Praying for life, praying from the Middle

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Praying for life, Praying from the middle (Mark 1:35 & John 15:14)

Mark 1:35 It starts out by saying very early in the morning. Before the sun came up. While it was still dark.

• This is being very deliberate and helps avoid distractions.

• If you are not a morning person, maybe for you it works better to do it late at night.
• Then it says Jesus left the house
  • He physically had to move to a different location.
• The next phrase says “solitary place.”
  • The Greek word used here can mean desert or wilderness
  • The Lord meets so many biblical characters in the desert or wilderness.
• The verb to pray here is in the middle voice in the Greek. Very important
• What kind of deliberate steps do you need to take for your prayer life?
• Many people feel inadequate in prayer. Not knowing what to pray.
  • Even feeling anxious in prayer.

John 15:14 If we follow His ways, we are no longer servants but friends.

• It is important to see that obedience is not what makes us His friend, but rather it is what characterizes His friends.
• He goes on to say that we are such trusted friends that He has already told us all the Father’s business.
• This should inform our prayers then.
• Then Jesus goes on and says that He chose us. But He chose us to bear fruit, and fruit that will last.
  • Because I have become friends with Jesus, I now get to bear His kingdom fruit.
  • Because we have borne fruit, we will be able to ask in prayer for whatever we want.

First, our prayers are answered because of our fruit.

• This starts with Jesus choosing us.
  • He dies on a cross for us.
  • Then we find a friend in Jesus because of what He chose to do for us.
  • As we become friends with Jesus our character begins to line up with His.
  • Then we begin to bear fruit. The fruit is the character of Jesus manifesting in our lives
  • Then as our character becomes more and more like Him.
    • The Father can now trust us with the answers to our prayers.
    • Because we are now exhibiting the character fruit of Jesus

Second, our prayers are rooted in our friendship

• We can pray with the same kind of trust we have with a really good friend.
• Good friends never demand from us or insist on their way all the time.

• Praying from the Middle voice
• In the Middle voice the idea originates with another but we participate with it.
• Prayer starts with God. A good trusted friend leading.
  • He calls us into it.
  • He tells us His business
  • He shapes us into fruit bearers
  • He is not dictating the prayers, rather He is leading our heart into alignment with His.
• Friendship with Jesus lends itself to middle voice praying.
  • Prayer that Jesus initiates and that we agree with and participate with and in.
• Middle voice praying are prayers that get answered, because it was Jesus’s idea to begin with.
• The verse continues by saying He will give us whatever we as for in prayer.
• We tend to take that out of context and think we get whatever we want if we use the name of Jesus.
• But we must remember the middle voice concept here.
  • That prayer originated with God. He led us into it.
  • Then we cooperate with it, from trust and relationship.
    • We say yes and amen to the prayer He already put in us.
    • Once we cooperate with it, of course He will answer it.
    • We get whatever we ask. Because it was Jesus’s idea to begin with. Middle voice.
  • The problem is, we tend to go in search of our own prayers
    • Prayers not aligned with His character and nature.
    • We tend to pray prayers based on our insecurities, flesh, and traditions
  • Middle voice praying should take away all the anxiety and insecurity in prayer.