February 6 , 2005
"The Hindrances to Prayer II"
The Greatest Adventure—Part 5
1 Peter 3:7
1. Religion without a relationship.
Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
—John 14:6 (NLT)
2. Sin.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
—Isaiah 59:2
3. Pride.
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
—James 4:6
"There are many ways for pride to slip into our lives..."
Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.
—Proverbs 16:18 (NLT)
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else: "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.'
—Luke 18:9-12 (NLT)
"But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.' I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored."
—Luke 18:13-14 (NLT)
4. Broken relationships.
In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard.
—1 Peter 3:7 (NLT)
"God cares about all your relationships."
..."I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
—Matthew 25:40
5. Busyness.
Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.
—Ephesians 5:16-17 (NLT)
"Ask yourself: Have I accomplished God's priorities?"
He said to his disciples, "The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields."
—Matthew 9:37-38 (NLT)
"A schedule that is too busy for God is too busy."
6. Selfishness.
And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
—James 4:3 (NLT)
"Say to God: 'Let me be a part of what You are blessing,' instead of, 'Please bless what I am doing.'"
Lifework
Prayer is submitting to the Lordship of Christ. When we submit to Him, He calls us to confess our sins to Him that we might be cleansed. The natural response to this morning's message is to examine our lives and seek His cleansing. God wants to hear our prayers and respond. Let's not put roadblocks in the way. Paul, in his instructions to the Corinthian church, told them to judge themselves.
But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
—1 Corinthians 11:31-32
Putting Prayer Into Practice—Week 5
Small Group Personal Study
Getting Started
- Describe your past week in terms of a weather forecast. For example: sunny and warm, stormy, in a thick fog. Why?
- Who was your best friend growing up? How long were, or have you been, friends with them? Why were you friends?
Digging Deeper: Matthew 6: 5-15
- What are Jesus' major concerns as he teaches his disciples about prayer?
- What is the danger of praying in public?
- What is the danger of rote prayers? Why did Jesus give us this prayer? Why might it be dangerous to pray it?
- Jesus gave his disciples a model of how to pray. What are the various aspects of prayer contained in it?
- Why is confession an important part of prayer? Why is forgiveness an important part of prayer? How serious is God about forgiving others and why?
- The Lord's Prayer is an example of the D.A.T.A. method of prayer—Describe God; Ask for forgiveness; Thank Him; Ask for things in our life. Why is describing God important to Him? Why is it important to the one praying?
Applying It To My Life
- Small group exercise: Use the D.A.T.A. model of prayer as a group. Using one sentence prayers, allow each person in the group to add to the "Describing God" segment, the "Asking for forgiveness" segment, etc.
- Individual exercise: Write out your prayer using the D.A.T.A. model, with 5 sentences for each letter. How was writing out your prayer different from just praying.