7H H1 Prayer

Hello there friends, students, and of course fellow learners of God's Word

I am Joshua, instructor for the day, and I'm so excited to start discussing with you the

first habit. And we know that in this course, I'm going to share with you the seven habits of highly

affected Christian. And so we are going now to talk about habit number one, which is the habit of prayer

Now, prayer is among the most powerful spiritual tools that a Christian can use in his journey

toward the kingdom of God. Now listen to this, no person can claim that they are a Christian without developing the

habit of prayer. Now, the first question we are going to ask is, what is prayer? Right

This is a very important element. If we are going to understand or we are going to develop the habit of prayer, we must first

define what prayer is. Well, in its simplest term, prayer simply means talking to God

It is a way for us to communicate to God. To answer our first question, what prayer is, we need to first know the power of prayer

Prayer is a divine weapon that we can always use to win our spiritual battle

We can read from the scripture, the different powers of prayer and how it changed the lives

of many men and women in the Bible. I have here 10 items to show you the power of prayer

So let's go to the first one. The first one is the power to bring a dead person back to life

I have just listed the verses here, so I'll give that to you as an assignment to check

each one of them. So that's the first one, the power to bring a dead person back to life

The power to heal the sick. The power to experience divine protection

The power to conceive a child. So those couples who are having difficulty in conceiving a child, they can pray

And there's also the power to stop the rain. The power to be forgiven of sin

The power to make the sun stand still. The power to attain blessings

The power to obtain wisdom. And the power to bring fire down from heaven

As you can see, these are the powers of prayer. However, we need to realize that the source of its power is not us, right

Don't think that prayers are powerful just because of us, just because of our ability

how righteous we are. No, prayers are actually powerful because of God

When we pray, we are tapping into the power of Yahweh. It is He who grants our prayers and it is through His divine will and purpose that our

prayers are granted. So the next question we should answer is, how should we pray

How should we pray? We now know that we all need to pray and not faint

We read that in Luke 18 verse 1. Now the next question we need to ask is, how

Thankfully, the same question came into the minds of the apostles. They asked Christ, Lord, teach us to pray

That's Luke 11 verse 1. Christ responded with what we now know as the model prayer

In this prayer, Christ gave us an outline of how we ought to pray to God

Take note, this prayer is not the exact words that we should repetitively utter, right

For God does not want us to use vain repetitions. This prayer is rather a model and a guide to help us know what to pray for

So let us take a look at the model prayer of Christ and learn how to pray

These are some of the high points that we need to take note of. So this guideline is taken from Matthew 6

We know that the model prayer is found there after the apostles asked Christ how to pray

The first thing we need to know about the model prayer is this

How to pray, number one, we don't pray to impress other people

We don't pray to impress other people. We read in Matthew 6 verse 5

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, For they love to pray standing in synagogues and on the corners of the streets

That they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward

So when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, Where they pray so that they could impress other people

So that's the key number one in how to pray. Number two, do not use vain repetition

I have mentioned this a while ago that we should not use vain repetition

We read in Matthew 6 verse 7, And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do

For they think that they will be heard for their many words

Now what's so wrong about vain repetition? Vain repetition is like when you pray

You're repeating the same prayers over and over again Without really thinking about that prayer

Sometimes it is okay to repeat your prayers. You want to be consistent about it

You want to really show God that you are really serious about this prayer

But it only becomes bad, it becomes vain repetition When we simply talk and talk about a certain prayer

Without really knowing what it means. So that is prayer using vain repetition

Number next is, our prayer should be addressed to God the Father

All right, that's Yahweh. We read in Matthew 6 verse 9, In this manner, therefore pray

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Did you see that

Yahshua or Jesus Christ said that we must pray to the Father

We're not supposed to pray to dead people like those who declare sins

We don't pray to Saint Joseph, Saint Mary, Saint Francis, Saint John or whoever it is

Yahshua or Jesus Christ clearly told us that we must pray to the Father

Next, our prayers should start with praise to God and thanksgiving. Matthew 6 verse 9

In this manner, therefore pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name

You see, it is a mistake that some people would only pray when they needed something

Now, it is desirable for us to pray when we need something, okay

But if we are just simply praying and not remembering the goodness of God

His grace and favor that He has shown upon us, our prayers would be lacking

It's not complete. So the first thing that we should do when we pray

is that we should open it with praise and thanksgiving to God. That's why in Matthew 6 verse 9

the first thing that Christ said is to hallow God's name. That means to praise Him, to worship Him and to give thanks

Next is we ought to habitually pray for God's kingdom to be established here on earth

I think this is one of the many things that most prayers lack. They don't actually pray for God's kingdom to be established here on earth

And yet, Yahshua said in Matthew 6 verse 10, Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

You see, this world desperately needs a savior. And only Christ's second coming can bring the utopia we all have been dreaming of

That's why we must continually pray for God's kingdom to come and save this dying world once and for all

Next, we need to ask for God's will to be done in our lives

We just read a while ago, Matthew 6 verse 10, aside from asking for God's kingdom to come here on earth

we need to ask for His will to be done. God's will is perfect

And as Christians, we need to constantly strive to know His will

and to have the heart to obey Him. Next is we pray for God's physical and spiritual blessings

Matthew 6 verse 11 tells us, Give us this day our daily bread

We need to realize that God is the only true source of blessings

And we are all independent on Him. Next, ask for forgiveness of our sins

Matthew 6 verse 12 says, And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors

We are sinners and God's mercy is enough for us to be forgiven. However, we need to realize that there are conditions for God's forgiveness

Before we can earn God's forgiveness, we must first forgive others. Next is we need to pray for God's divine help to overcome sin

Let us not commit the mistake of believing that we can overcome sin by ourselves

We need God's help. Matthew 6 verse 13 tells us, Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one

Next, we need to pray for God's protection. Our enemy, the devil, is so powerful

And there is nothing in his mind but to destroy God's people

As powerful as he is, he is powerless against God. And through prayer, we can be protected from his evil schemes

We read in Matthew 6 verse 13, And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one

Finally, how to pray according to Matthew 6, the model prayer. We need to end our prayer with praises again

Acknowledging God that he alone has the power to grant our requests is vital

This enables us to develop the right attitude and mindset when praying

Matthew 6 verse 13 says there, And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever

Amen. So Christ is telling us to open our prayer with praises to God

And we must also end it with praises. These are some of the important points that we need to remember when praying

Here's an incredible truth about prayer. When we habitually pray, it changes the way we think

As we make our prayer a habit, it brings us closer to God

And we transform both our hearts and mind to become more like Yeshua or Jesus Christ

As you say your prayer, you will soon discover that it can change everything, including yourself

Prayer is not just a way to communicate with God. It is also a way to develop a healthy relationship with him

Now that we know how to pray from the model prayer, Matthew 6

the next question is how to develop the habit of prayer. There's no doubt that prayer does not come naturally

It is something that we all need to strive for. If we are not careful, our initial enthusiasm and motivation may eventually die down

For this reason, I would like to share with you some tips that we can use to develop the habit of prayer

Number one, pray before everything else. The Bible shows us that most of God's servants are morning people

They always make it a point to pray in the morning. Psalms 88 verse 13 tells us

It is very easy to forget to pray to God because of our busy schedules. So instead of saying, I have a lot of things to do that I don't have time to pray

we must say, I have a lot of things to do that I need to pray

Praying in the morning shows our priority in life. Before seeking earthly things, we need to seek God's kingdom first

as what was mentioned in Matthew 6 verse 33. And we can do that through prayer

Before you get out of bed, we need to bring our hands together and bend our knees to pray

Pray before anything else and this will set the tone for the rest of the day

Number two, never eat your meal without praying. We have been taught when we are still young that we need to pray before eating our meal

However, as we grow older, we tend to forget this fundamental habit

Make it a point that you don't eat your meal unless you say a prayer. Since eating a meal is already a habit

we can have a better chance of developing the habit of prayer when we do it together with eating

Number three, avoid distractions. When we pray, we need to focus on God

We need to give our 100% attention to Him. Distractions come in different forms

This may include our smartphones, television, books, and even sleepiness. If you really want to develop the habit of prayer, you need to eliminate all possible distractions

When you do that, you can concentrate more on God and your prayer

Number four, seek the support of others. Having the support of your family, spouse, and friends can have a significant impact on your prayer life

We tend to gain more motivation when we do something together. If you have prayer partners or groups

then it would be easier for you to establish a more consistent prayer habit

Number five, keep a prayer journal. Saying a prayer is good, but sometimes it is better to write down your prayers

This is very useful since you can actually read what you prayed for. Remember the story of King Hezekiah

When he received the letter of his enemy, he spread it before God and prayed for protection

Though not a letter of dread, we can still write our prayers to God

and spread them before His throne of grace. There are times that we tend to be more sincere with our prayers when we actually write them down

Number six, do a 30-day challenge. There's no doubt that developing a habit of prayer can be challenging

You can gain motivation by having a method to measure your progress. In this case, starting a 30-day prayer challenge

can help you develop a short-term goal for long-term changes. Set a new goal for praying

When you hit that goal, increase the level of difficulty. For example, from 5 minutes of prayer in one week

you can increase it to 10 minutes until you hit your goal. The important thing is that you gain progress

Though slowly, at least it is steady and sure. Have a prayerful attitude

The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. That's found in 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 16 to 18

However, this does not mean that we should pray without a pause. It only means that we should have a prayerful attitude

God is interested in what we have to say. God is interested when even the smallest details in our lives

The best thing about prayer is that we can always do it anytime, anywhere

We can pray silently whenever we have the opportunity. When we see someone in need, we can pray in our thoughts

When we achieve success in life, we can pray and thank God. When we encounter problems, we can simply pray and place them in God's hands

Pray as often as you can. It does not have to be lengthy

It can be as sweet as a 3-word sentence. Developing the habit of prayer is crucial when it comes to developing an intimate relationship with God

It is the highest privilege given to man that he can come before the throne of God

of this entire universe. It is so powerful that it can entirely change our lives

You can develop the habit of prayer. In a world full of distractions

developing a consistent and faithful habit of prayer can be difficult. But it is not impossible

God grants the ability to talk to him and we don't even have to set an appointment

With this in mind, it is crucial that we are able to take advantage of this wonderful gift from God

There is an endless list of things to pray for. We can never run out of things that we can bring up and share with God

The only problem is, are we willing to put in the time and energy to pray to God

You can develop the habit of prayer. Don't let Satan, anyone, or even yourself deceive that you can't do it

Our salvation depends on the type of relationship we have with God

And it is important that we strengthen that relationship with prayer. There are a lot of benefits that you can reap from praying

It will ultimately change your life, not just today, but also during the life to come

Alright, thank you so much for listening. Thank you, thank you, and I hope that you have learned a lot from this first lesson

the habit of prayer. And if you have any questions, just leave a message below

And if you have any comments, just write it down and I would be happy to read them all

So that's it. I hope to see you in the next lesson