Life Topic: Prayer Series

INTRO: The Campus Crusade For Christ Wheel

INTRO: One of the wheel spots is prayer. And to be quite honest, I could have gone into great detail on prayer, but since we are in the Sermon on the Mount Series at Church, and since Pastor David Martin already spoke on the topic, I felt the best way to cover it was to just go over his notes.

To be honest, it is one of the most practical sermons I have ever heard ever. Listed below is not the exact information, but a lot of it is listed below, in addition are some adds that I put in.

NOTE TO LEADERS: Okay gang, between what David Martin gave us and the stuff added, there is a ton of information here. Please use what you think is best for your group. Obviously as always, please don’t feel like you have to use all of it.

LAST NOTE: It would be totally useful and practical just to pray for people. So if you feel led to do that, that may be better than anything else you could do.

1) PRAYING IN GENERAL

Matt. 6:5-15 [NLT] “And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food for today and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

2) THE OUR FATHER (MATTHEW 6:9-13)

9“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

BROKEN DOWN

A) praise [honoring God’s name]

B) priorities [God’s kingdom]

C) provision [daily bread / needs]

D) personal relationships [forgiveness]

E) protection [deliver us from evil - evil one] / we’re in a real spiritual battle, &

F) praise again [“Yours…kingdom!”]

Then we have…

3) F.A.C.E.T.S. OF PRAYERS

A) FAITH

[verb vs. noun / not just something we believe; it’s something we do; “believing God”, not just “believing in God”; illus.]

Heb. 11:6 [NLT] “So, you see, it is impossible to please God w/out faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God / that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”

Jas. 1:6-8 [NKJV] “But let him ask in faith w/ no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven / tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

B) ADMISSION

(confess / agree w/ God re. our sins; coming clean w/ God)

1 Jn. 1:9 [NLT] “But if we confess [Gk. “homolegeo” = “to say the same thing”] our sins to him, he is faithful / just to forgive us / to cleanse us from every wrong.”

Prov. 28:13 [NLT] “People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess / forsake them, they will receive mercy.”

Ps. 66:18 [NLT] “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart [KJV, “regard iniquity”: “regard” lit. “to keep, hang on to”], my Lord would not have listened.” [“will not hear”, not “cannot hear”]

C) CELEBRATION

(giving thanks vs. being thankful / act of the will vs. emotions / it’s a sacrifice!)

1 Thess. 5:18 [NLT] “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

Ps. 9:1b [NLT] “I will thank you, Lord, w/ all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.”