FOUNDATIONS                                         

               FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING                       

            HOME     ARTICLES      THE KINGDOM       FOUNDATIONS     LINKS

WEEK 6:  LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY 

Memory Verse for Week 6   1 John 5:14, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:”

     We looked at obtaining saving faith in the first four weeks.  The next two weeks we will still be looking at faith—learning to pray in faith.

    What is prayer?  Prayer is talking with God—it is a two-way conversation.  It is a response to God on our part.  He speaks to us through His Word and by His Holy Spirit, and our  prayer should be a response to what He spoke to us.  God has two purposes in prayer.  We will look at His first purpose this week:  To make us like Himself, to conform us to the image of Christ.

     Oswald Chambers said, “ Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament.  We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves: the Bible’s idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.  It is not so true, that ‘prayer changes things’ as that prayer changes me…”  (My Utmost For His Highest, 8-28). 

    Jesus said, in John 8:28, “…I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me…”  And Jesus prayed in the garden, in Matt. 26:34, “…not as I will, but as thou wilt.”  Jesus did everything, including prayer, with the guidance of the Father.  If Jesus needed for the Father to guide Him in prayer, how much more so do we?  Because prayer does not come naturally to us, we must learn how to pray.  Even Jesus’ disciples did not know how to pray, and asked Jesus to teach them (Luke 11:1).  So now, before we begin, pause for a moment and pray, “Lord, teach me how to pray.”   

Read Romans 8:26-27.  Do we know what to pray for? 

_________________________________________________________________________

Who helps us to know what to pray for? 

 ________________________________________________________________________

Read 1 John 5:14.  In what way can we ask and be sure that God hears us? _________________________________________________________________________    

Read Ephesians 6:18.  How are we to pray always? 

_________________________________________________________________________

Read Jude 20.  Who (or what) are we to pray in? 

__________________________________________________________________________ 

     We really don’t know what to pray for, but God knows what we should ask for.  One of the things the Holy Spirit does is guide us in how to pray in the will of the Father.  When Christ says we shall receive what we ask for, the promise is always on the condition that our asking is within His revealed will to us.   

Jesus instructed His disciple in how to pray in Matthew Ch. 6. 

Read Matthew 6:7-8.  What kind of prayers did Jesus say are we not to pray?
________________________________________________________________________

Why?__________________________________________________________________

     Jesus instructed us not to pray empty repetitions.  We are not to ask over and over again for something without meaning.  And if we pray without the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we will pray empty prayers with no meaning.  Simply put, we don’t know what to ask for.  “Men can’t pray aright when they haven’t let God speak to them.  And the less they hear, the more they try to compensate by speaking.  Since what they say isn’t a response to having heard God speak to them, it becomes only vain repetition.”1    

     We can’t tell God what to do—He knows better than we do!  When we try to tell God what to do, we are not making “requests” of Him, we are trying to pray “answers.”  When we say, “God heal this person…God, give me this job…God, please just make it all okay like I want it to be,” we are praying “answers.”  When we request that God intervene and do His will in a specific situation, we leave the answers up to Him.      

    Prayer is indeed a two-way conversation, and by far the most important aspect of prayer is that we hear what God is saying to us—through His Word and through His Holy Spirit.  Prayer  is not a way of forcing our will upon God.  All true prayer starts with God—with the Holy Spirit leading us in what to pray for.  We can’t pray in God’s will without first hearing from God by the guiding of the Holy Spirit and by His Word. (Zod.)  The Bible is an invaluable tool in prayer. Many times it tells us plainly what the will of God is. 

    After telling the disciples how not to pray, Jesus went on to give a model prayer to help us learn to pray.  Read Matthew 6: 9-13, and fill in the chart below, matching the topics on the left with a phrase from this passage in Matthew on the right. 2   

TOPICS IN THE MODEL PRAYER	MATCHING PHRASE
Addressing God with proper respect  (vs.9)
Praising God for Who He is (vs.9)
Asking Him to rule and reign in our lives, and on the earth (vs. 10)
Asking for His will to be done (vs. 10)
Asking God to provide for our needs (vs. 11)
Asking God for forgiveness, and ability to forgive others (vs. 12)
Asking God for guidance and protection (vs. 13)
Ending our prayer with praise and honor to God (vs13)

      Jesus gave us the perfect lesson in prayer!  As you practice praying through this model prayer, do not simply repeat the words, but ask the Holy Spirit to guide your prayers in each area.  

    This simple model surpasses all others.  It suggests to the child of God the proper things to pray about.  It shows the simple and direct way in which we may trustingly address our heavenly Father.  All the elements of spiritual desire are summed up in a few choice sentences.  For those who are not able to bring their struggling desires to birth in clear language it provides an instructive form.  To the mature disciple, it ever unfolds with richer depths of meaning.  Though we learn these words at our mother’s knee, we need a lifetime to fill them with meaning and all eternity to realize their answer. 3                                                                                      

Read John 16:24.  When we ask of the Father, in whose name should we ask?  
_________________________________________________________________________ 

    We are to pray in Jesus’ name.  What does it mean to pray in Jesus name?  First, it is NOT merely tacking “…in Jesus name I pray” on the end of a prayer!  It means praying just as Jesus Himself would were He in your place.  How can we know what Jesus would  pray?  Jesus always prayed in the will of the Father, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, and in accordance with the Scriptures.  If you are still in doubt, you can very simply ask Him, “Jesus, what would You pray in this situation?”  Then wait for Him, by the guiding of the Holy Spirit, to show you!                                                               

Read John 15:7.  What does Jesus say we must do to insure that what we ask for shall be done?  _________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________ 

    Abiding means living with.  It means a close, intimate relationship, such as two people would have living together in the same house.  It means “to be and remain united with someone, one with him in heart, mind, and will.” (Zodhiates Complete Word Study NT)   And the phrase, “and my words abide in you” means that we are constantly listening to Him—to His Word as we read the Bible, and to His Holy Spirit as He speaks to us.  Only as we live close to Him will we know what to ask for, and have assurance that what we ask for shall be done!   

Read Psalm 37:4-5. How do these verses tell us we can be sure that God will bring to pass what we ask?

__________________________________________________________________________

     The word “delight” here means “to be moldable, pliable.”  It means to allow God to mold and shape us, to conform us to the image of Christ.  And the phrase “give thee the desires of thine heart” means to “put the desires into our heart.”  The desires He will give us as we allow Him to mold and shape us are His desires.   We will desire to see people saved.  We will desire to see people draw close to the Lord and serve Him.  We will desire to see God’s Kingdom come in our hearts and lives.  We will desire to see God’s purposes accomplished and His will fulfilled.  Our hearts will yearn for these things, and these will be the things we pray for.  And      when we commit our ways to Him, and trust in Him, these are the things that He promises He will bring to pass.   

 Read Philippians 4:6-7.  What does God promise will happen when we make our requests known to God?_________________________________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________________________________

 Write 1 John 5: 14 from memory.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

How will knowing what this verse means make a difference in the way I pray?________________________________________________________________________