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TODAYS TOPIC IS : FAITHFULLNESS OF PRAYER PARAGRAPHS ON PRAYER AND FAITHFULLNESS :In Partnership With God
Read: Matthew 6:5-15
Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mas the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
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Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8
A man had transformed an over grown plot of ground into a beautiful garden and was showing a friend what he had accomplished. Pointing to a bed of flowers, he said, "Look at what I did here." Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8
."
We chuckle at the man's reply, but it expresses a wonderful spiritual truthwe are coworkers with God. This applies to every area of life, including prayer. It answers a question that naturally comes to mind when we reflect on Jesus' statements in Matthew 6. He said we don't need to pray on and on with vain repetitions like the pagans, because our Father knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:7-8).
The question is, then, why pray? The answer is simple and comforting. God has graciously chosen to give us the privilege of being His partners in both the physical and spiritual areas of life. Through prayer we work with Him in defeating the powers of evil and in bringing about the fulfillment of His loving purposes in the world. Partners with God—what a privilege! What an incentive to pray! —Herb Vander Lugt
Although God knows our every need,
His work He wants to share;
He takes us into partnership
By calling us to prayer. —D. De Haan (2.Pigeon Walk)
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Read: Daniel 6:1-10
He knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom. —Daniel 6:10
Have you ever wondered why a pigeon walks so funny? It's so it can see where it's going. A pigeon's eyes can't focus as it moves, so the bird actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus. It proceeds clumsily—head forward, stop, head back, stop.
In our spiritual walk with the Lord, we have the same problem as the pigeon: We have a hard time seeing while we're on the go. We need to stop between steps—to pause and refocus on the Word and the will of God. That's not to say we have to pray and meditate about every little decision in life. But certainly our walk with the Lord needs to have built into it a pattern of stops that enable us to see more clearly before moving on.
Daniel's practice of praying three times a day was an essential part of his walk with God (Daniel 6:10). He knew there's a certain kind of spiritual refocusing that we can't do without stopping. His stops gave him a very different kind of walk—one that was obvious to those around him.
What about us? At the risk of being thought of as different, as Daniel was, let's learn this valuable lesson from the pigeon: "Looking good" isn't nearly as important as "seeing well." —Mart De Haan
There is a blessed calm at eventide
That calls me from a world of toil and care;
How restful, then, to seek some quiet nook
Where I can spend a little time in prayer. —Bullock
Time in Christ's service requires time out for renewal.
________________________________________________________________________________________ SCRIPTURE ON FAITHFULLNESS OF PRAYER (Deuteronomy 4:31)
For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath. (NUMBERS 23:19)
God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (1 Kings 8:20)
The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. (Isaiah 49:7)
This is what the LORD says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you." _________________________________________________________________________________________
Six (6) Questions To increase Your Faithfulness In Prayer:
1. Are you willing to move forward in you prayer life, on faith, or do you have to know where you’re going before you get there? Why?
2. In the past, has your “faith” in something you wanted to accomplish, usually worked, or not? Why do think that is? Did you pray over it?
3. Are you typically willing to: a) Have a lot of faith in your ideas, b) Sometimes have faith in your ideas, or c) Almost never have faith in your ideas? Do you pray for the Fathers will or for Him to bless your will?
4. Do you have a regular prayer life? (How strong is it?)
5. If you wanted to have an incredible amount of faith in something you really wanted to achieve, would you faithfully pray to achieve it?
6. In addition to prayer what is the one thing you could do, right now, to have more faith in whom you are, and what you want to do most?
Read: Matthew 6:5-15
Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mas the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8
A man had transformed an over grown plot of ground into a beautiful garden and was showing a friend what he had accomplished. Pointing to a bed of flowers, he said, "Look at what I did here." Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8
."
We chuckle at the man's reply, but it expresses a wonderful spiritual truthwe are coworkers with God. This applies to every area of life, including prayer. It answers a question that naturally comes to mind when we reflect on Jesus' statements in Matthew 6. He said we don't need to pray on and on with vain repetitions like the pagans, because our Father knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:7-8).
The question is, then, why pray? The answer is simple and comforting. God has graciously chosen to give us the privilege of being His partners in both the physical and spiritual areas of life. Through prayer we work with Him in defeating the powers of evil and in bringing about the fulfillment of His loving purposes in the world. Partners with God—what a privilege! What an incentive to pray! —Herb Vander Lugt
Although God knows our every need,
His work He wants to share;
He takes us into partnership
By calling us to prayer. —D. De Haan (2.Pigeon Walk)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Read: Daniel 6:1-10
He knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom. —Daniel 6:10
Have you ever wondered why a pigeon walks so funny? It's so it can see where it's going. A pigeon's eyes can't focus as it moves, so the bird actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus. It proceeds clumsily—head forward, stop, head back, stop.
In our spiritual walk with the Lord, we have the same problem as the pigeon: We have a hard time seeing while we're on the go. We need to stop between steps—to pause and refocus on the Word and the will of God. That's not to say we have to pray and meditate about every little decision in life. But certainly our walk with the Lord needs to have built into it a pattern of stops that enable us to see more clearly before moving on.
Daniel's practice of praying three times a day was an essential part of his walk with God (Daniel 6:10). He knew there's a certain kind of spiritual refocusing that we can't do without stopping. His stops gave him a very different kind of walk—one that was obvious to those around him.
What about us? At the risk of being thought of as different, as Daniel was, let's learn this valuable lesson from the pigeon: "Looking good" isn't nearly as important as "seeing well." —Mart De Haan
There is a blessed calm at eventide
That calls me from a world of toil and care;
How restful, then, to seek some quiet nook
Where I can spend a little time in prayer. —Bullock
Time in Christ's service requires time out for renewal.
________________________________________________________________________________________ SCRIPTURE ON FAITHFULLNESS OF PRAYER (Deuteronomy 4:31)
For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath. (NUMBERS 23:19)
God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (1 Kings 8:20)
The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. (Isaiah 49:7)
This is what the LORD says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you." _________________________________________________________________________________________
Six (6) Questions To increase Your Faithfulness In Prayer:
1. Are you willing to move forward in you prayer life, on faith, or do you have to know where you’re going before you get there? Why?
2. In the past, has your “faith” in something you wanted to accomplish, usually worked, or not? Why do think that is? Did you pray over it?
3. Are you typically willing to: a) Have a lot of faith in your ideas, b) Sometimes have faith in your ideas, or c) Almost never have faith in your ideas? Do you pray for the Fathers will or for Him to bless your will?
4. Do you have a regular prayer life? (How strong is it?)
5. If you wanted to have an incredible amount of faith in something you really wanted to achieve, would you faithfully pray to achieve it?
6. In addition to prayer what is the one thing you could do, right now, to have more faith in whom you are, and what you want to do most?
