Engaging With God In Prayer

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Engaging With God In Prayer

January 28, 2024 • Pastor Micah Pelkey • Luke 11:1–4, Matthew 26:36–44, Luke 23:46, 2 Corinthians 1:3–4

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Luke 11

1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

One of the great uses of social media will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.

85% of people are affected by low self-esteem in the world today.

— Dr. Joe Rubino

Studies show that social media can cause low self esteem and negative thinking.

— Digital Information World

Companies like TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook are fueling a mental health crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features.

— 1/25/2024

Just as the [U.S.] surgeon general did with tobacco and guns, we are treating social media like other public health hazards.

— 1/25/2024

60% of people wished they had more respect for themselves.

— Self Love Index Studies

Low self-esteem is linked to violence, school dropout rates, teenage pregnancy, suicide, and low academic achievement.

— Misetich & Delis-Abrams

Rates of anxiety and depression have increased 70% in the past 25 years.

— Royal Society for Public Health, 2022

The average child hears 432 negative statements per day, but only 32 positive statements each day.

— University of Iowa

80 percent of children entering the first grade scored high on the self-esteem inventory. By the fifth grade only 20 percent of the children were scoring high. And by the time they graduated from high school that number was down to just 5 percent.

— Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul

Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.

— Author Max Lucado

The GOAL is not to get GOOD at prayer.

The GOAL is to spend time with GOD in prayer.

Pray, and let God worry.

— Martin Luther

The value of prayer is not only that God will hear us, but that we will hear Him.

“Our Father”

Prayer helps me to see God relationally.

Matthew 26

36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye hear, and watch with me.

39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Luke 23:46 — And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Fathers

Provide

Protect/Watch

Encourage/Uplift

Comfort

Correct (Discipline)

Our Father Provides

Philippians 4:19 — But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Our Father Protects/Watches

Matthew 10:29-31

What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Our Father Encourages/Uplifts

Psalm 40:2 — He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

Our Father Comforts

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Our Father Corrects/Disciplines

Proverbs 3:11-12

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Hebrews 12:9 — We have all had fathers here on earth who corrected us with discipline. And we respected them. So it is even more important that we accept discipline from the Father of our spirits. If we do this, we will have life.

Provide

Protect/Watch

Encourage/Uplift

Comfort

Correct (Discipline)

Engaging With God In Forgiveness

February 4, 2024 • Pastor Micah Pelkey

Matthew 6 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Debts Debtors Romans 3:23 — For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. We are chargeable with debts—debts of every description: original, imputed, inherent; [and] actual, debts of omission and commission, of ignorance, infirmity, and deliberate wickedness, without limits and without number. — Herman Witsius 95% of my clients have unresolved guilt. 1 John 1:8-9 — If we say that we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done. Colossians 1:13-14 — God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins. The voice of sin is loud, but the voice of forgiveness is louder. — Dwight L. Moody We do not really know how to forgive until we know what it is to be forgiven. — Thomas Merton One-Sided Forgiveness Two-Sided Forgiveness Every one says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive. Ephesians 4:32 — Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. — C.S. Lewis Genesis 45 1 Joseph could not control himself any longer. He cried in front of all the people who were there. Joseph said, “Tell everyone to leave here.” So all the people left. Only the brothers were left with Joseph. Then he told them who he was. 2 Joseph continued to cry, and all the Egyptian people in Pharaoh’s house heard it. 3 He said to his brothers, “I am your brother Joseph. Is my father doing well?” But the brothers did not answer him because they were confused and afraid. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers again, “Come here to me. I beg you, come here.” When the brothers went to him, he said to them, “I am your brother Joseph. I am the one you sold as a slave to Egypt. 5 Now don’t be worried. Don’t be angry with yourselves for what you did. It was God’s plan for me to come here. I am here to save people’s lives. Joseph excused the Egyptians. Joseph called them close. Joseph asked that his brothers wouldn't be angry with themselves. Genesis 50:20 — You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing. Joseph acknowledged that God was working in and through his life experiences.