Prayer is not a simple discipline. Prayer takes much effort - and even sweat and tears - in order for it to become a vibrant part of our lives and God's Plan.
In fact, we cannot live without prayer in our lives. Prayer must be an integral part of the Christian's daily routine as he or she (you or I) are not only saved, but then continually sanctified by the Word of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
We can further say that prayer is so important to the believer's life, that we cannot live without it. Even Jesus proved that to be true. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus making and taking time to be alone in prayer, communing with His Heavenly Father. Whether the task was mundane or critical, Jesus set aside time to pray before continuing with whatever the task was.
And so we must have that same attitude and follow the model of our Lord and Savior. Anything less would rob us of a vibrant Christian life. We would also rob ourselves of being the integral part of God's Plan that He so desires us to be.
Why does it seem that the more "mature" (you can also read that as "older" and not necessarily mature) we become in our Christian walk, the quicker we loose our "child like" faith and attitude that God so loves?
That's awesome!
So let's learn how and why we should be praying. Let's be like King David who prayed:
"May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting of my hands be like the evening sacrifice." Psalm 141:2
Let's allow God to restore us from the inside out so that our very lives are a living prayer to God; being in continual communion with our Father and Creator.
Over the next 13 weeks, we'll look at several models of prayer, while using Daniel's prayer of chapter 9 verses 3 through 19 for our general text and guide. There are 8 hows and whys to a vibrant prayer life. Allow prayer to become a significant part of your life through this study. In time you will learn the lessons of so many of God's saints - God's men and women - throughout the ages who purposefully made time to pray and commune with God. These people were mightily used of and by God for His Plan. Through prayer, God offered them a glimpse of His Majesty and eternal Beauty. Prayer - "being" with God not just talking at or to Him - brings us into the beautiful for His glory.
Before we start, we should take some time to define prayer. After all, how can we discuss something if we aren't entirely clear as to what we are discussing. What is Prayer?
Week 1 - Introduction. An understanding of where we are headed. Let's begin to define Prayer. Prayer is vital to the believer. Not only for our sakes, but to be an active participant in God's Plan. Discussion notes and blog. Download Week 1 - Introduction.
Week 2 - The Depths of Prayer. We need to further define prayer by examining the levels or the depths of prayer. A vibrant prayer life (a vibrant life in general) means moving from "talking at God" to "being with God". Discussusion notes and blog. Download Week 2 - Depth of Prayer.
Week 3 - 1. Understanding God and His Word. We can't know God well without being in His Word. God's Word, the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, is the Creator speaking directly to the creature. Discussion notes and blog. Download Week 3 - Understanding God.
Week 4 - 2. Prayer must be God centered. Prayer is about God, not you or me. As we speak with and commune with God daily, we better understand WHO God is and HOW he operates. Discussion notes and blog. Download Week 4 - God Centered.
Week 5 -Silence and Solitude. Before going on, understanding God, Who He is, and Where He is to be centered, we need to pause and reflect on our position. To fully experience God in our prayer life - and life in general - we have to put ourselves in such a position that we can actually listen to Him. Discussion notes and blog Part ONE. Discussion and blog Part TWO. Download Week 5 - Silence & Solitude.
Week 6 - 3. Prayer is motivated and directed by Scripture itself. A question I ask myself as I read my Bible is, "am I being motivated to pray?" Discussion notes and blog. Download Week 6 - Motivation.
An Aside - Demanding an Answer. Here is where the rubber meets the road. God does answer prayer. And often times in ways that we don't want or expect. Just some thoughts for personal meditation. The Book of Job. Click here. Download Demanding an Answer.
Week 7 - 4. Honesty in Prayer. Do I blame God for my current circumstances or condition? Or does God provide the words when we need rescue and relief. Discussion notes and blog. Download Week 7 - Honesty.
Week 8 - 5. Confession. We have to admit who we are and what we've done and come to God with not only a clean heart and mind, but clean motives for prayer. Discussion notes and blog. Download Week 8 - Confession.
Week 9 - Repentance. Confession is not complete without repentance. Confessing is good, but how good is it if we keep sinning? We need to turn from our sinning - repent. We need to go in a new direction: towards God. Discussion and blog. Download Week 9 - Repentance.
An Aside - Divine Obedience. Obedience is the "fruit" of not only confession and repentance, but it is the way in which we love and honor God. Discussion and blog. Download Divine Obedience
Week 10 - 6. Grandeur versus simplicity. Grand, sweeping prayers are perfectly good and at times appropriate, but God wants us to get down to the nitty-gritty. Discussion and blog. Download Week 10 - Grandeur & Simplicity.
An Aside - Contemplative Prayer. The idea of Contemplative or centering prayer has begun to gain headlines and it needs to be addressed. I don't endorse its mystical routes, however are there are some good methodologies that I would consider useful especially when taken in an orthodox Christian context and in light of what we have learned and discussed in this study. Click here for my thoughts.
Week 11 - 7. Do we Trust God? Daniel trusted God because God had a "track record" with him. Over the decades in exile, Daniel watched, both through the Scriptures and through his natural eyes, that God is active in the affairs of His creation. Trust, faith, hope. Discussion notes and blog. Download Week 11 - Trust.
Week 12 - 8. Prayer and the Plan of God. Daniel understood that he was a part of God's Plan. Do you and I understand that as well? Discussion notes and blog. Download Week 12 - Prayer & God's Plan.
Week 13 - Making Prayer a Priority. As we wrap up this study, are we beginning to grasp the understanding that God wants us to be active with Him? Discussion notes and blog. Download Week 13 - Prayer Priority.
Special thanks to: Pastor Brian Borgman of Grace Community Church, Minden, NV and his excellent sermon series on the Book of Daniel (via sermonaudio.com) which formed the foundation for this study. Pastor Dave Miles, my pastor, as he leads our congregation on a renewed path of healing and vision for our congregation. The impact of being emotionally healthy is essential to a rich and right and vibrant prayer life and Christian walk.
Click here for more Bible Study Series.
Cloverton, "Take Me Into the Beautiful"
Music Videos for the Prayer 101 study series:
What is Prayer - Chris Tomlin, "I Lift My Hands"
Week 1 - Brandon Heath, "Leaving Eden"
Week 2 - Christy Nockel, "Waiting Here for You"
Week 3 - Chris Tomlin, "How Great is Our God" (world edition)
Week 4 - Chris Rice, "Untitled Hymn"
Week 5 - Matt Hammitt, "All of Me", Jeremy Riddle, "Sweetly Broken"
Week 6 - One Sonic Society, "Forever Reign"
An Aside - Kristian Stanfill, "Always"
Week 7 - Amy Grant, "Better Than a Hallelujah"
Week 8 - MikesChair, "Someone Worth Dying For"
Week 9 - Matt Maher, "Turn Around"
An Aside - Divine Obedience, Jeremy Camp, "Overcome"
Week 10 - Mercy Me, "I Can Only Imagine" (symphonic version)
Week 11 - Jeremy Camp, "Walk by Faith"
Week 11 - The City Harmonic, "I Have a Dream"
Week 13 - Tenth Ave North, "Strong Enough to Save"
