Through Prayer Pt 3 Series

Opening Video: The power of prayer – a baby healed!

Series: Find joy in the journey through Prayer!

Scriptures:

Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Matthew 6:9-13: “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Thesis: Jesus was filled with joy and this inner joy came from His relationship with God the Father through prayer. Prayer and inner joy are linked together because prayer opens a door to the presence and guidance of the Lord.

Sermon 1: We observed some of the prayers of Jesus – to show us how He prayed.

Sermon 2: We studied the prayer Jesus gave us on How to Pray called, “The Lord’s Prayer.”

Very important to note: The Lord’s prayer is not to be simply memorized and repeated without a heartfelt commitment and connection with God. If it becomes nothing more than a repeated mantra then it is only the hypocritical mumbling that Jesus had just condemned the religious leaders of the day for in the beginning of Matthew 6. This prayer was never meant to be mimicked and just repeated; it was to serve as an outline, or a personal guide to how to pray to God the Father. This famous prayer requires an honest love for God on the part of the one praying it or it means nothing. The Lord’s Prayer was given by Jesus when one of His followers asked Jesus to “Teach us how to pray!”

Main Point: This prayer is a model prayer of how to pray 1st and foremost – you can repeat as is but it is meant by Jesus to be a model to follow on how to pray.

Reference the handout by Dr. Larry Lea on The Lord’s Prayer from last week!

Sermon 3: Find joy in the Journey through prayer! Why Pray?

Thesis: Prayer is an act of our faith and demonstrates a relationship with the Lord – It shows we are connected together – it’s a natural reaction to a deep and trusting relationship with the Lord. Truth is when we are so connected to the Lord we cannot help but talk to Him and listen to Him!

Introduction:

Today we are going to look at the question of “Why Pray?” We could be thinking the following thoughts and questions: “Why Pray? What is the point of prayer especially if God knows the future and He is in control of the future and even my future? Does He not control all things? If He does, why should I even pray – it seems meaningless! It seems pointless! How could I ever change the mind and will of God?

Simple answer: Prayer does not change God’s will it changes me – C.S. Lewis

But there is more to prayer than many understand today. Prayer is not used to send God on your errands! Pray does not manipulate God or His will. Prayer is given to us by Jesus just like breathing is given to us. Prayer is easier to do than you think – you do not think about breathing you just breathe – right! This is how pray is to become in our life - you don’t think I have to pray you just pray! You pray throughout the day – before any decision – before every meal – when doing good or in struggle!

Prayer is a way to honor God and serve God see (Luke 2:36-38) it’s rooted in being obedient to what Jesus instructed us to do – we do it daily!

Got Questions reminds us - Why Pray? (The following gleamed from GotQuestions.org)

We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7).

God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations (like):

• In preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13)

• To overcome demonic attacks and barriers (Matthew 17:14-21)

• To gather workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:12)

• To gain strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41)

• To obtain the means to strengthen others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19)

• To be healed or delivered:

o The Syrian woman with the demon possessed daughter asked Jesus to deliver her and He did – but if she had not asked her daughter would not have been set free (Mark 7:26-30)

o The blind man outside Jericho called on Jesus to heal him – if he had not asked he would not have been healed and been able to see (Luke 18:35-43).

o The truth is we often go with out because we don’t ask or pray to God for a solution or need (James 4:2)