Victory Life KY

What's My Prayer Life Look Like II

Episode Summary

Everything pertaining to the Kingdom of God has to be established and supported by God’s word. It is the believers source of truth. And when it comes to an effective prayer life, it is our play book.

Episode Notes

• Luke 6:47-48,NKJV-  “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”

• Everything pertaining to the Kingdom of God has to be established and supported by God’s word. It is the believers source of truth. And when it comes to an effective prayer life, it is our play book.

• And the longer I walk with the Lord, I am convinced that the most important reality of prayer is how we experience a divine relationship with our Father.  It’s an avenue of fellowship with our King, it’s also a direct line of communication with the Holy Spirit living in each born-again believer.

• In its simplest form, prayer is fellowship with the Almighty, our Father. At the end of the day, it’s how a human, born of His world navigates that world.

• And by design, faith has to be a central part of the born again life. Hebrews actually tells us its how we’re to come to God.

• Until we get the faith part of our new life settled, when it comes to the things of the Spirit, which prayer is, we will constantly question it’s realities.

• A clearer understanding of a healthy prayer life is embracing that reality that it’s simply how a born again human navigates the Spirit world.

• Remember last week, we talked about Adam, what did he need as far as provision? So what do you think his prayer life was about? What if God’s main thing He’s looking for is exactly what He lost with Adam, and that is simply a relationship with His creation.

• The Apostle Paul takes us a little further by giving us some excellent insight into a better perspective on prayer. Think about it, he’s actually praying that we’ll be able to recognize things God has already ready done for us in the spirit.

• Ephesians 1, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who HAS BLESSEDus with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ...

• 2 Peter 1, His divine power HAS GIVEN to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which HAVE BEENgiven to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.

• This is where faith plays it’s most significant role in the life of a believer. Bottom line, we have to believe the things God tells us in His word, before we see anything happen.

• I cannot over emphasis maintaining a confident faith attitude in our prayer life.

• And make no mistake, our enemy knows this, and will be relentless at distracting us. This is why is is absolutely vital we have a clear understanding of the Love our Father has for us.

• Seriously, His love for each of us is so incredible, think about it, He took ALL SIN!!!

• God only sees us in our spirit, not in our sin, not even in our humanity.

• We need to become more Son conscious than sin conscious.

• We are the righteousness of God in Christ. The righteous are as bold as a lion, and we are to come boldly into His throne of grace. And sometimes for nothing more than to just fellowship.

• What if we put fellowship with our Father right in the middle of our daily routine?

• I can promise you this, the more we practice fellowship, the more His nature, His personality, His attitude becomes ours.

• But if we’re always looking to our intellectual, human nature, not to mention, this fallen world to confirm something that makes no sense to our humanity, 
• then faith and prayer will always be that mysterious, if it be God’s will kind of thing we’re always a little unsure of.

• Remember, Jesus told us that as we practice putting the things of the Kingdom first, many of these worldly things we want will simply come our way.

• Here’s another key Kingdom principle concerning prayer:
• 1 Thessalonians 5:16,NKJV- REJOICE always, PRAY without ceasing, in everything GIVE THANKS, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

• Rejoice, Pray, Be Thankful— This is the will of God.

• Even though all three of these are all very significant qualities of the Christian life, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Holy Spirit put prayer between rejoicing and thanksgiving.

• Think about it, if our prayer life is established on faith, then we should be rejoicing because faith already has the answer. And if we know we’ve already got the answer, then why wouldn’t we be thankful?

• I personally believe Paul is simply establishing the proper faith attitude for an effective prayer life.

• Going back to Matthew, I want us to take a closer look at Jesus’ response to His disciples about prayer.

• Now the very first, most important truth around this passage is that we have to read it, think on it, interpret it in light of our new covenant.

• Second, Jesus was giving us a model for prayer, not something that was to be recited from some religious practice.

• Matthew 6:9-13,NKJV- “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (Holy is His name. Reverence & honor)
• Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (What’s first in your life?)
• Give us this day our daily bread. (Our needs are met day to day. We don’t need it till we need it. Faith pleases God.)
• And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. (Unforgiveness stops faith.)
• And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. (Let me see it, strengthen me not to yield to it.)
• For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

• Remember, this as a model for prayer, not something that was to be recited from some religious practice.

• Jesus knew exactly how humanity would be, He knew that whatever captured our focus would be the thing we magnify in our lives.

• And this was exactly His point in setting up an example of how to pray.

• First, we start with an attitude of worship, magnifying God.

• Second, we bring our request and intercession, in love, to Him.

• Then finish up with another level of praise and worship.

• Praise blesses our Father and strengthens us. This is why we start with services with worship.

• Psalm 22 says, “You are holy Lord, dwelling in the holy place where the praises of Your people are offered.”

• 1 Thessalonians 5:16,NKJV- REJOICE always, PRAY without ceasing, in everything GIVE THANKS, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

• Now just like this natural world exists according to natural law, the spirit world exists according to spiritual law, God’s divinely instituted order.

• Romans actually tells us that the works of the law are excluded by the law of faith.

• And when it comes to a healthy, successful prayer life, faith is the only way!

• Mark 11:22-25,NKJV- “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 
• For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 
• Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. 
• “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

• Remember, unforgiveness stops faith.

• Unfortunately, out of habit and religious tradition, instead of accepting our God ordained instructions, too many of us continue going to God about things He told us to deal with.

• v.23, For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

• “Believe you receive it” this is faith, a heartfelt conviction based on the fact that we trust what God says.

• v.24, Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

• Now I’m not talking about some kind of mind game where we’re pretending to believe something’s real that isn’t.

• I’m talking about functioning in a world beyond our natural one. The just shall live by faith.

• Hebrews makes it very clear, “those who come to God must believe...”

• 1 John 5:14-15,NKJV-  “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

• The moment the born again actually choose to believe, we have divine access to God’s world, with the ability to bring its realities into our world.

• Believing connects us to God’s ever existing power. This is faith.

• Faith is the bridge between the two worlds. According to Hebrews, faith is substance of things, hoped for.

• But because God only has imperfect people to work through, many times His power is hindered because of our unbelief.

• Truth is, we honestly haven’t accepted the fact that it’s really this simple, “Only Believe”

• Fact is, as we’re transformed, our believing starts overriding doubt and we start seeing greater results.

• And this is why ultimately, an effective prayer life has to be built around our personal fellowship with our Father.

• John 15:7,MSG- If you make yourselves at home with Me and My words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon.

• Everything pertaining to the Kingdom of God has to be established and supported by God’s word. It is the believers source of truth. And when it comes to an effective prayer life, it is our play book.

• And the longer I walk with the Lord, I am convinced that the most important reality of prayer is how we experience a divine relationship with our Father.  It’s an avenue of fellowship with our King, it’s also a direct line of communication with the Holy Spirit living in each born-again believer. At the end of the day, it’s how a human, born of His world navigates that world.