Rock Of Refuge Ministries

PRAY THE WORD AND WILL OF GOD
📖 James 4:3 (NKJV)
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
This week, we have learned that prayer is not simply about asking God to fulfil our personal desires. It is about developing a relationship with Him, understanding His Word and aligning our requests with His purposes.
We have also learned that:
Selfless prayer considers the needs of others.

Knowing God's Word helps us understand His will.

Our prayer motives matter.

Answered prayers can introduce new responsibilities and challenges.

True submission means accepting God's will above our personal preferences.

As we continue with the Back to Basics series, let us remember that the more we fellowship with God, the more we grow in our understanding of His heart.
Don't just ask God to bless your plans. Ask Him to align your plans with His will.
May our prayers reflect His Word, our motives reflect His heart and our lives fulfil His purposes.
Amen. 🙏🏾

PRAYER IS NOT AN OPTION

Main Scripture: Luke 18:1 (NLT)

Introduction

Prayer is not just something we do when we are in trouble. Prayer is a relationship with God. Prayer is necessary for every believer.

It is not about how long or how loud you pray, but about establishing and maintaining communication with God.

Luke 18:1 (NLT) teaches us that Jesus told His disciples a story to show them that they should always pray and never give up.

Prayer is not something we do only when we are in need. Prayer is a lifestyle.

Prayer is not simply a last resort when we have tried everything else. It should be our first response.

B2B Series Part 6: Pray without ceasing 
(Staying in contact with heaven)

📖  I Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV
  “pray without ceasing,”

Introduction
Fact: It is funny how we always keep our phones charged but our spirit man running empty. 

We cannot function without being charged by Word of God; prayer and worship.
We spend most our time in front of the TV screen and phone screen

Key truth:
We have never been so connected and yet so detached from one another. Even when we share meals we do it with phones in our hands taking attention away from one another. 

Sad reality: If we can’t have a meaningful connection with one another how can we effectively connect to the Heavens? 

📖 Luke 5:16 NKJV
“So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”

Effective prayer requires the:

Undivided attention to God;
Time schedule - clear intention of how long you will take to pray
Suitable place with no distractions - alert people around you not to disturb 

This is very difficult in our days because of the culture of multitasking.

Fact: This culture is draining the anointing and power of God in our lives 

Question: What does pray without ceasing looks like?

Answer: British evangelist Smith Wigglesworth (1859–1947), known as an apostle of faith.
“I don’t pray longer than 30 mins but I don’t go 30 mins without praying 🙏🏾 “

Not measured in minutes: He viewed prayer not as a long religious performance or a strict time block, but as an ongoing relationship.
A constant rhythm: Instead of praying for hours at once, he kept short, continuous communication with God active throughout his entire day.
Unbroken fellowship: Keeping intervals short ensures that your heart and mind stay connected to God during everyday tasks.

B2B Series Part 5: Prayer of Repentance
(Clear all the dirt and take out the trash)

📖 II Chronicles 7:14-15 NKJV
“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.”

Introduction: Natural man default setting

Key truth:
Repentance is not our natural default setting but self justification is.

When I have done something wrong I want to explain why I did it 
It’s never about me or my choices in the situation but it’s always about what the next person did to make me do what I did

You see what you made me do?

Fact: People don’t take full responsibility for their actions 

📖 Genesis 3:12-13 NKJV
“Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””

This is the first response of the first man and his family:
Blame God
Blame others
Blame satan 

Nothing has changed; we still follow the same pattern the only difference is that the scope of things to blame have expanded to:

Blame the weather 
Blame the government 
Blame the workers
Blame the management 
Blame my background 
Blame my parents 
Blame my children 
Blame the teacher
Blame the police 
Even blame yourself 

When we did wrong do introspection and list the facts that lead to what happened. Ask for forgiveness and repent. 

Repentance is like cleaning 🧹 your house and taking out trash. 

When we approach God in prayer we need to be repentant. 

II Chronicles 7:14 precedes the building of the temple by king Solomon. The temple was the place of prayer and worshipping God. 

God is not just setting up the temple appearance, the gold and furniture but also the heart ♥️ posture of people entering the temple. 

Key truth:
God promises to answer the prayers of His people if they come in repentance.

My people - sense of belonging 
My name - relationship with God
Humble themselves - deny me put God first
Pray - communicate with God
Seek my face - make an effort 
Turn from wickedness - repent
I will hear - God will surely hear you 
Forgive their sins - cleansing 
Heal their land - act of blessing

B2B Series Part 4: Eat The Word of God

📖  I Peter 2:1-3 NKJV
“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”

Introduction
Key truth:
Like a baby can’t survive without milk, the church can’t survive without the Word.