TEACH ME TO PRAY WEEK #2

I hope everyone found it easy to do their assignment this past week.

Before I get into THANKSGIVING and SUPPLICATION I am going to give you more insight on prayer. I have been reading several books in preparing for this study and I have found wonderful information in them all.

Even though we are talking about Model Prayers Methods, these “tidbits” are extra information that may help you feel more comfortable about praying.

I have a few favorite preachers/writers that I love to hear and read what they have to say: Billy Graham, Charles Stanley, John McArthur, Max Lucado, Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer. There are others you may have heard of and some that I have never heard of.  The following is from Billy Graham.

“Prayers is a two way conversation with God. It’s is us talking to Him and Him talking to us. It is essentially talking with God as you would talk with your parents, who loves you and wants the BEST for you. “

“Every man or woman whose life has counted for the church and the kingdom of God, has been a person of prayer. We cannot afford to be too busy to pray. A PRAYERLESS Christian is a POWERLESS Christian.” WOW!

Do you want to be powerless? I don’t.

Another said “Pray is not an option, it’s an obligation and an opportunity for us to glorify God’s name and receive His blessing”. Don’t you want some blessings for God?

It is also an opportunity to participate in a miracle! Now THAT is exciting!. For those of us in the medical field don’t you have the “warm-fuzzy” when a patient of yours looks like they are dying and there is no hope and miraculously survives that illness. It makes you feel good inside if you had a part of that patient’s care.

Yet another one said “Prayer isn’t a luxury; it is a necessity. We all need it”. I don’t know about you but I will take all the prayers anyone wants to say in my name. I need them EVERYDAY! Foolish is the one who thinks they don’t need prayers.

If prayerlessness is one of our sins, this is a good time to confess it.

We need to be like David in Psalms 63:1. “You are my God! Earnestly I seek you. I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a fry and parched land where there is no water” Has your life ever been like this? Feeling dry, stale in need of refreshment? We all get this way. And there is nothing like the refreshing you get from “the living water”.

OK, time to get back to our A.C.T.S Model of Prayer

THANKSGIVING

God is blessing us constantly. Take a moment to write down some wonderful things God has done for you and the gifts he has given you.

READ Ephesians 5:30 and Psalms 69:30

You have plenty of reasons to be thankful. Thank God for His love, His unconditional love, His faithfulness, His patience, etc. Express gratitude for what He is doing in your life NOW. Thank Him for dying on the cross, thank the Holy Spirit for indwelling in you and never leaving you. Thank Him for being your conscience, your counselor and that “still small voice”.

Thank God for keeping His promises in your life and those of your family and friends and the circumstances in your life.

READ Psalms 118: 29-29

DO NOT ASK the Lord for anything yet--- just THANK HIM . Thank Him for what He is going to do in your life. Remember the work of the Lord in EVERY area of your life. (Home, work, business. Finances, family, church, health)

Thank Him for the SIMPLE things that we take for granted. The fact that you woke up today, slept well last night and was safe from harm, for save travel to work and back, a good day’s work and yes even a bad day’s work. BAD DAY, WHY? First of all, because you HAVE a job and secondly you would not appreciate the good days without any bad days.

Take another moment to add any more wonderful things God has done for you.

We shouldn’t wait to the holiday of Thanksgiving to give thanks to God. However on facebook some people will do 30-day of Thanks for the Month of November. I have even participated. But what about the days of December, January and so forth. Certainly there are more than 30 things people are thankful for.

Why not do your own “Days of Thanks” throughout the year WITHOUT repeating ANYTHING? Give it a try today.

SUPPLICATION

What is supplication? Supplication is the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly.  It is also known as petitioning. It’s a form of prayer. It is either asking for yourself or from someone else. If you ask for someone else, this is known as intercession, the action of intervening on behalf of another.

This is the time we ask for “stuff”. We ask God of our needs and the needs of others. Tell God what you want no matter how small it seems.

As believer we are called to prayer for others.

READ Luke 18:1, Col 4:2, 1 Tim.2:1-4 Phil 4:6

This we come before God on behalf of others.

READ Heb. 10:19-25, Rev 1:4-6

Spend time praying for your pastor, your church, “the Church”.

Spend time praying for specific people, events, states, countries and Missionaries. Act 12:5, Rom 10:1

Spend time praying for your personal needs. Matt. 6:11-13

As you enter this part of your prayer, ask God to give you the desires of His heart.

Make a prayer list of your supplication. Be sure to include a date and a place to write when it was answered. Then this will become a praise & thanksgiving. Here are the two things I used.

The first is my prayer box. I have written prayer request on slips of paper with a date. When they are answered I removed them.  Some I have been praying for since 2011, some longer.

When I pray for these request I will just tell God the request in my prayer box. The other is my phone app that I use to put down pray request. Those mentioned at church or those I may see on facebook or another source. It has some other functions too.

For homework this week, continue with Adoration and Confession in your prayer, but now add Thanksgiving and Supplication.

A.C.T.S Sample Prayer

Father you are completely Holy and omnipotent. I fall at your feet in adoration. Lord, you aks us to love our neighbours as ourselves. The truth is I have failed to love others and I've lost sight of how much you value me. Please forgive me. I ask for you strength to fill my being so that I will always live in your grace and love. For the power, the glory and the honor is yours. Amen

Next week we will talk about a new Model Prayer, but it can be considered part of Supplication.