Uncommon Disciples Presents

we use in prayer are not so important. It is Prayer sharing our hearts with the Father and bringing Series: Spiritual Disciplines Lesson: Prayer The Challenges We Face Today ______One of the greatest challenges facing disciples ______of Jesus is developing a disciplined prayer life. ______ We don’t seem to be able to find the ______time to develop an effective prayer life. ______ We don’t really know how to pray ______effectively and often we feel our ______prayers may go unanswered. ______ We don’t really know what to pray for ______and so our prayers become routine and ______we feel we are just going through the ______motions. ______ We have not learned how to pray in ______faith or to pray according to God’s ______will. ______Lesson Truth ______Prayer is the key to an effective disciple ______lifestyle. Everything we do should be done in ______an attitude of prayer. Unless we develop an ______attitude and intent to “pray always”, our ______disciple journey will begin to stall. We must ______learn when to pray and how to pray. ______Lesson Goal ______The goal for this lesson is for you to develop ______an effective prayer life through the application ______of discipline and habit so that your life reflects ______the life of a true follower of Jesus resulting in ______peace and contentment in your life. ______Lesson Discussion ______What is Prayer? ______Prayer is a simple two way conversation with ______the Father. We speak our heart to Him and He ______reveals Himself and His will to us. The words ______1 ______The Purpose of Prayer ______our mind and heart to focus on Him that the ______Father cares most about. ______God does not so much need us to pray to Him ______as we need prayer to draw our minds to Him to ______help us stay anchored to Him. Prayer is for us ______so we can maintain a continuous abiding with ______the Father and not get lost in the cares of this ______life. ______Many books have been written on prayer and ______the Bible has a lot to say about prayer. ______Although prayer is a simple act, it seems most ______Christians lack the discipline of an effective ______prayer life. When we look at the life of Jesus, ______we see that He understood the importance of ______an effective prayer life. ______For Jesus, prayer was simply a two-way loving ______conversation with His Father. It was not ______formal and rigid, but simple and impromptu. ______Our prayer life must be the same simple prayer ______life that Jesus demonstrated. ______There are many opinions on what prayer is and ______how one should pray, but the most important ______dynamic in prayer is to keep it simple. The ______Father loves you and just wants you to spend ______time sharing your life with Him. He wants you ______to hear what He wants you to know about ______Himself and what He desires for your life. ______When you look at the “Lord’s prayer” that ______Jesus prayed when He was teaching His ______disciples how to pray, you will see a very ______simple, God-honoring prayer. The goal is to ______develop a continuous attitude of prayer so that ______you are “praying always” as you are going ______about your day to day activities. ______Prayer happens as your mind is directed to the ______Father in short conversations with Him ______throughout your day and sometimes in long ______periods of prayer and fasting for intercession ______and burden lifting. ______

2 ______between a group of believers and God. The ______Bible teaches us to pray to the Father, not to ______any other entity. Jesus always prayed to the ______Father. The purpose of prayer is to bring our mind and heart to focus on God and bring our petitions When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them and requests to him. It is a time when we can how to pray, he began with “Our Father in ask God to show us things He wants us to ______know so we can have a closer relationship ______with Him. It is a time we can praise and honor ______Him and get our life cleansed before Him. ______The Bible teaches us that we should “pray ______always”. This would indicate that it does not ______matter what your physical location is, you can ______pray anywhere. Sometimes prayer alone with ______God in a quiet, private place is what we need. ______At other times praying with another or a small ______group, or corporately may be what is needed. ______The situation will dictate where to pray. ______The Bible says that Jesus often went to a ______lonely place to pray. This allowed Jesus ______uninterrupted time with the Father which was ______crucial to prepare Him to carry out His ______Father’s will to take up His cross for the ______world. We will also need time like this with ______God to prepare us to carry out His will for our ______own lives. Prayer is a part of the armor of ______God that prepares us for spiritual battle. ______Jesus also prayed publically and with His ______disciples. In John 17 Jesus prayed publically ______for His disciples and for all who believe ______through them. He prayed this out loud for the ______benefit of those who would hear His petition ______to the Father on behalf of His followers. ______We also pray because prayer can move the ______hand of God. The Bible says that the ______“effectual prayer of a righteous man’s avails ______much”. Prayer can move the hand of God on ______behalf of others. ______Pray to the Father ______Prayer is foremost a private, personal ______communication between an individual and ______God. It can also be a communication exchange ______3 ______said that if we abide in Him, we can ask ______whatever we wish and it will be given to us. ______The Holy Spirit will show us through our ______conscience when our life is out of order with ______God. We must clear our conscience through ______repentance and confession of our sins because heaven”. Always pray to the Father, not to sin prevents God from hearing our prayers. anyone or anything else. Always deal with known sin immediately.

Jesus also taught His disciples that when they ______pray to the Father they should do it in a ______private, personal way. This is important ______because it is in this intimate, private time with ______the Father that we are able to share our heart ______with the Father and to understand the Father’s ______heart. ______Matthew 6:6 “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.” ______God the Father is sovereign over all creation - ______everything that exists. He alone orders, allows ______and intervenes in all of creation. He knows ______when a sparrow falls to the ground and He has ______numbered every hair on our heads. He knows ______the end from the beginning. So it would make ______sense that He is the one that we should direct ______our prayers to – the source and sustainer of all ______creation. ______Prayer Requires Right Relationships ______Having a right relationship with God through ______Jesus Christ is critical to an effective prayer ______life. If your life is out of order with the Father ______and the Son, your prayer life will be ______ineffective. It is sinful disobedience that puts ______us out of relationship with God. ______We must not only get in right relationship with ______the Father through His Son, but we must also ______stay in a right relationship with Him. Jesus ______4 ______that if we pray in a double-minded way, ______doubting whether God is going to answer our ______prayer, we should not think that we will get ______anything from God. ______When we pray, we must believe that we ______receive. God will answer the prayer of faith, ______but He will answer it according to what He ______ordains is best, not necessarily the way we ______want things to be. Through faith we trust that God knows what He is doing and that His It is also important to be in right relationship answer to our prayer is what is best. with others. The Bible says a husband’s and wife’s prayers can be hindered if their ______relationship is not rightly related to God and ______one another. ______If we have not forgiven another for a wrong ______done to us and we harbor that in our hearts, ______God says he cannot forgive us our sins and ______therefore cannot hear our prayers. This puts us ______out of relationship with God and we should ______not expect that God will honor our prayer. ______You must forgive. ______Our Attitude in Prayer ______As we pray to the Father, whether in private or ______in public, our attitude must be right. The right ______attitude in prayer is an attitude of faith, ______thankfulness, humility, and boldness. It may ______be a bit challenging at first to have all these ______attitudes right as we pray, but they are all ______necessary for an effective prayer life. ______Let’s first look at the attitude of faith. When ______Jesus prayed, he always prayed as if things ______that He prayed for would be a reality. He did ______not doubt that God would answer His prayer. ______When he was arrested, he told his captors that ______he could ask His Father and His Father would ______send twelve legions of angels to fight for Him ______if He wanted to. Jesus knew that He could ______have from the Father whatever He asked for ______because He had faith in the Father. ______Praying in faith means we pray as if God will ______absolutely answer our prayer. The Bible says ______5 ______We don’t come to God half-heartedly, but we ______come with an expectation and boldness based ______on our relationship with Him through Jesus ______Christ as sons and daughters and as joint heirs ______of the kingdom of God with Jesus. ______Examine yourself as you pray to see that these ______attitudes are in place as you pray. Make a ______small checklist and do an attitude and sin ______check before you pray. If these are not right, ______get them right before you bring your requests ______to God. ______Another important attitude in prayer is You must develop these four attitudes as you humility. We must come to God as paupers, come to God in prayer. If you will begin to do knowing that we do not deserve anything from ______God. We realize that apart from God’s grace ______and mercy, we have no right to ask Him for ______anything. We are aware of our true state ______before God and our own sinfulness. ______We realize that apart from His Son Jesus, we ______would stand condemned and lost forever. We ______come with a simple attitude of humility, of ______knowing that we really don’t deserve anything ______from Him and that it is only by His kindness, ______love, and grace that He gives us what we truly ______need. ______The third important attitude we must have in ______our prayer life is an attitude of thankfulness. ______Whether we get what we asked for or not, we ______must be thankful regardless and give thanks in ______all things. We are thankful because we know ______that He knows what is best for us for every ______situation we lift up to Him. ______We must avoid grumbling and complaining. ______These attitudes dishonor God and keep us ______from receiving God’s favor. A thankful and ______grateful attitude keeps us from falling into the ______trap of grumbling, complaining and fault ______finding. ______The last attitude that is important is that we ______come to God boldly, not because we deserve ______anything from God, but because we know that ______if our life is right with God, that we have every ______right to have our prayers heard and answered. ______6 ______take a moment to turn our mind to God in ______prayer. ______As we stop and pray, the Holy Spirit will show ______us if there is something He wants us to do. ______We can’t deal with everything that comes ______across our minds, but we must deal with ______whatever the Holy Spirit shows us, even if it ______means dropping everything and stepping out in ______obedience to do what the Spirit showed us. ______That is why it is critical to develop a ______disciplined listening and obeying lifestyle so ______we can do God’s will. Otherwise we tend to ______get in God’s way and hinder what God is ______trying to do through us. ______that consistently, you will find that your prayer The biggest hindrance to knowing what to life will become more effective and a time of pray for at any moment is the clutter and joy and expectation about what God is doing distractions of life. We get caught up in in your life. ourselves and our ______What Should We Pray For ______This is probably the area where most struggle ______in their prayer life. What should we be ______praying for? Do we pray for all the things we ______want and need for ourselves, others, or the ______world in general? Are there things we should ______not be praying for? How specific do we need ______to be in what we ask for in prayer? There are ______literally thousands of things we could pray for ______daily. ______Who and what should we be praying for at any ______moment? ______The Bible has a lot to say about what we ______should be praying for. But the key point in ______what we pray for is to pray as the Holy Spirit ______shows us and enables us. The Holy Spirit will ______bring to our mind what we should be praying ______for at any moment. This assumes we are not ______so busy and distracted by our daily lives that ______we fail to hear Him. ______As we go about our daily activities, the Holy ______Spirit will bring events, situations and people ______to our mind, not so much that we are suppose ______to do something, but maybe to just stop and ______7 ______We may find ourselves actually praying ______against God’s will. So in every situation, it is ______important to try and see things from God’s ______perspective as we pray. The Holy Spirit helps ______us do just that. ______The Bible teaches us to pray for those in ______authority over us, including our government, ______so that we can live in peace. The Bible also ______tells us to pray for our enemies and those who ______misuse or persecute us. We don’t often feel ______like praying for these things and would rather ______spend our time praying for other things. But ______we must develop the discipline and habit of ______praying for those things. ______When we feel burdened, disheartened, ______frustrated, worried, fearful or are experiencing ______some other negative emotion, we should get to ______a quiet place and take it in prayer to the Lord ______to see what He would have us to know about ______what is going on. He might show us that we own interests and desires in worldly things and have failed to trust in Him in some situation or we can miss what we should be praying for at that our attitude is out of order. It may be just any moment. Keeping a prayer list is helpful ______for some. But as you enter your prayer time, ______you must clear your mind from the clutter of ______life and bring your mind forcefully to ______concentrate on God. ______The most important thing to pray for is other ______people. You can pray for yourself, but it ______should be for spiritual wisdom and ______understanding to know God’s will at any ______moment as well as praying for our daily bread. ______How to pray for other people will be given you ______as you start praying. ______The Holy Spirit is the one who knows what the ______true need is in people’s lives, not us. Often we ______think we know what is best for others, but only ______the Holy Spirit really knows. That is why we ______must rely on the Holy Spirit to show us how to ______pray for others. ______For instance, we might pray that God would ______help one of our children out of a difficult or ______bad situation, even if it was their fault. God ______may have other plans for them in that situation ______and may want to try and teach them a lesson. ______8 ______to God in prayer. If God puts it in your heart ______to be such an intercessor, then this is what you ______must devote your life to. ______The Bible says we must pray so that we will ______not become weary and that we will not fall ______into temptation. We must pray so we can ______stand against all the events and situations that ______will come to our lives daily, including hatred ______by others and persecution as followers of ______Jesus. Jesus said he would be hated and His ______followers would also be hated. Prayer helps ______keep our mind and focus on things above and ______on God’s perspective – how He views people, ______situations and events. ______Praying Always ______“Praying always” as the Bible teaches is easier ______said than done. Prayer is a spiritual discipline ______that we must make a priority and then take ______time away from other activities to engage in ______effective prayer. No one just finds time to ______pray. We must make time to pray and the only ______way to do that is to take time from something simple grieving for a loss of some sort, which else we would be doing. We must force our is ok, but prolonged grieving is a sign of one’s mind away life being out of order spiritually. ______Praying does not necessarily have to be done ______in an effort to get God to do something. God ______is happy when we just come to Him in prayer ______because we want to be with Him and spend ______time with Him. We might just want to praise ______Him, or thank Him, or just spend some time ______worshipping Him. ______Imagine crawling up onto God’s lap and ______enjoying a child-to-parent, loving conversation ______with Him. As a parent, isn’t it good when ______your children come to spend time with you ______because they love you and just want to be with ______you and are not coming just to get something ______from you? ______The Bible tells about a widow woman who ______spent day and night in the temple praying to ______God. Not everyone is called to do this, but ______some are. These are called intercessors and ______they find joy in one thing only – to intercede 9 ______Satan knows that this will lead to his undoing ______and his kingdom will begin to lose its power ______and hold on people. ______

______One Step for Living This Truth ______The foundation of the One Step series that you ______have been reading is to be able to live God’s ______truth, one truth at a time, one step at a time. ______The goal for this lesson is for you to develop ______an effective prayer life by putting into practice ______the biblical principle of prayer. ______ACTION STEP ______Read this lesson as often as needed to ______remind you to continue to develop an ______effective prayer life. It takes discipline and ______commitment to make prayer a priority and ______develop the habit of continuous prayer. ______Start each and every day with prayer. If ______you do this you will find that each day will ______go very differently. You must develop a from the thing that is on our mind and force habit of daily time with God. our mind to God. ______One of Satan’s greatest tools is keeping us ______from an effective prayer life. He knows that if ______we develop an effective prayer life, we will be ______a big problem for him and his kingdom. We ______effectively get in the way of his plan and begin ______to undo his trickery and deception. Satan is ______OK with people going to church, studying the ______Bible and doing various ministries. He ______doesn’t have the slightest concern for most ______Christian organizations and denominations. ______But when someone begins to develop true faith ______and an effective prayer life, he gets very ______concerned. ______When God’s people begin to truly follow Jesus ______Christ in obedience and are living what they ______profess to believe, Satan begins to fear. ______Couple this with an effective prayer life and ______10 ______As you continue to practice living this truth, ______you may need to come back to this lesson ______often. Don’t be in a rush to start the next ______lesson. ______Even if it takes several weeks to get this truth ______integrated into your life, keep it as your ______primary focus until you feel you are living it. ______Remember, the most common problem with ______Christians today is that they know many truths ______about the Christian life, but are not able to live ______them. Make sure you are solidly living this ______truth before attempting to tackle the next truth. ______Start turning your mind to God frequently in your day. See God’s sovereignty in everything. Know that He is engineering things moment by moment and keep a thankful and grateful attitude.

You will have completed this lesson when you have developed a habit and discipline of prayer. You will know this when you sense a positive change in your daily spiritual life through how you respond to daily events.

You should notice a definite reduction in the amount of fear, worry doubt and stress in your life. Prayer will help you stay in an attitude of trust and obedience which will help ensure a consistent state of peace and contentment. 11 12