ub4war
bond servant of Christ
http://www.russpickett.com/fmindex.htm
How Should I Talk To God?
Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
Matthew 18:19-20 "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
When I was a young boy I often asked my daddy for things. When we were growing up, life was hard. My Dad was a teacher and my Mom stayed home with my brother and I, and we had to be very careful that there was enough money for the necessities. I didn't understand that then, but I do now. Anyway, I'd ask Dad for things, and sometimes he'd say "yes", other times "no", and sometimes it was "let me think about it".
The thing was, when I asked Dad for things I never dropped to my knees and said "Dearest Daddy, Thou art the ruler of this household, the King amongst us. Wilt thou give me ___?". Yes, I know that sounds silly. If I'd asked Dad that way, he's have sent me to a home! You see, Dad and I had a "relationship", and I communicated in simple terms my wants and needs. In the same way, we need to communicate (pray) to our Heavenly Father. I was never disrespectful to my Dad, I was afraid to be that way. In the same way, we are never to be disrespectful to our Heavenly Father. We should be afraid to be that way. Yet many of us are disrespectful to our Heavenly Father when we pray.
My Dad was limited in his resources, and this was the reason I didn't often get what I wanted. God our Father, on the other hand, has unlimited resources. Do you see what Jesus said in Mark above:
"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them".
God is not limited by resources, but He is often limited by our relationship to Him. If we pray thus: "Father, I'd like ___, though I know in my heart you'll not give it", then don't be surprised when God doesn't hear your prayer. Too often we pray "Expecting Not To Receive" and we don't receive, then we say "Well, I knew it all along". What an insult to God!
Understand this, God is your Heavenly Father, and He is also the best Friend you'll ever have. He expects you to build a relationship with Him through prayer. As your relationship grows, your spirituality grows, and your ability to be blessed grows. If you pray "DISbelieving", you are wasting your (and God's) time. Pray believing that He loves you, pray believing that He will only answer if it is in your best interest, pray establishing a relationship with Him. Then your prayers will be effective.
Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
Isaiah 65:24 "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
Call on God "expecting" to receive a blessing, and "expecting" Him to answer in a mighty way. You have to expect a blessing to receive a blessing. You cannot expect a blessing, however, until you have matured as a believer to the point where you "can" expect a blessing. I doubt that you'll be able to finish reading this study then say (for the first time in months) "All right, God, now I'm ready. Let's Pray!" and get a great blessing. For one thing is certain: "prayer is a discipline", something that you must work at. When you build a habit of prayer, a habit of seeking God's face, then His presence becomes more powerful as time goes by.
" Greatness Among Man Does Not Mean Anything "
Luke 5:16 "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."
Luke 22:44 "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
Jesus our example and Savior often prayed, and made prayer to the Father a part of His everyday life. When He prayed He focused on the One He was praying to, not on the great words that He might utter to bring the audience to rapture. Jesus threw Himself into His prayers, prayers both public and private, and ignored all but the One He was addressing.
Many people have the idea that you need to have a degree from Seminary in order to pray effectively. Nothing is farther from the truth. There was once a great Seminary, run by the most Powerful Religious Man who ever lived. This Man taught His class how to pray, when to pray, how to approach God, and these men graduated from that excellent course three years later just as ignorant as when they went in. This Seminary was run by Jesus Christ Himself, and the students were twelve men whom He called "disciples". Look how well they did:
Matthew 26: 36-45 "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."
Here it was, graduation day, and the disciples fell victim to sleep when they should have been praying and watching with Jesus. They knew that the time was short - Jesus revealed how short it was before His execution at the Passover. He emphasized His death was coming in just hours, and asked, as His final request, that the disciples pray with Him. These men walked the earth with the Son of God. They had the best instruction possible, knew how to pray, but failed when Jesus needed them most. Rather than focus on God and lift up Jesus they instead focused on their own need of sleep. The point? "Great instruction and a Great Teacher doesn't make a prayer warrior". Great instruction gives you the information you need, but unless you actually "Do The Praying" on a regular basis you'll never be effective in prayer, either public or private.
Understanding Private Prayer
First, Confess Your Sins
Psalms 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me"
1 John 1:8-9 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Public prayer is something that every Christ should be able to do. When you pray out loud in the Church, your prayers lead the Body into a closer walk with God or drive it farther away. But public prayer is only effective if you already have a "private" relationship with God. Unless you have a relationship with Him you cannot lead others in a public conversation with Him.
When you get off by yourself to pray to the Father, the very first thing you should do is "Examine" your life. Have you sin in your life? Are you where you ought to be with God? Be honest, because God already knows the answer to this one.
When you start praying, first "confess" any known sins that you have in your life to God. "Confess" is the Greek HOMOLOGEO, which means "to assent to, acknowledge, say the same thing about". When you HOMOLOGEO your sins you uncover them, bring them out into the open. You tell God, "Father, I have sinned by ___, and ask your forgiveness in the name of Jesus". Do not justify your sin ("Lord, I know I did this, BUT"). Do not seek to minimize its evil in the sight of God. Just "admit it", repenting, and ask God to forgive you of it.
Believer, if you pray with sin in your heart you're just blowing off hot air! Whether it's a bad lifestyle, destructive behavior, or even a "little" sin then HOMOLOGEO, admit it.
"Active sin" in your life is one of the nine reasons that God doesn't answer your prayers. Here's the other reasons:
1. "You pray without faith"
(Matthew 18:18-20; 21:22; Mark 11:24). Praying without faith is akin to calling God a liar. God loves you, and only wants the best for you. If you pray doubting as you pray you are saying to Him "I'm really not sure You love me, care about me, or even exist". Don't expect any answer if you pray with doubt in your heart. And if you have a grain of doubt, then while praying be honest about it with Him. Say "Lord, I believe - help my unbelief" (Mark 9.23-24). God respects honesty, not deceit.
2. "You pray selfishly"
(James 4:2-3). I have heard of Christians playing the Lottery (which I detest) and praying "God, let me win". Why? What's your reason for wanting this money? Will it advance the Kingdom of God, help someone in need, or honor Christ. The selfish prayer is never heard - pray with the right motivation.
3. "You pray, but have no compassion for others"
(Proverbs 21:13). Are you living your life like Jesus did, selflessly giving and trying to love others? Or are you living greedily, only for yourself, for no one else? Until you try to walk like Jesus walked, giving of yourself and your riches to those less fortunate, then God will ignore your selfish prayers.
4. "You pray, but your household is in disarray"
(1 Peter 3:7). Men, if you treat your wives poorly, beat them, shun them, treat them as anything less that a Gift from God then expect God to ignore your prayers. Women, if you nag you husband, insult him publicly, refuse to love him, treat him as less than a Gift from God, then expect your prayers to be ignored. Man and wife are "One Flesh", and that unit cannot be in disarray else God will ignore your prayers.
5. "You pray pridefully or self righteously"
(Job 35:12-13; Luke 18:11-14). Believer, we are all human approaching a Holy and Righteous God when we pray. None of us deserve Grace, we all deserve hell fire and eternal damnation. We are not worth the price He paid for us, but He paid it out of Grace. When you pray, don't be lifted up in yourself. We are all sinners and hell bound but for the Grace of God in Christ Jesus.
6. "You pray from your own power, without the power of the Holy Spirit"
(Ephesians 6:18). The effective prayer is the surrendered prayer. Surrender yourself to the anointing power of the Holy Spirit when you pray, and God will be in your prayers.
7. "You pray in disobedience"
(1 John 3:22). If you have been living a life of sin, ignoring God, and then come to Him in prayer your prayers won't have much punch. Obey His leading in your life, then your prayer life will be rich and rewarding.
8. "Finally, you pray outside of the Will of God"
(1 John 5:14). We must ask God in "accordance" with His will. Now you may ask, "How can I know that will?" The answer is simple, the reality harder. Unless you are studying God's Word on a regular daily basis you may never understand the Will of God. The effective prayer warrior is the one who spends time in His Word, "reverently" spends time, on a regular basis. As the Will of God unfolds to you through His Word then you begin to understand and apply this Will to your prayer life. The Scripture will reveal His Will, and your prayers will show you a deeper relationship in Him. You must have both, prayer and meditation on the Word.
How Should I Talk To God?
Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
Matthew 18:19-20 "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
When I was a young boy I often asked my daddy for things. When we were growing up, life was hard. My Dad was a teacher and my Mom stayed home with my brother and I, and we had to be very careful that there was enough money for the necessities. I didn't understand that then, but I do now. Anyway, I'd ask Dad for things, and sometimes he'd say "yes", other times "no", and sometimes it was "let me think about it".
The thing was, when I asked Dad for things I never dropped to my knees and said "Dearest Daddy, Thou art the ruler of this household, the King amongst us. Wilt thou give me ___?". Yes, I know that sounds silly. If I'd asked Dad that way, he's have sent me to a home! You see, Dad and I had a "relationship", and I communicated in simple terms my wants and needs. In the same way, we need to communicate (pray) to our Heavenly Father. I was never disrespectful to my Dad, I was afraid to be that way. In the same way, we are never to be disrespectful to our Heavenly Father. We should be afraid to be that way. Yet many of us are disrespectful to our Heavenly Father when we pray.
My Dad was limited in his resources, and this was the reason I didn't often get what I wanted. God our Father, on the other hand, has unlimited resources. Do you see what Jesus said in Mark above:
"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them".
God is not limited by resources, but He is often limited by our relationship to Him. If we pray thus: "Father, I'd like ___, though I know in my heart you'll not give it", then don't be surprised when God doesn't hear your prayer. Too often we pray "Expecting Not To Receive" and we don't receive, then we say "Well, I knew it all along". What an insult to God!
Understand this, God is your Heavenly Father, and He is also the best Friend you'll ever have. He expects you to build a relationship with Him through prayer. As your relationship grows, your spirituality grows, and your ability to be blessed grows. If you pray "DISbelieving", you are wasting your (and God's) time. Pray believing that He loves you, pray believing that He will only answer if it is in your best interest, pray establishing a relationship with Him. Then your prayers will be effective.
Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
Isaiah 65:24 "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
Call on God "expecting" to receive a blessing, and "expecting" Him to answer in a mighty way. You have to expect a blessing to receive a blessing. You cannot expect a blessing, however, until you have matured as a believer to the point where you "can" expect a blessing. I doubt that you'll be able to finish reading this study then say (for the first time in months) "All right, God, now I'm ready. Let's Pray!" and get a great blessing. For one thing is certain: "prayer is a discipline", something that you must work at. When you build a habit of prayer, a habit of seeking God's face, then His presence becomes more powerful as time goes by.
" Greatness Among Man Does Not Mean Anything "
Luke 5:16 "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."
Luke 22:44 "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
Jesus our example and Savior often prayed, and made prayer to the Father a part of His everyday life. When He prayed He focused on the One He was praying to, not on the great words that He might utter to bring the audience to rapture. Jesus threw Himself into His prayers, prayers both public and private, and ignored all but the One He was addressing.
Many people have the idea that you need to have a degree from Seminary in order to pray effectively. Nothing is farther from the truth. There was once a great Seminary, run by the most Powerful Religious Man who ever lived. This Man taught His class how to pray, when to pray, how to approach God, and these men graduated from that excellent course three years later just as ignorant as when they went in. This Seminary was run by Jesus Christ Himself, and the students were twelve men whom He called "disciples". Look how well they did:
Matthew 26: 36-45 "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."
Here it was, graduation day, and the disciples fell victim to sleep when they should have been praying and watching with Jesus. They knew that the time was short - Jesus revealed how short it was before His execution at the Passover. He emphasized His death was coming in just hours, and asked, as His final request, that the disciples pray with Him. These men walked the earth with the Son of God. They had the best instruction possible, knew how to pray, but failed when Jesus needed them most. Rather than focus on God and lift up Jesus they instead focused on their own need of sleep. The point? "Great instruction and a Great Teacher doesn't make a prayer warrior". Great instruction gives you the information you need, but unless you actually "Do The Praying" on a regular basis you'll never be effective in prayer, either public or private.
Understanding Private Prayer
First, Confess Your Sins
Psalms 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me"
1 John 1:8-9 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Public prayer is something that every Christ should be able to do. When you pray out loud in the Church, your prayers lead the Body into a closer walk with God or drive it farther away. But public prayer is only effective if you already have a "private" relationship with God. Unless you have a relationship with Him you cannot lead others in a public conversation with Him.
When you get off by yourself to pray to the Father, the very first thing you should do is "Examine" your life. Have you sin in your life? Are you where you ought to be with God? Be honest, because God already knows the answer to this one.
When you start praying, first "confess" any known sins that you have in your life to God. "Confess" is the Greek HOMOLOGEO, which means "to assent to, acknowledge, say the same thing about". When you HOMOLOGEO your sins you uncover them, bring them out into the open. You tell God, "Father, I have sinned by ___, and ask your forgiveness in the name of Jesus". Do not justify your sin ("Lord, I know I did this, BUT"). Do not seek to minimize its evil in the sight of God. Just "admit it", repenting, and ask God to forgive you of it.
Believer, if you pray with sin in your heart you're just blowing off hot air! Whether it's a bad lifestyle, destructive behavior, or even a "little" sin then HOMOLOGEO, admit it.
"Active sin" in your life is one of the nine reasons that God doesn't answer your prayers. Here's the other reasons:
1. "You pray without faith"
(Matthew 18:18-20; 21:22; Mark 11:24). Praying without faith is akin to calling God a liar. God loves you, and only wants the best for you. If you pray doubting as you pray you are saying to Him "I'm really not sure You love me, care about me, or even exist". Don't expect any answer if you pray with doubt in your heart. And if you have a grain of doubt, then while praying be honest about it with Him. Say "Lord, I believe - help my unbelief" (Mark 9.23-24). God respects honesty, not deceit.
2. "You pray selfishly"
(James 4:2-3). I have heard of Christians playing the Lottery (which I detest) and praying "God, let me win". Why? What's your reason for wanting this money? Will it advance the Kingdom of God, help someone in need, or honor Christ. The selfish prayer is never heard - pray with the right motivation.
3. "You pray, but have no compassion for others"
(Proverbs 21:13). Are you living your life like Jesus did, selflessly giving and trying to love others? Or are you living greedily, only for yourself, for no one else? Until you try to walk like Jesus walked, giving of yourself and your riches to those less fortunate, then God will ignore your selfish prayers.
4. "You pray, but your household is in disarray"
(1 Peter 3:7). Men, if you treat your wives poorly, beat them, shun them, treat them as anything less that a Gift from God then expect God to ignore your prayers. Women, if you nag you husband, insult him publicly, refuse to love him, treat him as less than a Gift from God, then expect your prayers to be ignored. Man and wife are "One Flesh", and that unit cannot be in disarray else God will ignore your prayers.
5. "You pray pridefully or self righteously"
(Job 35:12-13; Luke 18:11-14). Believer, we are all human approaching a Holy and Righteous God when we pray. None of us deserve Grace, we all deserve hell fire and eternal damnation. We are not worth the price He paid for us, but He paid it out of Grace. When you pray, don't be lifted up in yourself. We are all sinners and hell bound but for the Grace of God in Christ Jesus.
6. "You pray from your own power, without the power of the Holy Spirit"
(Ephesians 6:18). The effective prayer is the surrendered prayer. Surrender yourself to the anointing power of the Holy Spirit when you pray, and God will be in your prayers.
7. "You pray in disobedience"
(1 John 3:22). If you have been living a life of sin, ignoring God, and then come to Him in prayer your prayers won't have much punch. Obey His leading in your life, then your prayer life will be rich and rewarding.
8. "Finally, you pray outside of the Will of God"
(1 John 5:14). We must ask God in "accordance" with His will. Now you may ask, "How can I know that will?" The answer is simple, the reality harder. Unless you are studying God's Word on a regular daily basis you may never understand the Will of God. The effective prayer warrior is the one who spends time in His Word, "reverently" spends time, on a regular basis. As the Will of God unfolds to you through His Word then you begin to understand and apply this Will to your prayer life. The Scripture will reveal His Will, and your prayers will show you a deeper relationship in Him. You must have both, prayer and meditation on the Word.
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