Attentive to the Prayers of the Righteous

Bread

The Lion Loosed

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

1 Peter 3:12 (NIV)

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Palm 34:15-18 (NIV)

20 They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.

1 Chronicles 5:20 (NIV)

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NIV)

12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12 (NIV)

9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

Palm 6:9 (NIV)

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. 17 I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. 18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; 19 but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. 20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Palm 66:16-20 (NIV)

29 The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Proverbs 15:29 (NIV)

7 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 5:7-10 (NIV)

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)

7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

1 Peter 4:7 (NIV)

Butter

The Lesson Learned

“All we love is in his hands. He hears our prayers and our tears when there are no words. He counts them as liquid intercession, which is precious to him (Ps. 56:8a). He is our Mighty Warrior and contends with those forces that are contending with us (Isa. 42:13; Ps. 35:1). Sylvia Gunter

“Just as a Momma rushes to the side of her wailing child, the Lord ever harkens His ear to His lamenting ‘sheep’. He is a ‘with us’ God, staying by our side as we walk through our valleys of Baca (tears) and never leaves us nor forsakes us. He will either change our circumstances or change us in our circumstances – either way the blessings He bestows as we call out to Him are totally other worldly. He is the Ultimate Healer of the broken and contrite heart.” BHY

“Pleading the promises of God is the whole secret of prayer.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.” Charles H. Spurgeon

“The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer but unoffered prayer.” F. B. Meyer

“The chief purpose of prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer.” R.A. Torrey

“God loves you as though you are the only person in the world, and He loves everyone the way He loves you.” Augustine

“In believing prayer, we learn to connect our present troubles to the good and perfect will of God. We refuse to believe that chance rules our lives. We withstand the temptation to imagine that God is capricious or malicious. We know he has a higher purpose and that he is not dealing with us as our sins deserve. As we bring our troubles to Jesus in prayer—asking his will to be done—we approve the will of our Father in heaven. We see our sufferings in the greater reality of his good, acceptable, and perfect will. In prayer we “turn crisis to Christ.” Our heart becomes tuned to his heart and we sing the song of grace.” Ancient Prayer, John F. Smed

“There comes a time, in spite of our soft, modern ways, when we must be desperate in prayer, when we must wrestle, when we must be outspoken, shameless and importunate. Many of the prayers recorded in Scripture are ‘cries,’ and the Hebrew and Greek words are very strong. Despite opinions to the contrary, the Bible recognizes such a thing as storming heaven- ‘praying through.’ The fervent prayer of a righteous man is mighty in its working.” Cameron Thompson

“Grant especially, blessed Lord, that Your church may believe that it is by the power of united prayer that she can bind and loose in heaven, cast out Satan, save souls, remove mountains, and hasten the coming of the kingdom.” Andrew Murray

“We err when we judge our prayers solely by what we can see happening around us. Prayer is a matter of faith. Prayer is taking God at His word. Prayer is understanding God's promise that if we pray, He will work. And we must keep on praying even when we cannot see what He is doing. We do not see into the world in which God lives, but He definitely sees into ours.” David Jeremiah

“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” Samuel Chadwick

“‘Dost thou want nothing, O poor soul? Hast thou nothing to ask? Oh yes! You say, a great deal. Well then, draw near to thy gracious King and Bridegroom without fear. Lo! He holds out His golden scepter to thee, saying, ‘Only ask: not the half, but the whole of My kingdom shall be granted; nay, I will give myself unto thee!’ O dear soul, pray, and tell Him everything that is wanting, be it ever so great or ever so small. His loving-kindness will hear even the least petition; nay, He will seem to be ignorant of what thou dost not tell Him. But whatever is poured out before Him is actually addressed and lodged in its proper place, and does not lie upon thy heart any longer, but upon His heart, which cannot rest till you are relieved. And if you have experienced His help aforetime in great or small things, you may depend on His readiness to help you out of troubles hereafter; only be earnest in prayer for His help. We often imagine we were willing and drawing near to Him, but He was unwilling, and refused our request; but it is not so: He rather draws us, and desires our relief more than we do; for it is He that works even this willing mind.” K.H. Von Bogatzky

“Keep bringing your prayers to God. If you think your request is legitimate, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. God wants to teach us through persistent praying to wait on Him and to watch. While we're praying and waiting for God to answer our prayers, do you know what He's doing? He's working on us, conforming us more and more to the image of Christ. And when we're ready, the answer will surely come.” David Jeremiah

“‘When I get to China,’ I thought to myself, ‘I shall have no claim on anyone for anything. My only claim will be on God. How important to learn, before leaving England, to move man, through God, by prayer alone.’” Hudson Taylor

“And we do well to remember that this gracious God, who has condescended to place His almighty power at the command of believing prayer looks not lightly on the blood guiltiness of those who neglect to avail themselves of it for the benefit of the perishing....” Hudson Taylor

“The fewer the words, the better the prayer.” Martin Luther

“God wants us to discover His will. And true praying is not overcoming God’s reluctance; it is taking hold of His willingness. Prayer is not about getting our will in Heaven; it is about getting God’s will on earth.” Greg Laurie

“I believe the excellence of prayer often consists in its brevity.” Charles H. Spurgeon

“You know the value of prayer; it is precious beyond all price. Never, never neglect it.” Thomas Buxton

Heart Savor

The Lion Roars

  • We are never to be lacking in zeal but keep our spiritual fervor serving the Lord.
  • We are to be zealous for the Lord’s great Name – through His power for His glory.
  • Create in me a pure heart and a steadfast spirit Oh Lord.