AIC 11: Learning to Develop My Prayer Life

Objectives

  1. State 3 reasons why we should pray.

  2. Explain some hindrances to effective prayer and how to overcome them.

  3. State some principles of effective prayer.

  4. Pray conversationally with the group.

  5. Challenge his own potential disciples for a discovery group.


Look Up

Bible Study

A few years ago, the newspapers reported that an old couple was taken to the hospital suffering from malnutrition and starvation. After they went to the hospital. Police began to search through their rubbish-cluttered home, and they discovered $1000 stored away. The husband said that he was not even aware that he possessed over $2.

This is exactly the plight of most Christian in relation to prayer. God does not expect us to live like Spiritual misers, suffering malnutrition in our Spiritual lives, when he has vast treasures of blessings ready to give us only on the condition that we come in believing in prayer. Ask yourself if you are really appropriating His blessings!

Observation/Interpretation

1. What are some of the reasons why we should pray?
Because God commanded it. (Read 1 Timothy 2:1 and Ephesians 6:18)
Because of Christ’s example. (Read Mark 1:35 and John 5:30)
Because of the promise that God will answer. (Read Matthew 7:7-11)

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people
1 Timothy 2:1

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians 6:18

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.
Mark 1:35

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
John 5:30

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Matthew 7:7-11

2. Why are some prayers unanswered?
Psalm 66:18
James 1:6-8
1 John 5:14,15
James 4:3

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened
Psalm 66:18

6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
James 1:6-8

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
1 John 5:14-15

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:3

3. What is the relationship of the Holy Spirit to prayer? (Ephesians 6:18)

4. What are some principles of effective prayer found in Philippians 4:6,7?

5. Why do you think each of these principles is important in praying effectively?

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians 6:18

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Application

  1. Take a few minutes of silence to evaluate what is a common hindrance that keeps you from praying effectively, and ask God to teach you to surrender that area to Him.

  2. Pray conversationally. Many people do not pray conversationally because they do not know how. They forget that God is a person we can talk to. In a conversation, everyone has the chance to say something, and no one person dominates. While one person is talking, the others listen. This is how it is in conversational prayer. Here are three basic rules for conversational prayer.

  • Make it short.

  • Listen and agree.

  • Saturate (cover one item of prayer through many people’s short prayers before moving on to the next item).

  1. Take note of your other member’s prayer requests.

Quick Quiz

  1. What are some reasons why we should pray?

  2. What are some hindrances to effective prayer?

  3. What are some principles of effective prayer?

  4. What are the three basic rules in conversational prayer?


Look Forward


Training

How to Challenge for Discovery Group:

Consider the world we live in - family breakdown, injustice, dishonesty, violence, social decay, and immorality are everywhere.

The basic problem is sin (Romans 3:23) and the heart of man himself (Mark 7:21-23).

The solution, according to 2 Corinthians 5:17 is Jesus Christ.

What about you? Mark 4:1-8 contains a parable of Jesus about four kinds of soil. Let’s read that passage. Sometimes these things can be hard to understand, but Jesus went on in verses 14-20 to explain what He meant.

What is sown? (the seed, God’s Word)

Note the four kinds of soil - hard path, rocky, thorny, and good.

What does each type represent? (The hard path represents people who hear God’s Word, but Satan comes quickly and takes it away. The rocky soil represents people who hear the message with joy, but they did not have deep roots. The thorny soil represents people who hear the Word of God, but then it is made unfruitful by worries, and desires of wealth and other things. The good soil represents people who hear the word and accept it, and grow in a healthy way.)

What kind of soil are you right now? You don't have to tell me if you don’t like, but the most important question is, what kind of soil would you like to be?

I would like to share about something which can help you become that good soil. This is a Discovery Group. A Discovery Group is a group of three or more people who are discovering who Jesus is, and how by following Him, they too can make a decisive impact for Christ on our society.

Some of the benefits of a Discovery Group are these:

  1. An opportunity to examine further the claims of Christ.

  2. Interaction with others who are interested in Jesus Christ.

  3. Opportunity for fellowship and Bible study.

  4. Information on how we can live the kind of life God designed us to live.

The things we will be looking into have made a difference in my own life. I will be leading the group and would consider it a privilege to share what I have learned about Christ; and to get to know you better.

Let me summarize the material we will be going over. We will be meeting for six weeks, for about one hour per week. We will also be studying a book called “The uniqueness of Jesus'' to help us learn more about Him. It is important to come to each session because there is a progression of content, and you won't want to miss anything.

Would you like to join us?

Assignments and Reminders

1. Start a prayer diary. A prayer diary is meant to serve a purpose - to remind you of what God has done so that you might praise and thank Him.

Here are some steps in starting a prayer Diary:

a. Buy a notebook preferably a loose- leaf on with dividers so that you can add pages easily.

b. Label the divisions:

  • Personal - include your goals, concerns and desires.

  • Family/Relatives -their personal desires, development, concerns and circumstances.

  • Disciples/Personal Ministry - character development, concerns, spiritual multiplication.

  • Friends - salvation. Needs, concerns, commitment

  • Miscellaneous - day-to-day things that don't fall under any of the categories.

As you praying life expands, you may also want to include:

  • Government leaders

  • Church and missionaries

  • Other countries

c. Under each heading, list the person, date, the requests, applicable Scriptures, actions to be taken answers and date answered, as record of God’s guidance and faithfulness. As you start filling this out, you may want to use blue for long-range requests and red for short-range requests.

d. Take your prayer diary with you each time you have your quiet time to enter new things God has shown you to pray for or to keep track of His answers.

e. “The prayer of the upright is His delight” (Proverbs 15:8b) don’t allow your prayer time to become mechanical. Fellowship with Him and let your prayer diary be a record of His blessings and faithfulness.


2. Complete Lesson 4 and Lesson 5 of Ten Basic Steps to Christian Maturity Step 2 (The Christian and the Abundant Life).


3. Read Transferrable Concept #9 (How to Pray with Confidence) and take note of key points that strike you about prayer.


4. Begin challenging at least three potential disciples to be part of your own Discovery group.