Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. Jeremiah 29:12
We are studying prayer during the Lent season. This Sunday our pastor preached on the topic of praying in faith. I like to take notes as I listen to the message and post them here on my blog. Perhaps you too will be blessed as I was. Pastor Ben was preaching and here are the notes I took as I listened to the sermon:
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Prayer is a discipline. As we continue in prayer we improve and grow in it. We strive to improve.
What Does it Mean to Pray in Faith?
We are a people of faith, saved by grace through faith, we walk by faith.
Prayer and faith are linked together.
We are invited to pray in faith.
What does it mean to have faith in prayer? Three points.
1) We Pray to God
Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Our prayers are directed to God.
Prayer is not talking to ourselves, nor connecting to our inner feelings.
Prayer is communicating with the God of heaven and earth.
We turn our attention to God.
we need to thin of who we are praying to.
Think about who God is - his character
Starting your prayers with praise and worship increases your faith as you pray.
Praise and worship helps us to to turn our attention to God.
God is good, He is loving, He is our helper, our healer, our provider, our friend, our Saviour, He sees all things, He knows all things, he knows the end from the beginning, He is faithful, true to His promises, eternal, He never sleeps, and never grows tired or weary, He hears us when we pray, etc the list goes on and on.
2) Pray for the Glory of God
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13
We pray so that God's Name be lifted up and glorified.
To pray in the Name of Jesus is to ask for Him to be glorified and honored.
( example - one who represents your country in a sports or as an ambassador is there on behalf of everyone in your country - Your country's Name )
Our business is for the Name of Jesus to be lifted up!
Prayer is not magic.
Your prayer requests need to be directed to glorify God.
Ask - Will this bring honor and glory to God and How will it do so?
Bring everything to God in prayer - with the mindset of saying " God - Be Thou glorified".
3) Pray with Loyalty
Faith is believing, trusting and being loyal to God
To be loyal to Him is to believe in Him and to give your life for Him, and putting your complete trust in Him.
Give your life for Jesus and His cause.
Believe and do not doubt.
James 1:5-7 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
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| picture from ourchurch.com |
We are studying prayer during the Lent season. This Sunday our pastor preached on the topic of praying in faith. I like to take notes as I listen to the message and post them here on my blog. Perhaps you too will be blessed as I was. Pastor Ben was preaching and here are the notes I took as I listened to the sermon:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer is a discipline. As we continue in prayer we improve and grow in it. We strive to improve.
What Does it Mean to Pray in Faith?
We are a people of faith, saved by grace through faith, we walk by faith.
Prayer and faith are linked together.
We are invited to pray in faith.
What does it mean to have faith in prayer? Three points.
1) We Pray to God
Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Our prayers are directed to God.
Prayer is not talking to ourselves, nor connecting to our inner feelings.
Prayer is communicating with the God of heaven and earth.
We turn our attention to God.
we need to thin of who we are praying to.
Think about who God is - his character
Starting your prayers with praise and worship increases your faith as you pray.
Praise and worship helps us to to turn our attention to God.
God is good, He is loving, He is our helper, our healer, our provider, our friend, our Saviour, He sees all things, He knows all things, he knows the end from the beginning, He is faithful, true to His promises, eternal, He never sleeps, and never grows tired or weary, He hears us when we pray, etc the list goes on and on.
2) Pray for the Glory of God
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13
We pray so that God's Name be lifted up and glorified.
To pray in the Name of Jesus is to ask for Him to be glorified and honored.
( example - one who represents your country in a sports or as an ambassador is there on behalf of everyone in your country - Your country's Name )
Our business is for the Name of Jesus to be lifted up!
Prayer is not magic.
Your prayer requests need to be directed to glorify God.
Ask - Will this bring honor and glory to God and How will it do so?
Bring everything to God in prayer - with the mindset of saying " God - Be Thou glorified".
3) Pray with Loyalty
Faith is believing, trusting and being loyal to God
To be loyal to Him is to believe in Him and to give your life for Him, and putting your complete trust in Him.
Give your life for Jesus and His cause.
Believe and do not doubt.
James 1:5-7 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
This does not mean that you cannot have any questions. God welcomes our honest questions.
This is about commitment. Have you decided who to follow? Have you decided to follow Jesus?
This needs to be a wholehearted 100% commitment - jump in with all you got.
I am for God.
I am on God's side.
I will live my life for God.
I will jump in, even though I have questions.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
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