Sunday, July 22, 2012

Sunday (22nd July 2012)

Today Pastor's topic entitled "Bringing Our Prayer To The Next Level" (Part 2)

** Everything in life - our worship, our Christian service, our witness, our love for other people, our work - all spring from our relationship with God. If we do not spend 'quality time' in prayer, everything else we do may ed up in futility.
** Instead of seeing prayer as an intrusion into our time, we must understand that it actually contributes to saving of time and efforts - when we tap into the divine power source!
** Jesus asked His disciples to pray together with Him at the Garden of Gethsemane because He knew the trials and temptations were coming and it is through prayer that He had the strength and wisdom to confront it.

In Matthew 26:40, "Could you men not keep watch with me for 1 hour?"
Our church prayer statistics:-
74% spends < 30 mins of prayer each day
20% spends = 30 mins of prayer each day
4% spends = 1 hour of prayer each day
2% spends > 1 hour of prayer each day

Question: What are the benefits of spending time with Him?
1) More prayer - More power of God for living (Luke 21:36)
2) More prayer - More of God and less of me [the flesh] (Matthew 26:41)
3) More prayer - A deeper relationship with God (Jeremiah 29:13)

How are we able to spend a prolonged time in prayer?
3 levels of praying
1) God made us "Body", "Soul" & "Spirit". (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
2) God designed His tabernacle with an
- "Outer Court"(Exodus 27:9-19);
- "Inner Court" (Leviticus 16: 23-24);
- the "Holy of Holies" (Exodus 26:33-35)
3) God spoke about the "ankle deep; knee deep and waist deep waters" (Ezekiel 47:3-4)

i) The first level of praying is the level of "body", "outer court" or "ankle deep" experience
(Distraction due to the flesh)
ii) The second level of praying is the level of "soul", "inner court" or "knee deep" experience
(Pouring out of negativism)
iii) The third level of praying is the level of "spirit", "Holy of Holies" or "waist deep" experience
(Lost in His presence)

What do you pray for in this "1 hour"?
1) You worship and dwell in His presence
2) You pray in tongues
3) You "listen" to the voice of the spirit
4) You intercede for other/nations/church as the Spirit brings to your mind
5) You make your own petitions (requests)

Learning to pray isn't about learning how to make the kind of requests God will answer. Learning to pray is about deepening our relationship with God so we know Him & trust Him more and more. If we want to grow up into Christ, prayer is the key!

Worship team has arranged the below this morning:-
1) Hillsong - A Beautiful Exchange - Thank You
2) Hillsong - A Beautiful Exchange - Forever Reign
3) New Life Worship - My Savior Lives - My Savior Lives
4) Hillsong - This Is Our God - This Is Our God


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Altar Call: Hosanna - Let Your Glory Fall - Deeper In Love


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