How To Experience The Power Of Prayer: Part 2

1 Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

Matthew 6:9-13

9 Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,

may your name be honored.

10 May your Kingdom come soon.

May your will be done here on earth,

just as it is in heaven.

11 Give us our food for today,

12 and forgive us our sins,

just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.

13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, Forever. Amen.

(New Living Translation)

How To Experience The Power Of Prayer

Part II

Luke 11:2-4; Matthew 6:9-13

Review:

I. Our Abundant Misconceptions About Prayer Prevent Us From Experiencing Prayer’s Full Potential.

1. Prayer Is Asking God For Things.

2. There Are Certain Positions For Prayer.

3. Only Prayers Of Spontaneity Are Sincere.

4. Mature Christians Know How To Pray.

"The Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words." Romans 8:26 (New Living Trans)

5. Prayer Increases The Chances Of Getting What We Want.

This morning we will be looking at the demands of prayer.

II. To Obtain The Greatest Benefit From Prayer We Must Understand It’s Requirements.

Prayer is talking, singing, laughing, crying, and listening. It is about furthering a relationship with God. It’s about sincerity, honesty, openness. It’s sharing needs, desires, and even wants- communicating dreams and goals, confessing sins and hurts. Prayer is about being in love. About wanting to know everything about God and to have God know everything about us.

Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

Communication is integral to relationships, but we must know what to say, how to say it, and even when to say it. *Commercial about guy with thick head, lipstick on shirt, credit statement with $100 for a massage, bachelor party video.

Good communication is knowing what to say, when to say it, and how to say it.

1. We Must Begin With The Right Attitude About Prayer.

Not our attitude in general, but our attitude concerning what prayer is about. For some of us we have been taught so well to respect God that we over-guard our approach to Him. We’re afraid to be forthcoming for fear of offending.

Psalm 13:1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? (New Living Translation)

22:1 My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me? Why do you remain so distant? Why do you ignore my cries for help? (New Living Translation)

18:1 I love you, Lord; you are my strength. (New Living Translation)

57:1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until this violent storm is past. (New Living Translation)

59:1 Rescue me from my enemies, O God. Protect me from those who have come to destroy me. (New Living Translation)

94:1 O Lord, the God to whom vengeance belongs, O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice be seen! (New Living Translation)

(A Psalm that many in a small California community are crying out.)

*Prayer is not about saying the right words. Prayer is about openness and honesty. If we’re having a good day we share it with our spouse or friends to encourage them. If we’re having a bad day we go to our spouse or friends for comfort and support.

Psalm 137 1 Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept

as we thought of Jerusalem.

2 We put away our lyres,

hanging them on the branches of the willow trees.

3 For there our captors demanded a song of us.

Our tormentors requested a joyful hymn:

"Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!"

4 But how can we sing the songs of the Lord

while in a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget its skill upon the harp.

6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I fail to remember you,

if I don’t make Jerusalem my highest joy.

7 O Lord, remember what the Edomites did

on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.

"Destroy it!" they yelled.

"Level it to the ground!"

8 O Babylon, you will be destroyed.

Happy is the one who pays you back

for what you have done to us.

9 Happy is the one who takes your babies

and smashes them against the rocks! (New Living Translation)