Someone asked me to post my lesson the next time I preach so here it is.
Prayer
How are we suppose to pray, who is listening, what if I don’t know what to say, why do my prayers seem unanswered.

How = Matt 6:5-13 Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray.
“Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name. = Praise,affection, and respect
Your kingdom come thy will be done = submission
Give us today our daily bread = trust, appreciation, and needs
Forive us our debts = forgivness for us and those that wrong us
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil = protection and strength

Who is listening? Sometimes I wander who am I talking to weell John 14:14, John 11:42 and 1 John 5:14,15 answers that question. Jesus hears us and God heard Jesus.

What if I dont know what to say? Do you ever wonder if what your saying is the right thing. Or are you saying the right words or the wrong words or did you explain enough? Well Romans 8:26&27 tell us that the spirit intercedes. The spirit knows our hearts and tells God what we mean. I think of it as God is the original language and the spirit translates what we say to God so that it makes since and it is a holy prayer.

Why does it seem like my prayers go unanswered. 2 Cor 12:8 talks about Paul asking for the thorn to be removed from his side and God tells him no. Your weakness will make you strong. Sometimes God allows things to happen to make us strong. Sometimes its our lack of faith. James 5:13-20 talks about praying with faith and Jesus told us that if have faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains. Well I think we all but God and our faith in a box and we are scared to let it out. God may not answer our prayers because we put earthly limits on God saying that doesn’t happen anymore or believing that the ill person is already dead. The apostles and disciples did not pray believing what they asked wasn’t going to come true. They prayed with confidence knowing that their God could do anything. We need to stop puting limits on God. God will only work as much as our faith will allow him too. Let that sit in and think bout it.
Well thats my sermon in a nut shell. I’ll expand a little more one things when I’m actually doing it but if you have any feed back don’t hesitate to give me a shout. Peace.