Romans 262: Romans 8 - How should I pray?Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark. Barah Ministries teaches the Word of God from God’s perspective and not from a human perspective. We want to know what God has to say to us though His Word and we’re convinced He knows exactly what He’s talking about.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON How should I pray?
The bible says “we don’t know how to pray as we should.” Well, if we needed evidence, here in King David’s prayer about a year after the Bathsheba incident, where David had sex with his officer Uriah’s wife, got her pregnant, had him sent to the front lines of battle to be killed, and after he was killed, married his widow. David, the adulterer, murderer, conspirator, and absentee general prayed for forgiveness in Psalm 51…
Psalm 51:1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
David makes an appeal to the grace and the mercy and the compassion of God’s nature in asking to be forgiven. Yet the Lord had forgiven us before He created as an established and irrevocable fact, a fact David remembers in Psalm 103. In the midst of this trial, and after a prolonged period of separating himself from God, David probably just forgot.
Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
The words indicate David’s desire for God to blot out the record of his sin as if it had never happened. Psalm 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
David has a full awareness of the situation…he knows what he did and he knows there is no way he or others will ever forget his sin.
Psalm 51:4 Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.
David knows he has not fooled God…and he knows any decisions God makes related to him are just.
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
David knows he was born a sinner and that he has continued sinning and will never escape it in his life.
Psalm 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Psalm 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
David knew that blood must be shed to forgive sins, as in the temple ceremonies, and he wanted the judicial removal of his sins.
Psalm 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
Joy comes when we know we are always right with a forgiving and gracious God.
Psalm 51:9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
David needed a restoration of his attitude…and he knew that his humanity could not do it…so he asked God to do it.
Psalm 51:11 Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
David was asking the Lord not to remove him as king as He done with Saul.
Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.
David was asking for a transformation of thought and attitude.
Psalm 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.
Psalm 51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
Psalm 51:15 O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.
David was promising to return to the full service of the Lord. We do not need to make vows to God.
Psalm 51:16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite (crushed) heart, O God, You will not despise.
David knows that we are best as Christians when we are aware of how deep our weakness goes…we don’t even know how to pray as we should. When we are aware of the depth of our weakness we can have compassion for others.
Psalm 51:18 By Your favor do good to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.
Psalm 51:19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.
David didn’t only pray for himself…he also prayed for his country. David prayed a prayer that was quite human…quite long-winded…and quite mindless about the fact that God compensates for our weakness in prayer, all he needs from us in prayer is for us to come broken.
Welcome to a place where you can learn to pray as you ought to pray by taking direction from the Word of God.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
VOICE OF TRUTH Casting Crowns
The opening song for this lesson is VOICE OF TRUTH by Casting Crowns.
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Thank you for giving us the power of prayer…the chance to invoke Your power and Your will onto human circumstances, especially at the times when there is no human answer to a situation…
Help us to come with a crushed heart…not with a haughty heart, not with many words to boss you around…instead help us to pray as we should and help us to pray according to Your will…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON How should I pray?
When we look at three things that are part of prayer…thanksgiving… intercession…and petition…how can we use these during prayer to have a meaningful prayer life? Stay tuned, and we’ll find out.
Let’s begin this lesson by taking the offering. In just a few moments we’ll welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
The apostle Paul highlights the joy that a Pastor has in watching the congregation give…in Philippians, Chapter 4, Verses 15 to 17…he says…
Philippians 4:15 You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone…
Philippians 4:16 …for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.
Philippians 4:17 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.
Philippians 4:18 But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied…
I love watching you give because I KNOW what God is doing for you in return…he’ll reward your cheerful generosity. I speak from experience. For I have been blessed by God financially so much in this life, that I have given more to churches than many people make in a lifetime. And I have seen God give all of it back in the way He gives…much more. In essence, God never lets us GIVE anything. He simply lets us express our heart’s desire with giving. That’s the credit that happens to your account when you give as well. Thank you for your generosity.
Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
Third John 1:5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers…
OFFERING FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE Dave McClure, Instrumental
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON How should I pray?
One great question to ask is, “Pastor, when I pray, what should my attitude be?” Another great question is, “If we don’t pray as we ought, how should I pray?” Let’s look at and listen to the fourth passage in Romans Chapter 8, Verses 26 to 30…for a bit of guidance…
Romans 8:26 In the same way God the Holy the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but God the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words…
Romans 8:27 …and God the Father who searches the hearts knows what the mind of God the Holy Spirit is, because the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints (believers in Christ) according to the will of God the Father.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God the Father causes all things to work together for good to those who love God the Father, to those who are called according to the Father’s purpose.
Romans 8:29 For those whom God the Father foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), so that the Lord would be the firstborn among many brethren…
Romans 8:30 …and these whom God the Father predestined, He also called; and these whom God the Father called, He also justified; and these whom God the Father justified, He also glorified.
There are general guidelines that will help you in prayer if you are wondering how to pray as you should. Let’s first talk about what you DON’T need to have a deep and meaningful prayer life…you don’t need a prayer diary…you don’t need a prayer log…you don’t need a prayer list. So now I know I broke every woman’s heart in the congregation because you guys love going out and buying all that fru-fru Hallmark stuff…that’s always the way to start anything…Hallmark…pink…with the little tasseled strings hanging off…the burnt paper edges…the perfume scent…well as you have learned way too many times, that makes Hallmark rich and it turns whatever you are doing into an academic exercise. Prayer IS NOT an academic exercise. Guys…when you’re starting your prayer life…
<WHAT GUYS DO>
…you’re not much better. The point is that there is nothing wrong with writing things down…in fact I encourage it…I’m saying it is not helpful to make your prayer life a chore…that’s not exactly the way to deepen your prayer life. The way to deepen your prayer life is to pray and to let God have the log that is in your head that He already knows is there. Just let Him down load it…Romans Chapter 8, Verse 27…
Romans 8:27 …and God the Father who searches the hearts knows what the mind of God the Holy Spirit is, because the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints (believers in Christ) according to the will of God the Father.
God the Father will search for the prayer list that is written on your heart… he’ll listen for the groanings of God the Holy Spirit…he’ll listen for the advocacy of the Lord Jesus Christ who is sitting at His right hand, and he’ll answer Your prayers according to His own will for you, a will that is much more oriented…more than you can ask or think.
Let’s take a music break and we’ll see what else you can do in prayer…
MUSIC BREAK BROTHER Need to Breathe
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON How should I pray?
Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 26…
Romans 8:26 (Rory Translation) In the same way we groan within ourselves (Romans 8, Verse 23), waiting eagerly for our adoption as adult sons, waiting eagerly for the redemption of our bodies, and waiting eagerly for the freedom of the glory of the children of God…just that way, God the Holy the Spirit, the “first fruits” of our salvation, groans to help our weakness; for example, we do not know how to pray as we should…but God the Holy Spirit Himself personally intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words…
Here are some general guidelines for prayer…
We Don’t Know How to Pray as We Should
Since God already knows we don’t pray as we should, you can come as you are with God…sometimes the best way to pray is just to be silent…to just BE in God’s presence in prayer.
Come in Weakness
Come with the awareness of the brokenness, the infirmity, that is your life. You are completely inadequate in the matters you are praying about and have no part in the resolution of the problem you are asking God to resolve.
Direct Your Prayers to God the Father
Why? Because God the Father is the one who keeps on searching your hearts…Romans Chapter 8, Verse 27…
Romans 8:27 …and God the Father who is searching the hearts of those who pray right now, knows what the mind of God the Holy Spirit is (His groanings which cannot be uttered in words), because the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints (believers in Christ) according to the will of God the Father.
All three members of the Godhead want to know your heart’s desire…and they want you to have it.
Use the Agency of God the Holy Spirit
An agent is someone who represents your interests. Let God the Holy Spirit be the One who represents you to the other members of the Godhead. Since He is inside of you, He will make known what you want when you are not able to make it clear.
Ask in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ
When you make your prayer in Christ’s name you are asking the Lord to put His very Person behind your prayer. He’s a powerful Person. He’s the One who laid down His life for you in salvation, so if He was able to do such a big thing for you salvation, doesn’t it follow that He would lay down His life for Your prayers as well?
Give Thanks
This part of prayer gives you a chance to notice all that God is doing for you, especially in the mater of prayer. It’s a chance to express gratitude to God for His wonderful work on your behalf. First Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Verses 16 to 18…
First Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always…
God wants us to be happy regardless of circumstance…
First Thessalonians 5:17 …pray without ceasing (make it a habit to pray)…
God wants us to talk to Him and to use Him continuously…
First Thessalonians 5:18 …in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
God wants us to thank Him for everything that comes our way. When we get a big paycheck, that’s easy. When someone you love dies, it’s not so easy to go to God to say thanks for that, even though you know that was God’s perfection in action.
Give thanks to God for the things you have…give thanks to God for the things you don’t have. I am more grateful to God for the things He does for me that I don’t see than I am grateful for the things He lets me see.
God wants us to notice. We notice when we give thanks.
Intercede for Others
When we intercede, we step in to help someone else who is in a difficult situation. We ask God to use His divine omnipotence to aid others…to solve a problem that we cannot with human effort.
God will let others see your prayers be answered because God wants you to know He is always there. In Numbers, Chapter 21, Verses 4 to 9, the Lord shows the people of Israel that He answers Moses’ prayers.
Numbers 21:4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey.
Numbers 21:5 The people spoke against God and Moses, asking, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”
Numbers 21:6 The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
Numbers 21:7 So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.
Numbers 21:8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.”
Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
When you pray for others, pray for their spoken needs, their unspoken needs, and their unknown needs. Ask God to search their hearts.
Petition for Self
When you petition for self, you’re acknowledging your own inability to do things on your own, and you’re asking God to take over. And when you are asking God to take over, you need to take what He gives you. When you pray for self…remember…God the Father is searching your heart…God the Holy Spirit is praying from within you…and the Lord Jesus Christ is advocating for you from His father’s right hand.
What do these three bring to the assistance of our prayers? He brings Divine Omnipotence, Divine Love, Divine Discernment, Divine Foreknowledge, and Divine Desire. Second Peter, Chapter 1, Verses 2 to 4…
Second Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God the Father and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord…
Second Peter 1:3 …seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to the details of life and godliness (the details of the spiritual life), through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
Second Peter 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
God takes care of our needs…God takes care of our wants…God protects us from danger. Second Samuel, Chapter 12, Verses 15 to 18…
Second Samuel 12:15 Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that the child was very sick.
Second Samuel 12:16 David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.
Second Samuel 12:17 The elders of his household stood beside David in order to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.
Second Samuel 12:18 Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm!”
Second Samuel 12:19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”
Second Samuel 12:20 So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate.
Second Samuel 12:21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
Second Samuel 12:22 David said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’”
Second Samuel 12:23 “But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him (in heaven), but he will not return to me (here on earth).”
Can you see the marvel of the Lord’s hand in taking the child’s life? When you pray for yourself, you’re asking God to come through for you. IN this situation He came though in a marvelous way. What is the way?
Let Your Will Be Done God
Pray needs to be in line with God’s will…we’ll continue learning about prayer in the next lesson.
When the Lord Jesus Christ Promises Salvation, It’s a Guarantee!
Romans 3:10 …as it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one”
Romans 5:8 But God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankind, in that while we were yet sinners (as unbelievers), Christ died instead of us.
John 3:17 For God the Father did not send the Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) into the world to condemn the world, but the Father sent His Son into the world that the world might be saved through believing in Him.
John 1:12 But as many as received the Lord (taking advantage of the free gift of salvation), to them He gave the right (once and for all time) to become children of God…to those who believe in Christ’s name…
CLOSING SONG I CAN’T DISAPPOINT YOU June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION
We pray that You protect our steps as we go out into the world, Father…and that you keep us on the narrow way, completely dependent on You and Your Guiding, Mentoring Spirit…we ask this in Christ’s name, Amen.
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening!
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