November 18, 2018
Actual Prayer
Praying for Ourselves
Prayer is not simple, it’s complex becuase it's between you and God, both of whom are complex. We need to stop thinking about prayer like it’s a chore, and start looking at it like its the connection that holds our relationship together.
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1. We Can Be Selfish and Ask for the Wrong Things
1 John 5:14-15
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
… It’s not, “if we ask, He gives it," it’s “according to His will.”
According to His will - means if and only if what we ask for lines up with His what He wants.
- We don’t pray for more money to have more stuff,
we pray for more money to build his Church
.
- We don’t pray for more wisdom to show off,
we pray for wisdom to guide and direct His people
.
- We don’t pray for direction in our jobs for security,
we pray for direction in our jobs to start praying into our mission field.
The point of praying for ourselves, is all about getting equipped to serve God more.
Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
2. We Don’t Communicate Well
Anytime you have 2 people in a relationship, you have 2 very different people with different styles of communication. A lot of it comes from our inability to express our thoughts into words, and our inability to understand where the other person is coming from
beyond the face value of what we’re hearing.
True communication with God is very important, and it doesn't come naturally, it comes from: a lot of time in prayer and a lot of time in scripture hearing what God sounds like.
3. We Just Don’t Ask
God should be our "Go To" every time we get hit with anything.
Proverbs 18:10
The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
Another part of praying for yourself is asking God to tell us what we don’t know. He sees a much bigger picture than we do, and He’ll show us keys to things in our lives that we wouldn’t know to ask for.
Sometimes we don’t ask Him for things because we don’t think He’ll provide or we feel selfish in doing it or He doesn’t even come to mind as someone to talk to
, and we try to solve our own problem.
Whatever your reason is for not praying for yourself in a biblical way, start doing it.
Connection Card
- I will learn how to pray for myself in a selfless way.
- I will try to grow in how I communicate with God.
- I will work on asking God to meet my needs before trying to meet them myself
