CORE4: Devoted to Prayer
Life-Giver Church exists to know Christ and make Him known in Windsor Ontario. We do this as a church family by adhering to 4 core values, God’s Word, Prayer, Missions/Church Planting and Discipleship. This installation of CORE4 will deal with the importance of a devotion to prayer.
Why We Pray
Our first ever teaching series at Life-Giver Church started way back on January 12th 2016 entitled, “Acts of God.” It was a teaching series through the book of Acts and what really struck us as we walked through the book was the importance and dependency on God that was manifested in the prayers of His people. If you only did a surface reading of the book of Acts you would soon discover that these people prayed, a lot!
Through the prayers of God’s people prison doors were flung open, crippled men jumped and danced for joy, whole families received eternal life and most importantly, God’s Kingdom exploded in supernatural growth.
But all these wonderful, miraculous things are not the main reason we pray. We pray because we love God and want to know Him more! That was the heart of the early Church, they were obsessed with Christ and wanted more of Him. The miracles, healings, salvations and reconciliation we see as a result of our prayers are only a by product of our devotion to God in prayer. True prayer flows out of a heart that loves God and wants more of HIM, not more stuff. If we enter His presence to just ask for more stuff, without sincerely desiring to know Him more, we are like ungrateful children who can’t wait for their parents to die so they can get their inheritance. Our inheritance in Christ, is GOD! To be with Him forever and ever. If you don’t want to draw close to God now in prayer, what makes you think you’d even like Heaven? That’s all we’ll be doing in eternity, basking in the presence of God and worshipping Him forever!
What Prayer is NOT
It’s important to take a minute and discuss what prayer is not.
Prayer is not the lottery:
God is not a cosmic slot machine. He does bless His people, but that is not God’s primary priority in your life. His overarching will for His people is that they be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:29) If God doesn’t answer your prayer for a new Mercedes Benz don’t go about saying “prayer doesn’t work.” Saying prayer doesn’t for because God didn’t give you that certain thing, is like saying, “Parents don’t work because they didn’t buy me a new car.”
Prayer is not an excuse to sin/justify your decisions:
Some things are just not worthy of prayer. For example, praying something like, “God, should I divorce my wife and marry the receptionist at work” is not a valid prayer. It is silly and foolish. And yes, there have been cases of people ACTUALLY praying that prayer and ACTUALLY saying, “God told me to divorce my wife.” God’s word has spoken on the issue, and if you pray about it and receive a different teaching, count on it, it wasn’t God speaking! (1 John 4:1)
Prayer is not a Crystal Ball:
God is not a cosmic crystal ball whose sole purpose is to tell you who you should specifically marry by surrounding them with a magical spiritual aura only you can see. God is not Miss Cleo waiting in Heaven to reveal to you every detail about the future. God is sovereign over all, and it is very rare that He reveals ever detail about the future to us.
What Prayer Is
Prayer is a Conversation
When we pray, we are talking to God directly. Prayer is an ongoing dialogue between you and God in which both parties communicate. God’s ways are not our ways and so the way He communicates with us is varied and creative. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) Although He may not speak directly in audible words, if you are His sheep you will recognize His voice. Whether it is in a inward prompt or a piece of knowledge that rises up in you, His sheep know when He is speaking.
Prayer is Power
For the pleasure of God, He has determined to show His power through the humble prayers of His people. James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” There is great power in prayer that God delights in releasing when His people call on Him. Situations change, healing occurs and we receive victory over sin through prayer.
Prayer is Warfare
Because there is great power in prayer, God uses it to push back and destroy the powers of darkness. When we pray for our loved ones to trust Jesus for salvation or for deliverance from sinful habits we are putting ourselves on the front line of a fierce war.
We Pray to Know Christ and Make Him Known
Ultimately we are devoted to prayer because we are devoted to Christ. We want to know Him more, experience the power of His resurrection and make Him known to every soul who will listen. Windsor Ontario needs the prayers of God’s people, our city is in desperate need for the Gospel, and for this reason we bend the knee to the King of Kings and plead for mercy on behalf of our city!
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