Created to be like Christ

Transcription

1 Session 1: Prayer and the Word of God I. The place of Prayer in the Christian life A. Prayer occupies a significant place in the life of the Christian. It is the life-line for the Christian. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mk. 1:35 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. He said to them, When you pray, say: Father hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.give us each day our daily bread.forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. Lk. 11: Prayer is the one thing that can conquer God. Christ has willed that it should work no evil, and has given it all power over good. (Tertullian) 2. Prayer is the key connection to Jesus Christ and to bringing our life under his Lordship. We will not be able to accomplish all that we can with our life without an ongoing prayer life. Prayer feeds our lives and is a gift. It is based on knowing the Lord Jesus and the anointing of the Spirit initiating prayer in our hearts. 3. We should desire prayer, seek after it; thirst after it. Prayer is meant to be the insurance that can t be overcome. In all circumstances of our life we say: I belong to God. I am his son (daughter). I am royalty. I have the first 1

2 pledge of my inheritance. Regardless of what is happening to me, I am in the company of saints and apostles and I am destined to live forever. Because of your prayer life-you are victorious. 4. The purpose of a prayer life is to imitate the Master, Jesus. I learn to live like him; think like him; act like him and do like him. If we approach prayer with this attitude, we will have a deeper understanding of what it means to be an disciple and follow him. Prayer is the primary thing in our life. He made it so. B. Jesus rose early in the morning to pray. 1. He realized that at a particular time it was more important for him to be engaged in prayer than any other activity. 2. The Scripture says he rose early-he took the initiative to pray. He didn t sleep in and wait for an opportunity to pray came up. 3. We must be willing to do the same. While some may say they don t function at their best in the morning, and may be true, than you should arrange for a time that is most advantageous to pray at your best. Rising early in the morning is the norm and our attitude should be one that expresses a readiness to make a sacrifice. 4. The disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them to preach or heal or teach, but to pray. Jesus would rather teach us to pray than anything else. He did teach us to pray with the Lord s prayer. Yet he taught us more than just words. The Lord s prayer shows us how our prayer should go. 2

3 5. We live the way we pray and we pray the way we live (Louis Evely). While the length of your prayer time varies by vocation, what you express in your prayer will be your relationship with God and how you live will express your relationship with God. The easiest and most effective way to live is the change the way you pray. 6. No time to pray, means no faith in God (Fr. Mike Scanlan). Faith is a dependence upon God by which we believe in what we don t see but is yet to come. IF you have faith that God can do the most for you, then you will turn to God. Does this mean praying long hours? It simply means requesting God s aid and assistance, however long it takes and to pray as long and as effectively as is necessary to face the situation you find yourself in. In practice, no time to pray means no faith in God. 7. Perhaps you heard it said, Pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on you? In reality, according to Fr. Mike Scanlan, St. Ignatius of Loyola, who wrote this quote, actually said, Pray as if everything depends on you and work as if everything depends on God. In other words, when you invest yourself totally in prayer you are united to God and to His vision and power and you go forth without anxiety or fear as to what is going to happen. 3

4 II. Elements of A. The setting. 1. St. Mark writes that he went off indicating that Jesus took the initiative to seek out and to find a place where he knew he would not be disturbed. Like Jesus, we too need to seek out and find a place to pray. 2. We need the right setting to approach prayer as he did and as he calls us to do. It means to set aside a time and a place to be with some one. It means making a commitment to three preconditions of prayer: a. when you are going to meet b. where you are going to meet c. with whom you are going to meet 3. The way to have a prayer time in your life is to have a time, place and a person-god himself- with whom you are meeting. In essence, it is making an appointment with God. We must be willing to give God the first and best time. If we are going to interact with God and hear him, we have to have a place that is quiet and orderly. 4

5 B. Praise 1. We always begin with praising God. This determines and sets straight the nature of our relationship to God: he is the Creator and I am the creature. It is not God, old buddy as if we are old buddies. Rev. 7: The right relationship with God is expressed in this passage of Scripture. This is the kind of response to God we are to have. You in prayer are a member of the body of Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of God. You enter into the heavenly throne room through the head-jesus. You pray along with all the saints and angels, the martyrs and all the holy men and women who have gone before the vast multitude in the heavenly court. 2. There is a certain level of praising God that involves throwing out distractions, worshipping God, centering on Him, moving before his face that is right for you. There is a certain height you can reach when you know that it is about as far into God as you normally can get. Praise is something we grow into and grow deeper into. 3. How do we praise God? One, of course, could use your own words to express your acknowledgement of God. The psalms, particularly many of the praise psalms give a language to praise God. In addition, one may recall the titles of Jesus from the Scriptures, such as Jesus is the Savior, the baptizer in the Spirit, the healer, the word of God, etc. Also, the language of the Catholic liturgy, such as the Gloria or the Hosanna in the highest, etc give excellent language to praise God. 5

6 C. Listening and Revelation 1. How do we receive God s revelation for our lives? We need the Word of God to become alive in us for our lives to get and stay in order. Revelation can come to us in a number of ways. As I am praising God and to have clear understanding of his holiness and my unworthiness, I get a revelation about what has to change in my life. 2. God uses the Scriptures to reveal himself to me. As I experience an anointing in my spirit, the meaning of the words come alive within me. Scripture is the living word of God, the inspired word of God. The Spirit breathes life into the Scriptures. When you read the revealed word of God and it becomes alive in me-revelation is being given. God is speaking to you. Your spirit responds. 3. It is important to be tuned in to the Spirit through the Word of God. This quickens life in our spirit. Revelation of the heart of the Lord is being given to us. A record of this should be kept in a journal so that in the dry periods you can return to the word of God that brought life to you and it will once again revive your spirit. D. Realism and repentance 1. In this segment, being realistic with the Lord is key. Honesty is something he can deal with. For example, if I don t feel like praying today, then, to be honest with the Lord in this. He will be able to work with our honesty. 2. Repentance is key as well. This is simply making adjustments in our life. Sometimes those adjustments are huge and sometimes they are small. As we make adjustments frequently, then, the gap between the desires 6

7 of the heart and the Lord s desires for us are shorten. 3. Repentance is about the desires of our heart being changed. Ps. 51 expresses the heart attitude of the repentant sinner. The song, Change my heart Oh God, make it ever true. Expresses the essence of repentance. 4. See James 4. At the heart of repentance is submitting ourselves to God s authority over our life. It is resisting the devil and submitting ourselves to God s word and authority over our life. E. Intercession 1. Intercession is that stage of our prayer in which we pray for people and situations that are in need of God s intervention. 2. This can be of a personal nature, such as praying for our own needs. Jesus tells us to ask and receive; seek and find; knock and it will be open to you We are encouraged to pray for our daily bread. The backdrop for this kind of prayer is the Father who wants to give good things to his children. His children are the apple of his eye and the devotion of his love. This prayer is based on the truth that God is a good Father and is predisposed to his children with goodness. So we are encouraged to ask, seek and knock with expectant faith. 3. With intercession, we ask for God to intervene in a person s life or situation in which by strict justice God would not have to do anything. On the basis of his mercy, we ask him to intercede and change the situation by getting it or a person to the point where it conforms with God s purposes. 7

8 F. Resolution 1. The last stage in the prayer time is recording what you will do about the Lord s word to you today. 2. This expresses commitment on your part; obedience to the Lord s word to you today! 3. Keeping a record of what he said and how you will respond provides a good account of how you are doing with responding to what the Lord is saying to you personally. 8

9 Session 2: Encountering Christ in the sacraments Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, What are you discussing together as you walk along? They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? 19 What things? he asked. About Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they Baptism by water is the new birth. Baptism of the Spirit renews that birth and is a conscious awareness and a powerful experience of its meaning and its potentialities. We need to discover what we have become in baptism in order to understand what we ought to do in life. Our duty flows out of 9