Making Prayer Powerful Through Relationship

July 13, 2008 - Rev. Rurel Ausley, Rev. Kevin Kelly

Luke 18:9-14

NIV Luke 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-- robbers, evildoers, adulterers-- or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

1. As we begin this prayer series, what struggles are you experiencing in your prayer life? What do you believe are the reasons for these struggles? What do you hope to learn from our current series?

2. Read Luke 18:9-14, Jeremiah 26:3 and Ezekiel 18:23. What do these passages reveal about the kind of person God listens to? Do you find yourself more like the Pharisee or tax collector in Luke 18? Why?

3. One of the principles we talked about was "when people complain that God didn't help, it's often because he didn't hear." Doesn’t God hear every prayer? How do you interpret this statement?

4. What makes prayer a family privilege? How does our relationship with God impact our prayers? How do people use religious rituals, positive thinking and magic words to manipulate an answer from God to a specific prayer? Why don’t these work?

5. A good relationship with God is based on humility toward God and others. How does humility impact our prayers making them more powerful? How can our relationship with other people impact our prayer life?

6. We must be obedient to the revelation that we already have in our life. This means that when I become aware of personal sin and struggles, I deal with them and don't let them fester in my life. What does the Psalmist reveal in Psalm 66:18-20? Are you currently being obedient to God's leading concerning your struggles? Do you believe un-confessed sin maybe impact the power of your prayers? What can you do?