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General principles of prayer for the individual Christian life. (Principles of the corporate prayer of the church can be found in The Prayer Ministry of the Church.)

1. What is Prayer?
   • Prayer: A Mystery -- mysterious, but not incomprehensible.
   • Heaven Governed by Earth -- God reserves His power for use in conjunction with the prayers of believers.
   • Self and Prayer -- Our prayer is to fulfill His will, not to satisfy our needs.
   • Prayer -- Preparing the Way of God -- Prayer in sympathy with God is more vital than any other thing. We must learn God's will and pray that His will be accomplished.
2. Pray According to God's Will (I John 5:14, Psalm 119:147-148, Daniel 10:1-21)
   • Point One -- There are two kinds of prayer: prayer from our own will, and prayer which matches God's will. Only the prayer which comes from knowing God will have any weight.
   • Point Two -- For the realization of God's will, there is need for prayer; to remove Satan's opposition requires prayer.
3. Prayer and God's Work (Ephesians 6:18, Ezekiel 36:37, Isaiah 62:6-7)
   • One -- God will wait until men agree with Him, and then He will work.
   • Two -- The content of God's will is entirely decided by God Himself. The doing of God's will is governed by our prayer.
   • Three -- God has given us free will. God makes His will known to us. When we have engaged in communion with His Spirit and our will matches His, He carries out that will at our request.
   • Four -- Our prayers must be specific. Our prayers should be to God, against the enemy, and for that person or issue God has laid on our heart. Ignoring such a burden dulls our sensitivity to God's Spirit.
4. The Principle of Praying Thrice (Matthew 26:44, II Corinthians 12:8)
   Prayer should continue until a burden is discharged. Praying with one accord, sensing one another's burdens and praying until they are lifted, must be learned.
5. Prayer That Resists Satan (Luke 18:1-8)
   • The Three Aspects of Prayer -- Ourselves, God, and our enemy. The aim of a true prayer touches on not just personal gain but more importantly on the glory of God and the loss of the enemy.
   • The Parable of Luke 18 -- The judge, the widow, and the adversary.
   • The Judge -- The immoral judge contrasted with the righteous God.
   • The Widow -- The widow compared with Christians in the world.
   • The Adversary -- Satan oppresses Christians.
   • Satan and the Saints -- Satan's oppression comes in many forms: sickness and pain, persecution, hardships and dangers, lack of material supplies, depression, restlessness and aimlessness, loss of decisiveness, fear, weariness, loss of sleep, unclean or confused thoughts, and lies.
   • Identify the Enemy -- Spiritual maturity brings insight into which are the works of God, and which are the works of Satan.
   • The Cry for Vindication -- Prayer is the best offensive weapon against our enemy.
   • Prayer That Resists Satan -- We may pray that God curses Satan, shuts his mouth, binds him, destroys his work, rebukes him, delivers us from him, and puts him to shame.
   • The Duration of Prayer -- Pray without ceasing.
   • The Effect of Prayer -- Pray for immediate effect and for ultimate vindication.
   • Work Together with God -- God intends to destroy the devil and avenge his children, but He waits for their prayers.
   • The Last Days -- It is most important for those in the last days to offer up prayers to God for the purpose of defeating Satan.
6. Some Pointers on Prayer
   • First, Has God given us sufficient provision for prayer? -- Our trust in Christ allows us to draw near to God, and the Holy Spirit who is our help allows us to live before Him.
   • Second, Why does Satan try to resist prayer? -- Satan will attack our trust in the Lord, our body, our appointed time for prayer, our fellowship with the Lord, or our ability to see the need for prayer.
   • Third, Aside from personal prayer, what other kind of prayer must we attend to, in accordance with the word of God? -- What one person is unable to do in certain respects is to be done through mutual and corporate help.
   • Fourth, What are the various aspects in the work of prayer which need attention? -- Fellowship with the Lord in all things, ask and keep on asking, meditate and intercede, pray always, executive prayer, prayer warfare, prayer of faith, and prayer burdens.
   • Fifth, What is the central objective of prayer? -- To prepare for Christ a glorious church that is conformed to Him.
7. The Wearing-Out Tactics of Satan (Daniel 7:25)
   • Wearing Out the Physical Body -- Gradually, imperceptibly, we are fooled into ignoring our need for food and sleep until we are so tired and stressed out that we are no longer effective.
   • Wearing Out Man's Heart -- Little by little, Satan steals our peace, our joy, our love for God.
   • Wearing Out the Spiritual Life -- He takes away our prayer life and causes us to trust God less so that we backslide ever so slightly each day.
   • Wearing Out Our Time -- He may send us people to whom we will witness repeatedly, each time without result, in order to exasperate us.
   • Wearing Out Samson's Consecration -- By constant nagging, he induces us to fail to protect our consecration and our testimony, which allow the power and presence of God.
   • Must Detest the Wearing Out Work of Satan -- We must learn to recognize these tactics and to rebuke them. If we suffer them patiently, he will continue to wear away at us. He only stops when we are finally frustrated enough to repudiate his efforts.