Introduction - Pray? Why Should I Pray?

Serenity: speaks of presence of mind, of centeredness

What prayer isn’t: empty repetition, quietness, thinking, religious ritual, talking to people about God

What prayer is: communication with God, dialogue with God, words spoken directly to God, time with God, connection with God

Kinds of Prayers: Recitation, desperation, confession, insincerity, adoration, thanksgiving, celebration, intercession, etc.

Read Matthew 6:1-18

Jesus made 3 assumptions: When you give, when you pray, when you fast. Is it possible that He made incorrect assumptions about us?

Jesus is also assuming that we are interested in developing relationship with Him.

What would be the end result of not spending time connecting with God in prayer? Would our lives look the same? If so, then either: prayer doesn’t make a difference to our lives; or prayer does make a difference, but we tend to act like it doesn’t

Reasons why people don’t pray:

• We don’t realize that God wants to spend time with us and hear from us

• We don’t understand or take seriously the impact prayer can have on us and others

• We tend to be involved in activities that are enjoyable, pleasurable, and effortless

• We tend to be creatures of habit, and don’t pray because we haven’t made it a habit to do so

• We tend to grow complacent in our spiritual lives, and generally the first thing to be affected is prayer

What is God like to you? How you picture Him affects prayer.

1 Thess. 5:17 – Pray continually… it's like God is walking with you all the time. How do we approach that? It depends on how we view God.

What is time in prayer worth? Should its value be determined by how much we invest in it?

Jesus’ first statement: Don’t do “acts of righteousness” in front of others to be seen by them.

Our tendency is to be interested in things only if:

• We already have the tendency towards them

• They are easy for us to do

• There are direct, obvious, measurable benefits to us

3 times Jesus said: Don’t do them “like the hypocrites do” – those who act righteous by showing others their “spirituality”

What Jesus said about prayer: Pray secretly, pray specifically

Is it possible that our hypocrisy isn’t so much in our appearance of spirituality as much as in our negligence of it?

It doesn't have to be like this. Read Romans 1:9 and Ephesians 3:14-17

What if Jesus’ assumption is a hint to us that spiritual disciplines are in and of themselves transforming to our lives, because they involve denying ourselves of something that we normally want, and thereby cause us to be a little less selfish, greedy, and self-absorbed, and to become a little more like Jesus?

Why should I pray? Well, why would you connect with anyone you are in relationship with?

Consider: In the last 30 years, the divorce rate has increased 600%; 38% of marriages in Canada end in divorce; married couples who pray, read the Bible, attend church together regularly have a divorce rate of 1 in 1287— less than 1/10 of 1%.

He who kneels before God can stand before anyone. You can bother God with everything.

What the bible says about prayer:

Mark 1:35 – Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray.

Luke 6:12 – Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.

Matt. 5:44 – Jesus said, “Pray for those who persecute you!”

Luke 6:28 – Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.”

Matt. 26:41 – Jesus said, “Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!”

Eph. 6:18 – Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.

Phil. 4:6 – Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

James 5:16 – Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.

Jude 1:20 – But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit.

Have you been missing out on a life of possibility through prayer? Have you tended to ignore time with God?

Why should I pray? Why shouldn’t you?