Pray With Confidence

Why can you prayer with confidence? God’s Word gives many reasons, here are a few:

• Because you belong  to Christ. Many people pray instinctively, even if they do not have a relationship with God. However, it because you have a relationship with God through Christ that God your Heavenly Father hears your prayers! It is important that you remember that you pray to the only true
  God, our Creator and Heavenly Father.
  Praying in His name means far more than just adding those words as a sort of good-luck charm to the end of your prayer

• Because you  come in the name  of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14:6, Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (NIV).
  Praying in His name means far more than just adding those words as a sort of good-luck charm to the end of your prayer. It means you speak to your
  Father with all the authority of Christ! It is like placing a draft on the bank
  of heaven with the check signed by Jesus Christ!
  Asking in His name means on the basis of who He is.
  Many people today think that Jesus Christ doesn’t really matter …
  God will hear whoever calls out to him.
  But the Bible is clear that it is through Jesus Christ alone that we come to God!

• When you have a  clean heart . Psalm 66:18-20 says, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
  but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
  Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” (NLT).
  Jesus paid for your sin on the cross, but you need to confess that sin to God!
  When you have a  forgiving spirit . An unforgiving spirit is a terrible roadblock
  to your fellowship with God. If you hold anything against anyone, take care of it
  at once!
  Mark 11:25-26 tells us, “Whenever you stand up to pray, you must forgive what
  others have done to you. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins” (CEV).

When you come in faith . You must have a believing heart if you are to communicate with your Father. James 1:6 says, “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind” (NLT).

Which one of these reasons is the most encouraging to you today?

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Why?

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Do any of the above statements seem difficult for you?

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1 John 3.21-24 says “Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us” (The Message).

What are the key words in these verses from 1 John that really stand out to you?

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What do these verses teach you about talking to God?

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God’s Word tells us that as his children we are always welcome in his presence!

Hebrews 4:16 explains, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (NLT).

What do you think of when you see the words “boldly and “mercy”?

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How are your ideas about talking with God changing as you read the verses and passages contained in this lesson?

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God answers the prayers of his children! John 15:7 says, “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” (NLT).

What are some ways that you can “remain” in God?

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“And this is the confidence  that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything  according to His will,  He hears us: And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever  we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John 5:14).

Sometimes people like to focus on the word “anything” in this verse, rather than on the phrase “according to His will.” What are some things that you know are God’s will?

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What are some things that you know for sure are not God’s will?

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You can be confident that God will answer any prayer that is according to His perfect will. Don’t give up on prayers that don’t get answered right away. Countless Christians will tell you stories of God’s faithfulness in answering prayers after many years of continual prayer.

Application:

What is one way you can grow your confidence in prayer: memorize a scripture verse, take a step of faith, pray in a different way, another idea?

A:___________________________________________________

Commit yourself to whatever it is you have chosen to do … and ask God for the strength and discipline to do it!

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