NR 2/17/13 DESIGN FOR LIFE
Think About God When You Pray
When You Pray by J. Robert Ashcroft www.globalreach.orgWhat do you expect to happen when you pray? I know the answer we are supposed to give, but, I want you to think about this. Do you REALLY expect something to happen?
**Do you ever wonder why some people receive such wonderful answers to prayer, while so many of your prayers seem to be unanswered?
**Do you wonder why some people talk to God so easily and you find it hard to know what to say?
**Do you wonder why you feel the presence of God only sometimes?
The disciples had questions about prayer. They could see in Jesus’ life how important prayer was to Him and what wonderful things happened in answer to His prayers. So they asked Him:
Luke 11:1 Lord, teach us to pray.
Jesus answered and showed them how to pray. Today, God wants us to talk with Him. He is the One who has given us the desire to pray.
When we pray we communicate with the Lord. An interesting communication challenge. I know you have heard this before.
Scintillate, scintillate, globule vivific, Fain would I fathom thy nature specific. Loftily poised in the ether capacious, Strongly resembling a gem carbonaceous.
-translated-
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are, Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.
At a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Bobby Richardson, former New York Yankee second baseman, offered a prayer that is a classic in brevity and poignancy: “Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.”
As we continue to look at God’s DESIGN FOR LIFE, we continue to look at prayer. I believe that everyone wants an increase in their prayer life. For us to accomplish our spiritual goals we must continue to pray. Teachings, series:
Globalreach.org
Christian Life
When You Pray
God Will Teach You To Pray
Let’s look at God’s purpose for us in prayer.
When God made us, He put something in us that reaches out for Him. Every human is seeking that connection with the Creator. We recognize that we need power greater than our own to solve our problems, protect us and meet our needs. We reach out to the supernatural for help. But our urge to pray goes beyond that. We feel the need to worship, honor, and serve some supernatural being. It is this inborn yearning that leads people to seek. It is the spiritual battle that deceives billions into trying all the wrong routes to God.
How important it is to direct this worship to the right Person—the One who made us! Only then can we find the deep satisfaction that He wants us to enjoy. A substitute, a fake never satisfies. God made us to talk things over with Him and He will talk with us and help us. Life is not complete without this communication with Him.
God invites us to come to Him in prayer and ask Him for whatever we need. Just think of it—the One who made the world and everything in it, the Lord and Ruler of the universe wants to talk with us. He made us, understands us, loves us, and wants to help us. Time and again in the Book He has given us He invites us to take our problems to Him, talk everything over with Him. That is what prayer is—talking with God. He said to a prophet of old:
Jeremiah 33:3 NIV
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
What an AMAZING INVITATION!!
God will teach you as you study and practice what the Bible teaches about prayer. An important principle: think of God when you pray. If we follow the model He gave, we will begin our prayers recognizing who God is, honoring Him, and praying for His will to be done.
Matthew 6:9-10 NIV
9 This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
When we talk with someone, we do not just think about ourselves and our needs. We think also about the other person. A key thought in thinking of how to pray effectively is to apply the same principle when we talk to God: Think about God when you pray. This is a basic part of worship. The word worship in English comes from worth + ship and means to recognize the worthiness of God.
Because God is good, He wants to free us from the things that bring suffering. He wants to bless us and make us happy, healthy, and useful. Thinking about how good God is makes us join in the song of the psalmist:
Psalm 100:1-5 NKJV
1 A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Let’s look at what this is saying to us.
God Loves You
God’s love led Him to provide for the forgiveness of our sins. God loves you and me. It is His nature to love.
***The Father sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to:
tell us about His love
demonstrate this love in His life and death for us
make it possible for us to be with Him and enjoy His love forever. Jesus said:
John 3:16 NLT
16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Because God is good, He has set certain standards for the world He has made. He teaches us right from wrong in the Bible and helps us to do what is right. As Ruler of the universe, He must judge us for what we do, considering those who do right and punishing those who do wrong. Unfortunately, we have all done wrong and were condemned to be separated from God, unless there was some way to save us.
And there was a way! God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to take our place. Jesus loves us too and died for our sins. He came back to life and went back to heaven. Someday He will return to the earth and put everything right.
John 10:10 NKJV
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
If we think about how God loves us, we will want to please Him. We are sorry for the wrong we have done and ask Him to forgive us and help us do what is right.
1 John 1:9 NKJV
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Think about this amazing thought: God Is Our Father
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, God becomes our Father. He does more than just adopt us. He sends His Holy Spirit to live in us, gives us a new nature, and makes us His children. Jesus teaches us to call God Father when we pray, just as He always did. Think about what it means to call the Creator of the universe Father! We can come to Him at any time and ask for whatever we need. Jesus tells us that the Father loves us and wants to give us what we need.
Matthew 6:25-26 NKJV
25 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 7:11 NKJV
11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Our part is to ask God for what we need. This is an important part of prayer. We ask and He has promised to answer. We need not be afraid that we are asking for something that is too hard for God to do. He can do anything! And so we ask, knowing that God is our Father.
YOUR NEED GOD’S SUFFICIENCY
Weakness.....................God’s Strength
Failures........................God’s Forgiveness
Loneliness....................God’s Love
Ignorance.....................God’s Knowledge
Problems......................God’s Wisdom
Sickness.......................God’s Healing
Abraham and Sarah
Genesis 18:14 NKJV
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
When you pray, focus on God who can do anything.
Jeremiah 32:17 NKJV
17 Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
God Is Infinite In:
Being
Wisdom
Knowledge
Goodness
Power
Love
For us to really focus on, think on God when we pray--
For us to really be stretched and see our prayer lives grow--
--- We must be willing to leave our comfort zones. We have a place where we can pray and feel good. Yet, the work the Lord has called us to is so far beyond where we are comfortable. Yet, we must step out spiritually, we must step out in prayer, trusting God and growing closer to Him to see great things accomplished.
LIFE APPLICATION: The Next Step DESIGN FOR LIFE
What are the key points of this message?
How can we apply this message?
Prayer of faith. Ask God to help you identify how you can pray large prayers.
