4. In the second place, prayer is appointed by God for our spiritual blessing, as a means for our growth in grace.

5. Prayer is designed by God for our humbling.

6. Prayer is designed by God for the exercise of our faith. Romans 10:8

7. Prayer calls love into action: Job 27:10; Psalms 116:1

8. Prayer is designed by God to teach us the value of the blessings we have sought from Him.

10. Daniel 3:15

11. Psalms 66:18; Isaiah 59:1-2; Ezekiel 14;1-3

12. Maybe you are grieving the Spirit: Ephesians 4:30

13. Hurtful attitudes, Ephesians 4:31

14. Pride: James 4:6

15. Our own hearts condemn us and unable to approach God with confidence: I John 3:19-22

16. We shut up our compassion (mercy) Being unwilling to give or to forgive

17. To those in need: Proverbs 21:13; Luke 6:38: Luke 11:5-13

18. To forgive and show mercy: Matthew 6:13-15; Mark 11:23-26; James 2:13

19. Not asking in faith:

20. James 1:5-7; Matthew 21:22

21. Covetous with regard to money and other matters; Malachi 3:7-9

22. chilly toward God’s word Proverbs 28:9

23. Rather then allowing the Word to Abide in us: John 15:7

24. Rather then to delight in His Word and Christ: Psalms 1:1-3

25. I have loved theses verses since Roanoke Baptist Temple

26. Remember teaching them at West Hanley in Fort Worth

27. The way that leads to success Joshua 1:8

28. Dad’s last sermon series in 1966 was in this chapter.

29. The excuse of a busy life as reason not to pray: not good.

30. Not asking according to God’s will: I John 5:14-15

31. Not praying period – James 4:2

32. Proof that prayerlessness is sin

33. A direct statement I Samuel 12:23

34. An obvious disobedience to commands to pray I Thessalonians 5:17

35. Sinning as a result of not praying. Mark 14:38; Luke 22:40

36. We faint because we have NOT prayed Luke 18:1

38. Humbling oneself is part of this: Psalms 69:11

39. An affliction or humbling of the soul.

41. Ezra 8:21-23; Nehemiah 1:4,10

42. A person expected to gain God’s help, but would not if he was not inwardly sincere: Isaiah 58:3-4; Joel 2:12-14;

43. Genuine spiritual commitment to God must be present or fasting is of no avail Isaiah 58:5-12; Jeremiah 14:11-12; Joel 2:12-14

45. When selecting and commissioning missionaries Acts 13:2-3

47. Fostering love for God that hungers and thirsts after righteousness: Mt 5:6

48. Purifying the life through developing self control over a selfish, self-love catering to one’s cravings and egotism.

49. Fasting prevents luxuries from becoming necessities.

50. Fasting is a protection of the spirit against the encroachments of the body

51. Seeking God’s mercy and power to fulfill deep spiritual needs.

52. It is temporary

53. Mark 2:19: Fasting is a good time while Christ is away.

55. Consider some illustrations from the Old Testament.

56. 2 Samuel 12:16-18

57. I Kings 21:27 Fasted for mercy

58. 1 Samuel 7:6 Israel fasted in repentance

59. Esther 4:3; 16

60. Jonah 3:6-10 Ninevites fasted in repentance for mercy

61. Those who were fasting were faced with extreme circumstances of impending death or God’s imminent judgment. Greatly distressed and conscious of their utter helplessness, they suspended their normal eating habits in an urgent, extraordinary seeking of God who alone could deliver them from their distress.

62. In other words, their fasting naturally flowed from profound spiritual urgency. It was not the product of schedule spiritual practice. It expressed deep dependence on God in times of uncommon suffering.

63. In Joel 2:12-13 we read:

64. Fasting was an outward expression of the inward reality of a shattered heart. It was an urgent response of repentance and great humility. It was the seeking of deliverance from a cordial God in intensely distressed situations.

66. Do you turn to God in your trials or surrender to fear and grumbling? Maybe you should ask how do I? What do I do in these times?

67. Do you repent of sin or tolerate it in your life?

68. Are you confident in your own strength or do you see your utter need for the grace of God?

70. Note:

71. Note:

73. Matthew 6:1-18. Christ taught us to give, pray, and fast privately. If you do, your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

74. Christ gave specific instruction as to prayer.

77. And then in verses 14 and 15 he talks about the elders, the pastors, the leaders of the church.

79. It is a passage about healing spiritual weakness, spiritual weariness, spiritual exhaustion, and spiritual depression.

82. It means rubbing.

83. Literally means to crush over. It's used of an outward anointing of the body. In this case with olive oil,

84. It was used of washing someone. It's used of pouring oil over someone's head, or pouring oil over their feet, rubbing them with oil.

85. The root of it is lipos which means grease. It's not a ceremonial word. All uses of the ceremonial anointing use the verb chrio, and every time you see aleiphoit has to do with that applying oil to someone. People did it after a bath. In fact, oil was the base of soap.

86. It was used with wine, in Luke 10:34, the good Samaritan put wine and oil on the man?

87. The wine, of course, because it fermented and had alcohol cleansed the wounds. And then the oil soothed him. It only was good for a topical or external application.

88. Athletes were often rubbed down with oil because of the soreness of their muscles.

89. And sometimes oil, often oil, was perfumed with a fragrance. It is still used in the Middle East.

90. Now to say to oil someone literally meant if you had a believer coming in weak and weary and wounded and crushed and broken in the battle and maybe that person had literally been persecuted by their employer or by someone who hated Christ and they came in with a wound, they would literally pour oil on that wound.

91. And I want to say to you that as pastor and elder here and I say this on behalf of the rest of us that

93. It's a general element of fellowship. It's a marvelous thing.

94. Mutual honesty, confess your sins to one another.

95. It doesn't mean pour out every bit of garbage in your life, it means don't hide your evil.

96. Sin wants you alone, did you know that?

97. Sin wants to isolate you.

98. Sin doesn't want anybody who shouldn't know to know.

99. And as long as it's private and secret, you can nurse it and nurture it and feed it.

101. Not every specific sin but the weakness of your life until God gives you the victory over those areas.

104. Confession