•GOOD MORNING
•Why do you pray?
•This month (and next) is devoted to that topic … prayer … so we should know how to answer that question and it should be backed by the truth of God’s Word.
•Proper doctrine (instruction) is important as we seek to understand our faith and devote ourselves to this new life.
•The earliest believers spent countless years ironing out the details and truths of the faith … do we seek to understand them?
•Even the secular world holds a minimum standard for education (reading and writing)
•Our own “Christian literacy” enables us to not only understand what is true but to combat what is false
•2 John: 9-10
•Distinctions matter and being able to distinguish the truths about God provide foundation which we need in order to stand properly
•Romans 1-11 … hearty doctrine; Romans 12-16 the application of it
•Our prayer should be first and foremost for God and because of God
•Matt. 10: 37
•Outside of Christ, self preservation becomes the only goal worth pursuing. Christ asks us to fight this urge and to find our life through sacrifice
•Romans 12: 1
•Psalm 79: 9
•In prayer, we approach the throne of God’s presence
•We come to God on His terms and His doctrines/rules
•Rule #1: Have no other God’s before Me
•Matt. 6: 9n
•The prayer Christ instructs us to puts God at the forefront
•Acknowledging God’s sovereignty and glory are first and foremost
•Deut. 4: 39
•Proverbs 23: 7
•Do you consider the way in which God demonstrates His sovereignty in your life? The particulars of how He has brought you out of slavery to sin and death
•Do you remember the great works you’ve seen and experienced?
•John 15: 13
•If the Bible teaches us one thing it’s that man has a tendency to forget God. Forget who He is, forget how He provides, how He leads, how He saves
•Is God central in the book about your life?
•We should all have time dedicated toward acknowledging God (through prayer) in our lives
QUESTIONS:
- WHAT IS YOUR SELF EVALUATION OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND OUTWORKING OF DOCTRINE?
- WHY DO YOU PRAY? HOW CAN THAT ANSWER BECOME MORE MATURE?
- WHAT POSITION DOES GOD HOLD IN PRAYER OR BEHIND ALL THAT YOU DO?
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