What is Prayer?

Welcome to our new summer study on prayer. All summer we'll be digging in our Bibles and finding out how to pray, what to pray and why we pray. If you are interested in this study, don't worry that you missed anything. We will have attendees who may need to be away for vacation or tend to summer visitors, so jump in when you can! This study is structured to invite lots of conversation, debate and study of God's word. One thing I hope is that our group will bring a lot of info to the table that God has revealed through His word, a sermon, articles or independent study. The only required book for this study is your Bible.

If you are interested, I will have information on building a prayer notebook. Bring a 3 ring binder with either notebook paper or a spiral and 3 tabs.

May God open our eyes to the amazing miracle of prayer. May we see how much He loves us by blessing our reaching out to Him in prayer. In Jesus name, amen!

What is prayer? We had several definitions; conversation with God, listening to God, talking to Him with our mind...we could've gone on and on. The dictionary said it is "a spiritual communion (fellowship) with God."

Let's have a reminder of just who are God is. Isaiah 6:1-5 is a description of God in heaven. If you'd like to see what God says about Himself, check out Job 38-41. To read those chapters is a humbling experience.

Daily prayer trains us to turn to God in all our circumstances. As we develop that habit, our relationship grows. We learn He is faithful and worthy of our trust.

Much like a baby learns to trust the parent through daily care: feeding time, soothing a sore tummy, changing diapers, answering a cry in the middle of the night, the child learns the parent is trustworthy. So when larger problems loom as they grow--they come to the parent for help, advice or comfort.

If you had a difficult relationship with your parent, then learning to trust in your Heavenly Father will be one of the goals of this class for you.

"But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14

Romans 8:26-27 says that the holy Spirit lives in believers, not unbelievers. We communicate to God by the Holy Spirit. Consider your soul for a moment; have you ever made a decision to follow Christ? That will be the most important prayer you can ever pray. Let's take care of that right now!

Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, you have opened the communication lines between you and God. As a disciple, we need to start with the basics. Let's look at how Jesus taught His first disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.

"Pray, then, in this way: Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen]"

Jesus didn't say to pray these words every time, He said to "pray in this way". This is a structure for your prayers. Notice how it is a few requests sandwiched between praise statements. Keep that in mind while we walk thru this word by word.

Take that first word, "our". That is huge. Remember who is saying this word. It's Jesus. And He's saying "our", not "my". So what does that say about the speaker? That means He's sharing something with us. He's sharing that next word: Father. "Our Father"...not "my father". Wrap your brain around that one for a minute--He's saying "our father"! Then that must mean Jesus is my brother and I am His sister. In my prayers I need to realize that I am already a daughter of the King of the universe. And if I am God's daughter, how much more will I not just have His ear, but His unconditional love as well!

"who is in heaven"--this phrase along with the next phrase, "Hallowed be Your name" acknowledges His deity. Hallowed means holy. We're telling God we know who He is and where He's coming from.

"Your kingdom come" We encourage God not to tarry when He returns again to earth.

"Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We are asking God to do His will in our lives as much as He does His will in heaven.

"Give us this day our daily bread." We need to remember to ask God for the simple things like food or sustenance. Even the "daily bread" of His word as we read the Bible.

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." A lot of people rush through this part because of a two-letter word: AS. We are not to forgive those who have hurt us after God forgives us. We are to forgive them as He forgives us. The verse after this prayer explains this a bit more: "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." That little word "as" is a comfort to me. Much like someone holding my hand as we jump off the high dive together, I know I'm not doing this forgiveness thing alone.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." There is one who tempts us, deceives us and lies to us. That is not God. God opens the escape hatch and delivers us from the evil one. We need to remind ourselves of that fact in prayer every day.

"For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." The praise closes this simple prayer and adds a punch to the enemy. We know how all this ends up, and God wins in the end.

What I'd like for our group to do is write their own prayer by using this structure. Write the Lord's prayer in your own words. Personalize it. Get used to this structure as you seek quiet time with God.

We'll be back together Wednesday evening to share how this simple prayer that Jesus gave to His disciples affected our prayer time this week.

May God reveal His love for you as you seek His face.