Prayer - Connects the Soul

We’ve started this year a new series looking at Soul Nurture -

“Soul Nurture” refers to the intentional care, feeding, and strengthening of a person’s inner life—their mind, emotions, will, and spiritual condition—so they grow healthy, whole, and aligned with God.

Last week I said that:

Soul nurture is about the formation, restoration, and protection of the inner person.

Formation: Feeding the soul – through the Word of God, prayer, worship and truth

Restoration: Healing the soul – allowing God to address wounds, sin, trauma, and lies

Protection: Guarding and Strengthening the soul – discerning what we allow to influence our thoughts and emotions. And learning resilience, faith, obedience, and spiritual authority

The last couple of weeks we have looked at how the Word of God (the Bible) Feeds the Soul.

Today I want to look at another area of Formation in how Prayer Connects the Soul.

So to begin:

1. Prayer is connection not performance:

Prayer is communicating with God — speaking and listening — from relationship, not ritual.

Before teaching how to pray, Jesus assumes we pray.

“When you pray…”

Matthew 6:6 NIV

6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” - MARTIN LUTHER

Too often we can make prayer difficult, we can try to make it a performance, we listen to others praying and think it is beyond us.

Prayer is relational before it is functional

Prayer is not a religious performance

Prayer is not impressing God - by words, volume, or length

Prayer is not just asking for things

Prayer flows from being a child of God, not striving

Illustration of Boys dorm prayer

Brother Lawrence famous for the book “Practicing the Presence of God” puts it this way:

“I have abandoned all particular forms of devotion, all prayer techniques. My only prayer practice is attention. I carry on a habitual, silent, and secret conversation with God that fills me with overwhelming joy.” Brother Lawrence

Again he adds:

“The most holy and important practice in the spiritual life is the presence of God - that is, every moment to take great pleasure that God is with you.” Brother Lawrence

Prayer is:

Relationship

Connection

Communion - we don’t drop in to visit God we live we abide we MENO with God.

2. Prayer intimately connects our Soul with Abba

Matthew 6:9 NIV

9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

“Our Father in heaven…”

Abba Father, Daddy, Papa,

To use this intimate term for God would have been shocking to Jesus’ listeners.

Jesus doesn’t begin with power but with relationship

“Abba” is intimate, personal, close

Prayer begins by remembering who God is to us - Who’s Your Daddy?

Is He your loving Heavenly Daddy? Is He the one who loves you, carries you when you are weary, comforts you when you are upset, provides for you when you have need? Lovingly corrects you and gets you back on your feet when you fall down or mess up?

Q. Is that the Heavenly Daddy that you know? If not, maybe today you need to get introduced! Do you know:

“We don’t pray to get God’s attention — we pray because we already have it!”

If we quickly look at the prayer which Jesus taught us it shows us such a depth of relationship with such a loving heavenly Daddy:

Our Father → confirms our Identity as beloved children

Hallowed be Your name → Worship moves us from self-focus to God-focus

Your kingdom come → Is about aligning our will to God’s

Give us today → Is dependence, we choose to live based on God’s resources not our own.

Forgive us → Is about restoration, when we mess up God wants to restore our relationships with both Himself and with others

Lead us → Is about Trust, saying Yes to God’s way of life as the best way to live.

Prayer connects the soul before it changes circumstances.

How often do we start prayer with an attempt to change our circumstances?

God - help! This has just happened. Can you heal, can you provide, can you change this hard situation to make life easier. How often do we use prayer like a magic slot machine?

“Prayer is designed to adjust you to God's will, not to adjust God to your will.”

Henry Blackaby

Prayer should re-centre me on the presence of Jesus

Prayer should start in the presence of God. In knowing Him and enjoying Him. In having the continuous connection and communication with Him.

Prayer then reminds my soul:

I am not alone

I am loved

I belong

RESPONSE: Take a moment right now - Holy Spirit we welcome you, we acknowledge your intimate presence. Holy Spirit - confirm right now - I am not alone, I am loved, I belong…

3. Prayer Anchors the Soul in Peace

“Prayer doesn’t deny reality — it relocates the burden.”

It’s down to trust and control

Do we trust God, do we have faith to believe He is for us and loves us? Are we prepared to give over the situation to Him rather than trying to control the situation?

Philippians 4:6–7 NIV

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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.

We are commanded to not be anxious about anything! I think that covers everything??

But in every situation through prayer & petition - see there’s a difference between prayer and petition!! Present, give over them to God.

And what’s the result?

Philippians 4:7 NIV

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Anxiety grows when the soul carries what it was never meant to

Prayer is the exchange point

Peace then guards the soul

Unfortunately…

“What we don’t process in prayer, we store in the soul.”

What are you storing in your soul today? What needs to be given over to your loving Abba Daddy in heaven?

For some of us today, I believe we have been storing up so much in our souls, pushing all the turmoil, feelings, hurts, confusion down, that they are like pressure cookers. Does anyone have an old fashioned pressure cooker?

The top is on and as the pressure builds inside it clamps the lid down tight. It hits a point where is becomes dangerous and volatile. If anyone rocks the weight on top they could end up signed by a jet of steam!

God know how we are feeling and wants to help us to health and healing:

4. Prayer Reconnects the Soul in Weakness (Romans 8)

Romans 8:26–27 NIV

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Do you know it doesn’t matter if you know what to pray or how to pray! God just wants to spend time with you. As we connect with Him He slowly draws out all the inner turmoil, He understands the roots of how we feel, the Holy Spirit searches our hearts and knows how to intercede for us.

This is so incredibly freeing.

Prayer is about connection, it’s not about getting the words right

Our Weaknesses do not disqualify us from connecting in prayer because the Holy Spirit partners with us in prayer.

Illustration: A parent understanding the cry of a baby before language exists.

Even when your soul feels:

Tired

Confused

Overwhelmed

Spiritually dry

…the Holy Spirit is praying with you and for you.

“When words fail, the Spirit carries the prayer.”

Charles Spurgeon puts it this way:

“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.” Charles Spurgeon

So to finish I want to play a short video clip from Pete Greig with 3 simple Tips to Prayer:

3 Tips to Prayer: Pete Greig (1min33)

So how healthy is your prayer life?

Is it beginning in the place of relationship?

Are we practicing the presence of God?

As George Muller put it:

“I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up. And the answers are always coming.” — George Müller

And are we keeping it simple, Keeping it real and Keeping it up