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Intro:
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.
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
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.
We may not be thankful FOR everything, but we should give thanks IN everything.
2. A Joyful Attitude
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.
Joy comes from God.
Therefore, when we pray, regardless of what we face, God can give us joy.
Jesus shows this:
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
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.
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