Exceeding Joy in God through Prayer

2. Joy in God through Prayer – Part 2 Exceeding Joy in God Series [8] Selected Scriptures June 23, 2013 Pastor Paul K. Kim

3. SEEING THE VALUE OF PRAYER IN THE FIGHT FOR JOY IN GOD • Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer • and supplication. To that end keep alert with all • perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.Ephesians 6:18

4. SEEING THE VALUE OF PRAYER IN THE FIGHT FOR JOY IN GOD Praying at alltimes in the Spirit, withallprayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for allthe saints.Ephesians 6:18 • When: at all times [= without ceasing/in every opportunity] • We are to see the value of prayer as our everyday essential not just as 911 (1 Thessalonians 5:17). • Through what: through all prayer [= all forms/types of prayer] • We are to see the value of prayer as readily available means of communication with God. (Psalm 62:8; )

5. SEEING THE VALUE OF PRAYER IN THE FIGHT FOR JOY IN GOD • Praying at alltimes in the Spirit, withallprayer • and supplication. To that end keep alert with all • perseverance, making supplication for allthe saints.Ephesians 6:18 • With what: with all perseverance [= persistent faith/fight] • We are to see the value of prayer as the open secret to God’s power and resources (Psalm 27:14; Matt. 7:7) • For whom: for all saints [= deliberate labor of love] • We are to see the value of prayer as a tangible way to love others. (1 Tim. 2:1; Rom 15:30)

6. TAKING A BOLD STEP OF THE FIGHT FOR JOY IN GOD THROUGH PRAYER • 1) Pray WITH ALERTNESS for the fight for joy in God each day—starting with yours. • 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. • Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from • the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”15 Look carefully then • how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the • best use of the time, because the days are evil. • Ephesians 5:14-16 • One clear sign of praying in the Spirit is being spiritually awake with watchfulness and attentiveness. • Praying with alertness therefore requires us to daily renewal by the Spirit through the Word and prayer. • We are to pray with and for this alertness in fighting for joy in God.

7. FOUR THINGS TO PRAY DAILY IN FIGHTING FOR JOY* • 1. INCLINE my heart to you, not to prideful gain or any false motive. • Incline my heart to your testimonies, • and not to selfish gain! – Psalm 119:36 • 2. OPEN my eyes to behold wonderful things in your Word. • Open my eyes, that I may behold
    wondrous things out of your law. – Psalm 119:18 • 3. UNITE my heart to fear your name. • Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth;
    unite my heart to fear your name. – Psalm 86:11 • 4. SATISFY me with you steadfast love. • Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. – Psalm 90:14 • * The Daily “IOUS” Prayer of John Piper

8. TAKING A BOLD STEP OF THE FIGHT FOR JOY IN GOD THROUGH PRAYER • 2) Pray WITH FAITH AS YOUR ONGOING CONVERSATION with God, your ABBA. • Continue steadfastly in prayer, • being watchful in it with thanksgiving.Colossians 4:2 • 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, • will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him • a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is • in heaven give good things to those who ask him! • Matthew 7:9-11 • Prayer is not monologue but dialogue wit our Abba. • To pray without ceasing means to have this ongoing conversation with God. • We are to pour out our hearts to God in all things with faith.

9. The Best Part of Our Whole Christian Life • God is glad in a similar way when we, His little children, feel a desire to speak with Him about our daily experiences . . . Speak, therefore, with God about your daily experiences. They need not be great or important. Speak with Him about the little things which make up your daily life. Tell God when you are happy. Let Him share your joy. That is what He is waiting to do. Tell God when you are sad, when you are worried, when you do not know what to do, when you are anxious. He is waiting to hear about it because He loves you. This being the case, nothing is inconsequential or unimportant. Everything that concerns you interests Him. God never intended that we should live our Christian life in any other way . . . So completely does He give Himself to us, He desires to share everything with us. This is the best part of our whole Christian life. • - O. Hallesby

10. TAKING A BOLD STEP OF THE FIGHT FOR JOY IN GOD THROUGH PRAYER • 3) Learn to pray BY PRAYING—especially praying with other believers. • They all joined together • constantly in prayer, • along with the women and • Mary the mother of Jesus, • and with his brothers. • Acts 1:14 • We don’t learn to pray by learning about prayer but we do learn how to pray by trying it out our own prayers. • Moreover, the best way to learn to pray is by praying with other believers regularly for fervency and ways of prayer. • We are to deliberately seek “sweet ‘our’ prayer” for this reason!

11. Learning from a Book Mentor’s Daily Morning Prayer • Good morning heavenly Father, good morning Lord Jesus, good morning Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, I worship you as the creator and sustainer of the universe. Lord Jesus, I worship you, Savior and Lord of the world. Holy Spirit, I worship you, sanctifier of the people of God. Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence and please you more and more. Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you. Holy spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons in one God, have mercy upon me. Amen. - John R. W. Stott

12. TAKING A BOLD STEP OF THE FIGHT FOR JOY IN GOD THROUGH PRAYER 4) Pray WITH A PLAN FOR PRAYERSas a regular rhythm of your life with God. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16 [NIV] • We all desire to pray but with desire itself, praying often times gets never done. • To develop a regular rhythm of life, we must plan to pray. • We are to follow the examples of our Lord Jesus and men/women of God.

13. 11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  1 Timothy 6:11-12

14. THREE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS FOR OUR EVERYDAY LIFE • In what ways can I pray with more alertness for the fight for joy in God? • What would it look like if I turn my prayer as ongoing conversation with God? • How do I pray with a plan for prayer? What is my first step in making prayer a regular rhythm of my life?