How do we "stir" up our hearts to Pray?"

WE PRAY TO STIR UP OUR HEARTS TO PRAY.........DUH

GOOD MORNING FATHER GOD, GOOD MORNING JESUS, GOOD MORNING HOLY SPIRIT. TALKING TO GOD IS SUPPOSED TO BE A LOVING CONVERSATION, HOW ABOUT ASKING GOD HOW” HE DOING TODAY? WHAT ABOUT ASKING JESUS ABOUT WHAT FLOWERS HE IS GOING TO HAVE BLOOM TODAY? OR TELLING HIM YOU LOVED THE ANGEL FOOD CAKE FRIDAY EVENING.....

After some observations here at St. Paul's and observations of ME, today’s sermon is on my heart so that we begin to focus on prayer to our Father for all things, guidance, timing, patience, love, happiness, thanksgiving, appreciation, money for bills, health, on and on..........

PRAYER Communication with God, primarily offered in the second-person voice (addressing God directly). May include petition, entreaty, supplication, thanksgiving, praise, hymns, and lament.

Overview: Prayer was not unique to the Israelites of the early biblical period. Many cultures in the ancient Near East offered liturgical and ceremonial prayers and petitions to their deities. However, the prayers of the Old Testament differ in many respects from those of the surrounding ancient Near Eastern cultures. The biblical examples of prayer portray Yahweh as a God who listens, not a deity who is distant or must be cajoled into attending the affairs of humanity. Isn’t is wonderful that our God is not like that?

The earliest biblical prayers stem from a conversational intimacy with Yahweh (GOD) and include spontaneous and unfiltered requests. Over time, prayer evolved into more fixed or repetitive and liturgical forms. The teachings about and examples of prayer in the New Testament stem from these Jewish roots, yet they contain innovations introduced by Jesus and the early Christian community. The most notable developments are prayer in the name of Jesus and the introduction of the Lord’s Prayer in Matt 6:9–13.

This prayer should sound familiar to you all:

The book of Psalms is often refereed to “The Heart of Prayer.” Out of the 150 chapters in the Psalms, Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers and nothing else. Each Psalm expresses the full range of emotion that any human goes through during the course of a lifetime: joy, sorrow, desperation, anger, vengeance, praise, peace and thankfulness.

What is so amazing about the Psalms is that they’re real, brutally honest outpourings of emotion during life, the good times and not so good of times.

Just Friday afternoon, I preached a funeral and included this scripture from the book of Psalms:

Psalm 23 (NKJV) A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Do you remember that one?

Matthew 6:9–13 “9 In this manner, therefore, 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 this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

TEXTS: “And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee” (Isa. 64:7 ASV). “I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee”. “I think it right … to stir you up”

Church, this is my job, my heart, my commitment to Jesus.....TO STIR YOU UP!Peter says tells us:

2 Peter 1:12–13 “12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,”

INTRODUCTION: Ever bought a gallon or 5 gallon can of paint? I bought a can of paint. With an electrical vibrating machine the paint dealer stirred it for me. I used it, then set it away. A week later it had to be stirred again to be usable. That can of paint is a parable of the Christian; how often do we have to be stirred? to stir himself up to pray, or get stirred up?

Matthew 15:8 “8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.”

Where is your heart? Here is the stirring place. But how can you stir up yourself to pray? I am going to go over a few scriptures this morning to “motivate” or"inspire” you all to begin a prayer life that will change not only your hearts and life but st. Paul’s as well.

I. We need to Study and re-study some of the great praying persons of the past and the present—in the Bible and out of it. Billy Graham, Dwight Moody, Oswalt Chambers. I can help you all with this. I have lists and books on some of these great prayers.

II. Study the NT and copy the prayer practice of how Jesus prayed. Where did He go? What time did He pray, what did he pray for?

III. Master Jesus’ teachings on prayer and meditate on them.

IV. Know His prayer promises from scripture.

V. Study and meditate upon Paul’s teachings about prayer.

VI. Read a few—just a few of the best books on prayer.

VII. Keep a record of prayers that you talk to God about. If you have asked for something, keep track when and how God answers your prayers. If He doesn't answer, ask him why not then begin your focusing on the why’s and why not’s.

When you review that record, you will be stirred up I guarantee it!

Just to think of all that God has done for us should stir us to learn to pray, so consider:

Romans 8:30–33 “30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies."

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray”

1 Timothy 2:7–9 “7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; 9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,”

Story about Alex and I praying, 13 or 14, in my lower level. Condo. Coming up stairs, I am looking in my closed, God guided me to ask Alex to pray with me. What? ask a early teen to pray with me....I did, foot of my bed, he kneeled with me. We bowed our heads, I began to pray, after a minute or so, he put his arm in mine. .............

After another minute or so, he leaned his head on my left shoulder. A miracle, a memory, God blessing me with my son, praying to the Father.....

AMEN