1Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God has made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" 2the women said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' 4"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5"for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden, 6.But the Lord called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 11And he said, "who told you that you were naked?" Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" 12The man said, "the women you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and i ate it." 13then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
4 part series on prayer
Nothing deeply profound here today, but this change in outlook might simply change your life
Prayer is the right and privilege of every Christian
Should be a normal part of every Christian's life
It is something that everyone can do
Why this passage of scripture?
Will come back to that
Misconceptions
God where are you? God goes upon the ladder
Bow you head. Close your eyes. Kneel
Repetitive prayers
Morning and evening prayers-not that I am against this
Who to pray to
- Jesus teaches disciples to pray, Our Father, who art
- Psalm 10:12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.
- 59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Acts 7
- Holy Spirit - come holy spirit fill the hearts of your faithful
show the video
Greatest misconception...Prayer as a separate, specified time
A devout woman would go to vespers at her church every morning before work. On her way to services, poor children would call out to her, but she ignored them. Listening to Christian music on her ipod, she was oblivious to the signs of the homeless. One day when she arrived at church the door was locked. A sign on the door simply read, "no services this morning, Remember, I am out there too! God
Why do we compartmentalize our faith?
Where do these misconceptions come from?
The three tiered creation
Rain and sun from up...death goes into the ground
No Hubble to check the sky, no drill to check the earth
The result of this thinking is what somehow God is somewhere else
There is an alternative
Get God off of the ladder
God is with us, present with us
Pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Back to Genesis...
God is walking in the garden.
Where are you?
Have not felt close to God. Emphasis is on the felt.
If you are not as close to God as you used to be, guess who moved
Ramifications of this
- Prayer becomes a normal part of our conversational life
- Our Focus changes
our prayers are not longer just about finding relief to some part of life that we don't like, prayer begins to be enjoying time with a friend
Prayer is the joyful communion between the heart of God and the soul of man
What does this mean.....
The town pastor was a holy man, beloved by his congregation. He knew the words to a special prayer and he would go to a special place to pray. And God was with him.
As happens in all churches,the popular pastor retired or moved on. He was followed by a pastor who was not as popular, not well received. But the new pastor had inherited the special prayer and he knew of the special place, so he would go there to pray...and God was with him.
The pastor died and left behind only the words to the special prayer. He was succeeded by a pastor who was less gifted and less successful than his predecessors. He did not know of the special place, but he knew the special prayer and he would on occasion say the special prayer...
and God was with him
That pastor was finally run out of town by the congregation. He was followed by another who turned out to be the worst of the lot. He struggled to deliver a sermon, he had doubts about life. He did not have all of the answers that the other pastors had. The knowledge of the special place of prayer had been lost for years. And he did not inherit the words to the special prayer.
But on occasion he would call out to God saying, I am a common man, I have no special gifts that make people love me. I often do not know what to do. I do not know the special place of prayer, and I do not know the special words, but I simply ask that you would be with me...and God was with him.
the doors to prayer are open for you. Any time, any place.
Psalm 23 - The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want...
Jesus said, - Lo I am with you always - Matthew 28:20
I will never leave you or forsake you - Hebrews 15:5
Let's get God off the ladder and begin to live a life of prayer.
Let us pray.Gen
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