Spring 2023 Men's Retreat - Preparation

Dear Brothers in Christ,

Once again, I have been privileged to be invited by the responsible Brothers at Family Ministries to minister at the men’s spring gathering on March 24-26, 2023 at the Denton Camp Grounds.

We are clearly informed that “. . . we do not know how to pray as we should. . .” (Romans 8:26), and, as long as that verse remains in the Bible, we will always be learning what it means to pray.

The disciples requested of the Lord Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray. . .”

I have been praying that the Lord would teach me to pray. For my own heart, I began to trust the indwelling Holy Spirit to open my heart to the portions of Scripture that addressed the glorious subject of prayer. I was overwhelmed! I understand why we will never learn all there is to know about the wonderful grace of prayer.

I began to study prayers of praise, thanksgiving, worship, intercession, supplication, petition, confession.  I studied public prayer, private prayer, short prayers, long prayers, prayers for and prayers against etc.

I tried to understand the conditions of true prayer: (Abiding John 15:7;  Confession of known sin Psalm 66:18;  Forgiveness Mark 11:25;  Praying in Jesus’ Name John 14:13-14, John 15:16, John 16:23-24, John 16:26;  Praying in the Will of God 1 John 5:14-15;  Praying in the Holy Spirit Ephesians 6:18, Jude 20, Zechariah 12:10;  Praying with right motives James 4:3, Matthew 6:5;  Praying in harmony with a marriage partner 1 Peter 3:7;  Praying in faith Matthew 21:22, James 1:6-7; Mark 11:22-24;  Praying and Fasting Matthew 17:21;  Praying without being anxious Philippians 4:6;  Praying while delighting in the Lord Psalm 37:4;  Praying for the Glory of God John 14:13, John 12:27-28;  Praying with Thanksgiving Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.

I noted passages that informed the Believer when not to pray. (Joshua 7:10-11; Exodus 14:15 etc.)

Along with this, there are many warnings against the pitfalls of improper praying. (How not to pray!)

There are more than 100 recorded prayers of Bible saints, with their superabundant answers. (The Lord always seems to over-answer the request)

I studied the wonderful prison prayers of the Apostle Paul ( Ephesians 1:15-21; Ephesians 3:14-19; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-10 and Philemon 4-7.)

All of the above, and many other prayer-related topics such as spiritual warfare, praying for the backslider and the unbeliever, prayers of imprecation, penitential praying and praying for designated authorities such as the government—all of these and more, we will not address in our gathering together.

I’m quite certain I have overlooked much inspired instruction about prayer, but I wanted to give you a sense of how exhaustive a subject is the study of prayer.

In our limited time together however, I am praying that we will be able to trace the Lord’s heart in His revelation of prayer. I so desired to see the Lord Jesus and how the message of the pure grace of God and the Exchanged Life (His indwelling life in place of mine) was related to the Believer’s prayer life.

I want us to have a Christ-centered approach to prayer.  Therefore, I have focused almost exclusively on Him. It is amazing how many questions about prayer fall into place when our eyes are fixed on Him! 

In our first lesson, I will present the very essence of prayer in the balance of Scripture. In other words, What is prayer? What is its scope? How is the simplicity of prayer described in the Bible? There is not one particular text I can suggest, since we are giving a comprehensive view.  I suppose Psalm 62:8 is a summary passage: “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah”

Our second lesson will be a look at the model prayer, The Lord’s Prayer, as it is called. (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) This was the Lord’s first response to the request, “Lord, teach us to Pray.”  How is Christ revealed in this wonderful model prayer?

Our third lesson will focus on the prayer life of the Lord Jesus during the thirty-three and one-half years He lived on earth in His Incarnate body. The climax of His prayer-life on the earth takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42 and Luke 22:39-46) What light does the prayer-life of Jesus shed on our privilege to pray?

Our final lesson will focus on the present High-Priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus (after the order of Melchizedek) as He lives in us and prays for us and through us.  We will briefly look at His prayer in John 17 as the seed-plot of His present ministry.

Beholding the Lord Jesus is the key to understanding what the Bible teaches about prayer.  It is as simple as it seems complicated. When God reveals prayer as it is in Jesus, your prayer life will never be the same.  

Please pray that the Lord will enable me to “speak as I ought to speak”—clearly (Colossians 4:3-4) and boldly (Ephesians 6:20) Thank you.

Do know that the Lord delights in you. Rest! Abide! Worship!

Lord willing, we will see you at the flocking in Denton.

In Union with Jesus,

Ed Miller

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