Attitude

Food for thought:
   Two pastors' wives sat mending their husbands' pants. One of them said to the other, "My poor John, he is so discouraged in his church work. He said just the other day he was considering resigning. It seems nothing goes right for him."
   The other replied, "Why, my husband was saying just the opposite. He is so enthused, it seems like the Lord is closer to him than ever before."
   A hushed silence fell as they continued to mend the trousers; one patching the seat and the other the knees.
     --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited  (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 356.

   It is no use to ask God with factitious earnestness for A when our whole mind is in reality filled with B. We must lay before him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.
    -- C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer

    Jim Elliot, a missionary slain by the Auca Indians in the 1950's, once said: “God is still on His throne and man is still on his footstool.  There's only a knee's distance in between.”

Self Evaluation - How do you feel about prayers?:
1.     Vital opportunity to connect intimately with my Lord and Savior about every aspect of my life and everything that matters to Him.

2.     Enjoy being able to share important things with God knowing that He desires to hear us.

3.     Thankful that God hears our prayers.

4.     Hopeful that our prayers matter to God.

5.     Not sure that prayers change anything.

6.     Think it’s unimportant.

Read the following verses and consider what mindset about prayer you would like to develop as a disciple of Christ.

Luke 18:2-8 (NIV)  Then Jesus used this story to teach his followers that they should always pray and never lose hope.  He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'  "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men,  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'"  And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Romans 8:26-27  The Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain.  God can see what is in people's hearts. And he knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit speaks to God for his people in the way God wants.

What is your goal concerning the mindset you have towards prayer? 

On what truth(s) do you need to focus?

How will you keep track of how you are doing? 

 What obstacles will you need to overcome and how will you face them?

Motivation

Food for thought:
 "I would rather teach one man to pray than 10 men to preach."
    --Charles Spurgeon

    "The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history." 
    --Andrew Murray

    Have you ever wondered why a pigeon walks so funny?  According to an interesting article in the Detroit Free Press, a pigeon walks the way it does so it can see where it's going.  Because it can't adjust its focus as it moves, the pigeon actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus.  This is the way it walks:  head forward, stop; head back, stop.  Don't laugh -- that's how it goes!
   In our spiritual walk with the Lord we have the same problem as the pigeon.  We have a hard time seeing while we're moving. We also need to stop between steps -- to refocus on where we are in relation to the World and the will of God.  That's not to say we have to stop and pray and meditate about every step when we walk.  But certainly our “walk” with the Lord needs to have built into it a pattern of "stops," which enable us to see more clearly before moving on.

Self Evaluation - Why do you pray?

1.     Need to communicate openly and honestly in my most important relationship.

2.     Desire to know God more and make myself transparent before Him.

3.     Attempt to please God.

4.     Feel troubled, pain, anxiety etc.

5.     Sense of duty.

6.     Want others to think of me as “spiritual”.

Read the following verses and consider what motivations for prayer you would like to form as a disciple of Christ.

Matthew 6:5-6  "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

What is your goal concerning the motives you have for prayer? 

On what truth(s) do you need to focus?

How will you keep track of how you are doing? 

What obstacles will you need to overcome and how will you face them?

Practice

Food for thought:
    A young soldier who was fighting in Italy during World War II jumped into a foxhole just ahead of some bullets. He immediately tried to deepen the hole for more protection and was frantically scraping away the dirt with his hands. He unearthed something metal and brought up a silver crucifix, left by a former resident of the foxhole. A moment later another leaping figure landed beside him as the shells screamed overhead. When the soldier got a chance to look, he saw that his new companion was an army chaplain. Holding out the crucifix, the soldier gasped, "Am I glad to see you! How do you work this thing?"

    An overweight business associate of mine decided it was time to shed some excess pounds. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he arrived at work carrying a gigantic coffee cake. We all scolded him, but his smile remained angelic. "This is a very special coffee cake," he explained. "I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window were a host of goodies. I felt this was no accident, so I prayed, 'Lord, if you want me to have one of these delicious coffee cakes, let me have a parking place directly in front of the bakery.' And sure enough," he continued, "the eighth time around the block, there it was!"
   --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 254. / p. 428.
 

Self Evaluation - How do you pray?  About what do you pray?

1.     Developed the habit of praying all types of prayers: (ACTS = adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) to make sure regularly praising God, asking for His forgiveness and professing willingness to forgive others, thanking Him for the blessings as well as the struggles in my life, and asking Him for help, guidance and other blessings.

2.     Consciously pray for many things, not just for self or for problems.

3.     Tendency to pray only about problems, or only about confession, or only about forgiveness, etc.

4.     Attempt to “sound like” the way other people pray.

5.     Don’t know how to pray, feel like always struggling for words.

6.     Don’t know what to pray, so don’t pray at all.

Read the following verses and consider what focus during prayer you would like to have as a disciple of Christ.

Matthew 6:9-13  So when you pray, you should pray like this: 'Our Father in heaven, may your name always be kept holy.  May your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us the food we need for each day.  Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us.  And do not cause us to be tempted, but save us from the Evil One.'

What is your goal concerning the method of completeness you have for prayer? 

What type(s) of prayer do you need to include?

How will you keep track of how you are doing? 

What obstacles will you need to overcome and how will you face them?

Consistency

Food for thought:
 Dr. Ralph Byron is an outstanding Christian surgeon.  Early in his medical profession he sought for a way to make life count. Professionally and personally, he wanted to be a man of God.  One day in his search for godliness, he came across Ezekiel 22:30
   And I searched for a man among them who should build up the
   wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I
   should not destroy it; but I found no one.
Dr. Byron pondered this kind of question: "Would God find me standing in the gap?"  Here he was a young surgeon with the press of responsibility all around him, and he answered the question honestly, "No, not right now."  He concluded that in order for him to be a man of God, he must continually place a priority on prayer.  At first, it was very difficult, because his duties were numerous.  He decided that in order for him to have time with God, he would personally have to get up very early.  He set aside the time of 5:30 a.m., which he called "an unearthly hour."  But he did it.  It was the best time, in light of his busy schedule.  Week after week.  The remarkable thing he discovered was that within just two weeks, he began to have a quality of life he had never known before.  He saw two men trust Christ.  He discovered that a major conflict in their church had been resolved -- dissolved is a better word -- as he committed it faithfully to God in prayer.  And so he concluded, "It was apparent to me that I must give prayer top priority, even if it means getting less than six hours of sleep every night."
 

Self Evaluation - How often do you pray?

1.     Daily with a set time of prayer and occasional prayers as opportunity arises.  Often share thoughts in prayer in the same manner as if a person were accompanying you throughout the day.

2.     At regular times such as before meals, bed time, or another quiet time.

3.     At least once per week when thinking about it.

4.     From time to time, but hard to be sure how often.

5.     When someone else leads the prayer like in church.

6.     Not at all.

Read the following verses and consider what Consistency you would like to develop as a disciple of Christ.

Luke 5:16 Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray.

Ephesians 6:18  Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit's wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere.
 

What is your goal concerning the Consistency of your prayers? 

When and where will these prayers take place?

How will you keep track of how you are doing? 

What obstacles will you need to overcome and how will you face them?