Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” We live in the tension of two worlds; the age that is now (our world) and the age that is to fully come but has already begun to breakthrough, the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus teaches us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not something or someplace else we wait for but that it is a present reality that we can experience now! This is why we pray for broken things to be made right, for the broken and sick to be healed and reconciled and for the oppressed in mind, body, and spirit to be set free… because the
Kingdom has come and it is bringing life! It is with this understanding that we pray for ourselves, others and the world around us.
P-R-A-Y.
Praise God is praised over 350 times in the Bible. To praise Him is to acknowledge how great He is and to thank Him for the great things He has done. King David in the Old Testament was a master at praising God. Here is just one of his psalms that contain praise: “I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High” (Psalm 9:1-2). Notice that he first gave thanks for all the wonderful deeds God has done. Every time we talk to God, we should easily be able to find something to thank Him for. We thank Him for His goodness, His power, His mercy, His wisdom and the many other aspects of who He is.
Repent To repent is to confess specific sins we have committed and to turn away from doing them again (“repent” literally means to turn around). It is important to agree with God’s assessment of us that we have sinned and fallen short of His standard. If we don’t own this reality and humble ourselves, we will never fully be able to engage with Him. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). Coming clean before God is an important part of genuine prayer, and reaffirms the truth that God forgives us and we don’t need to carry guilt. Then do your best to live like Jesus did, making use of the strength and power that God has provided you by His Holy Spirit.
Ask God encourages us to ask for the things that are on our mind. Here’s what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, “Ask and it will be given to you…for everyone who asks receives…Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11). Here Jesus teaches us to ask, but also to understand that our Father in heaven reserves the right to answer according to His wisdom and love for us.
Yield To yield means to be quiet after you have spoken to God and to listen to what He might want to say to you. If you regularly take time to listen, you will begin to hear God’s voice. Use a journal to write down the thoughts and promptings that come to mind. Keeping record of what God says to you is a great way to build your faith. When you are able to look back and see what God said, how you obeyed, and how God answered, your trust and faith grow.
FASTING!
In order to make the most of your experience with your Rooted group, we recommend you spend time preparing to hear from God. One of the disciplines that helps with this is fasting. Fasting is a way we can eliminate the noise and distractions of our daily routines and focus more completely on hearing God’s voice. While we fast, we are reminded and become more aware of our dependence on God. By fasting, we also intensify our prayers by placing ourselves in a position of submission and often become more sensitive to hearing God’s voice.
Fasting can take various forms, but here are 3 commonly suggested areas to consider:
-
Food/Drink: Refrain from eating prior to meeting. This could be as simple as skipping breakfast or your morning coffee, to eliminating key foods (sugar, carbs, etc).
-
Digital: Remove your wearable tech, leave your phone turned off, ignore social media or silence all devices.
-
Routine: Skip your regular workout, reading time, appointment or habit and instead use that time to prepare, pray or practice a different Spiritual Discipline.