The good news of Christ
Mike Brooks shows special interest in two key words in 1 Peter 4.7. He then says,
Prayer is serious business. It is not to be engaged in lightly or carelessly. We are asking for the attention of the almighty ruler of the universe. That is not given negligently.
Be sure to read his whole article on Forthright Magazine: “Serious Praying.” The link also contains a prayer need, in the first two paragraphs.
In an article about children’s and adults’ prayers, Phillip Jenkins wrote,
… sometimes I think of how much God must smile at our “grown up” prayers. We think we “know” what to say, “know” how to pray, and “know” how not to pray, but still, sometimes God must chuckle at those things we think we “know.”
Most prayers are not answered because they are said by unredeemed tongues.
The model prayer consists of only 65 words and can be said in 15 seconds.
If we follow Christ’s example, our public prayers will be shorter and our private prayers will be longer.
—God Said, Gospel Advocate Companion 1998-99
We should ask God for help in overcoming temptation and not be afraid to give specific problematic situations (1 Cor. 10:13). If you are battling with something personally, go to God about it. If a situation has developed in the congregation that has the potential to create problems, pray about it in public.
Does all of this require more thought? Sure. That’s what makes it meaningful. The truth is that generic prayers reflect a generic relationship with a generic God. If we truly seek a personal relationship with a personal God, this will be reflected in the personal character of our prayers.
We have all had the frustration of being misunderstood. Our words were heard, but either we used the wrong words, or the hearer misconstrued the meaning. That never happens in Prayer. God will not only “Give ear to my words,” he will also “Consider my Meditation.” That is, he will think about what we think about. But even more, God will “hearken unto the voice of my cry.” God knows what we say, how we think, and how we feel. The Psalms that teach us about prayer teach us about God (Psalm 5:1-2).
Kyle Massengale, of the Madison AL church, hosts iQuest podcast. Episode 13 highlights the topic, “Lord Teach Us To Pray.”
Episode Notes: What kind of prayer changes lives? Can prayer really move mountains? Can prayer really heal the sick? How should I pray? These are questions that moved men to request, “Lord, teach us to Pray.” A popular teacher, lecturer and author joins Kyle and guest host Mark Hester to answer these and other questions you may have on prayer. Ancil Jenkins has served as the minister of the Word in several locations throughout the United States as well as directed the “Treasure of Truth” Crusades in England, New Zealand, Autralia and New Guinea. He is a graduate of David Lipscomb University and holds advanced degrees from Abilene Christian University and Amridge University. He is an historian of the first degree in the Restoration Movement of America. He is prolific writer having published books entitled “Lord, Teach Us To Pray”, “Charles Holder: Pioneer Preacher in the Sequahatchee Valley”, A commentary on the book of Mark, “The Biography of a Gentleman: A. G. Freed”, as well as many articles on various topics.
You can download the mp3 file directly at this link.
David Lemmons writes that “there are 78 instances of some form of the word + 3 indirect references. A few years ago I prepared a sermon on the subject. My approach was to look at all of the passages and ask: WHAT WAS THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE for this particular fast. I found a total of sixteen different purposes. Most of these purposes, it seems to me, would serve Christians well today.” For his PDF file, go HERE.
Jeff Jenkins talks about Chick-fil-A and prayer:
In our Sunday school class last week we learned from Jesus (John 14-16) the following thoughts about prayer.
PRAYER IS DEDICATION. Prayer is our opportunity to show our devotion to God and our dependence upon God (John 15:5-7). When we pray we are making a declaration that we are devoted to our Father and that we cannot survive by ourselves.
PRAYER IS COMMUNICATION. We understand that the Bible is God’s way of communicating to us (John 17:17). Thankfully, our communication with God is not a one-way street. God allows us to communicate with Him through prayer. Prayer is our lifeline to God.
Jesus tells us that we are God’s friends. If we are God’s children and His friends, He is interested in us. He is interested in our concerns our cares, our worries, our relationships and everything about us. It is not necessary for us to know any key men because we know the one who holds the keys.
PRAYER IS SUPPLICATION. Paul reminds us that we should let our requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6) The word supplication is just a big word for request. We don’t make our requests to God to give Him knowledge of what we need. God is already quite aware of every need we have.
In addition to the reason Paul gives here in this passage for letting our requests be made known to God (so that we can have peace, Philippians 4:7), another reason would be so that we can articulate in our own heart and mind what we feel we need most.
PRAYER IS COOPERATION. When we pray we are partnering with God. We are asking God to help us in our work for Him, with our families, in our walk with Him. When we abide in Christ and ask for the needs of our heart, we are bringing glory to God (John 15:7-8).
LESSON OUTLINE: Improving Private Prayer
from the Wadsworth, Oh., congregation
1. Last lesson we discussed ideas on how to improve our public praying. One of those suggestions included that if we want to improve our _____________ prayers we need to work on improving our _______________ prayers.
2. We are creatures of __________. Bad _____________ are __________ to fall into, but ________ ____________ require ___________ and ______________. A balanced Prayer Life will likewise require ___________ and ______________.
3. Need Help With The Words? Here is a “qualified” suggestion — Matthew Henry (1662-1714) was an English Presbyterian whose commentary, Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, has been used by millions was also known for another work that was just as popular in his day. Henry’s book, A Method For Prayer, has some excellent thoughts on how we can put our thoughts into words for prayer. It follows the same pattern as our lessons on types of prayer: Adoration, Thanksgiving, Confession, Petition, and Intercession. Plus, it can be downloaded in PDF format for free at Google Books. Continue reading “Lesson outline for improving private prayer”