Praying with Paul: Attitudes in Prayer

Intro:

Philippians 1:3–6 NKJV

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Tonight, we will continue [Praying with Paul]. The title of my message is, [Attitudes in Prayer].

Attitude is defined, “the way a person thinks or behaves.”

People often have good attitude and I know some who have bad attitudes. Our actions come from our attitude.

Proverbs 23:7 NKJV

7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

Our thinking determines our actions. If we have a good attitude, we will notice goodness begins to follow. If we have a bad attitude, we will see that bad feelings or event start happening.

As a child, if I started to act up too much, my parents would ask, “do you need an attitude adjustment?”

Look around our world, I have a feeling a lot of people were not asked that question.

We’ve looked at Paul’s prayers in Ephesians, I want to turn our attention to how Paul prayed for the Philippians. As we read his words, we can pick up on his attitude.

If anyone could have had a bad attitude, it was Paul. He wrote to the church in Philippi while he was under house arrest. He awaited a trial for a crime he did not commit.

Yet, he did not complain. He had a good attitude about his life. He was positive, complimentary, and hopeful.

I sometimes wonder how much our attitude affects our prayer life. How many times have we missed out on what God wanted to accomplish because we had a bad attitude?

The enemy loves it when Christians have bad attitudes. He thrives when people pray with the mindset:

I know God can, but I doubt He will for me.

I have tried praying before and didn’t work.

Nothing ever goes right for me.

God answers other people, but He doesn’t hear me.

Or, do you want God to do this, and the response, if He wants to.

People in Scripture had a positive attitude in prayer. The came to God trusting Him regardless of what they faced.

Our attitude in prayer will determine our effectiveness in prayer.

From Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we see three attitudes we need in prayer, [A Thankful Attitude], [A Joyful Attitude], and [A Confident Attitude].

Let’s begin

1. A Thankful Attitude

Philippians 1:3 NKJV

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

Paul was a thankful person. He possessed an attitude of gratitude in every aspect of his life.

One of the reason’s for Paul’s thankfulness was due to his relationship with the Philippians. Every time he thought of them, he gave God thanks.

Let’s remember where he was when he wrote this letter— under house arrest. Paul was not stranger to incarceration. In fact, his ministry to the Philippians had to do with being in jail.

God led him to Philippi. Initially, he wanted to return to a familiar place to preach, but the Holy Spirit would not release him to do so.

It was not until he had a vision in the night of a man from Macedonia pleading with him to come that Paul had clear direction where God wanted him to go.

Upon arrival in Philippi, he met a group of Jewish believers worshipping by the river. They came to know Jesus and became a support system for him.

Supernatural events followed Paul. A demon possessed girl was set free through Paul’s ministry. That is what led him to prison. The girls masters conspired to have Paul and Silas arrested.

It was there they sang hymns and praises to God and an earthquake came. The prison doors opened, the jailer and his family got saved.

Now, Paul is once again under arrest, no doubt he looked back with thankfulness for what God did in Philippi.

He also thanked them for their generosity. The Philippian church was financially prosperous. They supported Paul and God’s work.

Unlike other churches that needed correction, the Philippians did not have any problems. They were Godly, unified, and obedient to the Lord.

Regardless of what we face, we can find reasons to give God thanks.

We need to have a thankful attitude when we go to God in prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV

18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We may not be thankful FOR everything, but we should give thanks IN everything.

2. A Joyful Attitude

Philippians 1:4–5 NKJV

4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

Every time Paul thought of them, He gave God thanks, and then he began to pray for them. He shows his posture of prayer— he was full of joy.

If we are not careful, we could easily replace the word joy with happiness. People often equate the two, but they are vastly different.

Happiness is dependent on our circumstance.

Joy comes from knowing who we are in Christ.

Joy was a common theme in Philippians, it is found fourteen times in the books.

Paul’s life shows that we can find joy regardless of what we face. He was under house arrest for a crime he did not commit, but he still prayed with joy.

I feel this is vital for us to realize as followers of Christ. There are many things we face that make us unhappy.

I think of losing Bekah’s mother. Nearly two years ago, it was not a happy time. There was sadness, sorrow, and mourning. But we have looked back and found different times through that season where we had joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Galatians 5:22 NKJV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Joy comes from God. Therefore, when we pray, regardless of what we face, God can give us joy. Jesus shows this:

Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Our goal is not to be happy, but to experience the joy of the Lord.

I pray God give us joy in our prayer life!

3. A Confident Attitude

Philippians 1:6–7 NKJV

6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.

Paul prayed with full assurance. He was confident that God heard him when he prayed. What gave him this confidence?

First, once God answers one prayer, it is easy to trust Him to answer the next one.

Paul was present when God started a GOOD work in the lives of the Philippians. They accepted the Gospel and trusted Jesus as their Savior.

Remember, Paul’s first encounter in Philippi was supernatural:

Salvations

Deliverance from demons

Supernatural freedom from jail

Paul wanted to remind them, God did not start something in their lives to see it end. He will complete what He started. He was confident.

There is a difference between confidence and arrogance.

Arrogance focuses on what we can do. Confidence emphasizes what he can do.

Paul believed that God complete His good work in the Philippians.

The other reason Paul was confident in prayer is because he knew the Philippians. He knew their heart for the Lord. He watched them grow in their walk with Christ.

Hebrews 4:16 NKJV

16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We have power over the enemy and access to God, so we can have a confident attitude in our prayer life.

Close:

I am so thankful that Paul wrote to the Philippians. He told us why in verse seven, they were in his hearts.

One author explains, “When Paul tells his friends that he has them in his heart, he is expressing more than a sentimental feeling; he is stating the commitment of his heart to give his life for his friends.”

The Philippians had been there for Paul, and he was going to be there for them.

He wanted them to keep a good attitude in their life. He led by example by having a thankful attitude, a joyful attitude, and a confident attitude.

Tonight, I pray God help our attitude in prayer. I am not saying that we have bad attitudes. But I do want God to show us, is there something in our lives that needs changed.

Are we consistently thankful?

Do we keep a joyful outlook?

Are we confident in what God can do?

Our actions reflect our attitude.

SO let’s ask God, help me have a thankful, joyful, and confident attitude in my prayer life.