Naturally Supernatural Part 16
This Preaching in Shorts sermon series is called “Naturally Supernatural” and looks at Jesus as our model for life and ministry.
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In this series we have been talking about living naturally supernatural lives. Our model for this is Jesus, who is our model for life and ministry. Jesus is humanity as God intended it to be. Our naturally supernatural life includes the resources of prayer, the Word and the Holy Spirit. We are also looking at the concepts of doing what He did, by thinking like He thought, seeing like He saw, serving like He served, and loving like He loved. With this in mind, we have examined encounters that Jesus had throughout the book of John. This week we are going to talk about one way of applying the idea of naturally supernatural living to our lives. I want to talk about naturally supernatural prayer.
Scripture Reading
John 5:6-8 (NIV)
6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” 8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
Naturally supernatural prayer is about praying for people out in the streets. Out where we encounter them. This is different than the way we pray for and minister to people here in the church or in a more private setting. This type of prayer is what we do when we encounter people out in our day to lives. Here are some practical steps to follow.
1. What’s wrong?
John 5:6a (NIV)
6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time…
We need to find out what people need prayer for. You will often get an understanding that something is wrong, there are times when supernaturally you may even get an idea of what is wrong with someone, but perhaps the most common way to find out what needs to be prayed for is by asking “what’s wrong?”. We don’t know from our verse whether Jesus had learned about this man’s condition from natural or supernatural resources, so both are OK.
2. Can I pray for you now?
John 5:6b (NIV)
6 …”Do you want to get well?”
This six words is something that we should all know. The word at the end is very important. Now. I want to pray for you now right here. People are used to hearing things like “I will pray for you”, but that is often something people say and don’t follow through on. In our naturally supernatural prayer we are talking about praying for people right where we encounter them.
If they seem reluctant, tell them that the entire prayer will take less than 10 seconds and that know one will even know that the prayer is taking place. People are often concerned that they are about to have attention drawn to themselves and get embarrassed, or they have had a prior bad experience.
If they still say no, respect that and stop the process.
3. Ask for their name
Knowing their name will make the prayer more personal. Once they have told you their name, remember it!
4. Keep your eyes open
When you are praying for someone, you should have your eyes open. Both physically and supernaturally.
5. Pray a naturally supernatural prayer
We often think that prayers need to long and flowery, but that is not the model that Jesus or the disciples give us for these naturally supernatural encounters. Here are a few examples:
John 5:8 (NIV)
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
Mark 5:41 (NIV)
41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).
Mark 7:34 (NIV)
34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”).
Luke 6:10 (NIV)
10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored.
Acts 3:6 (NIV)
6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
So here is the naturally supernatural prayer I want you to pray for people.
(Answer to number 3), in the name of Jesus, ______________.
6. Invite card
John 5:14 (NIV)
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
After you pray for them, hand them an invite card and say, “this is where I go to church, if you are not going to church somewhere you should come and find out more about how much God loves you”.
Ask God for opportunities to naturally supernaturally pray for people every day.
Related posts:
- Naturally Supernatural Part 1
- Naturally Supernatural Part 10
- Naturally Supernatural Part 12
- Naturally Supernatural Part 15
- Naturally Supernatural Part 4
Category: Preaching in Shorts
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