Part 2 “Prayer and Worship” — Sunday, June 12, 2022
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (ESV) 3For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
Our discipleship to Jesus is equal to being trained as a soldier.
1 Timothy 4:7 (ESV) Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;
Spiritual Disciplines: “available, concrete activities designed to render bodily beings such as we ever more sensitive and receptive to the Kingdom of Heaven brought to us in Christ.”[1] ~ Dallas Willard
Desires — Thoughts — Beliefs — Actions — Habits — Character
John 15:4-5 (ESV) “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
Prayer is simply communion with God.
“To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.”[2] ~ Richard Foster
“To ask “rightly” involves transformed passions. In prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God’s thoughts after him: to desire the things he desires, to love the things he loves, to will the things he wills.”[3] ~ Richard Foster
Prayer is simply communion with God.
Forms of Prayer
Simple Prayer
Scripted Prayer
Fixed Hour Prayer
Simple Prayer: Time, Place, Plan
Scripted Prayer
Fixed Hour Prayer
Luke 5:16 (NLT) But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
John 5:19 (ESV) So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
Simple Prayer
Scripted Prayer: Psalms, Liturgy, Prayers
Fixed Hour Prayer
Acts 2:42 (ESV) And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Acts 4:23-31 (ESV) When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Scripted Prayers: The Lord’s Prayer, The Psalms, The Scriptures, The Prayers of the Saints
Simple Prayer
Scripted Prayer
Fixed Hour Prayer: Morning, Noon, Evening
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV) Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Acts 3:1 (ESV) Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
Worship is a life completely oriented around the character and presence of God.
Romans 12:1 (ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
“In worship we engage ourselves with, dwell upon, and express the greatness, beauty, and goodness of God through thought and use of words, rituals, and symbols… If in worship we are met by God himself, our thoughts and words turn to perception and experience of God, who is then really present to us in some degree of his greatness, beauty, and goodness.”[4] ~ Dallas Willard
Worship is a life completely oriented around the character and presence of God.
Forms of Worship
Corporate Worship
Gratitude Journaling
Practicing the Presence
Corporate Worship
Gratitude Journaling
Practicing the Presence
Psalm 122:1 (ESV) I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
Corporate Worship
Gratitude Journaling
Practicing the Presence
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV) Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Gratitude Journaling: What/Who, Express Why, Specify Impact
Corporate Worship
Gratitude Journaling
Practicing the Presence
Philippians 4:4-7 (ESV) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The goal of prayer and worship is to live completely oriented around the character and presence of God through intimate communion with Him.
[1] Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, pg. 252
[2] Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, pg. 33
[3] Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, pg. 33
[4] Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, pg. 177-178