A Call to Prayer | Session 1 | Great Awakening Big Ideas: * Waking up to the purpose of prayer * A few key elements of healthy prayer I think prayer is like healthy living. Most people know they need to do it, but it is confusing and overwhelming, so they are not confident in it and become discouraged and don’t follow through. It’s not a matter of desire but understanding and confidence. 1 Timothy 1:6-7 (NLT) But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. 7 They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently. Many times, we try and boil prayer down to a couple of categories: God is sovereign and He will do whatever He wants regardless of the petitions of His people. God cannot or does not move in the earth without a Kingdom representative administering His authority in the earth through prayer in faith. This mindset can go as far as leaving God out of the conversation and is more contractual than relational. There are specific formulas of prayer that we can understand through scripture that if we simply walk them out, we will get what we want. God is like Santa Clause. We petition Him with our wants in hopes we have been good enough to warrant Him moving on our behalf. God is like a slot machine, we put something in and hope we get lucky and God is moved enough to grant us our desires. “The book of Acts is filled with prayer meetings; every forward thrust the first church made was immersed in prayer. Take another look at the church at Pentecost. They prayed for ten days and preached for ten minutes, and three thousand people were saved. Today we pray for ten minutes and preach for ten days and are ecstatic if anyone is saved.” -Ronald Dunn We don't have a record of Jesus teaching His disciples how to preach or run a church. But He did teach them how to pray. Knowing how to speak with God is more important than knowing how to speak to man about God. What is prayer? Some simple definitions: Communication with God, petition, talking to God. “Christian prayer in its full New Testament meaning is prayer addressed to God as Father, in the name of Christ as Mediator, and through the enabling grace of the indwelling Spirit” -J. C. Lambert Prayer is a much larger conversation but really does boil down to a few key elements that we will explore over the next few weeks. * Intimacy with God (abide in Christ) (our Father) * Worship of God (awe, respect, fear) (Recognizing my dependence upon Him) (His will not mine) * Repentance of sin (acknowledge and turn from) * Honoring God's word (awe, respect, fear) * Obeying God's word. (do what it says) * Prayer should be experienced and lived out in light of your biblical world view and not simply systematic theology and doctrine. * Who your faith is in and according to His will. Luke 11:1-2 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:… Matthew 6:5-13 5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen “Before prayer, endeavor to realize whose presence you are approaching and to whom you are about to speak, keeping in mind whom you are addressing.” Teresa of Avila In intimate prayer we learn to approach God humbly yet boldly. We pray His word and remind Him of His promises and ask Him to move in our circumstance. At the same time there is a trust in His perfect providence that many times I don’t ask for the right things simply because they are not from a holy place. Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Take Away: 1. Do I have a biblical understanding of prayer? 2. What steps do I need to take to engage in a healthy lifestyle of communication with God?