Fill this House - With Prayer
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Main Idea: How to Prayer like Christ Taught
Opening Line: "Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts."
"God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil." - Mother Teresa
Our Foundation Must Be Prayer
Our Foundation Must Be Prayer
Start the year with understanding prayer and becoming people of prayer
Throughout the Bible Jesus, the Disciples, King David, and many others lived a life style of prayer.
17 pray continually,
This is impossible if we misunderstand prayer.
This is because often we get the idea that prayer is something we do; but prayer is a conversation with God.
Jesus taught about prayer as a relational communication between us and the Father.
We must fill this house with prayer. As we do that we will see things start to change.
Jesus taught us how to pray
Jesus taught us how to pray
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Jesus Explained this is how we should pray.
Not that we should just pray this prayer, but the heart behind this prayer.
Jesus also taught how not to prayer…as important as how to pray
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
In order to fill this house/your house with prayer we must start with the understanding that prayer is not a show or doesn’t need to be the “right words.”
Prayer is a conversation with your Father in Heaven. It isn’t about having the right words or even having words at all, but it is about becoming ever present in the understanding that God is with you always and you get to communicate with Him at all times.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Life often becomes so difficult or overwhelming we don’t have words or our words fall short of our feelings and situations.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to pray when we don’t have words.
The Bible teaches this is one of the 2 ways we can communicate with the Father in Heaven. Praying in the Spirit when we lack understanding and as Jesus Taught.
What the Lord’s prayer teaches us
What the Lord’s prayer teaches us
Our Father in Heaven - We are connected to God relationally
We must always start with the foundation that we are His children and He loves us more than we can imagine.
Hallowed be Your Name - We honor and trust in His Name
All authority in Heaven and on Earth belong to Christ.
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done - We seek His Will over ours
We often let our natural desires to get in the way of what God is trying to tell us or lead us into.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Give us Today our daily bread - We rely on Him for Everything you need
As children need their parents we need to realize we Need God for everything…Even if we think we have accomplished or earned something on our own; we haven’t.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
And Forgive us as we forgive others - We keep our heart open to God through forgiveness
We can plug our ears when we choose not to forgive others.
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
And lead us not into temptation, but delivers us from the evil one - We stand with God against the enemy
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Jesus taught that we should connect with God in prayer through
Affirming the relationship
Honoring His Name and Power
Seeking His will
Relying on Him
Repenting when we have wronged
Having strength and standing in His power
Worship team
Prayer must become a continual part of life or a life style. When you begin to recognize that your faith, hope, power, and strength from God grow as you utilize these areas of communication it will become second natural to pray as Jesus taught.
But remember this is how to pray with your understanding. The Holy Spirit has made a way for you to connect with God even when none of these words come.
Closing Line: Will you begin today to evaluate your prayer life? Where can you grow? In what ways have you been too one sided?