Mathew 8 Lesson

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRAYER

Prayer is how we make our needs and wants known to God. 

Today’s lesson is divided into the following five sections:

1. Bible verses about prayer,
2. Praying for ourselves,
3. Praying for others,
4. God sometimes intervenes on our behalf without us having to say a word,
5. The example of Jesus.

As we look at these five sections, we will feature three miracles performed by Jesus as described in  Mathew Chapter 8:

1. Jesus cleansing the leper,
2. Jesus healing the centurion’s servant,
3. Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law.

We will begin our lesson by looking at five scriptures about prayer.

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT PRAYER

1. “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” - Jeremiah 29:12,
2. “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” - Mathew 26:41,
3. “Rejoicing in hope, perseveringin tribulation, devoted to prayer.” -Romans 12:12,
4. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” – Philippians 4:6,
5. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Mathew 7:7.

PRAYING FOR OURSELVES (THE LEPER)

In the case of the leper, the leper reached out to Jesus himself and asked for healing. 

• “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” - Mathew 8:2.

PRAYING FOR OTHERS (THE CENTURION)

The centurion (A centurion was a Roman soldier responsible for commanding one hundred soldiers) came to Jesus advocating for his servant who was paralyzed and at home. 

• “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented . . . just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” - Mathew 8:6-8.

Jesus healed the centurion’s servant and marveled at the centurion’s faith.

We should never underestimate or take for granted the power that we have in praying for one another.

Consider the following four scriptures that highlight the importance of praying for others:

1. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” - James 5:16,
2. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” -Ephesians 6:18,
3. “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” - Colossians 1:9,
4. “You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” – Mathew 5:43-44.

SOMETIMES GOD INTERVENES ON HIS OWN 

In the third miracle, Jesus saw for Himself that Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever, and He healed her. 

• “When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.  He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him.” - Mathew 8:14-15. 

That is a fantastic example of how the Spirit sometimes intercedes on our behalf when we do not know what to pray for. 

• “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” – Romans 8:26.

THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS

Prayer needs to be a part of everyday life for Christians.

It is how we communicate with God. 

Jesus, Himself, would often go to a quiet place to pray to His Father, as evidenced by the following six scriptures:

1. “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.” - Luke 6:12,
2. “Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, Heaven was opened.” - Luke 3:21,
3. “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.” -  Mathew 14:23,
4. “After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.” - Mark 6:46,
5. “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” - Mark 1:35,
6. “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’” - Mathew 26:36.

CONCLUSION

Prayer is an important part of being a Christian. 

We can pray for ourselves, for others, and sometimes God will intervene without us ever offering up a prayer, as He did in the case of Peter’s mother. 

Like Jesus, we should pray often by going to a quiet place where we can properly focus. 

Jesus often would remove Himself from others to pray. And this was at a time when the world had far fewer distractions.

In today’s high-tech world, we have cell phones, laptops, and all kinds of distractions.

By removing ourselves from these distractions, we can properly talk to our Heavenly Father through the power of prayer.

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture from the Book of Psalms:

• “I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was exalted with my tongue.  If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear; But God has heard; He has given attention to the sound of my prayer.  Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer nor His favor from me.’ - Psalm 66:17-20.