Introduction to Prayer

Introduction to Prayer

I want to welcome you to this very first session and these learners level now the disciples of Jesus the people apologies they were called disciples and in the most basic meaning of the word disciple they were all learner they were a student they were learning something not what we want to learn is not just about Jesus but we want to learn of Jesus we want to become like him we want to his nature his characters so we're we're gonna be talking about learning to be like Jesus Christ and one of the greatest things about Jesus was his prayer life and that's why in this first learners level in section are all of these interviews that we're going to be doing and I'm going to have some interviews with they Bodson Davis chairman of the US national prayer committee and we're gonna be talking about prayer one of the things that happen in the lives of of of the disciples when they were following Jesus they saw him do miracles they saw him turn water into wine they sawing healed the sick they saw him raise the dead they saw him do extraordinary things but they never once asked him lord teach us to turn water into wine teachers to heal the sick take just the rays of it but they did say lord teach us to pray.

They knew that prayer was the secret of everything that he did and so what I want to do in this first session is just to introduce you to the subject of prayer and how important it is in fact not only did they asked Jesus to teach in the price but the very last thing that happened when Jesus, before Jesus ascended to heaven, was he told them to wait in Jerusalem he put them in a prayer meeting and those new disciples those first century disciples are learners the first thing he had to teach them when he left this earth was he had to teach them to wait upon the lord and so the greatest lesson you will learn I think and following Jesus is that the Christian life is not something you can live in your own power is not by your strength this not by your courage how great you are but it's in what god can do and so you need to learn to wait upon the lord now what I have discovered is that people struggle with prayer because we don't really fully understand prayer a lot of a lot of things some people think well you know I'm wasting my time I can tell you right now you are not wasting your time when you spend time alone with god will do more than you could ever imagine so you're not wasting your time another thing is that people think well.

I'm not doing something I need to be doing something and yes there are a lot of things that we need to be doing as Christians but I can tell you right now Jesus gave those disciples the greatest challenge ever he wanted them to go into the whole world and make disciples of all the nations now these were common ordinary people these were tax collectors these were fishermen these were doubters these were deniers of Jeez I mean these were these weren't the great mighty people these were just common people with flaws and had messed up but Jesus was sending them with the greatest task ever given to anyone but he told them first wait in Jerusalem Terry in the place of prayer and do you be endued with power from on high and so when this learners level what we want to do is to help you to develop a prayer life a time alone with god where you meet with god and god meets with you and you learn of him and he teaches you of himself now when I first came to Christ that was the first thing that happened I found a place and I begin to meet with the warning god begin to work in my life and he began to teach me how I would take the Bible and I would memorize scripture and I've talked to god he talked to make there were three other friends and the four of us would meet there was a little hill that overlooked a lake right near the capitol building and and we would pray every morning early in the morning we would go there and we would meet with the lord and all those were such special times in set a pattern for my life when I became a pastor of the church and and I wanted to teach some men how to walk with god the first thing I did was the begin to teach them how to have a time alone with god not when I say that I'm not talking about being religious and praying and some kind of religious way what I'm talking about is in a time where you encounter guy.

And and so I'm going to teach them the principles of how Jesus told his disciples to pry and that's what we're going to do in these sessions will be learning how to pray and what prairie isn't and how you develop that part you know I I know some of the guys were this age they have never prayed publicly the bright very little privately probably the most that pride was more bless the food but they begin to learn to pride and as they learn to pray something happen they begin to share Jesus with others and they begin to lead others to Christ and that's when our second level once we once we learn to prime gonna thirteen weeks here of talking about what it means to have a time alone with god and helping you to develop a time alone with god but then as you do that there's another level you go to and that is sharing Jesus with others and so we're calling that the mentor level and and we hope that you'll not only learn to pry but you'll go to that level of sharing Christ with others then something happened within these men and by the way my wife was leaving some women through the same thing they began to be leaders and not only did they begin to win others to Christ but they were going to disciple and all of a sudden everything multiplied in our church and our church exploded in growth and so that's what we're calling this multipliers level and then the fourth level is is the level of CO labors everyone of these men and women became leaders in their church not because they were trying to be leaders in our church but because they had grown they had matured in Christ and and because they've met with don and this time alone with god and then it becomes sort of the the foundation for their growth and so therefore levels but this first level there's one thing we want to do we just want to help you develop time alone with god that's the whole goal in this first level site so we want you to be having time we're gonna have these these texts devotions you read they'll be some.

Shinjo lancer after each one there will be a video devotion and they'll be a teaching like this where I'm interviewing someone all the way through this process you need to go through this and we just gonna ask some simple questions, not anything hard then there's no way passing or failing this just want to ask some questions and here's the question is what did God speak to your heart through the scripture.

And what did god speak to your heart through the devotion are the teaching.

How to what stirring in your heart and so just answer whatever's on your heart and in your group y'all will share with one another and encourage one another up and if you're struggling site I. I'm struggling with this and and and you will encourage each other and help one another and that's the purpose of this is not to become some kind of person who's of super smart a super giant ought theologian that's not the what we're working toward we're trying to work help you to develop a time alone with god we found that if you do something for three months regularly that'll become a part of your lifestyle we want this to be a part of your lifestyle those early disciples were called followers of the way they were following a way of life and part of that way of life was that they were people who spent time with their god in prayer and so we want to teach you how to do that so we'll have thirteen weeks of this and by the way not just thirteen weeks as you go through each one of these levels and then you can go as far as you want me to stop after level one if you want to I hope that you won't out that you'll keep going and go through all of these levels because listen one of the greatest blessings as as you grow begin to share Christ with others and then see others come to Christ and help them to grow in Christ all what a blessing that will be but as you do that and as you grow in Christ we will be there to help you there's a lot of resources that you'll have a year and and you'll be able to grow in the lord and god will you use you and you will become fruitful in your life so these thirteen weeks and their four sets of them so that's a full year if you spend a full year having some kind of consistent time with god you're going to become a personal brand no doubt in my mind about it you will grow in your prayer life will grow and you will become what god wants you to be that's the purpose that.

The goal for these necks thirteen weeks