Holy Habits: Prayer - Audio

Holy Habit #5: Prayer
The Power of Passionate Prayer: How to Pray Like Your Life Depends upon it!

• Jesus prayed regularly.
• Jesus prayed often.
• Jesus prayed in the early mornings (Mark 1:35).
• Jesus prayed late in the evenings (Matthew 14:23).
• Jesus prayed all night at critical times in his life and ministry (Luke 6:12).
• Jesus prayed in private places like on mountain tops and the wilderness (Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, Luke 5:16).
• Jesus prayed passionately (Hebrews 5:7).
• Jesus prayed persistently (Matthew 26:44).
• Jesus prayed in the Father’s will (Matthew 26:42).
• Jesus prayed to give thanks for food (Matthew 14:19).
• Jesus prayed to bless the little children (Matthew 19:13-15).
• Jesus prayed to His disciples and for all future believers—and this includes you (John 17:1-25, Romans 8:34).
• Jesus prayed for His disciples to receive the Holy Spirit Who would be with them forever (John 14:16).
• Jesus is praying for you right now even as we are gathered together (Hebrews 7:25).

1. The Posture of Prayer: Pray like you are talking to a loving Father (v. 1-4). Make prayer a priority in your life everyday, starting today! Challenge: Try to start and end each day with a time of passionate prayer for your Father in Heaven.

2. The Persistence of Prayer: Pray with some holy tenacity and Godly grit (v. 5-8). Prayer is not just about me getting my needs met, but prayer is also about me becoming more like my Father who is in Heaven. The more time that I spend connecting with Heaven, the more Heaven comes down to take residence in my soul.

3. The Picture of Prayer: Pray with eager anticipation (9-13). Find a good place to pray. Your prayer closet is anywhere will you will have minimal distractions. Also try to develop a habit of when you pray. Mornings are a great time to start your day before you begin your daily routines.

Today’s Big Idea: A.S.K. Pray like all depends upon God and keep seeking and knocking like you believe God will answer!

Action Steps:
* Start and end each day with a time of meaningful prayer with your Heavenly Father.
* Ask God to do His part, and you keep on taking the next right steps until the prayer is finally answered. (Keep in mind that you may get a different answer than you originally requested).
* Make prayer a culture in your everyday life. Prayer should not just be an activity that you engage in, but prayer should be part of who you are!