Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 3 - Gratitude Fuels Prayer
50 Plays5 months ago
What keeps us going in prayer for the long haul? Is it a prayer technique? Or an attitude and perspective? This episode unpacks why gratitude and thankfulness matter in our prayer lives. If you are problem-focused, or focus too much on the negative things in your life, listen in.
If you want to start or join an in-person prayer group, drop a line to: pray@coyfc.org
Central Ohio Youth for Christ: www.coyfc.org
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Podcast's Purpose
00:00:10
Speaker
I'm Brian Brooks from Central Ohio Youth for Christ. I love praying and seeing answers to prayer, but more importantly, I really love seeing God at work. This podcast is here to open our eyes to see God moving and to learn who He is.
Stories of God Through Central Ohio YFC
00:00:29
Speaker
I'm inviting you to listen with an open mind and open heart, asking God to show you how He is active around you. If you believe in and follow Jesus, you might be so busy that you don't notice what God is doing in the lives of people around you.
00:00:43
Speaker
Or maybe it's been a while since you could point to something that God did. I've been there. Well, I want to share with you stories of how God is reaching out to show his love to young people and adults here in our context at Central Ohio Youth for Christ and include an occasional personal story.
00:01:03
Speaker
If you don't believe in God, listening to this content might be positive, and I'd still encourage you to come, but I don't want you to miss out on what I get to experience with the bigger picture.
Encouraging Prayer Among Believers
00:01:14
Speaker
Believing in Jesus is real. God is personal, He hears our prayers, and He is active in changing people's lives. So I hope that you'll pray more, pray with focus, and pray with joy because you're learning who God is.
00:01:31
Speaker
what it is that he cares about, and how he fulfills his mission through prayer and his people.
Impactful Experiences at Conference
00:01:37
Speaker
Prayer might be the inroad, but after that, there are many ways to get involved and join God in what he's doing.
00:01:45
Speaker
At a conference we hosted recently for adult leaders on our ministry teams, two separate individuals shared the same feedback with me about things they get to see and experience in serving young people.
00:01:59
Speaker
Here's what they said. Meeting with students in the detention centers to share with them who God is, is the most real thing i have ever done spiritually.
00:02:12
Speaker
These adults ask God to move, to show up, to serve, and they get to see it. This is exactly what we're talking about on the podcast.
Initiatives for Youth Prayer Groups
00:02:22
Speaker
And if you want to go deeper and pray with followers of Jesus locally, we want to facilitate a movement of groups praying together in person for young people in our communities.
00:02:32
Speaker
We started one of these groups, and they are encouraged and built up to see real answers to their prayers for students in one of our campus life ministries. It's awesome. So let's pray and see what God does.
00:02:46
Speaker
Pray along with me. God, thank you that every good thing you do really points back to who you are. Thank you that you're working through imperfect people like us to introduce students and other people to a life-changing relationship with you.
00:03:02
Speaker
God, would you please give us more opportunities to do that? Amen.
Gratitude's Role in Prayer Life
00:03:08
Speaker
Today's episode is about gratitude fuels prayer.
00:03:13
Speaker
It gets our eyes off of our problems and on to what God is doing. Gratitude helps us not give up, and gratitude fuels prayer. Growing up, I inherited a love of running from my dad.
00:03:28
Speaker
A couple years ago, I got to run half marathon in the Columbus area. And one of the things I did to save time involved training on an empty stomach. I'd get up, I wouldn't eat anything before I ran.
00:03:41
Speaker
While this served me in my training and saved some time, during the actual half marathon, I suffered. I hit what runners call the wall, which is where you feel like you can't run a step further.
00:03:54
Speaker
I wasn't used to eating or refueling while I ran. Just like a long-distance runner needs fuel to keep up, we need fuel to put forth continued effort and prayer.
Overcoming Challenges Through Prayer
00:04:08
Speaker
What helps us to do this? Well, a repeated theme in the Bible is how gratitude, thanking God for what he has done, gives us endurance fuel for the long haul of prayer.
00:04:19
Speaker
Over the past year, one of our City Life ministry teams in central Ohio has encountered some challenges. They've had some turnover in leaders, but God has still been working.
00:04:31
Speaker
Well, in the midst of the challenge and changes, the team has been praying. They've been texting, emailing, sharing on Facebook groups, getting requests for prayer out there. Together as a larger team, we've thanked God for things that he's done in the past, rescuing young people, bringing them to our ministry center, helping them to understand what it means to be forgiven by God.
00:04:52
Speaker
Well, I have watched this team not give up. Every week on Friday mornings, our whole staff team across Central Ohio Youth for Christ meets on Zoom for prayer to recount for each other how God is moving in our midst.
00:05:09
Speaker
At the same City Life ministry recently, they invited students to a Bible study. One of the leaders began talking about how to receive God's offer of forgiveness and relationship through Christ's death on the cross.
00:05:22
Speaker
A whole friend group of eight students came to Bible study and four girls began a relationship with God on the spot that night. This team was struggling.
00:05:33
Speaker
They prayed. They didn't give up. What helped them not give up was thanking God for what he does because gratitude fuels prayer.
Importance of Devoted Prayer
00:05:42
Speaker
It gets our eyes off of our problems and onto what God is doing.
00:05:46
Speaker
Gratitude helps us not give up. The story brings to mind two passages in the Bible, both from Colossians. We talked in an earlier episode about the importance of getting specific in our prayer and watching.
00:06:01
Speaker
Well, thanking God is a crucial way to open our eyes and notice what he's doing. Paul says in Colossians 4 verse 2, "...continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I'm in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak.
00:06:26
Speaker
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Praying for More Leaders
00:06:38
Speaker
Here at Central Ohio YFC, one of the things our City Life team's been praying for is God would send more adults to give their time to share with these students who Jesus is and how they can come to know him.
00:06:50
Speaker
Some leaders have come, but there's still plenty of room for more. When praying for something for a long time, though, it can be hard to hang in there. It's much like running a half marathon. In these verses, though, in Colossians, Paul calls on his readers and us to continue steadfastly in prayer.
00:07:09
Speaker
Be devoted to it. Put in the effort. And the next phrase after that, though, is connected. How do you do that? You are watchful in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.
00:07:21
Speaker
Think about what has God done for you that you can thank him for?
00:07:28
Speaker
All of us, when we're faced with problems or if you have a negative outlook on life like I do often, thanking God is a key thing to resetting your mindset.
00:07:40
Speaker
Even if it requires a little work, land on a single thing to be grateful for. And I'm not necessarily talking about, hey, I'm glad that it's sunny today, but actually getting to the point where you find something that you can tell God, God, thank you that you did this for me.
00:08:00
Speaker
With thanking God and gratitude, you can look at the very same situation with a whole new perspective, because all of a sudden your eyes are open in trust and belief that God is doing something.
00:08:14
Speaker
Well, what was something that Paul was thankful for? He tells us in the beginning of Colossians in chapter 1, verse 3, he says, he says we always thank god the father of our lord jesus christ when we pray for you since we heard of your faith in christ jesus and the love you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you and have it ah this you've heard before in the word of truth the gospel which has come to you as indeed in all the world it's bearing fruit and increasing Paul was thankful for the faith God given these believers, and thankful to know the good news about Jesus' love and forgiveness bearing fruit and increasing.
00:08:53
Speaker
paul was thankful for the faith god had given these believers and he was thankful to know how the good news about jesus's love and forgiveness was bearing fruit and increasing That's still true today.
00:09:07
Speaker
God wants young people, adults, and everyone around you who does not know him to hear the same good news so they can have the opportunity to know God personally.
Impact of Students' Spiritual Journey
00:09:17
Speaker
Well, regardless of whether or not you can point to examples of God moving, I shared one with you.
00:09:25
Speaker
You can thank God that he was moving at City Life with those four girls who prayed to begin a relationship with Jesus just a couple weeks ago. Young people coming to know Jesus and experiencing God changing their lives is awesome.
00:09:42
Speaker
It's joyful. I hope you join us not only in praying, but someday you could come meet some of these students and hear their stories. And who knows, God might lead you to show up and get involved.
00:09:55
Speaker
Well, gratitude fuels prayer. It gets our eyes off of our problems and onto what God is doing. And gratitude helps us not give up.
Enhancing Prayer Focus with Gratitude
00:10:06
Speaker
So my challenge for you today is pray out loud with a friend or someone in your family, someone in your church, but start your prayer time with thanking God.
00:10:18
Speaker
And you can thank him for general stuff, but before you dive into your own struggles or potential complaints about things that are challenges in your life, thank God for something that he has done.
00:10:32
Speaker
Thank him for something he's done for you. You could thank him for sending someone to tell you how you could meet God and begin a relationship with him. Chances are God sent someone your way that told you that.
00:10:45
Speaker
He sent Epaphras to tell the Colossians that, and Paul was thanking God for that. Well, God may even bring to your mind as you're praying A long game prayer request, a half marathon duration of a prayer request.
00:11:03
Speaker
Even in the midst of something like that, a big problem or a heavy need, make sure to thank God along the way for what he has done, what he has told you, what he's shown you about himself.
00:11:16
Speaker
And thank him for what he is doing in the midst, even if you don't see it.
Preview of Next Episode: Understanding God's Silence
00:11:22
Speaker
Gratitude fuels prayer. Next time, we're going to look at what happens when God is silent.
00:11:29
Speaker
How should we understand it? If you want to connect and learn more about starting a prayer group connected to our ministries or joining one that already exists, shoot an email out to pray, that's P-R-A-Y at C-O-Y-F-C dot org.
00:11:47
Speaker
Thanks for listening.