Level Up 4 - Prayer
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Today we are continuing in our series Spiritual Disciplines
We have talked about Bible reading, serving, and worship
Today we are talking about prayer
Pray is talking to God and connecting with Him
It’s how we commune with the Lord
Today I want to look at how we are to pray, and the way God answers prayers
Then in small group I want to give you a chance to practice praying
So how do you pray?
How to pray
How to pray
Jesus actually teaches us how to
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
The first thing you need when it comes to praying is:
Pray Up
Your first thing anytime you pray should be praising God for who He is
Praying with your focus on God who is above
The first thing Jesus says to do is make God’s name hallowed
Hallowed is the Greek word ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) which literally means to set aside as sacred, or to make Holy.
Jesus is telling us that when we pray, the first thing we need to do is acknowledge who God is. He is creator and Holy
He is the one that sustains us and knows us. He knows every hair on your head
So Jesus is telling us before we do anything else in our prayer life we must Hallow God’s name, set it aside as sacred and Holy
Then you are to:
Pray down
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
We are to pray for God’s will to happen all over the earth
Jesus then tells us that once we praise God for who He is, we then need to make sure we are praying that His kingdom come!
Literally praying that God’s will would be done on earth today!
His will is actually quite simple, that every tongue tribe nation and people praise His name. That they would know Him and accept Him as King!
Jesus showing us that our prayers should be aligned to the will of God, His plans
After you pray up and down you are to:
Pray in
11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
The prayer then switches from God and the world, to now ourselves
Praying for forgiveness of sins, because we all sin
Praying for God’s provision because we need it consistently
The idea of daily bread calls back to Israel when they were wondering in the desert, God gave them manna to eat, but it was only for the day.
The same is true of our prayers, we are called to go to God daily, every day continually for strength
Then after you had prayed up to God, down for the world, in for ourselves, we are to:
Pray out
Praying that we would go and serve God
That we would take what God is calling us to do, and go and do it
This is praying that God would help us accomplish His mission - that every person would come to the knowledge of who God is
Conclusion of how to pray
Conclusion of how to pray
That is a basic guide on how we are to pray
We are to pray up to God - praising Him
We are to pray down - asking that God’s kingdom and will would be done on earth, praying that nations and cultures would change
We are to pray in - asking for God’s forgiveness and daily provision
We are to pray out - that God’s mission of everyone knowing Him and accepting Him would come true
Another way to think about it is the ACTS method:
Adoration - praising God
Confession - confessing your sins to God
Thanksgiving - thanking God for the blessings He has provided in your life and for you
Supplication - bringing your requests to God, all that you need
Answered Prayers
Answered Prayers
So how do we know if God answers our prayers?
Better yet how does God answer our prayers?
There are four ways God answers prayers
I can’t hear you
Sometimes we are going to pray for things, and we feel like God isn’t listening to us, or doesn’t hear us
That may be because he in fact doesn’t hear us
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
God doesn’t listen to those who are in constant sin
If you are constantly feeling like your prayers aren’t being listened to, confess your sins to God
He stays far from the prideful, but is close to the humble
No
Sometimes God’s answer to our prayer is simply no
Sometimes that can be because we asked for selfish things
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Or sometimes it can be because it is not God’s will
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Whatever the case may be, sometimes our prayer is a no
That can be discouraging, but God did answer the prayer
If that happens the prayer should change to asking to understand the choice
Wait
Sometimes God’s answer is for us to wait
Rather that is because we are asking for the right thing, and it just isn’t God’s timing yet
Or because what we are asking for is far smaller than what God is wanting to do with us and for us
Habakkuk was crying out waiting for the Lord
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?
Psalm 37 tells us that we should wait on the Lord patiently
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
The answer of wait isn’t easy, but God is still answering
If this is your answer stay persistent, don’t give up
Continue to pray, and expand your prayer, asking for more
Yes
Sometimes the answer to our prayer is yes
These are the ones that we love the most
When we pray something and then see it come to fruition
When we can see God answering them immediately
When you receive a yes - let that fuel your faith to keep praying for the things that are a wait
Conclusion
Conclusion
Prayer is how we connect with God
Charles Spurgeon said:
True prayer is measured by weight, not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length.
The Secret Of Power In Prayer, Volume 34, Sermon #2002 - John 15:7
Charles Spurgeon
We should pray by going up to god, down to the world around us, in by our sin, and out according to God’s mission
And God always answers our prayers
Sometimes we need to confess sin
Sometimes the answer is no
Sometimes God is saying to wait
And sometimes the answer is yes
Instead of felling like God isn’t answering your prayers, seek to understand His answer