PARENTAL PRAYER

 

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• WHAT IS EFFECTIVE PRAYER?

• HOW CAN WE BE PRAYING FOR OUR DISCIPLES?

• WHAT’S THE CORE CONTENT OF DISCIPLING PRAYER?

 

ANY WORK OF DISCIPLE MAKING WE DO IS ONLY AS EFFECTIVE AS THE TOUCH OF GOD: “UNLESS THE LORD BUILDS THE HOUSE, ITS BUILDERS LABOR IN VAIN” (PSALM 127: 1).

 

PRAYING FOR THOSE WE ARE DISCIPLING IS PART OF THE WORK. PRAYER ACTIVATES THE POWER OF GOD AND ALLOWS US TO PARTNER WITH HIS SPIRIT.

 

IF YOU CAN ONLY TEACH A DISCIPLE ONE THING, TEACH HIM OR HER HOW TO PRAY. YOUR EXAMPLE OF DEPENDING ON GOD THROUGH PRAYER WILL ENCOURAGE HIM OR HER TO DO THE SAME. START WITH PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING.

HEBREWS 13: 15

PSALMS 150

 

BUT WHAT DO WE PRAY FOR? MUCH OF OUR PRAYERS FITS UNDER THE CATEGORY OF COMFORT. WE WANT TO RELIEVE AS MUCH STRESS AS WE CAN AND TO MAKE THE PERSON COMFORTABLE. BUT IF YOU ARE A PARENT, YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS THAN COMFORT. THIS IS TRUE FOR SPIRITUAL CHILDREN AS WELL. CERTAINLY, PRAYER FOR THE PREVENTION AND REMOVAL OF PAIN AND DISCOMFORT IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAYER EFFORTS. BUT WE CAN OBSERVE SOME KEY AREAS OF PRAYER FROM SCRIPTURE THAT REFLECT THE INSIGHT OF A PARENT, AND WE CAN KNOW WE ARE PRAYING THE WILL OF GOD.

1 JOHN 5: 14-15

 

 

NOTHING CAN EMPOWER PRAYING WITH CONFIDENCE LIKE KNOWING THAT WE ARE ASKING FOR EXACTLY WHAT’S ON THE HEART OF GOD; KNOWING THAT WE ARE STANDING AT THE CENTER OF GOD’S WILL.

EPHESIANS 1: 15-19

 

PAUL WAS THANKFUL FOR:

• THEIR FAITH

• THEIR PRACTICAL ACTS OF LOVE TO OTHERS

 

PAUL PRAYED:

• TO KNOW JESUS FIRSTHAND, PERSONALLY

• FOR WISDOM AND DISCERNMENT

• FOR CLEAR UNDERSTANDING

• TO KNOW WHAT GOD IS CALLING THEM TO DO

• TO GRASP HIS WAY OF LIVING

• TO RECOGNIZE HIS POWER AT WORK IN THEM

 

1 THESSALONIANS 1: 2-3:

1. THANKFUL FOR:

2. PRAYED FOR:

3. DESIRED RESULTS:

 

1 THESSALONIANS: 3: 7-10

1. THANKFUL FOR :

2. PRAYED FOR:

3. DESIRED RESULTS:

 

 

 

JOY

 

THE APOSTLE JOHN SAID, “I HAVE NO GREATER JOY THAN TO HEAR THAT MY CHILDREN ARE WALKING IN THE TRUTH”            (3 JOHN 4). AND THE APOSTLE PAUL SAID, “YOU ARE OUR GLORY AND JOY” (1 THESSALONIANS 2: 20). THE APOSTLES’ JOY SPRANG DIRECTLY FROM A DISCIPLING RELATIONSHIP.

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WHAT ASPECTS OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS BROUGHT JOY?

ROMANS 16: 19

2 CORINTHIANS 7: 7

 

PAUL ASKED FOR THE PRAYERS OF OTHERS. FROM THE FOLLOWING VERSES, WHAT CAN YOU LEARN ABOUT PRAYING FOR OTHERS?

ROMANS 15: 30-31

EPHESIANS 6: 18-20

 

 

CLOSING

 

URGENCY, PRIORITY, AND EXPECTANCY ALL HAPPENS WITH PRAYER. MOREOVER, THERE’S A RECOGNIZED DEPENDENCE ON GOD TO DO WHAT WE CAN’T.

 

 

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