Growing Prayer Part One Review Knowing Growing Understanding

Growing Prayer Part One

Review • Knowing, Growing, Understanding, Living, Giving • Structured plans are the best. • God has given us the plan, and the rules for executing the plan. • Every Christian needs to develop a plan that will help them help others get to heaven.

Prayer • Indicator of our faith. • When we pray to God, we accept in our minds His existence. The more we pray the more we accept Him. The more we accept His presence, and our faith is strengthened.

Prayer Is A Privilege • But all too often, taken for granted. • How easy to speak to the mayor, governor, president, King of other nations? • But speak to God, and His ear is attentive to our prayers. • With millions praying at the same time, How can God listen to my prayer? If God could speak the world into existence, then God can hear my prayers.

Prayer Is A Privilege • • • The moment we begin our prayer: God already has heard it. God is attentive. Sometimes God answers our prayers. We do not know or recognize the answer sometimes, but God does things in His way, and not necessarily how we think it should be done.

The Privilege of Prayer • God is not distracted from our prayers. • Earthquakes and Tsunami’s in another part of the world will not interfere with our prayer. • Millions praying at the same time will not interfere with our prayer. • God is not human, so God can do this. • We are distracted by so many different things, and our minds wander about.

The persistence of prayer • 1 Thessalonians 5: 17 “Pray without ceasing” • Obviously we could not function very well if we were always praying. Could not eat, sleep, work, etc. • So this means the attitude of prayer that we maintain in our daily lives.

Prayer Examples: Praise • Psalms 150: 1 (NKJV) Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! • Psalms 18: 3 (NKJV) I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. • Psalms 113: 3 (NKJV) From the rising of the sun to its going down The Lord's name is to be praised. • Psalms 50: 23 (NKJV) Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God. "

Praise • Psalms 34: 1 (NKJV) I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. • Psalms 71: 6 (NKJV) By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You. • Psalms 7: 17 (NKJV) I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. • Psalms 21: 13 (NKJV) Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.

Praise • Psalms 22: 22 (NKJV) I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. • Psalms 28: 7 (NKJV) The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. • Psalms 52: 9 (NKJV) I will praise You forever, Because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good. • Psalms 67: 3 (NKJV) Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.

Praise • Psalms 86: 12 (NKJV) I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore. • Psalms 102: 18 (NKJV) This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD. • Psalms 106: 1 (NKJV) Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Praise • Psalms 111: 1 (NKJV) Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. • Psalms 111: 10 (NKJV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. • Psalms 112: 1 (NKJV) Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments. • Psalms 119: 171 (NKJV) My lips shall utter praise, For You teach me Your statutes.

Praise • Psalms 135: 3 (NKJV) Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant. • Ephesians 1: 6 (NKJV) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. • Psalms 138: 2 (NKJV) I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

Praise • The idea of praise is to glorify God for what He has done and who He is. This goes beyond the idea of thanksgiving, which will be discussed later. • When we look at the glorious nature of God and see the work of God in nature, we are compelled to give honor to Him. We notice that God alone is worthy of praise. We might want to show our appreciation to people or give them the honor due them for something they did, but this is not praise in the spiritual sense. God wants us to praise Him. He wants this praise for Himself, not others. Remember that God said that He was a jealous God, when He was giving the Ten Commandments.

Praise • You might be compelled to think of some songs that we sing about praise to God. • Think about this. We might sing with all our might "Praise the Lord", but we might hold back from speaking "Praise the Lord". If God is worthy of praise (and He is), we should declare it. We must also be careful not to over-use or abuse the phrase.

Conclusion • Prayer is indicator of our faith • Prayer keeps us in the knowledge of the presence of God. • God is attentive to our prayers (if we are righteous—this will be discussed later. • Praise is one of the many parts of a prayer, and should be used often. • Invitation.