Prayer as our Source

OPENING

By the quick raising of hands. Who among you believe that prayer actually works?

Now, that most of you believe that prayer actually works, may I please see the hands of those who pray regularly... (count)

How is your Prayer Life?

How regular do you pray?… once a week?… every other day?… every day?… 3 times a day?… or more?...

Will this side of the church, altogether say, “Pray Regularly!”

And now this side say, “Because it works!”

BREATHE!

When people were asked by Barna, “How do you most often pray?” (show the table)

82% said, “silently by themselves”

A mere 13% said, “audibly by themselves”

Only 2% said, “audibly with another person or group”

And only 2% said, collectively with a church

And this table shows the contents of their prayers (show table)

BREATHE!

During CLASS 201 this morning I taught the church about the essentials of “prayers”

That we have to approach prayer with the right attitudes

When we pray we must be real

We don’t try to impress God or impress others

When we pray we must be relaxed

When we pray we must be revealing

BREATHE!

To follow the example of Jesus (The Lord’s Prayer), we have to keep in mind the 6 parts of prayer

Praise - Adoration & Thanksgiving | God’s character

Purpose - Commit to do God’s will

Provision - Provide my daily need

Pardon - Forgive my sins

People - Pray for other people

Protection - Spiritual protection

How is your Prayer Life?

BREATHE!

This October we started talking about church culture

We begun with “Servanthood is our Attitude”

And then last Sunday it was about the need to give up some of our comfort if we are to stand to our commitments

In the continuation of our series on “Church Culture”, I’d like to talk to you about prayers

Because in this church we believe “Prayer as our source”

In this church......

We pray continually

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV

pray continually,

We pray confidently

Hebrews 4:16 NIV

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

We pray corporately

Matthew 18:19 NIV

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

TEXT: David’s Prayer

When David had finally settled in a palace, he felt the burden for the Lord because the Ark remains in a tent

He insinuated to Nathan, the prophet his desire to build a temple for the Lord

Nathan said, “go ahead and do it for the Lord is with you”

But, that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, and God said… tell David it will not be him who will build me a temple, but his Son (referring to Solomon)

After Nathan reported all the words of this entire revelation to David, he prayed

2 Samuel 7:18–29 NIV

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human! 20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. 22 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. 25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight. 27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

2 Samuel

BREATHE!

From David we can see see…

The HEART of Prayer

Pure Heart

On a separate instance, after David committed adultery and murder, he came to God pleading for a pure heart

Psalm 51:10 NIV

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Repentant Heart

He was begging for forgiveness

Psalm 51:2 NIV

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Adoring Heart

A heart that gives praises to God

2 Samuel 7:22 NIV

“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

Yearning Heart

Expectant heart

2 Samuel 7:25 NIV

“And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised,

2 Samual 7:25

Illustration: Take it to the Lord in prayer

My mobile phone crashed a few months ago and I had to switch to my wife's old one as a temporary measure. On the first day of using the phone, there was one particularly important feature that neither I nor my wife could grasp, though we tried to figure it out for a while. My small son, who was watching us all the time, then boldly mentioned that he could help us figure it out. We ignored his offer of help and kept grappling with the problem unsuccessfully on our own, even though he repeatedly kept offering his help. Eventually, maybe more out of irritation, we handed the phone to him. Lo and behold, he sorted it out within a few minutes!!

Relieved and I guess quite surprised, my wife and I expressed our appreciation and admiration to him. His casual reply, said almost in despair was, 'The problem with you two is that you never ask for my help"! He was just 7!!

It struck me that sometimes, we too may be the same. We try to solve our problems in our own strength and ability and in every other possible way, (many times to be disappointed), without first going to the Lord in prayer! It's good to remind ourselves today that Jesus said. "Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete" (). He is always willing to help us.

John 16:24 NIV

24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

"Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete" (). He is always willing to help us.

O what peace we often forfeit

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer

PRAYER

Lord give us a Pure Heart

A Repentant Heart

A Heart that Adores You

A Heart that is always Yearning for your will