How literal Should I take God's Word regarding Prayer?

This weekend at Living Hope Church is one you won't want to miss - Pastor John will be speaking about how to dress up in ALL of God's armor - I can't tell you how excited I am about this weekend - Bring your friends! This extended Living Hope at The Movies series features the Lord of the Rings Trilogy - it's fantastic! Your batteries will be charged! See you Sunday at our East Vancouver Campus!


Bruce


These notes are from Tom Taylor and Bruce Avery's Life Group (our wives are the real strength of our very cool Life Group Family:)

What are three specific areas/things you SELDOM pray about (Pastor John mentioned his "headache" in last weeks sermon)?

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." Philippians 4:6

Praying about every worry - Does God mean every one of them?

Colossians 4:2 "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;" WHAT ARE YOU MOST "DEVOTED TO" RIGHT NOW?

Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

How "inclusive" should I be with this verse? “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Ephesians 6:18

Our Group spent about 8 minutes doing a short "word study" in Philippians 4:6 - the way this verse touched our lives and the sharing that followed was amazing!

4. Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5. Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Don’t Worry = In the Gospels this word is translated as "take no thought" – Greek for: not your primary concern; not a high value . We say, "I could care less!" Be "Careless" about much more - "CARE MORE ABOUT LESS!" In Philippians 3 Paul says, "I'm only really concerned about ONE thing - KNOWING JESUS!
Everything = Greek for: All things (especially "things" but can include humans as well). How many "Thoughts" (things) am I worrying about right now?
Supplication = Greek for: need, desire – this word comes from the middle voice of the wd. "to beg, desire, or long for " SOME OF US FEEL WE HAVE A LACK OF FAITH OR THAT WE ARE "BIG BABIES" WHEN WE HAVE SUCH STRONG LONGINGS, OR WHEN WE KEEP ASKING GOD OVER AND OVER TO MEET OUR NEEDS - GOD WANTS US TO DO THIS! IT'S HIS INVITATION FOR US TO BE REAL ABOUT OUR PASSIONATE HEARTS! The root word behind the Old English word "Supplication" is, "to bind, tie, or fasten." In the OT this was used to refer to an obligation, law, or a duty. When we are calling out to God we are asking that we be "untied" and "unbound" from Satan's temptations and "tied up forever-safe" in a friendship with God!" Our passionate cries to our Heavenly Father builds our trust that God will NEVER leave or ABANDON US!

Requests = Greek (The root word) for: "To ask, beg, crave, or desire." How much does God want you to share your deepest longings, your unspoken dreams, all of your broken heart? This is a pretty passionate promise - God's Plan for us!

"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere." Ephesians 6:18

Did you miss Last night's family night? - here's a link to my personal blog & to a Youtube of my son Gordon singing and dancing (very funny stuff)!