1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (Emphasis Mine)
If we desire to see fruit in our lives or in Journey Fellowship we must abide in Christ. One of the most practical aspects of abiding is prayer. Prayer is one of the most basic actions in our relationship with God. Prayer is how we interact with Him, how we hear from Him, how we find our confidence in Him, how we experience joy found in Him, how we resist sin by Him, how we access the blessing of life through Him,… Prayer is how we spiritually breathe! Prayer is how God will bear fruit in our lives in and in Journey Fellowship. If we want revival we must start with prayer.
Journey Fellowship will start our One Day Sunday this week (3/25/12) focusing on abiding in Christ through prayer. One of our core values is:
“To be centered on prayer.”
· Prayer unifies us and moves us to do the will of God. Following Christ’s example, prayer should be part of our everyday lives as well as being an integral part of our church’s decisions and actions. When we pray, we are acknowledging that we have faith in God and that we need Him. (Matthew 6: 7-15, Matthew 7:7-11)
We want to make sure we do not stray from prayer as a center peace of our church, therefore every seventh Sunday we are going to make a Sabbath Sunday of prayer. On this Sunday we will corporately seek God in our Church Service and in our Journey Groups.
“God has chosen prayer as His channel of blessing. He has spread a table for us with every kind of wisdom, grace, and strength because He knows exactly what we need. But only way we can get it is to pull up to the table and taste and see that the Lord is good. Pulling up to that table is called the prayer of faith”. – Jim Cymbala
We will use this format of a listening prayer taken from the book Intercession, Thrilling and Fulfilling by Joy Dawson
1. Praise God for who he is. God’s power is especially released through worshipful song.
a. 2 Chronicles 20:20-22, Hebrews 7:25
b. You can open this up to the group by saying, “In one sentence thank God for what He has done.” Or “Tell God what you love about Him.”
2. Make sure your heart is clean before God.
a. Psalm 66:18, Psalm 139:23-24, James 4:1-6, 5:16
b. You can also open this up to the group in a similar way, “In just a few words ask God for forgiveness”
3. Acknowledge that you can’t pray effectively without the Holy Spirits enabling.
a. Romans 8:26, Ephesians 5:17-20.
b. #’s 3-6 can be done by one person. Read the Bible verses and then one person pray.
4. Deal aggressively with the enemy. Come against him in the all-powerful name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
a. James 4:6-8
5. Die to your own imaginations, desires and burdens for what you feel you should pray.
a. Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 28:26, Isaiah 55:8
6. Praise God in faith for the remarkable prayer time you are going to have. He is a remarkable God and will do something consistent with His character.
a. Hebrews 11:6
7. Wait before God in silent expectancy, listening for His direction.
a. Psalm 62:5, Micah 7:7, Matthew 7:7-11
b. Help people be okay with being quiet, encourage them to write down whatever comes to their minds to share with the group at the end.
8. In obedience and faith pray through the things God brings to you mind and in the direction He has lead.
a. Psalm 32:8, John 10:27
9. Have your Bible with you, should God want to give you direction or confirmation through His Word.
a. Psalm 119:105
10. When God ceases to bring things to your mind for which to pray, finish by praising Him and thanking Him for what He has done.
a. Romans 11:36
11.
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