Episode Details

Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

The sin of not praying.

Prayer is communication with God. Jesus told us to always pray. You can tell a spiritual contender from a pretender by their prayer.

The Spirit knows spirit. Luke 21:36

There are people that stand up in church and start TALKING but they are not praying. There are people that in their minds they are praying but their words are not going further than a few feet in front of their mouths.

How do you NOT do that?

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.

First, you focus on the greatness of God rather than the greatness of the problem. A good prayer starts off with thanksgiving. Giving thanks for the greatness of God. Praising Him for being God. There are many gods in this world. Make sure you do as Jesus did when he said "Our Father which art in heaven" (King James Version). Be specific. This prayer is actually more about who God is than anything else. Great prayers always are. When you focus, putting your spiritual aim on the Kingdom of God. And take your eyes off the world, you can see.

Secondly, pray God's words back to Him. That is why David said "this words have I hid in my heart" You have to learn the words of the Bible for yourself. No priest, preacher or clergy person is needed to pray for you.

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5

The concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. First, the New Testament does not teach that there are to be priests in the New Covenant. Instead, the New Testament teaches that all believers are priests. 1 Peter 2:5-9 describes believers as a "holy priesthood" and a "royal priesthood." Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 both describe believers as "a kingdom and priests." In the Old Covenant, the faithful had to approach God through the priests. The priests were mediators between the people and God. The priests offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. That is no longer necessary. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we can now approach God's throne with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). The temple veil tearing in two at Jesus' death was symbolic of the dividing wall between God and humanity being destroyed. We can approach God directly, ourselves, without the use of a human mediator. Why? Because Jesus Christ is our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15; 10:21), and the only mediator between us and God (1 Timothy 2:5). The New Testament teaches that there are to be elders (1 Timothy 3), deacons (1 Timothy 3), bishops (Titus 1:6-9), and pastors (Ephesians 4:11) – but not priests.

And this is why many people have become disillusioned with God or their faith has been shattered. They have relied upon infallible man to pray for them or to.

And don't just repeat the same prayer. Repeating the Lord's prayer is a vain repetition. The Bible says not to do that. We have adults still saying "now I lay me down to sleep". When are you going to grow up from that?

The early believers actua