Christianity can be condensed into four words: Admit, Submit, Commit and Transmit. -Samuel Wilberforce
pAdoration and Praise
God is to be praised before we present our next list of wants. And far too many of us have forgotten how to praise God – if we ever really knew how. The lack of praise in prayer is to be pitied. We must learn to praise God if we intend to pray to God. For starters, study the Psalms and take notes on how much David and the other writers praised God. Pray these sections of Psalms yourself. Begin with Psalm 19. (See also Psalm 25:1-15; 27:1-6; 31:1-8; 33:12-22; 34:1-10; 42:1-11, 44:1-8; 46:1-11; 50:1-23, etc.) As David said, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6). Also, many of God’s statements of what He has done can be restated into a praise offering.
Confession
Conditions for Effective PrayerGod has promised repeatedly to answer our prayers (Matthew 7:7,8). He is willing; His word is on the line. He is also capable of granting our requests. He knows what we need (Matthew 6;7,8) and He knows how to give good gifts (Matthew 79-11). But God is not a “cosmic cellboy” or a “heavenly vending machine,” as Malcolm Nygren said, “A God who filled the prayer orders of people whose wills were not His won would be no God at all.” James reminded his readers that they had often asked and received not (James 4:3). What are some of the conditions God has given us?Unconfessed sin builds barriers between us and God (Psalm 66:18). It rots our spirits and dries up our hearts (Psalm 32:3). We need to confess everything to God and confess to others only what is appropriate and helpful (James 5:16). We do not need to confess every sin specifically to every person. But we must learn to confess our sins.ThanksgivingAs you remember, Paul’s advice for Christians was, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This was not a multiple choice test. We cannot pick just one of these three areas for the week. We are to live joyfully, prayerfully, thankfully daily. How long will God continue to answer our prayers if we never thank Him for the ones He has already granted? Don’t be afraid of giving God the “big-head”. He is not some ethereal ego who craves our verbal affirmation. He wants us to be thankful people. We need to be thankful people more than He needs to be a thanked God.Supplication and PetitionThis is usually the favorite and most fully developed part of our prayers. God is not offended by our petitions when we have balanced them with other ingredients. He wants to answer our requests. He also wants us to pray for the needs of others through intercessory prayer, more than we do. When we pray, we must get on our knees for the needs of others. Our requests must go beyond “God bless me and my mate, and our two children, us four and no more.” Most importantly, God wants us to see prayer as a means of building a relationship with Him not just getting things from Him.
BELIEVE
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22)But what are we to believe? That we have needs? That we need help? We must truly believe in God – His authenticity and authority. We must also believe God is able to answer our prayers. (Mark 11:24; James 1:6,7).
RIGHT MOTIVES
“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures.” (James 4:3)We can ask for the right things and still be refused if we have the wrong motives or purposes in mind. Before we pray, we must pause to check our purposes. Are we living for self or others?
IN JESUS’ NAME
“You may ask for anything in my name and I will do it.” (John 14:13,14)This concept has been greatly misunderstood. We are to do more than tack on the phrase, “In Jesus’ name,” on the end of our prayers. We are to approach God with the conscious realization that we do so by the authority and power of Jesus Christ. In Christ and as a result of our faith in Christ, and Christ alone, we approach God with “freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12; Colossians 1:19,20).ACCORDING TO HIS WILL“If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1John 5:14)We can tell God our deepest personal needs and feelings and finally ask Him for specific requests. But we must always pray that His will be done, as did Jesus (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44). God is pleased to grant us His will. We need to be just as pleased when He does. We should pray for what Jesus would pray for if we could hear Him pray.WHAT SHOULD I PRAY FOR?
Francis Chan on Celebrity Status and the Holy Spirit
This is the third post in a question and answerseries with Francis Chan (read the first andsecond).
These are things that I am trying to figure out right now, so I want to be careful not to speak too soon. What I will say is this . . .
I have benefitted greatly by hearing biblical preachers via podcast. I’m glad that there is so much solid teaching available. However, I am struggling with the celebrity status that comes from this kind of exposure. It’s not healthy for the preacher, nor is it healthy for those who talk about their ministry heroes so often (I am guilty of this).
In many ways, we are conforming to the pattern of the world. While it is good that people are talking about what they have learned from “Piper, Driscoll, Keller, Chan, etc,” I am concerned about how much we speak those names rather than the name of Jesus. It has gotten to the point where I believe we have taken glory away from Jesus. Personally, I am intentionally trying to mention human names less and speak often the matchless name of Jesus.
All believers have received the Holy Spirit. We must go forth in his power with confidence. God has placed people in your path. You are called to disciple them. We too quickly direct converts toward podcast preachers and neglect our God-given mandate to disciple. We must believe in the power of the Scriptures themselves, and we must trust in the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
Let’s use the resources God has given to the church at large, but let’s not shirk our responsibility to the local church. Let’s not boast too much of others, and let’s not underestimate what the Spirit desires to do through us.
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January 13, 2011 | by: Jonathan Parnell | Category: Conferences
This is the second post in a question and answer series with Francis Chan (read the first).
It was a wonderful time of ministry and learning for my family and me. I learned so much from the believers overseas. There is a focus and a seriousness that comes with persecution. I was deeply influenced and encouraged by our brothers and sisters in difficult situations.
I believe the Lord is teaching me that we can and must have that kind of devotion to him even in a place where there is little persecution.
Register now for the 2011 Conference for Pastors.
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