The Rock San Diego – 6/28/09 – Bubbles – Part 2, Got Bubbles?

• God is not obligated to answer your prayers
• God has more answers to prayers than ‘yes’ or ‘no’
• God wants to answer your prayer

• God can follow your prayer, but can you?  Are you jumping all over the place, and will not recognize His answer when it comes?
• Write down whatever you feel God saying to you

• How do you know when God is speaking to you?
  • It’s a small, still voice and it’s Biblical

• Think about one big miracle in your life
  • Not self-serving, something you can’t do, and in alignment with God’s call in your life (quitting smoking, etc)

• When God answers your prayer, He glorifies Himself

• A – Admire God
  • Thank Him for everything – don’t take your blessings for granted – life, clear water, clothes, food
• W – Wait
  • Imagine you’re sitting in front of a river, calm – release thoughts like they’re floating away down the river
  • Can say “Thank you Jesus” to let go of those thoughts
• C – Confess
  • Agree with God about your sin
  • Here’s what I did, and here’s why I did it
  • God, create in me a clean heart – help me understand my sin
  • There’s stuff you need to pay for in your life – you will pay for it in one way or another
• I – Intercede
  • Pray for other people, anyone
  • Love your enemies – reveal your holiness to them, bring their life in alignment with the your Word – bless them
  • The mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart
• P – Petition
  • God wants to bless me – doesn’t mean He wants to give you want you think you want – God’s love is based on truth
  • Ask for anything – ask for a miracle
• A – Admire

• While praying, I pictured [my daughter] sitting with me at the river in the W step, with our bare feet dangling in the water, just hanging out admiring the nature around us.
• While praying at C step, I realized that lust may be a symptom of my lack of intimacy with [my wife].  I pray that God would help me build more intimacy with [my wife].
• While praying at I step, I prayed for Angelo, that God would reveal His holiness and provide His peace to him.  I realized that praying for someone who I instinctually feel has ‘more’ than me is liberating in a way, because it helps me relate to that person as human and needing Jesus.  He’s not foreign just because he’s a powerful leader.

• Prayer is work, it can be difficult – praying for others, confession, submission

The Rock San Diego – 6/21/09 – Bubbles – Part 1, What is Prayer?

• A hypocrite is someone who believes one thing and does the opposite.
• Repetition is not prayer
  • How would your dad feel if you said “Happy Fathers Day” seven times because you thought that’s how you thought you could be heard?
• He wants you to talk to Him – from your heart – every time
• He’s a person, not an object – speak to Him – He understands your pain, desires
• Be real with your emotions, fears, etc
• The Lord’s prayer is the model for prayer
• Be specific in your prayer
• There are hinderances to your prayers being answered / addressed
• God wants to bless you – and He has them waiting just for you

• Communication is the exchange of ideas or information
• God’s bubbles are waaaay better than your bubbles – we send up junk (and He wants your junk)
• Prayer is your faith reaching out to God
• God’s voice is a small still voice
• Wait for God to respond
• It is absolutely expected that prayer is two-way – it’s communication (I have been feeling lately that it was presumptuous of me to think that God would talk to me every time I prayed)
• Jacob said “I’m not letting you go until you bless me”
  • Wrestling with the Lord is prayer
  • Don’t “punk out” with God and give up your wrestle (prayer) before you are blessed by God – He delights in blessing you
  • God’s telling you “come on.. come get it”
• God may let you suffer with pain to allow the lesson to be learned (for your own good)
• God’s not in the business of making us happy – He’s in the business of making us holy

• Jeremiah 33:3 – Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty things that you do not know
• Call Him on His promise – but remember God’s ways are not our ways – He will do for you what He knows you need in His way
• You may ask Him a Yes or No question and He may give you a completely different answer
• “Lord give me wisdom about…”
• Psalms 119: 169 – Let my cry come before you Lord.  Give me understanding according to your word.”
• He will help you make decisions about your life according to the Bible.
• It’s not enough to ask for ‘happiness’ or for ‘a blessing’ – He wants you to be specific about a unique challenge, decision, issue, confession, etc
• If you tell God, He can clean out the junk in your heart

• He changes the way you think, process information, and how you feel
• He changes your desires
• Psalms 51: 10 – Create in me a clean heart, oh God.
• Your heart wants to be wicked – you don’t even realize how wicked your heart is – you want to think you’re “not that bad”
• Lord, change my heart – give me a desire to be holy
• Holy desires come from God – not you
• Romans 12:1 – … present your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable…
• Sometimes we ask God for something that we wouldn’t ask if our heart were clean
• When you ask the questions He wants, He will bless

• Power = Ability, authority, and freedom to do, or to act
• What God can do, man cannot do, ever
• There’s no question God has power, there’s no question He loves you, there’s no question he’s telling you to pray, there’s no question He’s going to put you in a position where you need His power, so He’s going to put you in a corner where you either self-destruct or you trust Him
• He has power to make you strong – He’s looking for you to trust Him
• Get on your knees and ask for God to clean your heart
• Moses had to wait 80 years before his ministry (40 years of education, 40 years of tenderizing his heart, then 40 years of ministry)

Choosing the Lord

I have been distracted by WoW again. I know, I can’t believe it either. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m back

Lord, I have gone astray. You know I’ve become distracted. You know I’ve called out to you from time to time. It’s like I’m your lost sheep – wandering and calling, “where are you?” Bring me back home, Lord. I realize I need to keep my eyes, ears, thoughts squarely on you. I realize that you are not here to help me choose. You have already shown me the way. It’s up to me to choose. I choose you, Lord.