( Doug ‘s ain words stating hullo and welcome to GNB Word Alive, Derek Stringer etc. – This is a new series covering with one of the most of import countries in the Christian life. . . that of supplication. Most people feel guilty. This series starts where we are at to take us to where we want to be.
Today Derek tackles how to acquire into bold praying.
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The rubric for the series is ‘Prepared By Bing Pre-Prayered ‘ . . . a wordplay on the word. Do n’t we desire to be ‘pre-prayered ‘ for life ‘s occurrences?
Today ‘s message is based on Ephesians 6 from poetry 18. )
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Now Here ‘s Derek.
Derek Stringer
Thankss once more for your debut Doug.. This series is an of import 1 for us all. I ‘m so glad you ‘ve tuned in and I hope that you will remain with us fopr the following few proceedingss. Doug will be back to read the Bibles from clip to clip.
A adult male who wanders into a little and littered old-timer store. In the thick of all the novelties and debris, he notices what looks like an ancient Chinese vase lying on the floor. On closer review it turns out to be a invaluable relic from the Ming dynasty whose value is beyond ciphering. It ‘s worth more than anything else in the shop put together. The client realizes that the proprietor has no thought about its value, because it ‘s filled with milk and the cat ‘s imbibing out of it.
The adult male sees the chance for a trade of a life-time so he smartly strategises a method to obtain the vase for a fraction of its worth. He comes up to the proprietor and says, “ That ‘s an extraordinary cat you have. How much would you sell her for? ” The proprietor responds, “ Oh, the cat is non truly for sale. She keeps the shop free of mice. ” The adult male counters by stating, “ I truly must hold her. State you whataˆ¦I ‘ll give you a hundred lbs for her. ” The proprietor laughs and says, “ She ‘s non truly deserving it, but if you want her that severely, she ‘s yours. ”
The adult male so says, “ I need something to feed her from every bit good. Let me throw in another 10 pounds for that saucer she ‘s imbibing out of. ” The proprietor smiles and answers, “ Oh, I could ne’er make that. That disk is really an ancient Chinese vase from the Ming dynasty. It is my prized ownership, whose worth is beyond computation. Amusing thing, though ; since we ‘ve had it, I ‘ve sold 17 cats! ”
Some of us approach God like that when we try to acquire Him to give us something we truly want. At times we bargain with God and other times we merely do n’t trouble oneself. Let ‘s be honest about something. While some of us do All right with our supplications, many of us know we need more power when we pray.
In this Word Alive programme we ‘ll look at Paul ‘s instruction on supplication from Ephesians 6:18-20. We ‘ll get down with verse 18.
Over to Doug.
Doug Wilcox
“ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all sorts of supplications and petitions. With this in head, be watchful and ever maintain on praying for all the saints. ” This primer on supplication comes right after the reminder that we ‘re in a religious war. Notice verse 12: “ For our battle is non against flesh and blood, but against the swayers, against the governments, against the powers of this dark universe and against the religious forces of immorality in the celestial kingdom. ” Because we ‘re in a cosmic conflict, Paul challenges trusters to set on the “ full armor of God ” in poetries 13-17. And in poetries 18-20, he describes supplication as the ultimate secret arm of war. We wo n’t be able to utilize the armor if we ‘re non empowered by supplication.
Back to Derek
Derek Stringer
If we want to cognize how to pray, this poetry gives us six indispensable elements that can gripe up our supplication lives, taking them from mediocre or non-existent to powerful and exciting. Harmonizing to Paul ‘s paradigm, supplication must be:
1st. Spirit-directed. The first thing we must retrieve is that supplication is non something that is to be rote or repetitive. Jesus cautioned us against merely traveling through the gestures in Matthew 6: “ And when you pray, do non maintain on babbling like heathens, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ” Paul challenges us to “ pray in the Spirit. ”
To pray in the spirit means at least two things.
First, we must pray with our bosom and psyche.
Second, we must trust on the power of the Holy Spirit to assist us pray.
Doug Wilcox
Romans 8:26 says: “ In the same manner, the Spirit helps us in our failing. We do non cognize what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with moans that words can non show. ”
Derek Stringer
There have been times when I ‘ve merely prayed, “ Lord have mercy ” or “ God make your work here ” because I could n’t pray anything else. When we allow the Spirit to direct our supplications we can avoid selfish petitions and empty words.
( 2 ) Our Prayer Needs To Be Life-saturated.
We are to pray in the Spirit “ on all occasions. ” The clip to pray is all the clip. Prayer is appropriate in all seasons of life and at all times during the twenty-four hours. We are to pray when things are good, and when they ‘re bad ; in times of calamity, and in times of victory ; when we finish good, and when we fail miserably ; when God feels near, and when we do n’t cognize where He is.
Doug Wilcox
The early church surely understood this when we read in Acts 1 that they were “ continually giving themselves to prayer. ” 1 Thessalonians 5 challenges us to “ pray without discontinuing. ”
Derek Stringer
Have you of all time wondered how you can pray like this? How can you pray without discontinuing? The lone manner I know is by leting Christ to be at the Centre of your life so that in every state of affairs and circumstance you will happen yourself of course speaking to Him.
( 3 ) Our Prayer Needs To Be All-encompassing.
The Spirit must stimulate our supplications and we must seek the Lord on all occasions. And, we ‘re to make so “ with all sorts of supplications and petitions. ” The Grecian accents “ all types ” of supplication. There is non merely one manner to pray.
In John Bunyan ‘s The Pilgrim ‘s Progress, Christian came upon evil forces and found that his arm was useless. As he pondered the state of affairs, he was “ forced to set up his blade, and betake himself to another arm called, ‘All-Prayer. ‘ ”
The word “ supplication ” refers to something general and concerns honoring God by bowing in fear before Him ; while a “ petition ” is a specific request for ourselves or for others. Prayer can be public or private ; societal or secret ; solemn or sudden. Our supplications can be written out or they can be self-generated. We can believe them or we can shout them. We can cry in brokenness when we pray, or we can be ebullient with congratulations.
Shortly after I became a Christian, I was taught something that still helps me today. My Bible Class Leader mentioned that its manner excessively easy to merely near God with a shopping list of petitions and that we tend to jump over congratulations. Possibly you ‘ve besides profited from the acronym ACTS for the parts of supplication: Worship, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Daniel ‘s supplication in Daniel 9 provides a good illustration of this.
Adoration. While God loves to hear our petitions, He is honoured when we begin with congratulations. When Daniel prays for his state, he starts with worship in verse 4:
Doug Wilcox
“ O Lord, the great and amazing God, who keeps his compact of love with all who love him and obey his bids. ”
Derek Stringer
Alternatively of hotfooting into your petitions, foremost decelerate down and praise God for who He is.
Confession. After adoring the Almighty, Daniel instantly goes into a clip of confession in verse 5:
Doug Wilcox
“ we have sinned and done incorrect. We have been wicked and have rebelled ; we have turned away from your bids and Torahs. ”
Daniel could n’t assist but squeal because his supplication led to self-contemplation and he rapidly realized all the ways that he and his people fell abruptly. Actually, if you read this chapter, you ‘ll see that the bulk of his supplication is spent in confession.
Thanksgiving. After idolizing and having his wickedness, Daniel remembers to give thanks for all that God has done in verse 15:
Doug Wilcox
“ Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty manus and who made for yourself a name that endures to this dayaˆ¦ ”
Derek Stringer
What is it that you can thank God for today?
Invocation. When we put our petitions at the terminal, we ‘re in a better place to admit that God ‘s will is what we truly want. By adoring, squealing and thanking, it ‘s harder to be selfish. Daniel, who is evidently praying “ in the Spirit, ” pleads in verse 17:
Doug Wilcox
“ Now, our God, hear the supplications and requests of your retainer. For your interest, O Lord, expression with favour upon your desolate sanctuary. ”
Derek Stringer
He concludes his supplication in verse 19 with a sense of urgency:
Doug Wilcox
“ O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive. O Lord, hear and act! ”
Derek Stringer
When you pray, do n’t keep back. You do n’t hold to be mild or hesitating as Hebrews 4 provinces: “ Let us so approach the throne of grace with confidenceaˆ¦ ”
Doug Wilcox
And James 4 puts it clearly: “ You do non hold because you do non inquire. ”
Derek Stringer
4. Clear-minded. We ‘re to be watchful when we pray. The word used here literally means, “ sleepless ” or “ non drowsy. ” Paul is returning to a military image to assist us see that we are on guard responsibility and must therefore non travel AWOL. The phrase, “ ticker and pray ” is used frequently in the Bible. Have you of all time noticed how supplication can do you get down yawning? Peter went to kip when he should hold been watching ; Saul had his lance taken when he fell asleep ; Samson ‘s hair was whacked off when he was saw wooding ; and Sisera ‘s caput was nailed to the land while he took a siesta. Now, that ‘s non to state we should n’t kip, but we must guard against drowsing when we should be mediating. There are at least three things we should watch out for when we ‘re praying:
Be cognizant of the immorality around you and Satan ‘s desire to maintain you from supplication. Do n’t allow him win! Work through your drowsiness.
Watch your leaning to snooze and infinite out while you ‘re praying. Stay alert.
Doug Wilcox
1 Peter 4:7 says: “ Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. ”
Derek Stringer
One manner some people keep their head clear is by composing down isolated ideas that come their manner when they ‘re acquiring ready to pray. Another manner to remain focussed is to compose out your supplications in a diary.
Be attentive to God ‘s replies to your supplications. Look for them during the twenty-four hours. Expect Him to react and maintain praying until He does.
5. Persistently-devoted. The 5th component of supplication is to “ ever maintain on praying. ” To maintain on praying agencies to function invariably. Some of you have been praying for a household member for old ages. Do n’t halt. It was nice meeting Warren Wiersbe when I was in Lincoln, Nebraska. The place of GNB in America. I recall that he has written ( someplace ) that most of us discontinue praying merely before God is about to give the triumph. Keep on praying until the Spirit stops you or the Father replies you.
Doug Wilcox
Jesus encouraged us to be relentless in supplication when He said in Matthew 7:7: “ Ask and it will be given to you ; seek and you will happen ; knock and the door will be opened to you. ”
Derek Stringer
These three verbs are present jussive moods so it could read: “ Ask, and maintain on inquiring ; seek, and maintain on seeking ; knock, and maintain on knocking. ” There ‘s besides an go uping order of strength. We begin by inquiring and so we seek by traveling after it and eventually we lb on the door. George Mueller prayed for two friends for over 50 old ages. Person asked him if he truly believed that God would change over them. I love his response: “ Do you believe God would hold kept me praying all these old ages if He did non mean to salvage them? ” Both of these work forces finally came to Christ, one right before Mueller died ; the other shortly after his decease.
6. Others-focused. The concluding component of supplication is to do certain we are praying for others, non merely for ourselves: “ maintain on praying for all the saints. ” Remember that when Jesus taught His followings to pray, He began with the phrase, “ Our Father. ” We are to pray in the plural, non merely the singular. Our supplications have the ability to impact lives around the universe as we pray for our wireless programmes and fellow GNB Partners. And we can cover our households with protection as we pray for them. Your church needs your supplications and I need your supplications.
Paul modelled the importance of praying for others and now he urges people to pray for him.
I ‘m challenged by Paul ‘s supplication petition. Here he is, chained to a prison guard, locked up in a Roman prison and he does n’t inquire trusters to pray for his release. He does n’t shout out for comfort. He ‘s non inquiring for supplications for his wellness. Amazingly, even though he has been improbably bold throughout his ministry, some thirty old ages after his transition, he still pleads for bravery to pass on the gospel message. Look at poetries 19-20:
Doug Wilcox
“ Pray besides for me, that whenever I open my oral cavity, words may be given me so that I will dauntlessly do known the enigma of the Gospel, for which I am an embassador in ironss. Pray that I may declare it dauntlessly, as I should. ”
Derek Stringer
Paul is in prison as a direct consequence of prophesying the Gospel and all he can believe about is prophesying the Gospel some more!
Paul ‘s passion is for the announcement of the message. When a different guard is chained to him during the twenty-four hours as they rotate their displacements, Paul wants to hold the right words to state. When he receives visitants, he does n’t desire fright to paralyse him. Even though he is in ironss, he knows that he is God ‘s embassador and he needs the supplications of God ‘s people so that he can carry through his naming. This word is used merely one other clip in the New Testament when Paul wrote in 2 Playboies 5:20: “ We are hence Christ ‘s embassadors, as though God were doing his entreaty through us. We implore you on Christ ‘s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ”
I want to exemplify how we can follow Paul ‘s illustration as we communicate Christ in visible radiation of the events taking topographic point in our society. In his book called, “ Marriage Under Fire, ” James Dobson quotes Genesis 2:24: “ Therefore shall a adult male go forth his male parent and female parent, and shall split unto his married woman: and they shall be one flesh. ”
He so states: “ God announced the ordination of the household, long before He established the two other great human establishments, the church and the governmentaˆ¦a revolution of dramatic proportions now looms before usaˆ¦the motion has become a tsunami-a tidal moving ridge that threatens to overpower anyone who stands in its manner. ”
We must pray for daring as we declare God ‘s truth in a spirit of love and grace. Moral issues are progressively clouded in our twenty-four hours.
It ‘s old ages since I taught our girls how to bicycle a motorcycle. It all came back to me when I saw a immature pa with his girl on Sunday. She was larning that if she wants to acquire down the paving without falling, she has to maintain pedalling because when she coasts she loses her balance. We must halt and inquire ourselves, have I been coasting in supplication? If so, my conjecture is that we feel out of balance. Let me advert some ways we can take the preparation wheels off and bicycle with power.
1. Pray Believingly. Prayer is where the conflict begins and where the war is won. In Dobson ‘s newssheet, he writes that he can non remember a clip since the beginning of Focus on the Family, when the establishment of matrimony faced such hazard. He is naming for concerted supplication, Godhead wisdom, and greater bravery than we have of all time been called upon to exert. I do n’t believe this is alarmist
On a personal degree, put Paul ‘s paradigm for supplication into pattern by doing certain your supplications are:
Spirit-directed
Life-saturated
All-encompassing
Clear-minded
Persistently-devoted
Others-focused
I was talking at a Conference in Bristol late. I discovered that after all these old ages George Muller is still revered by the Christian community. He developed the wont of praying Scripture back to God ( that ‘s because he struggled with rolling ideas It ‘s nice to cognize that he had my job ) . This is a great manner to maintain your head focused and because you ‘re utilizing God ‘s Word, you know that you are praying harmonizing to His will.
2. Proclaim Christ Boldly. Ask the Lord to give you courage to pass on Christ in natural ways throughout your twenty-four hours. When the chance comes, and it will, take a breath and pray for daring, and so open your oral cavity. He will give you the right words. It takes me merely under 30 proceedingss to acquire to our wireless studios from my place. That is an first-class clip to utilize for supplication. Let ‘s retrieve that our state will merely alter as people ‘s Black Marias alteration. And Black Marias will merely alter as we pray and proclaim the gospel message. Peoples are lost without Christ and we must populate out what it means to be an embassador in a universe that is looking for replies.
3. Promote Biblical Values. After doing certain we are praying and proclaiming, as trusters populating in a democracy, we have the duty and chance to advance and protect scriptural values. In fact, it ‘s portion of our informant as salt and visible radiation.
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Let ‘s make what we can to advance godly values in our state and allow ‘s pray until the patchboard of heaven fumes!
Doug Wilcox
Here ‘s the good intelligence we broadcast. We do n’t hold to flim-flam God into giving us what we want. He merely longs to hear His kids pray, proclaim and promote. The remainder is up to Him.
( Closing intelligence and information – reference that this series is available on Cadmium and cassette – Besides a transcript of the message is available on electronic mail. Following clip – A Prayer For Love )
