Praying with Jesus E-Book

The Great Commandment Network

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 195

Beschreibung

Jesus is praying, but are we praying with Him? We may pray because Jesus told us to pray, or because He modeled prayer. Maybe we pray when situations are desperate. Prayer is the right thing to do, but there is so much more to this mysterious conversation, this divine opportunity. Scripture tells us that Jesus lives to make intercession; He lives to pray! If you listen closely, you'll hear what He is praying for: the burdens of your heart, the needs of your life—the Savior is praying for you. Jesus made a vulnerable request at the darkest hour of His life, asking His friends to pray with Him. But instead of praying, they fell asleep. Prayer is primarily relational. Jesus talks to God on our behalf, but is He praying alone? What would it mean if we joined Jesus in prayer. Praying with Jesus will RESET your prayer life.

Leseprobe

Endorsements

The Praying with Jesus resource is intended to serve the National Prayer Accord in a rhythm of prayer for spiritual awakening (see page back pages of this book for more information about the National Prayer Accord). This growing heart-cry for spiritual awakening has been adopted by denominational and parachurch leaders from across the faith community. The Denominational Prayer Leaders Network is one of these supportive groups and includes prayer leaders such as Claude King and P. Douglas Small. Read their encouragement below.

Genuine prayer is not a religious ritual for Christians to practice a few times each day. Prayer is a relationship God has with His children in which we talk with our heavenly Father. Prayer is a time for us to enter the presence of the Creator and Ruler of the universe to understand what is on His mind and heart. Prayer is a holy privilege made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf.

When God calls His people to return to Him and they respond in repentance and united prayer, God is able to bring the revival He desires of us. When God’s people begin to pray for the kingdom work of bringing the lost to Christ, God calls many as laborers in His harvest. Our nation and the world have reached a desperate point, and again we need to hear God’s call to explicit agreement through visible union in extraordinary prayer. Let’s learn to pray together and join God’s work of transforming our nation and our world for His glory.

Claude King

Discipleship Specialist, Lifeway

God is calling us to pray with persistence toward His purposes being fulfilled in our communities in our generation. It is no longer sufficient to pray transactional prayers with a focus on emergencies and momentary needs. Narcissistic praying is inevitably boring. The small victories won in narrow self-interested praying pale in comparison to the transformational power of prayer that changes us, our families and churches, as well as whole communities. God is inviting us to join Him in cosmic purposes that have an eternal impact. If we respond to the call, we will discover ourselves in the midst of the once-in-history finishing of the Great Commission, in the spirit of the Great Commandment, out of the energy of prayer, the Great Commitment.

P. Douglas SmallNational Prayer Coordinator, Church of God

Published by BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

www.broadstreetpublishing.com

Copyright © 2016 Great Commandment Network

ISBN: 978-1-4245-5121-7 (hard cover)

ISBN: 978-1-4245-5122-4 (e-book)

This title may be purchased in bulk for ministry purposes. For information go to the online store at www.greatcommandment.net or call 800-881-8008.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Permissions for all contributors’ content are covered by the original copyrights from which they were published. See the “About the Authors and Their Resources” page at the back of this book to contact the authors, learn more about their resources, or for any questions about their content. All Scripture quotations within each contributor’s excerpt are included exactly as in their original publication, and all credits apply that are covered under those respective articles.

Except in contibutors’ articles, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Cover by Chris Garborg at www.garborgdesign.com

Interior by Kimberly Sagmiller at www.fudgecreative.com

Printed in China

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Contents

SECTION 1:

A Spirit-empowered faith means that I will love the Lord through practicing the presence of Jesus and yielding to the Spirit’s work of Christlikeness.

1.

God’s Name for Us

Dave Butts

2.

Power of Prayer and Fasting

Ronnie Floyd

3.

It’s Time!

Doug Stringer

4.

He Prays for Us and Longs for Us to Pray with Him

Stormie Omartian/Jack Hayford

SECTION 2:

A Spirit-empowered faith means that I will love the Word through being a “living epistle” in reverence and awe as His Word becomes real in my life, vocation, and calling.

5.

When Jesus Prayed

George Wood

6.

Pray Like It Matters

Steve Gaines

7.

The Prayer Life of Jesus Christ

Mark Williams

8.

Seven Bridges of Reconciliation

Harry Jackson

SECTION 3:

A Spirit-empowered faith will mean that I love people by ministering Christ’s life and love to my nearest ones at home and with family, as well as faithful engagement in His Body, the church.

 9.

Making Magnificent Marriages

Jared Pingleton

10.

Diligence in Ministry

Michael Lewis/Mark Dance

11.

Becoming Home

Jedd Medefind

12.

What’s Love Got to Do with It?

Josh McDowell

SECTION 4:

A Spirit-empowered faith will mean that I love His mission through expressing and extending the kingdom of God as compassion, justice, love, and forgiveness are shared.

13.

Extend the Kingdom

Mark Batterson

14.

A Curious Correlation

Joe Battaglia

15.

Toward Neighborhood Transformation

Steve Hawthorne

16.

The Lamb’s Agenda

Sammy Rodriguez

SECTION 5:

A Spirit-empowered faith will mean that I love His mission through pouring life into others and making disciples who, in turn, make disciples of others.

17.

Step Toward Life Change

Jeff Bogue

18.

Preparing Your Child for the Road Least Traveled

Terri Snead

19.

A Spirit-Empowered Church: An Acts 2 Ministry Model

Alton Garrison

20.

Youth Isn’t Wasted on the Young

Jeremy Story

APPENDIX:

About the Authors and Their Resources

The National Prayer Accord

Twenty Indicators of Spiritual Awakening

About the Great Commandment Network

A Spirit-Empowered Faith

Preface

WHY PRAY WITH JESUS?

Since the earliest days of European interest in the Americas, God’s people have sought a place to worship in freedom and longed to experience spiritual awakening. Along the way, God has chosen a variety of places and people to awaken the nation for Christ: the colonial village of Northampton, Massachusetts; the Cane Ridge Camp Meeting; New York City’s Bowery district; a renovated livery stable on 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles; and your world. You are a vital link to the next great awakening looming on the horizon of America in our generation.

Each occurrence of nationwide revival has been different, yet one common denominator has always been evident: a sense of hungry, prayerful desperation. Each time the extended masses have humbled themselves and sought God’s deliverance, He has responded in power. That is why in the midst of obvious spiritual decline across America, we have reason for hope today.

In 2008, an Awakening America Alliance leadership summit was called to reflect on the First Great Awakening and the potential for a contemporary nationwide transformation. Recognizing that true awakenings bring visible change, twenty indicators of awakening were identified and now serve as an evaluation tool for awakening in America.

This resource is structured so that your prayer moments will coincide with each of these twenty indicators. Jesus cares about these topics; He prayed they would be true of us, so let’s join Him in prayer.

Joining Jesus in prayer is a part of a Spirit-empowered faith, which moves beyond seeking to simply know or obey the truth.

Actually experiencing truth in our relationship with Jesus will lead us into a relational faith.

In order to fully illustrate what a relational faith includes, we have defined forty different Spirit-empowered outcomes. Praying with Jesus is designed with a focus on five of these Spirit-empowered outcomes:

1. A Spirit-empowered faith means that I will love the Lord through practicing the presence of Jesus and yielding to the Spirit’s work of Christlikeness.

2. A Spirit-empowered faith means that I will love the Word through being a “living epistle” in reverence and awe as His Word becomes real in my life, vocation, and calling.

3. A Spirit-empowered faith means that I will love people by ministering Christ’s life and love to my nearest ones at home and with family, as well as faithful engagement in His body, the church.

4. A Spirit-empowered faith means that I will love His mission through expressing and extending the kingdom of God as compassion, justice, love, and forgiveness are shared.

5. A Spirit-empowered faith means that I will love His mission through pouring life into others and making disciples who, in turn, make disciples of others.

Why pray with Jesus? Because as we agree together in prayer, God can supernaturally bring a divine reversal from darkness to light in the hearts of people who have not experienced His grace. The power of extraordinary, united prayer cannot be overstated. Let’s unite our voices with Jesus and experience a Christ awakening in our land!

Kay Horner • Executive Director, Awakening America Alliance

www.awakeningamerica.us

Introduction

RESET YOUR WALK WITH JESUS

When your computer or mobile device freezes, you know to hit the reset button. A reset restores the system to its original design. Hitting “reset” gives it a fresh start. So what happens when it’s something in your life that feels frozen? Do you ever wish you could start over? Everyone feels that at times. And Jesus is the reset. Jesus restores you to your original design. He gives you a fresh start. That’s what we hope this resource does for your prayer life. May it be a fresh start in your relationship with Jesus!

The Praying with Jesus resource is intended to serve the Reset Movement.

Reset is a work of anyone and everyone who wants to see Jesus bring hope to this generation and to this nation. Reset began as a prayer and dream of a young leader from North Dakota named Nick Hall, to see this generation unite around Jesus. The vision was never about one person or organization but a partnership around Jesus—and Jesus calls everyone.

Reset is not an organization. Reset is a prayer and a movement of people sharing the message of the hope Jesus brings when we pray it. The vision is not to facilitate a passive audience, but to catalyze an army of individuals who are actively praying to Jesus to reset their lives, their communities, and their cities—and actively seeking to live a life reset by Jesus. While there are organizations involved, the fuel of this movement is you.

The Reset Movement has identified four ways to start your reset. These four ingredients are the inspiration for calls to action that we have inserted into each of the writings by the authors in this resource.

LEARN

to Encounter Jesus

PRAY

and Experience Scripture

SHARE

with Others in Community

LOVE

Others in Community

The message of Reset is that Jesus can and will reset your life. And that same message and invitation is shared at Reset events. The events are a place to connect in person with others who are praying and living reset lives, hear stories of what Jesus is doing, and celebrate Jesus with hundreds and thousands of others who are praying for a Reset. Go to www.resetmovement.com for more information.

Finally, The Great Commandment Network is thrilled to serve each contributor and ministry partner through this resource. Our resource development and training team serves various partners as they develop Spirit-empowered disciples who walk intimately with God’s Son, God’s Word, and God’s people. May Jesus richly bless the unity, commitment, and faith that Praying with Jesus represents.

Terri Snead

Executive Editor, Great Commandment Network

The Great Commandment Network is an international collaborative network of strategic kingdom leaders from the faith community, marketplace, education, and caregiving fields who prioritize the powerful simplicity of the words of Jesus to love God, love others, and see others become His followers (Matthew 22:37–40, Matthew 28:19–20).

“But I (Jesus) have prayed for you (Peter) … and when you are restored … strengthen others.”

(Luke 22:32)

As certainly as Jesus prayed for Peter, He prays for us.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes forever.

(Hebrews 13:8)

And because Jesus never changes, that means He prays for you!

He always lives to make intercession.

(Hebrews 7:25)

Christ Jesus is He … who also intercedes for us.

(Romans 8:34)

Therefore, the Awakening America Alliance, The Great Commandment Network, the Reset Movement, and the Denominational Prayer Leaders Network would like to join Jesus in prayer for you!

May God strengthen, inspire, and anoint you to pray in one accord with Him and those He loves. The power of unity cannot be underestimated!

SECTION 1

MY SPIRIT-EMPOWERED FAITH

means that I will love the Lord through practicing the presence of Jesus and yielding to the Spirit’s work of Christlikeness.

As I practice this outcome, I will live out the truth that the Lord is with me, for me, speaking to me, and longing to change me.

Listen as He prays for your relationship with God, your love for Him, and His transforming work in your life.

Jesus looked up to heaven and said,“Father, I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”John 17:26

Now pray with Jesus. Join the prayer meeting that He is already leading on your behalf. Jesus, please reset my prayer life.

• I want to experience more and more of Your presence.

• I want to deepen my prayer life and my sensitivity to Your Spirit. I want to become a more faithful disciple of Jesus.

• I want my life to reflect Your principles, truth, and righteousness. I pray that leaders of the church, government, business, and political arenas demonstrate this same righteousness.

• I want to demonstrate the “fear of the Lord” rather than the approval of people. I want to live a life of credibility and integrity.

1

I want to experience more and more of Your presence, Lord.

Jesus, reset my prayer life.

The gospel of John records one of the most intimate prayers of Jesus’ life. The night before Christ’s death, He vulnerably shared with eleven of His closest friends. Interestingly, it was almost as if Jesus waited for Judas to leave before orchestrating this tender moment. In John 17, we read Jesus’ prayer to the Father: “During my time here, I protected them [the disciples] by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold” (John 17:12).

Next, the gospel records something amazing! Christ continues to pray for His disciples, but then He prays for you and me!

I am praying not only for these disciplesbut also for all who will ever believe in methrough their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one…

John 17:20–21 (emphasis added)

Isn’t it amazing to realize that thousands of years before you were born, Jesus prayed for you? He declared that you are His and asked the Father to keep you close. In fact, He asked that we would sense the presence of the Lord so deeply that we would be in Jesus.

What will it take for us to experience this kind of closeness?

GOD’S NAME FOR US

From Forgotten Power: A Simple Theology for a Praying Churchby Dave Butts*

REMEMBER HIS NAME FOR US

The choosing of a name is very important. We all know parents who agonize over what to name their new baby. Communities often have many meetings and long discussions over how to name a new facility in their town. Biblically, the choosing of a name often gave special significance to a person or place. The name was so important that when there was a change in circumstances, it often meant a name change was necessary.

In Genesis 28, Jacob had an amazing encounter with God in a dream. When he awakened, he renamed the place: “He called the place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz” (Genesis 28:19). Both Jacob and his father, Abraham, were given name changes by God. In Genesis 17:5, Abram was changed to Abraham and in Genesis 35:10, Jacob became Israel.

Any name is important, regardless of who gives it. But there is special significance when God Himself steps in to name someone or something. That would be especially true when God names something that is particularly close to His heart.

BECOME WHAT HE HAS CALLED US

The Bible tells us that God has chosen a name for His own house. In Isaiah 56:7, the Lord says, “These will I bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (emphasis added).

This straightforward naming of the house of God is simply clarifying what God had already declared concerning His house. In the amazing encounter that Solomon had with God at the dedication of the temple, God made it clear that this was to be a place of prayer. Solomon prayed in 2 Chronicles 6:40, “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.” God’s response in 2 Chronicles 7:15 was a resounding yes to that request.

Of great importance to us is the fact that Jesus took this naming seriously. Three of the gospel writers mentioned that Jesus quoted it, and all four recorded the cleansing of the temple where Jesus referred to His Father’s words (Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46; John 2:17). The fact that the Father’s house was to be a house of prayer for all nations was so central to God’s plan on earth that Jesus responded to Israel’s failure in regard to this with a rare display of godly anger. Evidently, Jesus believed that the people who were a part of God’s house should live in accordance with the naming of the house.

This becomes especially relevant to us when we understand that God’s house was not in any way limited to the temple in Jerusalem. God’s house existed long before the temple or its predecessor, the tabernacle of Moses. And it exists even now and will continue when this age is over and Earth ceases to exist in its current form. It is an eternal house and is forever a place of communion with God.

PRAY and Experience Scripture

First John 5:14–15 says, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.”

Pause quietly before the Lord and ask Him to change you, to make you a person who reflects His name. You know this prayer is according to His will, so boldly declare your desire to become more of His “house of prayer.” Close with an expression of thanks. “Thank you, Lord, for your Spirit’s work in me.”

The Bible is filled with references to God’s house. As you read through these verses, it becomes very clear that His house has never been limited to a building. The building was an important visual illustration of what it means to draw near to God and to dwell in His presence. Even at the dedication of the first temple, Solomon realized this fact as he prayed, “But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (2 Chronicles 6:18).

As we begin to understand that the church today is God’s house, it is critical that we comprehend what it means to live in or be a house that has been named by God as a house of prayer.

LEARN to Encounter Jesus

You can more easily see yourself as a person and place of prayer when you are empowered by the reality that Jesus is already praying for you.

Pause for a moment and imagine this scene: Jesus is kneeling, quietly bowed in prayer. As you get closer, you can hear Him praying—and He’s praying for you! The Savior of the universe is praying for the burdens of your heart and the needs in your life. We know this is true because Romans 8:34 tells us that “He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.” What does it do to your heart to know that while you are praying to Jesus, He is praying for you?

When I imagine Jesus is praying just for me, my heart is filled with…

When I remember that Christ sits next to God and talks to Him about my needs, I feel…

DO WHAT HE HAS CALLED US

We often call Pentecost the birthday of the church. Have you considered the correlation between the events of that day and the day when the first temple was dedicated? As Solomon stood before the people and finished praying his great prayer of dedication, there came from heaven what we often call the shekinah glory of God. Fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifices, and the glory of the presence of the Lord filled the temple. It was clear … God had come to His house!

On the day of Pentecost as the disciples gathered to pray, God once again dedicated His house. Again, fire fell from heaven. This time the fire didn’t come to a building but instead separated and came over the heads of believers. A new temple was dedicated! And you are that temple. God’s house is now His people, both when we are gathered in assemblies as well as individually. What hasn’t changed is the name. God’s house is still a house of prayer for all nations. When it comes right down to it, it’s not a matter of debate. The owner of the house gets to name the house. God has clearly, unequivocally named His house a house of prayer. Our job is to figure out what that means and do it!

SHARE with Others in Community

Pause during this final moment to give God thanks. Express your gratitude for how you have freely received God’s Spirit.

God, thank You that you have given me the gift of Your Holy Spirit.

I am grateful because…

Plan to talk about your experiences of God’s presence with another person. When have you sensed His presence, and what difference has that made in your life?

LOVE Others in Community

Just as we have received the blessing of experiencing God’s presence, we are called to express His presence to others so they might see Him more clearly and come to know Him (1 John 4:12).

Make plans to demonstrate His presence:

I plan to demonstrate LOVE to those closest to me by…

I plan to LOVE other followers of Jesus by…

I plan to LOVE those who don’t know Jesus by…

* Copyright © 2015 David Butts. Used by permission of PrayerShop Publishing.