How To Pray For Your Loved Ones Series

HOW TO PRAY FOR LOVED ONES

Sermon Objective:

1. Teach God’s people to remove their automatic responses against the kingdom of God by trying to control others (loved ones) when we want them to do or be someone we think they should be. When we manipulate, coerce, or compel others to do what we want, we become the problem for these loved ones. Ephesians 6 – parents are commanded not to exasperate their children; not to provoke them. The parable of the prodigal son, demonstrates a horrifying sight – the father let go of the son who wanted to leave. I would not do that. Perhaps not anymore. When children are bent on doing what they want, they will do it anyway, in secret, or in open rebellion against us, damaging the relationship.

2. I also want to teach God’s people to not settle for short cuts – let our loved one learn their lessons in life.

3. Teach God’s people to learn the way of Jesus when wanting to rescue loved ones, friends, and people close to them: PRAY FOR WHAT IS NEEDFUL TO ACCOMPLISH GOD’S PLAN. A DISCIPLE PRAYS.

Introduction: Carpenters build homes. Farmers plant crops. Engineers and architects draw. Doctors treat patients. Teachers teach. Sailors sail. Drivers drive. What about Christians? Christians pray. What about Pentecostal Christians? Pentecostals pray intensely and effectively.

I love how Pentecostals pray. The most vivid memories I have with COG as a young man was how you prayed. I love how dad Cortez prayed. I love even more how mom Cortez prays. I also love it when Pastor Diego, prayed for me when she visited me in school. I love how Pastor Barboza prayed for our Summer team whenever we ministered in Marbel. I love how Minda prays, and how Mely prays. There is something about Pentecostal praying.

Most of all I have been deeply touched by the prayer of my dad. My dad was not a pastor or a preacher, or a teacher, but he prayed. He prayed everywhere. He prayed long, passionate prayers. I have fun memories of family dinners. We volunteered to pray because he often got lost in prayer. He would start praying for others, and then he would travel far in prayer.

Today, I want to teach you how you can pray like Jesus for for loved ones - people who are close to us. How can we become more effective in praying for our loved ones? Our text today is Luke 22, but will focus on the 31st-33rd verses.

Let me present first what I pray God will accomplish today:

1. I want us to unlearn some of the things that we have learned since we were young: get what we want by manipulating, coercing, threatening, forcing, lecturing, bribing, demanding. We learn this early: we learn that we get what we want when we cry; we get what we want when we manipulate; even our precious George has learned that he gets a few crumbs more when he barks.

2. Instead of manipulation we go to God and pray for what we want to see happen.

Read Luke 22:

1. Prayer as WARFARE. Jesus thwarts Satan’s plans through his intercession. Luke 22 is wonderfully structured to show the role of prayer in thwarting the enemy plans.

Luke 22:1-6 – A Plan of Destruction (Plan to destroy Jesus and everyone with Him

1. The enemy has set the time to attack – Passover

2. Found someone inside Jesus’ band of followers. Someone who will engineer the arrest of Jesus. Someone to betray Jesus.

3. Sponsors of the plot were the Pharisees and the religious leaders of the Jewish people;

4. Behind all these plot is Satan – the brain. Satan uses his army of demons; the religious establishment; the crowd; the political powers; the worldly system to destroy Jesus and everyone with Him – people that He loves. 22:3,31, 53; Eph 6:11-13

T.S. Now watch out what Luke does. Is Jesus powerless against such odds? Is Jesus a helpless victim of these diabolic schemes? Is Jesus a sitting duck whom the enemy attacks at will?

Luke tells us that the opposite is true. He writes that Jesus also is pursuing a plan which keeps pace step by step with Satan.

Luke 22:7-38 – A Plan of Salvation

1. Jesus redefines the Passover (vv.10-20). Notice how he sent Peter and John to prepare a place for the Passover. While the enemy is preparing to attack during the PassOver, Jesus was also preparing to celebrate and to FULFILL ITS full meaning.

The Passover, now being twisted and distorted – gross misuse of this important event – it was a celebration meant to remember the deliverance of Israel from four centuries of Egyptian captivity. But now Jesus is saying that henceforth, Passover is going to be filled with its full meaning. It is going to be a celebration of the profoundest kind of deliverance – DELIVERANCE FROM SIN AND DEATH INTO ETERNAL LIFE; DELIVERANCE FROM SATANIC BONDAGE INTO TRUE FREEDOM. Moses’ exodus will be fulfilled in Jesus’ exodus (Luke 9:31-32).