When Jesus conversed with the Father it was in genuine conversation about realities occurring in real life. Those around Him who thought prayer was formal or formulaic were invited to disappear from sight having been freed from the need to impress others in order to speak freely with God having been freed from a mechanical process to impress God. This kind of genuine conversation is still available to all who rely on Jesus and afford themselves to the way of genuine relationship and conversation in His kingdom.
"prayer" Tagged Sermons (Page 2)
Prayer is a conversation with God. Anything other than conversing with God is something other than prayer. In this move in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is coaching us on how to experience God throughout each day, we discover His practical guidance for secret prayer. Spoiler Alert: Secret Prayer is an essential habit for all desiring to experience the daily intermingled life with God in His kingdom.
When Jesus promises, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (v. 7) is he issuing a blank check for this type of prayer?
Jesus has given the vision, and vision requires mission. We cannot only see it but must do it. What is your mission? And are you praying for the lost? Options for mission include prayer, support, and going. How are you living in regard to these?
Like King David. we all have times when we love, worship and rejoice in God AND we have seasons when we would rather live on our own seeking joy and pleasure apart from God and His ways. On this 5th Sunday of Lent we discover that Psalm 51 is so much more than a prayer for guilty sinners whose transgressions have been exposed. Psalm 51 is a prayer of intimacy and honesty with God who loves us, knows us and remains with us both when we worship and when we wander.
This first week of Lent, David’s prayer in Psalm 25 reveals that shame, hurt, confusion, loneliness, guilt, concerns for others and many other afflictions are a part of our humanity. Rather than figuring these things out before we come to God, these are the very things our Heavenly Father, whose love is steadfast, is calling us to bring to Him just as we are.
Though we know prayer is important, it is easy to neglect it for many reasons. Busy schedules, tiring workloads and feelings of inadequacy. When God became man, He taught about prayer in ways that brought freedom. In this message we consider some of Jesus’ instruction on prayer and are encouraged to grow in the habit of simple conversations with God.
I hear a lot about God speaking to people and for the longest time I never knew what that meant. In this message I’m hoping to shed light on hearing the “Voice of God” and knowing His direction for our lives and how we can make the right decisions based on God’s direction.
Have you noticed how often a difficulty arises once you take a step to faithfully do what God wants you to do? In our passage today, strong opposition came against God’s people when king Herod killed James and captured Peter to kill him as well. If you desire to see God break through like only He can do this message will encourage you to anticipate opposition, pray to our King and know with certainty that He will deliver you in His time according to His plan for His glory and your amazement.
Discovering the purpose for which God created us is deeply satisfying. Yet, often others will try to discourage us from becoming all that God intends for us to be and do. After healing a lame man and then explaining to the crowd that Jesus was the source of this man’s healing, some people in positions of authority were “greatly annoyed” and “charged” them not to do these things (the exact things that God had created them to do) any more. How these first disciples responded will expand your view of God and encourage you to remain faithful to His purpose for your life no matter what!