Sunday's Sermon: No Holds Barred
In Sunday's sermon we learn that God invites us to authentic prayer. We are invited to come before God boldly (Hebrews 4:14-16). "Boldly" literally means, with full freedom of speech. That implies we are free to say pretty much anything we want when we pray. We also talked about some of the reasons why we hold back from speaking freely to God. Those reasons included: sin, an inaccurage/incomplete understanding of God and what we have seen modeled or taught.
I would be interested in knowing what you thought and felt as you listen and learned. Were you suprised to learn it was acceptable to talk to God openly and honestly? Does it excite you or make you feel uncomfortable to think about praying the way the Psalmist prayed?
Tell us what you learned, what you felt and what you are going to do. Your thoughts may be a great help to someone else.
Will
posted by Revwilly @ 11:19 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I share your excitement for this topic. Open, honest communication with our Father is so important! 'Reasons we don't speak freely - incomplete/inaccurate understanding of God' could be a message all by itself. I might also add 'Incomplete/inaccurate understanding of who I am in Christ' to that list. If we really knew and believed who we are in Christ, we would have no problem praying to the Father as Jesus did.
Was I surprised that I can talk openly to God? No. Not anymore. One thing I've found is that such open prayer can align me with God's will, change my attitude, or even encourage me in a gloomy situation. Look at Psalm 13 for an example. David begins weary and depressed by circumstances. By verse 5, he is speaking confidently about what he will do when God has delivered him. He did not have to force out those last two verses. They came out of what he really thought and felt. He meant them - boldly and truthfully. He knew they would happen. It just kind of comes out of your heart when you pray. (You have been putting good things into your heart, right?) His mind and perspective completely changed during that prayer-psalm.
Prayer is such an awesome privilege. Use it every day. I am excited about this because I know that as people grow in and use prayer their lives are changed and hell trembles.
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