Keep Praying

WORSHIP
Suggested Worship Songs:
To God be the Glory, I Was Made to Praise You, Great is the Lord
WELCOME
Hows your prayer life today?
WORD
Luke 11:1-4
It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to
Him, Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.
And He said to them, When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each
day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And
lead us not into temptation.
Unanswered prayer is frustrating. We can become
bitter and miserable. When nothing is happening,
you might be tempted to stop praying. But it is
during these times that we should keep on praying
because God is teaching us foundational truths
about Himself.
1. God is Our Father: We Can Trust Him
Jesus taught His disciples to pray to God as their
Father. In the Jewish culture this was a radical
teaching. For them to pray to God as the Father
was unthinkable.
Jesus wanted us to know that we can always trust
God because He is our Father. Some of us may
have a hard time relating to God as our Father
because we have a father who is passive, abusive,
or absent. But we must realize that our God is not
like our earthly, imperfect father. God is a perfect,
loving, very available Father.
Knowingthese foundational truths about God our
Father will keep us praying: He cares for us and
has compassion on us, His children (Psalm
103:13); loves us and gives what is best for us (2
Thessalonians 2:16-17); and He knows all our
needs (Matthew 6:31-32).
Your prayer life will be impacted by your theology.
If you know who God is and you are secure that He
will provide all your needs, then you can treat
people well (Matthew 7:11-12). You can be nice to
others and readily pray for them instead of being
upset or getting even, simply because you
experience the goodness of the Lord.
2. God is Willing and Able
Jesus gave His disciples a parable to show them
that God is not only willing but able to answer our
prayers. (Luke 11:5-8).
Although the earthly neighbor did not want to get
up in the middle of the night to give food to the
neighbor who kept knocking on his door, he did it
to avoid shame.
In contrast to the man in this parable who
reluctantly gave bread to keep from being shamed
to the neighbor who kept knocking on his door in
the middle of the night, God, our Father loves to
bless His children. Jesus is telling us not to hesitate
to pray because God is not bothered when we do.
He promised that whoever keeps asking, receives;
he who keeps seeking, finds; and to him who
keeps knocking, the door will be opened. The very
heart of our God the Father is to abundantly
answer our prayers.
3. God Only Gives What is Good
In Luke 11:1-13, Jesus uses another parable to
teach us that sometimes we think that what we are
praying for is good but it is actually bad for us.
Even an earthly, evil father, would only give what
is good to his child. How much more God, our
Father, who knows what is best for us?
When we ask for something and He does not give
it to us, we need to trust Him that they are not
good for us. We might be asking for something
that we think is good but that would harm us.
August 18, 2013
Vol. 13, No. 33

WORD(contd)
Jesus assured His disciples that when we pray, God
gives us so much more than what we ask from
Him. He gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him
the greatest gift God can give (v.13).
For example, God knew what was best for Paul
when he repeatedly prayed for God to take away
the thorn in his flesh and heal him. God did not
answer his prayer the way he wanted but told him
instead that His power is perfected in weakness.
Paul trusted in Him and God gave him much more
than what he asked for. He gave him the fullness
and power of the Holy Spirit to serve and glorify
Him. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
God, our Father, not only wants to give you the
best, He has all the power to do so because He is
the source of everything! Do not stop praying
when your prayers are not answered or He seems
silent. He hears you but He has valuable lessons
for you to learn as you keep praying.
He is giving you the opportunity to learn to trust
Him, to thank Him, to appreciate what you have, to
learn contentment, and to value what matters
most in life: to know Him more intimately. This is
the greatest blessing of prayer.
So, keep praying, keep trusting God and keep
thanking Him because He does always answer our
prayers in His time and His way according to what
is best for us and for His glory!
Discussion Questions:
(Leaders: Please choose questions that are appropriate to the level of spiritual maturity of your members)
1. The Disciples Prayer.What are the two parts of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples in Luke 11:1-4?
2. Unanswered Prayers.How many of your prayers were not answered based on your terms? Looking
back, what foundational truths did you learn from your experience?
3. Keep Praying. What keeps you praying lately? Why are you praying for it? How does it build and grow
your intimacy with God?
WORKS
God Gives, God Takes Away
Think deep and list down your most precious
possessions today.
Now, look at your list. Imagine if God will take all of
those away from you permanently, what would be
your response?
Pause for a while to reflect. As you reflect, go back
to the three foundational truths that you have
learned. Are you ready to pray what Job prayed?
Naked I came from my mothers womb, and
naked I shall return there. TheLORD gave and
theLORD has taken away. Blessed be the name
of the LORD. Job 1:21
Pray and ask for God to give allow you to hold
things lightly in this world.

Weekly Prayer Points
I. Thanksgiving
Worship God for Who He is, what He has
done, and what He will do in our lives
II. Country and the World
Upright and moral governance of Public
Servants and a God-centered Philippines
Repentance and Salvation
III. Church
CCF Members-Honor and love God, and make
disciples
Elders, Pastors, Leaders & Families
Ministries & Churches worldwide
IV. CCF Facilities
New Worship and Training Center
Prayer Mountain
V. Personal Concerns
Deeper intimate relationship with God
Righteous living
Salvation of family and friends