Day 3 | Pray Your Way to Peace

8/14/2018

Worry is focusing on your fears instead of focusing on God. And worry never solves anything; it just makes your problems look bigger. The more you worry, the less peace you have. But the Bible says prayer is the pathway to peace. It’s the only way to put things into their proper perspective.

 

		Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
		Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV)

 

REFLECT

 

What did you hear?

What did God say to you as you read today's Bible passage? What word or phrase was most meaningful to you?

 

What do you think?

What does this passage mean to you? How does it apply to your life?

 

What is your prayer?

This is where you turn your thoughts into prayer. It could be a prayer of gratitude or praise. It could be a prayer of confession or a request for God's help. It's up to you. But take a minute to write a prayer of response to God.

Prepared by Saddleback Community Church

Day 2 | Stay in Touch

8/13/2018

How do you stay connected to your best friend? Conversation. We love to talk to the people who love us most. What can you talk to a friend about? Anything! That’s what friends are for. Prayer is conversation with God. And God is the best friend you will ever have. In fact, he chose you to be his friend. He wants to hear from you because he loves you. He cares about every detail of your life. There is nothing too big or too small for his attention. So, go ahead… talk his ear off. God never gets tired of hearing—or answering—your prayers.

 

		I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
		John 15:15–16 (NIV)

 

REFLECT

 

What did you hear?

What did God say to you as you read today's Bible passage? What word or phrase was most meaningful to you?

 

What do you think?

What does this passage mean to you? How does it apply to your life?

 

What is your prayer?

This is where you turn your thoughts into prayer. It could be a prayer of gratitude or praise. It could be a prayer of confession or a request for God's help. It's up to you. But take a minute to write a prayer of response to God.

Prepared by Saddleback Community Church

Day 1 | Your Lifeline to God

8/12/2018

Prayer is God’s idea. He created you to pray—it’s part of your human makeup. Prayer keeps you connected to God, like a branch on a vine. It keeps you tapped into your source of life. It’s your way of saying, “God, I need your help! I’m totally dependent on you.” A branch that’s separated from the vine cannot bear fruit. It simply withers and dies. But a branch that’s connected remains strong and hardy through all the seasons of life, even the most desolate of winters. Stay connected to God in prayer. It’s the only way to live.

 

		I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
		John 15:5–7 (NIV)

 

REFLECT

 

What did you hear?

What did God say to you as you read today's Bible passage? What word or phrase was most meaningful to you?

 

What do you think?

What does this passage mean to you? How does it apply to your life?

 

What is your prayer?

This is where you turn your thoughts into prayer. It could be a prayer of gratitude or praise. It could be a prayer of confession or a request for God's help. It's up to you. But take a minute to write a prayer of response to God.

Prepared by Saddleback Community Church

Forgiving Those Who Hurt You

If we fail to get this particular petition we really miss the whole message of the Lord's prayer.

We usually think of John the Baptist as a prophet and a martyr, and yet our Lord’s disciples remembered him as a man of prayer. John was a "miracle baby," he was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born, and yet he had to pray. He was privileged to introduce the Messiah to Israel, and yet he had to pray. Jesus said that John was the greatest of the prophets (Luke 7:28), and yet John had to depend on prayer. If prayer was that vital to a man who had these many advantages, how much more important it ought to be to us who do not have these advantages!

John’s disciples had to pray and Jesus’ disciples wanted to learn better how to pray. They did not ask the Master to teach them how to preach or do great signs; they asked Him to teach them to pray. We today sometimes think that we would be better Christians if only we had been with Jesus when He was on earth, but this is not likely. The disciples were with Him and yet they failed many times! They could perform miracles, and yet they wanted to learn to pray.

God's Will Be Done

Here we continue our look at the Model Prayer.  We cover all this more on Sunday.  

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This request makes the assumption that God’s will is done in heaven, but not on earth, yet (in the same full way). Sin and rebellion are not present in heaven, but interruptions are present on earth. We see that this is another request for the spreading of God’s kingdom rule on earth. It is primarily brought through the church as the agent of the kingdom. Our prayers are to be continual reminders to ourselves to “get with” the kingdom program. Sadly, too many believers live for the weekends and not for Christ’s kingdom.

God Bless

 

www.ibcatinyokern.com

 

God's Kingdom (Matt 6:10a)

 

6:10a Let your Kingdom come:

     The phrase The Kingdom of God is representative of the whole New Testament. No phrase is used more often in prayer and in the preaching and teaching of Scripture. It is important that we should be clear as to what it means.

     It is obvious that the Kingdom of God was central to the message of Jesus. The first appearance of Jesus on the scene of history was when he came into Galilee preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God (Mk 1:14). Jesus himself said that the preaching of the kingdom was an obligation laid upon him: "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose" (Lk 4:43; Mk 1:38). Luke's description of Jesus' activity is that he went through every city and village preaching and showing the good news of the Kingdom of God (Lk 8:1). Clearly the meaning of the Kingdom of God is something which we should try to understand.

     We also ses that Jesus spoke of the Kingdom in three different ways. He spoke of the Kingdom as existing in the past. He said that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets were in the Kingdom (Lk 13:28; Matt 8:11). Clearly therefore the Kingdom goes far back into history. He spoke of the Kingdom as present. "The Kingdom of God," he said, "is in the midst of you" (Lk 17:21). The Kingdom of God is therefore a present reality here and now. He spoke of the Kingdom of God as future, he taught men to pray for the coming of the Kingdom in this prayer. See you Sunday!  www.ibcatinyokern.com

Making God's Name Holy

The last part of Mt. 6:9 is Hallowed be your name. 
This is an exert from the prayer that is commonly called “the Lord’s Prayer,” but it is actually more “the disciples’ prayer.” This prayer, which is repeated by many Christians, contains elements that are important for all prayers: 
The first element is that prayer is to begin with worship. God is addressed as Our Father in heaven. Worship is the lifeblood of all prayer. If you read in vv. 1–18 Jesus used the word “Father” 10 times! This shows us that only those who have true inner righteousness can address God in that way in worship. 
The second element is reverence, for God’s name is to be hallowed, it must be revered.

We have along way to go in our study of how to develop a powerful prayer life, but it is an adventure well worth the trip.   I'll try to post with more regularity as we proceed through this time.   
Soon, we will begin the spiritual growth campaign :"Transformed" How God changes us. This is a campaign developed by Rick Warren. it will have a daily prayer posted here during the 40 days leading up to the study.  Be watching for it.   Place any comments below and don't forget to subscribe. Check out our church website at www.ibcatinyokern.com or go to my site at www.henryawade.com.