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How
To Pray Effectively 9
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9. HOW DO WE DEVELOP GOOD PRAYER HABITS?
| 1. |
Determine
to form good prayer habits
| 1.1. |
Set aside a specific time daily with least
distractions |
| 1.2. |
Spend enough time to really meet with God |
| 1.3. |
Select a suitable place |
| 1.4. |
Adopt a balanced prayer
pattern (eg. CATS; see 2. What are the Components of Prayer) |
| 1.5. |
Use a prayer list or prayer
map to enrich your prayers |
| 1.6. |
Maintain a prayer diary
noting prayer items and thanksgiving for answers |
| 1.7. |
Plan an annual prayer retreat |
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| 2. |
Discipline yourself to continue
| 2.1. |
Recognize the importance of
your prayer life |
| 2.2. |
Maintain your commitment |
| 2.3. |
Honour the impulse to pray |
| 2.4. |
Pray regularly |
| 2.5. |
Find a prayer partner or join
a prayer group |
| 2.6. |
Attend church prayer meeting
regularly |
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| 3. |
Avoid pitfalls
| 3.1. |
Do not allow feelings to
dictate your prayer life |
| 3.2. |
Do not substitute activity
for prayer |
| 3.3. |
Do not be bound by legalism |
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| 4. |
Draw on God’s resources
| 4.1. |
Concentrate on God’s love,
wisdom, power etc. |
| 4.2. |
Pray for the filling of the
Holy Spirit |
| 4.3. |
Use the spiritual
weapons (Matt. 18:18; 2 Cor 10:3-5; Eph
6:10-11; rev 12:11)
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Matt
18:18
"I tell you the truth,
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth will be loosed in heaven.
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2 Cor 10:3-5
| 3 |
For though we live in the
world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the
weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds. |
| 5 |
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ.
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Eph 6:10-11
| 10 |
Finally, be strong in the
Lord and in his mighty power. |
| 11 |
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the
devil's schemes.
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Rev
12:11
They overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their
lives so much as to shrink from death.
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| 5. |
Learn from good examples
| 5.1. |
Daniel -
3 times a day (Daniel 6:10)
Daniel 6:10
Now when Daniel learned that the decree
had been published,
he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened
toward
Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and
prayed, giving
thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
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| 5.2. |
Nehemiah - consistently in
all situations (Nehemiah 1:4; 2:4;
4:4,9)
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Nehemiah 1:4
When I heard these things, I sat down
and wept. For some
days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of
heaven.
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Nehemiah 2:4-5
| 4 |
The king said to me, "What is it
you want?" |
| 5 |
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, |
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Nehemiah 4:4
| 4 |
Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their
insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of
captivity. |
| 9 |
But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and
night to meet this threat. |
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Reflections:
| 1. |
List out some reasons why Christians do not
pray or cannot develop good prayer habits |
| 2. |
How can we solve this problem? |
Next
topic: How do we receive answers to prayer ?
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