

We must view prayer as a daily love relationship. From God’s perspective, prayer is the expression of that which He desires most—your personal relationship of love, surrender and trust.

In many ways, prayer is your relationship with God. (Read John 17:3)

Prayer is the primary way we:

Is your prayer time a chore or legalistic requirement or is it a relationship with God?

_____________________________________________________________________

FOUNDATION TWO

YOU MUST MAKE AN ABSOLUTE COMMITMENT TO

CONSISTENTLY SPEND SIGNIFICANT TIME ALONE WITH

GOD IN UNINTERRUPTED PRAYER

Why is this foundation so crucial? Until you make the serious commitment to a significant daily prayer time, you will never become powerful in prayer.

When you view the prayer practices of Jesus and New Testament believers, it is clear they regularly spent much time alone in fervent prayer.

When you study the lives of people mightily used of God, you find one great common denominator, they spent much time in fervent daily prayer!

If Jesus and the early church spent much time in prayer, what makes us think we can do less? God’s requirements have not changed and they never will! This is a foundational requirement and a changeless spiritual principle. Friend, until you personally settle this issue and commit to consistent time with God, you will never go to the fullest depths of prayer or spiritual maturity.

What can you do to make your prayer life more powerful? ___________________________

____________________________________________________________________

LET US ANALYZE FOUNDATION TWO - PHRASE BY PHRASE

…ABSOLUTE COMMITMENT…

Three Crucial Reasons why your Commitment must be Absolute

First Reason for Absolute Commitment

Satan fears intercession more than anything else and fights prayer like no other area of your life. He does so for the following reasons.-

What does Paul mean when he says, “You are looking only on the surface of things?

____________________________________________________________________

Is it possible for us to look deeper than the surface of things?

        ____________________________________________________________________

 ____________________________________________________________________

What reasons does Paul give for putting on the whole armor of God?

___________________________________________________________________

According to Ephesians 6:10-17 after we put on the armor of God what should we do?

____________________________________________________________________

The armor of God is for ___________________________________against Satan, but it is

___________________________________________ God’s power that makes us strong.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, “…they (weapons) have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” What does the word demolish mean?

____________________________________________________________________

Why do you think Paul chose to use the word “demolish”?

____________________________________________________________________

What are some strongholds that need to be demolished in your life?

____________________________________________________________________

According to Paul how are you able to demolish these strongholds?

____________________________________________________________________

What does Paul mean by we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ?

____________________________________________________________________

What arguments, pretensions, and thoughts need to be demolished or taken captive in your life?

____________________________________________________________________

According to Paul, how can you claim victory over these strongholds in your life?

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

What evidence did you see from these chapters in Acts that prayer was important to Peter and

the other early day evangelists?   

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us if God’s people will do four things: 1) _______________________

2) ____________________3) ______________________ 4) ____________________

then God will __________________, ________________, and __________________.

Second Reason for Absolute Commitment

Our flesh always resists the development of a powerful prayer life.

What strong examples of the flesh hindering prayer and spiritual growth do we see in Matthew

26:40-41 and Romans 7:14-18? 

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

What examples of the flesh hinder your prayer and spiritual growth? ___________________

____________________________________________________________________

Jesus says, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak. List some things that you need to watch and pray about to help you overcome the flesh hindering your prayers and spiritual growth.

____________________________________________________________________

Third Reason for Absolute Commitment

The world’s system of human strength and promotion is the direct opposite of God’s ways.

Beyond question, God’s ways are opposite of man’s ways. (Read Isaiah 55:8) The world’s pattern is to exalt human programs, strengths and abilities. Yet, as the Scriptures clearly show, God’s pattern is to bring us to a point of utter weakness and total reliance on Himself.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 we find God’s power is made perfect in our_____________________.

What human programs, strengths and abilities do you see getting in the way of bringing you to

total weakness and total reliance upon God?

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Is there something God wants you to truly pray about and not just merely give it lip service?  

____________________________________________________________________

…TO CONSISTENTLY SPEND SIGNIFICANT TIME …

What does it mean to consistently spend significant time with God?  ____________________

____________________________________________________________________

I make a general suggestion of spending at least 30 to 45 minutes a day, alone with God in prayer. That is certainly enough time to experience all major types of prayer that will lead you to miraculous new growth and ministry.

…ALONE WITH GOD IN UNINTERRUPTED PRAYER.

Why is it vital to spend uninterrupted time alone with God?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Four Crucial Reasons to Spend Uninterrupted Time Alone with God

God often speaks in a still, small voice and we must still our hearts and give Him our undivided attention to clearly hear His voice.

Time alone with God is the biblical example of Jesus Christ and the lives of powerful Christians throughout history.

The Scriptures state the importance of a solitary place to see God’s face.

When we pray, we commune with the God of the entire universe and He deserves our undivided attention.

Beyond question, a truly powerful prayer life requires consistent time alone with God. However, in no way does this suggest that we shouldn’t pray throughout the entire day. Paul said we are to “pray without ceasing.” (Read 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Spiritual Application

We only learn to pray by praying. Although, reading books and attending conferences can be helpful, we must consistently show up for practice in our prayer closet alone with God.

What request did Jesus’ disciples make of him in Luke 11:1? 

____________________________________________________________________

This is perhaps the greatest request any Christian can make of the Father. Are you ready to make this same request of your heavenly Father? If you say you want to learn to pray, yet you won’t come to practice, the truth is, you had rather do other things than pay the price to grow spiritually. God cannot teach you to pray if you refuse to show up for practice every day. That is why this foundation is so crucial! Until you make the serious commitment to a significant daily prayer time, you will never become powerful in prayer.

Why does God require that we spend significant time alone with Him in “our closets”?

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

At this point, I want to give you encouragement and hope. Through Christ, you really can do this (Read Philippians 4:13). Please stop settling for a shallow walk with Christ when God saved you to experience all the fullness of His daily presence.

Take time right now to ask God to give you a hunger and thirst for significant, daily time alone with Him.

FOUNDATION THREE

A POWERFUL PRAYER LIFE REQUIRES THE CONSISTENT

BALANCED PRACTICE OF ALL MAJOR TYPES OF PRAYER

God gave us different types of prayer. Each type of prayer has a very unique role in developing and maintaining your relationship with Christ. To be weak and inconsistent in any one of the basic prayer types is to be weak in your relationship with God.

Name the five basic types of prayer. 1) _________________________________________

2) _________________________________3) _______________________________

4)_________________________________ 5) _______________________________

Which of the five do you practice the most? _____________________________________

 Which one do you practice the least? __________________________________________

  Which one is the hardest for you to practice? ____________________________________

“If you fail to eat a balanced diet, you will be physically weak. If you fail to have a balanced prayer life, you will be spiritually weak.”  If we eat from only one or two food groups, we become physically sick. This same principle applies for a balanced prayer life.

FIVE BASIC TYPES OF PRAYER

Psalms 100:1-5; 22:3; 50:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Hebrews 13:15

Psalms 6:18; 139:23-24; 24:3-5; 51:6-10; Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9; Matthew 5:23; 6:14

John 15:7; Philippians 4:6-7; Hebrews 4:15-16

Ezekiel 22:30; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-17

Psalms 1:2; 63:6; 77:12; 143:5; Jeremiah 29:13; 1 John 5:14-15

What do each of these prayer types mean to you?___________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Which type is the most important in developing a powerful prayer life?___________________

Why would we consistently need to practice all five different prayer types in order to have a balanced prayer life?

_____________________________________________________________________

If you consistently neglect any of the five types of prayer, your relationship with God will be limited.