Pursuit, Hungry for More- "Why Pray Anyways?" (9:00A.M.)

Devotional

Day 1: Prayer Begins With Relationship, Not Performance

At the start of a new year, you are invited to begin not with performance but with belonging. Prayer is first a relationship—your Father welcomes you as His child. You don’t need perfect words or a polished tone; you have family access. When you pray from adoption, fear loosens its grip and honesty rises. Let prayer today be a simple, real conversation that flows from closeness rather than formality. [39:37]

Matthew 6:9 — When you pray, come mindful that you are addressing your Father who reigns from heaven, and honor His name as holy.

Reflection: What one honest sentence would you share with God today if you truly believed He delights to listen as your Father?

Day 2: Surrendered Prayer Aligns Us With God’s Will

God uses prayer to align your heart with His good will. In Gethsemane, Jesus voiced His desire and then entrusted the outcome to the Father. Alignment is not pretending you have no preferences; it is choosing trust over control. As you pray this week, ask for what you desire and then release the results to the One whose wisdom outlasts your understanding. Confidence grows where surrender is practiced. [44:57]

Luke 22:42 — Father, if there is another way, let this suffering pass; yet I choose Your will rather than my own.

Reflection: What is one decision on your calendar this month where you will practice “Your will be done,” and what small act of surrender will that look like this week?

Day 3: Stand In The Gap—God Works Through Prayer

Prayer is not passive; it is partnership with God’s work. When you intercede, you step into the gap for people and places that need mercy. Heaven is not moved by eloquence but by faith offered from a heart made right in Christ. Your consistent prayers for family, church, and community matter more than you feel on any given day. Show up before God on behalf of others, and let Him shape both outcomes and your own compassion. [49:28]

James 5:16 — Share your struggles with one another and pray for each other so healing can come; the earnest prayer of a person made right with God is powerful and brings real results.

Reflection: Who specifically will you stand in the gap for this week, and when during your day will you show up before God on their behalf?

Day 4: Prayer Sustains Us Through Anxiety And Waiting

Prayer sustains you in seasons of anxiety, pressure, and waiting. Bringing every situation to God with gratitude relocates the weight from your shoulders to His. His peace will not always explain your circumstances, but it will guard your heart and mind. Make prayer a daily rhythm, not only a crisis response, and watch strength quietly return. You don’t have to bring strength to pray; prayer becomes the place where strength is given. [55:34]

Philippians 4:6–7 — Don’t be consumed by worry; in every situation bring your requests to God with thankful hearts, and the peace God gives—beyond what you can figure out—will stand guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Reflection: Which recurring worry will you turn into a daily prayer with thanksgiving, and what reminder will help you bring it to God each time it resurfaces?

Day 5: Follow Jesus’ Way—Pray Often, Start Now

Prayer is essential because it was essential to Jesus. He stepped away from crowds to be with the Father and was strengthened to walk the hard road in front of Him. Through His finished work, the way to God stands open; prayer is an invitation, not an intimidation. Begin now—set aside honest, simple space to draw near. Follow His way this week and let closeness, not busyness, shape your days. [01:00:35]

Hebrews 4:16 — Because of Jesus, we can come with confidence to the throne of grace, to receive mercy and find the help we need at just the right time.

Reflection: What is one simple place and time you can carve out this week to withdraw like Jesus did and meet with the Father with no agenda but to be with Him?

Sermon Summary

The beginning of a new year is framed as more than a fresh calendar; it’s a deliberate reset of priority, posture, and dependence. The call is simple and weighty: choose to start with God through prayer and fasting—not as routine, but as declaration. The heart of the teaching asks a piercing question—why pray anyway?—and answers it through five anchors.

First, prayer begins in relationship. Jesus taught prayer by revealing identity before instruction: “Our Father in heaven.” Prayer is a family conversation, not a performance or a customer service script. Adoption changes the tone, pace, and confidence of how one approaches God—Abba, not a distant official. Honest words, not polished ones, mark real prayer.

Second, prayer aligns the heart with God’s will. Gethsemane shows both truth and surrender: desire named, then yielded. Confidence in asking is not control of outcomes but agreement with God’s wisdom. Prayer gradually reshapes desires and decisions, moving the soul from self-reliance to daily submission.

Third, God works through prayer. Scripture refuses to treat prayer as symbolic; it is “powerful and effective.” Intercession is standing in the gap when others cannot or will not. Involving his people is God’s chosen way of working in the world, and prayer is not prep for ministry—it is ministry.

Fourth, prayer sustains across every season. It interrupts anxiety’s illusion that everything depends on self and guards hearts and minds with God’s peace. Not every circumstance is removed; often the person is remade—steadied, renewed, kept. Faithfulness in prayer becomes the quiet endurance that holds when emotions ebb.

Fifth, prayer is the way of Jesus. He often withdrew, not because prayer was a duty, but because communion was his strength. In Gethsemane prayer did not erase the cross, it prepared him to carry it. Through Christ the throne of grace is open; access is not earned, it’s given.

The invitation is clear: prayer is not a religious obligation but a relational summons. Start now. Don’t aim for perfection—aim for honesty. Become a people who don’t just affirm prayer, but actually pray—together, consistently, and with expectation.

Key Takeaways

1. Prayer flows from relationship, not ritual. Prayer begins with “Our Father,” moving prayer from performance to belonging. Adoption reframes access—no appointment, no script, no fear. Honest words become more faithful than eloquent ones because the point is presence, not polish. [39:02]
2. Align desires with God’s will. Jesus models desire named and surrendered, showing that alignment doesn’t silence emotion; it steadies it. Confidence grows not from getting outcomes but from knowing God hears what matches his heart. Over time, surrender turns into freedom rather than loss. [43:27]
3. Intercession is standing in the gap. God looks for people willing to carry others into his presence when they cannot carry themselves. Intercession is love made durable—consistent, costly, hopeful. It trusts that God has chosen to work through praying people, not merely around them. [48:47]
4. Prayer sustains with guarding peace. Anxiety thrives on self-dependence; prayer returns the weight to God. God’s peace may not explain the situation, but it protects the heart within it. The habit of prayer becomes the quiet resilience that keeps a life steady. [53:23]
5. Jesus modeled prayer as necessity. He withdrew often, letting intimacy shape his calendar and courage. In Gethsemane, prayer did not remove suffering; it readied him to obey. Following Jesus means treating prayer as essential, not optional. [57:04]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[34:57] - New Year, fresh start
[38:11] - Prayer begins in relationship
[42:45] - Aligning with God’s will
[47:11] - God works through prayer
[51:34] - Prayer sustains in every season
[56:46] - We pray because Jesus prayed
[60:35] - Prayer is an invitation

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

- Matthew 6:9

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

- Luke 22:42

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

- Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Observation questions

In Matthew 6:9, what name does Jesus give God, and how does that title shape the tone of prayer?
In Luke 22:42, what two movements do you see in Jesus’ prayer—what he desires and how he surrenders?
In Philippians 4:6-7, what actions are commanded, and what is promised to those who pray in “every situation”?
What specific contrasts were named between a “customer service call” and a “family conversation,” and how do those pictures help you see prayer differently? #!!40:35!!

Interpretation questions

Starting prayer with “Our Father” places identity before request. How might this change a person’s confidence and honesty when speaking to God? #!!39:02!!
In Gethsemane, desire is named before surrender (“not my will, but yours be done”). What does this teach about bringing unfiltered emotions to God without trying to control the outcome? #!!43:27!!
Philippians 4:6-7 promises peace that “guards” rather than explanations that remove every problem. What might it mean for peace to guard someone’s heart and mind while the situation stays the same?
“Prayer is not preparation for ministry. Prayer is ministry.” How would that reshape how a church or small group spends time, energy, and attention? #!!48:32!!

Application questions

Where do you feel tempted to “sound spiritual” instead of being real with God? What would it look like this week to trade polish for honesty in your prayers? #!!40:53!!
In what area of life are you approaching God like a stranger who needs an appointment rather than as an adopted son or daughter who can cry “Abba”? What would change if you prayed from belonging? #!!41:09!!
Name one situation where you can pray like Jesus: clearly say what you want, then surrender it—“yet not my will, but yours be done.” What would that sentence sound like for you today? #!!43:27!!
Where are you leaning on your own understanding right now? What is one concrete step of submission you can take this week to trust God with that decision? #!!45:15!!
Who is one person or situation you will “stand in the gap” for this month? What specific rhythm (daily reminder, shared request, text check-ins) will help you intercede consistently? #!!48:47!!
What anxiety is riding on your shoulders today? How will you turn it into “every situation” prayer—with thanksgiving—and ask God to place a guard over your heart and mind? #!!53:01!!
When and where will you withdraw to pray this week? Put one simple slot on your calendar, even if it’s short, and treat it as essential, not optional. #!!57:04!!

Sermon Clips

we're starting at the foundation. Before the methods, before the disciplines, before the commitments, we are asking, why pray anyway? And one way to answer that question is our first point this morning. We pray because God invites us into relationship. We pray because God invites us into relationship. One of the the biggest misunderstandings about prayer is that it it exists mainly to get things from God. You know, we want answers, breakthroughs, provision. We want his help. And while God invites us to to bring our needs to him, prayer does not begin with a request. It begins with a relationship. [00:37:47] (53 seconds) #PrayToYourFather

Before he gave them words to say, he showed them who they were speaking to. And prayer begins with understanding that that god is not distant. He's not detached. He is our father. That one word changes everything. You don't speak to your father the same way that you speak to a stranger. You know, you don't need an appointment. You don't need the perfect words. Having a relationship, it gives you access. [00:38:59] (31 seconds) #PrayerBringsPeace

``When a child talks to their parent, there is no script. Sometimes it's emotional. Sometimes it's messy. Sometimes it's just, mom, dad, I need help. We don't worry about sounding right. We speak because we belong. And Jesus is teaching us that that prayer is not a customer service call to heaven. It's a family conversation. [00:40:14] (30 seconds) #PrayerIsFamily

And over time, prayers begin to to shape our desires and not just our decisions. Oftentimes, prayer changes us before it changes our circumstances. It teaches us to be to be patient when we want it now. It teaches us to to trust when we want that control, and it teaches us surrender when we want certainty. Prayer is where our will is slowly, faithfully aligning with God's. [00:46:06] (39 seconds) #PrayInTheGap

And this truth, it challenges the idea that that prayer is is just something we do. It's it's passive. Prayer is not inactivity. It is us participating. When we pray, we're stepping into the work that God is already doing, and we're allowing him to work through us. Prayer is not preparation for ministry. Prayer is ministry. [00:48:09] (27 seconds) #PrayerIsParticipation

And James reminds us that the power of prayer, it's not about perfection. It's about righteousness. And righteousness, it doesn't always mean it does not mean flawlessness. It means standing right with God. And because of Christ, we approach God not on our merit, but on his grace. [00:49:51] (24 seconds) #PrayerShapesDesires

Prayer aligns us with God's heart for for what is broken or what might need restoration. God, he could choose not to work he could choose to work without us, you know, but he doesn't. He invites us to participate. And prayer is one of the primary ways that God invites His people to take part in His redemptive work. When we pray, we're not watching from the sidelines. We're stepping into the mission field. [00:50:37] (33 seconds) #PrayerStartsWithRelationship

And prayer sustains us emotionally by reminding us that we're not alone. Anxiety grows when we believe that that everything depends on us. And prayer, it shifts that weight back onto God. When we pray, we acknowledge our limits, and we confess our dependence on God. Prayer then becomes the place where our worry is exchanged for God's peace. [00:53:44] (27 seconds) #GraceNotPerfection

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

What changes when we approach God as Father?

How does prayer align our desires with God?

Why is intercession standing in the gap vital?