THE HABIT OF PRAYER
Rom 12:12, Mat 6:5, 6, 7-8, Mat 6:9, Psa 100:4, Mat 6:10, 11, Phi 4:19, Rom 8:32, Jam 4:2
Phil 4:6, Mat 6:12-13, Psa 139:23-24, Pro 28:13, Mat 5:23-24, Jam 1:9, 1 Tim 2:1, Mat 6:14,
1 John 4:4,
November 18, 2003
I. (Rom 12:12 NIV) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
NCV 12 Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times
II. Today we re going to talk about HOW TO REVITALIZE YOUR PRAYER LIFE.
A. Jesus died to make a relationship with God possible. Prayer is part of that relationship. But for many people, they re prayer life is dull and boring and something they avoid. So how can we revitalize it?
B. The first step to revitalize your prayer life is to APPROACH PRAYER WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE.
C. The passage of scripture that we re going to be looking at is Matthew 6:5-8. (Mat 6:5 NIV) Verse 5 says "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
D. THE FIRST ATTITUDE YOU NEED TO APPROACH PRAYER WITH IS HONESTY "BE REAL." Don t try to impress others like the Pharisees were trying to do. The Pharisees were people who would stand on the street corner, literally and raise their hands and their face to the sky and carry on in a very public way, trying to impress other people.
1. Scripture says don t be like the hypocrites. Don t try to impress other people. Sometimes in group prayer, somebody comes off with a big speel of stuff You can tell their desire is to impress other people. Don’t be like that. If you are asked to pray in public just talk to God.
2. Don t try to impress God. Don t pray what you think God wants to hear. Remember He already knows your heart and your thoughts and you re not fooling him. Just speak to Him with what s on your heart.
E. SECONDLY, BE RELAXED. (Mat 6:6 NIV) But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
1. You need to relax, you need to go some place where you can be alone, where you can be quiet and take those deep breaths, and remove distractions and concentrate.
2. The two main excuses most people give for not praying is that they don t have time and they don t have a place to go. Susanna Wesley, who was the mother of John and Charles Wesley back in the 1700 s had 19 children. If anybody had an excuse for not praying but a need to pray it was her.
3. Susanna would spend an hour every day in prayer. Where does a mother of 19 go to escape? Nowhere! What she would do is take her apron and flip it up over her head and spend an hour in prayer. Her children knew not to disturb her in that time because mother was in her apron praying.
4. If Donna was in our house with an apron on and flipped it over her head my kids would be sure that she had completely gone over the edge.
5. They wouldn t think she was praying. But if Susanna Wesley could spend an hour a day with 19 children and right in the middle of all that was going on, none of us have an excuse. None of us are that busy. Be encouraged that you can find a place to pray everyday.
F. Next, BE REVEALING. (Mat 6:7 - 8 NIV) And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
1. The New English version says it like this, 7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
2. When you talk to the Lord, just talk. That s what prayer is with the Lord. It s conversation between two people who love each other. When Donna needs something from me, she doesn t come to me and say, "0 Thou most honored of men, I needeth some money for groceries if thou wilt bless it to me." And, I would die if she did.
3. She just talks to me because we have a love relationship. When you come to God, be revealing. Tell Him what s really on your heart. Just talk to Him as a dear friend. Approach prayer with the right attitude.
III. The next thing that we can do is USE THE MODEL THAT JESUS GAVE US.
A. This is out of Matthew 6:9- 13, commonly called the Lord s Prayer. In this prayer, Jesus said, "This is how you should pray". He s giving us an illustration of things we should use in prayer, not this specific prayer to pray.
B. There are SIX PARTS OF PRAYER that are revealed in that.
C. PRAISE. I BEGIN BY EXPRESSING MY LOVE TO GOD.
D. (Mat 6:9 NIV) "This, then, is how you should pray: "’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, When you come to prayer you want to begin by expressing your love to God.
1. I start by saying Lord I love you. I need to focus on Him." If I come to prayer focusing on myself and my needs first, I leave prayer depressed and frustrated.
2. But if I come to prayer with the attitude of my focus on God, what I can see of Him, what I can learn of Him, what it is that He can show me, then I m going to have the right perspective.
3. Two kinds of praise we re told to practice are, first adoration, which is praising God for who He is, His character.
4. And then thanksgiving is praising God for what He has done or His deeds. We need to do both of those when we come before the Lord -- thanking Him for who He is and thanking Him for what He s done.
5. (Psa 100:4 NIV) Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
6. I am convinced that we are granted greater access to God through praise, and that in our prayer time praise is the key that opens the door to His presence, and in our worship together, the multiplication of our praise when it is joined together increases our ability to enter the presence of God.
E. HOW TO PRAISE GOD.
1. As you read your Bible and you come across a quality of God that you see, write it down.
2. MAKE A LIST OF GOD S CHARACTER QUALITIES THAT YOU DISCOVER AND THEN REVIEW THEM WHEN YOU RE PRAYING. For example if you re reading in Numbers 14:8 it says that God is patient, and God is merciful, and God is forgiving. Write those character qualities down then review them when you re praying.
3. The key to prayer is God s character. God s character is the basis for answered prayer. God answers the prayers that acknowledge who He is.
4. Secondly, HOLD TO THE PROMISES THAT GOD HAS MADE THAT ARE CONTAINED IN THE MEANING OF HIS NAMES. For instance, Jehovah- Jireh, means my provider, Jehovah-Shalom means peace, all kinds of different names of God tells us something else about Him.
5. Focus on the names of God, when you’re upset or worried start saying, "Lord you are my Rock. You are my Provider. You are my Strength. You’re my Peace." Just take the names of God and claim those for yourself. It gets the focus off of me and the praise on Him, and we calm down and are able to think about what it is we want to pray about.
6. THIRD MAKE A LIST OF ALL THAT YOU RE THANKFUL FOR AND REVIEW THEM WHEN YOU PRAY. Record the blessings, the good things God has done in your life.
7. Is it easy to forget the goodness of God? Absolutely! Day by day I forget what He did for me yesterday. Even though what He did for me yesterday was great by tomorrow sometimes I ve already forgotten it.
8. If you ll make a list of the things God has done for you and the ways He s blessed your life, as you pray you can review them. Be grateful. It will surprise you what the Lord s done.
F. The Next thing that we need to focus on in prayer is PURPOSE: I COMMIT MYSELF TO GOD S PURPOSE AND WILL FOR MY LIFE.
1. The next part of the Lord s prayer says,(Mat 6:10 NIV) your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
2. This is an acknowledgment that God is God and I am not.
3. At this time in prayer I want to pray for God s will to be done in my family and in my church and among my friends and my community. This is where I tell the Lord, just do whatever You need to do in my life.
4. There s an old song that says, "Whatever it takes for me to draw closer to You, Lord, that s what I m willing to do." That s what this time is in prayer. God, You do whatever You need to do in my life. Claim Romans 12:2 "Offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer."
5. First of all, we need to come and praise the Lord for who He is and what He s done then we commit ourselves and say, "You do whatever You need to do in my life, because You re God."
G. Next is, PROVISION: I ASK GOD TO PROVIDE FOR MY NEEDS.
(Mat 6:11 NIV) Give us today our daily bread.
1. What needs do I pray about? Absolutely every one of them. There is nothing too great for God s power to take care of and there s nothing too insignificant for His concern. So I m to pray about all my needs.
(Phil 4:19 NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus
(Rom 8:32 NIV) He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
2. Saving us was the hardest thing that God ever did. There was nothing harder that He could do than to save our souls so when we come and ask a request of Him for our personal daily lives it s a piece of cake in comparison.
(James 4:2 NIV) You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
3. "Wishing and hoping for something is not the same as actually specifically asking for something. When you have a need, ask God for it. And be specific. Write down your request with the promise that you re claiming from the Bible and expect God to answer.
4. That doesn’t mean that you can name it and claim, because if you remember what I said about answered prayer, it relies on asking in God’s will because we spend enough time with God and in His Word, that we don’t ask what is not in His will.
5. We need to ask specifically for the things that we want from God.
(Phil 4:6 NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
6. Why do I need to do that? Doesn t God know what I need? Why do I have to go and talk to Him about it?
7. Of course He knows what I need. He knows everything about me before I come to Him. But prayer is my personal statement of dependence on God.
8. When I come to Him I m saying, "I m totally dependent on You, God. Not because of what I can work for or what I can earn by my smarts or by my work, but I am totally dependent on You for my needs."
H. The next thing is, PARDON: I ASK GOD TO FORGIVE MY SINS.
(Mat 6:12 - 13 NIV) Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
1. This part of the Lord s prayer says, "Forgive us our debts". There are four steps to forgiveness:
2. ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO REVEAL EVERY SIN. He s so good to do that. When we come to Him with an honest heart, He will reveal places that there is sin in my life.
(Psa 139:23-24 NIV) Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
a. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the sin.
3. Then, CONFESS EACH SIN SPECIFICALLY. Sometimes we like to get away with confession of sin by just saying, "Forgive me all my sins." You committed those sins individually, ask for forgiveness individually.
a. Don’t try to use the blanket coverage stuff.
(Prov 28:13 NIV) He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
4. Confess them and give them up. Then God will show mercy to you."
I. The third part of forgiveness IS TO MAKE AMENDS TO OTHERS WHEN NECESSARY.
(Mat 5:23-24 NIV) "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
J. Next, BY FAITH ACCEPT GOD S FORGIVENESS.
(1 John 1:9 NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1. We don’t have to beg God to forgive our sins, remember that was His idea. When we talk about forgiveness we need to accept the fact that we don t have to live with guilt. It can be forgiven and wiped clean.
2. Guilt is satan’s tool not God’s. Don’t let Him use it on you.
K. Next is, PEOPLE: PRAY FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
1. Notice that Matthew says as we also have forgiven our debtors
(1 Tim 2:1 NIV) I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--
2. An important part of prayer is remembering that God is working in the lives of the people you pray for even when you can t see it.
3. If there s someone you ve been praying for, for a long time and you don t see any evidence of change, at times you want to give up. Forget it I m wasting my breath.
4. Scripture says pray much and plead for God s mercy. Give thanks for all he is going to do for them. Be assured that whoever it is you re praying for, God is working, even though you can t see the evidence of it.
5. We are never given permission to stop praying for someone. I am to pray until God has either changed me, changed the situation, or changed the person.
6. If you want to know how to pray for other people look at the prayers of Paul. Read the prayers of Paul and see the kinds of things he prays for people.
7. Most of us run out of ammunition to pray after we ve said "bless them" and "help them" -- beyond that we don t know what to say. Look at the prayers of Paul and see what he prayed for other people. Put power in your praying.
8. Make a list of people you want to pray for. Maybe on different days of the week. One day of the week, you pray for your family, the next day for the government, the next day for your friends, the next day for your church. Make a list and spend your prayer time one day a week praying for those people every week.
L. Next is, PROTECTION: I ASK FOR SPIRITUAL PROTECTION FROM GOD.
(Mat 6:13 NIV) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
1. We, as believers, face a spiritual battle every day and Satan wants to defeat us through temptation and fear.
2. If we start every day without praying for God s protection we’re walking into battle unprotected. We’re walking into battle without the spiritual armor we re supposed to put on.
3. Ask God to make you aware of evil in this world. If you re unaware of it, you can get caught by it, you can get involved in it before you even know what s going on.
4. But if you ask the Lord to make you aware of evil and tempting situations, you can fight it.
(1 John 4:4 NIV) You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
M. Remember that prayer is the only way you can talk to God. God has ways of communicating to us through His word, through other people, through our thoughts.
N. There are a lot of ways that God can communicate with us but the only way that we have to communicate to God is through prayer.
O. I hope that you will take you outlines home and put these things into action in your life.
P. And, Hope that you will make a commitment today to making Prayer a daily practice.
