EVERYDAY VICTORY FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE - WEEK 5 - DAY 1 Prayer: Our Battleground Memory verse: Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things thou knowest not." Prayer is not just one of the spiritual weapons you use to attack the enemy. Prayer is the battleground. Using the five spiritual weapons you studied last week will produce an effective prayer life. You will be ready to step onto the battlefield and claim the victorious Christian life that was purchased for you through Christ's death on the cross. You will pray with confidence using God's word and God's promises as your foundation. You can claim those promises with confidence. In this week's study you'll learn guidelines for effective prayer. If you haven't been studying the reflections on days six and seven, this would be a good week to start. It will reinforce your prayer life and prepare you to fight and win the battle through prayer. THE RIGHT REASON BEHIND PRAYER: You pray for many reasons - some good, some inadequate. In difficult situations, you might pray hoping God will provide an escape hatch. In challenging circumstances, you might pray seeking God's guidance and grace. In times of need, you might pray for God's power, strength and wisdom. These and others are valid reasons for praying. They are not, however, the most important reason you should pray. John 14:13 tells us the most important reason for you to pray. *Why should you pray? Jesus promised to respond positively to your prayer when it meets the key criteria and gives God the glory. *According to Matthew 6:33, what must you do for God to answer prayer? Anything that promotes God's kingdoma nd righteousness insures God will receive glory. You can pray asking God to help you keep your commitments with the focus on glorifying God. *How can you obey 1 Corinthians 6:20? God created you so that you can bring glory to Him through your life. Your physical body is one tool you can use to glorify God. Through everything you do, try to live in such a way that people think more highly of God because of what they see in you. If you want to bring your life under Christ's control in order to have a positive witness for Christ, you can as God, with confidence, to help you keep this goal. God knows if you intend to use your victory to bring Him glory! He also knows if you only want victory to satisfy selfish motives. Glorifying God with your life then strengthens the weapon of your personal testimony discussed last week. Not all prayer is effective and glorifies God. *What are the two qualifications for effective prayer according to John 15:7? 1. 2. Jesus encourages you to ask whatever you wish in prayer, confident you will receive what you ask, but you must remain close to God and allow His Word to dwell in you. The best way to keep God's Word continually in your heart is to memorize scripture and use it in your daily life. Now read John 15:10 to see how you will know you are meeting the criteria for answered prayer. *What is the criteria given by Jesus in John 15:10 for meeting answered prayer? Obedience!! Does that seem too difficult? Jesus modeled the obedient life for us on earth. Through His obedience, He maintained an abiding relationship with His heavenly Father. Review week one's memory verse, Deuteronomy 3:11. That is a promise you can count on. *Write a prayer expressing your desire for God to help you be obedient and keep your goals/commitments this week for His glory, not your own. Thank you, Lord, for the promise of answered prayer. Help me to be obedient to Your command so that I can bring glory to Your name. Heavenly Father, help me to keep my focus on You and Your word so that I may abide in You and know You abide in me. EVERYDAY VICTORY FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE - WEEK 5 - DAY 2 Prayer in Difficult Times When you work with God's help to change areas of your life, you will face struggles. Victory is not instantaneous. Along the way you can get discouraged. Prayer becomes critically important for you in those difficult times. *Read Psalm 107:19,20. What did the people described in this passage do in their time of trouble? *What four things did God do in response to their action? 1. 2. 3. 4. How wonderful to know that God will save you from distress! he has the power to heal and rescue you. The process begins when you cry out to God, seeking His help in times of trouble and idfficulty. No matter what difficulty you face, you can bring that concern to God in prayer. Even though you can't always be a pillar of strength when you need to be, God is there to uphold you and give you peace. He will give you the strength and courage necessary for any time of need. These times of difficulty and vulnerability are the times when Satan looks for a toehold. He looks for a tine chink in the armor or a loose pebble in the dike. He's always on the prowl. Psalm 17:7,8 is a prayer of David that shows what to do when you pray. *What did David ask of the Lord? In times of difficulty and stress, you must seek God's face, listen to His Word and obey His commands. *What does David say about God in Psalm 56:3,4? *How can you apply this to your own life? Reread Jeremiah 33:3, this week's memory verse. *What must you do? *What will God show you? Change produces pressure. It's easy to lose perspective and view your situation as an insurmountable problem. God understands. he wants you, in those times of stress, to call out to Him in prayer. You can tell Him your frustrations and fears. He, in turn, will affirm His plans to you. He'll remind you of His resources and power. God responds when you call on Him through prayer. He will show you great and mighty things today as He works in your life. Focus your time of prayer today on any pressures and challenges you are facing as you confront the issues in your life. Lord, You are my light and salvation; help me to be fearless as I battle the wiles of Satan. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving me Your promises to hear me and give me an answer when I call on Your name. EVERYDAY VICTORY FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE - WEEK 5 - DAY 3 The Powerful Name of Jesus Jesus offers His children blessings untold when thy use His name. *What is the promise found in John 14:13,14 when you pray in Jesus' name? Praying in Jesus' name is far more than automatically tacking that phrase onto the end of your prayer. The right to pray in Jesus' name is a precious privilege that was purchased for us by Christ's death on the cross. *The following verses provide insights into the power you can have when you pray in the name of Jesus. Read each verse and then fill in the missing words. 1. John 14:13 - Jesus will do whatever ____________________________. 2. John 14:14 - You may ________________________________ and Jesus will do it. 3. John 15:16 - Then the Father will_____________________________. 4. John 16:23 - The Father ________________________ ask in Jesus' name. 5. John 16:24 - Hitherto have ye asked________________________. *First John 3:22,23 provide additional insights on how you can receive answer to prayer. What are the two key commands in this passage? 1. 2. When your life is characterized by obedience, believing in Jesus' name and loving one another, you receive wonderful blessings. When yo live with the goal of pleasing God in all you do, He will delight in answering your prayers. Because of Christ's death, you can pray as a child of God. When you pray in Jesus' name, you assume responsibility for praying in a manner consistent with His character. Ultimately, you seek to please and glorify Him. Praying in the name of Jesus is your privilege and your responsibility. Father God, I know I am Your child. Help me to seek to please and glorify You in all that I do. Lord, let my life be characterized by obedience in loving You and loving others. Amen. EVERYDAY VICTORY FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE - WEEK 5 - DAY 4 Prayer and the Foundation of Faith God's word must be in you as you are in Him. Build your life on this foundation and your life will be centered on God's truth and wisdom. *According to Deuteronomy 6:6,7, where does God want you to have His word? *What does this mean to you and how would you know if you had done what He asked? *These verses picture people whose lives revolved around God's word. What practical steps can you take to center your life on God's word? God wants you to believe He loves you and willingly provides all that you need. Satan tries to trip you at this point by injecting doubt in your mind. Satan scores a victory in your heart if he can cause you to question God's personal concern for you. Jesus wants you to stand securely in your relationship with God and pray with confidence. Your heavenly Father hears your prayers and will answer. *Hebrews 11:6 describes some basic principles for relating to God. When you pray, what two things are you affirming that you believe about God? 1. 2. Your faith reveals what you believe about the object of your faith. When you pray in faith, you affirm the fact that you believe God exists and respons to those who seek Him. You affirm there is a spiritual realm of life that impacts your physical life. Through faith expressed in prayer, you express your desire to interact personally with God. *James 1:6,7 affirms the importance of faith in prayer. 1. When you pray, you must ____________________________________. 2. The person who doubts is like a ____________________________. * What should the one who prays doubtfully expect from the Lord? Mark 9:14-27 relates a story of a man who sought Jesus' help. *What did Jesus tell the man who sought healing for his son (v23)? *What was the man's reply (v24))? *What was the result of the man's belief? When you pray, believe and don't doubt. Affirm your belief in God and ask Him to help you with the areas in which you still struggle to believe. Be assured that you do have a God through whom all things are possible. Lord God, help me to rely on You and to put my trust completely in You. Father, help met o build my foundation of faith on You and Your word. EVERYDAY VICTORY FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE - WEEK 5 - DAY 5 Prayer and God's Will God is all-knowing and all-loving. He sees the past, the present and the future. He knows all that will happen and what everyone will do. God answers prayers according to His will. In 1 John 5:14,15 the apostle John explained the connections between God's will and answered prayer. *How would you describe this connection between God's will and answered prayer? You can pray confidently once you know God's will. Until you know God's will, your prayers can be presumptuous. God promises to answer your prayers when you align yourself with His will. *Read Romans 12:1,2. How is God's will described in verse 2? *If you struggle to know God's will in a particular situation, the following verses can help you discern His will. Romans 8:26 - what will the Holy Spirit do when you don't know how to pray? 2 Timothy 2:15 - what skill must you develop in using God's word? James 4:3 - what wrong motives must you avoid in prayer? Trust God to reveal His will to you through the Bible. Satan will not wait for you to run for your Bible before he hits you with temptation. God encourages you repeatedly in scripture to memorize and meditate on His word. This is the prime reason for memorizing scripture each week with your Bible studies. Write His word in your heart. *According to Psalm 37:31, what benefit will you experience when you have God's word in your heart? *Read Psalm 119:105. What place does the word of God have in your life? *In James 1:22-25, what is the person who listens to the word but doesn't do it compared to? *What is the gift of remembering and obeying God's word? *What does it mean for you personally to read, learn and obey the word of God? Lord God, help me to pray with pure motives and without any doubts. Oh, Father God, I pray for Your Holy Spirit to help me find and understand Your will for my life. Amen! EVERYDAY VICTORY FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE - WEEK 5 - DAY 6 In this week's study you have learned several guidelines for prayer. Not only must you believe that God promises to answer prayer, but you must also have His word in you and obey His commands. Last week you learned how prayer keeps you in constant communion with God and gives divine power to your life. Through prayer you can reach the ultimate goal of true intimacy with God. Praying scripture gives your prayers extra ammunition in your warfare with Satan. Spend time talking with God in a conversational way as you study His word and your relationship will grow. His will is revealed as you become closer to Him and read His word. God's will for your life is for you to love Him, obey Him and serve Him, and then He will give you great and wonderful things and untold blessings. This does not mean that you will never be tempted, never have trials or never know sorrow. It does mean that when temptaions, trials or sorrows do come, you will be prepared to go through them with God's mercy, love and strength. When you pray asking God to give you the power you need to obey Him today, He will answer and give you what you need for today. Then you will live in a way that pleases Him. In your prayer time this week, seek to follow His will and obey Him. In so doing you will overcome the strongholds in your life. EVERYDAY VICTORY FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE - WEEK 5 - DAY 7 You have learned guidelines for effective prayer. One of those guidelines involved having the proper reasons or motivation. One of those reasons is to bring glory to the Father. God promised to give you what you need if you seek Him first. Praying scripture brings glory to God as you read His word and make it a part of your life. Your physical body as well as your mind can bring glory to Him demonstrated in the life you live through Him. You seek His will for your life as you read and study His word and then make it a part of your life. Memorizing scripture gives you guidance as you make decisions and live your life each day. Your actions reflect your relationship with the Lord. How can He bless you beyond measure if you do not know Him? His word teaches you to love others as yourself and to love the Lord your God with every part of your being. You show that love by your obedience to His will and keeping His word in your heart. Search the word, hide it in your heart and then pray His word. Prayer is one of your two most powerful weapons against Satan - the other is God's word. God knows the difficulty you face as you live in the world. He knows how easily you slip and fall. His word makes you secure and stable and gives you a solid foundation on which to stand. Having stability in a shaky world is a tremendous benefit! Your best defense against temptation is to memorize the Bible and meditate on it.