Spiritual Disciplines Practicum

Thesis:

I. The essentials of Spiritual Disciplines.

1. Personal Spiritual Disciplines

These are the disciplines that are primarily private between the practitioner and God. However, there are a few that can be practiced both privately and corporately.

A. Prayer

B. Bible reading/study

C. Solitude

D. Fasting

E. Journaling

F. Meditation

G. Contemplation

H. Worship

I. Stewardship

2. Interpersonal Spiritual Disciplines

These are the disciplines that are public and involves multiple practitioners.

A. Evangelism

B. Worship

C. Bible reading/study

D. Stewardship

E. Learning

F. Prayer

II. The Benefit of Prayer

To know how to pray we must understand what it means to pray. What is the definition of prayer? What is the act of prayer?

We know from scriptures that prayer can happen both internally and externally.

1 Samuel 1:12–13 ESV

As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.

We know that prayer was first mentioned in Genesis 4 and is mentioned in the last chapter of the bIble.

Yet the question still remains. What does it mean to pray.

Genesis 4 tells us that it is calling upon the Lord. How we accomplish this task and our intended purposes is what I will attempt to answer today.

A. Renewed Fellowship.

We find that it was in the days of Enosh that men began to call on the name of the Lord (Adoni). According to Gen. 5 Adam would have been 235 yrs old when Enosh. For all of the time after Adam had been removed from the garden men had forsaken YHWH.

The sin of Adam had many consequences but the greatest was the loss of fellowship with God.

From scripture we see no evidence that Adam ever returned to fellowship with God.

The greatest hinderance to our prayers and our relationship with God is sin.

There is no reason that Adam was not capable of calling upon the name of YHWH, yet sin, or the guilt of sin, kept him from returning to God.

Prayer was the method by which the fellowship that was lost in the garden would be restored.

Interestingly, the favorite place of prayer for Jesus was also a garden.

Maybe this was just coincidental due to the solitude or perhaps there was a symbolic meaning.

If the Word of God is our access to the knowledge of God’s then prayer is the door by which we access an intimate relationship with Him.

B. Alignment with God

Matthew 26:39 ESV

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

James said that if we lack wisdom that we should ask God for it and that God will give liberally to us.

James 1:5 ESV

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

The sin that caused the fall of mankind was commited out of a desire for wisdom. The very thing that Adam and Eve sought was already being freely given by God.

The wisdom that Adam and Eve gained was also their downfall.

Wisdom is the ability to judge right from wrong along with the capacity and will to make the right choice.

This is also imitated in the Lord’s prayer. “Our Father who art in heaven, hollowed be thy name”

When Jesus was teaching the disciples to pray he began with the knowledge and adoration of God.

When we worship God we gain wisdom from Him.

You may ask how this can be?

By worshiping Him we will begin to understand who He is and thus gain insight into how we should believe and behave.

By observing His loving kindness we will gain wisdom on how we are to love ourselves, the lost, and those in our lives.

C. Ask Petitions.

Prayer allows us the opportunity to request divine intervention.

Matthew 7:7 ESV

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Divine intervention because it is the divine petition that brings glory to God. The request that are asked that remain within the hands of man though they be dependent upon God they fall within the duties that have already been assigned to us by God.

III. A BIBLICAL CALL TO PRAYER.

A. We are called to be faithful in prayer.

I Thes 6:6

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NKJV

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Ephesians 6:18 NKJV

praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

B. We are called to pray in faith

James 5:15 NKJV

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

C. Jesus taught His disciples to pray.

Mark 11:24 NKJV

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

John 15:7 NKJV

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

Matthew 6:7–9 NKJV

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

D. Paul taught the church to pray.

Romans 8:26 NKJV

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Philippians 4:6 NKJV

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

1 Timothy 2:8 NKJV

I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

IV. Practical Application

Success of Prayer

The success of prayer is very subjective. Each of measure success by different metrics. How do we measure prayer?

Ultimately, success in prayer is recognised by the Fathers will being accomplished. There are however, certain tools that may be used so that we are effective in our prayers.

In his book, “The Five Laws that Govern Prayer” the S. D. Gordon suggested four items to strengthen our prayers.

I. Prayer needs a time.

Daily time, quiet time, time when you are rested and ready to engage in the laborious duty of prayer.

Jesus is worthy of our best time and not our leftovers.

“Every man must make his own rules and fight his own fight. However, if you can mange your time so that you can find time alone, so alone that you are not alone, that is victory.”

If you can not find time you will, if you stumble here, your tale will be more or less a story of defeat.

A. A designated time.

For Jesus that time of prayer was often at night.

Luke 6:12 ESV

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

Mark 1:35 ESV

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Mark 6:46 ESV

And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

Jesus seemed to have a pattern of praying in the morning and night.

B. A sufficient amount of time.

Jesus prayed all night in Luke 6.

He also prayed through much of the night before the crucifixion.

However, at times he prayed short prayers.

What we see is that there was no set time in prayer. However, Jesus prayed as was necessary.

Do not limit yourself in prayer. Pray until your soul is at peace with God. Pray until you feel you have been in the presence of the Lord. Pray until you can arise knowing that you have been in his presence.

You prayer may be a minute long but it may take hours.

Jesus did not always pray an hour yet, he often did.

When is the last time you prayed an hour?

How about fifteen minutes?

How about just five minutes?

If you ever time yourself it may surprise you how little we pray.

As a young man I remember going to many all night prayer meetings.

Yet, often many would start the evening but very few could pray all night.

We can watch TV for an hour. We can play with our kids and grandkids for hours. We can even shop for hours. But can we give God the same amount of time that we can give to ourselves and others.

Prayer has not lost its power or effectiveness. However, somewhere along the way the church has lost its love of fellowship with God.

C. Patience.

Luke 18:1 KJV 1900

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Some prayers may be delayed because of satanic forces. Daniel 10.12-14

Daniel 10:12–14 ESV

Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”

God may delay to allow for conviction and repentance. Ps. 66:18

Psalm 66:18 ESV

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

God may delay so that He gains the glory.

John 11:1–4 ESV

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

II. Prayer needs a Place.

Matthew 6:6 ESV

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The KJV uses the word CLOSET, it is the same word translated as secret room in Matt. 24:26. It is an interior room within a house, or a room that was away from they main flow of traffic and a quiet secluded place.

You can and should pray anywhere. Prayer should be a continual endeavor that follows us everywhere we go. However, without a designated place of prayer it may be difficult to truly engage in prayer.

We should seek a place that allows us the opportunity to avoid distractions and interruptions.

Earlier this week, I had to slip away and find a creek side to get near so that I could have some quiet time to pray without distractions.

We need a place of prayer. My greatest prayer time has often come while deer hunting due to the fact that I may have several hours where I can not talk, and there is nothing to divert my attention.

Do you have a place for praying?

In ancient days many Japanese homes contained a dojo. This was a place for prayer and meditation before it was a place for martial arts.

Yet, the average Christian has no such place.

Do you have a place of prayer?

Ill. praying on the toilet.

III. Let the Bible have its place in prayer.

S.D. Gordon said, “They used to burn the Bible. We are more refined now, we would not burn it. No; now we cut it up with rarely skilled-fingers, and freshly-razored knife-edges. But, whether burned or cut the Book itself remains, without the smell of smoke on its pages, or the mark of the knife on its leaves.”

Prayer is more than just talking to God. It also involves God speaking to us. The Bible is Gods primary method of speaking. Therefore, it is important that we not only speak to God but also allow time for Him to speak to us.

It is alright to speak to God and then rad your Bible before returning to speaking anymore.

Listen to God. Learn to still your heart and soul

A. Patience in prayer.

Often we arrive at prayer with preconceived ideas of what must be said and the timeline with which we must say it. We approach prayer much like other aspects of out lives. However, God will not be forced to adapt to the will of me. Instead we must bend our will to His.

Prayer takes time. Time to pray, time to listen, and time to allow our hearts to tune to the channel of Gods heart.

B. Don’t be afraid to interact with God.

It may feel uncomfortable, unnatural, or even disrespectful due to your perceived idea of prayer. However, its okay to commune with God in prayer.

In Genesis 3:8 God walked in the Ruah (Breezy) part of the day. We see elsewhere in scripture that Abraham, Enoch and Noah all walked with God. This represents fellowship and communication.

The first sign that Adam and Eve had sinned was that they would not communicate with God and He had to walk alone.

We should never be ashamed to talk and have conversation with God.

IV. Let the teacher teach you.

According to the Bible we can see that success of prayer is measures by its kingdom impact.

A. Let the Holy Spirit teach to pray to please Jesus.

B. Pray in Jesus name.

C. Believe, not that God can but that He will.