IntroductionIntroduction
A story is told of a boy who one day asked his mom if she knew what Goliath said when David hit him with a stone. “Why, I didn’t know Goliath said anything,” his mom replied. The little boy nodded his head knowingly and said, “Sure he did. When David put that stone in his sling and whipped it around and let it go and hit ol’ Goliath right between the eyes, Goliath said, ‘Hmmm, nothing like that has ever entered my mind before.’” It’s a silly story, but in a positive way, what’s been entering your mind lately? My vision for this Bible study on prayer is to offer you some ideas, maybe some that have “never entered your mind before.” I want to encourage, challenge, and provoke everyone to new levels of reaching an understanding and creative thinking. This will hopefully lead to the action of praying for God’s mission. It is known from experience that God will supply the ideas. As believers we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, will apply the ideas to our lives. It is hoped that you take this opportunity to deeply think about what the Bible says concerning prayer. As the author of these lessons I have wrestled with these topics and now it is your chance to integrate them into your life. Perhaps God will help you create some of your own keys to transfer what it means for you to be a person of prayer for personal concerns and for others. Christians are called by God to communicate, to discover and to utilize their own gifts and then to share their lives in a lifestyle of commissioned living and servant leadership. Through faith, desire and fervency you will come ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit for praying for God’s mission. Please contact us if you have questions or comments about these lessons. Setting Your Vision for Prayer Course 100 Author: Rev. Robert W. Smith Video Guest: Rev. Chuck Lindquist Director of World Mission Prayer League (WMPL) Table of Contents Introduction............................................................. 5 I. The World and Prayer............................................... 8 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.(Hebrews 5:7) II. Beliefs and Prayer.................................................. 12 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7) III. Jesus and Prayer................................................... 16 After he had sent the crowds away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray; and when it was evening, he was there alone. (Matthew 12:23 NASB) IV. Commissioned Living and Prayer................................... 20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20) Study Guide (With author’s answers to questions)........................ 28 Endnotes……………………………………………………………………….. 39 Setting Your Vision for Prayer Copyright 2010 R.W. Smith All rights reserved. Introduction When I Pray Think of your own life and circle or underline the number that reflects your commitment to prayer in similar situations. Take a few minutes to evaluate the praying stage of your present lifestyle. Stage/ Evaluation Item Stage 1 Launching I am not sure what to say and how to pray. Stage 2 Crisis I only pray when I have troubles or in emergencies. Stage 3 Comfortable When there is a need to pray I feel adequate. Stage 4 Passionate I want to pray with desire and fervency. 1. I pray when I am busy. 1 I rarely take time to pray and don’t know what to say when I’m busy. 2 Sometimes I communicate with God when I’m busy. 3 I’m comfortable taking time to begin my tasks with prayer when I’m busy. 4 I’m actively desiring to take time to communicate with God when I’m busy. 2. I pray when I am tired after working. 1 I rarely take time to pray and don’t know what to say when I’m tired. 2 Sometimes I communicate with God when I’m tired. 3 I’m comfortable making time for prayer when I’m tired. 4 I’m actively taking time to communicate with God when I’m tired. 3. I pray before making decisions. 1 I rarely take time to pray and don’t know what to say when I make decisions. 2 Sometimes I communicate with God at a crossroad before I make decisions. 3 I’m comfortable taking time to communicate with God before I make decisions. 4 I’m actively taking time to communicate with God before I make a decision. 4. I pray before difficult challenges. 1 I rarely take time to pray and don’t know what to say before new challenges. 2 Sometimes I communicate with God before new challenges. 3 I’m comfortable taking time to communicate with God before new challenges. 4 I’m actively taking time to communicate with God before new challenges. What are a few positive thoughts and constructive criticisms about your present prayer life? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ At one time personal communion between people and God was intimate. But sin entered into the world and broke off communication. Thanks to the merits of Jesus our Redeemer, he has accomplished everything necessary for each believer to be reunited. Jesus through his death and resurrection has conquered death and the devil and restored fellowship with God. Now we can again communicate with our Father in and through prayer. However, it is important to emphasize that no matter how proficient a believer becomes at prayer it does not earn salvation. Jesus has already done that for us. When a person learns to speak a language with proficiency there usually is a progression of proficiency from one level or stage to the next. The same could be said for learning the skills of a particular sport. Stronger confidence develops with each practice and fuller immersion into the new language or athletic skill. I believe there could be similar stages in learning to pray with power and passion. This was my initial stage, or shall I say stage one, of learning to pray. I was taught that I could pray by my Sunday school teacher. I was given the prayer below as a Christmas present. It was a plaque that glowed at night and could be hung on a wall. Blessed Savior dear, Be always near. Keep me (and keep all) From evil, harm and fear. At that time, I was a very poor reader and was not sure what the words meant or to whom I was praying. All I knew was that the Sunday school teacher said it was good to pray. So I did it. Eventually, through the encouragement of the Sunday school teacher, I was baptized. By high school I was praying a little more, especially when I had a crisis situation. Stage two had arrived. I was progressing in my prayer life. A youth Bible class teacher suggested that we begin each day with prayer. I respected him, so I tried to do it, but usually I forgot. During my adolescent years, I received a prayer book as a gift, called Teenagers Pray, published by Concordia Publishing House. It was on my shelf, but very seldom read. However, the summer before college I was convinced I should use it. To teach myself to pray in the morning I put the prayer book on the one pair of shoes I consistently wore. The deal I made with myself was to pray before I put on my shoes. It worked! Stage three began and continued as I studied God's Word and became surrounded by other strong praying Christians. Sports no longer were my number one priority in life. Now it was my relationship with Jesus. I knew he was my personal Lord and Savior, God’s Son. Therefore, I watched and listened to my mentors who supported and encouraged me. Yes, I wanted to be a man of prayer while providing for a wife and sons, teaching school, directing youth programs, coaching sports, shepherding a congregation, and administering a Christian day school. There were quality times of prayer and then there were just prayer times, because it seemed to be the thing to do. There is no doubt in my mind that God has blessed my life with answers to my prayers despite my feeble efforts. It was comfortable for me to pray whenever the opportunity was present. But I remained in stage three not understanding how much I could still learn about prayer. God answered innumerable prayers as our family moved worked and lived in various places around the globe. It was not until our move to Korea that I think I progressed into stage four, praying with passion. A combination of experiences has influenced me. The list starts with a prayer chapel, continues with Bible study, Jesus Abbey, Moms In Touch, reading many books on prayer, a Promise Keepers accountability group, prayer partners, Habitat for Humanity, Missionaries of Charity India trips, a Papua trip, the Afghanistan experience, the World Mission Prayer League, and the list goes on. All have helped me to arrive at stage four. I want to spend more time in prayer as never before. The most important responsibility I have as a Christian pastor is to pray for my family, colleagues, students, friends, world leaders, the spread of the Gospel message, missionaries, workers for the harvest, and personal concerns. It is not a problem, but a privilege. I believe prayer is the greatest resource for solving the world's problems. There is no way I can help this world more than to spend time in prayer. The power of prayer is available through the Word of God, the Bible. Just as filling the gas tank of a car with water will not propel an automobile neither will man-made plans and goals fuel us. We need the power of God's living Word within us to reach our peak performance. It is urgent for Christians to make regular use of the power of prayer. Raising our voices, we beg the Lord God Almighty to send a full measure of his Spirit to improve our praying. It is hoped that these four lessons will stimulate and improve your prayer life. |
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