Growing in Prayer
Notes
Transcript
A group of men were watching as their leader was returning from a time alone early in the morning. He started every morning this way, and when he came to them they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray...”
The Posture of Prayer (7-8)
The Posture of Prayer (7-8)
Pray privately (this is not a prohibition against public prayer in worship, but an admonition to a real private prayer life).
Pray conversationally
NOT babbling (repeating empty words and phrases), or the use of incantations like the heathen.
Prayer is NOT trying to convince God of our will.
Prayer is NOT working to get God to hear you.
Pray confidently. The Lord knows our need, even better than we do. He is our Father and cares for us!
The Pattern of Prayer (9-13)
The Pattern of Prayer (9-13)
P - Praise
P - Praise
When we begin with praise to God we align ourselves, our thoughts, and our motives with the great purpose of all Creation.
You were created to praise the Lord!
Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
the lamp of the wicked, are sin.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:
When you praise the Lord in personal prayer, no matter your situation, you are fulfilling your purpose on earth!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
R - Request
R - Request
R - Request
R - Request
Our requests our preferenced by the greatest desire, His Kingdom to come.
Our daily bread is an acknowledgment of dependence upon the Lord for our daily needs.
“We are beggars, that is true” - Luther
If he has promised to meet our daily needs, we can trust him to provide for our
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
A - Admit and Forgive
A - Admit and Forgive
“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive.”
Prayer forces us to face the reality of our need of forgiveness from God.
If we have experienced God’s mercy, how can we withold it from others.
- the unforgiving servant faced the “tormentors” (not merely jailers). Unforgiveness on our part only leads to personal torment.
Guilt and bitterness have profound affects upon our body, soul, and spirit.
A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,
but envy makes the bones rot.
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
The presence of the Lord we find freedom from that which torments us as we find his forgiveness and receive His grace to forgive others.
Y - Yield
Y - Yield
Yield to the Lord’s leading.
Yield to the Lord’s leading.
The request is to not be led into times of testing, but in every test of life to be delivered from the evil one.
If we are going to be led, we must follow Christ.
The doxology - all the power and glory belong to the Lord.
The Product of Prayer (14)
The Product of Prayer (14)
Prayer ends with a surrender to the will of the Lord and aligning ourselves with His glorious purpose.
The doxology is taken from David’s final prayer.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.
Prayer first reminds us of God’s greater purposes in our lives. His kingdom, power, and glory.
Jesus said, “Nevertheless, not my will, but your be done” to the Father.
Prayer changes us, as it aligns us with His will.
Jesus said, “Nevertheless, not my will, but your be done” to the Father.
Prayer gives us the assurance of the Father’s grace.
Prayer gives us the assurance of the Father’s grace.
Have you found the comfort, the freedom, that comes through personal communion with the Lord in prayer?
