Full Circle (Part 2: Full Sentences) (2)

Introduction:

Think of the scariest situation you’ve ever experienced

Maybe you broke a bone.

Or you were in a car accident. Or you learned your parents were going to split up.

Or you got lost.

Would a couple of you be willing to share your stories with us?

*For Michael: think of a story to share here.

Thanks for sharing.

Most of us have experienced some scary moments in our lives.

For many people, when we’re scared, our first instinct is to pray.

That can be true even for people who aren’t religious or don’t believe in God.

Have you ever heard the saying: “There are no atheists in foxholes”?

But first, what is a foxhole?

In that case, what does the phrase mean?

Often, when people who don’t believe in God are scared or are going through hard times—maybe they’re broke or deathly ill—they even want other people to pray for them.

Why do you think that is?

When people feel helpless in the face of danger, they’re often willing to look anywhere for rescue.

In what ways is this desperate need to be rescued be similar to our friends who haven’t put their faith in Christ?

In what ways is it different?

Why do our friends who don’t know Jesus need us to pray for their salvation?

They often don’t realize the danger they’re in or that there’s a rescuer who could deliver them.

If you recall, last week we talked about THE Cause and how Jesus is calling us to lovingly share His Gospel message with those who don’t know Him.

We watched the short video about Jesus’s Prayer, Care, Share approach when engaging people about His message.

And we used THE Cause Circle to help us begin to be more intentional about sharing our faith with our friends.

*Show a picture of The Cause Circle on the screen.

Last time, we read the story from Luke 5 about Jesus healing the paralyzed man.

Today, we’re going to focus on the PRAYER component of the cause circle, we’re going to start by focusing in on just the first two verses of that passage.

Main Point: It is always a good idea to talk to God about people before you talk to people about God.

Could I please have a volunteer read Luke 5:15-16 for us?

Luke 5:15–16 (ESV)

But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Do you get the sense from these verses that Jesus was one busy dude? Why do you think that?

His message was spreading and everyone wanted to hear from him and to see Him heal people.

He was speaking and healing almost all the time.

Does it sound like the things He was doing were “important”? Why or why not?

People were being saved; physically and spiritually.

Of course it was important!

So why do you think He withdrew to pray?

Before you talk to people about God, you have to talk to God about people.

Can you think of any other instances in Scripture where it talks about Jesus praying?

He kicked off His ministry with 40 days of prayer and fasting in the wilderness;

He taught the disciples the Lord’s Prayer;

in the Garden of Gethsemane

Throughout His ministry, Jesus often headed off to be alone so He could pray.

He knew that to effectively talk to people about God, He must first talk to God about people.

Through Jesus’s times of prayer, the Father filled Him with compassion, clarity, and courage.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed for the strength to do whatever it took to reach the lost—even dying on a cross.

In the same way, we must pray not only for our lost friends to be reached, but also for the courage within ourselves to do whatever it takes to reach them, even if sharing our faith with our friends feels a little scary because we might be risking our image or our popularity.

Now you may be thinking: Well, Jesus was God, so why did He need to pray for those who are lost?

But Jesus was not only fully God, He was also fully human.

And as a human, He showed us the importance of praying to God the Father for those who are lost.

Suffice it to say, if Jesus as the God-man took prayer seriously, then we need to take prayer seriously too!

In addition to this passage of Scripture, there are other verses that tackle head-on the importance of praying for our lost friends. Could I please have a volunteer read 1 Timothy 2:1-6?

1 Timothy 2:1–6 (ESV)

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

This is the Apostle Paul writing to his young friend Timothy, but as we read it, I want you to imagine that these words are being written to you personally, so listen carefully with that in mind.

And then we’ll talk about some of the “who, what, when, why, and how” that’s being communicated here in these verses.

Let’s start with “What”? What’s the big topic being addressed here?

Prayer— specifically prayer for others—intercessory prayer

“Who?” Whom should we pray for

[Everyone you know]

“When?” When are we supposed to pray?

First thing—prayer is a top priority!

“Why?” Why are we supposed to pray

Because our Savior God wants everyone to be saved and to know the truth about Him.

“How?” How are we supposed to pray

Every way you know how!

It’s pretty straightforward here, isn’t it?

You and I are supposed to make it a priority to pray for the salvation of those we know who haven’t trusted Jesus as their Savior, because our God wants everyone to be saved.

We’re supposed to pray “every way we know how.”

Sometimes it’s more that no one ever actually taught us what we need to know about spiritual things like prayer and faith and Jesus’s message.

And sometimes when it comes to praying for other people’s salvation, we don’t quite know how to go about it.

Particularly if, deep down inside, we sort of feel as if they’re a “lost cause”—as if the chances of them coming to faith in Jesus seem to be slim to none.

Of course, there are a lot of different ways to pray.

But as we start to practically unpack what this kind of prayer might look like in our everyday lives, let’s think about it this way:

There are logistics—like the details of when and where, that sort of practical stuff.

And then there’s content—like what to actually talk to God about when you’re praying for your unreached friends.

So to help you with both of these—both the logistics and the content—I’m passing out a “How to Pray” handout.

I think you’ll find it really helpful.

First, let’s talk about the “4 Logistical Keys to Intercessory Prayer”

Who? Identify three friends you want to share the Gospel with, so you can start praying for them.

Where? Pick a place. “I do my best praying while in ______________ (place to pray).”

When? Pick a time. “I do my best praying at this time(s) _________________________________”

Build in accountability.

Set phone alarm

Find a prayer partner; text reminders to each other

Hit my knees before my feet hit the floor

Every time I ______________, I’ll pray.

Other ______________________.

Now that we’ve talked through some of the logistics that can help us build the habit of intercessory prayer, my challenge to you for the coming week is to build time into your regular routine to pray for your friends who need Jesus.

To give you a taste of what this can look like, we’re going to do some intercessory praying right now.

We’re going to circle up in groups of three or four and use the second part of your handout to actually pray together.

You’ll find four specific examples there of ways to intercede for your friends.

They break out like this:

1. Pray for salvation. These are single-sentence prayers you can pray for your friend.

You can pray just one line or several or all of them together.

2. Pray the Lord’s Prayer.

This is pretty much what it sounds like, except that you’re praying it for your unreached friend and inserting their name into it.

3. Pray a name of God.

With this type of prayer, you’re pleading with God to reveal to your friend various aspects of His character.

4. Pray a question.

This more reflective prayer approach requires you to ask God a question and get guidance from the Holy Spirit as to how He would have you reach out to your friends.

This prayer approach is best done when you’re praying alone.

These four are just samples you can use.

And of course, you’re free use your own approach, as well.

I want to speak briefly to anyone here today who doesn’t have a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus as your Savior.

If you’ve never personally decided to trust in Jesus, I want to quickly explain the Gospel message to you.

It goes like this:

God created us to be with Him. But…

Our sins separate us from God. These…

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. But…

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. So that…

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. And this…

Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

So if you’ve never received this free gift of forgiveness for sin and Jesus’s offer of eternal life, I encourage you to silently do that right now. (Pause.)

And if you’ve just put your trust in Christ, I invite you to pray this prayer of thanksgiving silently along with me.

So with every head bowed and every eye closed, let’s pray:

Dear God, I know that my sins have broken my relationship with You and that I could never do enough good things to change that.

But right now, I believe that Jesus died in my place and rose again from the dead.

I trust in Him to forgive me for my sins.

Through faith in Him, I’m entering an eternal relationship with You.

Thank You for this free gift! Help me pass it along to others who need to hear about you too.

If you just trusted in Christ for the first time, come up to me after and tell me so that I can be praying for you!

So now I’d like all of you to circle up in small groups of three or four and pray.

We have ___ minutes set aside for this activity, so pace yourselves so everyone in your group gets a chance to pray aloud.

Feel free to use one or more of the prayer ideas on your handout.

Or go freestyle if you prefer.

As you come to the blank lines in the prayers on your sheet, let’s stick with first names only.

And, if for some reason, you aren’t comfortable using even the first name of your friend, it’s fine to just refer to them as “my friend” in your prayer.

*Gather around and close at the end*

PRAY