PoWeR SuRGeS Worship Series: Being boosted by Daily Prayer

Bible Reading
Luke 18:1-8
1 Thess 5:16-18
Daniel 9:2-3

Sermon
Prayer is one of the basic but fundamental tools of everyone of us.
Prayer is a gift from God to us;
Deutronomey 4:7 says
What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?
More people pray than attend church or even believe in God, an unusual concept.
At Amazon search for books on prayer and you will get close to 500000 options.

However many people are confused and even unsure how to pray?
Visit to an older lady….don’t assume I know how to pray..

Then it struck me
My prayer life became more significant and changed when realised that prayer was about my relationship with God and how I see this relationship

Invite you to close your eyes for a moment….

Now think of God…what do you see!!!
How do you see God??
How do you see God talking to you and you talking to God?

Old man…judge….strict…creator….awesome….etc

Now do the same thing again….but this time think of Jesus…
How do you see Jesus?
How do you see Jesus talking to you….and you talking to Jesus?

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God wants us to know him through Jesus
Without Jesus there is no Christianity!!!
John 14:6 we hear
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
It is only through Jesus that God has chosen to display who He is…..
What He is on about…
And how He relates to us
And how we can talk to Him

Think of the disciples….how they talked to him

And prayer is about developing your relationship with God!!!
Not because you have to but because you want to
Think about some of your close loving relationships
Ever been in a situation where you talked to your wife/husband because you had to and you needed them to do something for you?
Compare this to talking to your wife/husband because you want to?
Our relationship with God is not just about getting something…
In fact very few relationships that are orienated around us getting something and us being pleased all the time last too long….shops/church/friends
Often we limit our prayers to asking for stuff and things from God.
We treat God as the ultimate vending machine up in the sky….
But God desires something better for us…
A growing and loving relationship

Think of the difference in conversation
One where you just ask for things?
One where you are in constant conversation for the relationship to grow
How many can remember the time you felt truly in love with someone…being the person I am Veronica and I went out for tea one night and didn’t stop talking until…the sun came up…..I wanted to know and grow with this person

Relationship with God is one where we trust God
God’s view of life is bigger and better than ours
The most effective prayers are when we realise that we are not in control and we put our lives in the hands of God

And so with prayer being about our relationship with God
God is interested in more than just dumping things in our lap
He is interested in who we are and the more we are to become.
As a result we will get to know God more and see Him in action
How God answers our prayers highlights who He is!

And so an effective prayer life will lead to us changing
We will move from just asking for things to asking to be changed.
Scene about one part of CS Lewis’ life the writer of the chronicles of Narnia
He had fallen in love with Joy Gresham who developed bone cancer.
In the movie Shadowlands there is this magnificent scene where,
CS Lewis moves from being drained…not knowing what to do….
To being fully energetic
Reverend Harry: Christopher can scoff, Jack, but I know how hard you’ve been praying; and now God is answering your prayers.
C. S. Lewis: That’s not why I pray, Harry. I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God, it changes me.

How we deal with and respond to situations change
We place our lives in the hands of God




Stop and pray…..God….. situations bothering us…pray

The one you have just prayed to is a loving God
Who hears your prayers as one who cares for you….

Our prayer life is an open door to the presence of love,
and an incentive to be part of God’s love and welcome to others.

If you are uncomfortable praying…then a challenge.
Remember our life as disciples is not about being comfortable, or doing stuff that only suits us,
Infact being a disciple of Jesus means doing lots of stuff to benefit others.
To putting up with things so others feel welcome
To be prepared to listen to someone drop their worries and concerns into your life
And it is about welcoming others not in ways that suit you
But suits them

No matter what you experience get into the habit to ask people would they like prayer
What would they like to pray about…

Because prayer is a people orientated thing there are a variety of ways to pray
From standard prayers from the deep history of Christianity…but don’t just read them…pray them…reflect on them

Using formulas…like ACTS
Free prayer

When we limit ourselves to one style of prayer….like one style of worship we are shutting off God in speaking to us in the many different ways he can speak….
Explore different ways to pray….
What works well today….may not in a years time

Finally
Time aside…what is best for you
Keep a journal so u can see how God answers your prayers

And keep remembering that God is always wanting to be in conversation with you so that you and others know His love

And so the call to pray continuously is not a demand from God but an invitation to keep on being and growing in relationship with God
So that you will experience some of heaven now and heaven completely in the next life,
Amen