God's Game Plan for Prayer

The Intro

Tonight we are going to talk about prayer.

Q. How do people typically act when they have done something wrong?

Q. How do people typically act when they have done something wrong?

They either avoid the issue or apologize/try to resolve it.

Group Q. Why would people avoid the issue or try to ignore/hide it?

Ashamed/Scared

Let me tell you a story to illustrate this.

I was homeschooled. I found my math checker one year, and thought I would save some time on school. It worked great,… until it came time for the end of the year test. I began to realize that I wouldn’t be able to get the answers to the test, and I hadn’t learned anything about math so far. So for about two weeks I was agonizing over what I was going to happen. I knew what I had done was wrong, but I didn’t want to tell my parents. Partly because I knew that I would get in trouble, but partly because I didn’t want to disappoint them. And this certainly would cause disappointment. Well, I finally couldn’t sleep one night, so I went and woke my parents up and told them what I had done. That was an difficult conversation for me, but it resulted in something awesome. We didn’t talk very long that evening, we did the next day, but the simple act of confessing to my parents that night relieved so much stress and worry. Don’t get me wrong, after that conversation I knew I was going to suffer the consequences of my actions, but I was able to go to sleep knowing that my parents didn’t hate me; in fact, they loved me and wanted what was best for me. So when the next day came and we began discussing the results of my actions, I knew that whatever the punishment was, my parents were doing it for my own good. They were doing it to edify me, to make me better, to build me up. I learned so much from that episode in my life. First, I learned that what looks like the easy way out often isn’t. Second, I learned that forgiveness does not equal an exemption from the consequences. Third, I learned that hiding or ignoring the issue was worse than confessing and dealing with it.

Unfortunately, this often how we deal with sin. We try to ignore it, hope no one ever finds out what we are struggling with, so we go on living in shame and guilt when God wants to forgive and restore. So tonight, we are going to learn that, “Prayer is God’s mechanism for forgiveness.”

The Truth

Group Q. How do people typically view prayer?

A chore/a wish list - Christmas list/a soap box/

We are going to look at Solomon, and learn some important aspects of prayer.

2 Chronicles 7:12–16 NASB95

12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 “Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 16 “For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

2 Chronicles 7:12-

“Prayer is our opportunity to confess.”

The Context - v. 12

Everything was going well and according to plan. Solomon had built a temple for the Lord, and was ready to dedicate it to the Lord. So he prayed that God would dwell among His people and hear their prayers. Solomon’s prayer was long, but it contained this basic idea and theme: “God you are faithful, please hear our prayers when we turn from our sin.”

The Wake Up Call - v. 13

Here God demonstrates that he allows things to happen in our lives to wake us up from our sins.

Group Q. What is the proper response to sin?

The Proper Response to Sin - v. 14

The Proper Response to Sin - v. 14

Humility

Confession

Repentance

Forgiveness

And Restoration

The Presence of God - v. 15-16

We see that the people are to come into the presence of God to confess and repent their sins.

“Prayer is our opportunity to confess.”

The App

Group Q. What characteristics/attitudes do we need to have when we pray?

Think back to my story: I was to proud to admit what I had done. We are typically to proud to confess our sins.

The

“Prayer is my time to repent.”