10-20-2017 fellowship - Prayer

http://www.stbarnabasmcminnville.com/PDFs/Celebration_of_Discipline.pdf

A Life of Prayer

John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.

James 5:13-18 The Prayer of Faith

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Of all the Spiritual Disciplines prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father. Meditation introduces us to the inner life, fasting is an accompanying means, study transforms our minds, but it is the Discipline of prayer that brings us into the deepest and highest work of the human spirit. Real prayer is life creating and life changing. 

There are many different purposes and ways of prayer, however this book confine to learning how to pray effectively for others.

The Bible lists at least nine main types of prayer: prayer of faith (James 5:15), prayer of agreement (also known as corporate prayer) (Acts 2:42), prayer of request (also known as petition or supplication) (Philippians 4:6), prayer of thanksgiving (Psalm 95:2-3), prayer of worship (Acts 13:2-3), prayer of consecration (also known as dedication) (Matthew 26:39), prayer of intercession (1 Timothy 2:1), prayer of imprecation (Psalms 69), and praying in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14-15).

Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Misunderstood about prayer; why pray if we have a closed universe and God knows everything already? Changing God's will?

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 

Prayer is communicating with God, practice, exercise our prayer muscle. Start from praying for small things.

God wants to have a relationship with us. We are given several different types of prayer in the Bible. What is important is that we have the relationship with the Lord through prayer in the way He desires. Spend time studying God’s Word

He hears our prayers and He answers them with wisdom, empathy, and compassion. Sometimes those answers come in very direct, concrete ways, but other times they come more subtly, through impressions, promptings, or feelings of peace. We can go to our Father with desperate questions, with humble confessions, or with gratitude; we can pray to better understand Him and His plan for us. 

Quiet our heart and tuning to God (hear, know, obey) surrounded with faith.

Pray with opening with a phrase like “Dear Heavenly Father” and closing with words such as “In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.” We can show reverence by praying with bowed heads, folded arms, and closed eyes.

Prayer is among the most valuable gifts we receive as spirit children of a loving Heavenly Father.

Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

One of the most critical aspects in learning to pray for others is to get in contact with God so that his life and power can flow through us into others.

1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Success in the small corners of life gives us authority in the larger matters. Not faith but compassion.

If the idea is accompanied with a sense of dread, then probably you should set it aside. God will lead someone else to pray for the matter.

But Jesus taught us to come like children to a father. Openness, honesty, and trust mark the communication of children with their father.

As with meditation, the imagination is a powerful tool in the work of prayer. Imagination often opens the door to faith.

Example 1; pray once a day for thirty days for this marriage. (Pray with imagination, faith, and compassion) (1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray continually,)

Example 2; pray with a little boy for his baby sister's sickness. (Pray like a child)

Example 3; pray for our own children. (Blessed is the child who is blessed by adults who know how to bless!)

Example 4; flash prayers / swishing prayers, the coincidences occur much more frequently when he prays. (We must never wait until we feel like praying before we pray for others.)

Pastor pray while our serving at rehabilitation center.

Peace of mind is one of the answers of prayer.

“I want a life of greater, deeper, truer prayer.”