HOW TO HAVE A

DYNAMIC PRAYER LIFE

INTRODUCTION:

1. How is your prayer life?

a. Does your prayer life seem at times dual, meaningless and repetitive?

b. Do you ever find yourself in prayer just going through the motions without any emotions or fervor toward God?

c. Have you ever started your prayer with “Dear God…” and within five seconds, your mind would be in outer space?

2. If you answered yes to any of these questions, I want you to know that you are not alone. Many Christians struggle with their prayer life.

3. How would you like to improve your prayer life? How would you like to develop a prayer life that is exciting, dynamic, and meaningful?

THIS MORNING, I AM GOING TO OFFER TWO POINTS ON HOW WE CAN IMPROVE OUR DAILY PRAYER LIFE.

I. FIRST, TO ENHANCE OUR PRAYER LIFE, WE SHOULD SELECT AN APPROPRIATE TIME AND A QUIET PLACE TO BEGIN OUR PRAYERS.

1. Jesus, on many occasions, selected a solitary place to pray.

• “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed” (Mk. 1:35).

2. What are some benefits in praying in solitary places?

a. It is quiet. You can concentrate better, and hear God better.

3. How many times should a Christian pray each day?

a. The Bible says that we are to “pray continually,” and “without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:16).

b. This means that we should pray off and on all day long. There is no limit on how many times we can pray.

4. Some people, even Christians, only pray when they are in need of something.

ILLUSTRATION:

A fisherman who was out of fellowship with the Lord was at sea with his godless companions when a storm came up and threatened to sink their ship. His friends begged him to pray; but he demurred, saying, "It's been a long time since I've done that or even entered a church." At their insistence, however, he finally cried out, "O Lord, I haven't asked anything of you in 15 years, and if you help us now and bring us safely to land, I promise I won't bother you again for another 15!"

Although this story at first evokes a smile, it is sobering to realize that prayer is often an escape mechanism rather than a way of life. This may be true even of believers who call on God only when they've reached the end of their rope and there seems to be no other way to solve their problems.

5. We must remember that our prayer life is a “lifestyle” and we should engage in it as often as we can.

6. Once we have found a quiet place to pray, it is time to move on to the prayer itself.

II. SECOND, WHAT SHOULD OUR PRAYERS CONSIST OF?

1. Of course, when we pray, there are at least two elements that should be included in our prayer.

a. First, we should start out our prayer by addressing God the Father (Mt. 6:9-14; Lk. 11:1-2) and lastly, we need to conclude our prayer by offering it in the name of Jesus Christ.

• “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17).

2. But what about the prayer itself? What should be included besides those two elements?

3. For most people, this is where the frustration of prayer comes in. They struggle with what to say to God?

4. Some people complain that their prayer life consists of the:

a. Same words day after day.

b. Same emotion day after day.

c. Their prayer life is more like a ritual than a life changing experience with the Lord.

5. If you suffer from this type of prayer life, hold on to your hat, because I am going to offer you some ideas that can help you and I enhance our prayer lives

TO ENHANCE OUR PRAYER LIFE, WE SHOULD HAVE BALANCE.

1. While we are engaged in prayer, we should spend some time in different spiritual categories.

HERE ARE FOUR CATEGORIES THAT SHOULD ACCOMPANY OUR PRAYERS.

A. FIRST, WE SHOULD OFFER GOD ADORATION IN OUR PRAYERS.

1. Adoration means worshipping God. We should start our prayers by worshipping God.

• “This, then, is how you should pray: ”‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” (Mt. 6:9) .

a. By using the word “hallowed”, Jesus is expressing the “holiness of God." His prayer began with adoration and worship.

2. How can we worship God in prayer?

a. Start off by telling Him how wonderful He is and how you adore Him and how much you love Him.

b. Read a praise psalm (Psalm 104:1; 103:1-6; 100).

c. Sing God a song.

• “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise” (Jam. 5:13).
• Psalm 96:1-3

3. When we spend about 5 or 10 minutes in adoration to God, our hearts begin to soften, and we experience peace. We can begin to experience the presence of God in our lives.

B. SECOND, WE SHOULD OFFER CONFESSION IN OUR PRAYERS.

1. We need to ask God to forgive us of our sins.

• “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:8, 9).

2. What happens when we ask God for forgiveness?

3. We experience the freedom of forgiveness. The guilt of our sins are wiped away. Once our sins are forgiven, we know that sin cannot hinder our prayers.

C. THIRD, WE SHOULD OFFER THANKSGIVING IN OUR PRAYERS.

1. The Bible says in (1 Thess. 5:18) that we are to “give thanks in all circumstances.”

a. Do you remember the ten lepers described in (Lk. 17)? They begged Jesus to heal them, but when He did, only one of them bothered to thank Jesus. Jesus asked, “Where are the other nine?” I am confident that the other nine were thankful. They had to be. But nine lepers didn’t take the time to tell Jesus thanks. And that mattered to Jesus.

2. We have so many things to be thankful for as God’s children--our salvation, our families, our material and spiritual blessings, our answered prayers, our health and our church family.

3. We should spend time in our prayers just simply thanking God for all that He has done for us.

D. FOURTH, WE SHOULD OFFER SUPPLICATION IN OUR PRAYERS.

1. After adoring God, confessing our sins, and thanking Him for His goodness, we are in the right frame of mind to ask God for what we need.

• The Bible says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil. 4:6).

2. Nothing is too big or too small for God to handle. When we are in need of something, we should not hesitate to ask God for it.

3. Should we bother God with the same request over and over?

• Read the parable of the persistent widow (Lk. 18:1f).

ILLUSTRATION:

C. H. Spurgeon once said, "Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so casually; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might."

4. When praying for others, I break my prayers into three categories.

a. Family…I pray for my immediate and church family.

b. Ministry…I pray for the church.

c. Personal…I pray for godly character—the fruits of the Spirit…etc.

CONCLUSION:

1. Prayer is one of the greatest blessings that we have as Christians. We do not want a prayer life that is dull and meaningless. We want to put our hearts into every prayer.

2. If you need help in your prayer life, then I challenge you to consider what I have said tonight.

a. Pick an appropriate time and quiet place to begin your prayer.

b. Have a balance of categories in your prayer:

Offer God:

(1) Adoration.

(2) Confession.

(3) Thanksgiving.

(4) Supplication.

3. When we offer God our best, we receive His best. May God bless your prayer life each and every day.