Why is it so important that you are with God and God alone on the mountain top? It’s important because it’s the place in which you can listen to the voice of the One who calls you the beloved. To pray is to listen to the One who calls you “my beloved daughter,” “my beloved son,” “my beloved child.” To pray is to let that voice speak to the center of your being, to your guts, and let that voice resound in your whole being. –Henri Nouwen
Effective Prayer Study Lesson 4
We have talked about the elements of worship, in prayer (including praise and thanksgiving) and the significance of Kingdom loyalty and allegiance ( which includes submission and obedience – having a proper perspective of God in relation to ourselves) , and last week we also touched briefly on the significance of humilty and confession. We will delve more into these elements in the next two weeks.
You may be wondering by this point, when we are going to to get to the part where we ask God for what we need, and come to Him with our concerns?
This week. 🙂
Petition , and intercession are the parts of prayer where we bring our concerns for others and ourselves, to God.
This week, we will be getting to know Jehovah Jireh- My Provider.
Verse: Luke 11:1, 5-10 page 49
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matt 6:11
There is power in persistence! God loves faithfulness because HE IS FAITHFUL. He responds to it!
The other thing about this passage we see, is that whatever we ask ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, is OURS.
What is the difference between asking, and hoping or just thinking about something? ( Purposefully asking God to be involved.) This is the ACTION He desires that we take!
Verse:
1 John5: 14-15
Take away? God hears us if we are PERSISTENTLY seeking Him, and asking ACCORDING TO HIS WILL.
If we fulfill these requirements, what can we expect? GOD WILL ANSWER, one way or another.
Verse: John 15:7
IF we abide in Christ. IF we are so close to Him that HIS thoughts and heart are OUR thoughts and hearts… we can be sure that what we are praying, is HIS will.
Verse: Phil 4:6
Don’t worry about STUFF. The most useful and RESPONSIBLE thing we can do with STUFF and ISSUES… is to pray, turn them over to the One who can handle it.. and trust Him with it! He may call us to action as things are worked out, BUT – we are to PRAY then ACT.
*Supplication means to ask for favor, mercy or grace. We should always ask for these.
Verse:
Romans 12:1
Present your bodies as a living sacrifice means “Submit ourselves and all our concerns and interests to the care and use of God.” This is walking in His will, and He takes this SERIOUSLY. He will take care of YOU. God will perfect ALL things which concerneth YOU. You pledge yourself and your interests to the care of God, HE will make sure your needs are met! He is Loyalty. He is Faithfulness!
Verse:
Micah 6:8
God requires only 3 things of us in this passage: ( this IS God’s will for our lives!)
–Do justice (treat others as you would be treated) <- God’s word tells us how to do this
-love kindness (love others as Jesus first loved us)
-walk humbly with God (understand that God is GOD and we belong to HIM.)
Verse:
Ps 119:1-8
Who is blessed? Those who are BLAMELESS ( we can pray for this!) and those who walk in the WAY of the LORD.
Why are they blessed? Because, they are kept from WILLFULLY SINNING AGAINST GOD. ( introductory discussion about motives and intentions here.. THOUGHT TRAILS. satan loves to play around in our minds.) TRIGGERS? They all stem from FEAR. Meditate on Phil 4:8 to help with this!! Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable.
The word of God is to be applied to our lives- and how we ACT, THINK and BEHAVE. It is to be applied to the CHOICES and DECISIONS we make. This will help us to live in right standing with GOD. When we live our lives in right standing with GOD, He blesses our lives and answers our prayers. This does NOT mean we are not tempted to sin. It means we have a WAY OUT, every time- and we are learning to take it, to ask for HELP to see it and take it!
Verse:
2 Cor 12:7-9
Possible reasons our prayers might not be answered- ( God’s purposes to teach us something, our motives , our behavior.)
Ever want a WHY? Here are some possibilities:
Paul was praying about an affliction he had been struggling with. Tradtionally, people have said that it was an illness or disease- it could have been a difficult person he was dealing with… it was a PROBLEM.
He asked God THREE times to take the problem away. God told Paul “ My grace is enough for you to draw off of, to handle this. In your weakness, I am strong.
God did this, this way, so that Paul would be reminded of God’s power and of his own weakness as a human child of God. God used this “situation” to keep Paul humble. God did not NOT answer the prayer by taking the situation away. He just told Paul “Nope. Learning to trust Me in this issue will keep you HUMBLE and therefore keep you CLOSE to ME.
Verse: James 4:1-4
Problems in the CHURCH! (gasp! No way!)
The Jewish Christians were scattered among all the nations… and this book is directed to them. They were quarreling and fighting over teachings about moral behavior.
In verse 3, James gets to the heart of the matter.
Motives. God sees them. He sees mine, and He sees yours. Our prayers are affected by our motives… and God’s response is also affected.
Verse: 1 Peter 3:7
If our behaviors are going directly opposite to God’s word, we are not living in right standing with God- and this WILL HINDER his responses to our prayers! Not because God is mean… but because He has a bigger purpose for us! ( Parent-kid relationship!)
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