Summary: A short 3 week mini-series on prayer. Week 1: the basics. Week 2: Prayers of thanksgiving and praise. Week 3: What are intercession, supplication, and prayers of confession.

I. What is prayer (John 17:1-5) (1 Thes. 5:16, “pray without ceasing”)

1. Pray is “talking with God.”

i. How does God talk to us? – Through the Bible

ii. How do we talk to God? – Through Prayer

II. Foundations of prayer:

1. 2 types (personal and corporate),

i. Personal – prayer done alone. This can be done silently in your head as we sit here in the pews, it can be done aloud while you are alone in your car, while you are alone in your bedroom. A personal prayer is prayer where there is only you and God, no other person.

ii. Corporate – prayer done with 2 or more people. As we gather here in the church, we all come together and pray. That is corporate prayer, but the fact that we may all be praying at once does not make a corporate prayer, what makes a corporate prayer in when two or more agree. When we ask the Lords healing on Bob, we all agree in the request – that is a corporate prayer.

2. 2 Requirements for prayer:

i. Pray in Jesus’ name (form requirement). John 16:23-24.

1. Illustration (ask two people to volunteer for the Me and Me parts):

God

|

Forgiveness

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Me Me

When we use the name of Jesus we are claiming the forgiveness found in His death, burial, and resurrection. Thus, being perfect by His work, we can approach the perfect God. This makes us “positionally perfect” because when God looks at us, He sees the cross, the shed blood of Jesus, thus making us and our prayer petitions acceptable unto Him. However, apart from Jesus the sinner deserves only God’s eternal condemnation.

ii. Pray in faith – Pray without doubt (personal requirement). James 1:6-7.

1. If you pray and have doubt, you’d might as well pray to a door knob. If you pray and doubt that something will happen, God will not do whatever it is that you pray for.

2. For example: Let’s say that you have been diagnosed with some form of terminal cancer, and the doctors have given you six weeks to live. You begin praying that God would heal you, but in the back of your mind you trust more in the words of the earthly physicians’ than you do in your prayer for healing. God will not grant your request for healing because you doubt.

3. Or say you are wanting and hoping for a raise and/or promotion at work. You are in the running for it along with 2-3 other people, but somehow you think they are more qualified, so in your prayers asking for the promotion you doubt, God will not grant your prayer petition.

4. On the other hand, as you may remember, in November just a few months ago, we were praying for deathly sick young lady, literally just moments from death. We began praying the God would heal Kortney Armentrout. We prayed in faith, knowing that if God wanted to heal her, He could. You know what? We prayed in faith, and God acted and healed her. Actually, just a week and a half ago while I was up at Bethel College, I saw Kortney and told her of this faithful group of Christians who are sitting here today, I told her we were continually praying for her. I told her of the emails I received from you all asking for updates. She humbly said “Thank you.” So on behalf of Kortney Armentrout – a true living miracle from God - I thank you for your faith in prayers. As a result of this situation, you can see the power of having faith and truly trusting God in your prayers – for whatever you may pray.

3. Vain Repetion:

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

When in the morning light I wake,

Teach me the path of love to take.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

Guard me Jesus through the night,

And wake me with the morning light.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the lord my soul to keep,

thy angels watch me through the night,

And keep me safe till morning's light.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the lord my soul to keep,

May angels watch me through the night,

And keep me in their blessed sight.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep;

Guide me safely through the night,

Wake me with the morning's light.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep;

See me safely through the night,

And wake me with the morning's light.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep,

Guide me through the starry night,

Wake me when the sun shines bright,

For Jesus' sake. Amen."

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

Guide us through the starry night,

and wake us with the morning's light.

I ask not for myself alone,

but for thy children--every one

1. Martin Luther once had a conversation with a man. In the course of this conversation Luther gave the man a challenge. “If you can recite the Lord’s Prayer and think of nothing other than the words which you pray, I shall give you a cow.” The man proceeded with the Prayer, and upon completion of it Luther asked the man what he was thinking while he was praying. The man replied, “I was thinking about the cow.”

2. When we pray, the words which we say/think must come from our heart. What is the point of praying something over and over again to the point that it loses its meaning? There is no point. Maybe you have a prayer that you pray everything you do something. I do, I just realized recently that I always pray the same thing for my food whenever I eat (unless if I participate in a corporate pray for the food). I realized that I just zoom through my prayer and don’t even focus the slightest bit of the words which I say. Am I truly giving thanks to God for the food and asking His blessings on it, or am I simply just going through the motion of prayer?

4. 3 Possible Answers to Prayer:

a. Yes – A prayer the God would give you wisdom. (James 1:5)

b. No – A prayer that God would allow you to kiss the most attractive

celebrity despite the fact that you are married.

c. Later – A prayer that God would allow you to pay your house off.

5. 3 Reasons God says “No” to a prayer request

a. It is against the will of God. (You ask to win the lotter)

b. You doubt in your prayer petition

c. There is willful sin in your life (straight up defiance of God’s

commandments, unrepentant sin).

III. Conclusion

1. Why do we pray?

a. As a little child you wanted an ice cream cone, and you asked your father for one, why? Because he might give it to you.

b. James 4:2, “You do not have because you do not ask”. If you never asked your father for an ice cream cone, you would never have received it.

2. Why don’t pray?

a. Lack of faith - lack of faith is trusting in yourself, rather than trusting in God.

b. We don’t think it is important. We think we can handle things ourselves.

3. Prayer is direct result of our love of God.

a. Illustration: Daniel (my brother in law) called Cassi (my sister) from San Diego before they were married and before he moved out here to Indiana…why? He loved her.

b. Communication is the most important part of any relationship. Praying is communicating with God…..

Think about these things this week. Meditate on what prayer is. Evaluate your prayer life. Remember, the way you pray, your frequency in prayer, your prayer intentions are all based on your love of God. You can evaluate your love for God by examining your prayer life.

We will be talking about prayer for the next two weeks, discussing types of prayer petitions. I encourage you to be serious about changing your prayer life. Prayer was the most vital part of Jesus’ life, and so it should be with us.