February 24, 2008

DNA: Our Core Personality - We Value PrayerIntroduction

We Value Prayer.*Prayer is what connects us to the heart of God, and enables us to carry out the will of God. Therefore, we practice corporate prayer, and we promote prayer in the private lives of our members. (I Thessalonians 5:17)

That’s the way this core value is articulated on our “official” Core Values Statement. But you’ll notice there is an asterisk attached. That leads to a footnote at the bottom of the Core Values Statement. The footnote reads:

*[This value] is not presently a core value in our fellowship, but because of [its] priority in Scripture, [it has] been included as [an] aspirational value, [a] value which we are working to make central to who we are.

What do you think about that? Agree? Disagree? Why?

It was difficult for the Strategic Leadership Team to admit that prayer is not a core value of our church. It didn’t make the cut. In fact, it was added later by the church staff because they felt that it is so important.

I’m afraid that the SLT was right. While we do have committed “prayer warriors” in our church, as a whole prayer is not central to who we are. (I’m embarrassed to acknowledge that.)

Let me make a suggestion. FBC doesn’t need another prayer “program”. Instead, I would suggest that prayer needs to be a vital part of EVERY program in the church. Prayer should not be an “add on” to Sunday School or worship – it should be central to the experience. We shouldn’t just open committee meetings with prayer – we should really pray about the decisions we make. Prayer must become embedded within the DNA of our church. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

So where do we start? It starts with us! Churches that worship well corporately are made up of church members who worship well privately. Churches that evangelize well corporately are made up of church members who evangelize well privately. And churches that pray well corporately are made up of church members who pray well privately. It starts with each of us!

Think about your prayer life right now. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being “My prayer life is vital, growing, on target”, and 1 being “I’m so frustrated by my prayer life. I’m really struggling” – how would you rate yourself? Why?

This morning we are going to talk about “The Habit of Prayer: Talking With God”. This is taken directly from a study by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Community Church. I have added some thoughts and illustrations, but 90% of the following comes from Rick.

“Base your happiness on your hope in Christ. When trials come, endure them patiently; steadfastly maintain THE HABIT OF PRAYER.” Romans 12:12 (Ph)

How to Revitalize Your Prayer Life – Matthew 6:5-8

Approach Prayer with the Right Attitude – Read Matt. 6:5. Jesus is instructing us to be real when we pray. What does that mean? (Genuine, authentic, honest, transparent) What is the opposite of real? Fake! What would fake prayers sound like? (Hint: Look at verse 5 again.) Fake prayers are prayers that try to impress God or impress others.

What’s wrong with fake prayers? They don’t impress God, they don’t impress others, they are self-serving, they are far from the heart of God.

Read verse 6. Why does Jesus instruct us to pray in private? How are your prayers different when you pray in public and when you pray in private? Mine are more open, honest, more personal. There are some things I pray about that I don’t really want others to hear. When I am alone I have the freedom to weep, plead, laugh, sing, whatever I want to do before God. My best conversations with God are always private.

Read verses 7, 8. If God knows exactly what I need before I ask Him, then why bother to pray?”

Prayer is not so much about me getting God to do what I want Him to do. It’s really about me getting on the same page as God. Prayer may or may not change the situation, but it will always change me. Can you think of an example from your own life when you prayed for something specifically, but God changed your heart and mind during the process of praying?

Having the right attitude will do wonders for you prayer life. So will having the right approach.

Use the Model Jesus Gave – Read Matthew 6:9. “This then, is how you should pray…” Let’s look at the six parts of prayer that Jesus gives us in the Lord’s Prayer.

Praise: Read verse 9b. I begin by expressing my love to God. Why do we start with praise? Read Psalm 100. Pay special attention to verse 4. We enter God’s gates with thanksgiving. We enter His courts with praise. Praise is like God’s “doorbell”. Praise is what ushers us into the presence of God!

Notice there are two kinds of praise:

Praise (Adoration) – That’s praising God for Who He is. Let’s name some of the character qualities of God. (Loving, merciful, graceful, creative, powerful, etc…) To praise God is to pray, “God, I praise You because You are loving, You are full of mercy towards me, You are able to meet my every need today.” Do you like to be praised? So does God! And He deserves it!

Thanksgiving – That’s praising God for what He has done. What are some things God has done for you? Name some. Praising God is as simple as acknowledging what God has done for you, and saying “Thank You”. (Didn’t your mama teach you to say “Thank you”? God

likes to be thanked, too! (Try this: At lunch today, go through the alphabet, making a list of things you are thankful for, starting with each letter. A – I’m thankful for my arms. B – I’m thankful for my boys. C – I’m thankful for colors. Etc…)

Purpose: Read verse 10 of Matthew 6. The purpose of prayer is for God’s will to be done, not mine. As we said earlier, prayer is not about getting God to do my will; it’s about me getting on the same page with God. Prayer is about moving me in line with God. I should pray for God’s will to be done…in my family…my church…my ministry…my job…my future…my city…my nation…my world.

Let’s be honest – that is a very different slant on prayer for most of us. For many, if not most folks, our prayers are primarily “gift lists”. We spend our prayers telling God what we want, and expecting Him to fill our gift lists. That’s not all bad, as we’ll see in a moment, but it misses the bigger purpose.

Read Romans 12:1. “…a living sacrifice…”. Prayer transforms me into a living sacrifice, ready to give my life in surrender to Christ.

Provision: Read verse 11. What needs does God want you to pray about? All of them! Read the following verses:Philippians 4:19Romans 8:32James 4:2

What do these verses teach us? Ask for what you need!

Here’s the key: Be specific when you pray. Do you want specific answers? Make specific requests of God. “Bless us” is not a very specific request. “Father, I need $200 to pay my doctor’s bill” is specific. Give me some specific things you are praying for right now.

Specific requests yield specific responses from God!

Pardon: Read verse 12. An important part of prayer is asking God to forgive our sins.

Several years ago a book was published entitled, Whatever Happened to Sin? The premise of the book was that we have come to ignore and/or accept sin in our society. Introspection is not much fun. Conviction is an unpleasant feeling. It’s just easier to ignore the sin in my life, than to confess it and repent.

But ignoring sin is like ignoring cancer. You will eventually begin to experience the consequences. Sin, like cancer, involves surgery. It must be destroyed, so that it does not grow and consume us. How?

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal every sin. Here’s a great prayer to pray, right out of Scripture. Read Psalm 139:23, 24. You don’t usually have to go into a time of deep introspection to discover if there is sin in your life. The Holy Spirit is very good at pointing it out. And He wants to reveal it worse than you want it revealed! That’s because you can’t deal with it until you become aware of it. Ask Him to show it to you and He will.Confess each sin. To “confess” is to agree with God that what you did was wrong. Proverbs

28:13 says, “You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you.”Make restitution to others when necessary. Read Matthew 5:23, 24. My sin is always an offense against God, but it is also often an offense against others. I have the responsibility of trying to make things right with those I have sinned against.By faith, receive God’s forgiveness. Read I John 1:9. If God says you are forgiven, then that’s the way it is! To say, “I know God has forgiven me, but I can’t forgive myself” is to say that God’s forgiveness is somehow not enough. (I heard one preacher say it this way. Once I have taken the above four steps, then FIDO – Forget It; Drive On. Pretty good advice!

People: Read verse 12b. We don’t just pray for ourselves, but for those around us. I Timothy 2:1 (LB) says, “Pray much for others; plead for God’s mercy upon them; give thanks for all He is going to do for them.”

Name people in your life you need to pray for:SpouseChildrenCoworkersFriendsLost???

What do you need to pray for these people?HealthSpiritual GrowthProtectionConviction???

Here are some biblical prayers for others…Ephesians 1:15-19Colossians 1:3-12I Thessalonians 1:2,3II Thessalonians 1:11,12

Protection: Read verse 13. Believers face a spiritual battle everyday. Satan wants to defeat you through temptation and fear. By praying for protection, you will have the confidence to face every situation during the day.

Closing

I know, I know… this sounds like a lot. Two closing suggestions. First, you might want to set aside some time this week to go through all six areas of prayer. Find a private place, give yourself plenty of time, and see what happens!

Or, why don’t you try a different “P” every day this week. Start tomorrow morning with praise. Move on to purpose on Tuesday, and so on throughout the week.