session 2: does prayer change anything? - blog.dirkscorner.com · the new international version...

Pray with a Purpose

Session 2: Does Prayer Change Anything?

Instructor: Dirk Rodgers

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are taken from the New International Version (2011), Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

For Handouts, Discussion Guide and more, visit blog.dirkscorner.com.Videos will also be posted on our Bethany Church YouTube Channel.

Session Outline

1. A Strong Faith2. A Trusting Faith3. A Righteous Faith

Faith is the Biblical Key

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1. A Strong Faith

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1. A Strong Faith: Promises of Jesus

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

John 14:12-14

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Assumptions within this passage

• Jesus extends His mission through His disciples; in prayer they have access to the Father.

•“In his name,” “that the Father may be glorified in the Son”, assume mission-related prayer.

•Last week’s conclusion: We pray to reconcile our plans with Gods plans; He is bringing heaven to earth through grace.

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1. A Strong Faith: The Promises of Jesus

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 17:20

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Assumptions within this passage

• Disciples were depending on their own authority, ability or power.

• Ultimately, the problem is not the obstacle.• God, not our faith, changes things.• Through prayer, God engages us in His work of

change.

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1. A Strong Faith

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11:1

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1. A Strong Faith

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

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Assumptions within these passages• Faith is knowledge and trust of a Person, regardless of our

subjective view of events; prayer deepens this trust relationship.

• Faith takes up beyond what experience, and even science can demonstrate. Prayer addresses the unseen.

• Prayer builds our faith, and faith informs our prayer.

“Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’”

Mark 9:24

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2. A Trusting Faith

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2. A Trusting Faith

“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

Isaiah 55:8-9

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Assumptions within this passage• In the context, God is promising salvation to His

people when signs of judgement are all around them.• A trusting faith takes the long view, believing that the

LORD is both sovereign and engaged.• By seeing what God reveals, we can be a part of God’s

great plan to save His people. We become His agents of change.

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2. A Trusting Faith

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”

2 Corinthians 12:9

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Assumptions within this passage• Faith trusts in the continual presence of God, even

when He seems to be absent.• Faith deepens our sense of dependence upon God.• Grace is God’s gift of power to deal with adversity, and

this power is most effective when we trust and depend upon God.

• In prayer, God overcomes our discouragement, eventually replacing it with joy. In prayer, God changes us.

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3. A Righteous Faith

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“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

James 5:16

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“You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

James 4:2b-3

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“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

1 Peter 3:7

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Assumptions within this passage• Holiness purifies our prayer motives.• God honors sincere efforts at extending His kingdom

in His way and in His time.• This is not about perfection. This is about integrity

and honesty.

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Conclusion

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Prayer changes things when…

• We are fully engaged in our mission to become and make disciples…

• We are trusting God to change things in His time and in His way, rather than relying on ourselves…

• We are living a life of obedience…• We want what God wants!

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session 2: does prayer change anything? - blog.dirkscorner.com · the new international version...

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