"Your effectiveness in life will always be determined by the depth of your relationship with God."WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER?1. Partner with God. (God has placed the enforcement of Calvary's victory in the hands of the church. Billheimer) Prayer is always effective when we pray what God wants instead of what we want.2. Time (fellowship) with God. DEEPEST PURPOSE. Nurture and enjoy the relationship.3. Let God take care of you. (Matt 11:28 Come to me ...)What do you struggle with in prayer? distracted, restless, don't feel Him, feel unworthy, Let's learn and discover together. We want to be in a place where we know that every time we pray heaven is listening and responding.Luke 11:1 "Teach us to pray" Mat 6:9 — Mat 6:13 Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.Now, many see this as a pattern of prayer. Or maybe as a list of ingredients for prayer. For example: Acknowledgement (Our Father who is in heaven) – Jesus taught us to pray, "Our Father..." Wow! When you think of God as your Father, it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities. He's easier to talk to, and you can ask him anything. praise (Hallowed be Your name) - Submission to His will and His glory (Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven ) – Spread of the Gospel maybe hinted at here provision (Give us this day our daily bread) - forgiveness (both ways) (And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors) - protection (And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil) – submission (For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.)I see this maybe not as a standard prayer, but an example of prayer. Jesus never gave instructions on how to preach, or to heal, or to cast out devils, or how to show compassion. He just had men with him, watching him when he did it. They learned by example. So wouldn’t it possibly be the same with prayer. “Here’s how I pray. Watch, Listen and learn.” ➡.6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPRESS? DON’T DO IT FOR SHOW, TO IMPRESS MEN. LET IT BE BETWEEN YOU AND GOD. You should spend more time in private prayer than in public prayer. ➡.7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. Are you praying mouth prayers or heart prayers? LET IT COME FROM THE HEART. GOD HEARS HEART PRAYERS. GOD IS IMPRESSED WITH YOUR HEART, NOT YOUR WORDS..8 "Therefore do not be like them for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him..9 "Pray, then, in this way: Jesus is saying, Okay, you want to learn how to pray. Watch! He didn’t say, Here is the perfect prayer. Here is the pattern of the right ingredients. Here are the words you should repeat. (In fact, he just told us not to use empty repetitions.) ➡So, what do you see in his attitude as He prays? What do you see of His heart? (respect and honor, submission to God’s will, His concern and compassion for man – material, physical, emotional, and spiritual, and dependency on God) What do you think is the most important factor in prayer? The presence of God. ➡ first and foremost, the most important thing about prayer and the greatest benefit of Prayer is not getting answers but deepening your relationship with God. Psalms 41.10The key to everything is your relationship with God. The deeper your relationship is the better your prayer life is going to be and the more effective it is going to be. The sons of Sceva - Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”Smith Wigglesworth was one of the greatest men of faith in the past century. He was like a modern day Elijah. He was never more than 30 minutes out of prayer. ➡You will have more effective and fulfilling prayer life if you concentrate more on developing your relationship with God than on getting answers. But what do you do when you don't feel His presence, when you don't feel like you're getting through, etc.? You keep praying. It's tempting to give up. Do you have a plan for prayer? when, how, what you pray for, etc. Most of us pray, at least when we are in need. But too often our prayer is haphazard. How many have had golf lessons, cooking classes, any other kind? How about training on your job? How about prayer lessons? I dare say some people spend more deliberate effort, energy and concentration learning how to swing a golf club than they do on learning how to pray. ➡What if we approached our work the way we pray? Shouldn't prayer be approached with the same focus and determination as we approach our work? Investors do research before spending money. Builders draw plans before beginning construction. Most things we do, we go by a plan. But then in prayer we wing it. We need to go to prayer with a plan. Approach prayer like a business. Not every time, of course. Prayer must come from the heart and embrace spontaneity and HS leading. But it also requires knowledge and forethought. ➡ A good plan: Get alone with God - quiet place, no distractions Be consistent (not necessarily militant/legalistic) Be persistent (don't give up) Be focused (deliberate) - make a list Be bold Be biblical (ask and receive not - pray for strife) TAKE AWAY ➡ SEEK THE PRESENCE - FUEL THE PASSION - MAKE A P
