1 PRAYER AND DISCERNMENT Dr. Kenneth W. Jones, Pastor, Practical Living Ministry
Why Should We Pray? 2 David Limbaugh identifies several reasons for prayer (Source: Jesus on Trial p. 117) In Adoration to God (Rev 5:13) To Confess Sin (1 st John 1:9) For God s Protection (Numbers 10:35) For His Divine Guidance (1 st Sam14:36-41) For Wisdom (1 Kings 3:1-15; 4:28-34) To Praise God (Psalms 18:3; 103:1) To Thank God and Let our Requests be made known to Him (Phil 4:6,7) That God would guide our hearts toward a right relationship with Him (Psalms 86:11) To Cry out unto God during a Trial (Job 6:8-10) When Depressed or Anxious (Psalms 116:1-4) For Physical Strength (Neh 6:9) For Inner peace and for righteousness (Psalms 139: 23, 24) To have a forgiving spirit towards others (Matt 6:14-15) To pray for one another and for healing (James 5:16) Pray for Discernment Note: If there are so many reasons to pray, why don t we do it more often?
Prayer For Discernment 3 To judge with Righteous judgment John 7:24 Take time to pray that you will judge things not according to your flesh, your logic, but according to God s righteous principles Amplified: John 7:24 - Be honest in your judgment and do not decide at a glance (superficially and by appearances); but judge fairly and righteously. The people thought Jesus was a sinner and even demon possessed Judge righteously In other words, give your senses and judgment of things according to the truth and evidence of them Judge according to the Word The world today focuses more on a narrative over the truth (i.e. The church is not relevant), but we should judge the church according to the principles and the statements in the Bible (Christ formed the church, built on a revelation, so it is relevant and it will prevail) (Matthew 16:18) The reason discernment is lacking is because of a lack of spiritual connection with the Spirit of God and because knowledge of God s Word and insight into His plans copyright@plm and purposes TEACHINGS is lacking
Prayers for Discernment 4 That I Won t be Misled & Make Good Decisions Colossians 2:8: Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. James 1:5: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 1 st Kings 3:9: Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people? Pray that God gives you discernment in order that you may govern your family, church, or whatever God has placed under you Pray when you are facing difficult decisions and need direction and insight
Example Prayer 5 Father, I pray that You might give me a heart of wisdom and understanding. Guide and help me always to make wise choices; and when two paths seem to be equal, I pray You will help me to trust You even as I make my decision. Give me a heart that is willing to obey You, to respond in faith to the wisdom You give me. I pray for (your spouse, parents, friend, pastor) that they might have a heart of wisdom. Keep them from ungodly counsel that seems good, but which will, in the end, be destructive. Keep them from friends and influences that would lead them astray. Direct our paths, O Lord; With your rod and staff, comfort us and lead us in the paths of righteousness and righteous thinking. In Jesus name, Amen.
Scripture 6 Paul prayed the church would abound in knowledge and discernment Philippians 1:9: And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment, (Berean Literal Bible) Paul wished that their love should be exercised with proper discrimination and discernment- Neither faith or love should be blind We should love and trust God, not blindly, but because we know the truth and understand who He is Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Paul knew the danger of an undiscerning love. He rebuked the Corinthian church that seemed to glory in their "love" and "openness" which lacked any sense of knowledge and discernment (1 st Cor 5:1-7). Much of what we see in some churches is a groovy kind of love, where it is all fleshly, carnal, sensuous, copyright@plm and TEACHINGS not rooted in faith and trust.
Colossians 1:9-11 7 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; It is not enough to know God s will but also the wisdom how to perform His will ever increasing in the knowledge of God which affects our discernment and our actions And spiritual understanding - In understanding those things that pertain to the Spirit; that is, those things taught by the Holy Spirit Paul prayed that they would have a knowledge of His will, informed by a true spiritual understanding.
Knowing is Doing 8 Daniel 11:32 - And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. This is historical as well as spiritual During the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jews and claimed himself as God Incarnate. He set up an image of Zeus at the temple altar. He demanded sacrifice to this image, and later desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig on it. Some Jews forsook their covenant with God and embraced the Greek culture. We see this today as our leaders and the ungodly are parading their apostasy in front of believers who through complacency and fear just Go along to get along. But the people that do know their God - They who adhere to the service and worship of the true God, and who are incapable of being seduced to apostasy and sin. These are those who through discernment will be strong and stand in the evil day (Eph 6:10-12) and do exploits for the kingdom of God
Properly Discerning Christ 9 We can become so busy trying to create a Jesus that everyone can love that we often ignore and not truly discern who Jesus really is Peter knew who Jesus was: Acts 10:38-40: How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly This knowledge brings people to a place of conviction and need for a Savior Jesus is more than just a guy that is nice to hang around. We are to properly discern and preach who Jesus is
Learning Christ 10 Ephesians 4:20 - But ye have not so learned Christ; And have been taught by him - By his Spirit, or by the ministers whom he had appointed. Coming to discern Christ and to know him more intimately causes us to strip ourselves of our old nature (vs. 21-32) Most people, to include some Christians have not come into the knowledge of Christ as to discern him properly remaining trapped in their old nature We need to know not only WWJD, but also HWJD (How Would Jesus Do it)
Elisha prayed for His Servant 11 2 Kings 6:17: And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. When a person is blind to spiritual reality, only God can open their eyes. God may do it through the words someone speaks as prompted by the Spirit, but the work of spiritually opening eyes is spiritual work and belongs to God alone. When speaking and sharing a principle with someone who can t seem to get it, pray that God will give them discernment and understanding
Prayer and Discernment 12 Jesus prayed to the Father; therefore, he was connected to the Father He was able to discern the hearts of men and know the will of the Father The Apostles were able to do so because they prayed and they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13) I find it difficult to trust in the discernment of someone who doesn t prays nor exercise any of the spiritual disciplines
Where are You Running Your Line? 13 Being connected to the source allows the source to provide us with what we need to grow, mature, and discern wisely Our spirit is like an extension cord - - We spend a great deal of our lives trying to connect to some source of Power What you connect to is what you usually become empowered by: Some of you live on what your friends think of you Get out of facebook so much and get your face in His book Some of you find your only source of identity in your job/community status/position in the church Many of us are connected only to self - Eventually you will run out of power All of this affects your judgment and your discernment
How Do I Do This? 14 Begin with Prayer You have to start somewhere Learn to build and strengthen your inner man through the spiritual disciplines (meditation of Word, prayer, fasting, praise) Allow the Spirit to reveal to you Revelation may come through a word, inward witness, or through a representative of the kingdom If unsure, keep praying until you can begin to see the spiritual reality of what you are considering Look for confirmation from the Word of God, a witness, or five-fold gifts If unsure, ask someone that you have confidence in and you feel God has placed over you to guide you
Examples 15 Acts 13:2 - As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Proverbs 1:2 - To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, (knowing truth from counterfeit) Ezekiel 44:23 - "Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. Daniel 2:14 - Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;
Conclusion 16 Every believer should desire to know God s purpose and will for their lives. They should also desire to be able to discern what God has provided to us in His Word and to be able to understand spiritual realities God has given you His Word and His Spirit to accomplish this in you. When you are not sure how to proceed or what is God is saying to you through the scriptures, pray for understanding, discernment, wisdom, and knowledge.
Scriptures: 17 John 7:24 - "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." 1 st Corinthians 5:1-7: It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
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