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The Soon Coming Judgment Of God Upon America and How To Escape It 562
morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof. (Matthew 6:25-34; see also Luke 12:22-31)
God's Promise To Answer Prayer
It was the custom of Jesus to often go into the wilderness to pray.
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Before important
events or decisions, Jesus always prayed. He fasted and prayed before being tempted in the
wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus prayed all night before selecting His twelve Apostles (Luke
6:12-13). Jesus prayed for His followers (John 17:1-26). And Jesus prayed for strength before
being crucified.
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Jesus counseled us to pray without ceasing.
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He said: “Watch ye therefore, and pray
always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36) Our prayer are not in vain; James writes that “The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)
Jesus instructed His disciples how to pray; He said:
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. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for
they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore
like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye
ask him. (Mt 6:5-8)
Jesus them gave His disciples an example of how to pray; we know this prayer as the
“Our Father.” This is a great prayer but it was not meant necessarily to be our primary prayer.
Rather, it was an example of the elements we should include in prayer. These include: 1) Our
prayers should be directed to God the Father and they should give Him praise and honor. 2) We
should pray for God's will to be accomplished, not our own. 3) We should pray for our provision.
4) We should ask for forgiveness of sins. 5) We should pray for strength to overcome sin and for
deliverance from temptation. 6) We should pray for deliverance and protection from all evil. 7)
And we should acknowledge that God is sovereign over all things. We can see all these elements
in Jesus' prayer:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is
the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:5-13)
Jesus promised that God the Father would hear and answer our prayers. Further, when
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