Disciples Persevere Through Prayer
Sunday August 15, 2021
Pastor Bruce
August 15, 2021

“Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” (John 8:31–32, The Message)
How do you know that you are a disciple of Jesus?


Our life with Christ takes a . We shouldn’t give up .

If following Jesus is following His

then we have to know what He is so we don’t miss a step.

1- Prayer Is

With God

Prayer is communicating with God. It is a

street.

“My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.” (Psalm 62:5, AMP)

2-

We Pray

Place of Prayer
“But whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God, praying to him in secret. And your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6, TPT)

Quiet Time
When we worship we make our

shut down and shut up. And at the same time our is tuning into God.

Come To The Word
Every time that we come before God with His

we activate the spirit of .

“I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know him through your deepening intimacy with him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling —that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones!” (Ephesians 1:17–18, TPT)

3- Prayer Does

Things

Takes us deeper with Jesus
“But God now unveils these profound realities to us by the Spirit. Yes, he has revealed to us his inmost heart and deepest mysteries through the Holy Spirit, who constantly explores all things. After all, who can really see into a person’s heart and know his hidden impulses except for that person’s spirit? So it is with God. His thoughts and secrets are only fully understood by his Spirit, the Spirit of God. For we did not receive the spirit of this world system but the Spirit of God, so that we might come to understand and experience all that grace has lavished upon us. And we articulate these realities with the words imparted to us by the Spirit and not with the words taught by human wisdom. We join together Spirit-revealed truths with Spirit-revealed words. Someone living on an entirely human level rejects the revelations of God’s Spirit, for they make no sense to him. He can’t understand the revelations of the Spirit because they are only discovered by the illumination of the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:10–14, TPT)

In prayer and communion with God we begin to walk by

and not by sight. Faith is the of the unseen realm.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9, NIV)

*Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5–8, NIV)

Produces Perseverance
“Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding on behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).” (Ephesians 6:18, AMP)

Keeping alert and watching with strong

and involves prayer

“Be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping your passion toward him boiling hot! Radiate with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him fill you with excitement as you serve him. Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.” (Romans 12:11–12, TPT)