130929 AM 32 Days of Powerful Prayer
| 32 Days of Powerful Prayer *** A. Many of us naturally think of the greatness of God in terms of his right to demand service (lsa 64:8). B. But consider another dimension of the greatness of God revealed in Isaiah 64:4. A common threadthat continues to appear in Acts 17:24-25, Mark 10:45,2 Chronicles 16:9, and beyond. C. One very special way this characteristic of God relates to us is prayer (Phil 4:4-7; 1 Pet 5:6-7). I. PRAYER: The Basics A. Prayer is not merely something, thinking about something, or reciting somememorized lines with an unengaged heart. B. Prayer is the communicating of human thoughts to the infinite mind of God (Rom 10:1). C. Throughout his written revelation to mankind, God presents himself as a God who __________(Psa 3:3-4; 18:6; 34:4-7,15). 1. While the eyes and ears of the LORD are receptive to the righteous, iniquities create a ________________ ; sins hide God’s holy face from us (lsa 59:1-2). 2. Our greatest need? (John 1:9-13; Acts 2:37-38; Rom 6:3-4; 8:16; 1 John 3:1). 3. How does Jesus teach his disciples to pray? “Our in heaven … n (Matt 6:9). II. REALIZE: Prayerlessness is a Form of Childish _______________ A. From a practical point-of-view: the things I pray about are the things I trust God to handle. Thethings I neglect to pray about? Those are the things I feel capable of handling on my own. B. The danger of treating prayer as ________ rather than _______ . 1. The example of Jonah (1:1-10). 2. To pray is to love; not to pray is to be complacent, unloving, and selfish. C. We can do more than pray after we’ve prayed, but we can’t do more than pray until we’ve prayed!(James 5:16) III. HELP: Seven Ways to Engage Your Heart in Prayer A. ________ “You are the greatest treasure of my heart” (Psa 37:4). B. ________ “Help me align the affections of my heart with yours” (Matt 6:21). C. ________ “Keep me aware of you as my greatest need” (John 15:5). D. ________ “Train me in the fight to love the good and abhor the evil” (Heb 5:14). E. ________ “Be the strength my prone-to-wander heart needs” (Psa 73:23-26). F. ________ “I trust you to do whatever you must for my good” (Heb 12: 10-11).G. _______- “I pledge to faithfully serve you for the rest of my life” (1 Cor 15:58; Rev 2:10). |