Prayer in the Spirit (Part One) - Tony Nguyen

Passage: Romans 8:15 Sermon Notes: Intro: The way we pray to the Father is indicative of our spiritual relationship to Him. a. The prayer of His children i. Primal ii. Real iii. Positional 1. Primal: ‘we cry, ABBA’ a. Abba—closer to a child saying DADA i. Instinctive call of a child who just wants their Father ii. Language of wonder b. Praying in the Spirit i. As infants of God we receive a new language—a desire to speak to Him. ii. Without the spirit, our prayers are more hypocritical—we pray only when we want something. Prayer Point: Is your prayer life hypocritical or primal? Evaluate if your prayers are mechanical or is it spiritual? 2. Real: ‘we CRY, Abba’ a. Represents someone in distress calling out i. Reminder that Christians suffer like everybody else, there’s no special treatment if you’re a believer. ii. Only thing special is how we handle it b. Christians cry in the midst of the world’s sorrow, is the cry for the coming joy. i. This cry, matures you, fortifies you, shields you, solidifies your resolve, strengthen your endurance, deepens your wisdom. c. Prayer refines you Prayer Point: Evaluate whether your prayer life is about consuming things you want from God, or is it sanctifying your character in God? 3. Positional: ‘Spirit of Sonship’ a. Jesus tells us to pray to “Our Father” i. To know God as ‘Father’ is how we know our identity and have the strength to grow and be refine. b. Every Christian has the same claim as Jesus. i. Because Jesus bought you into the family by His blood