Christian Living II - Lecture 2

Lecture 2 Christian Living II

Matthew 6:5-8 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

General Overview of prayer

One of the primary purposes of this class, is to give your prayer life a structure, in order to give you some consistency.

Hopefully, you will develop some prayer habits that will help you to pray when you feel like it and when you don’t.

Now, I don’t want you to merely pray out of habit, but I do want you to develop a disciplined, consistent routine if you haven’t already.

Bro. Gary Norris“Discipline yourself until it becomes delight.” ~

If you will continually discipline yourself to pray, there will come a time in which you will begin to look forward to prayer.

It will become the highlight of your day!

It need not be a drudgery!

Eastman “Prayer is not optional.” Page 18

That seems like such a simple statement, but yet, if we’re not careful, we will make prayer just that—optional.

You cannot omit prayer and expect to remain saved, much less maintain an effective ministry!

Eastman “Where there is an absence of prayer, there will be an absence of power.” Page 18

You may fool a lot of people into thinking that you’re a person of prayer, but eventually the lack of results will be evident—both in your ministry and in your character!

If you don’t pray (and fast, for that matter) there will be a lack of power in your ministry.

You can scream, and holler, and spit all you want to, and maybe even get people to get a little emotional, but you will likely never see a true demonstration of the power of God thru your ministry.

“If God cannot trust you with His discipline, He will not trust with His power.” ~Kenny Morris

“Time alone with the Lord Jesus each day is the indispensable condition of growth and power.” ~Andrew Murray

*Write the quotes down and memorize them.

Many ministries have stalled and eventually failed, simply due to a lack of prayer!

What qualified such great men of God as Wesley, Luther, Finney, or Brainerd?

J.C. Ryle, said, “I have read the lives of many eminent Christians who have been on earth since the Bible days. Some of them, I see, were rich, and some poor. Some were learned, some unlearned…One thing I see, they all had in common. They all have been men of prayer.” Page 19

Eastman “What we do for the Lord is entirely dependent upon what we are in the Lord…what we are in the Lord wholly depends upon what we receive from the Lord.” Pages 19-20

It was their lives of prayer and their relationship with God.

Yes, those men had their faults, but they walked with God.

Do not expect to BE or DO anything worthwhile for God if you do not pray!

Eastman “To spend little time with Jesus is to accomplish little for Jesus.” Page 20

Eastman “Consistency in prayer is the evidence of true commitment.” Page 20

If I seldom talk to God, it indicates that He plays a secondary role in my life.

Adam Clarke “Apostasy begins in the closet. No man eve backslid from the life and power of Christianity who continued constant and fervent in private prayer. He who prays without ceasing is likely to rejoice evermore.” Page 20

That’s why you and I must constantly guard our time alone with Christ every single day!

The road to Hell begins where prayer stops!

“Carefully mark this in your mind: It is possible to make time for prayer!” ~Eastman

You need to settle it in your mind and heart right now that you’re going to make time to pray!

Prayer is your livelihood and if you don’t make time for it, YOU WILL DIE spiritually!

That’s one reason why so many young people your age struggle spiritually. It’s because they get a “spiritual high” at youth camp, but they never make time for a prayer life when they get home.

You make time for what you want to do!

This is how it should be with prayer every single day!

Illustration: Susanna Wesley, mother of 19 children including John and Charles Wesley, had no specific place to get away and pray. So, in order to have her alone time with God, she would sit in her chair and put her apron over her face to pray. The children knew not to bother mother if her apron was over her face. (Page 21)

The point—you find a way to do what you want to do!

This semester, I want prayer to become more than a mere routine, habit, or ritual.

I want prayer to transform from something that you do, into who you are (your very identity).

Illustration: Fletcher of Madeley, a fellow worker with John Wesley, illustrates the importance of making prayer practical. This dedicated warrior had a most unusual conclusion to many of his lectures. Often, after discussing themes on prayer and spiritual growth, fletcher would say to his students, “that is the theory; now will those who want the practice come along up to my room!” Often all of Fletcher’s students would quietly follow this godly saint to his room for one or two hours of actual practice in the art of prayer. They knew the secret was in “doing,” not merely in “knowing.” Page 21

I’m not so concerned with the quantity of your prayer life, as I am the quality of it.

Matthew 6:5-8 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

The Pharisees and religious leaders had quantity, but not much quality.

ILLUSTRATION: I remember a man was talking to my brother-in-law and I one time, and he was bragging on his prayer life. He said, “I had someone tell me one time, ‘I will just stand outside of your door and listen to the sounds you are making.’”

Listen to me much noise is not an indication of a relationship between you and God!

“They knew the secret was in ‘doing’, not merely in ‘knowing’. ~Eastman