Jesus The Power of God 2 – The Prayer Connection
Scripture Reading: (John 17:15-23) (Please read and discuss)
Introduction
The secret to the power in the life of Christ was His commitment to prayer. In our scripture reading from John 17 we see that the heart of Christ in His prayer for us is Divine ALIGNMENT. That we be one with Christ and the Father. The scriptures in 1 John 2:6 admonish us to imitate the Lord.
Daniel Lemky in his message was clear on how prayer changed his own life. It all began with what I will call the “Prayer of ALIGNMENT” that he uttered from his lips while driving on the highway in the summer of 2013. If I am to quote him directly, he said “I decided to pray…” If we know and agree on the primacy of prayer, why are prayer meetings the least attended or promoted among church events today? If we must see the power of God, prayer must become front, right and centre of our personal lives. As Daniel mentioned, Jesus said His house shall be called a house of prayer and we as individuals are the temple of God according to 1 Corinthians 6:19 and so it must start with us. The fire of Prayer as a cry for Divine Alignment must rise up from within each of us.
In our last session we touched briefly on the connection of prayer to power. Today we will review some recorded prayers of the Lord Jesus and Apostle Paul while unravelling the relationship of prayer to Divine Power.
Discussion
Jesus and Prayer
Read the scripture verses provided and make notes on what you observe. What do you see? What stands out to you? What can we learn from the Lord Jesus about the practice of prayer?
- Luke 5:15-16
- Matthew 26:36-43
- Mark 1:35-39
- John 17:1-9
The Apostle Paul’s Prayers for Divine Alignment
Paul was a man of prayer as he testified of this himself. He encouraged believers to “pray always” in the epistle to the Church in Ephesus. After reading the verses provided below, make an attempt to identify all Paul’s prayer requests for the believers?
Example answer from “Ephesians 1 verse 17” Paul asked for spiritual wisdom for the saints.
- Ephesians 1:15-21. Make a list of what Paul was asking God to do for all believers
- Ephesians 3:14-21. Make a list of what Paul asked God to do for all believers
- Can you begin from today praying this list for your own personal life? It works!
For exercise, let us pray a sample prayer together from Ephesians 3:16
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom everything in Heaven and on Earth is named, I ask that you grant me, (insert yours or other person’s name here) according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in my inner man. That Christ may dwell in my heart through faith that I may be rooted and grounded in love in Jesus name.
Don’t stop at yourself. Pray for your spouse, family members and friends as applicable. You can adapt this sample for any one else, a group of people as you feel led praying through the entire verse of scripture. You may also use other versions of the Bible such as NLT. I have used the New King James Version, NKJV for my adaptation.
What happens to the praying Christian?
- Individual CHANGE by ALIGNMENT to God is what happens. See Luke 9:28-31. If you are not changing you’re not really praying. You are probably only praying for your material needs.
- Try praying for the spiritual things in Paul’s prayer for a number of days as we enumerated above and see what happens.
- Like with what happened in Daniel’s life story, wherever there is genuine heartfelt cry to God for Him to invade our lives we begin to change and conform to His will. Prayer changes the one praying first. Daniel’s prayer of alignment was not for money, a new car or house (which are not bad things in themselves). Prayer seeking alignment with God was the trigger.
Conclusion
Prayers for Divine Alignment seek God’s spiritual purpose in our lives first. At JFC we believe that intentional Prayer reveals divine Purpose and where there is Purpose, God gives the Power for accomplishment. When we are aligned with God we change, we grow in Christ and we enjoy peace that passes understanding. Divine Alignment is Divine Power.
Prayer
- Pray for yourself to become a person of prayer this year
- Pray for personal revival
- Pray for one another as needed
- Let us cry out to the Lord to provide $90,000 as we approach the end of construction of our new location
Announcements
- Next Small Groups is February 17 2021
- Please pray that we can raise $90,000 as we work hard to finish our building. If you know anyone who loves the Kingdom, reach out to them to help us. Can you help?