Preprayer – David Nasser
Overview:
Pre-Prayer – “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11)
The work of preparation begins with destruction before there can be construction. In most cases, the preparing work of the Holy Spirit means destroying the junk within our hearts and lives in order to make us ready for His constructing work. Take heart, both the destructive work and the constructive work of Jesus is love in action. He does not just wreck a life and then leave them in ruins rather once the destruction process is finished, then, and only then, does He begin the beautiful construction process of making us all that He wants us to be.
Verses:
Matthew 6:5-8
Intent of Prayer: “5And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Intentionality of Prayer: “6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Intensity of Prayer: “7 And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
“8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Qualified teacher – Mark 1:35 – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Quotes:
Definition: “True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that – prayer is a spiritual transaction with the Creator of Heaven and Earth” – Charles Spurgeon
“Dependent conversation with God” – Martin Luther
“As His disciples, we must be perpetual students; always teachable, always growing.”
“Christ never asks us to be committed to something that He is not willing to be the very model of Himself”.
“The one concern of the Devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” – Samuel Chadwick
“’When’ not ‘if’ shows Christ’s presumption that His followers will be a people of prayer.”
“Prayer is intended to take us into the presence of God, not simply provide us with presents from God.”
“It is always the wrong thing to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons.”
“Even the wrong prayer is the right move.”
Questions:
1) Do you feel like there are areas in your life that are under destruction? Are there areas that are in construction? What area of your life needs the most construction?
2) Pastor David reminded us that every disciple should always be a work in progress. Do you feel like you are teachable and growing? In what ways?
3) Do you feel like you are a person of prayer? How is prayer a priority in your life?
4) What does Jesus say makes you a hypocrite when it comes to prayer? Are you a hypocrite by this definition?
5) What are spiritual “right things” that you are doing with “wrong motives”?
6) What is the goal of your prayer life? Do you pray to impress others? Where are your actions and intent misaligned?
7) What are practical ways you can engage in prayer? How can you build this intentional time into your schedule? How can this group collectively engage in prayer this week?