|
 
| |
The Lessons
3:
|
Lesson Three
-
You and Your Prayers |
Discipler's Notes |
How to Talk to God and Get
Answers
Prayer is not a ceremony; it is communication! The Bible teaches us that God
wants every Christian to pray to Him. Prayer is talking directly to God! It
means asking and receiving. True prayer should cause us to be God-dependent
rather than self-dependent. Prayer helps us to stop the natural tendency to
trust our own thinking and ability to meet our needs. Through prayer we let
God direct, and then we trust Him to meet our needs (James 1:5-8) |
Review last week's memory verse, Acts 2:41. |
The Proper Meaning of Prayer
1 What three words describe prayer in Matthew 7:7?
Ask
Seek
Knock
2 What threefold prayer promise is given in Matthew 7:8?
"Everyone-that asketh
receiveth."
"He that seeketh findeth."
"To him that knocketh it shall be opened."
3 In whose name should you pray? (John14:14)
I should pray in the name
of Jesus.
4 How can we have confidence that our prayers will be answered?
I John 5:14 "If we ask any
thing according to his will he heareth us"
I John 5:15 "If we know
that he hear us, whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petitions that
we desired of him."
5 Who helps us pray according to God's will? (Romans 8:26-27)
The Holy Spirit helps us
pray according to God's will. |
You should be able to share several recent
answers to your prayers. Begin the session with prayer. Have the disciple
pray. Pray for specific needs in his life (unsaved loved ones, job-related
problems, etc.)
The words ask, seek, and knock arc all present active imperatives in the
Greek. Thus an accurate translation would be "keep on asking .... keep on
seeking .... keep on knocking." We must be persistent in prayer!
Confidence means complete freedom of speech. See also Hebrews 4:16 where the
same word is translated boldly. Hebrews 4:14-15 makes it clear that we can
come boldly because of the work of our High Priest, Jesus Christ!
Notice that the word know is also used in I John 5:13 for confidence
regarding our salvation.
Emphasize that the Holy Spirit helps us to the extent we are willing to
truly pray and trust God completely. |
The Proper Motives for Prayer
6 What wrong motive for prayer is mentioned in James 4:3?
Praying so that selfish
desires can be met is a wrong motive that will keep us from receiving.
7 What keeps your prayers from being
beard? (Psalm 66:18)
Regarding iniquity in my
heart keeps my prayers from being heard
8 How can you remove that hindrance to your prayers? (l John1:9)
I stop regarding iniquity
in my heart when I confess my sin to God.
9 What should be omitted from your prayers? (Matthew 6:7)
Meaningless repetitions
must be omitted from my prayers.
10 What are two results of answered prayer? Oohn 14:13; 16:24)
God is glorified.
My joy may be full.
A Practical Method of Prayer
This simple pattern of prayer, developed by Evangelist Steve Pettit, can be
used to help you pray thirty minutes a day.
PRAISE (10 Minutes)
REPENT (5 Minutes)
ASK (10 Minutes)
YIELD (5 Minutes)
MEMORIZE
Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
What will you do as a result of what you have learned from God's Word?
(James 1:22-25)
|
Psalm 66:18 - What does it mean to regard iniquity? Someone has said it
means, "Have any mercy in my heart for my sin." The privilege of answered
prayer is a great motivation to live a holy life!
We do not confess our sins for God's information! Confession is for our
sakes. The word confess comes from a compound Greek word meaning to say the
same thing. We must agree with God regarding our sin.
Notice other principles of prayer found in Matthew 6: humbleness (v. 5),
privacy(v. 6), a forgiving spirit (v. 14,15). "The Lord's Prayer" in verses
9-13 is a model prayer ("after this manner"), not a mandatory prayer. In
many churches it has become what Christ condemned: a vain repetition."
Remind the disciple that the important thing is that he starts praying, not
that he prays a certain amount of time. The thirty minutes does not have to
be all done at one time.
See other important verses on prayer: Matt. 6:8, Eph. 3:20, Hcb. 4:16.
Suggest that the disciple read examples of prayer in the Bible: Moses (Ex.
32:30-32) Hannah (I Sam. 1:10,11) David (Ps. 51) Hezekiah (H Kings 19:15-19)
Nehemiah (Neh. 1:5-11) Christ (John 17; Matt 26:39)
Encourage the disciple to begin a written prayer list to record each prayer
request, the date he began praying about it, and the date God answered the
request. |
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
John R. Rice's book, Asking & Receiving, is a classic book on prayer. Perhaps
you could purchase it and take it along as a gift to the disciple.
The tape set, Coming Boldly, is a series of sixteen Wednesday night messages
on prayer by Pastor Wayne Van Gelderen, Jr. Let the disciple know that this
series is available from Preach the Word Ministries.
Give the disciple Lesson 4. Make an appointment for your next session
|
