If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 2 Cor 5:17
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These pages are designed to aid study or investigation for Christian discipleship through individual Bible study, Cell groups, Home groups, or meeting one to one. The questions could be used alone allowing each person to use their own Bible.
Prayer is key to our engaging with God. It is something that happens at many levels and is developed over a lifetime. At it’s simplest it is talking with God, at it’s most profound it is worked out in silence. Through it our heart, mind and soul are united with Christ.
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The following are tasters. They give an idea of the subject, but to understand more, there is a web page on each subject.
- Start in Prayer - First steps in prayer.
- Meet God in Prayer - Prayer is about a relationship.
- Ask for needs - Prayer is learned through need.
- Attitude in prayer - Recognising who it is we are meeting in prayer.
- Keys to answered prayer - How we ask and what we ask for.
- Spiritual warfare - There is an enemy. We need to stand against Him with God.
Jesus gave us a way of praying. There are two parts to it. First encounter God as He is (More). Second ask God to meet our needs (More).
Start off with the words as they are. As you become more comfortable then you can develop it. Each phrase can be used as a prompt to develop your own prayer.
- Who are you praying to?
- How does that influence the rest of how you approach God?
- What range of needs are presented?
- Do you feel comfortable asking for these?
Matthew 6: 9 Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,*
12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don't let us yield to temptation,* but rescue us from the evil one.*
A broader perspective on Start in Prayer
Prayer is our communication channel with God. While many people learn prayer through telling God their needs, a maturer place of prayer is to meet God in order to develop a relationship with Him.
When Jesus was asked by his disciples to teach them to pray he gave them what has become known as the Lord’s prayer. This prayer is not only a prayer in of itself, it is also a model for prayer where each phrase can be a launch pad for a whole session of prayer. The first half of the prayer is concerned with meeting God.
- Who do we pray to?
- How do you approach one who is intimate - Father, and distant - Holy?
- How do we pray for God’s kingdom (as against our own) ?
Luke 11:2-4 2 Jesus said, "This is how you should pray:*
"Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
A broader perspective on Meet God in Prayer
Prayer is a language in which we meet with God. When a child learns to speak she starts with requests and is driven not by any intense desire to meet with her parents but a sense of need or desire. In the same way we learn to pray to God mostly out of need. It is only as we become mature that prayer is focused on our relationship with our Father The second half of the Lord’s prayer focuses on praying out of need.
- What rhythm of prayer is implicit in this prayer of Jesus?
- What needs are presented in this prayer?
- Why would asking for forgiveness be conditional on forgiving others?
- An aspect of prayer that is often forgotten is that of spiritual protection.
Luke 11:3 Give us each day the food we need,*
4 and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don't let us yield to temptation.*"
A broader perspective on Ask for Needs
In prayer, God’s children go to their heavenly Father. Our attitude in prayer shows who we really think we are and who God is. We can be doing all the right things and saying all the right words, but if our attitudes are out of place, then the Lord in His love might have a bit of an attitude towards us!
- What need did the lepers have?
- What attitudes and actions are seen in the man whom Jesus affirmed?
Luke 17:12-19 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance,13 crying out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
14 He looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests."* And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, "Praise God!"16 He fell to the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"19 And Jesus said to the man, "Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.*"
A broader perspective on Attitude in Prayer
Why are some prayers are answered and others not? Why are the prayers of some answered immediately, while the prayers of others seem ignored? The Lord is king over all so how difficult a thing is for us to achieve has no bearing on whether God can do it. Keys to answered prayer is not about how possible it is for God to act, but whether we are engaging with God in His will.
- What does it mean to remain in Jesus?
- What can be asked by those who do remain in Jesus?
John 15:7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!
A broader perspective on Keys to answered Prayer
We live in a materialistic world that denies the existence of anything that cannot be observed physically. Jesus teaches of a spiritual realm and spent much time dealing with the unseen agents of that realm. We live in that same world and can be hindered in life if we are not equipped to deal with the enemy.
- What are we to be aware of in the spiritual realm?
- What are we to do to meet this challenge?
Ephesians 6:10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.12 For we* are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
A broader perspective on Spiritual Warfare
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