Prayer An Awesome Privilege

Introduction:

Last week we began our series on Prayer. We looked at .

Philippians 4:4–9 NIV84

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

We talked about prayer being connected to our attitude.

In Paul expresses the same idea.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NIV84

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

A. Rejoice in the Lord Always

This is the same idea we looked at in .

B. Prayer Continually

Once again this is a direct connection to .

C. Give Thanks in All Circumstances

Here in this passage, Paul says to give thanks in all circumstances, because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Alfred Lord Tennyson is credited with writing these words, “Ours not to reason why, ours but to do or die.” He penned these words about soldiers who are expected to follow orders without question. Even if those orders lead to the soldier’s eventual death.

As followers of Jesus, we need to learn to accept our circumstances as being God’s will.

Having the right attitude prepares us to experience the ability to communicate with God. And that is called, worship.

1 Timothy 2:8 NIV84

I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

In this passage, Paul tells Timothy that men that they are to lead in worship wherever they are. This is specifically written to men, but the concept and idea is repeated to women in verse 9. The idea of worship is gleaned from the phrase, “to lift up holy hands in prayer. . .”

A. Prayer is part of worship

It is not just a ritual or something to allow us to transition from one thing to another. Rather it is an intimate part of worshiping God.

Now don’t miss the next part!

B. Men are to Lead

Men are to lead those gathered together in worship through prayer.

NOTE: The Greek word translated here as “men” literally means “men,” “males,” or “husbands.”

This is a call for men to lead worship through prayer. That means God has given men the awesome, and amazing responsibility to lead the people around them in worship.

Men are to lead their families in worship through prayer. Men are to lead their congregations in worship through prayer. Men are to lead any group of Christians that gather together in worship through prayer.

But Paul tells men there is something that can hinder men from accomplishing this. Look at the last part of this verse.

C. Men are to be Free From Anger and Disputing.

When men don’t have the right attitude they can’t lead in worship through prayer. In fact, they don’t want to lead at all!

The NLT translates “disputing” as “controversy.”

NOTE: Anger and arguing always disrupts our joy. When our joy is disrupted we stop praying. When prayer stops our worship stops! When our worship stops we given in to anger and arguing. . . .and the cycle begins all over again.

So What?

Here’s the keys for today!

First, prayer truly does begin and end with our attitude! It all begins with joy!

Secondly, we cannot experience joy with anger and disputing (arguing).

Thirdly, without joy men cannot lead their families , or even themselves in worship through prayer.

So what is prayer? It is part of worship. But the reality is prayer is simply talking to God and learning to enjoy being in His presence.

Prayer is expressing our love and admiration to Him.

Prayer is learning to pour out our hearts—those intimate details that we may be afraid to share with anyone—to Him.

Pray is each one of us expressing our trust to God that He will complete His plan for our lives.

Prayer is pouring out our hearts on the behalf of someone else who needs to experience God’s miraculous and amazing touch in their lives.

Prayer is also pleading with God to ransom the souls of the men and women we meet that do not know Jesus!

Prayer always lines up with what God wants for us, even when we don’t understand our circumstances.

And prayer should be something that we do ALL the time!

All of these are part of my definition of prayer. More simply it is talking to my Heavenly Father! My Father who loves me more than I can ever express, or even imagine! It is talking to my Father who loves the entire world full of people, and wants none of them to spend eternity separated from Him!