Mentoring Men for the Master

SURRENDER !

As you know my approach is to teach as simply as possible and with utmost clarity.  In fact I preach on the “3rd grade level” as requested by my mother who said if I would do that “even the college graduates would understand.”  Permit me, therefore, to explain why our lessons for 60 days are revolving around the 5 “S’s” when our primary focus is the 8th “I”, “Intense Devotion To One’s Family, Especially His Wife.”  The reason is this:  A guy  must experience the 5 “S’s” before he can devote himself to his family as God commands, that is:

  1. You must be SAVED  – FROM SIN  – Matthew 1:21
  2. You must be SURE you are saved. – 1 John 2:2-3; 15, 19; 3:9, 14, 24; 4:13; 5:10-13.
  3. You  must be SURRENDERED – TO PRAYER – 1 Thess. 5:17; Ephesians 6:28.
  4. You  must be SATURATED with God’s Word (internalization) – Josh 1:8; James 1:19-25
  5. You  must be SPIRIT FILLED or Controlled – Ephesians 5:18; Col. 3:15.

We have already addressed the first two “S’s”. Today we are ready to proceed with the 3rd “S” – SURRENDER –  TO PRAYER.

First, please review chapter 3, consisting of 27 pages, in your textbook titled, “Intimacy with the Father through Prayer.”  There are much foundational truths concerning prayer in this section.  But today we are being led by the Holy Spirit to give additional practical teaching on, “How To Make Prayer A Habit” even as Jesus did.  In the gospels we are told:

  1. When Jesus prayed – Unceasingly – Luke 18:1
    1. early in the morning before daylight – 3 AM – 6 AM (Mark 1:35)
    2. all night at times (Luke 6:12).
  2. How Jesus prayed –
    1. Jesus prayed continually (Luke 18:1)
    2. with people and for people (Luke 9:28)
    3. looking up (John 17:1)
    4. kneeling (Luke 22:41)
    5.  falling on His face (Matthew 26:19)
    6. Before making great decisions (Luke 6:12)
    7. After great victories (Matthew 14:23)
    8. To overcome temptations (Luke 22:39)
    9. Praising the Father (John 17:1)
    10. Intimacy with His Father (John 17:5)
    11. During crises (Mark 15:33-34)
    12. When dying (Matthew 27:46,50)

How To Make Prayer A Habit:

  1. Be convinced that prayer is the top priority for the Christian according to Jesus (Luke 18:1; Mark 1:35).
  2. Therefore, make an advance decision to set a time and place to pray daily (Ephesians 6:18-19).
  3. Make prayer a part of your day, not just a set time.  My set time to pray is 1:00 to 3:00 in the morning, but I often pray when I lie down, often at 11:00 AM, 5:30 AM in the midst of a busy day as the Spirit impresses.
  4. Do not wait for the right feeling.  Prayer is a choice, something you do regardless of how you feel.
  5. Pray before leaving your home in the morning.  Commit your children by name to God.
  6. Confess your sins immediately.  Unconfessed sin will affect every area of your life, and especially your praying (Proverbs 28:13; Matthew 5:23ff).
  7. Pray Scripture back to God.  Take God’s promises – and pray them back.  Scriptural prayer is the most powerful form of praying, because  His Word is His will and He always answers when we pray His will (1 John 5:14-15).  This is why we need not only to read and study and hear God’s Word but to memorize verbatim His great promises until we can “regurgitate” them in our mind as a cow “regurgitates” her food after storing it in her cud.  In recent days I have lived by praying back verbatim verses like:  Proverbs 3:5-6; Isaiah 41:10,13; Hebrews  13:5; 2 Timothy 4:7; Phil. 1:21; Romans 8:31-32; 28; 35-39; Psalm 23:4-6; Psalm 4:6 especially; Jeremiah 29:13; 32:17.
  8. Try different positions in prayer: standing, sitting, kneeling, on knees, on your face.  God looks at your heart, not your posture, but the position of your body is often an indicator of your heart.  The last thing I do before coming to class each week is to get on the floor and prostrate myself before God. Charles Stanley prays on his face.
  9. Expect God to answer – Hebrews 11:6; Mark 11:24.
  10. Never give up, keep on praying.  God promises to bless our persistence, for our persistence is the test of the seriousness of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2)  Read Proverbs 8:13; Mark 1:35.  (Luke 11:8)  Jesus commands we pray with “Importunity”  (anaideian).  This word means “shameless persistence”.  Illus:  My father in law.
  11.   And never permit any distraction to cause you to stop praying.  Matthew 7:7, “Ask” is not one asking but to keep on asking.  Example:  Jesus – Luke 23:34.
  12. Husbands, if not already, begin to start developing a prayer plan with your wife.  If not already praying with her, be brutally honest in asking, why?  God will tell you.  Whatever it is, it is serious sin.  Confess to God in repentance and to your wife if necessary and He and she will forgive you and you will be on the road to praying daily with your wife.

Please Shoot For Four Goals During Our Sixty Days of Surrender – Nov. 15th – Jan. 15th.

 Be SURE you are SAVED from sin.

  1. Be SURE you are praying with and for your wife or have begun the process of prayer with your wife daily.
  2. Be SURE you are not looking at internet pornography.
  3. Be SURE to attend every class unless PROVIDENTIALLY hindered.

What  Are The Enemies to The Habit of Praying: 

  1. Praying without being a Christian – John 14:6; 1 Tim. 2:5.
  2. Prayers that are never offered – James 4:2.
  3. Praying while hanging on to sin – Isaiah 59:1; Psalm 66:16.
  4. Praying while you have a closed Bible – Proverbs 28:9.
  5. Praying to impress others (hypocrisy) – Matthew 6:5.
  6. Praying with wrong motives – James 4:3.
  7. Praying with an unforgiving spirit – Mark 11:25.
  8. Mouthing the same old things over and over as a memorized ritual.  One authority on prayer said, “For most persons to have an effective prayer life he must un-memorize his old meaningless prayers.”
  9. Praying while there is conflict in marriage.  A warning is especially addressed to every husband, namely, if you do not treat his wife right, your prayers are cut off (1 Peter 3:7).
  10. Pride
  11. Laziness
  12. Self-righteousness