Lesson Notes

Introduction

• Based on Don Whitney’s Spiritual Disciples for the Christian Life
• Our objective is holiness, godliness, Christ-likeness
  • Hebrews 12: 14 – “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.“
  • 1 Timothy 4: 7-8 – “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.“
• The only path to Christian maturity and godliness is practicing biblical spiritual habits
  • Activities described in the Bible and intended to help us be like Jesus – done for the purpose of becoming like Jesus
• Homework Check
  • Who memorized  the verse (1 Timothy 4: 7-8)?
  • Does anyone want to share experiences meditating on Scripture this week?

Prayer

• God promises He hears every prayer His children lift up to Him, yet many Christians spend little time in sustained prayer
  • Many reasons – we don’t set aside and protect time for prayer, we don’t really believe our prayers will be answers, we feel like God isn’t near to hear our prayers (a lie of the enemy), we don’t discipline our minds when we pray to sustain it, or we don’t really know how to pray in a sustained way
• Jesus prayed often (Luke 5: 16) and He expects us to pray
  • Matthew 6: 5, 6, 7, 9
  • Matthew 7: 7-11
  • Luke 18: 1
• We’re commanded to pray – a lot!
  • Colossians 4: 2-4
  • 1 Thessalonians 5: 17 – picture an ongoing text conversation with God
  • These commands override our excuses about too busy, too tired, too weak, our kids, our work, etc.
• We need to pray – John 15: 5
• Prayer is blessed and rewarded – Philippians 4: 6-7!
• If you don’t really know how to pray
  • Learn – we’ll talk about 3 techniques tonight, there are many others
  • Learn by praying – how did you learn to speak English – slowly and by practicing, usually with your parents or teachers, so practice with your Father
  • Learn by meditating on Scripture (what we discussed last week)
    • Rather than jump into prayer start with reading Scripture
    • Let the words of God and thoughts of God fill your mind, then gradually shift from meditation to prayer
  • Learn by praying with others – ask to pray with others more skilled in prayer and as you do – invite yourself to Neil’s office and ask to pray with him
• Obstacles to Prayer
  • God answers prayers – so what does it mean when we haven’t gotten an answer?
  • Examine your heart – is there unconfessed sin – deal with that immediately!
  • Examine your motives – are you asking for something outside God’s will or that won’t glorify Him? Are your motives selfish?
  • Examine your expectations – has God already answered in an unexpected way?
  • Examine your timetable – is God teaching you to persist in prayer to deepen your faith (Matthew 7: 7-8 describes ongoing asking)?
    • Muller, “The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God’s glory, they should pray until they get it.”
• Spurgeon, “We should pray when we are in a praying mood, for it would be sinful to neglect so fair an opportunity. We should pray when we are not in a proper mood, for it would be dangerous to remain in so unhealthy a condition.”

Praying the Lord’s Prayer

• Jesus – pray like this – Matthew 6: 9-13
• Don’t just recite the lines, meditate on them, expand your prayer around these themes
  • Verse 9 – God’s greatness, holiness, our request to make His name famous and  honored in the world, prayer for the world to lift Him up
  • Verse 10 – the advance of God’s Kingdom on earth, the return of Christ to consummate the kingdom and make all t hings new, the obedience to and execution of God’s will on earth
  • Verse 11 – our daily physical needs and dependence on God
  • Verse 12 – our spiritual needs – forgiveness and to forgive
  • Verse 13 – protection from spiritual attack, temptation, etc.
• Pray it!

Praying ACTS

• Adoration – God first; praise and worship of God. If you need ideas, read the Psalms
• Confession – Prepare your heart; be specific!
• Thanksgiving – Delight in God’s work; be exhaustive!
• Supplication – for others, then yourself
• Pray it!

Praying Scripture

• From “Praying the Bible” by Donald Whitney
• Often we get bored and unfocused when we pray
  • We feel like we’re just praying the same old thing the same old way
  • So we don’t even have the heart to pray for 5 minutes
  • And we’re frustrated and perhaps feel guilty about the whole thing
  • “Prayers without variety eventually become words without meaning.” – Donald Whitney
    • It’s fine to pray about “the same old things” – life doesn’t change that often
      • Family, Future, Finances, Work/School, Christian Concerns, Your Current Crisis
    • But praying “the same old way” every day bores us, leaves our minds wandering, and causes us to avoid extended prayer
  • Every believer can have a satisfying prayer life
    • When you pray, pray through a passage of Scripture
    • The Psalms are especially suited for this
      • They were written for us to sing and pray back to God
      • Which Psalm should you pray? Let me recommend…
      • Psalms of the Day!
        • Begin with the day of the month – today it’s 11
        • Keep adding 30 until you run out of Psalms 41, 71, 101, 131
        • What do you do on the 31st? Use Psalm 119
        • Now you have 5 Psalms (or 1 really long one) to choose from
        • Quickly skim them, and pray the one that speaks to you that day
• How to Pray Psalms
  • Pray about ANYTHING that comes to mind as you read the lines
    • It doesn’t have to be related to the passage!
    • This isn’t about understanding the meaning, it’s about letting the language of the passage shape your prayer at that moment
    • Stop when you’re out of time but not out of Psalm
    • Turn the page when you’re out of Psalm but not out of time
    • Skip a line if you don’t understand it or nothing comes to mind
  • A note about the imprecatory (negative) psalms
    • You can still pray them, just don’t pray them against people!
    • Pray against sins, that they would be smashed!
    • Pray against the adversary and his temptations!
  • Why praying Scripture makes a difference
    • You’re taking the words of God and will of God, passing them through your heart and soul, and lifting them back up to God
    • You’re more likely to be praying in the will of God
    • Your words and prayers stay fresh, addressing a wider variety of topics, including some that would never occur to you
    • You’re using a much richer prayer vocabulary
    • Because of the nature of the Word of God, we shouldn’t be surprised that  prayers based on Scripture feel more alive
• Whitney, “By this means, the Spirit of God will use the Word of God to  help the people of God pray increasingly according to the will of God.”
• Pray Psalm 71

Homework

• Try praying each of these three techniques at least once in the week to come.