Praying With Jesus
Understanding Prayer
June 12, 2022 • Stephen Putbrese • Mark 1:35–39
Everyone prays. Research consistently shows that regardless of religious background or affiliation, race, ethnicity, geography, or age, it is natural for human beings to pray. But, as common and universal as prayer is, developing an effective and impactful prayerful is difficult. What does it even mean to pray? What form? How long, what for, how often? As we begin this series, we'll look at Jesus' pattern of prayer to understand what prayer means and how to go about it.
The Key To Prayer
June 19, 2022 • Stephen Putbrese • Luke 11:1–13
After observing the prayer life of Jesus, his disciples ask him to "teach us to pray." Jesus responds by giving them a brief model for prayer that begins with "Father" and then gives an illustration to show what that means. "Father" is a loaded term. Inevitably, we all project some idea of our earthly fathers onto God and yet Jesus insists that we come to him as our Father. This teaching explains not what to pray for, but more importantly, who exactly we are praying to. As we approach God through Jesus, we can experience the privilege of being adopted as sons and daughters into his family.
Real Prayer, Pt. 1
June 26, 2022 • Stephen Putbrese • Matthew 6:5–10
So far, we've covered what prayer is and who to pray to, but we haven't yet gotten in to what to pray for. In what is known as "The Lord's Prayer", Jesus provides a model for the things to pray for. But before he provides the content, he warns against the pitfalls - ways to pray in a purely religious sense without really praying at all. If we know God as a Father through Jesus, the thrust of our prayers can become "Be Thou Exalted." This teaching explains how surrendering to the will of God can actually solve both our perceived and actual problems.
Real Prayer, Pt. 2
July 3, 2022 • Stephen Putbrese • Matthew 6:9–15
As we further examine what is known as The Lord's Prayer for a second week, we finally get into what we should actually ask for in prayer. What are our true needs and requests? According to Jesus, we should ask for our material needs, forgiveness and reconciliation, and deliverance from evil. As we examine these requests further, we begin to see that all of them require us to forfeit personal control. This teaching explores the depth of the Lord's Prayer and explains why surrendering our own kingdom to God is the way to real prayer.
Hands-On Prayer
July 10, 2022 • Stephen Putbrese • Luke 13:10–17
If you've attended a Sunday service, small group, or just about any gathering at Isaiah Church, you've likely seen people lay hands on each other and pray. What is it all about? How are we to understand this practice? The practice wasn't created or crafted by Isaiah Church or any other group - it was begun by Jesus himself. Throughout the gospel accounts, Jesus is recorded as laying his hands on others to bless, heal, deliver, and restore them. In hands-on prayer, Jesus was immediately bringing the Kingdom of God to earth and his followers can do the same today.