First Think, Then Pray - Part Five

First Think, Then Pray

NOTE: Several months ago I began a series on the Prayers of St. Paul. That work led me to write a short book about learning to pray as the first century church prayed. Beginning with this post I will be posting excerpts from the book. You may EMAIL office@christumc.us if you are interested in receiving a copy of the book.

Kingdom Prayers

If you use the prayers of the Apostle Paul for guidance there are two basic categories for prayer.

The first category is for your Christian character to be developed. Too often Christians want the assurance of eternal life without having to take seriously God’s call for holiness of life. The Apostle Paul taught that assurance of our right standing with God and our seeking to live the life in Christ go hand and hand. Paul knew that as Christ is formed in us we will live our lives as Paul proclaimed in Galatians 2:20

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

We are living life trusting in the Son of God when we take seriously the teachings of Jesus. God’s purpose for us is that we would be transformed so that we relate to God and to the world as Jesus did. That is why I stress our vision to seek the Life in Christ as Our Way of Life. One of the best places to learn about Jesus’ way of relating to God and to the world is the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5, 6, & 7.) I believe this is the essence of Jesus’ teaching. When Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, love our enemies, he was not just waxing philosophical. He was serious. These are the ways of the children of God.

(I suggest you include a reading of the Sermon on the Mount several times each year as a part of your personal devotions. You may want to consider selecting several different translations of the Bible for your reading of the Sermon on the Mount.)

The second category of New Testament Kingdom prayers is for the church to effectively proclaim the gospel. The more we live life by trusting God, the more we can be used by God to proclaim His Kingdom. The more the church is centered on Christ the more value it is to God to transform the world. I think this is the key to understanding Kingdom prayers. Many Christians seem to believe that being a Christian simply means believing in Jesus; trying to live a moral life and going to heaven when they die. God’s purpose for the church is so much more than that. God wants the church to make disciples for Jesus and to seek to build for the Kingdom of God through ministries of peace and justice. A disciple is one who is actively seeking to live life trusting in Jesus. In the Gospels Jesus shows us what the Kingdom of God is like and calls us to work and pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’

One way to keep focused on Kingdom Prayers is to remember the 3 H’s that are signs of a disciple. A disciple has a:

Hunger for God; and a

Hatred of sin; and a

Heart for people, especially for those who do not yet know God.

The Core Values of the Life in Christ[1]

At Christ Church we have a statement of our Core Values as followers of Christ. I have found it very helpful to read through these Core Values to help me understand how to pray:

Core Passion: I live to know Christ. “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.” Philippians 3:10

EXAMPLE: WWJD. What would Jesus do if He were in my shoes? The Bible promises that God is working in me to bring me to a place where I want to do as Jesus would do, and God is working in me to give me the power to do as Jesus would do. (Philippians 2:13) One time I was concerned that one of my children was about to make a decision that he would regret. I wanted to pray that he would not yield to temptation and that he would do the right thing. As I remembered my Core Passion is to know Christ, my prayer request changed from asking God to fix the situation to asking God for wisdom to do as Jesus would do. God gave me both the wisdom to know what to say and the power to have a conversation with my child.

Core Experience: I come to Him to celebrate His glory "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2: 10-11

EXAMPLE: These hard economic times are hitting the families in our church hard and impacting the church just as hard. Being a pastor is to be under a constant strain in these times. At times I get frustrated and start feeling a bit anxious. Sometimes I am tempted to bring God a list of all the things that I think will make my life better. But, I remember my Core Values. The experience of God that I seek is to come into His presence with thanksgiving and to celebrate His glory, not just seeking to make my life better. My prayer request changes from asking God to change or improve my circumstances to thanking God for the wonder of His love. Then I ask for wisdom and guidance to respond to my situation in ways that bring glory to Jesus.

Core Strategy: I will trust His provision. “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 19

EXAMPLE: The great missionary Hudson Taylor said, “God’s Work, done God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.” My mission is to make sure I am staying in God’s will; that I am doing what God has called me to do, in the way that God is leading me. This is not just an affirmation for ‘church work.’ God’s work, God’s way applies to my role as a husband, father, friend & neighbor as well as the missions and ministries of the church. Many times a church puts its priorities on trying to raise enough money to pay its bills. Trusting in God’s provision means that the first priority of the church is to make disciples, not so that the church has more people which may mean more money. Rather, that the church can share in God’s joy as more people are coming to faith in Christ and God’s Kingdom is being extended. (Remember, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33)

Core Hope: I expect to become like Jesus “Let your bearing for one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5 (NEB)

EXAMPLE: 2 Corinthians 3:17 (The Message) says, “Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”

Do you believe that? How might our lives be different if we actually believed that God wanted to transform us to become like Jesus? Our Core Hope is about living in expectation that God is indeed working in us to this end. Every circumstance of our lives provides God with an opportunity to work out our transformation. Are we looking at the circumstances in our lives with this expectation, this hope?

Core Attitude: Thy will be done “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2: 20

EXAMPLE: Our Core Attitude is reflected in two ways in our lives. First, we have a desire for a full and unconditional surrender of our will to the will of God. We know this desire is not fully developed in us all at once. It takes time. Therefore, the second way our Core Attitude is reflected in our lives is when we are faced with a circumstance where our will conflicts with God’s will, we remember our Core Values and with God’s help, do as Jesus did and pray to God, ‘Not my will but yours be done.”

---

[1] These Core Values were adapted from, The Pressure's Off: There's a New Way to Live by Larry Crabb, WaterBrook Press (2004)