Prayerful
Notes
Transcript
Handout
We express our dependence on God.
Intro
Intro
Kids who do you go to when you need something? What do you do?
Why? (Because you know that they will hear you, and they are likely to give you what you need)
Prayer is much like that, but between us and God. Jesus even describes prayer like going to a father for food!
God is much stronger than our parents, and has access to much greater resources, and hears you better. God never misunderstands you, or forgets you. (lets me honest, sometimes our parents forget we needed help!)
One of our Core Values as a church, and for Christians everywhere, is that we are Prayerful. And in doing so We express our dependence on God.
We have been making our way through our church’s core values. These are obviously not the only important things, but you might say, we cannot be a true church without these 5 core values.
So far we have covered
Christ Focused
Bible Based
Now… Prayerful.
How are we going to tackle this topic? I’m going to ask a series of Questions about prayer so that we can learn what prayer is, and how we are called to Pray.
What is Prayer?
What is Prayer?
Shortest answer: Talking to God.
A slightly longer answer is: Talking to the Invisible God by HS through Jesus Christ.
We could say that Abraham talking to the burning bush is kind of prayer, but usually what we mean, in everyday use, prayer is talking to God when he’s not physically present in the room. If Jesus were here bodily and we spoke to him, then it is technically prayer but we wouldn’t probably call it prayer.
As humanity rebelled against God in the garden of Eden, they could no longer dwell in his presence, but as people in exile spread out across the world they began “Calling on the Name of the LORD” - Gen 4:26
Prayer takes many forms. It is
speaking out loud to God (many examples)
speaking to God noiselessly (e.g. like hannah mouthing words without noise)
praying in your heart (e.g. Abraham’s servant fetching Rebekah)
Singing or Chanting to God (e.g. Moses Song)
Singing/praying pre-written prayers (e.g. Psalms). For some reason we feel weird about praying pre-written prayers, but not singing pre-written songs!
Spontaneous prayers - Prayers with little or no preparation.
Why Should we Pray?
Why Should we Pray?
Because God says to! That should be enough to elicit our obedience!
But, although this should be enough, we are also given reasons why we should pray
Prayer does move the hand of God. “You do not have because you do not ask”
It is the natural response of a heart turned to the Lord. If you never spoke to your friends you would not be in close relationship/fellowship with them.
It is the pattern of God’s people across the pages of scripture, start to end.
It is the teaching of Jesus!
It shapes our heart.
The LORD is our creator and provider. We are dependent on him for everything.
We are dependent on him for Salvation!
That Salvation came though Jesus - on the cross, died in our place, rose from the grave, etc.
In some sense prayer is the avenue of our salvation, as we must come and repent to God, ask from salvation etc.
How do we Pray?
How do we Pray?
Jesus Teaches us
Adoration/Praise
And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
Petition / Intercession
Give us each day our daily bread,
Confession
and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Thankfulness
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
Submission to God’s will
saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Also
Lament/mourning
recognizing loss, judgement, hardships under God’s hand.
Complaint (not complaining!)
Laying out something before God humbly requesting resolution, esp. where you believe you’re in the right.
Imprecation
praying for someone's harm, downfall, cursing (not just an OT thing, but should not be used for our own selfish gain. Paul applies imprecation retroactively to the rejection of the Gospel by Jews, Jesus quotes imprecatory Psalms)
Vows/oaths
Making promises before the Lord, or calling on the LORD as witness to something. To be used judiciously, we are warned in many places about frivolous vows.
When/where should we pray?
When/where should we pray?
Whenever!
All night
At set times (like Daniel)
Individually in private (not for show)
In Gatherings
What should we ask for?
What should we ask for?
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
God to fulfill his promises
Provision (daily bread, rain, )
Deliverance from attack, sickness,
Rewards and Blessing on others (see Ruth)
Forgiveness
Prayer priority: God knows every hair on our head, knows what we need and supplies us. We can ask for our “daily bread,” but there should be a “priority” in our prayer that puts the most important things first.
One of the areas that this really shows up in our context is in our prayers for healing.
For your non-christian friend, it is all well and good to pray for their health and earthly happiness, but both are in vain if that person does not know God. It is better for health and happiness to be stripped away and that person find life in Christ then to go to hell in bodily comfort.
In the midst of trials it is our temptation to pray perpetually for deliverance, and we should pray for that! But remember that there are higher priorities than freedom from suffering, like faithfulness and patience, sanctification and salvation. Better to be handed over to Satan for “sifting” than to walk in ignorant bliss.
We can ask for any good thing in God, but not for selfish reasons
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
What posture should we have in Prayer?
What posture should we have in Prayer?
Knees
Bowed head
Prostrate
Holy hands lifted to heaven
I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
Does Prayer Achieve anything?
Does Prayer Achieve anything?
This is a natural question that arises, because we know that under God, everything that happens is fated to happen. So if what will happen will happen, and God already know what we need, why ask? Does it do anything?
Yes,
God is in sovereign control of everything that happens and his plan is not thwarted by our prayers or lack thereof,
but,
One of the means that God has ordained for bringing about his plan is the prayers of the saints.
Soooo.... God has ordained everything that comes to pass, and one of the things that he has ordained is your prayers!
So we can say “You do not have because you do not ask” and still know that God knows the end from the beginning and is bringing about everyone’s “fate”.
So ask boldly!
Praying for Peter’s release was granted! Surprised when it happened!
Should I pray when I Don’t Feel like it?
Should I pray when I Don’t Feel like it?
Yes!
Imagine a scenario between boss and employee.
You’re the employee. You are working on behalf of the boss. The boss owns the business, he pays you, he gives you your tasks, he gives you guidance on how he wants you to work, and then he lets you loose to work on his behalf.
Imagine now that things are going wrong. You’re not hitting your targets. Then the shipment didn’t arrive. Then the customers aren’t treating you nice. What should you do?
You know you’re in a bad mood. You know you’ve failed the boss. You don’t want to talk to him, perhaps because of shame, perhaps because of fear, perhaps because you secretly think he may have set you up to fail.
But at the end of the day, what is there to gain by not talking to the boss?
How will it help?
He’s the one who has the power to help. He has the extra authority to deal with the issues. If you’ve failed him, only he can forgive the offence.
We are not helped by staying away from the only one who can help us. I can tell you now that you are like Adam & Eve, when they sinned they tried to deal with stuff themselves and cover their shame instead of turning to God.
What do you turn to instead of turning to God?
To other relationships? Looking for your identity and comfort in a person who can never be perfect enough for you.
To worldly systems of mental health that direct you away from God? Where instead of listening to the timeless words of life and going to the life-giver, we imagine that someone with a degree and a few peer-review papers will be a better option.
To distractions? Dulling the discomfort with endless hours of TV/games, or perhaps your opioid is more literal, drugs, alcohol and the like.
If I don’t feel like praying and it feels “inauthentic”, recognize the feeling, and ask “why should I not talk to God in this moment? Would Satan stand to gain from me staying away from my LORD? What do I stand to gain from not taslking to God?”
No one is saying you need to pretend to be happy when you are sad, but not talking at all is just rude, selfish and ultimately unhelpful for you.
If you are sad, tell God.
If you are angry, tell God.
If you are ashamed, tell God.
If you are fearful, tell God!
If you are weak, tell God!
The LORD has untold reserves to supply your every need, physical, mental and spiritual, why wouldn’t you go to him?
In Summary...
In Summary...
Prayerful, We express our dependence on God.