Too Busy Not To Pray
Defrosting Communication, part 5 of 7
Prayer is a notoriously difficult discipline for followers of Christ. It is difficult to slow down and spend time with God in prayer when it seems we have so many things that we have to get accomplished in our day. As a result many people say that they are too busy to pray. The truth of the matter is that we are all too busy not to pray. Our business, the demands of life, and the call of God to get us to relate to Him all should lead us to having a prayer life that is meaningful and significant. Using the Lord’s Prayer as a paradigm we will discuss principles that will help us to pray and point us in a direction that gets us to spend more time with God in conversation.
Download the notes.I) MYTHS THAT KEEP US FROM TRUE PRAYER
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray…’”
(Luke 11:1, NIV)
1) The ___BROKEN RECORD___ myth.
2) The ___WHATEVER WILL BE___ myth.
3) The ___INVENT-A-GOD___ myth.
4) The ___SPIT POLISH___ myth.
5) The ___COOK BOOK___ myth.
“And when you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogue where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get.”
(Matthew 6:5, NLT)
“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again.”
(Matthew 6:7, NLT)
II) WHY PRAY WHEN LIFE IS BUSY ENOUGH? Because…
1) Our longing for ___INTENSE INTIMACY___ is fulfilled.
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
(Matthew 6:10-11, NIV)
2) Our hopes and ___DEEPEST DESIRES___ are satisfied.
“Give us today our daily bread.”
(Matthew 6:11, NIV)
3) Our craving for __CHARACTER CULTIVATION__ is realized.
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
(Matthew 6:12-13, NIV)
4) Our need for ___POTENT POWER___ is experienced.
“For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
(Matthew 6:13, NIV alt.)
* Through prayer, God always meets us ___RIGHT WHERE WE ARE___!
III) BEYOND BUSYNESS TO PRAYFULNESS
Moving Toward Prayerfulness
1) Don’t take the time to pray, __MAKE THE TIME__ to pray.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
(Mark 1:35, NIV)
2) Watch God turn time sacrifice into time __EFFECTIVENSS__.
“My times are in your hands.”
(Psalm 31:15a, NIV)
3) Don’t just focus on yourself, but on __GOD AND OTHERS__.
“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.”
(Philemon 6, NIV)