Lesson 6: Private Powerfilled Prayer

Matthew 6:6-8 was our text for this week, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Know His Heart

I. He chose us to be a part of Him. See John 15:16 and I Peter 2:9-10. In the days before Christ came, there was one high priest for the entire nation of Israel. He would go into the Most Holy Place once per year on behalf of the people. Now, God appoints each believer in Christ as a priest. We are given the privilege of going before his throne on the behalf of each person He has placed in our lives.
II. He is with us, in us, and for us! See John 16:23, John 14:20, John 14:12, Matthew 28:18, and Luke 11:9.
III. He wants to reveal Himself and His will to us! See John 14:21-23, John 15:14-15, Exodus 33:11, and Isaiah 41:8

Walk in His Ways

The following is a list of elements that work together to make prayer effective. It coincides with the model prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer, found in Matthew 6:9-13.

I. In Him: We are first and foremost to be abiding in Christ, being obedient to His Word. We are His. He is our Father.
Our Father who art in heaven
II. Praying in His Name: We need to know His character, who He is. We are to remember who He is as we pray to Him.
Hallowed be Thy Name
III. Vision: We must ask Him to give us a vision of His glory, of His will being done. Ask Him to transform our thinking so that we have His mind, not the world’s.
Thy Kingdom Come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
IV. Tent of Meeting: We are to be in private daily communion with Him. It is such a privilege and blessing that we are able to approach God’s throne of grace at any time because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, especially when you consider how it had been before Christ died for our sins. In the Old Testament, God designed the tabernacle and instructed the Israelites to build it accordingly. It was an earthly representation of a heavenly place. At the entrance was the altar where sacrifice for sin was made. Next there was the basin for cleansing and purifying oneself. Next was the Holy Place and further in was the Most Holy Place, which only the high priest could enter, and only once per year. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil to the entrance of the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom, which was God’s way of telling us that Jesus made it possible for us to approach Him at any time.
Give us this day our daily bread
V. Pure and Loving Heart. We must get rid of any lack of forgiveness, bitterness, and selfish ways.
Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
VI. Boldly. We can come boldly before His throne of grace. Hebrews 4:16. We must be persistent and unceasing like the man knocking on the door asking for bread in Luke 11:1-13.
Thy Kingdom Come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
VII. Standing Watch. We must be alert and sensitive. We must be on the lookout for ourselves and others.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
VIII. Believing. We must take God at His Word. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6.
For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and ever, Amen.

Laurie went through an exercise with us where we prayed according to the ACTS model, which is Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. She also encouraged us to pray using Scripture. Write the Scripture down in your prayer journal to help you focus on it.

I. Adoration: Praise God for who He is!
II. Confession: Ask Him to reveal any areas of sin.
III. Thanksgiving: Thank Him for all He has done.
IV. Supplication: Make specific requests.