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The Discipline of Prayer: A 4 Week Journey For Women

The Discipline of Prayer: A 4 Week Journey For Women. WEEK 1. Introductions Biblical Foundation of Prayer. Each day, a different focus. Definitions. Biblical Foundations of Prayer. 1. Prayer is directed to the Father. Believers are to have

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The Discipline of Prayer: A 4 Week Journey For Women

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  1. The Discipline of Prayer: A 4 Week JourneyFor Women

  2. WEEK 1 Introductions Biblical Foundation of Prayer

  3. Each day, a different focus

  4. Definitions

  5. Biblical Foundations of Prayer 1. Prayer is directed to the Father. Believers are to have faith in God, believing that He hears them, and if they ask according to His will, those things will come to pass. This principle is also reflected in 1 John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him” (see also Mark 11:20-25).

  6. Biblical Foundations of Prayer 2. Prayer is an expression of worship & adoration to God. John 4:24 states that “God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." This is also reflected in the Shema of the Old Testament found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

  7. Biblical Foundations of Prayer 3. Prayer is an expression of submission of individual will to that of the Father. James 4:7-8 reminds believers to “submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Daniel 10: 10-14 also presents an example of how God hears the prayers of a believer who has humbled himself before God.

  8. Biblical Foundations of Prayer 4. Prayer reflects dependence on God and His divine providence through requests for sustenance, forgiveness, protection, and all other supplications. Psalm 107 reflects the depth of God’s work in the lives of believers. The message found in Ephesians 1:3-12 also memorializes the role of humanity in the predestined plan of God. E.M. Bounds wrote that, “[p]rayer is asking God for something, and for something which He has promised. Prayer is using divinely appointed means for obtaining what we need and for accomplishing what God proposes to do on earth.

  9. Biblical Foundations of Prayer 5. Consistent with the Lord’s Prayer, in Mark 11:25, Jesus instructs that in prayer, believers should extend forgiveness to each other as God has extended His own forgiveness to them. This principle is also articulated in the parable of the unmerciful servant which is found in Matthew 18:21-35.

  10. WEEK 2 Teach Us to Pray

  11. Teach us to Pray 1. Jesus made time for prayer. One of the most often heard complaints of women is that there is not enough time in the day to accomplish all the things that need to be accomplished. Everyone has the same 24 hours, but somehow, some people seem to be able to pack more into a day than others. We have to make time for prayer. Mark 1:35 shows us how Jesus would get up while it was still dark and take time to pray. When will you make time to pray? Daily prayer keeps us in relationship.

  12. Teach Us to Pray 2. Jesus prayed before making major decisions. This principle is demonstrated in Luke 6:12-13, where Jesus prayed before calling the disciples. This demonstrates how Jesus sought to do the Father’s will. Daily prayer keeps us in relationship. Prayer before major decisions demonstrates that Christ is the Lord of our life.

  13. Teach Us to Pray 3. Jesus prayed for strength during difficult times. We have to remember that we are not alone on this journey called life. We have each other. Even during times where we feel alone, God is still with us. No matter what we need – hope or strength – He is there. Jesus demonstrated this at the Mount of Olives which is found I Luke 22:39-46.

  14. Teach Us to Pray 4. Jesus taught us to pray for all of humanity. Intercession – to pray for someone else. Intercessions helps us to refocus on what is really important – God’s will and not our own. Review the Lord’s Prayer in light of intercessory theme.

  15. WEEK 3 Prayer Laboratory – the Psalms

  16. Prayer Laboratory–the Psalms • According to Augustine, prayer is “not ascetic exercises but humbly following Christ.” It is a “holy longing,” from which believers seek an increasing awareness of the revelation of God in the world . The soul constantly longs to be in the presence of God. Augustine practiced contemplative prayer which was focused on Scripture, particularly the Psalms.

  17. Prayer Laboratory–the Psalms • HjalmarSunden asserts that there are 300-500 quotations from the book of Psalms that can be identified in Augustine’s Confessions . Sunden suggests that Augustine’s Psalter-reading may have influenced Augustine to dialogue with God through prayer.

  18. Prayer Laboratory-the Psalms • Sunden writes, “The Holy Spirit speaks and Augustine listens… Augustine had learnt that prayer is not always within our power and that words read with a loud voice had brought him into the presence of God…He not only read the text in a loud voice, but also listened to it at the same time…Martin Luther, Augustine’s disciple, says that it is per auditum, by the ear, that Christ enters the soul of man. Just listening to the God that speaks in the text, I [Sunden] think, gives the reader the impression of being placed coramDeo, in the presence of God.

  19. Prayer Laboratory-the Psalms • Sunden also quotes Peter Brown’s 1967 work, Augustine of Hippo. A Bibliography, where Brown wrote that Augustine, “gradually entered a new world of religious sentiments, he had undergone new experiences, which he could only express in the language of the Psalter. ”

  20. Prayer Laboratory-the Psalms • This statement seems to suggest that the spiritual discipline of prayer worked internally to mature Augustine spiritually, which was externally manifested in his adoption and integration of the language of Scripture into his personal devotion. The most accurate description Augustine could provide of his experiences with the Lord could only come from Scripture, as Scripture which was inspired by the same Spirit working internally within him.

  21. Types of Psalms Types of Psalms • General hymns (Ps. 8; 19; 29; 33; 65; 67; 68; 96; 98; 100; 103; 104; 105; 111; 113; 114; 117) • Lament/complaint (Ps. 44; (58); (60); 74; 79; 80; 83; (106); (125).) • Royal psalms (Ps. 2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 72; 101; 110; 132) • Thanksgiving (Ps. 18; 30; 32; 34; 40:2-12; 66:1-7) • Wisdom (Ps. 1; 37; 49; 73; 91; 112; 127; 128; 133) • Miscellaneous (Ps. 15; 20; 24; 14/53; 81; 82; 36; 50; 52; 75)

  22. WEEK 4 Integration

  23. Integration • 1 Timothy 2:1-4“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

  24. Integration 1. He says that He is always with us. We cannot rely on ourselves – we were created to depend on God. Hebrews 13:5 and Deut. 31:6 both make this same statement, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." 2 Chronicles 7:14 is also a powerful message of how God cares for us.

  25. Integration 2. Prayer builds relationship and trust. Prov. 3:5 tells us to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Jesus made it plain by stating “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22)

  26. Integration 3. Prayer promotes peace, godliness, and holiness. This is the central message of 1 Timothy 2:1-4. We pray for our own needs and those of others. We pray for those in authority and those who are oppressed. We pray at all times. Prayer encircles the globe at all ours day and night.

  27. Additional Approaches to Prayer 1. Listening as prayer. (week 1)2. Nondiscursive prayer. (week 2)3. Prayer during wasted time or during underutilized time. The benefit of this approach to prayer is that it does not require solitude. Rather, it makes use of monotonous moments and activities. This presents an opportunity for God to enhance routine activity. 4. Prayer as remembering. Wagley suggests that, “remembering helps us to know who we are and what our most important relationships are. (see Luke 22:19). 5. Prayer when you cannot think of anything else. When willpower and human effort can do no more, then Wagley suggests that we turn to the Lord, as He knows human suffering in the suffering and death of Christ. 6. Prayer to go to sleep by. This type of prayer focuses on recognizing the presence of God in times of well-being. In peaceful times, believers can remember trust God to supply their needs and make provision.

  28. 40 Days of Prayer Challenge

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