Download Prayer I. The definition of Prayer Prayer is talking to God, coming

Prayer
I. The definition of Prayer
Prayer is talking to God, coming before Him recognizing who He is and our
need for Him. It is an admission that He is God and we are not. It is
recognizing that He alone is the One who knows us and can help us. It is
humbling ourselves before God Almighty to seek His face, to exalt and adore
Him, to allow Him to conform our wills to His, and to lay our burdens upon
Him.
Prayer is not rubbing a magic lamp in order to get our every wish. Tacking on
at the end “In Jesus’ Name” doesn’t obligate God to give us everything we ask
for. But as our Heavenly Father, He does obligate Himself to give us everything
we need to glorify and honor Him as He conforms us to the likeness of His Son.
II. The Importance of Prayer
Jesus said in John 8:29
29 “The One who sent Me is with Me; He has not left me alone, for I always do
what pleases Him."
If Jesus lived to please His Father, should our goal be anything less?
2 Corinthians 5:9 So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at
home in the body or away from it.
Have you ever thought about why this should be our goal?
5:15 And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for
themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.
We want to live lives that are pleasing to God because of what He has done
through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus His Son in order to bring us
into a relationship with Himself.
Why does God command us to pray? Relationships are two way—we come
humbly before Him to seek Him, and to pour out our hearts to Him because we
need Him and we need His help. Spending time in prayer is vital to deepening
our relationship with Him.
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you
up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
Philippians4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be
evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
What are the commands in these verses? What are the promises?
We are not coming before Him on our own merit, but on the merit and
worthiness of Jesus Christ.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God so
that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have
in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears
us. 15 And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we
have what we asked of Him. 1 John 5:13-15
When we pray, our prayers must line up with God’s will and what will bring
glory to Him. Just because we think that our prayer is according to His will,
does not mean we can expect God to act according to what we think is best or
right. He alone knows what is best for us, and what will bring glory to Him is
what is best for us. If what we ask for is not according to His will, we shouldn’t
want it anyway.
III. The Hindrances to Prayer
I call these the “Dreaded Ds”
Discouragement—we get discouraged when so many things come at us. We can
feel overwhelmed.
Disappointment—we get disappointed when we don’t see the answers to our
prayers we were expecting or hoping for.
Disillusioned—we get disillusioned when we see others doing well while our
lives seem so hard. We compare ourselves to others. We also wonder why God
makes our lives so difficult. Is this really what we signed up for when we
became Christians?
Defeated—we feel defeated because it seems like all we hear is how awful
things are in the world. Hopelessness can creep in when we don’t see change
happening. It seems the harder we pray, the less answers we receive.
Downcast—we feel downcast or deeply saddened when the problems we are
facing seem so much bigger than God.
Doubt—we doubt God’s ability to do something and we doubt His willingness to
help us. We’re pretty sure He’ll help others, but probably not us. We doubt
God can really bring anything good out of a situation. We also doubt whether
or not God is really in control of all the chaos going on around us. We doubt
God’s faithfulness and goodness.
Drudgery—when our prayer life lacks vibrancy and prayer seems so dry and
lifeless, it becomes drudgery, like a huge weight we are dragging around (and
we’re not very good at it.)
Distracted—so many distractions! Relationships, work, kids, housework,
groceries, bills, holidays, activities, just life!
Discipline—we know prayer is to be part of our lives, so we discipline ourselves
to do it, yet it feels like one more thing to check off our to-do list.
IV. Jesus’ example of prayer
Possible applications from Matthew 6:5-13:
1. Pray in a quiet place (fewer distractions).
2. Humble myself before Him (I personally kneel because it helps me to focus
on what I am doing).
3. Remember Who He is: my loving and caring heavenly Father.
4. I start my time hallowing Him. To hallow God is to set Him apart from
everything common. It’s to reverence, honor, and adore Him. For me this
means remembering and saying the Names He has revealed to me in Scripture:
King of kings, Lord of lords, the Great I Am, Lord God Almighty, the Holy One of
Israel, Redeemer, Master, Creator, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, the
Way, the Truth and the Life, the Bread of Life, Living Water, the Good Shepherd,
the Lamb of God, the Bright and Morning Star. As I focus on His Names this
helps me focus on His character.
5. Focus on His Kingdom, not my own. This is not about me.
6. I ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the sins I need to confess. I have to
confess when I am living for my will to be done rather than living to do His will.
7. I thank God for His character qualities like His faithfulness, His mercy, His
goodness, His love, His grace, His power and might, His wisdom, His
sovereignty. And I thank Him for His blessings in my life. He has rescued me
from the dominion of darkness and brought me into the kingdom of the Son He
loves. He loves me because of who He is.
8. I bring my petitions before Him asking for His help, with an open hand
because His will is best. There are certain requests I pray for daily.
Designating certain requests for certain days is helpful. Writing down what I
would like to pray for is best for me.
9. When I pray I try to pray according to Scripture, focusing on the eternal
rather than just the temporal. Health and safety are important, but growing in
the grace and knowledge of God is focusing on His kingdom and eternity. I’m
not afraid to ask big things of a big God. And James tells us we have not
because we ask not, so I’m going to ask (hopefully) with the right motives
(James 4: 2-3). I also want to pray with faith, because without faith it is
impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Just to clarify, this is not “Name it
and claim it” praying. This is believing that God hears me and will answer my
prayers according to His good will. I also want to be like the persistent widow
and not give up (Luke 18:1-8).
10. I pray for protection against temptation and the evil one. I can rest assured
that God will never put me in a situation that my only recourse is to sin (1
Corinthians 10:13). He will always provide the grace and help I need to face
any trial He permits in my life that He wants to use to purify my heart and faith.
My prayer is to be faithful to seek and depend on Him and to grow in Him.
ACTS
A: Adoration: Adoring and worshiping God for who He is and what He has
done.
C: Confession. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the sin that needs to be
confessed to the Lord and seek His forgiveness.
T: Thanksgiving. Spend time thanking God for His mercy, grace, love, and
provisions.
S: Supplication. After time is spent time worshiping, praising and thanking the
God of heaven and earth, come before His throne with boldness and
confidence, giving God the problem, not the solution. Use Scripture to direct
your petitions.