Learning to Pray

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Learning to Pray

• June 7

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Think About It

• Consider Corrie ten Booms statement, Is prayer
  your steering wheel or your spare tire?
• What kind of prayers fit in each category?

Today we look at Jesus teaching about prayer
the importance of prayer a pattern for prayer
Steering Wheel Prayers Spare Tire Prayers

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Listen for ways Jesus said we should not pray

• Matthew 65-9 (NIV) "And when you pray, do not be
  like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
  standing in the synagogues and on the street
  corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth,
  they have received their reward in full. 6 But
  when you pray, go into your room, close the door
  and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your
  Father,

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Listen for ways Jesus said we should not pray

• sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7
  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like
  pagans, for they think they will be heard because
  of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for
  your Father knows what you need before you ask
  him. 9 "This, then, is how you should pray "
  'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

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Prayer Shows Relationship

• According to this passage how did hypocrites
  pray?
• What will be the result or reward of their
  religious showmanship?
• And how do the pagans pray?

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Prayer Shows Relationship

• Examples of pagan prayers
• Tibetan prayer wheels
• Each revolution sends the prayer to the deity

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Prayer Shows Relationship

• What common or overused phrases do you hear
  frequently repeated in peoples prayers?
• How can we keep prayer from being babble.
• What relationship to God does Jesus stress?
• Implicit in this model prayer is the Fathers
  expectation that His children communicate with
  Him in prayer. Why do you like to talk to your
  children?

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Prayer Shows Relationship

• Jesus specifies that the name of Jesus should be
  hallowed. To hallow Gods name means
• to recognize Gods holiness and
• spread His reputation throughout the world.
• How is it possible to approach God as Father
  while respecting His holiness?

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Prayer Shows Relationship

• How do our relationships with our earthly fathers
  influence our relationship with God, our heavenly
  Father?
• Two implications of this
• be a godly father it influences how your
  children see God
• if you had an ungodly father, you must learn to
  see past that experience and know that God is
  loving, wise, kind

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Listen for ways to glorify God, according to this
prayer.

• Matthew 610 (NIV) your kingdom come, your will
  be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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Prayer Glorifies God

• The Kingdom of God is the realm where God rules.
  What do you think the priorities of Gods
  authority and rule might be?
• When God rules in our lives and in our
  situations, God is glorified!

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Prayer Glorifies God

• Evaluate what kinds of concerns occupy most of
  your prayer time
• praise
• confession
• petition
• organ recital (list of physical needs heart,
  gall bladder, bad knees )
• spiritual needs (personal, family, church)

You might ask yourself How do my prayers
glorify God?
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Prayer Glorifies God

• Jesus prays for Gods will to be done on earth,
  as it is in heaven. How should Gods will
  influence the way we live our day to day lives?

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Listen for basic requests that are to be included
in our prayers.

• Matthew 611 - 13 (NIV) Give us today our daily
  bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have
  forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into
  temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

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Prayer Expresses Needs

• What are the three types of requests mentioned
  here?
• What other kinds of daily needs besides food do
  you think might be included in daily bread?
• Why do you think specific requests for
  forgiveness are so often neglected?

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Prayer Expresses Needs

• What sins or offenses by others do we find
  especially difficult to forgive?
• Jesus talks about deliverance from evil.
  Inability to forgive might be one kind of
  deliverance we need. From what other kinds of
  evil do we need deliverance.
• Note temptations are a fact of life
• the temptation is not a sin
• the yielding to temptation is the sin

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Application

• 4.1 Analyze your prayer requests in the light of
  our study
• What percentage of your prayer requests focuses
  on physical needs?
• What percentage focuses on the Kingdom/Rule of
  God?
• What percentage focuses on spiritual needs?

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Application

• 4.2 When praying for others, apply principles of
  the Lords Prayer
• Pray that Gods forgiveness will be realized in
  their lives
• Pray that they will allow God to rule in their
  lives
• Pray that God will meet their physical and
  spiritual needs

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Application

• Ask God to help you repair any strained
  relationships by forgiving specific offenses
• Even though the person may have offended
  unintentionally
• Even though they offended with malice
• Even though they might not be willing to seek
  forgiveness

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Learning to Pray

• June 7