How to Pray

Grace Community Bible Church, Tomball TX

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How to Pray

10 Directions for Praying

June 9, 2024 • Jason Whitley • Romans 12:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:17–18, Ecclesiastes 5:1–2, James 5:16–17, Ephesians 5:18

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Romans 12:12 - . . . be constant in prayer

What does a Spirit-filled church look like? As we've covered in Ephesians 5, we've seen Paul talk about the effects of the filling of the Spirit and we saw three of those in our worship service so far today. ** Singing ** Giving Thanks ** Submitting to One Another

But the question I want to answer this morning because I could do a whole series on prayer is how do we pray? Let's be practical about it. What does scripture tell us about praying itself? We need all the help we can get when it comes to prayer. I'm sure if I interviewed every one of you, none of you would say, "Oh, I'm doing great in my prayer life. I have really arrived." I don't think I've ever heard a Christian say that. Even if you are praying a lot, it still doesn't seem like it's a lot. There's always more. It's never enough. There's always someone more to pray for.

Here are 10 Directions for Praying

- Pray Respectfully (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2)

- Pray Dependently (James 4:10)

- Pray Privately (Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35)

- Pray Boldly (Hebrews 4:14-16)

- Pray Specifically (Jeremiah 33:3)

- Pray Passionately (Luke 22:44, Colossians 4:12)

- Pray Continually (Acts 2:42, 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

- Pray Persistently (Matthew 7:7, Luke 18)

- Pray Thankfully (Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:18)

- Pray Biblically (Psalm 23)

Let me close with the words of George Müller. George Müller was known to be a man of prayer.

"Before this time, my practice had been, at least for 10 years previously, as a habitual thing to give myself to prayer after having dressed myself in the morning. Now I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the word of God and to meditate on it. That thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed, and that thus, by means of the word of God, while meditating on it, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord. I begin, therefore, to meditate on the New Testament from the beginning. Early in the morning, the first thing I did after having asked in a few words the Lord's blessing upon His precious word, was to begin to meditate on the word of God, searching as it were, into every verse to get blessings out of it, not for the sake of the public ministry of the word, not for the sake of preaching what I had meditated upon, but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. The result I have found to be almost invariably this: that after a few minutes my soul had been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication, so that, though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately, more or less into prayer. When thus I had been for a while, making confession or intercession or supplication, or had given thanks, I go on to the next words or verse, turning all as I go on into prayer for myself or others, as the word may lead to it, but still continually keeping before me that food for my own soul. And the object of my meditation. The result that this is that there is always a good deal of confession, thanksgiving, supplication, or intercession mingled with my meditation, and that my inner man almost invariably is even sensibly nourished and strengthened, and that by breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart."

Confidence that God Will Hold Me Fast

June 16, 2024 • Jason Whitley • 1 Peter 1:5, Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:31–32, Jude 24–25, John 10:28

This morning, I want to address this topic, which I’ve titled "Confidence That God Will Hold Me Fast." I want you to have confidence in your Christian Walk. We'll end with a hymn, "He Will Hold Me Fast" by Matt Merker, which is one of my favorites. It's a powerful song about the Lord preserving His people to the end, giving us confidence that He will not let us go, no matter what. As Paul says in Romans, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Those whom He loves and died for, He will protect and preserve until the end. I want you to sing this hymn with your whole heart, with genuine confidence that God will hold you fast. It’s a song about the Lord's faithfulness and the confidence we can have in His unending protection. Do you sing that song with confidence? Do you have assurance, even if it's weak, that the Lord will preserve you to the end? It doesn’t mean we won’t have doubts or that our faith will always be strong. Just like the disciples on the stormy Sea of Galilee, even with Jesus in their boat, they struggled with their faith and worried. Similarly, we may worry at times, but even in our weakness, we can be sure that God will hold us fast. 4 Important Assurances The Nature of God: Reflecting on God's nature brings great peace and confidence. God is good, all-powerful, all-wise, faithful, and unchanging. His goodness and power assure us that He can and will preserve us. As Paul says in https://biblia.com/bible/esv/phil%201.6, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." This assurance is rooted in the very nature of God. The Cross: The cross of Christ is the greatest source of assurance. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/rom%208.32 says, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" The ultimate basis for our assurance is found in what Christ accomplished on the cross. He died in our place, satisfying God's judgment so that we could be spared. The Promises of Scripture: Scripture is full of promises that give us assurance. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/john%206.40 says, "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." Similarly, https://biblia.com/bible/esv/john%2010.28 assures us that no one can snatch us out of Jesus' hand. These promises are a firm foundation for our confidence. The Language of Scripture: The language used in Scripture is clear and strong, giving us assurance. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/phil%201.6 speaks of God's work being brought to completion. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/col%201.13 tells us we have been delivered and transferred to the Kingdom of His beloved Son. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/eph%201.13-14 speaks of us being chosen, adopted, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. These terms are full of certainty and assurance. Our confidence is based on these truths: the perfect nature of God, the work of Christ on the cross, the promises of Scripture, and the language of Scripture itself. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/jude%2024-25 sums it up beautifully, "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Remember, it is not our own strength or efforts that preserve us, but God's power and faithfulness. He is able to keep us and will hold us fast. As Paul confidently says, "I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." So, let us rest in this assurance and work out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God is faithful to complete the good work He has started in us.