Prayer Issue # 3 Prayer is Loving

How Not To Pray

Song: I’ll Prayer for you

Luke 18: 9 - 14

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 18

The Pharisee and the Publican

9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Matthew 6: 5 - 8

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 6

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners bso that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

James 4: 2b -3

2b You do not have because you do not ask.

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Prayer is loving

Last week I challenged you all to a more routine style of prayer. I asked you to do the 5 X 5 X 5X. That will give you a small objective goal and it was something that was easy to achieve. It was an attempt for us to build confidence and success in our prayer life! How did that go for you? Do I have any “Daniel’s” in here yet? LOL

This Week we will celebrate Valentine’s Day! And one of the greatest things to do for someone one to show them that you love them is to PRAY for them.

You see, love isn’t an abstract concept. Love is something that you do and not just a thought in your head. Love is the action that we do, not the words we say.

Love MUST be sacrificial, and that simply means it must be put into action if we truly love someone.

God said that we must pray for our brothers and sisters at all times. He also said that we should pray for our enemies. This kind of love is sacrificial. It means that we take one step closer to looking like Jesus, and one step away from looking like the world!

Luke 18: 9 - 14

The Pharisee and the Publican

9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

James 4: 2b -3

2b You do not have because you do not ask.

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Matthew 6: 5 – 8

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Application:

1. Don’t barter with God: you cannot pray to God that if He would answer your prayer, you will do A. B. & C. that has never worked in the history of man, and IF you think of GOD as someone who was born last night then your perception is WRONG!

2. Don’t pray for things that you ought not pray for! James 4: 2b – 3

Pray for You - Jaron and The Long Road to Love :

Lyrics

I haven't been to church Since I don't remember when Things were going great 'til they fell apart again So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do He said you can't go hatin' others Who have done wrong to you Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn Let the good Lord do his job, you just pray for them

I pray your brakes go out runnin' down a hill I pray a flower pot falls from a window sill And knocks you in the head like I'd like to

I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls I pray you're flyin' high when your engine stalls I pray all your dreams never come true Just know wherever you are, honey, I pray for you

I'm really glad I found my way to church 'Cause I'm already feelin' better And I thank God for the words Yeah, I'm gonna take the high road And do what the preacher told me to do You keep messin' up, and I'll keep prayin' for you

I pray your tire blows out at 110 I pray you pass out drunk with your best friend And wake up with his and her tattoos

I pray your brakes go out runnin' down a hill I pray a flower pot falls from a window sill And knocks you in the head like I'd like to

I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls I pray you're flyin' high when your engine stalls I pray all your dreams never come true Just know wherever you are, near or far In your house or in your car Wherever you are, honey, I pray for you

3. God CANNOT answer the prayers you don’t pray!

(slide Don’t Stop Praying)

Prayer isn’t one of my spiritual gifts!!!!?????

We have NO trouble asking for things in this life. When you’re at a restaurant we can ask the waiter or waitress for EVERYTHING! I know I do!

What else do we ask for? We ask for SO much in our lives, and yet asking is the easy part in most cases. So why is it that we struggle when it comes to asking God for things when it comes to prayer?

If you do not ask, how can anyone know you truly want it?

Your prayer life will demonstrate your knowledge of who God is to you.

If you don’t know much about God, then you will not pray much of anything!

4. Don’t Get your theology from Garth Brooks ……LOL Or the world

Unanswered Prayers

Song by Garth Brooks

Lyrics

Just the other night at a hometown football game My wife and I ran into my old high school flame And as I introduced them the past came back to me And I couldn't help but think of the way things used to be

She was the one that I'd wanted for all times And each night I'd spend prayin' that God would make her mine And if he'd only grant me this wish I wished back then I'd never ask for anything again

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

She wasn't quite the angel that I remembered in my dreams And I could tell that time had changed me In her eyes too it seemed We tried to talk about the old days There wasn't much we could recall I guess the Lord knows what he's doin' after all ??????

And as she walked away and I looked at my wife And then and there I thanked the good Lord For the gifts in my life

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs That just because he may not answer doesn't mean he don't care Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered

Some of God's greatest gifts are all too often unanswered... Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

5. Don’t be meek when asking God.

Hebrews 4:16 Ask with boldness, and confidence!

Asking God should become a very natural thing in your life!

If your knowledge of God and His word is small, then you will ALWAYS pray small!

Give a Gift so that we can keep track of our prayers and log them in and it helps us watch God move in our lives!

PRAYER: