We continued our series on Spiritual Habits by taking a look at prayer. Asking students to pray can be almost a foolproof way to get them quiet and I think a lot of times it is because students are unsure or have misguided views on what prayer is. We used the night to talk a little bit about what prayer is and what it isn't as well as giving them a model that they can use during their own prayer time. Below you will find some notes of the evening as well as some follow up questions that you may want to use with your students throughout the week.
Prayer is not...
1)
Prayer is not a show. In Matthew 6:5-7 Jesus tells his disciples, “And when you
pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. And when you pray do
not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of
their many words.”
2)
Prayer is not a vending machine. James 4:3 tells us, “When you ask, you do not
receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on
your pleasures.” Prayer is not a case of stepping us to this cosmic vending
machine, putting in our quarter, pressing the buttons for what we want and then
waiting as the coils turn and it falls down and we pick it up.
Prayer is...
1)
Prayer is talking with God. “Hannah
replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or
beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord.”1 Samuel 1:15
2)
It’s Supernatural. Revelation 5:8, “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the
twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were
holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”
3)
It’s connecting to God. Jeremiah 29:12-13; “When you call on me, when you come
and pray to me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.”
The Model
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on
earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our
debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from the evil one.’
A – Adoration (Praising God For Who He Is)
C – Confession (Confessing our Sins)
T-
Thanksgiving (Praising God For What He Has Done)
S – Supplication (Asking God for our needs)