Category: Prayer Mentoring

Prayer Mentoring: God says yes

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Too often we forget that God does say yes to prayers. He sometimes says wait, no, I have something better, etc. Sometimes he just says yes. People criticized the move “Facing the Giants” because in the ends all the prayers were answered with a yes. Sometimes life does happen that way.

Word of Life Island
I loved hearing the story of how Harry Bollback and Jack Wyrtzen took a rowboat to see an island and then said they’d take it. They had no clue how it was going to be paid for. God said yes, and the Gospel impacted thousands to this day. Sometimes God says yes.

Partly cloudy
At a camping event when I was a kid rain was in order. A leader simply went to his knees and asked God for dry weather so we could go through the day’s events. Immediately the clouds parted around the camp and returned after the day was done and we headed home. Sometimes God says yes.

I can talk
At a national missions conference a speaker couldn’t talk. His voice got worse and worse until he was unable to speak. So, people stopped him, they prayed and his voice came back with a vengeance. He was talking about suffering in ministry. It was one of the most impactful meetings of the night. Sometimes God says yes.

Lights on
One summer the easter seaboard lost power. The phone rang off the hook asking if there would be VBS that night. Of course there would! The lights were on. We prayed that God would do some neat things, and a couple of kids accepted Jesus as their savior that night. When we said amen to close out the evening, the lights went off. The church was the only place with power that night until VBS was done. Sometimes God says yes.

All heart
One Christmas when things were really tight it was time to find a present for my wife. I told God whatever he provides, that’ll be Kelly’s gift. If a quarter, then I’d wrap up a 25 cent ring. God told a friend to turn his car around and drop of a Christmas card early. When shopping a heart necklace caught my eye that perfectly summed up the year, but it was too much. The store keeper grabbed me as I walked away and mention that a sale had just started. Sometimes God says yes.

I’m yours
The most important yes God says is when we ask Jesus to save us. There God says yes. In all reality, it’s the one yes that matters most. Jesus said yes to God even when he didn’t want to. Jesus died and rose for us so God could say yes to every person who goes to him and says ‘I’m yours.’ When it comes to asking Jesus to be a part of your life, the answer is always yes.

The bottom line:
Sometimes God does say yes. We need to record and remember those moments. God planned to the detail our lives. Sometimes his plans are different and the way he answers prayer is different, no or wait. But, don’t forget there are those times that God says yes.

Prayer Mentoring: Speak Normal

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Jesus said you are on Earth and your Father is in heaven, so let your words be few. Too often we measure a successful prayer life on length of time and not quality of what is said. Don’t be super spiritual when you pray. Be simple, real and authentic. Sometimes this will cause short prayers, other times your prayers will last a long time. Here are some tips on speaking normal.

Drop the King James talk
First, most people don’t understand the grammatical rules of the King James english to being with. While similar to our English, it’s not the same. If you don’t talk to your friend or spouse that way, there is no passage in Scripture that says we need a special language for prayer. God communicated his words in plain understandable language of the day.

Lordly Lordly prayers
It’s ok to use pronouns. Here is what I mean, talk to your friend or spouse and use their full name and titles before and after each sentence. If that seems really strange do you, you’re not alone. I often see people get uncomfortable or even think they don’t know how to pray because they don’t say all of God’s names in just about every sentence. Address God, and then use pronouns. Again, talk as you would to any friend.

Repetition
Prayer is a conversation. Prayer is not repeating a mantra. There are times we may repeat a phrase like the Psalmist did. ‘His love endures for ever.’ Again, this is something often over done. Is it ok to ask God about one thing in multiple prayers? YES! There’s even a word for that- it’s called petition, and Jesus encourages it.

Clarity of speech, humility of heart
The goal of praying should be clarity of what you say and humility of your heart. Often verbose prayers are about outward appearances and not a heartfelt talks with a living God. Speak plainly. If you don’t know how or what to say, talk through it as you would any friend. Prayer isn’t impressing God, it’s living life deeply with God.

The bottom line:
Talk to God like you would a friend. Prayer is not a religious game. Prayer is a conversation between you and a living God.

Prayer Mentoring: Lord’s Prayer Pattern

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Prayer mentoring
Following prayer patterns we see in Scripture helps us in our prayer life. Here is the way to work through the Lord’s prayer:

Praise: Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Helpful passage: Psalm 100. Jesus instructs to understand who God is as we start our prayers.

Purpose: Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

Helpful passage: 1 Thes 5:16-22. Jesus wants us to focus on God’s will before our needs. Key prayer insight: How do I honor God in the circumstances I’m in?

Provision: Give us this day our daily bread.

Helpful passage: Phil 4:13. God give us the power to use what we have for his glory.

Problems: Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Helpful passage: 1 Jn 1:8-10. Until we see Jesus face to face we’ll struggle with sin. The issue isn’t failure but constantly going back to the Cross.

Protection: Lead us not into temptation.

Helpful passage: Psalm 119:9. The Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. Job sent Satan to tempt & test Job. Jesus knows this is hard, so ask God to skip it! If in temptation, God’s equipped you for it!

Preservation: Deliver us from Evil.

Helpful passage: Rom. 8:38-39. Nothing can separate us from God. Our salvation is secure. Still, we need God’s redeem us from evil. Evil is a present and very real aspect of life.

Prayer Mentoring: Praying through challenging times

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Life in a fallen world means we’ll be facing hard times. Often these hard times are a means God uses to draw us to Himself.

Pray
We say prayer should be a first response not a last result. Prayer is really both. The challenge of hard times comes when all we can do is wait.

Pray Scripture
The Bible gives us many patterns for prayer. Paul particularly records prayer thoughts for our benefit. The Bible says that if we ask according to the will of God we know we have that what we ask. Praying through Scriptures is helpful in this regard.

Psalms
When going through a challenging time the best word of advice I received was to find a Psalm, grab hold of it, and pray through it regularly. So, step one- search the Psalms and find one that speaks to your situation.

Meditate
Biblical meditation is filling our mind with Scripture. It’s an act of focus on God’s Word. This is different from Eastern meditation that focuses on emptying one’s mind. Choosing a Psalm helps in filling our minds with Scripture. So, step two- read and focus on this Psalm regularly.

Journal
This can take on many forms, but one thing you want to do is to record God’s faithfulness. By choosing a Psalm it can guide you about what to write. Step three- write what Gods is doing.

The bottom line:
Prayer is key to navigating hard times. Often we don’t know what to pray as we wait for God to show up. Pick a Psalm and grab hold of it. It will guide and sustain you through challenging times.

Prayer Mentoring: Your role in church

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Praying through your ministry at a church is an important aspect of prayer. I read this poem my senior year in college and it always stood out in how I pray over my service at a church. Use it in your own prayer life as you fulfill your ministry.

“This is my church…”
It is composed of people just like me.
It will be friendly if I am.
It will do a great work if I work.
It will make generous gifts to many causes if I am generous.
It will bring others into its fellowship if I bring them.
Its seats will be filled if I fill them.
It will be a church of loyalty and love, of faith and service.
If I who make it what it is, am filled with these.
Therefore, with God’s help,
I dedicate myself to the task of being all these things
I want my church to be.

Prayer Mentoring: God in your day

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The Bottom line:
We need God in our day, not God as a part of our day. Here’s the difference. Paul tells the Thessalonian believers to rejoice, pray without ceasing, and to give thanks- all a part of God’s will.

Rejoice!
A spirit of worship keeps our focus on God. A heart of worship is critical to being in God’s will. In your prayers, how are you worshiping God?

Pray without ceasing
Prayer is life long conversation with God. Some prayers are long, some are like texting, others a quick phone call. The idea here is we consistently talk to God throughout our day. After all, God is with us. How often do you pray?

Give thanks
Thanking God is trusting God. When we thank God in all things it does two things: 1) it focuses us in on God 2) it shows we trust in God’s plan for our life. How are you thanking God?

God’s Will
God wants to grow us and bless us. By fulfilling these three things we’re saying that we trust God to accomplish His will in our life. Don’t fall in the tyranny of God’s blessing where we think if we make the slightest mistake God won’t bless us. That’s not Gospel. Jesus died for all sins. All challenges we face are to conform and sharpen us more and more into the image of Jesus.

One more time:
Rejoicing, praying and thanking are three critical things to our prayer life. Doing these three things puts God in our day and not just a part of it.

Prayer Mentoring: Big picture

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In the past few weeks we’ve look at what prayer means, how to pray, our country, attitude, motivation… In learning to pray we must never forget what is critical to the process… We need to pray.

So, right now, stop what you’re doing, and just talk to God.

In learning about something we can easily get lost in the details. Prayer is talking to God. Like any relationship, consistent and constant communication is important. Talk to God. He loves hearing from you!

Prayer Mentoring: Motive

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The glory of God should motivate us to pray and how to pray. To glorify is to reveal one’s self for who they are. God wants to be made known and for people to understand who He is. Prayer is central to that.

Our work
Whatever we do should be for God’s glory while also giving thanks (Col. 3:17). Life is a stewardship of the resources God gave us. Our job, ministry, family, life are all areas of stewardship. The question is who are we working for? If we’re in Christ, then all we do is for Christ. How we work demonstrates our faith in Christ.

Our ministry
Paul prayed for the Philippian believers that their love would grow… to the glory of God (Phil 1:9-11). Again, our actions show our faith in God. Paul also reveals to us that this is a process. It’s not a check list, ok, got it done. Our ministry motive of the glory of God should propel us to grow in our love and service. Prayer helps keep this in mind.

Our aim
Paul prayers similarly for the Thessalonians (2 Thes. 1:11-12). When we look at our work or we look at our ministry, all of our lives should be centered on revealing who God is. Our conduct and actions show the goodness of God. If we don’t have this motive in mind, our life and ministry will be off, and so will our prayers.

The Bottom line:
God’s glory should be a motivating force behind our prayer life. Glorification revolves around revealing who God is. A life motivated for the glory of God and prayers for the same produce profound results in eternity. The question comes down to this: who are we living for?

Prayer Mentoring: Attitude

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Attitude counts. Like in any relationship, bad attitudes create bad results. When we pray, we need to make sure we have a proper attitude towards God.

Authentic
Matthew 6:5-15 describes the Lord’s Prayer. Before and after the prayer Jesus addresses our attitude. Prayer isn’t a check list thing, or showmanship. Prayer is a genuine conversation with a real God. Be real and be genuinely concerned for others.

Faith
James 1:5-8 describes the need for faith. Let’s face it, Jame’s words are hard to take. If we doubt then we’re unstable. Prayer is an act of faith where we realize and submit to God being in control. This is one of the hardest aspects of our relationship with God- waiting on and trusting in Him.

Obedience
1 John 3:22 describes the relationship between obedience and God acting. Again, like any relationship, if you violate the relationship things get awkward and out of sorts. A heart that seeks to live out God’s Word is key to God answering prayer. (Note verses 20! God is bigger than our mistakes!)

Humility
1 Peter 5:6-7 describes what is essential to any relationship and especially to God. Humility goes a long way in relationships. Key to this verse is submitting to God, recognizing He is in control. Note that these verses are not a legalistic pacify God thing. God’s heart is to exalt and to care for His own.

The bottom line:
Our attitude matters when we talk to God. If you sense your prayers are not heard or being ignored, check your attitude. Don’t focus on false piety- be real. God wants to hear from you and He wants to answer prayer.