Ministry Tools Resource Center
--equipping believers for ministry
Church Purpose Resources & Training
Lining up practices, programs, and plans withGod's purpose and will for the Christian Church
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Ministry Tools Resource Center --equipping believers for ministry |
Church Purpose Resources & TrainingLining up practices, programs, and plans withGod's purpose and will for the Christian Church |
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Find Ministry Tools & Bible Teaching to Equip You:
Bible CurriculumMinistry Resources Children's MinistryAs you seek to lead your church to live out God's purposes, teach them how to Live Life With Purpose in their everyday lives. 
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The Church's Purpose to Love God
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Not only do we have the example of the early church being devoted to prayer (Acts 2:42), but we also find a number of commands that we develop a lifestyle of prayer. Resources abound to help us learn to pray and to pray more effectively. God’s priority can become a reality in our individual lives and churches. |
The Priority
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Jesus modeled prayer for His disciples in such a way that it developed a passion within them to learn how to pray. Even now, at the right hand of God, He intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). In His example and in other teachings of Scripture on prayer, we do not see a regimented program. The issue is coming aside to spend time with the Father, discerning the heart of God, and then walking by faith in accordance with His will. That isn't always easy to program, though programs could help us get started or help us maintain a consistency in praying. |
The Program
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Praying is more about what is going on inside a person, the attitude of the heart, than the actual words or actions. Praying isn’t for the effect it has on others but rather for the effect it has on God. If our prayers are going to be like incense, sweet and acceptable to Him, then the way we pray needs to line up with Him and His ways. “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). Jesus strongly warns us not to be like those who put the wrong focus on prayer. He reminds us that the Father sees what others do not. (Matt. 6:5-8) | The Process
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Prayer has an effect. We may not get what we want, but we will get what is best. (Lk. 11:9-13) The end result of prayer may not be health and wealth, though He does promise to take care of our needs. (Matt. 6:33) The end result may be more of an internal change than external for God knows we can withstand anything with His peace and presence in our lives. God’s goal isn’t to pamper us but to present us to Himself holy and blameless “without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish” (Eph. 5:26-27) and to produce in us “a harvest of righteousness and peace” that sometimes can only come through allowing negative circumstances into our lives (Heb. 12:7-11). His eyes aren’t on our earthly comfort but rather our conformity to His Son (Rom. 8:29). He may not remove our pain and suffering. He may not dissolve the consequences of our sin. But, He will work “for the good of those who love him” (Rom. 8:28-30). He will make us more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:31-39). | The Product
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