Prayer Meeting – Praying is in My DNA

PRAYING IS IN MY DNA

– Building a relationship with God through praying so that we have an intimacy with God and we are identified as God’s own.

Lewat SHDR diajarkan bahwa berdoa merupakan 1 pilar di dalam kehidupan rohani kita – Fil 4:6-7

4:6 Janganlah hendaknya kamu kuatir tentang apapun juga, tetapi nyatakanlah dalam segala hal keinginanmu kepada Allah dalam doa dan permohonan dengan ucapan syukur.
4:7 Damai sejahtera Allah, yang melampaui segala akal, akan memelihara hati dan pikiranmu dalam Kristus Yesus.

Excuses of not praying:

1. “I’m too busy!”
   (Jesus had a packed ministry schedule but he made time to pray.)
2. “I don’t know how to do it right.”
   (How about just try talking to God like you would to a friend?)
3. “It doesn’t work anyway.”
   (That’s not how Jesus or the early church treated it.)
4. “Prayer just changes us, not situations.”
   (Who told you that, the providence fairy? It changes both!)
5. “I don’t sound good when I pray.”
   (True prayer is a heart utterance, not a speech competition.)
6. “I’d rather read the Bible than pray.”
   (Without both it’s just a one way conversation.)
7. “God won’t take me seriously.”
   (Yeah, especially if you never talk to him. Start now!)
8. “It feels weird.”
   (So does the skin of a pineapple but it tastes great underneath.)
9. “People may mock me if they see me praying.”
   (Good! Persecution toughens you up! Matthew 5:11,12)
10. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
    (How about using the Lord’s prayer as a way to grease the tracks?)

Praying as a way to communicate to God

“Prayer is a spiritual communication between man and God, a two-way relationship in which man should not only talk to God but also listen to Him. Prayer to God is like a child’s conversation with his father. It is natural for a child to ask his father for the things he needs. – Billy Graham

REMEMBER! It is a two-way communication: First part is praying, second part is listening.

Misconception: Listening to God’s voice means hearing an actual voice.

BUT! God speaks to us through different methods:

• Surrounding situation,
• Friends and families,
• He speaks directly to us

There is no specific forms or rules for praying. Berdoa tidak hanya bisa di dalam gereja, atau di ruangan tertutup, atau saat kita sedang dalam sel atau persekutuan doa. Tuhan kita tidak terbatas dengan ruang dan waktu. Dengan menjaga relasi yang dekat dengan Tuhan, kita semakin biasa untuk berdoa KAPANPUN dan DIMANAPUN, contoh: saat bekerja, saat menyetir, di tengah-tengah pengajaran di kelas.

Why my prayer is not answered

James 4:3 – You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires.

You must have the right motivation then your prayer will be answered.

MOST IMPORTANT POINTS!

• We can’t just pray without hearing His voice
• Pray is a two way conversation not one way conversation
• Listening to His voice requires our awareness of His presence
• Always thirst of Him

If you only pray when you’re in trouble …you’re in trouble.

(Michael Endang)