PRAYER

If you have been paying attention the last few weeks, I’ve been speaking, sermonizing and teaching about ----PRAYER. We even held a Saturday prayer day here at the church. But if you are REALLY pay-ing attention, I’ve been speaking to you about prayer for more than 9 years!
When I came to Deer Creek for my original interview, I promised that I would help you fall in love -
With Jesus. And how is that possible? Only through prayer.
Most people admit they do not pray enough. That raises more questions than answers -
How can we make more time to pray?
How should we approach prayer?
Is prayer consigned to a time limit?
Is it just a list of words spoken by rote? Or a list of demands?
Can we merely name and claim things we want and expect God to comply and grant our wishes?
Or do we only pray in emergency situations?
For the vast majority of the world, the response to prayer parallels Jesus’ address to the woman at the well. “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we know for salvation is from the Jews.” Changing a few words but keeping the ideas, we can say ‘You in the world pray to what you do not know; believers in Jesus pray to Jesus for salvation is from Jesus.’
Are we praying to the Triune God found in the world? Are we praying in a way that is scriptural? To an-swer those questions, we need to ask ourselves” De We Know Who God Is? How cam we approach God “boldly” as scripture tells us? Is it on the basis of our own merit? Or does god have to listen to us, as most of the world believes, since God is exclusively LOVE? The true and complete answer is through the right-eousness we are given through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit.
When we approach God, do we talk with God remembering we are merely the creation speaking with the CREATOR? Considering the fear and trembling that surrounded the Israelites before the presence of the Almighty, we might take time to pause and think: Who is God and who am I?
What is your attitude before God? Are we expecting material goods in answer to our prayers? Are we acting entitled? Or are we praying for God’s kingdom on earth? God wants humble, contrite hearts that approach him and seek his kingdom.When it comes to the duration of prayer, do not confuse quantity with quality. Do not confuse important dialogue with long winded prayers. Do you remember when you met your significant other? How that was time full of conversation, interaction and enjoyment? That same should be true of our relationship with the Triune God. That is the basis of prayer; long conversations filled with love and encouragement that do not seem long at all.

This is the prayer outline that Jesus gives us:

OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME.

Honor the holiness of God, this comes right from the first three commandments of the Ten Commandments.

THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

We should all be discussing the kingdom with the Heavenly Father. What is God’s will? We need to pray hard, Thy Will Be Done, not just on Sunday but every day of the week!

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.

Everything comes from God, all of our material blessings as well as our spiritual blessings. We are told in the gospel that God already knows we need food, water and clothing, so these words take on a deeper spiritual meaning.

FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS.

Is Jesus advocating a “debt forgiveness” program? Yes, he is! How many realize they are in debt with sin? Spiritual debts are huge but they are forgiven by and through Jesus Christ. The Christian must forgive others in response to the forgiveness of their own sin; this is not negotiable!

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

Temptation comes from all sides, often when we are not paying attention or overconfident in our past successes! Yet in our weaknesses, God is made strong. Tests and trials will come into our lives, but God will not allow is to be tempted beyond our capacity (1 Corinthians 10:13 and James 1:12-13)

Evil’s existence is a fact that few of us dispute! The proper translation gives us a better understanding: Deliver us from the evil one. This is where we turned to Jesus and what He has accomplished. He defeated the power of the devil, the world and the flesh.

FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, POWER AND GLORY FOREVER.

This concluding statement is one of praise. When the world threatens to overwhelm you and your faith, turn to this last phrase as doxology!

Prayer sees the things of the Kingdom first. When the Kingdom becomes the priority, things on earth move in accordance to the Kingdom. Are you ready to engage God in regular, systematic prayer for the Kingdom?

Yours In Christ,

Pastor Harry