2 Pet. 1:1-3 Growing in our relational knowledge of God multiplies grace & peace to us and gives us access to everything we need to live a godly life. 2 Pet. 3:17, 18 Continue to grow in the grace & knowledge of our Lord.
How? Last week, Grow in God’s Word
Ps. 141:2 (I lift my hands in surrendered worship!) TPT. Rev. 5:8-10; 8:3, 4 Prayer and worship go together, rising like incense to God. Many psalms are prayers in song. When we offer our requests to God with thanksgiving, we invite God’s peace to guard our hearts and minds.
If you are born again by God’s Spirit, God is your Father. He loves you and wants you to talk to him. Think of what God did, and the price he paid, to grant us the privilege of prayer. We have access to Almighty God.
God’s word is our guide to effective prayer and true worship.
Prayer (Purpose and Promises)
Purpose. Purpose promotes perseverance. Mt. 6:9, 10 The purpose of prayer is to grow closer to God and to see his will done. God revealed his will in his word.
Promises. Pray God’s promises in Christ 1 Jn. 5:14. Jerry Falwell said, “Nothing of eternal significance can happen apart from prayer.”
Jesus, the sinless Son of God, made time for prayer with his Father Mk 1:35.
The best way to learn to pray is to pray. Try to make time to pray when you can focus on the Lord. Pray throughout the day too 1 Thess. 5:16-18.
Worship is about God’s worth. He alone is worthy of worship. We worship God first for who he is. God is the perfection of all virtue. No one can compare to God. We also worship God for what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do. Worship expresses our faith, love, reverence, and gratitude to God. Jn. 4:23. True worship is from our heart and is expressed in multiple ways in Scripture. True worship always focuses on God & glorifies him.
Worship (Priority and Presence)
Priority. Competing forces battle for first place in our hearts. Worship helps us keep God first-place. If we begin to look to someone or something to give us what God offers, like his peace or security, we are in danger of making it an idol in our hearts. It’s a matter of priority. Lk. 4:8 We serve who, or what, we genuinely worship. “The greatest expression of worship is obedience.”
Presence. Worship invites God’s presence to be revealed in us and among us. In God’s manifest presence, we sense his awesome holiness, his power, and his love. God’s glorious presence transforms us 2 Cor. 3:18. Christlikeness is our goal.
Ps. 109:2-4 literally, “I am prayer.” We can grow into a prayer lifestyle. We grow in praying for God’s kingdom and his will not just for ourselves, but for others too.
Ps. 71:14 “more and more” We grow in prayer and worship, to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord.
Adrian Rogers “A mark of real maturity is doing what you don’t feel like doing when you don’t feel like doing it.”
Let’s refuse complacency and keep growing in the Lord.