Wednesday 8 May 2013

Jesus Challenge:

Get each member of your cell to write down a list of names of people they know who don't know Jesus and commit to pray for those people persistently. Spend time praying each week as a cell that they would come to know salvation through Christ. Brainstorm some ways that you can be reaching into the lives of these people as a cell.

Read: Matthew 7:9-11, Ephesians 3:20-21

Imagine if Jesus taught us to pray without expecting God to answer. It might sound something like this:

 

"Our father in heaven,

Hallowed be your name

If it is possible, would your kingdom come,

Maybe would your will be done?

on Earth as it is in heaven.

If it is your will, and if you could, would you provide us today our daily bread?

If you can would you forgive us our debts

as we also have forgiven our debtors?

And, if it is your will, lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from the evil one."

The Lord's Prayer

New Unexpectant Version

 

Can you imagine if this was the sort of prayer that Jesus prayed when His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray? Can you imagine if this weak, doubt filled prayer was all Jesus could come up with? Praise God that Jesus taught us to pray with confidence and with the expectation that God will work. How often do we revert to this type of doubting, half-hearted prayer though? Do we really pray as if we confidently expect God to answer our prayers?

 

This is Jesus' point in today's reading from Matthew 7 though. Have a look closely at what Jesus is saying. If we, people who are broken by the fall and (apart from Christ) sinful at heart, give our children good gifts how much more will God, the perfectly holy, perfectly good ruler of the universe, give His people good gifts. Do you see why this means we can pray confidently and expectantly? Our trust and our faith when we pray is in the person of God, our perfectly good, perfectly kind God. We can truly pray expecting God to answer because of who He is.

 

But that's not quite enough is it. God might be the kindest, most good being in the universe (and He is!) but if He was powerless to act we would have no reason to pray with confidence. Ephesians blasts that out of the water! Not only is God good, He is able to do more than we could possibly ask or imagine! Our God is powerful and more than able to act to answer prayer and to keep His promises.

Turn your mind to your own prayer life. Do you pray confidently, truly believing that God will act? Do you pray with expectant faith, knowing that God is good and more than able to answer your prayers?

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¥ Praise God that He is good and able to do more than we could ask or imagine! Pray that He would grow your faith in Him and that He would help you to pray boldly, confidently and expectantly.

¥ Pray for the ministry of Shiloh Church Ministries in India. Pray that God would protect and encourage the orphans which they look after. Pray that they would preach the Word of God boldly and with power and that many might come to faith in Christ.

 

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Often we are not bold or ambitious in our prayers because we don't truly expect that God will answer our prayers. How should we pray differently if we truly expect that God will answer our prayers?

2. What are some practical ways that we can encourage one another to pray with expectancy?