Asking For A Friend Week 3- Sacred Prayer; How To Pray The Right Way
Read
Luke 11:1-13
He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say, Father, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.” 5 He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Romans 8:26-27
6 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
1 Peter 3:7
7 Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
Summary
Summary
Welcome back to Community Group, we are so glad you have taken the time to gather and be a part of what the Lord is doing through the ministry of BT Church. We are in week 3 of our Asking For A Friend Series and this week we will be looking at a question about prayer, how to pray the right way. There is much to say about prayer. While we won’t cover every intricate detail of prayer and how to do it, we want to have an understanding of the sacred significance, simplicity, and sacred gift that prayer is for people who want to follow God.
We see prayer throughout the scriptures, the people of God have cried out to God for generations but being familiar with the concept of prayer is very different than being committed to the practice of prayer. This is why this question is so important.
Our first point is The Sacred Significance. We need to understand that prayer is not about us, we get to commune with the Father. As we pray, we do not only bring our needs and wants to him, it’s much more than that. Prayer is about ACTS (adoration, confession, thanks, supplication). Prayer involves knowing God deeper, and calling Him Father. We need to remember that He is a relational God, He has purposes and plans for our lives. If prayer starts with us and ends with us we are missing the sacred significance. Before you pray, ask yourself, what’s my motivation when I approach God
Our second point is The Sacred Simplicity of prayer. Even though prayer is not about us, there is a part of prayer, supplication, that allows us to bring our requests to God. However, supplication, is last part of a prayer. Many use the acronym ACTS to pray: adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. We see this in the Lord’s prayer.
As we pray we ask for today, “give us each day”, the Bible tells us that tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. We can’t live a day in advance.
Who are we asking in our prayers? Jesus instructs his followers to ask the Father in His name. This does not disconnect people from the godhead, the Trinity is involved in our prayers. Who is your relationship with? If you have a relationship with Jesus, it’s three. I and the Father are one. Praying to Jesus does not offend God, because you are talking to God. There isn’t a qualifier of having to end with “in Jesus’ name.” the prayer is to God, who is three in one. The great thing about prayer is that if we don’t have the words, Romans 8:26-27, reminds us that the spirit interceded on our behalf. We must be aware of our attitude when we pray. 1 Peter 3:7, tells us that our prayers can be hindered if we are not in a good place.
Our final point is, prayer is a Sacred Gift. When we receive God, we get the gift of the Holy Spirit. God always gives us His best. He invites us to participate in what He wants to do in us and through us. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit that calls us to be His witnesses. We actively participate in what God is doing, and prayer is a part of that.
The result of prayer is not that we get stuff, we continue to pray even though the answer may be no. The answer could be no because you are asking for the wrong thing, or asking the wrong question. God gives us himself, his best, and even though the answer at this time may be a ”no” or “not right now” we still have Him. What's the point of reading the bible and praying? To know God
Prayer is a part of our relationship with God. It’s something we should want to do daily. We never lack a reason to praise Him, or lack things to be thankful for, and we never lack something to confess. Once we do all that, then we can ask for what we feel we need.
Thanks for joining us for Community Group, I look forward to seeing you back next week!
Discussion
Questions
How did you learn to pray? Share
What does your prayer life look like? Share
How is prayer in your home/family? Share
How do you celebrate answered prayer? Share
How would you explain the importance of prayer to someone? Share
Announcements
If you are a CG leader, please make sure you are a part of the WhatsApp group! Also, if you don’t hear from your assigned shepherd in the next few weeks, please let us know.
Shepherd Couples:
Herb and Maggie Cuellar
Ismael & Ashley Ledezma
Ozie and Maritza Hernandez
Randy & Yvette Pena
Will and Elizabeth Stewart
Jon and Libby White
You will be hearing from them in the near future!
Pastor Isauro Medina
Cell: (956) 984-9380
Meichelle Vasques
Cell: (956) 566-4762
