Practical Wisdom for a Deeper Prayer Life. How does phone addiction contend with our prayer life, and what can we do about it? Prayer Distractions and How to Deal with Them. BACON Soda Review.

Today, we have a deep discussion with Dr. Se J. Won on the topic of prayer, and Dr. Won goes beyond the normal prayer discussions and will lead us into a wonderful blend of spirituality and practicality as we discuss how to enrich your prayer life, and why the tyranny of the urgent is less worth your time than abiding in Christ is. Se J shared one of my favorite quotes I’ve heard recently when he said, “We often settle for what we can do, what we can muster up, rather than what God can do…Sometimes we miss out on the fruitfulness of what God can do because we are doing it our way.”

I can totally relate to that, and I bet you can too, and I think Dr. Se J. is going to help us today to prioritize prayer and abiding over, under, and in addition to all of the day-to-day tasks of ministry and life that all of us face. It is a powerful and practical episode, and Dr. Se J. will close out that interview with a great prayer, but don’t leave yet, because Pastor Christopher and I will almost ruin it with a review of Lester’s Fixins BACON soda. Not Baking soda - that probably would have been better, but bacon soda. This is a soda that should have been prayed over far more before it was released. You will hear a former law enforcement officer testify, under oath, “This has some odor peculiarities that are similar to methamphetamines,” and the world’s foremost cereal expert suggested that “this smells like it will take ten years off of our life,” and, “I feel like I’m drinking a pig, and it's weird!” But before we have that rough experience, let’s talk prayer and go deep.

Notes:

Why “Help me overcome my unbelief,” is a powerful prayer.

We miss the presence of God sometimes because we are busy trying and doing.

We often settle for what we can do, what we can muster up, rather than what God can do…Sometimes we miss out on the fruitfulness of what God can do because we are doing it our way.”

When the pastor thinks “If its to be, its up to me.” In other words, when he thinks that human effort is the fuel for the church to succeed, then he inadvertently teaches that philosophy to the congregation, and that teaches them to rely on themselves, rather than God.

The danger of pastors thinking, “If I just sit around and pray,” nothing is going to happen.

The key to meeting the human-powered attitude is to surrender to God.

Prayer doesn’t have to be 60 hours a week, but it does have to be a priority.

“If we are with the Lord, hearing His message, and being filled by Him, and cooperating with the Holy Spirit, then He can do everything better than us - 100 times more - if we are an effective tool in His hand.” Dr. Se J.

How do you approach mundane things of ministry prayerfully?

Answer: I start the day with a clean slate, listening to the Scripture, coming to the office and praying, focusing on listening to God and asking for His help on the day. Throughout the day, I ask for His help as I process. Throughout the week, I skip one or two meals to spend time praying and listening to His leading so that I can hear and respond to the leading and nudging of the Holy Spirit. This means some of our prayer time needs to be when we are NOT doing all of the talking.

What are the worst distractions to prayer? 1. Overscheduling/too much on your calendar. 2. Dealing with the tyranny of the urgent and trying to solve problems on our own. As pastors and church leaders, we need to determine whether something is a distraction, or something that will advance the Kingdom of God.

How does phone addiction contend with our prayer life, and what can we do about it?

Often we choose not to pray or enter the presence of God because we are busy, or it is not convenient for me right now.

I am a processor, so I like solving problems, but maybe that is part of the problem - I am trying to solve the problem, but God calls me to be with Him.

“You walked away having spent time with God.”

The Baptist way is to try and teach people into transformation, but sometimes the best way to learn to abide is to practice the presence of God and pursue Him.