Prayer, Fasting & Discipleship

do you talk to God as if he is a real person?

Intro/Welcome

One Hope Church, good morning.

The church is a people, not a place

Today I want to share with you a little bit what God has been teaching me and showing me and what that means for us as a church.

Prayer

Fasting

Discipleship

150 Days of Prayer

As you know, we are now 35 days into our 150 days of praying.

We believe in the power of prayer and the purpose of prayer.

The Purpose of Prayer

To align our hearts, minds, wills, bodies with God’s Will

There is no better place to be than in the will of God.

It is summed up in: “not my will by thy will be done”

What is Prayer?

Prayer is a Conversation with God

It is made possible by the Son of God who connects us to the father.

He is the mediator (1 Tim 2:5)

meaning he is the translator.

The Power of Prayer

It has the power to move mountains.

Let me share with you one story:

George Mueller

German born pastor in the 19th century.

God called him to Bristol England to pastor a church and to establish orphanages for children.

Why was that necessary?

Bristol (and most of England) had been enduring a Cholera outbreak which was extremely dangerous.

once you caught cholera, you could be dead within 12 hours.

Highly contagious and spread becuase of the unsanitary conditions of that time in England.

The result of this epidemic was the death of many fathers and mothers, leaving many orphans.

George devoted his life to helping these orphans and giving them a home.

After 62 years of service it was said of George mueller’s ministry that he fed 10,000 orphans.

And he did so without ever asking anyone for a single penny.

Well that’s not entirely true, he did ask one person, and one person alone

He asked God.

George Mueller estimated that over 50,000 of his prayers were answered. in fact, he said later in life, that he couldn’t remember as single prayer that wasn’t eventually answered.

In the end it was said that George Mueller fed 10,000 orphans by the power of prayer alone.

The end goal of prayer

was this to glorify George Mueller as if he had some magical power?

No it was to glorify God.

All believers are called upon, in the simple confidence of faith, to cast all their burdens upon him, to trust in him for everything, and not only to make everything a subject of prayer, but to expect answers to their petitions which they have asked according to his will, and in the name of the Lord Jesus

My dear Christian reader, will you not try this way? Will you not know for yourself . . . the preciousness and the happiness of this way of casting all your cares and burdens and necessities upon God? This way is as open to you as to me. . . . Every one is invited and commanded to trust in the Lord, to trust in Him with all his heart, and to cast his burden upon Him, and to call upon Him in the day of trouble. Will you not do this, my dear brethren in Christ? I long that you may do so. I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart, in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities, you can yet be at peace, because you know that the living God, your Father in heaven, cares for you.84 (Mueller, Narrative 1:521)

Why doesn’t prayer get answered in your life?

Could be a couple things.

It could be that God hasn’t said no, he has just said not yet.

It could also be what James 4 tells us

James 4:1–6 ESV

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

We are praying for our own comfort and glory rather than for God to be glorified.

This is what I am calling One Hope Church to.

To pray for God to be glorified in and through One Hope Church.

Prayer changes our desires, it aligns our hearts with his

to want what he wants

to do what he does.

When our hearts are changed, we become fervent prayers

we also more from those who simply observe the church to those who serve as the church.

We are praying for Spiritual Health.

What does this mean?

There are 6 expressions of a Spritituall Healthy person

and one posture

The posture is of joy and peace.

Expressions:

Bible reading, prayer(!), community (relationships), regular resting in the Lord, serving together, sharing the love of Christ

But these begin by prayer, it all begins by prayer.

So let’s pray.

Let’s pray for a home: why? from which to glorify God with

John Piper says that prayer is not so much that we will fill God’s needs, but that God will fill our needs! In that he is glorified.

but they are godly needs, not ungodly.

Selfless, not selfish.

God glorifying not man glorifying.

We are praying for spiritual health.

A Spiritual vibrancy that is so attractive. Those who find their satisfaction in Christ alone.

And becuase of that will lay down their lives for him.

We are praying for Revival —

a spiritual awakening to the presence and power of God in and through One Hope Church.

Fasting?

not what I want, but what you want.

Discipleship