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The Call to Prayer
I. INTRODUCTION
A. This course will cover many topics related to prayer: its biblical foundations; its practical applications; its historical expressions; and its significance in the generation in Jesus returns.
B. My aim in this course is threefold:
1.
To give practical instruction on what to do to develop a life of prayer.
2. To give a biblical understanding of different types of prayer and the principles associated with them.
3. To give a big-picture perspective of what the Holy Spirit is doing in emphasizing prayer across the earth in this hour.
C. A simple definition of prayer: prayer is “talking with God.”
It can take many forms, but all prayer is essentially a two-way conversation with the Lord that has life-changing results.
D. We talk to the uncreated God of the universe; He listens attentively and with great affection.
He responds by revealing His heart, giving us direction, blessing our circumstances, transforming our emotions, touching our loved ones, reviving the church, saving the lost, releasing justice, impacting society, and so on.
It is a great privilege and has many implications for our lives and the world.
This response is worth whatever it takes to cultivate a strong prayer life.
E. We must contend to establish our prayer life because it will not develop on its own.
The Holy Spirit will help all who desire to pray more effectively.
F. Our prayer life can progress from duty to discipline to delight (Larry Lea).
G. Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would make His servants joyful in prayer.
He referred to a new paradigm for prayer—prayer characterized by joy.
I call this “enjoyable prayer.”
Many of God’s people will be surprised by joy in communicating with Him.
Enjoyable prayer is prayer that refreshes our heart!
If it is not enjoyable, we will pray only intermittently–or not at all.
7Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer… ()
II.
All believers are called to grow in prayer
A. The Lord calls every believer to a life of prayer, both the new believer and the seasoned saint.
The best thing any of us can do to improve our lives and our relationships is to grow in prayer.
B. Being a person of prayer is the most important calling in one’s life.
A higher calling than being a spouse, a parent, a pastor, a preacher, or a leader in the marketplace, we will all become far better spouses, parents, and leaders as we take time to grow in prayer.
While not every believer is called to preach, each is called to pray.
Prayer is not an optional activity as it is essential for our spiritual well-being.
Are you ready to join the multitudes now being sovereignly stirred by the Lord to grow in prayer and begin a new chapter in your spiritual life?
It is time to start.
📷
C. Prayer involves connecting with the Spirit who energizes us to love God.
Our love for God causes us to overflow with love for others.
Jesus made an absolute statement about our inability to walk in the fullness of our destiny in God without growing in prayer ().
He said that unless we abide in Him, we can do nothing related to bearing fruit or maturing spiritually.
5I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
()
D. We cannot generate spiritual life.
We experience it more as we abide in Christ.
Just as it is impossible for us to jump a hundred feet even if we practice much, so it is impossible for us to generate spiritual life.
It is not an issue of practice; we were not created to jump a hundred feet!
Neither were we created to have spiritual life while living independently of the Spirit.
E. The Spirit will move in a new and powerful way in your life as you take time to grow in prayer.
The change may not happen overnight, but it will most certainly happen.
The discipline of prayer will eventually become delight in prayer.
Dryness in prayer will gradually be replaced by a vibrant dialogue with God that will change your life and result in many answered prayers.
F. Do not wait for a special spiritual experience to begin to grow in prayer.
We grow in prayer by actually praying.
Beginners in prayer mature by praying more.
III.
From Duty to Delight
A. In my younger days, I loved Jesus, but I dreaded spending time in prayer.
I saw prayer as a necessary duty I had to endure if I wanted to receive more blessing.
B. My youth leaders told me that I had to develop a prayer life if I wanted to experience the deeper things of God and enter into the fullness of my calling.
I read books on prayer.
Especially memorable are those written by Leonard Ravenhill and E. M. Bounds, who wrote some of the classics on prayer and revival.
After reading their books, I was even more convinced of my need to grow in prayer, but the thought was daunting.
The books inspired me, but left me feeling guilty.
I felt spiritually “stuck” and desperate for a breakthrough.
C. I needed a new perspective on prayer—on what prayer is and why the Lord insists on it.
I began to see prayer as much more than a religious duty to endure.
I learned that it is a place of encounter, a way to receive blessing, an expression of partnership with God, and much more.
IV.
Prayer is a place of encounter
A. At first I thought of prayer as a duty that was mostly results-oriented.
I imagined that the Lord wanted me to “endure” talking to Him to prove my dedication.
I saw it as paying the price, and if I endured it long enough, He would give me the blessing I asked for.
B. First of all, prayer is about encountering God and growing in relationship with Him.
It is the means by which we most feel His presence and receive love from Him as we gain understanding of what He is like.
In prayer we position ourselves to receive fresh insight into His heart as new desires are formed in our hearts.
Prayer positions us to be energized to love—to love God and people.
C. The call to prayer is a call to participate in the love that has forever burned in God’s heart.
From eternity past the Father has loved the Son with all His heart, and the Son has loved the Father with the same intensity.
The primary factor in the Father’s relationships, both within the Godhead and with His people, is wholehearted love.
The family dynamics among the Father, Son, and Spirit are based on and flow in this wholehearted love.
D. This love is the foundational reality of God’s kingdom.
It is this very reality that we participate in as we grow in prayer—that is, participating in the family dynamics of the Godhead.
We do this by receiving God’s love and responding in His love to the Lord and to people.
E. God’s heart burns with love.
He calls us to experience it—to enter into what I refer to as “the fellowship of the burning heart.”
Salvation is an invitation to this fellowship.
V. Prayer is a way to receive blessing for ourselves and for others
A. We do not pray “just to pray.”
Yes, we pray to commune with God, but we also pray so that things will change and God’s blessings will be released in us and through us.
There is a point to our prayers.
Effective prayer accomplishes much and leads to real results that release blessing.
16The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
(, NAS)
B. Praying in faith is a God-ordained way to receive His blessing in both our internal lives and our external circumstances.
Some think of prayer solely as communion with God, while others think of it only as the way to obtain more blessing in their circumstances.
We do not need to choose one over the other; we can expect results from our prayers as we grow in communion with God.
C. Some believers have a passive, indifferent attitude toward receiving God’s blessings.
They do not seem to care whether their prayers accomplish much in their own lives.
They see this attitude as an expression of humility since they consider it selfish to want to receive blessings in “things.”
Jesus never affirmed a passive attitude of indifference about receiving from Him.
It is false humility to disregard the blessings Jesus has ordained for His people.
VI.
The Lord waits to hear the prayers of His people ()
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