Prayer

Prayer


 




 

Pray without ceasing


 

God works in believers to accomplish His purposes.


 

A1 Objectives


     B1 Describes what the Bible teaches about prayer.


     B2 Describe the types of prayer using the ACTS model.


 

A2 Scriptures

B1 Philippians 4:6-7

B2 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

A3 Notes

B1 One of the privileges of being a Christian is prayer.

C1 Prayer is talking to God.

C2 It includes many discussions as

D1 Praise

D2 Thanksgiving

D3 Requests for others and ourselves

D4 Complaints

D5 Confession of sins

D6 Seeking guidance/wisdom/help

D7 Blessings (as in ""The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26, NKJV).

C3 Both verbal and nonverbal

D1 Example of verbal

E1 Tone (harsh, pleading, sad, etc.)

E2 Emphasis

E3 Diction (The way we pronounce words. It may be clear or slurred).

"1. usage, language. Diction, phraseology, wording refer to the means and the manner of expressing ideas. Diction usually implies a high level of usage; it refers chiefly to the choice of words, their arrangement, and the force, accuracy, and distinction with which they are used: The speaker was distinguished for his excellent diction; poetic diction. Phraseology refers more to the manner of combining the words into related groups, and especially to the peculiar or distinctive manner in which certain technical, scientific, and professional ideas are expressed: legal phraseology. Wording refers to the exact words or phraseology used to convey thought: the wording of a will." (diction. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved August 13, 2015, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/diction

D2 Types of nonverbal include

E1 Facial expressions

E2 Tone of voice

E3 Movement (gestures)

E4 Eye contact, movement, and expression (as tears)

E5 Postures (as standing, arms crossed, fighting stance, humble stance, etc.)

B2 Outline Philippians 4:6-7

C1 Don't worry about anything

C2 Ask God

D1 For needs

D2 With thankfulness

C3 God's peace

D1 Beyond anything we understand

D2 Will keep our safe

E1 Hearts

E2 Minds

D3 Because of Jesus

B3 Outline 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

C1 Always rejoice.

C2 Always pray.

C3 Always be thankful.

 

A4 Questions

B1 Does God always answer prayer?

C1 The answer might be yes, no, wait, yes with some differences.

C2 List some things why God refuses to grant our requests?

D1 "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. " (1 Peter 3:7, NKJV) (Mistreating wife).

D2 "Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. " (Colossians 3:19, NKJV) (Bitterness towards wife)

D3 sin

D4 "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. " (James 1:6-8, NKJV) (Lack of faith. Faith is believing God, not working up some feelings, ignoring logic or common sense).

B2 What is the difference between worry and anxiety?

C1 Worry is not knowing what the future holds about anything. It involves thinking about a problem that may happen in the future.

C2 Anxiety is a mental distress causing physical effects. The anxiety is caused by worrying about something or fearing something that may or may not happen.

B3 Why do we worry?

B4 Does worrying do any good?

B5 Why does a Christian worry?

B6 What are some things we worry about?

B7 What does prayer consist of? What do we say in prayer?

C1 Worship

C2 Praise

C3 Thanksgiving

C4 Confession

C5 Requests

B8 Why do we pray?

C1 God is the source of wisdom.

C2 God is the source of power.

C3 God is the source to change circumstances.

B9 What do we acknowledge in prayer?

C1 Our weaknesses and inability.

C2 God's superiority

B10 Is there any way to manipulate God?

C1 Is there some type of price tag on prayer, that is, if we pray 326 times for Joe to be saved, then God saves Joe?

C2 Is there something we can do like cut ourselves to have God answer to prayer.

B11 Does God have to answer us instantly, that is, we pray, and bam! God answers our prayer.

B12 When are we to pray?

B13 How long are to pray? (Seconds to hours, depending on the need and our emotions)

B14 When do we quit praying for someone?

B15 Does God want us to worry?

B16 What is His motivation why He does not want us to worry? (His love for our wellbeing).

B17 Why doesn't God want us to worry?

B18 Philippians 4:4-7

C1 Three types of requests

D1 Prayer--more or less making a request to one who is more powerful than us, in this case God.

D2 Supplication--requesting something for our necessity.

D3 Request--asking for a particular thing.

C2 Why do this with thanksgiving? Why are we supposed to be thankful? How can we be thankful for hard things like death, disease?

C3 What is the promise we have in verse 7 in reference to worry? (The promise is God's peace).

D1 What is God's peace?

D2 Why don't I always have peace after I pray?

C4 Philippians 4:7 What does God's peace do?

B19 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

C1 Is there something different about the Christian life?

C2 Always rejoice

D1 Are we to rejoice at our difficulties, sicknesses, and bankruptcies? Are we to rejoice when the brethren are killed and tortured for their faith? Are we to rejoice when an unbeliever dies and goes to hell?

E1 No

E2 The gladness spoken of here refers to spiritual blessings.

F1 "Most assuredly I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be grieved, but your grief will be turned into joy." (John 16:20, EMTV)

F2 "In which you greatly rejoice, though for a little while now, if need be, you have been distressed by various trials,"

(1 Peter 1:6, EMTV)

F3 "And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying out; neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4, EMTV)

F4 "For this is admirable, if because of conscience toward God someone endures pain, suffering unjustly."

(1 Peter 2:19, EMTV)

E3 God himself grieves.

F1 "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand." (Isaiah 53:10, NKJV)

F2 "Jesus wept." (John 11:35, EMTV) (This deals with the death of Lazarus, whom he shortly later rose from the dead).

F3 "And as He drew near, seeing the city, He wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things pertaining to your peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and hem you in from every side, and they will level you to the ground, and your children with you; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the season of your visitation." (Luke 19:41-44, EMTV)

D2 Always pray.

E1 Does this mean to pray 24/7, 365? (No. It is an attitude to be ready to pray and to continue to pray until the answer is an obvious no. We are not to give up).

E2 How do we live this attitude?

E3 What are some things we are always to pray for?

F1 "Then He spoke a parable to them, that one must always pray and not lose heart," (Luke 18:1, EMTV)

F2 "Watch therefore, praying always that you may be counted worthy to escape everything that is about to happen, and to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:36, EMTV)

F3 "Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4:2, EMTV)

E4 Are we to pray FOR our enemies? (Yes, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you," (Matthew 5:44, EMTV)

E5 Are we to pray for our leaders, even if those leaders are vile and wicked? (Yes, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all people, on behalf of kings and all those who are in authority, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." (1 Timothy 2:1-2, EMTV)

E6 How about this situation and prayer? "And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart." So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?" Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven." (Nehemiah 2:1-4, NKJV)

D3 Always be thankful

E1 How can we be thankful for everything?

E2 Why should we be thankful for everything?

E3 Why is this God's will?

B20 ACTS

C1 Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication

C2 Some use this as a help to a successful prayer life. I'm not much for these types of things, because I end up being a slave to it, as, "I have to do each one of these points."

B21 Why do people not pray or not pray as often as they probably should?

B22 How do we answer someone who says that we are doing nothing more than talking to an invisible and non-existent being?

C1 Jesus prayed to God. "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:39, EMTV)

C2 God, Yahweh, does exist and is personal.

D1 Based on evidence as in Cold Case Christianity. See website.

D2 Based on philosophical/theological reasons as here.