"PRAYER"
The Practice Of Prayer - I
INTRODUCTION
- In our study on prayer, we have examined...
- The purpose of prayer
- The power of prayer
- The privilege of prayer
- The principles of prayer
- The persistence of prayer
- Hopefully this study has increased our desire to pray...
- To pray more fervently, with more consistency
- To benefit from all that prayer has to offer
- To encourage us even more to pray, let's look closer at "The Practice
Of Prayer"...
- How should we pray?
- When should we pray?
- With whom should we pray?
- For what should we pray?
[Even if we have been praying all our lives, it never hurts to ask
"Lord, teach us to pray..."]
- HOW TO PRAY
- THE MODEL PRAYER...
- Jesus was asked by His disciples how to pray - Lk 11:1
- They had just witnessed Jesus praying
- They knew John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray
- While they had prayed as Jews, they recognized a need to
learn more
- In response, Jesus offered a model, a guide for learning to
pray - Lk 11:2-4
- Commonly called "The Lord's Prayer", also found in Mt 6:9-13
- It was intended to serve as a model ("In this manner...")
- Mt 6:9
-- The Lord's prayer serves as an example of how to pray, not a
liturgical exercise
- THE PROPER PRAYER...
- Addresses God the Father ("Our Father in heaven") - Mt 6:9
- Expresses reverence toward God ("Hallowed be Your Name") - Mt
6:9
- Includes supplication for such things as:
- God's purposes ("Your kingdom come. Your will be done on
earth as it is in heaven.") - Mt 6:10
- Our physical needs ("Give us this day our daily bread.")
- Mt 6:11
- Our spiritual needs ("And forgive us our debts...") - Mt
6:12
- The spiritual needs of others ("...as we forgive our
debtors.") - Mt 6:12
- Guidance and help in our struggle against sin and Satan
("And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from
the evil one.") - Mt 6:13
- Praises God ("For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the
glory forever. Amen.") - Mt 6:13
- In teaching on prayer, Jesus stressed the importance of:
- Simplicity in prayers - Mt 6:7-8
- Forgiving others - Mt 6:14-15
- Persistence in prayers - Lk 12:5-10
-- Memorize the Lord's prayer and it can serve to remind you how
to pray
[Another common concern in "The Practice Of Prayer" is...]
- WHEN TO PRAY
- SCHEDULED PRAYERS...
- Having set times to pray can help develop a habit of prayer
- Consider the practice of two great men of God
- David, whom God described as "a man after My own heart"
- Ps 55:17
- Daniel, whom the angel of God described as "O man greatly
beloved" - Dan 6:10
- They made it a habit to pray at set times during the day
- It would not hurt to imitate them
- Praying three times daily: morning, noon, and evening
-- At the very least, make time each day to spend time in prayer
- SPONTANEOUS PRAYERS...
- Prayers should not be limited to set times
- Jesus spent all night in prayer before selecting His apostles
- Lk 6:12-13
- Paul and Silas prayed when faced with trying circumstances - Ac
16:25
- Nehemiah prayed silently on the spur of the moment - Neh 2:4-5
- The Israelites prayed to God in the heat of battle - 1Ch 5:20
-- We should pray whenever and however the occasion calls for it
- PRAY WITHOUT CEASING...
- The goal is to "pray without ceasing" - 1Th 5:17
- Having scheduled times to pray will develop experience in
prayer
- Praying spontaneously will develop a disposition to pray in
every circumstance
-- Together, they help us reach the goal of praying without
ceasing
CONCLUSION
- In regards to "The Practice Of Prayer", we have considered...
- How to pray, with the aid of the Lord's prayer
- When to pray, suggesting both set times and spontaneous prayers
- As we develop both the experience and disposition to pray, we should
also consider...
- With whom to pray, alone or with others
- For what to pray, besides what has already been suggested
This we will do in the second part of our study on "The Practice Of
Prayer"...