"THE WAY OF CHRIST"
The Way Of Prayer
INTRODUCTION
- In this series we have seen how The Way Of Christ is...
- The way to God
- The way to life
- The way to truth
- The way of love
- The way of joy
- The way of peace
- The way of unity
- The Way Of Christ is also the way of prayer...
- Jesus was a man of prayer who taught His disciples to pray
- Prayer is too important for Christians to neglect as they follow
Jesus
[Let's first look more closely at why The Way of Christ is...]
- THE WAY OF PRAYER
- JESUS WAS MAN OF PRAYER...
- He sought solitary opportunities to pray - Mk 1:35; 6:46
- He prayed before special occasions - Lk 6:12; 22:39-46
- He prayed spontaneously - Mt 11:25; Jn 11:41; Lk 23:34,46
-- If the Son of God needed to pray, much more the children of
God!
- JESUS TAUGHT OTHERS TO PRAY...
- How they should pray - Lk 11:1-4
- To be persistent and humble in prayer - Lk 11:5-13; 18:1-8,9-14
-- As disciples, we must heed our Teacher regarding prayer!
- JESUS NOW INTERCEDES FOR US IN PRAYER...
- He is now our merciful and faithful High Priest - He 2:17-18
- Making it possible to boldly approach God - He 4:14-16
- He is our intercessor and advocate - He 7:25; Ro 8:34; 1Jn 2:1
-- His participation in our prayers help make them powerful (see
below)!
- HIS APOSTLES STRESSED PRAYER...
- By their own example - Ro 1:9; Ep 1:16; Php 1:4; Col 1:9; 1Th
1:2
- By their teaching - Ro 12:12; Ep 6:18; Col 4:2; 1Th 5:17-18
-- Frequent, fervent prayer characterizes those who follow The Way
Of Christ!
[To stress further the importance of the role of prayer in the life of
the follower of Christ, consider...]
- THE POWER OF PRAYER
- FORGIVENESS...
- The Christian can find forgiveness through the blood of Christ
- 1Jn 1:7-10
- Thus the erring Christian is told to repent and pray - Ac 8:22
-- Don't you want assurance of knowing that your sins are
forgiven?
- PEACE OF MIND...
- The antidote to anxiety is to pray - Php 4:6
- The Christian will find their hearts and minds guarded by the
peace of God - Php 4:7
-- Don't you want peace of mind and heart that surpasses
understanding?
- EMPOWERMENT...
- Paul prayed that the Ephesians might be strengthened in the
inner man - Ep 3:14-16,20
- When we need to be strong, Christians can likewise pray for
themselves!
-- Don't you want power that is beyond our comprehension?
- OPPORTUNITY...
- Paul realized that God provided him opportunity to teach others
- 1Co 3:5 (NASB)
- He knew that the Lord often opened doors for such opportunities
- 1Co 16:9; 2Co 2:12
- He therefore requested prayer that such opportunities would
continue - Col 4:3
-- Don't you want the Lord to give you opportunity to lead others
to Him?
- BOLDNESS...
- When the apostles needed boldness, they prayed and God
delivered - Ac 4:23-31
- When Paul needed boldness, he asked for prayers in his behalf
- Ep 6:19-20
-- Don't you want boldness when you speak to others about Jesus?
- WISDOM...
- Wisdom is not knowledge, but insight that makes the best use of
the knowledge one has
- The Christian is promised wisdom through prayer without doubt
- Jm 1:5-8
-- Don't you want the wisdom that comes from above?
- HEALING...
- Those who are sick should ask elders to pray for them - Jm
5:14-15
- Those who have sinned should confess, and we should pray for
one another - Jm 5:16
-- Don't you want God's aid when in need of physical or spiritual
healing?
- TRANQUILITY...
- The Scriptures proclaim God has ultimate control over the
nations - Dan 4:17; Ro 13:1-7
- Thus we are commanded to pray for our rulers, that we may lead
a quiet (tranquil, ASV) and peaceable life - 1Ti 2:1-2
-- Don't you want to live in peace and tranquility, for others as
well?
CONCLUSION
- Without frequent and fervent prayer...
- We miss out on so much that God desires for our lives
- We will not remain faithful and true on The Way Of Christ
- So let us follow the way of prayer as taught by Jesus and His
apostles...
- "...that men always ought to pray and not lose heart" - Lk 18:1
- "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with
thanksgiving" - Col 4:2
"pray without ceasing" - 1Th 5:17