WORD OF LIFE MINISTRIES

SCHOOL OF LEADERS CLASS

LEVEL 1 (Teacher’s Outline)

LESSON 7: DEVELOPING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IN PRAYER

I. The foundation of our relationship with God.

A. We know that we have the right to a personal relationship with God.
1. Jesus has provided us access to the Father (Matthew 27:51; Romans 5:2,
Ephesians 2:18, 3:12)
- All people now have access into the Holy of holies.
- However, the right to something and actually participating in it are two different things.
2. The Holy Spirit assists us in this relationship.
A. He creates the desire for relationship. (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6)
B. He ushers us into God’s presence.
- Ephesians 2:18 (Weymouth Translation) “Because it is through Him that Jews and
Gentiles alike have access through one Spirit to the Father.”
- The Greek word for access means “to function like a butler, to bring us into God’s
presence”
B. Every relationship requires two things:
1. An initial investment of time to develop it.
A. Many believers never do this after salvation.
B. As new believers, we must be taught to do this.
Ex. Young couples must go through a courtship stage to develop their relationship.
2. A continuos investment of time to maintain it.
A. This is our daily devotion.
B. Our relationship with God will cool off if we don’t invest this time on a daily basis.
Ex. Husband and wife must always spend time together to keep the relationship strong.
C. Bible examples of daily devotions (regular prayer times)
1. The psalmist David spent regular time in prayer with God daily
(Psalms 5:3; 55:17)
2. The widow woman spent night and day in the temple (Luke 2:37)
3. The apostle Paul practiced daily devotions (1 Thessalonians 3:10)
4. Paul says that a Christian widow should maintain her devotions (1 Timothy 5:5)
5. Daniel practiced his devotions three times daily (Daniel 6:10)
II. How to spend time in prayer.
A. We must prepare ourselves to spend time in prayer.
1. Unclutter our souls (emotions/thoughts) (Psalms 131:1-2, 1 Peter 4:7)
A. We cannot jump into a time of devotion.
1. Some people try this and live a frustrated prayer life.
2. Their minds and emotions are too distracted to concentrate for long on the Lord.
Ex. Ever find your friend talking to you but you were thinking about something else?
B. We must calm down and relax our soul.
1. Bible reading will do this.
2. A spiritual diary will do this.
3. A memo pad will help us during our prayer.
A. As you slow down, all the things that you forgot to do you now remember.
B. Write what you remember to do as you pray, then continue with prayer.
3. Organize our prayer (Psalms 5:3).
 Developing our relationship with God in Prayer: Page 2

A. The Hebrew word for lay means, “to arrange in a specific pattern.”
- Not vain repetitious prayer but well organized specific prayer.
B. Thus, let us give some thought to prayer before we begin to pray.
- a prayer list will help
Ex. When we are making a long distance call, we plan what we are going to talk about.
B. We must begin to pray.
- The Lord’s prayer is a biblical pattern to follow in our devotional life.
1. We should address our prayer to the Father. (Matthew 6:9)
2. Our prayer should begin with a time of worship (Matthew 6:9)
A. This may be sung or spoken
B. This shall be a time of:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Telling God who he is to us
3. Praising God for what He is doing, etc.
3. Our prayer should have a time of requests.
- two types:
A. Requests concerning God (Matthew 6:10)
1. Pray for God’s authority to be established.
- In our nations, schools, people’s sick bodies, etc.
2. Pray for God’s will to be done.
- In our lives, nations, friends, family, etc.
- Biblically know God’s will and ask God to do those things.
B. Requests concerning ourselves (Matthew 6:11-13)
1. Pray for our needs to be met in advance
2. Pray for daily forgiveness
- After checking our hearts that we have forgiven others who have repented.
3. Pray for guidance away from satan’s temptations.
C. Take time to listen
1. God will often initiate a time of prayer (Psalms 27:8, Genesis 15:1, Genesis 17:1)
2. When we ask God a question, we should expect an answer.
A. This may come through a thought God will give us
B. This may come through Scriptures we read later.

III. When we pray we develop an intimacy to:

A. The one we pray to (which is our Heavenly Father).
B. The one we pray for (Intercession)
C. The one we pray with (Agreement)

- That is why during our G12 and cell group meetings, we give enough time for prayer.
- The group prays for the church, church leaders, nation and its leaders.