Teach Us to Pray

Luke 11:1
“One of his disciples said Lord, teach us to pray.”
Introduction: How is your prayer life? Occasionally, it does me good to take inventory on my prayer life? Do you need to? Let’s face it, the purpose of prayer is to have a relationship with the God of the Bible….by talking and listening. This starts as we turn from our sin and trust in Jesus’ precious, cleansing blood and receive Him as our Lord and Saviour. Instead of “SWEET HOUR of PRAYER” our culture has changed it to “SWEET MINUTE of PRAYER”! (guess that’s better than nothing). Is that the way to really build a meaningful LOVE RELATIONSHIP? So Why and How should we pray?
 
1. Why should we PRAY?
(“Lord, Teach us to pray”)
• Why? Because we have not because we ask not (James 4:2)
• Why pray? To keep us from falling into temptation (Matt 26:41 – “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak”)
• Why? Because we have an enemy (“Deliver us from evil…” Matt 6:13)
 
2. How should we PRAY?
(“Lord, teach us to pray”)
• Pray in Jesus’ name (John 14:13, 14)
• Pray according to the will of God (1 John 5:14, 15)
• Pray in Faith ( Matt 11:22-24)
• Pray for God’s glory (John 17:1f)
 
Conclusion: Quantity and Quality go hand in hand when it comes to praying. Do you want just 30 seconds a day/week with those you love? Or more like 30 minutes to an hour or more? How does our Heavenly Father feel….. when we just go to him when we’ve got a “flat tire” – or when we want Him to heal us or get us out of trouble, which is ok as long as we have a RELATIONSHIP with Him? But as a parent or a friend, we want to spend time with those we love. We’ve all enrolled in this SCHOOL of PRAYER…. graduation is when we get to heaven!
 
So…”Lord teach us to pray.”
Love y’all,
Dr. Randy Reese


When Life Gets You Down

Text: Psalm 143:1-12

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.”

Introduction: “Sometimes I’m up, Sometimes I’m down, Sometimes I’m low to the ground!” Do you ever get down? Are you down right now? How can you get up? David got down, but his God got him back up! There are (2) bridges to cross when you get down in order to get back up:
 
1. What do you do WHEN LIFE gets you DOWN?
• Remember to cry out to our Lord (Psa. 143:1). 
” Hear my prayer, O Lord.”
• Remember the devil’s badness (Psa. 143:3).
” For the enemy hath persecuted my soul.”
• Remember God’s goodness (Psa. 143:5). 
” I remember the days of old.”
 
2. Where do you go, WHEN life gets you DOWN?
• You TURN to JESUS (Psa. 143:7).
” My spirit faileth…. like them down in the pit.”
• You TRUST in JESUS (Psa. 143:8).
” For in thee do I trust.”
• You TRIUMPH in JESUS (Psa. 143:11).
“Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name sake.”(“quicken” means revive, make alive)
 
Conclusion: Aren’t you glad that we don’t have to stay down when we get down? I’m praying for those of you who will read this now. Sometimes we need to make CHANGES in our life…. How about you? A man recorded on his answering machine the following message: “I’m away from my phone right now, and making some CHANGES in my life, but leave a message and I’ll get back to you…….{pause}……. by the way, if you don’t get a call back…. you are one of the CHANGES!” 
 
Time to get up!
Love y’all,
Dr. Randy Reese


When Storms Come

Text: Mark 4:35-41
 
And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
 
Introduction: Notice that Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat and go to the other side – in other words, they would make it… but they had to “GO THRU IT” in order to “GET TO IT”! Sound familiar? Storms do not take our Lord by surprise.
 
1. When we go thru STORMS, we can TURN to JESUS (v.36-38)!
2. When we go thru STORMS, we can TALK to JESUS (v.38)!
3. When we go thru STORMS, we can TRUST in JESUS (v.41)!
 
Conclusion: Someone has well said, “Either we are in a STORM, coming out of a STORM, or getting ready to go into a STORM!” May God help us “GET THRU IT in order to GET TO IT!”
 
Love y’all,
Dr. Randy Reese