The Naturalness of The Naturalness of PrayerPrayer

A.A.Prerequisites for a Prerequisites for a Study on PrayerStudy on PrayerB.B.The People of The People of Effective PrayerEffective Prayer

1. “When, not if, you pray”

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?a. The Holy Spirit dwells in them.1 Corinthians 6:19, Romans 8:15,26

b. We are followers of Christ.Luke 9:23, 1 John 2:6, Hebrews 5:7

c. Prayerlessness is a sin—not just laziness or forgetfulness.

Isaiah 64:6–7, James 4:17, 1 Samuel 12:23

d. If we claim God as our Father…John 5:19, John 8:28

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from God.

Prayer is a means from which God has appointed for us to obtain blessings.

Matthew 7:7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you

will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

John 16:24Until now you have asked nothing in my name.

Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from God.

Why don’t we receive the “blessings” we desire?

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from God.

Might not be a believer.-keys to car example

Might be a believer but you are asking with the wrong motives.

-James 4:2-3-You want your will more than you want

God’s will.

Might be a believer but you are just simply not praying/not asking

-John 16:24 - Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from

God.

What about a believer asking with pure motives?

We all need to be careful with this issue! - Emotionally packed issue…

- The bigger picture will tell us more about the smaller picture…

Some initial thoughts…

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from

God.

The Bible speaks over and over to praying in God’s will.

This is “easy” when it comes to praying that His Word would be obeyed, praying that His commands would be kept, etc. Matt 6:10, John 15:7, James 1:5-8

This is “hard” when it comes to praying for things that are not promised or commanded in Scripture.

So how do we pray for a loved one who is terminally ill? Or for a child who is in foster care?

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from

God.

Praying with faith

Mark 11:24-25Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer,

believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from

God.

God delights to give good things to those who ask.Matt 7:10

God is capable of granting any prayer though- We must ask with right motives (James 4:3)- We must ask according to God’s will (1 Jn

5:14)- We must know that He will supply every

need(Phil 4:19) and work for our good (Rom

8:28,32).

Does this make God a magic genie of sorts? We must have Christ’s perspective: Confident in God’s power, submissive to His will (Mark 14:36).

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from

God.

Pray according to Scripture as much as we can.

Admit that we do not know God’s will. James 4:13-15

Ask for a deeper understanding of the situation. James 1:5

Pray what seems best to us and why we think it is best.

Pray “if it is Your will”. Faith Destroyer or Dependence Builder?

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from

God.

Some may ask, “Then why even pray at all?”

- If God isn’t a “magic genie” who gives us everything we pray for, why even pray?

B. The People of Effective Prayer:

2. Why it is natural for a Christian to pray?

e. Prayer is connected to receiving blessings from

God.

Some may ask, “Then why even pray at all?”

- Shows our trust in Him.Mark Dever writes in 9 Marks of a Healthy Church

that “He calls us more fundamentally to a relationship of trust in Him than to a full understanding of Him and His ways.”

-Luke 11:9-12…like a child looks to his father…

We must have Christ’s perspective: Confident in God’s power, submissive to His will. Mark 14:36

B. The People of Effective Prayer: