Meaning of prayer:

• Speaking to God directly: (we have been brought into direct contact with the father as we stand before him and talk to him).

Hebrew 3:13 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

• Four barriers that keep us from giving ourselves to lives of prayer:

Pride:

• Independence or self-sufficiency 
• We pride ourselves on our independence, our resources and our ability to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and this hinders us from embracing our identity as priests.

Unbelief:

Hebrews 11:66 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

• We need to understand that we are speaking to a real person with real power and resources, and this person likes us.
• Due to wrong views of God and ourselves are destroying us.
• The churches are affected by the unbelief and the absence of prayer is one of the primary symptoms. 

James 5:16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

• Lack of revelation concerning our identity as priests:

3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

• We are partakers of the heavenly calling.
• The day we born again we were supernaturally grafted into the priestly ministry of Jesus christ 
• We have brought into direct contact with the fathers as we stand before him and talk to him.
• Our primary calling is the priestly calling.

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:

• We need to deliver from the secret belief that the pastor or worship leader has more access to God than we do.
• This belief is actually a low view of what God has accomplished for us in Christ.
• Jesus didn’t die so that the percentage of leaders in the body would draw near and talk to him.
• He wants all of us to talk to him face to face.
• Jesus died so that each of us would be brought near into direct intimacy, fellowship, and partnership with him
• We all gave equal standing before God through the blood of Jesus Christ, and we all are called to enter into the holy of holies and minister to him.
• We are already closer to him and can't get closer to him then we are.

 4.Lack of revelation concerning the impact of prayer: 

• Believing that prayer is a waste of our time and energy
• Intercession does not feel effective to us, and therefore we conclude that it does not have an impact on God.
• It makes more sense to our unrenewed minds to rely on our resources, gifts, finances and connections to see the kingdom break forth.
• But God desires that we would cast our strength at his feet in prayer and humility and then watch him release his kingdom in and through us from that place of weakness. 

27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 

• Things birthed in the spirit we can finish in the spirit but many people stumble over this fact, discovering that the things birthed in the flesh will only reap the flesh.

Prayer is actually the most impactful and powerful thing we can do. Though it feels weak, this is how God has determined to release his kingdom. These barriers are creating a serious crisis in the body of christ. It is a crisis over who God is, who we are, and how the kingdom operates. 

Revelation 5:9-10 

9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll    and to open its seals, because you were slain,    and with your blood, you purchased for God    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.10 You have made them be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,    and they will reign[a] on the earth.”

Peter Deliverance:

Acts 12:3 New International Version (NIV)

3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

Acts 12:5 New International Version (NIV)

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

Acts 12:7 New International Version (NIV)

7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

Acts 12:10 New International Version (NIV)

10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.Reinhard bonkie: Man needs God and God needs a man when both come together with anything possible. 

How do we pray?

Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer

11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:“‘Father,[a]hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.[b]3 Give us each day our daily bread.4 Forgive us our sins,    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.[c]And lead us not into temptation.[d]’”