Page 41 - Discipleship Ministries Student E-Book

approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in
our time of need.

Prayer is not just about asking God for blessings but is about communication with the living God.
Without communication, relationships fall apart. So, too, our relationship with God suffers when we do
not communicate with Him. If your life is empty, maybe it’s because you have not asked God to fill it!

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James 4:2-3 You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you
ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

If God is sovereign overall and if He knows everything that is going to happen, why do we need to pray?
Because prayer is the means God has ordained for some things to happen. Prayer helps others know
the love of Jesus. Prayer can clear human obstacles out of the way in order for God to work and
demonstrate His power. It is not that God can’t work without our prayers, but that He has established
prayer as a part of His PLAN for accomplishing His will in this world. It is God’s way of showing us what
He wants us to do.

Another reason we need to pray is that prayer gives us power over evil.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms.

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the
body is weak.

3. Obedience (and/or Fellowship)
This is cultivation of our relationship with people
including friends, family, and other Christians.
“Hanging around” with other older Christians (the
church) helps younger Christians to know how
mature Christians should talk and act. They become a role model. They have been around longer “in
Christ” than we have. Connect your new believer to a Bible-believing and teaching church where he can
find encouragement and learn more about the Christian life.

The church was not invented by men. Men have used it and misused it. But the church was founded by
Christ. Christ is the heart of the church, and her Lord. The church exists to bear witness to Christ. Christ
himself, not the church, is the transforming power in men’s lives. The mission of the church is to exalt
Christ, so that He, Himself, may do His own blessed work on the hearts of men.

The word “Church” means a “Called Out Assembly, a “Congregation,” those who “Come
Together.” In order to do His work on men’s hearts Christ must be often in their minds. The preaching
of God’s Word and fellowship with other believers helps ground new believers in their new faith.

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