Series Review:
Intro: What are Convictions?
•
Conviction —
Something you are so thoroughly convinced is absolutely true that you are
willing to take a stand for it regardless of the consequences
•
Convictions are
settled before a crisis
•
Convictions refuse
to bow even others do
•
If you don’t decide what you believe, something else will decide
for you
• A shaky belief system leads to a shaky life
Part 1: Convictions about
God
•
God is supreme —
(uncreated, infinite, unchanging)
•
God is good —
(holy, loving, just)
•
God is sovereign
— (all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present
• God is worth trusting
Part 2: Convictions about
the Bible
•
God’s Word is the ultimate authority — not culture,
opinions, or feelings (2 Timothy 3:16–17)
•
God’s Word is truth, not suggestion — it defines reality,
not just advice for life (John 17:17)
•
God’s Word must be applied, not just heard —
transformation comes through obedience (James 1:22)
•
God’s Word is the foundation for a stable life — it
anchors you when everything else shifts (Matthew 7:24–25)
•
Part 3: Convictions
about Money
•
God
owns everything — everything belongs to God, we are simply stewards of what He
has given to us (Psalm 24:1)
•
Money
is a tool — God is not opposed to us having more money, He is opposed to money
having more of us (1 Timothy 6:10)
•
God
is my Provider — my paycheck is not my provider, but God is
(Philippians
4:19)
•
Money
is temporary — Do not accumulate riches here on earth, but accumulate riches in
heaven (Matthew 6:19-20)
•
Being
blessed is a responsibility — God blesses us with the intent of us being a
blessing to others (Genesis 12:2)
Today we are talking about rock solid convictions that we as Christians should believe when it comes to prayer. There are a lot of things I could have chosen for us to discuss when it comes to this series, but I chose prayer. Why? Because if there is one area the enemy constantly attacks in believers, it is their prayer life.
Most believers believe
prayer matters, but many believers struggle to pray consistently. Prayer often
becomes:
• Occasional
•
Reactive
•
Rushed
• Emergency-only communication with God
We pray when:
•
Life
falls apart
•
Bills
stack up
•
Relationships
strain
•
Diagnoses
come
•
Anxiety
rises
• Difficulty hits
But prayer was never meant to be our last resort.
Prayer was always supposed to be our daily connection with God.
And what’s amazing is that the disciples walked with Jesus every single day. They heard Him teach, they watched Him heal people, they saw miracles, they watched Him lead crowds of people.
Yet, what was the one thing they asked Jesus to teach them? Prayer.
Luke 11:1 — “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.
So out of all the things they could of asked Jesus to teach them, why did they ask Him to pray? There must have been a reason… I believe it is because they recognized something powerful about the life of Jesus: His power flowed from His connection with the Father.
And if we are going to build rock-solid convictions, we must settle this truth:
I cannot live the life God has called me to live apart from prayer.
So lets look at 5 rock solid convictions that we should believe about prayer:
1.
Prayer is relationship, not a performance
Matthew 6:7–8 — “7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling
like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be
like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Jesus
teaches that prayer is not about performance or empty repetition. God is not
impressed by fancy words, long speeches, or spiritual sounding language. Prayer
is not about trying to impress God or to impress people. Prayer is about a
communal relationship with God.
When Jesus
taught His disciples to pray, He started with the words “Our Father…” — That
matters because it shows that prayer is personal.
Some people struggle
with prayer because they think:
•
I
don’t know how to pray…
•
I’m not spiritual enough…
•
I
don’t sound good when I pray…
But prayer is not about
how well we can perform it in front of others; it is simply communication with
God.
The power
of prayer is not found in perfect words. The power of prayer is found in the
God we are praying to.
Conviction:
•
God
desires connection more than performance
•
Prayer
is about relationship, not religious routine
2.
Prayer Reveals Dependence
John 15:5 — “Apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Prayer is
an act of dependence. Every time we pray, we are acknowledging “God I need you.”
In fact, one of the reasons prayer can be difficult is because our flesh likes
independence. We like:
•
Control
• Self-sufficiency
• Feeling capable
• Handling things
ourselves
But prayer
humbles us. Prayer reminds us that we cannot do life apart from God. A life without prayer is
a self-dependent life.
Even Jesus consistently
prayed:
• Before major decisions
• Before miracles
• In the Garden
• Before the cross
If Jesus prioritized
prayer, how much more should we?
Illustration: Prayer is to the spirit
what breathing is to the body. You can survive a little while holding your
breath, but eventually weakness sets in. The same thing happens spiritually
when believers disconnect from prayer.
Without prayer:
•
Discernment
weakens
•
Peace
weakens
•
Spiritual
strength weakens
•
Sensitivity
to God weakens
Prayer is a declaration
of dependance on God: we were never designed to live independently from God.
3.
Prayer invites God into every area of our life
Philippians
4:6-7 — “6 Don’t worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all
he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds
anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you
live in Christ Jesus.”
Notice that
it says “pray about everything.” That means that prayer is not just for a
crisis, tragedies, emergencies, or major life moments. Prayer belongs in the
everyday moments of life:
• Parenting
• Marriage
•
Finances
• Ministry
• School
• Relationships
• Work
•
Emotions
• Stress
• Decisions
Sometimes
we think, “God doesn’t care about something this small.” But if it matters to
you, it matters to Him.
God does
not just want access to part of your life, He wants involvement in every area
of your life.
Prayer
should be a part of everyday life: nothing is too small to bring before God
4.
Prayer changes us before it changes our
circumstances
One of
the hardest parts about prayer is waiting. Sometimes we pray and situations do
not immediately change. If we are not careful, discouragement can settle in.
But prayer
is not only about changing circumstances. Prayer is about changing us.
Prayer changes:
•
Our
perspective
•
Our
trust
•
Our
peace
•
Our
surrender
• Our dependence on God
Look at Jesus in
Gethsemane.
Luke 22:42 — “Not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Jesus entered prayer
burdened, but He left prayer surrendered. The cross was not removed, but strength came
through prayer.
Many times
prayer does not immediately remove the battle, but prayer strengthens us in the
middle of it.
As
believers many of you know exactly what that feels like:
• The situation remained
difficult
• The pressure did not
instantly disappear
• The answer did not come
immediately
But somehow:
• Peace came
• Strength came
•
Grace came
• Endurance came
Prayer often strengthens
us before the circumstances ever change
5.
A prayer-less life is a dangerous life
One of the
most dangerous things spiritually is looking alive outwardly while slowly
disconnecting inwardly.
It is
possible to attend church, serve faithfully, know Scripture, look spiritually
mature, and still lose intimacy
with God.
Because activity is not
intimacy.
The enemy understands
the importance of prayer. That is why one of his greatest strategies is
distraction. If he cannot destroy your faith, he will try to distract your
focus. He knows that if he can disconnect us from God, then we will grow to be
weak spiritually
But when we build
consistent prayer lives, we grow in:
• Peace
•
Wisdom
• Discernment
• Intimacy with God
TAKEAWAYS
I. Spend intentional daily
time in prayer
II.
Bring
everything to God, not just emergencies
III.
Allow
God to shape you through prayer
IV.
Prioritize
your connection with God over religious routine
