A. Questions to Ponder
1. Do you see God as a tyrant? If so, why?
2. Do you feel you cannot come to Him for everything? If so, why?
3. Are you fearing Him to the point of not talking to Him? If so, why?
4. Are you mad at God for your life or current situation? If so, name the situation
5. Are you unhappy with how He created you? If so, what is it you don't like about yourself?
6. Do you see God as your Heavenly Father? If so, how?
B. God's Plan
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest." (Jeremiah 29:11-13 TLB)
"When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
"Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen." (Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT)
C. God's Character and Nature
"He is merciful and tender toward those who don't deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love. He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him." (Psalm 103:8-14 TLB)
1. You'd be surprised how many people see God as a tyrant waiting to pounce on them when they do something wrong. They don't see Him as a loving Father wanting to help His children. They only have their own fathers to compare God with and don't understand the love of God. They may fear their fathers to the point of avoiding them.
2. Many people transfer this kind of fear to God. God wants us to come to Him any time, day or night, about anything!
3. What do you believe about God?
"My son if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding, Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seek her as for silver, and searches for her as for hid treasures, THEN shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." (Proverbs 2:1-5 KJV - emphasis mine)
4. We have the wrong kind of fear about God!
The book of Jeremiah also speaks of relationship with God. Also includes relationships with others and with ourselves, explaining the results of not abiding in truth!
5. Foundational Truths about the Father
a. God is your loving Father
b. He created you with His hands.
c. God is Love (1 John 4:16). Jesus came to SHOW us His love
d. God is a Friend (Luke 11:5-11)
Abraham was a persistent friend of God (Genesis 18:22).
Moses was the friend of God.
Enoch was a friend of God.
Adam was a friend of God.
ASK: Can you go boldly to God at any time for any reason?
e. God is sovereign. (Patient and Kind when dealing with us).
f. God so loved the world that He gave us the Son (John 3:16).
g. God is omnipotent. He sits on the throne in Heaven.
h. We need to draw close to the throne (Hebrews 4:16).
i. God gives mercy and grace (Psalms 23).
j. God exalts us (Hebrews 5:5).
k. God is good!
l. God never changes.
m. God is Holy.
n. God answers prayers.
o. God blesses.
p. God longs to visit with us. We were created for fellowship with Him.
q. God Promotes us God Honors us God lifts us up (Hebrews 4:10).
r. God is my Shepherd (Psalm 23:1).
s. God is with me always (Psalm 23:4).
t. You are precious in His sight because He loves you (Isaiah 43:4).
u. God is my hiding place IF I let Him hide me!
NOTE: If we knew how much God loved us, we wouldn't be acting the way we do. Do you have kids that are disobedient and disrespectful? Are they struggling in relationship with you – others, or even themselves? It's because they don't understand how much you love them. They don't know how to "receive" your love. It's not that you aren't loving them, it's that they don't know how to receive your love. This is the same with our relationship with God. We don't know how to receive His love.
D. Ever-Present
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1 NIV)
1. God is right here, right now.
"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save" (Zephaniah 3:17a)
2. In the midst of your trials and tribulations He is there for you. You're never separated from His love and strength. The great Almighty God, the Infinite Creator of the universe, takes great delight and unsurpassed joy from your relationship with Him.
3. He rejoices "over thee with love." (Zephaniah 3:17b)
4. His heart is ravished by you for He takes great "delight in you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride" (Isaiah 62:4-5).
The Father's passionate rejoicing echoes throughout the heavenlies.
5. Jesus paints a wonderful picture of unbridled joy:
"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." (Luke 15)
6. Repentance is the catalyst for experiencing both joy in Heaven and freedom on Earth.
God promises that He:
"will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul" (Jeremiah 32, 40-41).
Deuteronomy says that the Lord takes "delight in prospering you" (Deut. 30:9).
David understood the love of the Father and exclaimed to the world that "no good thing does [God] withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11).
The psalmist declares that goodness and mercy will pursue us all the days of our life (Psalms 23:6).
The book of Romans tells us that God will enter into every life circumstance and and work together with us for good (Romans 8:28), and that if we delight ourselves in the Lord (i.e., stay soft and pliable so He can work in us), He will give us the desires of our heart [because they will align with His desires] (Psalm 37:4).
E. YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD THROUGH PRAYER
How do you imagine God to be when you pray?
Is He far from you or near?
Is He powerful or passive?
Is He disgusted with you or in love with you?
Is He a mean old man, or a kindly grandpa-type, or neither? Is He listening?
Does He care for you?
Can He help you?
1. What you believe about God is the most important thing contained in your mind.
2. It affects everything about you. Specifically, what you believe about God affects the way you pray.
Unfortunately there are many wrong perceptions of God that are commonly believed. These misconceptions distort our prayers and in some cases prevent people from praying all together. For too many people, God seems remote, impersonal, and unknowable. Because of that, even Born-Again Christians suffer from an inability to feel forgiven, nagging doubt, mistrust of God, and even bouts with hyper-perfectionism.
3. Failure to love and trust God often comes from our pictures of God as unlovable and untrustworthy.
4. Our prayers are shaped by the way we picture God.
5. A dysfunctional picture of God results in a dysfunctional way of praying. Jesus revealed this truth;
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?" asked Jesus. "Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him" (Luke 11:11-13).
Those that had a father who was never around when they needed him or have experienced trauma, abuse, or extreme discipline, will have a very difficult time pursuing an intimate relationship with the heavenly Father.
PRAYER – Ask: CAN WE ALL COME TO AGREEMENT ON THIS SECTION? (see Psalm 86:10-13 NIV)
Father God you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. You only have good plans for me. Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you Father with all my heart. I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.
I joyfully give thanks to You for qualifying me through Jesus to share in the inheritance of Your kingdom. I could never have earned it, and you gave it to me as a gift through Jesus. Thank You so very much! I repent of ever doubting your love Father. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
