Our Prayer

Our Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned against You and that my sins separate me from You. I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my sinful past and turn to You for forgiveness. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, that He was raised from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become my Savior and the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You and to convict me when I sin. I pledge to grow in grace and knowledge of You. My greatest purpose in life is to follow Your example and do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Class Lesson August 2, 2020

Click on the ZOOM link you were sent to join us!

We are BACK ON SUNDAYS
11:00 AM


WHY DO I NEED THE CHURCH?
(New Series)











 

Spirituality is not declining, but church affiliation is. 


Click Play to Watch


In this study, we will explore Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. We’re going to see how God’s encouragement to these first-century Christians still instructs our twenty-first century lives today.

 

During our time together, we'll discuss the following more deeply:

  1. We are joined together.
  2. We pray for one another.
  3. We support one another.
  4. We encourage one another.
  5. We strengthen one another.
  6. We stand together in spiritual battle.


Let’s dive in and see why we need the church – and why the church needs us with lesson 2 in our series.



THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE

Some things are just better when done with a group. It’s one thing to grab a basketball and shoot hoops, but you can’t play a game of basketball by yourself; it takes a team.

Almost 60 million people run for exercise, and almost 111 million walk for the same reason.1 This discipline is commendable, yet many more decide to run or walk each year, only to quit after a few weeks—or days. What causes some people to stick it out and others to quit?

While we might suggest many reasons, a great motivator can be the presence of others. It’s easy to say, “I’ve gone far enough,” when you’re by yourself, but runners are great at encouraging each other to keep going.

Marathon runners are known for verbally “high-fiving” each other. They know it’s hard, and they support one another.

This truth applies to our prayer lives as well. God hears the prayer of the individual, but we experience something wonderful when we gather with others to pray.

As a church, we need one another, and we support one another through our prayers.



 

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?


Ephesians 3:14-17a

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17a so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

 

Culture tends to reduce prayer to only asking God for tangible things in times of pressing need. Christians, on the other hand, should hold a much wider view of prayer. Don’t get me wrong; God assuredly cares about our needs. In another letter, Paul said we are to pray about everything (Phil. 4:6)! We should keep praying for God’s provision in our lives, but prayer involves much more than asking for our own concrete needs.

Question 2:

How does prayer help us experience the power and presence of Christ?


This passage challenges us to broaden our prayers in at least two ways.

1. Pray for others, not just ourselves. We should especially pray for fellow believers. God is the One “from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name” (v. 15). Christ’s church includes members from every nation on earth. We should pray for believers in our church and around the world.

Throughout this passage where Paul used “you” or “your,” he was using the plural form. He was not praying for just an individual; he was praying for a group of people. Paul was demonstrating a simple truth: God saves us to be a part of a people. The church is a family. As a family, we share responsibility for each other, and that responsibility includes praying for one another in addition to praying for ourselves.

2. Pray for spiritual needs, not just physical. Like Paul, we can pray that God would strengthen our brothers and sisters through the Holy Spirit’s power.

Humanly speaking, obeying God rightly is impossible. If we are to have any hope of regularly following what our heavenly Father has commanded us, then we must depend on His power. The reality is we are desperate apart from His power, so we pray to be strengthened with power from the Holy Spirit—and we are to pray that same prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

All of these spiritual realities grow through prayer. God uses the prayers of fellow Christians to empower our obedience, comfort our hearts, and mature our faith. And we can pray that He will do the same for them.

 

Ephesians 3:17b-19

17b And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

God’s love may seem to be a foregone conclusion to you. We constantly say, “God loves you” and “God is love.” We should say those things because they’re true, but what does it mean that God loves us?

Question 3:

What are some ways you’ve experienced the depth and breadth of God’s love?

 

Love is most definitely a feeling—and a very powerful one at that—but it is far more than a feeling. Love is actually an action. We see this play out in our own lives. For example, a father frequently tells his child he loves him, but he demonstrates that love by feeding him, clothing him, and sacrificing his time for him.

Moreover, as a parent, the father sees the bigger picture of life. Just as a father installs a fence around the backyard to allow his young child to play freely while being protected from outside danger, so too God places boundaries around His beloved children in His Word. Love is something we do—love in action.

 

When it comes to God’s love, we must also hold the “feeling” and “doing” in proper balance. That’s what Paul was ultimately praying for the Ephesian believers. And it’s what you and I should be praying for each other in Christ’s church.

  • Pray we would constantly remember that it was God’s love that saved us and it is God’s love that sustains us. In his prayer, Paul said we are “rooted and established in love” (v. 17b). This is a statement of fact. Regardless of how we might feel, God loves us and has always loved us. Pray that we remember that.
  • Pray we would grow in understanding the full measure of God’s love and character. Paul used human terms of measurement — “wide and long and high and deep”—to show our inability to comprehend the vastness of God’s love. We’ll never fully grasp everything about God and His love. But though we can’t know God fully, we can know God deeply through praying, reading His Word, walking with His people, and experiencing His care through life’s circumstances. Pray that we would grow in knowing God’s love more deeply each day.
  • Pray we would be astounded by the sacrificial love of Jesus on the cross. Paul referred to “this love that surpasses knowledge” (v. 19). Jesus’ suffering on the cross was the primary way God demonstrated His love for us (Rom. 5:8). Therefore, we never have to wonder if God really loves us. His love for us was settled once and for all on the cross. That has never changed—and it never will. Pray that we never stop marveling over that truth.


MY PRAYER LIST

Some people keep an ongoing prayer list. Name three people you could add to your list.

Make a note of needs each person might have. Next, write a short prayer for each person.


I’m praying for . . .

This person needs . . .

Here’s my prayer:

 

I’m praying for . . .

This person needs . . .

Here’s my prayer:

 

I’m praying for . . .

This person needs . . .

Here’s my prayer:


“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,

intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.”

1 TIMOTHY 2:1


Ephesians 3:20-21

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Paul challenged us with yet another principle of praying together in Christ’s church. This principle has the possibility of radically changing our lives, affecting our worship, and altering our prayers. That principle is this: prayer is not about us. It’s ultimately about God and His glory.

Paul finished his prayer with climactic words of worship to God. He didn’t just tack on an “amen.” Instead, he prayed, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (v. 20).


Those words demand our attention. Two important principles stand out:

1. God is able to do more than we ask. He created all things. He orders all things. He sustains all things. God saves His people. He empowers His people. He provides for His people. He knows all things, and He can do all things. Nothing is too difficult for Him. The same God who put the stars and planets in their celestial orbits also placed every hair on your head. He knows you by name. This truth should give us enormous confidence as we pray for one another.

 

Question 4:

When has God exceeded your expectations?


2. In contrast to the power and greatness of God, we tend to pray smaller, more limited prayers. God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” This truth doesn’t indict us as much as it humanizes us. In our humanity, we often bring to God our needs and concerns, asking Him to work in specific ways. We even craft a perceived solution to the matter. Through prayer, we then ask God to do it. But what we often fail to realize is that all the best possible solutions we can concoct pale in comparison to the power and ability of God. He’s able to go above and beyond what we ask or think.

 

Paul closed his prayer with more words of worship. By finishing his prayer this way, Paul presented the purpose of our praying together, serving together, and everything else we do in the church and beyond. That purpose is God’s glory. “The glory of God” is God’s fame or renown. With that definition in mind, that means we are to make God famous through our collective witness and worship. God’s glory is a consistent theme throughout the Bible. When we pray like Paul, our prayers will be more about God and His church and less about ourselves.

 

Question 5:

What are some specific ways our group can pray for the church?

  

LIVE IT OUT

How might you adjust your prayers to align more with the spiritual priorities of God? Choose one of the following applications:

  • Confess. In order to realign your prayer life in a more God centered, others-focused direction, confess to God the ways you’ve prayed in self-centered ways.
  • Pray. If you’re not in a regular discipline of prayer, begin now. Keep a journal of your prayer requests to ensure you are also praying for the spiritual and physical needs of others.
  • Pray together. The best way to grow in praying together in Christ’s church is by praying together in Christ’s church!

Commit to a regular time to meet and pray with one or two other believers from your Bible study group. Culture may only see prayer as a means to ask God for help in times of trouble, but for Christians, it’s our lifeline for both physical sustenance and spiritual vitality. Let’s pray and live for the glory of God.





Hope to see everyone this Sunday on zoom!


God Bless you this week,


David & Susan


Teacher Notes:


Video: War Room the Heart of the Movie

Click Play to Watch


Last week we opened this series on Why Do I Need the Church? With the fact that we are all joined together under a common bond: When we come to Christ, we are connected by a grace that saved each one of us and that same grace has made us all brothers and sisters in the family of God.

Now, when you are part of a family, you do certain things:

1.    We pray for one another.

2.    We support one another.

3.    We encourage one another.

4.    We strengthen one another.

5.    We stand together in spiritual battle.

So, our first action in this new family is to pray for one another and Paul explains this morning in his prayer to the Ephesian church, how we should pray for one another and the power that is available to us when we pray.

  

WE PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER

  

I don’t know of anything that more needed right now as a nation, in the United States than prayer.


Someone read:

Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

 

 

Billy Graham once said, “To get Nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees.” And this is how Paul begins his prayer…

 

Ephesians 3:14-17a

For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

 

Paul prays for the power and presence of Christ to be manifested through His church.

Tony Evans said, “We will see an explosion of the presence of God as a result of the prayers of His people.”

 

1. We Ought to Pray for One Another’s Fortitude and Faith. (v. 14-17)

What do I mean by fortitude? Fortitude: courage and strength in pain or adversity

Paul’s not praying here for property, prestige, promotion, or prosperity. He’s not going to God for things we can taste, touch, see, smell, and hear. Paul is praying for something totally different. He’s praying that the believers (the church) would be strengthened and given courage by God, with power through His Spirit in their inner being.

The family of God includes all who have believed in Him in the past, all who believe in the present, and all who will believe in the future. We are all a family because we have the same Father. He is the source of all creation, the rightful owner of everything. God promises His love and power to His family, the church. If we want to receive God’s blessings, it is important that we stay in contact with other believers in the body of Christ. Those who isolate themselves from God’s family and try to go it alone cut themselves off from God’s power.

 

Which comes more easily to you: praying for yourself or praying for others? Why?

  • Culture tends to reduce prayer to only asking God for tangible things in times of need. Paul says to:

1. Pray for others, not just ourselves.

2. Pray for spiritual needs (faith), not just physical.

 

Ephesians 3:17b-19

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 

2. We Ought to Pray for One Another’s Fullness

John 10:10 says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Paul is saying that we should pray for a deeper sense of God’s love.

  • We should always be in the process of growing and deepening in Christ’s love.
  • God’s love grows out of experiential knowledge but it is still beyond our complete understanding and our human expression.
  • As we mature and grow in faith, God increases our capacity to experience His fullness.


Have you ever wondered what the most important thing in life is to God?

“If you are a follower of Christ Jesus … all that matters is your faith that makes you love others.”

Galatians 5:6 (CEV)

Accomplishments … Achievements … Fame … Wealth

What matters in life is one thing – the faith that makes you love other people. 



Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

 

3. We Ought to Pray for One Another’s Focus. (v. 20-21)

Paul concludes his prayer by showing us that God is bigger than any problem, challenge, dream, or vision we may have. God is able to do above all that we ask or think. He encourages us to shift our focus from the size of our problem to the ability of our God.

  • God’s power and ability is unmatched, unparalleled, and incomparable.
  • Whatever we ask for or think about is only a beginning point for what God is capable of doing by His sovereign power.
  • God is glorified through His Son, Christ Jesus.
  • The true church of the Lord Jesus Christ functions to bring glory to God.
  • Glory is due to God both now and forever.

 

When we pray for one another, let’s pray that God will help us to ask great things of God (He is able to do above all that we ask or think), to attempt great things for God (according to the power that works in us), and to anticipate great things from God (to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus).

 

Close with …

“You need to plead with God to do what only He can do and then you need to get out of the way and let Him do it.”

 

Close with: Video ending of War Room

…………………………………………………………………..

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