Prayer lesson 02: Prayer is as Easy as ABC
Welcome back, friend! Perhaps by now you are convicted that prayer is an integral important part of the Christian life, as much as eating and breathing. Previously we have studied Jesus' model prayer He taught His disciples. Today, we will discuss more in depth on what we can do to prayer more powerfully and effectively. Don't worry, though. You will find by the end of today's lesson that prayer is easy as ABC!
There are some traditional types of prayers that you should be aware of:
- Commitment (Proverbs 16:3; Revelation 2:10) - An example prayer would be to pray for someone who is sick - we commit the how and when to the Lord.
- Surrender (Proverbs 3:5-6; Matthew 26:42)- An example prayer would be to pray that we lay aside self to do God's will.
- Repentance (2 Chronicles 7:14; 1 John 1:9) - An example prayer would be when we tell the Lord how sorry we are, that our sins crucified Christ
Today we will go over a different type of prayer - the prayer of reception. This type of prayer has three components:
- Ask
- Believe
- Claim
Let's go over each component one by one.
1. Ask.
Let's turn to Luke 11:9 and John 14:14; 24-27.
- According to these verses, what does Jesus encourage us to do?
1. Ask.
Let's turn to Luke 11:9 and John 14:14; 24-27.
- According to these verses, what does Jesus encourage us to do?
- Answer (highlight to read): He encourages us to ask in His name.
- According to these verses, what does Jesus promise when we do this?
Let's turn to James 4:2-3.
- According to these verses, why do we not receive?
- Answer: We will receive.
Let's turn to James 4:2-3.
- According to these verses, why do we not receive?
- Answer: We do not receive because we ask amiss.
Note that the key phrase in asking when we pray to God is to ask in Jesus' name. God is not a cosmic Santa Claus, giving us anything and everything because we ask for it. God will not grant prayers that ask for wealth or fame, for example.
Let's turn to John 15:7-10.
- According to these verses, what must abide in us to be able to do Jesus's will?
Let's turn to Mark 11:24; 1 John 5:13-15; and James 1:6.
- According to these verses, what must we do next in after we ask God in prayer?
Let's turn to John 15:7-10.
- According to these verses, what must abide in us to be able to do Jesus's will?
- Answer: His words must abide in us.
What are the words of Jesus? The Bible, of course! You will find that when you study the Bible daily, not only will you change, but your prayers will change also as you abide more and more in Jesus!
2. Believe.Let's turn to Mark 11:24; 1 John 5:13-15; and James 1:6.
- According to these verses, what must we do next in after we ask God in prayer?
- Answer: We must believe.
Isn't this step so simple? If we ask God prayerfully in Jesus' name, we must believe in faith that He will hear and answer our prayer!
3. Claim.
Let's turn to John 11:41-44.
- According to these verses, what did Jesus do before He resurrected Lazarus?
- According to this verse, what does Paul the Apostle exhort us to do?
3. Claim.
Let's turn to John 11:41-44.
- According to these verses, what did Jesus do before He resurrected Lazarus?
- Answer: He thanked God the Father.
- According to this verse, what does Paul the Apostle exhort us to do?
- Answer: Thank God without ceasing.
Did you catch what Jesus did? He thanked God for the miracle before it even happened! Jesus gives us an example for us when we pray. After we ask in Jesus' name, we believe that we will receive, and then we claim what we will receive with thanksgiving. When we claim, we receive. For example, when you claim your baggage at the airport, you receive it.
Friend, prayer really is as easy as ABC! As you study the Bible, you will find there are so many of God's promises you can claim. A person once counted all the promises in the Bible and came up with 3573 promises. I don't know if that is the exact number of promises, but I do know for sure that there definitely is a lot of them!
Will you commit to learning Jesus' will by studying His word daily to learn to abide more and more in Him? Will you commit the ABCs of prayer to heart and pray to God every day?
Friend, prayer really is as easy as ABC! As you study the Bible, you will find there are so many of God's promises you can claim. A person once counted all the promises in the Bible and came up with 3573 promises. I don't know if that is the exact number of promises, but I do know for sure that there definitely is a lot of them!
Will you commit to learning Jesus' will by studying His word daily to learn to abide more and more in Him? Will you commit the ABCs of prayer to heart and pray to God every day?
