The Will of God In Prayer - Lesson 3 - Part 1
This is a continuation of the Prayer study we are doing in our church. I am behind a few lessons of posting. They will all be linked together, so be sure to view each post that will be linked at the bottom of each post. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Please note this is not a review of the Hagin Ministry Series. This post was made to share with you the journey I am going on while reading this book and studying Gods word. It is here posetd in my own words, while sharing some quotes of the book and for encouragement purposes only!
What Jesus Said About Prayer (Part 1)
Bible Text: Matthew 6:5-13
Central Truth: The Lord's Prayer is a pattern in which we see certain principles of prayer.
(NLT) Matthew 6:5-13 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
In this chapter Hagin notes:
While Jesus was here on earth, He taught alot on prayer. One of the best known of his teaching is the "Lords Prayer" (noted above in Matthew 6)
One of the first things he notes in Matthew 6:5 is this: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites..." Surely none of us wants to be hypocriticial, especially in our praying. Next, He goes on to describe the hypocrites; "who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them" This does not mean, that all of our prayer should be private. In the book of Acts we see the early church praying together. What is Jesus referring to? He is referring to the danger of praying only to be seen of men. There are those who pray in public to appear really spiritual; to make people think they are reall prayer warriors. Those who pray only for the applause of men have their reward, and that is all that is the fleeting applause of men.
Jesus told his disciples in verse 6 "But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private." He was stressing the importance of a private prayer life. Public prayer is necessary and vital in the life of the Church. Praying together as a family in necessary and vital to eh spritual strength of a home. But, Private prayer is essential to the spiritual life of the individual. It is where we grow in spiritual stature.
Jesus goes on to say in verse 7 "When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again." Thus, we have two admonitions from the Lord: (1) don't be like the hypocrites in our praying and (2) don't be like the heathen in our praying. Jesus said, the heathen think they will be heard by their gods because of their repetitious prayer. Hagin goes on to express how the heathen way of think has come in to the church. (Very True). Noting: Many believe that God will hear them because of their consistant speaking their lengthy and repeated calling on God. They repeat the same prayer they say the same words or phrases over and over again thinking they will be heard because of that. This is exactly what Jesus condemned when hH said, "When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do..." In verse 8, He says, "Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!" He (the father) knows before we ask him, yet He wants us to ask him we can read on to the next chapter and see that He (Jesus) then says, "Ask, and it shall be given unto you... "(Matthew 7:7)
God does not hear you because you repeat the same prayer over and over. It does not matter how long or loud you talk, God is not going to hear you, because it is the prayer of faith, that God hears and will answer. "He hears you because you believe Him when you pray, and you come according to His Word.
- Basic Principles of Prayer
Hagin continues on to covering the next few verses of Matthew 6 and noting: Jesus taught His disciples some basic elements of prayer. Commonly referred to as the "Lords Prayer", it is more accurately the Disciples Prayer or the model for prayer that He gave them while He walked with them on this earth. This is not the church speaking for the disciples did not ask anything in the Name of Jesus. When the church body pray, we ask in the Name of Jesus. Jesus was not telling the disciples to pray this prayer word for word, He was giving them some priniciples in connection with prayer that will work for the church today.
I want to add this one point I have noticed over the years that today much of the belief from the church and some of the individuals walking this journey in Christ, that they believe some of what the bible says was specifically for then and will not work now. THIS IS SO WRONG! We need to walk away from the mindset of what work then will not work now. The bibles clearly says that it will work now because the bible has not changed, God has not changed. The bible is Gods living word and it will always be the same yesterday, today and forever. If God spoke it then, He speaks it now and He will continue to speak it tomorrow. If we take Him at His word, then we will see clearly the Work of God in our life daily. Its not take some of the bible or some of Gods word and live it, Its take all of Gods word from Genesis to Revelations and Live it daily. We are of the New testament but just because we are of the new testament church does not mean we ignore the old testament. Much of the old testament is still alive today.
The prayer begins in Matthew 6 like this, "
Our Father in heaven..." The unsaved can pray this prayer just as they can recite a poem or sing a song. But to really pray this prayer from the heart to really have fellowship with God one must actually be a child of God. Otherwise, we truly can not say, "Our Father..." Hagin continues on saying, "Today there is much teaching on the "Fatherhood of God" and the "Brotherhood of Man". Some would have us believe that we are all children of God; that he is the father of all of us. While it is true that He's the Creator of all, He isn't the Father of all of us. He is only the Father of those who have been born again; those in His family. During Jesus earthly ministry, He once told a group of Pharisees, who were very religious people, (John 8:44) " For you are the children of your father the devil." The Pharisees were good people as far as works were concerned. Yet Jesus said, "You are the children of your father the devil!"
What did He mean? He is saying here that the right approach to God is to come to Him because He is our Father, and to come in praise and worship: "Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy - ( in verse 9 of Matthew 6 NLT), We should come in to His presence first with Praise and Worship because He is our Father.
- The Principles of Putting God First
Looking at vs 10, " May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. The principle here is, Putting the Kingdom of God first. Further down in this chapter Jesus repeated this principle in verse 33 saying,"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." If we put God first, we do not have to worry about material needs for, "all things shall be added unto you."
Have you ever thought how all-inclusive this prayer is? Jesus prayed, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Do you suppose there are any sick people in heaven?
(NKJV) John 10:10 ...."I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
- The Principle of Daily Prayer
In Matthew 6:11 Jesus taught us the importance of daily prayer, asking God for our every need:
"Give us today the food we need." Even though God knows our every need, He still wants us to ask...
- The Principle of Forgiveness
Jesus taught much about forgiveness during His stay here on earth, and He included forgiveness as one of the essential elements of prayer. In verse 12, "and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us." In verse 14-15, He also notes,“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." Prayer will not work in an unforgiving heart. We simply can not hold a grudge against anyone and maintain a prayer life that gets results. I want to note, that if we look at this honestly, we could see the hypocrite we would become by not obeying the word of God and trying to seek Him with an unforgiving heart. Don't we think that would insult him?
- The Principle of Deliverance from Temptation
(NLT) Matthew 6:13 "And don’t let us yield to temptation,but rescue us from the evil one." The word temptation means, "TEST" or "TRIAL." Many tests and trials could be overcome in advance by the child of God who is enjoying the fellowship with the Father that a proper prayer life brings. And finally, in closing, (NKJV) ".... For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." The prayer that began with praise also ends with praise.
- Memory Text: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
To get a copy of this book please visit: http://www.rhema.org/store/the-will-of-god-in-prayer-book.html
To read post number 2 and lesson 2 please click the link below:
http://hissevencones.blogspot.com/2011/09/will-of-god-in-prayer-lesson-2.html
No comments:
Post a Comment