Sermon Tone Analysis

Praying Scripture

Introduce myself: How I came to Christ, and then eventually to the ranch, and where I am now.

The joy of knowing the truth that no matter how much we seek after God and desire to know Him, and even if we pursue Him and the knowledge of Him with all the joy and passion with which our human capacity allows, we will never fully comprehend and understand the great God of the Universe.

But I am excited to spend the rest of eternity worshipping and fellowshipping with HIM.

What is prayer?

A most basic definition of prayer is to speak to God, or communicating to God by thought and word.

“A tool that God uses to empower human endeavor with supernatural results.”

Prayer is a request- asking for something or requesting that a truth be recognized.

“A means of accessing the power of God, for the glorification of God.”

Richard Foster (Quaker) says, “Prayer catapults us onto the frontier of the spiritual life.”

A complete study and exposition of prayer would require a great deal more time, but I will likely refer back to this definition periodically throughout our time together.

Foster, “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.”

A professing believer recently told me that their attitude toward God has been one which says, “you are going to do what you do, the way you do it, when you want to do it, so just go ahead and get on with it.”

Justification: Union w/ Christ

Clothed in the righteousness of the perfect Lamb of God.

Sanctification: Communion w/ Christ

Positionally, we are sanctified (justified)

Practically, we are being sanctified (progressive sanctification) the process we are now in as sons of God, adopted into His family, but still in the flesh of our sinful bodies).

Ultimately, we will one day be glorified, and become like Him.

In our new bodies in the New Heaven and New Earth.

At this point we will no longer sin, but we will not be God.

WE will simply agree with Him and be perfectly aligned with His will and His character (Holy, Holy, Holy).

Abiding in Christ and He in Us

this happens by the work of the Holy Spirit!

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Already and Not Yet!

We are already sanctified and we are not yet fully sanctified.

But it is a continual process in the life of a believer, of which we have a part in accomplishing.

(Fight, Press On, Do, Don’t Do, buffett my bodyetc. .

.)

2 Cor 12:9

The Promise

John

James 1:5

Why should you or would you pray Scripture?

Praying Scripture: 12 Reasons You Should and 3 Strategies How by Andy Naselli

It Glorifies God the Father

It Glorifies God the Father

Jesus did

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A quote of David’s ,

The early church did

Quote of . . .

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It helps you focus on what is most important

It helps you focus on praying

It helps you focus on praying

It is entirely truthful

(you can still go wrong here if you mishandle it.)

(you can still go wrong here if you mishandle it.)

It kindles your affections

The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing

upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God; searching,

as it were, into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public

ministry of the Word; not for the sake or preaching on what I had meditated upon;

but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul.

The result I have found to be

almost invariably this, that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to

confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that

though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned

almost immediately more or less into prayer.

George Mueller (as Quoted by John Piper in Desiring God)

It helps you pray confidently

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It helps you express yourself appropriately

Dan

It keeps your prayers fresh and specific

John Piper says,

If I try to pray for people or events without having the word in front of me

guiding my prayers, then several negative things happen.

One is that I tend to be

very repetitive from day to day and hour to hour, and I just pray the same things

all the time. . . .

But the Bible . . . .

gives me biblical things to pray for so that I’m

not praying with empty and vague requests like “God bless them” and “God bless

that.”

Rather, I’m asking for specific things that the Bible commends.

It keeps your prayers in Scriptural proportion

Praying various genres and intentions within the divinely inspired Word helps us not get stuck in a theological rut or consumed with spiritual tunnel vision.

It helps you understand Scripture better

Strategies for Praying Scripture

Just do it!

Which sounds good but some added insights might help.

Rejoice

Repent

Request

Also offer copies of Piper’s “Tips for Praying the Word” article.

Practice:

We have learned to pray by imitation.

Example of Old English prayer vs. Coffee shop, storefront church today.

Old English- The Valley of Vision page 56

Coffee Shop Prayer- Jesus, I just feel like I need to tell you how much I love you.

You have been such a good friend to me.

Sometimes I get bogged down with stuff, but you are always there to help me get back on track.

You are the best!

I can’t think of anyone I would rather have as my tour guide through life than you.

Thank you for being the sunlight that brightens my day.

Praying Scripture Illustrated:

Ephesians 1:

Rejoice:

Did you hear what we just prayed?

What in this passage can we rejoice in?

AND YOU BETTER BE ABLE TO FIND SOMETHING IN THIS PASSAGE TO REJOICE IN!

Repent: