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Revelation 8:3-4
[3] And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
[4] And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

The major defensive weapon cataloged in the annals of eternity is the "prayers of the saints".

2 Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER REQUESTS:
When someone requests prayer it is imperative that we not take it lightly for they are placing confidence in our praying for them or in behalf of someone. When someone gives me a request I write it down immediately lest I forget for praying at a later time. Many times I will pray right then for that person rather than wait and then pray later as well. That's why among other things I carry a little book to record the request.

The importance of a prayer list:
1.	It helps us remember who to pray for
2.	It helps us focus on specifics
	A.	What are you praying for???
	B.	General prayers - general results Specific prayers - specific results
	C.	Missionary Prayer List & Missionary Map in prayer rooms with the faces of our missionaries that we partner with.

Notice in Revelation 8:3 what accompanied the prayers of the saints: much incense(worship) that it should be offered with the prayers of the saints.

WORSHIP + PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS = GOD'S ATTENTION

Notice where the incense and prayers of the saints went - verse 4 "ascended up before God out of the angel's hand."

WHAT THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS WILL ACCOMPLISH:
1.	Note the prayers of Cornelius in Acts 10:4……GETS GOD'S ATTENTION [4] And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. Other noteworthy prayers of the saints:
2.	Acts 4:31…………THE POWER OF GOD AND BOLDNESS IS DISPLAYED [31] And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. 3 Things happened:     1) the place was shaken     2) they were all filled with the Holy Ghost     3) they spoke the word of God with boldness
3.	Acts 12:5……………BRINGS DELIVERANCE [5] Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. The continual prayers of the saints brought deliverance from prison. Remember the parable of the unjust Judge in Luke 18 Luke 18:5-8 [5] Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. [6] And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. [7] And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? [8] I tell you that he will avenge them speedily………..
4.	Acts 16:13-17….BRINGS AN ASSULT BY THE ADVERSARY [13] And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. [14] And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. [15] And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. [16] And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: [17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

The church needs to remember that the devil does not like prayer or praying people so do not think for one moment he is going to sit idly by and allow our prayers to go smoothly and not be interrupted.

Remember Daniel's prayer was withstood for twenty-one days before an angel broke through with an answer from God. Daniel 10:12-13

Ephesians 6:10-18
Verse 18
[18] In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. The Message

The normal direction of the early church was the prayers of the saints.

Acts 2:42 "And they continued steadfastly ……….in prayers"

The Apostle Paul exhorted on the importance of the "prayers of the saints"

1 Timothy 2:1
[1] I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

Revelation 5:8
8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

The linking of the "prayers of the saints to "a new song" shows that they were in community with one another, as we are to be with one another. We are to be of one mind, one according because we have a new song in our hearts, not a heart of stone or flesh, but of the Spirit.

CONCLUSION:
GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS

Have you ever heard of George Mueller? One day he looked down the streets of

Bristol, England, & saw 100's of homeless children. He was so moved with concern
for them that he decided that something had to be done.

He had only two pence in his pocket. That's two cents. But he decided to start an orphanage. In 60 years, beginning with two pence, George Mueller took care of 10,000 orphans. He looked out and saw homeless kids. He could have said, "But, I don't have any money. But, there is no way to care for them, to meet their needs, to buy the food."

Instead, he looked at them and said, "Therefore, I will reach out and help them." And God blessed his efforts in a mighty way. He told amazing stories of answered prayers.

He kept a record of his prayers, and his prayer records filled more than 3,000 pages. His notes show that more than 30,000 prayers were answered.

One night there was no food in the orphanage to give to the children for breakfast. But at 3:00 in the morning a baker called him up and said, "I just can't sleep. I'm going down to the bakery to bake some bread. Would it be all right for me to bring some over to you this morning?"

One time a milk truck just happened to break down in front of the orphanage on a day when they had no milk. The truck driver came in and said, "This milk is all going to spoil. Would you like some of it?" And their need was met.

Time and time again, 30,000 times in 60 years, God answered George Mueller's prayers.

John Maxwell writes in his book, Partners in Prayer;

"In the summer of 1876, grasshoppers nearly destroyed the crops in Minnesota. SO in the spring of 1877, farmers were worried. They believed that the dreadful plague would once again visit them and again destroy the rich wheat crop, bringing ruin to thousands of people.

The situation was so serious that Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed April 26 as a day of prayer and fasting He urged every man, woman and child to ask God to prevent the terrible scourge. On that April day all schools, shops, stores and offices were closed. There was a reverent, quite hush over all the state.

The next day dawned bright and clear. Temperature soared to what they ordinary were in midsummer, which was very unusual for April. Minnesotans were devastated as they discovered billions of grasshopper larvae wiggling to life. For 3 days the unusual heat persisted, and the larvae hatched. It appeared that it wouldn't be long before they started feeding and destroying the wheat crop.

On the fourth day, however the temperature suddenly dropped, and that night frost, covered the entire state. Result - it killed every one of those creeping, crawling pests as surely as if poison or fire had been used, It went down in the history of Minnesota as the day God answered the prayers of the people."