Apostolic Prayers Part 1
APOSTOLIC PRAYERS
Tuesday April 30, 2024
Two ways of learning…. Observation and Instruction.
Jesus’ disciples observed His prayer life.
Luke 11: 1 (NLT) Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
His disciples asked for instructions on prayer.
Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV) 9 “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as [it is] in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in what we call The Lord’s Prayer, we will see elements of two kinds of prayers.
Pastoral Assignment
As a pastor, I am interested in the wellbeing of God’s people. I am invested in their welfare, spiritually, materially, physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. I pray for them when they need God’s guidance for important decisions, and when they need God’s favor for things like admission to schools, getting a job, trusting the Lord for a spouse, and for children. I lead them in thanksgiving and prayers of consecration during the good times, like weddings, baby dedication, home dedication, etc.
I stand with them to seek God’s help in prayer when they go through difficulties like job loss, family challenges, sickness, death of loved ones. We make supplications together for victory and deliverance from all spiritual attacks in their homes, among their loved ones, etc.
All these types of prayers, I call….
Welfare Prayers.
Welfare prayers are important. They are also called benedictions… to speak well of, to speak well to and to speak well into people’s lives. Welfare prayers are scriptural.
Isaiah 3:10-11 (ESV) 10 Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. 11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
As important as these are, I would be failing in my duties as a pastor, if my praying stopped there… if I do not lead them and then teach them to pray what I have called…
Apostolic Prayers.
The word apostle is derived from the Greek word, apostolos.
Apostolos is a delegate, a messenger sent forth with orders.
In the Christian tradition, an apostle is an ambassador of God’s kingdom, a commissioner of Jesus Christ, sent to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God, and is accompanied by miraculous power, signs and wonders.
Apostolic prayers are initiated and necessitated, not by man’s needs and desires, but by God’s priorities and desires. They are focused on the kingdom of God, and all that pertains to its announcement, its spread and its authority on earth.
Welfare Prayers vs Apostolic Prayers.
Welfare prayers are important from the man’s point of view.
Apostolic prayers are prayed from God’s perspective.
Welfare prayers are man’s wish lists.
Apostolic prayers are God’s wish list.
The first set of prayers reflect man’s desires. Unbelievers also desire the same things.
Apostolic prayers express God’s desires, and things pertaining to His Kingdom. Unbelievers are unconcerned about such.
Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)
So don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers but your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
In the first set of prayers, my congregants stand to benefit directly.
In the second set of prayers, God’s broader kingdom, of which my congregants and I are a small part, is the beneficiary.
Welfare prayers look to make Christians comfortable.
Apostolic prayers make powerful Christians powerful. James 5:17-18
Welfare prayers create insular believers, who are limited in their interests.
Apostolic prayers make for generous, globalminded, transgenerational believers.
Welfare prayers make us selfish, seeking ours alone.
Apostolic prayers make us generous intercessors, seeking the will of God in the lives of others. Philippians 2:4
Apostolic prayers differentiate true believers from mere church-goers. 2 Timothy 4:8
Vital Questions
If we are people who love the Lord, we will pray apostolic prayers.
Do you love the Lord?
If we are committed to God’s kingdom, we will commit to learning more about apostolic prayers.
Are you committed to God’s kingdom?
If Jesus wanted us to pray welfare prayers alone, then He would have taught us to pray like this,
Our Father,
Who art in heaven,
Give us this day our daily bread
Forgive us our trespasses
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
Forever and ever amen.
Sadly, this is how many of us pray.
The way we are actually taught to pray is thus:
Our Father,
Who 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
The power and the glory forever. Amen.
Short List of Apostolic Prayers
In this list of Apostolic prayers, I have attempted to collect prayers which can be found in Scriptures.
Some are actual prayers made by various persons, including our Lord Jesus, apostles and prophets.
Others are requests/instructions by the same persons for us to pray specific prayers.
These prayers reveal God's priorities in the lives of His Saints. By praying them fervently and constantly we show ourselves to be committed to the Divine purposes and not merely our own desires.
I have avoided the inclusion of prayers which emanate from man's desires such as the well known Jabez's Prayer. The general theme of these prayers will be God's desire rather than man's. "Not my will, but Yours be done."
To simplify the exercise, I have tried to limit the references to single verses , but in order to pray well, it may be necessary to read preceding and following verses to gain a better understanding of the context.
Invitation
This ongoing effort is an invitation to those saints who are more devoted to God's good pleasure, than to their own.
Ephesians 6:24
"Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible."
First Apostolic Prayer :Template
One which our Lord Jesus Himself commissioned us to pray.
Matthew 9:35-38 (ESV) 35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Explanation of Prayer Pattern
The need Jesus addressed here was not the physical needs, but the spiritual needs. His focus was on preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Sickness and diseases were dealt with for two reasons. Jesus was compassionate and did like to see people suffer. More importantly, physical deprivation is always a big obstacle, one that distracts people from heeding the gospel.
Having met their physical needs, He observed their confusion, and lack of godly leadership. He asked us to pray that true preachers and teachers of the gospel would be sent by God. That such preachers would be enabled to shepherd God’s people the right way avoiding confusion and protecting them from the enemy.
Prayer Requests
From this one prayer, we have 7 requests.
Pray that God would raise more true preachers.
2 Timothy 2:2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
Pray that God will give them the wisdom to present God’s word with clarity, accuracy and irresistible power. Colossians 4:4 (ESV) that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
Pray that the preachers would be both compassionate and courageous, to take care of the people and to protect them from the enemy. Jeremiah 3:15 (NLT) And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.
Pray that God will raise the true preachers as His testimony against all the false prophets who are multiplying today. Ephesians 4:11-15 (NLT) 11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Pray that Jesus’ sheep will recognize His voice and no longer follow the voices of strangers. John 10:3-5 (ESV) 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Pray that God would do so quickly because our governments are confused and are passing ungodly and unwise laws. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NKJV) Therefore I exhort, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
Pray that souls will be brought en masse into God’s kingdom faster than war, disease and natural disasters can kill them. Ask God to give us both the passion as well as godly strategies to truly win souls en masse. Matthew 13:47-48 (NLT) 47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.
