Full Transcript for Building a Powerful Connection with God through Prayer

00:02:24.951 --> 00:02:40.045 Jesus also instructs us to call on Him In John, chapter 14, verse 14, jesus encourages us by telling us If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 00:02:40.066 --> 00:02:45.747 And the Holy Spirit, usually overlooked but no less a member of the Trinity, he also prays for us. 00:02:45.747 --> 00:02:48.987 In Romans, chapter 8 and verse 26. 00:02:48.987 --> 00:02:57.373 It says Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for, as we ought. 00:02:57.373 --> 00:03:04.944 But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, seeds for us with groanings too deep for words. 00:03:04.944 --> 00:03:13.790 So, now that we've established who we pray to, here is the who we don't pray to, and we're going to list just a few, so you get the idea. 00:03:14.230 --> 00:03:15.472 The first one is Mary. 00:03:15.891 --> 00:03:16.331 Mary. 00:03:16.331 --> 00:03:19.514 So, babe, a lot of people pray to Mary. 00:03:19.875 --> 00:03:20.455 Absolutely. 00:03:20.455 --> 00:03:21.795 Unfortunately they do. 00:03:22.116 --> 00:03:24.937 Yes, she's the mother of Jesus, chosen by God. 00:03:25.401 --> 00:03:29.170 But she is not God, nor is she on the part of God. 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:30.421 Right Now. 00:03:30.421 --> 00:03:33.990 Just like all of us, she was a sinner in need of a savior. 00:03:33.990 --> 00:03:35.593 Mary was a really good woman. 00:03:35.593 --> 00:03:43.433 God picked her to be the mother of Jesus Christ, but that doesn't mean that we're to pray to her. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:44.986 Why do you think so many people get that? 00:03:44.986 --> 00:03:46.485 They're so confused with that. 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:48.979 Well, the Catholic Church venerates Mary. 00:03:48.979 --> 00:03:52.911 They call her immaculate, which is their way of saying she's without sin. 00:03:52.911 --> 00:03:54.687 Now we know that that's not true. 00:03:54.687 --> 00:03:57.709 Mary was a sinner, just like all of us. 00:03:57.709 --> 00:04:04.201 They look at her as having led a sinless life, right, and there's simply no truth to that. 00:04:04.201 --> 00:04:08.746 So she's not the one that we're going to be praying to. 00:04:08.925 --> 00:04:09.145 Right. 00:04:09.145 --> 00:04:13.469 I think that she was just a vessel that God used she can't answer prayers Right. 00:04:13.689 --> 00:04:16.213 The next thing they tell us to do is pray to the apostles. 00:04:16.213 --> 00:04:19.656 Yes, they were chosen by Jesus to represent him. 00:04:19.855 --> 00:04:21.336 But again, they are not God. 00:04:21.740 --> 00:04:58.130 Right and people put some of the apostles on par with God and they pray to them and I had a nickel for every time I heard somebody say I'm praying to St Anthony and I'm sorry, but the Catholic Church venerates a lot of saints and they put them up on this pedestal like they are on par with God and they might have been saved by faith, they might be in heaven, but they're all dead and I'm sorry, people are not going to want to hear this, but dead people don't hear prayers and they surely don't answer prayers and it's really. 00:04:58.130 --> 00:04:59.432 It's a problem for people. 00:04:59.860 --> 00:05:06.134 And the next one is the Pope, a priest, a bishop, a cardinal or any other living human being. 00:05:06.701 --> 00:05:12.533 Although they may think so, they do not take the place of God and cannot answer a prayer. 00:05:12.533 --> 00:05:16.831 Now, the Catholic Church considers the pope to be equal to God. 00:05:16.831 --> 00:05:24.091 They say that the pope is the head of the church and we know as Christians that only Christ is the head of the church. 00:05:24.091 --> 00:05:33.274 So they are way off on that theology and unfortunately, people pray to him and they think that he can answer prayers. 00:05:33.274 --> 00:05:37.211 Priests have given themselves the power to forgive sins. 00:05:37.211 --> 00:05:39.043 They're really—. 00:05:39.365 --> 00:05:40.108 Behind a curtain. 00:05:40.369 --> 00:05:51.072 Yeah, they really put themselves on par with God Right, and that's really a heresy and it really is leading people into hell, because it's this idolization. 00:05:51.072 --> 00:06:05.891 And we talked a lot in other podcast episodes about idolization and these people first off, they idolize themselves and second off, they lead people to idolize them, which is a sin causing other people to stumble. 00:06:06.112 --> 00:06:06.353 Right. 00:06:06.781 --> 00:06:09.730 So some of the other things that people pray to are statues. 00:06:09.730 --> 00:06:14.992 You can look around other churches and you find statues of Mary. 00:06:14.992 --> 00:06:16.586 You find statues of the saints. 00:06:16.586 --> 00:06:26.548 Yeah, you might find a statue of Jesus, but it's usually Jesus as a baby and Mary is the mother, and people are praying to a statue. 00:06:26.980 --> 00:06:28.766 And statues are material objects right. 00:06:28.807 --> 00:06:29.007 Right. 00:06:29.007 --> 00:06:42.666 They cannot answer prayers, no, they can't Not like in the Old Testament when they talked about that people would have carved images, pieces of wood, pieces of clay that they made into gods and idols, and people would pray to this all the time. 00:06:42.666 --> 00:06:46.021 The only person that you can pray to is the triune God. 00:06:46.021 --> 00:06:47.165 Do you get the idea? 00:06:47.586 --> 00:06:48.567 Good, let's move on. 00:06:48.567 --> 00:06:50.892 Now we know who to pray to. 00:06:50.892 --> 00:06:53.464 Let's talk about what we are to pray. 00:06:54.007 --> 00:06:59.343 So let's go back to Matthew, chapter 6, and we're going to look at verses 9 to 13. 00:06:59.343 --> 00:07:03.069 This is the Lord's prayer and we're going to go through it in its entirety. 00:07:03.069 --> 00:07:04.250 Babe, can you read it please? 00:07:04.752 --> 00:07:11.370 This, then, is how you should pray Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:07:11.370

--> 00:07:17.512 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:07:17.512 --> 00:07:29.766 Give us today our daily bread and forgive us for our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, and let us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. 00:07:30.327 --> 00:07:44.189 Now, while this is used as a prayer in itself Jesus was responding to the apostles asking him to teach them to pray it can be used as a framework for all prayers, and we're going to look at this now in verse by verse. 00:07:44.831 --> 00:07:49.125 Verse 9, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:07:49.666 --> 00:07:53.254 The word hallowed here means honored as holy. 00:07:53.254 --> 00:07:58.913 The first step to any prayer is to give God glory and honor and praise. 00:07:58.913 --> 00:08:04.666 This positions our hearts to be aware of God's presence as we pray. 00:08:05.608 --> 00:08:11.425 Verse 10, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:08:12.266 --> 00:08:23.288 Jesus tells us to pray God's will over our own, because the ultimate goal of prayer is not to convince God of our heart, but to align it with his. 00:08:23.288 --> 00:08:30.677 Praying God's will to be done in our situation puts his agenda before our own. 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:33.639 And this is the mark of a truly surrendered heart. 00:08:34.241 --> 00:08:47.782 Now, we can certainly pray specifically for our heart's desires he knows them anyway but ultimately our main desire should be for God's will to prevail, even if his will is the opposite of our desire. 00:08:48.042 --> 00:08:49.865 Amen, verse 11,. 00:08:49.865 --> 00:08:51.928 Give us this day our daily bread. 00:08:52.509 --> 00:09:02.221 So here Jesus transitions into instructing us to pray for the provision of our needs, no matter how seemingly insignificant or mundane. 00:09:02.743 --> 00:09:06.370 Notice what we pray for our needs and not our wants. 00:09:06.652 --> 00:09:08.943 There's a difference between needs and wants. 00:09:09.183 --> 00:09:09.304 Right. 00:09:09.544 --> 00:09:21.934 So we need daily bread, in the sense that we need God to daily dwell with us and guide us, but also that we need literal daily bread to stay alive. 00:09:21.934 --> 00:09:29.125 So pray for both his physical and spiritual provision in your life and the lives of those you love. 00:09:30.006 --> 00:09:32.873 Verse 12, and forgive us of our debts. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:33.780 Now. 00:09:33.780 --> 00:09:38.671 We need to regularly ask God to search our hearts and reveal our sin to us. 00:09:38.671 --> 00:09:44.870 We need to regularly be confessing those sins to God and asking him to forgive us. 00:09:44.870 --> 00:09:55.503 The mark of a truly humble heart is a genuine desire to apologize for wrongdoing and seek forgiveness. 00:09:55.503 --> 00:09:56.464 Do not leave any sin unconfessed. 00:09:56.464 --> 00:10:01.087 Unrepented sin erodes relationship with God and hinders intimacy with him. 00:10:01.087 --> 00:10:06.873 Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal any unrepented sin to you. 00:10:07.312 --> 00:10:11.677 And continuing in verse 12, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:20.285 Now you might not think that you regularly need to forgive others, but this doesn't just refer to obvious conflicts. 00:10:20.285 --> 00:10:25.467 This can mean forgiving someone for disappointing you or letting you down, as well as forgiving someone who has wronged you. 00:10:25.467 --> 00:10:27.326 That is not an easy task. 00:10:27.326 --> 00:10:34.688 Our flesh will fight against this tooth and nail, so we need to regularly pray for the strength to forgive others. 00:10:35.330 --> 00:10:40.850 And verse 13, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 00:10:41.340 --> 00:10:44.289 Now God allows us to be tempted and tested. 00:10:44.289 --> 00:10:50.311 Although he is never the tempter, we lead ourselves into situations where we are tempted. 00:10:50.311 --> 00:10:56.672 Here, Jesus is showing us how to pray against this and keep us from being our own worst enemy. 00:10:57.094 --> 00:11:00.783 This part of prayer is important because our flesh is weak against temptation. 00:11:01.465 --> 00:11:06.394 Now we should also pray that we do not cause temptation for any other brother or sister in Christ. 00:11:06.394 --> 00:11:18.986 Alright, so notice. 00:11:18.986 --> 00:11:26.255 It doesn't say to pray for wealth, material gain, health, a new job or any other worldly request. 00:11:26.255 --> 00:11:30.910 James, chapter 4 and verse 3, corrects our wayward thinking. 00:11:31.419 --> 00:11:36.679 You ask and do not receive, because you ask, wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 00:11:37.261 --> 00:11:40.250 So, while God may grant you these things, he may not. 00:11:40.250 --> 00:11:48.653 We must always remember to pray according to His will, and you can only find that by reading and studying His Word. 00:11:49.541 --> 00:11:53.150 So we looked at who we ought to pray to and what we ought to pray. 00:11:53.150 --> 00:11:56.789 Now let's look at when we ought to pray. 00:11:57.461 --> 00:12:03.474 Well, the Bible has a lot to say and we're just going to rattle off a few verses that tell us when we should pray. 00:12:03.474 --> 00:12:09.469 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 17 says Pray without ceasing. 00:12:09.469 --> 00:12:11.344 What does it mean to pray without ceasing? 00:12:11.344 --> 00:12:14.631 It does not mean to pray repetitive prayers. 00:12:14.631 --> 00:12:18.669 The Catholic Church is very much known for repetitive prayers. 00:12:18.669 --> 00:12:25.352 They have the Hail Mary praying the rosary, so they'll sit there all day and they'll pray the same prayer over and over again. 00:12:25.352 --> 00:12:32.572 It's a rote routine, Right, and we know that in the Bible, God says that this is not the type of prayer he wants to hear. 00:12:32.740 --> 00:12:40.732 He's very clear on how he expects us to pray,

so what praying without ceasing means is just pray persistently and regularly. 00:12:40.732 --> 00:12:42.004 And make it a habit. 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:51.844 Ephesians 6.18 says praying at all times in the Spirit. 00:12:51.844 --> 00:12:53.186 So what does that mean? 00:12:53.186 --> 00:12:54.688 Well, there's two parts to this. 00:12:54.688 --> 00:12:57.018 Okay At all times in the Spirit. 00:12:57.018 --> 00:13:00.625 First means this focuses on the frequency. 00:13:00.625 --> 00:13:04.879 So every time we pray, we should be praying in the Spirit. 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:07.865 And what does it mean to pray in the Spirit? 00:13:07.865 --> 00:13:09.456 It's really about submission. 00:13:09.456 --> 00:13:11.799 It's not about praying for selfish things. 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:16.307 It's about lining up our prayer with the will of God. 00:13:17.149 --> 00:13:21.015 Mark 1, 3, 35, and rising very early in the morning. 00:13:21.015 --> 00:13:26.917 While it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place and there he prayed. 00:13:26.917 --> 00:13:31.163 Jesus himself often prayed early in the morning Right Now. 00:13:31.323 --> 00:13:35.210 If Jesus can get up and pray in the morning, so can we Exactly. 00:13:35.210 --> 00:13:39.485 So for me, babe, praying in the morning is always the best time to pray. 00:13:39.485 --> 00:13:42.495 It's the most peaceful God. 00:13:42.495 --> 00:13:46.799 He should always be the first person that you talk to in the morning, and I know you do it too. 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.294 I know the minute you open your eyes, you always start praying. 00:13:49.315 --> 00:13:53.186 I'm already praying, without my eyes being open, because you know my situation. 00:13:53.186 --> 00:13:59.889 I know that I am the type of person, because of what I go through in my body, that I have to pray. 00:13:59.889 --> 00:14:06.244 I can't get out of bed without connecting with the Lord sometimes, and that has created a habit for me. 00:14:06.244 --> 00:14:12.927 So I pray early in the morning because I don't want to, I can't, I can't do it without him. 00:14:13.229 --> 00:14:15.803 Right, this is a good time for prayers of thanksgiving. 00:14:15.803 --> 00:14:24.698 When you wake up, you could just, you could simply thank him for waking you up, because a lot of people didn't get to wake up this morning, right, and that's a gift in itself. 00:14:24.698 --> 00:14:28.605 It's a gift in itself, and I think some people just don't realize that they take that for granted. 00:14:32.674 --> 00:14:33.419 Oh, you know, I'm up again another day. 00:14:33.419 --> 00:14:34.326 La, la, la, and it's like, did you even give God? 00:14:34.326 --> 00:14:37.903 Thanks that he woke you up and your heart is beating and you're ready to start another day. 00:14:38.115 --> 00:14:39.782 I mean it's really a peaceful time of day. 00:14:39.782 --> 00:14:43.240 The world hasn't destroyed the day yet, and it's coming. 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:48.402 So when you talk to God early in the morning, it really gets your day jazzed up. 00:14:48.501 --> 00:15:05.139 and you know it's such a day up for what's coming, because the minute we leave our house, okay, if we're not prayed up, we know what's outside, behind this door, right, and it's unbelievers and it's chaos and it's traffic and there's a whole bunch of stuff right, okay, so the stuff hasn't started yeah, the stuff hasn't started. 00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:13.110 So for me, if I don't pray before I leave this house, I'm in trouble right okay, because I haven't connected with the Lord Right. 00:15:13.115 --> 00:15:20.279 And when I do connect with the Lord, I'm very conscious of choosing to walk in my spirit and asking the Lord to go before me. 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:26.404 And knowing that he goes before me and I'm ready, I'm prayed up, I set with his word and then I start my day. 00:15:26.404 --> 00:15:27.619 So I'm just so grateful. 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:28.241 I get it. 00:15:33.195 --> 00:15:36.062 And it's Psalms 55.7, evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. 00:15:36.341 --> 00:15:36.562 Right. 00:15:36.562 --> 00:15:37.684 So what this is saying? 00:15:37.684 --> 00:15:42.722 Evening, morning and noon every part of the day is an appropriate time to pray. 00:15:42.722 --> 00:15:46.274 Every circumstance is an opportunity to pray. 00:15:46.515 --> 00:15:48.999 And God is waiting for you to converse with him. 00:15:49.219 --> 00:15:50.841 God just wants you to come and talk to him. 00:15:50.841 --> 00:15:58.671 Yeah, I really believe that when they talk about having a relationship with God, that this is the way to do it. 00:15:59.035 --> 00:15:59.879 It's through prayer. 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:02.101 I think that people make prayer complicated. 00:16:02.121 --> 00:16:06.365 They do, and they wonder how they're going to have a relationship with Jesus. 00:16:06.365 --> 00:16:07.961 Well, it's very simple. 00:16:08.154 --> 00:16:09.972 It's like having a relationship, you and I. 00:16:10.052 --> 00:16:12.403 Right, we have a relationship we talk to each other and we talk to each other. 00:16:12.475 --> 00:16:15.245 That's the type of relationship you should have with your Father in heaven. 00:16:15.245 --> 00:16:17.683 How can you know him if you don't talk to him? 00:16:17.936 --> 00:16:22.445 I agree with you so much, and people do make it more complicated than it really is. 00:16:22.605 --> 00:16:27.067 And I know that because I talk to a lot of people and it's you mean you don't have time. 00:16:27.067 --> 00:16:31.307 You have to create that time as Christians. 00:16:31.307 --> 00:16:35.330 That's a command for us to pray. 00:16:35.330 --> 00:16:42.172 So we look at who we are to pray, to what we are to pray and when we are to pray. 00:16:42.172 --> 00:16:45.894 Now let's look at where we are to pray. 00:16:46.115 --> 00:16:47.158 Well, good news, babe. 00:16:47.158 --> 00:16:51.207 The good

news is that there are no restrictions on where you should pray. 00:16:51.394 --> 00:16:52.719 Right, you can pray anywhere. 00:16:52.719 --> 00:16:54.806 Praying again is just talking to God. 00:16:54.934 --> 00:16:58.785 Right, so it can be in public or it can be in private. 00:16:58.914 --> 00:17:02.024 It could be while you're washing dishes and vacuuming your floor. 00:17:02.394 --> 00:17:04.544 So you can pray indoors or outdoors. 00:17:04.755 --> 00:17:06.823 You could pray in a car or on a bus. 00:17:07.295 --> 00:17:09.884 Jesus hears all of your prayers, no matter where they are. 00:17:10.035 --> 00:17:11.380 That sounded like a rhyme right? 00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:12.884 What's that rhyme? 00:17:14.835 --> 00:17:16.737 We're poets and we don't even know it. 00:17:16.737 --> 00:17:19.159 But seriously think about it, babe. 00:17:19.159 --> 00:17:22.722 There's some stuff in the Bible where you see where people pray. 00:17:22.722 --> 00:17:25.846 I mean Jonah prayed in the belly of a fish. 00:17:26.047 --> 00:17:28.009 Right, okay, jesus prayed on a mountain. 00:17:28.028 --> 00:17:33.824 He prayed on a mountain, jesus prayed while he was hanging on the cross Right and God heard all of those prayers Right. 00:17:33.824 --> 00:17:38.060 For me I pray in the car when I'm driving, when I drive to work in the morning. 00:17:38.060 --> 00:17:40.227 That's a big prayer time for me. 00:17:40.227 --> 00:17:57.076 Because, you're in your car a lot A half hour to 40 minutes for me to get to my shop and I spend a lot of that time praying and it's really effective. 00:17:57.076 --> 00:17:57.317 I'm focused. 00:17:57.317 --> 00:17:57.839 I can still see the road. 00:17:57.859 --> 00:17:58.241 I have my eyes open. 00:17:58.241 --> 00:18:00.048 I can still pray with my eyes open, but I do get a lot of serious prayer done in that time. 00:18:00.048 --> 00:18:01.354 And where do I get my time when I go for my walks in the morning. 00:18:01.354 --> 00:18:16.813 Every morning I go for my walks and I'm able to pray to the Lord and I'm able to thank him for nature, I'm able to thank him for the beautiful weather, I'm able to thank him for the sun, I'm able to thank him for my body be strong enough to walk this walk. 00:18:16.813 --> 00:18:17.434 That's prayer. 00:18:17.674 --> 00:18:19.021 Right and you have to be creative. 00:18:19.255 --> 00:18:19.375 Right. 00:18:19.375 --> 00:18:22.605 Inviting him into your day is part of prayer. 00:18:22.755 --> 00:18:30.343 Yeah, if you're creative, you'll always have time to pray Right and you'll always be in a space where you can pray. 00:18:30.403 --> 00:18:35.932 I pray to the Lord when I'm making our bed in the morning, right Because I'm thanking him that we have a bed to sleep on. 00:18:35.932 --> 00:18:39.243 Right, I'm thanking him for the electricity in our home. 00:18:39.243 --> 00:18:46.734 Sure I'm thanking him for a prayer room that we could come in and we can sit with him and we could read our word and we

can just be grateful. 00:18:47.134 --> 00:18:48.935 It talks about public prayer, mm-hmm. 00:18:48.935 --> 00:18:56.420 But then also, in the Sermon on the Mount, jesus instructs us to have a personal place to pray. 00:18:56.420 --> 00:19:06.724 So Matthew, chapter 6 and verse 6, jesus says but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. 00:19:06.724 --> 00:19:12.867 Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 00:19:13.508 --> 00:19:19.050 And that's like I just mentioned Everyone should have a private place to pray Exactly. 00:19:19.590 --> 00:19:22.313 It's put you alone with God, all right. 00:19:22.313 --> 00:19:29.703 A lot of times you're in public, you're praying for public things, for people to hear you. 00:19:29.723 --> 00:19:31.470 There's a lot that goes on with public prayer. 00:19:31.470 --> 00:19:39.428 I'm telling you, babe, I know for me, because I work from home three days a week, that quiet time in our prayer room with the Lord makes such a big difference Right. 00:19:39.468 --> 00:19:40.653 It's personal communication with him. 00:19:40.653 --> 00:19:45.022 So when people say I don't have a place to pray, you have to make one. 00:19:45.022 --> 00:19:47.147 It can be a spare room in your home. 00:19:47.147 --> 00:19:54.387 We took a spare room here and we turned it into a room where we can pray and do this podcast. 00:19:54.387 --> 00:19:56.196 We're sitting in here now Listen. 00:19:56.196 --> 00:19:58.605 If you don't have a room, you could do it in a closet. 00:19:58.835 --> 00:20:08.980 You could have a little square spot in your bedroom where you could create a spot where that's where you go and pray, and that's where you go and just cry out to the Lord, and that's where you go, where you sit quietly. 00:20:08.980 --> 00:20:10.260 It doesn't have to be a room. 00:20:10.260 --> 00:20:16.730 It doesn't have to be a room, it doesn't have to be anything big. 00:20:16.730 --> 00:20:18.204 This is where I talk about people make it complicated. 00:20:18.146 --> 00:20:18.999 I don't have a room, so I'm not going to pray. 00:20:18.940 --> 00:20:19.566 You can pray in the bathroom. 00:20:19.566 --> 00:20:21.578 You can go in the bathroom and close the door and pray in the bathroom. 00:20:21.578 --> 00:20:22.401 Pray in the shower. 00:20:22.401 --> 00:20:28.420 Find a private place to pray, the peace and solitude of being alone with your creator. 00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:30.423 It's going to stimulate your prayer life. 00:20:30.423 --> 00:20:35.490 If your prayer life is not really up to par, find yourself a place in your house. 00:20:35.490 --> 00:20:44.634 Create it with intention and, just like we were able to do here, I'm telling you God will give you a place in your home if you're really intentional about it. 00:20:44.715 --> 00:20:45.775 Yeah, I think that's the word. 00:20:45.775 --> 00:20:53.175 You have to be intentional of creating a prayer life for yourself and not making it more than what it is Right. 00:20:53.876 --> 00:20:56.923 Now, finally, we get to the why of this episode. 00:20:56.923 --> 00:21:04.284 We looked at who we are to pray, to what we are to pray, when we are to pray and where we are to pray. 00:21:04.284 --> 00:21:08.038 Now let's talk about why we are to pray. 00:21:08.038 --> 00:21:18.619 So, first of all, we should pray because God commands us to do so, and to not pray is disobedience, and I really want to be clear about that. 00:21:18.619 --> 00:21:19.784 This is a command. 00:21:20.045 --> 00:21:21.621 Right, it's not when you want to pray. 00:21:22.355 --> 00:21:27.705 No, it's pray Right and people talk about well, I don't want to be disobedient to God. 00:21:27.705 --> 00:21:29.182 Well, this, I think, is a big area where people are disobedient to God. 00:21:29.182 --> 00:21:33.159 Well, this is, I think, is a big area where people are disobedient to God, so we have to be careful about that. 00:21:33.179 --> 00:21:37.417 Prayer is so part of being a Christian, being a believer and walking with the Lord. 00:21:37.417 --> 00:21:41.807 Okay, so let's go back to 1 Thessalonians 5.17. 00:21:41.807 --> 00:21:45.439 It says pray without ceasing Right. 00:21:45.499 --> 00:21:48.644 So clearly Paul is saying this is not an option. 00:21:48.644 --> 00:21:55.285 It's not if I feel like it, it's not if I have time, it's not only when I need something Right. 00:21:55.285 --> 00:22:02.124 So, aside from being obedient to one of God's commands, we have a few reasons why we should pray. 00:22:02.124 --> 00:22:06.766 So number one prayer puts us in communion with God. 00:22:07.234 --> 00:22:11.145 Prayer is a way to communicate with God, who is the creator of heaven and earth. 00:22:11.756 --> 00:22:12.577 When we pray. 00:22:12.577 --> 00:22:15.286 This is how we form a relationship with God. 00:22:15.286 --> 00:22:18.584 He's the one that we want to talk to every day. 00:22:18.584 --> 00:22:21.525 We can develop an intimate relationship with him. 00:22:21.525 --> 00:22:23.382 We can feel connected to him. 00:22:23.382 --> 00:22:29.086 God wants us to know him and, like you said before, how can you know a person unless you talk to him? 00:22:29.086 --> 00:22:32.084 Right Number two prayer is a part of worship. 00:22:32.494 --> 00:22:36.836 And I love this part because I think that a lot of people don't understand that prayer is part of worship. 00:22:36.836 --> 00:22:39.644 Prayer is a way to praise and worship God. 00:22:39.905 --> 00:22:43.917 And I think people kind of get confused about the whole worship thing. 00:22:43.917 --> 00:22:45.723 There's a lot of aspects to worship. 00:22:45.784 --> 00:22:48.136 It's not just singing, it's not just music, right, right. 00:22:48.196 --> 00:22:50.440 We have to be careful with that Number three. 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:51.882 Prayer helps you to learn. 00:22:52.082 --> 00:22:54.965 Prayer can help people learn more about God's plan for them.

00:22:55.506 --> 00:23:02.134 So in prayer, we can ask him for guidance and wisdom how to handle situations, how to handle a trial. 00:23:02.134 --> 00:23:06.487 Every time we're going through something in our day, it's an opportunity to talk to God about it. 00:23:06.487 --> 00:23:14.951 So if I'm going to a meeting at work and I'm saying, oh man, I really don't want to go to this meeting, I know this meeting is going to be hard, okay, I could talk to God about it. 00:23:14.951 --> 00:23:17.451 God, help me to honor you in this meeting. 00:23:17.451 --> 00:23:19.573 Help me, lord, to think before I speak. 00:23:19.573 --> 00:23:23.940 Help me, lord, to not come out of my face in a meeting where I'm going to dishonor you. 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:31.048 So by praying prior to a situation that's coming up, you can definitely get God's help. 00:23:31.048 --> 00:23:32.810 It has a calming effect on you. 00:23:33.134 --> 00:23:34.461 Right, and it gives you peace. 00:23:34.461 --> 00:23:35.537 Yeah, it gives you peace. 00:23:36.038 --> 00:23:43.820 So in 1 Chronicles 1 and verse 10, king Solomon had the chance to petition God for anything he wanted. 00:23:43.820 --> 00:23:49.284 Now he could have asked for worldly riches, but instead he asked for wisdom. 00:23:50.115 --> 00:23:57.127 Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may lead these people, for who is able to govern these great people of yours? 00:23:57.347 --> 00:24:04.188 Amen, yes, and I think that's so important that when we need advice, that we don't go to the world for it. 00:24:04.234 --> 00:24:05.922 We don't go to our girlfriends no. 00:24:05.922 --> 00:24:09.963 We don't go to our coworkers we don't go to the guy in the corner store. 00:24:09.994 --> 00:24:11.336 I don't even want you to come to me, right? 00:24:11.355 --> 00:24:11.536 coworkers. 00:24:11.536 --> 00:24:18.877 We don't go to the guy in the corner store I don't even want you to come to me and you know what and we have to be able to establish that habit where we go to the throne of. 00:24:18.877 --> 00:24:26.423 God for wisdom in everything in our lives, because if we don't do that, that means that we're going to make decisions in our flesh. 00:24:26.865 --> 00:24:28.249 And that never works out well. 00:24:28.249 --> 00:24:33.424 If I go to my sister and I ask her for advice, she's going to give me worldly advice. 00:24:33.424 --> 00:24:37.226 Exactly, Am I going to go with that as a believer or I'm going to say you know what? 00:24:37.226 --> 00:24:41.286 I have the gift of going to Christ because the veil has been torn. 00:24:41.615 --> 00:24:50.487 I have complete access to him, and him alone because, that's what my word says, and whatever it is that I have going on, I'm able just to throw up on God. 00:24:50.487 --> 00:25:01.669 God loves it when we throw up on him and I do that a lot. 00:25:01.669 --> 00:25:07.115 It's like you know that I just like constantly am, and I remember one time in my life I'm like God is probably sick of me, because I'm always coming to him with the little things, the big things I'm always throwing up. 00:25:07.115 --> 00:25:15.189 I'm always crying in prayer, I'm always in, whatever it is that I'm going through, but the Lord is always there saying come to me, those who are weary and burdened, I give you rest. 00:25:15.189 --> 00:25:16.498 There's a reason why he says that. 00:25:16.518 --> 00:25:16.999 Amen. 00:25:16.999 --> 00:25:19.063 That brings us to number four. 00:25:19.063 --> 00:25:22.837 It says prayer is a way to bring our requests before him. 00:25:22.837 --> 00:25:26.984 It's a way to ask God for needs and desires. 00:25:26.984 --> 00:25:41.205 So Philippians, chapter four and verse six says do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 00:25:41.474 --> 00:25:45.465 So when you are anxious or afraid, talk to God about it. 00:25:45.465 --> 00:25:46.488 Amen, amen. 00:25:46.955 --> 00:25:50.566 Ask him to take your burdens and he will give you peace. 00:25:50.566 --> 00:25:55.226 Right, and that leads us to number five prayer brings you peace. 00:25:55.226 --> 00:25:59.806 So by praying we can bring peace into our life. 00:25:59.806 --> 00:26:04.146 Just talking to God, babe, it just brings a calmness to any situation. 00:26:04.146 --> 00:26:11.201 I don't know about you, but every time listen, he tells us not to get anxious, but we do anyway, right, all right, we're not robots. 00:26:11.201 --> 00:26:16.005 So whenever we do get anxious, the best place we can go is to God. 00:26:16.005 --> 00:26:17.185 God, please help me. 00:26:17.185 --> 00:26:18.346 Take this away from me. 00:26:18.426 --> 00:26:20.910 Or you say you just repeat his promises. 00:26:20.910 --> 00:26:21.830 God, you said. 00:26:21.830 --> 00:26:26.559 You said To come to you, you said If I'm under distress. 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:29.105 You said that you have me in the palm of your hand. 00:26:29.105 --> 00:26:30.366 You said so. 00:26:30.366 --> 00:26:33.554 You remember God's promises whenever you're in these situations. 00:26:33.574 --> 00:26:34.134 Pray them back to God. 00:26:34.134 --> 00:26:35.259 Pray them back to God. 00:26:35.654 --> 00:26:37.643 God, I'm believing in you. 00:26:37.643 --> 00:26:39.551 Blah, blah, blah Blah blah, blah. 00:26:39.612 --> 00:26:41.634 Thank you, god, you are worthy Father God. 00:26:41.835 --> 00:27:03.224 That gives you a chance to worship him and thank him and that's in the same space, having that kind of conversation with only God and having that kind of conversation with only God and then, after I walk away from all that, I feel like my shoulders have really felt down because I'm able to just surrender to the Lord like he's telling me to do, because I don't want to walk around with that heavy burden in my back all day long. 00:27:03.244 --> 00:27:05.232 Our shoulders are not strong enough to handle the burdens of

life. 00:27:05.232 --> 00:27:05.954 But God props us up. 00:27:05.954 --> 00:27:08.338 Okay, but we have to ask him for it. 00:27:08.338 --> 00:27:10.722 If we don't, he's just going to let us flounder. 00:27:10.722 --> 00:27:14.328 So he wants us to come to him and bring him our burdens. 00:27:14.390 --> 00:27:24.885 Right In Philippians 4, 7, gives us this promise, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 00:27:25.226 --> 00:27:25.767 Amen. 00:27:25.767 --> 00:27:27.088 Right and that's a promise. 00:27:27.289 --> 00:27:31.375 Yes, His promises are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. 00:27:31.496 --> 00:27:31.916 Amen. 00:27:31.916 --> 00:27:35.117 So number six, this is a good one. 00:27:35.117 --> 00:27:38.119 Here, prayer is a form of confession. 00:27:39.080 --> 00:27:43.952 It is a way to confess sins and seek forgiveness from God. 00:27:44.099 --> 00:27:45.425 Okay, so this is a big deal. 00:27:45.425 --> 00:27:49.151 Yes, so I think everybody today should start off with confession. 00:27:49.151 --> 00:27:51.126 We all know what we did yesterday. 00:27:51.126 --> 00:27:53.227 We all know what we did five minutes ago. 00:27:53.227 --> 00:27:56.147 So the best thing we could ever do. 00:27:56.147 --> 00:28:06.094 I think, the best thing we could ever do is confess the minute you know that you're sinning Right, but sometimes we don't, yeah, but I'm just saying you know, sometimes we know we sin and we just don't confess it. 00:28:06.153 --> 00:28:09.038 And then we get home at night and that happens to me. 00:28:09.057 --> 00:28:09.357 You don't sleep. 00:28:09.560 --> 00:28:12.409 And then I say to myself oh, I remember when I did ABC. 00:28:12.409 --> 00:28:13.431 Oh God, please forgive me that. 00:28:13.431 --> 00:28:13.799 I'm sorry. 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:15.061 I'm confessing this to you now. 00:28:15.142 --> 00:28:15.781 Right, okay. 00:28:15.781 --> 00:28:21.067 But it's is important, because what confession is? 00:28:21.067 --> 00:28:23.849 Is you're agreeing with God about who you are? 00:28:23.970 --> 00:28:24.171 Right. 00:28:24.391 --> 00:28:26.232 So we are nothing but lowly sinners. 00:28:26.232 --> 00:28:34.864 So whenever we go to God in confession, we are saying God Humbly, yes God, I am a lowly sinner, I am a wretched person. 00:28:34.864 --> 00:28:37.451 I did this, I did this and I did this. 00:28:37.660 --> 00:28:41.282 And I know this doesn't honor you or the person I did it to, so please forgive me. 00:28:41.282 --> 00:28:42.125 Please forgive me. 00:28:42.144 --> 00:28:44.692 Right Ask for forgiveness all the time. 00:28:44.692 --> 00:28:47.410 Number seven prayer helps us to repentance. 00:28:48.662 --> 00:28:54.953 Prayer is tied to the act of repentance, which involves turning away from bad behavior and seeking forgiveness. 00:28:54.953 --> 00:28:58.270 I think that some people really don't understand the true meaning of repentance. 00:28:58.539 -->

00:28:59.442 What it is is okay. 00:28:59.442 --> 00:29:01.128 Yeah, you confess that's great. 00:29:01.128 --> 00:29:03.546 We ask God for forgiveness, that's great. 00:29:03.546 --> 00:29:05.111 But ask God for forgiveness, that's great. 00:29:05.111 --> 00:29:06.515 But then we have a choice. 00:29:06.515 --> 00:29:08.155 Do we go out and do the same thing over and over again? 00:29:08.155 --> 00:29:11.998 And then come back and confess and ask for forgiveness. 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:14.773 I feel good because I confessed, but then go back and do the same thing. 00:29:14.773 --> 00:29:15.196 Go back and do it. 00:29:15.196 --> 00:29:15.819 Go back and do it. 00:29:15.819 --> 00:29:20.066 No, no, no, no, no, right you have to turn away from bad behavior. 00:29:20.446 --> 00:29:31.172 So if you have something that you know is a sin and you confess it to God, he will forgive you, but he expects you to not do that anymore, right? 00:29:31.172 --> 00:29:33.729 So you have to really work at it. 00:29:34.320 --> 00:29:36.729 That's like our Heavenly Father reprimanding us. 00:29:37.121 --> 00:29:38.286 Are we perfect at it all the time? 00:29:38.286 --> 00:29:38.547 No, no. 00:29:38.547 --> 00:29:44.390 We're always prone to certain sins, every single day, but he wants to see the effort Right. 00:29:44.390 --> 00:29:52.910 He wants you to really have the sin, make you so sick that you don't want to do it anymore, and that's it, babe, having that feeling of the sin that you really hate. 00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:57.547 I hate this sin, lord, and I'm sorry and I can't, but you can. 00:29:57.547 --> 00:30:02.147 I'm trying really, really hard, god, to not sin this way anymore. 00:30:02.147 --> 00:30:03.529 I hate my sin. 00:30:03.529 --> 00:30:05.433 Please help me, lord. 00:30:05.433 --> 00:30:16.652 It's praying with that from the gut kind of prayer, that disgust of you know, that you did it again and you're just like ah, Like Lord, please, please, help me, and he will. 00:30:16.811 --> 00:30:17.153 I know. 00:30:17.153 --> 00:30:32.613 Okay, it's hard, it's not easy, but this is what he expects of us In 1 John 1.9, it says If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:30:32.653 --> 00:30:33.474 And you know what, babe? 00:30:33.474 --> 00:30:36.669 Unconfessed sin will hinder your prayers. 00:30:37.060 --> 00:30:39.068 Yeah well, it'll lead you to not pray at all. 00:30:39.068 --> 00:30:47.963 Do you ever notice that when you have unconfessed sin, when something's like harboring on you, like from the day before and like you know, you messed up and you're like? 00:30:48.065 --> 00:30:51.063 You still haven't went to the person to ask for forgiveness or God. 00:30:51.284 --> 00:30:54.186 Or God, right, okay, so now you're sitting there and you want to pray. 00:30:54.207 --> 00:30:54.367 Right. 00:30:54.640 --> 00:31:01.025 But you know that you still have that sin, that's unconfessed, and you say oh, maybe I just won't pray. 00:31:01.125 --> 00:31:03.230 Right, you know, because you want to hang on to that sin. 00:31:03.230 --> 00:31:07.638 I'm not going to pray because I know he's not going to hear me and so forget it. 00:31:07.659 --> 00:31:16.661 I'm not going to pray, so it says it'll hinder your prayers in that way, but even if you do pray and you have that unconfessed sin, God's going to look at you and say you didn't confess that sin yet Answer your prayer. 00:31:16.661 --> 00:31:19.165 For what to confess? 00:31:19.546 --> 00:31:29.940 We have to ask for forgiveness, we have to turn from that and then so the best way to start a prayer session is to confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. 00:31:29.940 --> 00:31:30.601 Amen. 00:31:30.621 --> 00:31:35.490 Okay, number eight prayer is a way to help and support others. 00:31:35.490 --> 00:31:41.891 In 1 Timothy 2, in verse 1, the Apostle Paul tells us to pray for others. 00:31:42.412 --> 00:31:45.140 The Apostle Paul tells us to pray for others. 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:51.419 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people. 00:31:51.439 --> 00:31:51.519 Amen. 00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:53.928 We ought to pray for one another. 00:31:53.928 --> 00:31:56.869 This is just like a staple of the Christian life. 00:31:56.960 --> 00:31:58.928 Because everyone needs prayer, everyone. 00:31:58.928 --> 00:32:01.608 Yeah, even if you say I'm okay, I don't need prayer. 00:32:02.580 --> 00:32:03.925 Well, here's the deal. 00:32:03.925 --> 00:32:05.885 Okay, you pray for somebody. 00:32:05.885 --> 00:32:09.349 You might be the only person who ever prays for them. 00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:16.357 And if someone wants to pray for you, let them yeah, because they might be the only person besides yourself that prays for you. 00:32:16.558 --> 00:32:21.751 Exactly Now you and I pray for each other, but sometimes I wonder does anybody else ever pray for me? 00:32:21.751 --> 00:32:31.887 I truly believe that people pray for us Well only because we live in a great church and we have great brothers and sisters who I know, pray, but one thing I know that Jesus intercedes for us. 00:32:31.887 --> 00:32:32.490 Yeah, he does. 00:32:32.490 --> 00:32:40.405 That gives me the peace that I need, but I'm a true believer that there's a lot of people that pray for us and I'm grateful for that. 00:32:40.405 --> 00:32:43.068 But there are people out there that nobody prays for. 00:32:48.220 --> 00:32:51.971 So, you be the one that prays for them Right, and this is why it's so important that when you meet a person, you have to meet that person right where they're at. 00:32:51.971 --> 00:32:59.400 Everybody's going through something and everybody needs prayer, and sometimes they don't even know how to ask for prayer. 00:32:59.681 --> 00:33:04.260 So you got to read the room and read the situation and know that somebody needs it. 00:33:04.260

--> 00:33:09.702 Go over there, put your arm on their shoulder and ask them what they need prayer for, and I'm sure they'll tell you. 00:33:09.843 --> 00:33:10.063 Yeah. 00:33:10.304 --> 00:33:11.949 And then you could go ahead and do God's work. 00:33:12.169 --> 00:33:16.084 Right, so let's wrap this up by reminding ourselves what we covered today. 00:33:16.545 --> 00:33:16.865 Okay. 00:33:16.865 --> 00:33:24.915 So number one we learned who to pray to, and that's the triune God, and we learned who not to pray to, and that's anyone else. 00:33:25.140 --> 00:33:25.381 Right. 00:33:25.381 --> 00:33:30.792 We learned what to pray for, and that is anything that is in alignment with God's will. 00:33:31.421 --> 00:33:34.671 We learned when to pray and that's any chance we get. 00:33:35.461 --> 00:33:39.571 We learned where to pray and the importance of having a sacred space. 00:33:40.340 --> 00:33:45.633 And we learned why we pray and that's to have a better relationship with God. 00:33:45.633 --> 00:33:49.867 And in conclusion, here are a few Louisa and Mike tips. 00:33:49.867 --> 00:33:54.042 Number one every church I know has a midweek prayer meeting. 00:33:54.042 --> 00:33:55.890 Make it your business to go. 00:33:55.890 --> 00:34:00.703 It will put you in the space of communing with God and other believers. 00:34:00.703 --> 00:34:02.326 It's really important. 00:34:02.887 --> 00:34:11.409 Number two if God has given you a husband or a wife, pray with them and, more importantly, pray for them. 00:34:11.409 --> 00:34:14.554 And if you desire a spouse, pray for one. 00:34:14.780 --> 00:34:15.181 Amen. 00:34:15.181 --> 00:34:23.525 Number three start praying the minute you open your eyes, when you wake up, and also just before you shut your eyes to sleep. 00:34:23.525 --> 00:34:29.168 God should be the first and last person you talk to every day. 00:34:29.648 --> 00:34:31.974 And please never take prayer for granted. 00:34:31.974 --> 00:34:34.244 When in doubt, just pray. 00:34:34.465 --> 00:34:36.351 It is always the most we can do. 00:34:36.351 --> 00:34:40.605 Heavenly Father, we thank you, lord, for the gift of prayer. 00:34:40.605 --> 00:34:52.753 We thank you that we can come directly to you with our concerns, burdens, praises and thanks, and that you are faithful to hear us and answer us in your timing and in accordance with your will. 00:34:52.753 --> 00:34:57.010 Through this, you will receive all the honor and all the glory. 00:34:57.351 --> 00:35:00.768 Amen, so that wraps up episode 47. 00:35:00.768 --> 00:35:02.621 We thank you for listening. 00:35:02.621 --> 00:35:03.681 So that wraps up episode 47. 00:35:03.681 --> 00:35:04.422 We thank you for listening. 00:35:04.422 --> 00:35:11.349 We invite you to leave a comment or a question by going to our website at jtepodcastorg. 00:35:11.789 --> 00:35:15.693 That's jtepodcastorg. 00:35:16.253 --> 00:35:20.317 Click on the Contact Us page and we will respond within 24 hours. 00:35:20.317 --> 00:35:26.342 If you don't personally know us, introduce yourselves. 00:35:26.362 --> 00:35:34.835 We would love to get to know you from across the states or around the world Now while you're there, you can subscribe to the podcast and receive an email the minute a new episode is published. 00:35:34.835 --> 00:35:40.791 You can also find all of our previous episodes, and we invite you to find one that resonates with you. 00:35:41.211 --> 00:35:47.630 And, as always, please support us by sharing this podcast with a friend or on your social media page. 00:35:47.972 --> 00:35:48.755 Till next time. 00:35:48.755 --> 00:35:54.409 We wish you God's blessing as you navigate everyday life in a sinful, fallen world. 00:35:54.929 --> 00:35:57.780 May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of. 00:35:57.780 --> 00:36:02.547 God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.