“Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” – Matthew 5:16
Followers of Jesus noticed the way he prayed and asked for guidance. “Pray like this,”
Have some frequent private personal prayer time with God. – Matthew 6:6
Don’t repeat words that are meaningless to you, thinking that the repeated activity will get you what you want. – Matthew 6:8
The Lord’s Prayer “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” – Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13 Luke 11:1-4
“don’t let us yield to temptation” – “lead us not into temptation” – Jesus taught us to pray this way.
God, I’m following you…please guide me away from…
temptation – attempt to cause to sin “miss the mark” of God’s pure love that is faithful, patient, kind
To “enter into temptation” as Jesus termed it, is to entertain and consider the prospect of giving in to sin.” – Timothy Keller Prayer
Temptation:
1. wealth, ability, honor that causes us to think we do not need God
2. focus on lack, frustration, losing hope, angry and estranged from God
It can be anything that would cause me to drift into centering my life on myself and my “inordinate desires” for other things.
God, please help me stay away from anything that might take Your place in my heart.
1 John 5:21
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” – Psalm 37:4
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” – Psalm 139:23-24
“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 22:37-39
“You must not have any other god but me.” – Exodus 20:3
“This is one part of the prayer that Jesus himself prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, under circumstances far more crushing than any of us will ever face. Matthew 26:39 Mark 14:36 Luke 22:41
Serenity Prayer “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is; not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next.” – Reinhold Niebuhr
“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.” – Philippians 1:27
“Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” – Hebrews 12:1-2
Let the Lord be my Shepherd, Psalm 23.
You could say, “I will let these words be my weapons as I fight.” – 1 Timothy 1:18 TEV