Foundations for Effective Prayer

Somebody relationship everything is gone you'll click cylinders you pray you still play and that's what you will be a personal phrase all time. Because God is ready to mount a glory in your life and so you need to develop an effective prayer life an audience with the Almighty on this Monday edition of Destin for victory with pastor Paul Sheppard: thanks for tuning in what communication is the foundation for any healthy relationship in your marriage with your friends and family. Even with your boss and your coworkers honest and open dialogue is a critical element in achieving relational or vocational success.

It's the same way in your relationship with God and today pastor Paul wants to help you build or perhaps rebuild a solid foundation of prayer, stay right here or listen online anytime a pastor Paul.net you can also subscribe to the podcast@pastorpaul.net Apple podcast or where ever you go to download podcasts. Be sure to stay tuned after the message Pastor Paul joins me in the studio but first let's join him for today's Destin for victory message foundations for effective prayer. Now I want to continue in the profane and specifically what I want to do is talk to you about developing an effective prayer life. As I said in the previous part of the series not you pray when you pray, and I want to encourage some of you who don't come from a prior background to learn to get comfortable praying on a regular basis in your life you need to make prayer part of your every day all going experience. You don't want to become a person who only praise 911.

Prayer never met the type that some folk only prayer you know damn tropical Victorian, the people who know you not know what's going on because you pray all the time in the good times you pray for bad times you break things going well you play lousy you pray mother you pray, pray, somebody got a wonderful relationship. Everything is going your clicking on all cylinders. You pray you still play and that's what you want to be a personal phrase all the time because God is ready to manifest the glory in your life and so you need to develop an effective prayer life. So here's what I want to do.

I want to just talk to through a couple of keys that Jesus gave us for praying effectively.

The first key is found here in Matthew chapter 6 go there if you have the Bible I wanted to get to practical keys will develop an effective prayer life. Matthews gospel chapter 6 and the first thing I want to do is look with yet verses five and six.

Matthews gospel chapter 6 verses five and six. Jesus is speaking, he says.

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray to your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret for some translations say the secret place, and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly saw the first key I want to give you because I want everybody to learn how to pray. But if you don't come from a prayer background. I want you to be comfortable, you can't be a good follower of Christ, and you can experience God's glory in God's best in your life until you become used to being a praying person and the first key is converse with God exclusively. That's the first thing Jesus teaches us here converse with God exclusively will I mean by that, even if other people are present day might hear you pray, but you're not praying to him you are praying to God. In other words, you have an audience of one. When you pray, others might listen then but it's like you're on the phone with somebody you might be in the room but I'm not talking to you I'm talking on the phone. That's what prayer is, you might be they are inherently pray but I'm not talking to you I'm talking to the audience of one that really matters and that is God himself. I want to understand what Jesus is saying here.

Look to get a birth. Bobby said when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites about religious people of his day the Pharisees and such would go out into public places. He goes on to explain such as standing in the synagogues and also on the corner of the streets and that's where they would do their praying. Now look at what Jesus said they had their reward because their purpose in praying openly and in those conspicuous places is to be seen by other people. I want you to learn to pray for the purpose of the Pope, knowing that you pray. I want you to learn to develop prayer as a pattern in your life because you will come to understand, I am touching God himself. When I pray now Jesus is insane. You can play around other people. That's not the point at all. He's saying understand when you pray my brain around people what you're talking to God. These religious people that he rebukes in this passage are folks who want to be seen. Their whole debate is I want both to think I am so spiritual I want people to think I'm really close with God and so really it's not about the audience of one. It is about being seen of men came to tell you. God doesn't care that you pray around other people, but he wants to make sure you know you talking to him and that he is the one who matters because to be seen. The people Jesus said you have your reward whatever they think you got your reward, but how will you know when I need a reward from heaven. I need to hear me and simply because God can do for me what the people around me can do to impress you. What you have for me to do so. He so spiritual because it's not right you can think I'm spiritual and God is looking at me saying you so you think our spiritual they are not what you think they are because man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart and hope you understand is not important what people think of you.

It is important what God knows about you. So Jesus makes this statement because he wants the contrast people whose motive is to be seen of men against people whose motive is to be heard by God, and I don't know about you but I want to heavily hearing when I pray and he's not rebuking that what he says, go into your your secret place and shut the door.

He's not giving you a legalistic standard. Make sure nobody's listen to you when you pray not to put it out there time when people pray, and others were gathered with them. One person laid out in prayer, but they represented the hearts of all the people that we do in charts where one person leave the main prayer in the service so that all of us can unite our faith together and agree with that prayer. Jesus is in rebuking that you can play around people, but you can be praying to be seen of people to get the difference because at the end of the day.

The people don't have anything that you could really use if they think you're wonderful. That's because they don't know you the truth, we just need to let Quiktrip it. The people who think we all that. That's proof you don't really know me because I'm so but I'm not all people think you're all that they don't really know you somewhat at an age of some of some of the stuff all I wish I did some poking here, to be honest with just a little while yes you do have your strength yes you do have your grade point. Yes, there are some things about you that bomb to be sure, but that's a mother. About you that if God doesn't help you do so you are on to be honest with you some of that were coming right back with more of today's destined for Victor message Pastor Paul Shepherd, senior pastor, destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California.

If you love this program. We know you'll enjoy watching Pastor Paul's best video clips on YouTube subscribe to pastor Paul there or visit pastor Paul.net for links to all of his social media that's pastor Paul.net will also find a host of great resources that are online store in your tithes and offerings in your thought life and in your prayer life. The true test of your character is defined by what you do when no one else is watching Pastor Paul with the rest of today's destined for Victor message foundations for effective prayer more highly of yourself and your says to think soberly going to say that in Romans 12 think soberly about yourself so you have low self-esteem.

Oh, I'm nothing on pitiful one for me know that you can acknowledge your strong points. I'm really good in this area. Thank God you give God the glory.

He's blessed me to be this so that the other but then just know there's some of the stuff you don't want talk to folk about Phyllis is leave it at this so Jesus is saying it's not that people can be around what your motive has to be to be heard in heaven. In fact, before he gets to this point in Matthew six, Jesus says the same thing about your giving. He says when you give your alms, don't do it to be seen of people. Same principle you can give offerings publicly. In fact you showed because we gotta receive the Lord's offering. So we collectively can advance the kingdom through our giving they did in the early church. They pooled their resources so that they could take care of the needs of the people coming into the family of God in the days of the early church, and so nothing wrong with people knowing your giving.

We take offerings have to be secret. Jesus even watchful. Do you know how the reason he was able to say about the widow who gave him the night he said she gave more than all y'all now how would Jesus know that everyone looking at all for Marcy gave she gave y'all why is he looking it's not that you can't get publicly impacted on local ministry like what pastor we need you to be on the record giving because we need to know who we can count on who is advancing the kingdom giving so that we can know that you are a member in good standing. I need to know you come regularly. I need to know that you're willing to serve in the kingdom to help us do the ministries need to know that you will give faithfully so that we can advance the kingdom collectively throughout giving. That's what we call in our church a member in good standing. I'm tell you right now don't like me need a reference path I need a reference and you don't give on the record. You don't come all the time and you don't serve any time.

Don't call me asking for reference, write the people you need a reference all know I need to know he or she deals faithfully, they are here regularly. They attend regularly and they serve, they help us. They pray they support. That's a member in good standing if you're not just a member on paper a man be on the record, it's not so you can brag. I don't want the credit fine. You don't need to get any credit but I need to know about will still work accountable for stewardship and the Bible says all about the stewards everybody work and therefore you want to be counted on. You want to be somebody we can rely on so that false piety.

No, I don't get this. My don't give you the envelopes you might end up with benevolence need pastor can the church help me. I'm going through a crisis right now. Can the church help me.

I'm in São Paulo because I don't know if you are so serving. I don't know you have to take what he right today is no record wonderful privilege to help you because you're one of the people we count on to move forward. Not that we want to assist somebody who's brand-new in some way that we can do it, but the fact of the matter is develop a track record. You see what I'm saying because people have to know you it's a principle is the principle of stewardship and it is true in the kingdom of God and so we talked about giving in the first several verses of Matthew six and then here in verses five and six. He talks about, pray, and he says converse with God exclusively, people can be around some things you need to pray about and people need to hear Y'all got to the place where the some stuff you need to say to God, and you look around for see if anybody in the house need to talk to him about something that are so close to my heart. Some of them are delicate situations and you can afford to be overheard. So sometime okay I'm in here now, but I'll know somebody will have a house and I can slip into and you never heard him some prison you need to premiere the door so that any review here key in their later I'm not you had a people slipping on you and they catch you in one of those real situations you when you say a man you open your eyes and they look at you missing. There are times when you got the best thing you do get in your car and drive somewhere in Paris on July the help you develop an effective plan, like getting your car drive somewhere. Talk to God's areas to get his people as you can because I got to go back to pray like you want to converse with God exclusively, make sure even the people present there is an audience of one. It's okay for people to be present but make sure you know who you're talking to you want to pray real prayers you want to get through to happen and so let God hear from you exclusively you know that he is the audience of one for the people around they can agree imprint they want or not that matter. And when plant becomes effective and regular in your life.

It's almost like breathing you get into prayer all the time. It's nothing special for me to pray. Amen.

Prayer mode all the time. I'm talking to God all the time and that's why it's not religious practices is what I do get ready.

He provided the Bible says, learn to appreciate the fact that he provided this for you and you give guidance as you get ready to eat. That's what Grace was there some muscle Sunday school children would tell y'all who didn't grow up in church, we were taught to pray these little prayers over your food because it would just get us into the habit of prayer y'all learn to pray as a child going to bed now I lay me down to sleep and stuff like that. Pray the Lord my soul to keep God before I wake pray the Lord my soul to take teaching us how to engage God.

I pray at night now, but I don't say those words. Why because I was just getting me in the habit of talking the God when we prayed all the kids. God is great God is good and we thank him for his food by hand. We all are. Give us the Lord our daily bread man chow down.

They were teaching us that God and to pray and recognize him and then pray what you words are met is where your heart is and you have to be a religious terrorist were people who don't pray, don't make the body of the table.

I touch it terrorized the table to do that.

Pray over my food table knows the Lord and we can say hey y'all.

Break up with people they don't know the Lord will make them pray and you know it when they can keep on their talk about my head not just pray over my food and it's up to them whether they pray over there. I'm covering this. This is blessed this right here ready this blessed y'all.

Good luck.

You see what I hope you blessed. I know this is blessed you know is not religious kitchen. Don't know what they going through will know that back then they don't care one way or the other what happened the day and put it in my mouth.

I need to God. God bless this difference is if they put so many intentionally or in a Berkeley take Lord neutralizing that put myself in your hands up, put myself in the Lord say so you learn to pray, pray about everything and make it normative in the way to do that is always know I'm talking to an audience of one. Thanks so much for being here for two days destined for victory with pastor Paul Sheppard. This message foundations for effective prayer as well as a recent message from Pastor Paul can be found on demand@pastorpaul.net that's Pastor Paul.net and pastor Paul Sheppard joins me know from his studio in California.

Well here we are at the beginning of a new year and pastor.

This is always a time for reflection and setting new goals are you ready for the new year.

After we went through in 2020. What you think. I can't wait to get into 2021 or this is been some teller listeners what God is put on your hearts. We start 2021 well as we began the broadcast year. They'll hear me open with a couple of messages where I'm just, setting our focus and helping us to realize that we must keep eternity in view. And I go back to the resurrection of Christ. The reason why he was raised from the dead was to give us life abundant and eternal. And I said our focus there and then you him he began to teach on the matter of prayer because if we're going to get through 2021 were only going to do it through prayer, we gotta get through the rest of this pandemic and all of its fallout and it's going to take prayer and we need to make sure prayer is always firing the winning shot, say, Lord, we don't have the power, but you have the power to help us get through this and so I'm looking forward to helping people refocus and helping us center ourselves in things that are most important prayer and keeping an eternal perspective are among them reminded of the words of 20th century Christian apologist CS Lewis aim at heaven and you get thrown in Amon earth and you'll get neither.

Thanks for that great reminder Pastor Paul as we head into this new year helping people keep their focus on Jesus is what destined for victory is all about, but we can't do it without your help is our way of saying thanks for your generous gift this month will be happy to send you pastor Paul's booklet, it pays to serve Jesus as you dive into this resource from Pastor Paul will be encouraged to remember that every promise God makes is a promise. God keeps again. This booklet is called, it pays to serve Jesus as our gift to you by request for your generous gift to destined for victory today so call us at 855-339-5500 to give your gift over the phone or mail it to destined for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538 course you can also make a safe and secure donation on her website.

Pastor Paul.net is what Jesus put it in Matthew seven. Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be open. What's different if you don't ask, don't expect to receive.

If you don't think, don't expect to find if you don't knock open the door you haven't shown that you are active in seeking that's tomorrow and pastor Paul Sheppard's message foundations were effective prayer. Until then, remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory