The Spiritual Discipline of Listening Prayer

CLASS SESSION #17 – THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2020
Presenter: Dr. Wilfred Graves Jr.

Prayer is one of the most important Christian activities.  Prayer is personal communication and communion with God in worship.  To pray is to engage in a conversation with the Living God.  Because prayer is a mode of communication, it must involve our listening to God.  In fact, the listening aspect of prayer is probably more important than the verbal aspect.  In this session of “Healthy Habits of the Christian Life,” we will focus on the spiritual discipline of listening prayer.

If you have not done so already, please sign up for this blog at the bottom of the page to be alerted of new posts by the Three Bible Teachers.  Do not forget to access the class materials and additional resources that are available through the “Quick Links” section. Today’s post is the last of a three-part series on prayer. If you have not done so already, please review the posts from Thursday, September 3rd and Tuesday, September 8th.

Thursday, September 3, 2020 – “A General Introduction to Prayer, Part 1”
Tuesday, September 8, 2020 – “A General Introduction to Prayer, Part 2”

Video Presentation on Prayer
In this video, Dr. Graves introduces the topic of listening prayer. If you like this video, please subscribe to his YouTube channel by clicking on the red button at the bottom right of the video (while playing).

Session 17 of “Healthy Habits of the Christian Life”
This collection of videos below is of the entire Zoom Class from September 10, 2020.  The videos consist of the following parts:

1. Welcome and Opening Remarks
2. A Conversation on the Above Video Presentation by the Three Bible Teachers
3. Zoom Class Discussion and Final Remarks

Hindrances to Prayer
The main hindrance to prayer is praying outside the will of God.  Here is a list of other hindrances to prayer of which you should be aware.

1. Failing to Ask (Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:5-15; James 4:2)
2. Wrong Motives (James 4:3)
3. Giving Up (Luke 18:1-8; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
4. Sin (Psalm 66:16-20; Isaiah 59:1-2; Matthew 5:8; 1 Peter 3:12; 1 John 3:21-22)
5. Idolatry (Psalm 24:3-4; Ezekiel 14:3)
6. Stinginess (Proverbs 21:13)
7. Pride (Proverbs  11:2; 16:18; Luke 18:9-14; James 4:6)
8. Mistreatment of Wife (1 Peter 3:7)
9. Unforgiveness (Matthew 5:23-24; 6:14-15; 18:21-22; Mark 11:22-25; Ephesians 4:32)
10. Unbelief (Hebrews 11:1,6; James 1:5-7)
11. Not Praying According to God’s Will (Matthew 26:42; 1 John 5:14-15)
12. Not Praying in the Name of Jesus (John 14:13-14; Acts 3:1-8, 16)
13. Lack of Thankfulness (Philippians 4:4-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Luke 17:11-19)

To guard against these hindrances, repentance, humility, and submission to God should become daily parts of our lives.

Discerning the Voice of God from other Voices
Here are a few ways to distinguish between God’s voice, the voice of the enemy, and your own thoughts.

1. God will never violate the Bible.
2. We know God by his approach: he is a gentleman and he is personal.
3. We will know God’s voice by what he says about himself.  A true Word from God will affirm his good, holy, and righteous nature and character.
4. We will know God’s voice by what he says about sin.  A true Word from God will never condone sin, but rather will lovingly draw us out of it.
5. We will know God’s voice by what he says about us.  A true Word from God will lovingly affirm us as his children.
6. We will know God’s voice by what he says about others.  A true Word from God will lead us toward reconciliation with others. 
7. We will know God’s by the results it produces.
   a. It will bring encouragement.
   b. It will bring peace.
   c. It will bring thoughts of compassion toward others.
   d. It will bring loving correction.
   e. It will bring hope.
   f. It will create and sustain faith.
   g. It will glorify Christ.

Quick Links:
Link to: Chart of 52 Spiritual Disciplines
Link to: Website for Dr. Wilfred Graves Jr.