Prayer 2.0

INTRODUCTION :

Today we want to talk about Prayer and you might be thinking, we already did that right?  Well….its a regular thing for all of us and hopefully something you are putting into practice every day.  

You may also remember recently we are going deeper into biblical truths and challenging our fellowship of believers in some areas and we believe this is an area of daily importance…Let's call it Prayer 2.0..

Simply put, prayer is talking to God.  

• God desires to hear from us.  

• It is God’s invitation to us personally to meet him, to get to know his heart and to join him in bringing his kingdom to Earth.  

• Prayer is the place where we meet God on a personal intimate level.  

• It is where our relationship with God deepens and where God’s power in our lives is activated.  

• Prayer is our protection, strength, healing, and our guide.  

• It is where he speaks to us, teaches us, comforts us, forgives us and gives us peace.  Prayer is how knowledge becomes wisdom. 

• Prayer is where we ask for help, proclaim our faith and give our trust and our complete surrender to God’s will

Last year, we spent 4 weeks going through the acronym ACTS which stands for….

• Adoration - We are to continually offer praise to God.

• Confession - Seek forgiveness. It heals and restores.

• Thanksgiving - Acknowledge the blessings we have received and adjust our focus and attitudes.

• Supplication - Your Father wants to have a real relationship with you and he wants to hear from you on what you need and desire.

This ACTS template is a guide for your individual prayer time and is a very useful tool when you are not sure how or what you want to pray for.

Prayer 2.0- Let’s take a look at a template clearly laid out in the bible.

Jesus gives his disciples an example to follow that includes an introduction and 6 petitions.

Matthew 6:9–13 is called The Lord’s Prayer

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

• Introduction Praying to God as “Our Father” conveys the authority, warmth, and intimacy of a loving father’s care, while “in heaven” reminds us of God’s sovereign rule over all things.

• The first petition is that God’s name would be treated with the highest honor and set apart as holy.

• Secondly, Christians are called to pray and work for the continual advance of God’s kingdom on earth.  The presence of God’s kingdom in this age refers to the reign of Christ in the hearts and lives of believers, and to the reigning presence of Christ in his body, the church—so that they increasingly reflect his love, obey his laws, honor him, do good for all people, and proclaim the good news of the kingdom.

• The third petition speaks of God’s will which involves conduct that is pleasing to him as revealed in Scripture. Just as God’s will is perfectly experienced in heaven, Jesus prays that it will be experienced on earth. 

• The fourth petition focuses on the disciples’ daily bread, a necessity of life which by implication includes all of the believer’s daily physical needs.

• Forgive us our debts (the fifth petition)  this is a prayer for the restoration of personal fellowship with God when fellowship has been hindered by sin. As Believers, we have received much forgiveness and are to eagerly forgive those who have sinned against us.

• This final (sixth) petition addresses the disciples’ battle with sin and evil. Lead us not into temptation. Believers should pray to be delivered from temptation and delivered from evil. The best protection from sin and temptation is to turn to God and to depend on his direction.

The Lord’s Prayer as well as the ACTS model are both excellent ways to approach our daily prayer times.

Is prayer a once a day thing? 

God wants to have a relationship with you. Relationships that grow require frequent two-way communication and prayer is the pathway that He designed for that reason. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 says

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

Pray without ceasing suggests a mental attitude of prayerfulness, continual personal fellowship with God, and consciousness of being in his presence throughout each day. There are so many different things we can pray for. Let's look at…

James 5:13-18 called The Prayer of Faith

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 

• Pray if you are suffering

• Praise if you are cheerful

• Be prayed over if you are physically sick

• Confess to and pray for one another for spiritual health

• The prayer of a righteous person has great power (example Elijah)

This verse scratches the surface. There are just so many different things to pray about (I mean the scripture does say pray without ceasing) and we could talk about this for weeks. 

We’ve got an additional handout with other verses for you to look at in your times alone with God. 

CONCLUSION: 

In conclusion, we reviewed a couple models of prayer that you can use daily. First, ACTS which we went into more detail on last year but happy to get the notes to anyone who may want them. And second, The Lord’s prayer. But we also learned that God wants us to pray continually and there are many, many scriptures to support that. As a final thought, let’s circle back to where we started today… Singing “In Jesus’ Name”

• Prayer in Jesus’ name is taught in John 14:13-14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” 

• Some misapply this verse, thinking that saying “in Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer results in God always granting what is asked for. This is essentially treating the words “in Jesus’ name” as a magic formula. This is absolutely unbiblical.

• Praying in Jesus’ name means praying with His authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus. Praying in Jesus’ name means the same thing as praying according to the will of God. 

• 1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” 

Praying in Jesus’ name is praying for things that will honor and glorify Jesus.

Thoughts/Questions To Consider:

• How have you seen your prayer life grow over the last year or few months?

• How in the world do we pray without ceasing?

• How is prayer an exercise of faith?

Today’s Scripture

• Matt 6:9-13

• 1 Thess 5:16-18

• James 5:13-18

• John 14:13-14

• 1 John 5:14-15

Additional Scripture for Study

• Heb 4:16

• Phil 4:6-7

• Eph 3:14-21

• 1 Tim 2:1-5

• Luke 22:39-42

• Psa 3:5-6

• Num 6:24-26

• Matt 18:18-19

• 1 Cor 14:14-15

• James 1:6-8

• John 16:23

• Rom 8:26

• Prov 15:29

• 1 Pet 3:12