Prayer… (3 points)

• 1^st – How to pray… vs. 1-4
  • Jesus was praying in a certain place…
    • When He stopped – one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray…
      • The disciple mentioned the example of John the Baptist…
      • Luke 5:33 – “The disciples of John fast often and make prayers…”
      • Apparently John and his disciples were famous for fasting and praying…
      • Jesus also made a habit to pray – Matthew 14:23 / Mark 6:46 / Luke 6:12 / John 17
      • Motivated by the example – the disciples also wanted to know how to pray…
    • The purpose of prayer…
      • The typical view of prayer is coming to God with a list – needs / wants / ect.
        • It is treated as a ritual – part of what God expects a Christian to do…
        • As if somehow if we recite some words to God once or twice a day – it is enough…
        • Rarely do we take the time in prayer to listen – it’s a one-way conversation…
        • It makes you wonder – if no one is answering – is anyone listening – Luke 18:11
      • Prayer is not a ritual – it should be a conversation…
        • God desires to hear from us – build a relationship with His kids…
        • Prayer should be a conversation with our Father in heaven…
        • How can we have a relationship with God – if we never get a chance to talk to Him…
        • Telling Him about our day – getting to know the God who created us…
        • Taking the time to listening to the wisdom He has for our lives!
      • Praying in groups – or public prayer…
        • There is nothing wrong with having a ‘group’ conversation with God…
        • But watch the motive of the heart – do not pray to impress others…
        • * Matthew 6:5 – “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them…”
        • People who use big words – tremble their voice – to sound more spiritual…
        • God is not impressed – at best they are acting like a fool embarrassing themselves…
        • Prayer should be natural – simple conversation with God – no matter who is there!
  • Jesus gave the disciples a ‘model prayer’…
    • Not a prayer to be repeated…
      • * Matthew 6:7 – “When you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.”
      • Its Ok to repeat a prayer – Jesus asked the Father 3 times to take away cross…
      • Or asking for the same thing more than once – the persistent widow – Luke 18:1-8
      • But the idea of scripted prayers is just silly – that is a speech – not a prayer…
      • And we must be careful not to make prayer a ritual rather than a conversation…
      • Imagine if a ‘friend’ came up to you the same time every day and said the same thing…
      • Never any variation – never waiting around for a reply – no relationship!
      • When we simply repeat ourselves out of habit there is no conversation…
      • The ‘Lord’s Prayer’ is not a prayer that we are to repeat word for word…
    • When you pray – Present/Active/Subjunctive
      • Jesus is not requiring us to pray – He is just showing us how to pray…
      • When we have a good day, when we have a hard day, when things go right…
      • When we don’t know what to do next – find a quiet place and pray!
      • God does not demand we talk to Him – but He is available to talk any time we want!
  • The ‘model for prayer’… (7 points)
    • 1^st – Praise – ‘Our Father in heaven, Holy be your name.’
      • Often when we face problems in life – our 1^st response is to fret and worry…
      • It is only as a last resort – when all else fails – we go to the Lord in prayer…
      • Philippians 4:6 – “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything…”
      • Yet when we praise God – we find whatever burden brought us to prayer is gone…
      • Our perspective changes – we see our circumstances in a new light…
      • We no longer see our problems – instead our God who is greater than any problem!
      • Our problems swallowed up in the praise of our incredible Lord!
    • 2^nd – Seeking God’s will – ‘Your Kingdom come – Your will be done…’
      • God sees the end from the beginning – everything – knows what is best for our lives…
      • So it is only logical for us to desire ‘God’s will’ for our lives…
      • Prayer is not about changing God’s mind – getting Him to agree to our plans…
      • Prayer is about God changing our mind – getting us to line up with His plans – His will!
    • 3^rd – Practical provision – ‘Give us every day our daily bread.’
      • God promises to provide for all of our needs – but not necessarily our wants…
      • Therefore if we do not have it – we must not need it!
      • Prayer helps make us content – remind us we have everything we need…
    • 4^th – Forgiveness – ‘Forgive us our sins – as we forgive others…’
      • We have been forgiven of all our sins – past/present/future – through the cross!
      • But God requires us to also forgive others – no matter what they do to us…
      • * Matthew 6:13-14 – “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” 
      • If we are unwilling to forgive others – then our Father will not forgive us…
      • If we are struggling with un-forgiveness/bitterness – take it to the Lord in prayer…
      • It is almost impossible to stay angry with someone we are praying for…
      • As we realize all we have been forgiven – God will give us the grace to forgive others! 
    • 5^th – Keep us strong – ‘Do not bring us into trials…’
      • It would be a foolish prayer to ask God to send more ‘trials’ into my life!
      • None of us like trials – we certainly would not pray for God to ‘test’ our faith…
      • Though trials certainly have a purpose – they strengthen our faith…
      • Like a tree that has grown on the weathered windward side of the hill…
      • Trials make us unmovable / unshakable / grounded and rooted in Christ…
      • But through prayer we stay close to the Lord – so we don’t need to be tested!
    • 6^th – Keep us from satan – ‘Deliver us from the evil one’
      • * I Peter 5:8 – “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.”

• With God on our side there is nothing that can come against us – Romans 8:31
• Satan can make a lot of noise – but he is like a lion without teeth – bark worse than bite!
• Yet Satan is smart – he knows he cannot directly come against God’s people…
• Instead he tries to get us to compromise our walk with the Lord…
• If satan can trip us up with sin – he can get us to walk away from the protection of God…
• Prayer keeps us close to God – far from sin – and safe from the attacks of satan!
• 7^th – Praise – ‘Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
  • The prayer starts the same way it end – with Praise to God…
    

Then we will have the power of God to live our lives for Jesus!

2^nd – How often to pray… vs. 5-10

Jesus gave the disciples ‘a story’ to show how often to pray…

If you went to your friend’s house at midnight – asking for 3 kilos of rice…

Saying – ‘some friends of mine have just arrived – and I have nothing to feed them’…

Your ‘friend’ is going to tell you to get lost – his door is shut / his whole family asleep!

Even if he is not willing to help because he is your friend…

If you keep knocking on his door – refuse to go away – you will get the rice!

God is our BEST friend – how much more will He be willing to help anytime we ask!

Jesus point – don’t stop praying until you get an answer from the Lord…

So often when we pray we give up after a week – or a month – or a year…

But God does not call us just to pray – God calls us to be a people of prayer…

I Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing…”

Like a child who asks – OVER and OVER – until we give them what they want…

We need to be persistent in seeking the Lord – don’t give up!

I imagine we will be amazed at how much God wanted to do in our lives…

But it never happened simply because we gave up asking too quickly…

So keep ask – seek – knock…

Ask / Seek / Knock – Present/Active/Imperative

Jesus commands us to be constantly – ASKING, SEEKING, KNOCKING

Not just once – over and over again – and God will answer – Future/Passive/Indicative

So does that mean we can ask for ANYTHING…

John 15:7 – “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

As we ABIDE in Jesus – we can ask for anything – and we will receive it!

But often in life we ask God for selfish things – showing we are not abiding…

James 4:3 – “When you ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”

We ask God to win the Lotto – because we want to be rich and have lots of stuff…

We justify ourselves motives – we would give a portion back to God…

But if we won – the money would become our god – so God does not answer that prayer…

But when we ask for those things that God has given us a desire for – Psalm 37:4

Asking God to save a lost friend / family member – that’s a prayer God WILL answer!

Sometimes it does not happen in a day – Uncle Jim – but God is always faithful!

3^rd – What to pray for… vs. 11-13

Jesus gave the disciples another ‘story’ to show what to pray for…

If a son were hungry and asked for rice – would any father give him a stone…

If a son asked for fish – would any father give him a snake…

If a son asked for an egg – would any father give him a scorpion….

If we – who are sinners – know how to give good gifts to our kids when they ask…

How much more our Father in Heaven – will give good gift to us when we ask!

The ‘gift’ the Father gives – the Holy Spirit…

The Holy Spirit has several roles in our lives…

The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin – even before we believe in Jesus – John 16:7-8

The Holy Spirit come to live in us when after we receive Jesus – I Corinthians 6:19

The Holy Spirit is also the gives us the power to live boldly for Jesus…

The night Jesus was betrayed – He told Peter he would deny Him 3 times…

Peter adamantly denied it stating he would go to prison – even die for Jesus…

But he was trusting in his own ability – his strength – so he failed…

Yet 50 days later – the day the Holy Spirit was poured out – he preached – 3000 saved!

How do you get the Power of the Spirit – just ask…

Not just once – but over and over and over again for – daily asking for the Holy Spirit

You need gas to run a car – but you need to keep filling that car up with gas…

We need also need to be daily filling up on the Holy Spirit to live for Jesus!

The result of being filled with the Spirit…

II Corinthians 4:7 – “We have this treasure in jars of clay…”

If we are full of ourselves – we will not be able to effectively serve the Lord…

If we are living a life where we feel constant defeat to sin in our lives…

If we are lost and confused – don’t know what God wants from our lives…

We need to be emptied – pray that God fills us up instead with His the Holy Spirit…