Daily Dynamic Encounter with God

PRAYER SCHOOL DC MACKIV

FLORENCE ANDEOYE0752620248

17TH OCT 2013

. DEFINITION

• The daily encounter with the Lord, which is also a Quiet time as the name implies; a period specially set aside by a Christian for the purpose of having communion with God, i.e. allowing Him to talk to you through His word, the Holy Bible and also for you to bring your request to Him in prayer.

• In Psalms 16:11, the Bible says “Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; and at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” This passage shows clearly the desire of the psalmist to know the pathway of life and how he could achieve this.

• Furthermore, the message from the passage draws attention to the need for a personal waiting on the Lord. This we may call the quiet time- as can be seen from the statement- “show me the path of life” and ”in thy presence”.

• The prayer altar is the foundation upon which a solid Christian foundation is built Exodus 20:24-26. An altar of prayer is a specific place where the Christian meets the Lord at a specific time.

• In such a meeting place, the individual must know how to present a complete menu of prayer before the Lord each day at the time of meeting.

• The Spiritual menu which comprises the six main components of prayer is: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Petition/Supplication, Intercession, and Waiting on the Lord. Is taught explicitly in Matthew 6:5-15; Ephesians 6:18-19; 1Timothy 2:1-4; Psalms 27:14-28; 62:5-8.

THE BIBLICAL EXAMPLES

• David: The heart of David was a flamed with the passionate zeal for his God. Psalm 63:1-6 This made him to seek the Lord early.

• Jesus: His life was characterized by an earnest devotion to His Father.

• He realized the utmost importance of daily fellowship alone with God and hence made it His number one priority Mark 1:35.

• Daniel: A man who purposed in his heart not to allow the king’s meat to defile him and also set his face to seek the Lord daily Daniel 6:10; 9:1-4.

• Paul: Knew that the most important thing to do is to forget that which was behind him and aim at knowing Christ more and more on daily basis. Philippians 3:7-11.

REASONS

• Our Lord Jesus Christ set for us an example to follow.• Mark 1:35; Matthew 14:23; Hebrews 5:7; 7:25.• It is a way by which we draw near to God. James 4:8.• It is a way by which we grow consistently, living a

victorious Christian life in steadfastness, victory and in the joy of the Lord 1 Peter 2:2-3; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-6

• The journey of life for the new day is greater than an individual can walk alone in his/her own strength and wisdom. 1 Kings 19:7; John 15:5-8; Exodus 33:11, 14.

WHEN SHOULD ONE HAVE IT

• Early in the morning when the mind is fresh and not yet polluted with the day’s activities.

• Examples:• The Lord Jesus Mark 1:35• Abraham Genesis 19:27• David Psalms 5:3

COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE QUIET TIME

• The main components include the following which are necessary for effectual praying:

• Adoration• Confession • Thanksgiving• Petition • Intercession • Waiting/Receiving

Adoration:

• Praising God for who He is, for His love , wisdom, power, knowledge, grace, holiness, greatness and his other divine attributes Psalm 34:1, 95:1-2; 100:1-4; 107:15.

• Note:-Adoration must be reserved for God, not for projects, ministries or works done in His name. Other passages helpful to express His majesty1 Chronicles 29:11, Psalms 8:9, Job 37:22, and Holiness-Exodus 15:11, Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16.

Confession:

• Agreeing with God about your sin. 1 John 1:8-9 both sin and righteousness are the results of personal decisions.

• So confession that is based upon genuine repentance will be approved by a change in an individual’s character.

• Our spiritual victory normally comes as a result of an honest, cleansing kind of prayer.

• Note:-Confession and repentance need to be deep and specific.

Thanksgiving:

• Expressing gratitude to God for what He has done. 1Thessalonians 5:18.

• Paul admonishes every Christian to give thanks always under all circumstances. He had been through beatings, shipwreck, hunger, imprisonment etc. yet his heart was always filled with gratitude.

• You can have the same attitude. How long has it been since your heart was overwhelmed by God? Remember it is far better to spend much time thanking God than always asking or making requests to Him.

Petition/Supplication:

• Prayer for your personal needs John 16:24, 14:13 most petitions will deal with some small problems, decisions and opportunities. Pray about everything, and try not to confuse your needs with your wants. By faith, be ready to praise Him for a “yes” or a “no” answer that comes Matthew 6:33.

• He should pray also for Christians who are living short of the grace and privileges freely available to God’s children.

• An intercessor must love the object of his intercession.

• Example:-List the names of individuals, families, nations, ministers and ministries and their specific needs and pray for them.

Waiting/Receiving:

• Ceasing from self effort Lamentations 2:18-19 • Keeping silent so as to hear God talk Exodus

24:17• Tarrying for a divine green or red light over

issues, that is if God is saying yes or no concerning a particular issue• Wordless worship Isaiah 40:31

• This is a missing virtue in many Christians prayer lives.

• Many Christians don’t bother to hear God talk after their prayers.

• Never rush out of your prayer closet; learn to always receive something from God for the day.

• Though it may be difficult initially, it is however profitable in the end.

WHAT IS NEEDED

• An open and honest heart desperately thirsting for God. Psalm 42:1-2

• An isolated location, free from interruption and distractions. Matthew 6:6

• A good complete Bible {Old and New Testament} with concordance.

• An aid to daily Bible Study such as- “Daily Guide”, “Daily Bread”, “Daily Power” etc.

• A Quiet Time note book for jotting down lessons learnt from the study of the Bible and revelation or instructions received from God.

• A prayer notebook for writing out the prayer requests and noting the answered prayers.

• Note:-When studying and meditating on the word of God, in order to make a personal application, follow the SPACE principle by asking the following questions: Is there any,

• S: Sin for me to confess?• P: Promise for me to claim? • A: Attitude to change?• C: Command for me to obey?• E: Example to follow?

HOW TO HAVE A PROPER QUIET TIME

• Posture: Come before God in reverence, faith, meekness and with an open mind. It is better to kneel down, but you can also stand up and sit down.

• Ask the Holy Spirit, who is the author of the Bible, to explain to you as you study the word Psalm 19:14.

• Listen attentively in your inner man to what God has to teach you in the passage of scripture you are studying, e.g. Warning to heed, good examples to follow, pitfall to avoid, command to obey, promises to claim or task to perform.

• Believe what the Lord has taught you and write it down in your quiet-time notebook for future reference.

• Read the notes or commentary in your “Daily Guide” or any other study guide for more lessons.

• Pray through the topics you have listed in your prayer notebook, praying about your needs last Matthew 6:23-24.

• Give thanks to God for answered prayers.

HOW LONG SHOULD THE QUIET TIME BE?

• There is no hard and fast rule about the length of time to be spent on quiet time. What matters is the quality of the quiet time. A proper child of God will rather love to spend more time with the Lord as he/she grows in the Lord and loves Him more. However, you need to remember that we owe God a tithe of our time.

• And so a tithe of 24 hours is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes. On the other hand, the Lord Jesus recommended a minimum of 1 hour of daily prayers Matthew 26:40-41.

• Note: - During the day, the believer should meditate on what the Lord has taught him/her during the quiet time, practice them, and practice God’s presence.

• GOD BLESS U• THANKS