Emmanuel Evangelical Church Chippenham

From 10^th May 2007:

In this session we will consider what place emotion has in prayer and also what it means to be patient in prayer.

Background

We have started unpacking some of the misunderstood considerations in effective prayer:

We considered “Praying according to God’s will”  and the issue of “Praying with Faith”.

We then looked at confession. We saw that the NT insists that because sin is against God, and sadly continues to be our experience, we must confess - but in the confidence that Jesus has done everything necessary for us to be forgiven: (1 John 1:5-2:2; Matthew 6:12; James 5:16).

We considered the vital place that forgiving others has in our prayer life from Matthew 6:9-15.

Last time we looked at the attitude in which we should pray - and saw the importance of humility in prayer (James 4:1-10; Luke 18:9-14; Luke 20:46-47).

Emotion and Patience in Prayer

Today we’re going to look at the place of emotion and patience in prayer.

1. What emotion characterises the ‘prayer’ in the following passages: Daniel 9:19; Amos 7:2; Hebrews 5:7.

2. Considering what we have learned about prayer over these last few weeks, why shouldn’t such emotion be surprising?

3. What does the Psalmist tell us that he is doing in each of the following passages?

   • Psalm 27:14
   • Psalm 38:15
   • Psalm 130:5-6

4. Again, given what we understand about the nature of and reason for prayer, why is such an activity, at times, wholly appropriate?