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    Resource Details

    Asking God for Help

    Andy Wood | February 12, 2023

    The most significant contribution we can make with our life is letting God use us to impact somebody else’s eternity. This weekend, Pastor Andy Wood shares the barriers that prevent us from the fullness of seeing God use our lives to impact others, and how we can seek God for help.

    Message Action Plan

    Talk It Over

    Diving Deeper

    Message Action Plan

    OneLifeVision:
    Making the greatest possible difference
    with my One Life!

    Barriers to My Impact:

    1. EXPERIENCE: I don't WANT TO BE WEIRD.

    2. FEAR: I don't KNOW WHAT TO SAY.

    3. BUSYNESS: I think I DON'T HAVE TIME.

    4. COMFORT: I get USED TO LIFE WITH GOD.

    5. INSECURITY: I feel UNQUALIFIED.

    ACTION PLAN: Grab a journal or a piece of paper and write about the areas of your life that you feel are keeping you back from sharing the Gospel with others. As you write, ask God to reveal to you why you feel hesitant in that area and to clear whatever is keeping you from spreading the Good News.

    Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Colossians 4:2–4(NIV)

    How we pray determines THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WHAT WE SAY.
    Ask God for Help:

    1. Pray for OPEN DOORS.

    Doors of RECEPTIVITY, READINESS, and RESPONSE.
               
                Prayer: "God, I'm asking for an open door to share your Good News with others."

    I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)

    Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Colossians 4:5–6 (NIV)

    2. Pray for CLEAR WORDS.

    Prayer: "God, I'm asking for a Bible verse, image, sentence, or a question that gets into this person's heart."

    3. Pray for RELATIONAL WISDOM.

    Prayer: "I'm asking for your wisdom to care for this person in a way that is helpful."

    ACTION PLAN: One of the strongest evangelistic tools we have available to us is the power of presence. This week, invite your One Life to sit down over coffee or a meal and take the time to hear their story and see what is going on in their life, showing them the love of God rather than just telling them.

    4. Pray with PERSEVERANCE.

    Prayer: "God, I'm asking you to have mercy on me, and I'm asking you to have mercy on __________"

    "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."  Luke 11:9 (NIV)

    For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, "Even though I don't fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually come and attack me!"
    And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?" Luke 18:4–7 (NIV)

    ACTION PLAN: Once a day this week, practice "chewing on carpet". If you are able, get on your knees and pray for your One Life. Pray that they would see the Lord's favor and blessing and for opportunities to share the Gospel to show up in your conversations with them. It breaks God's heart when His children are far from Him, knowing that they feel hopeless and lost, so allow it to break your heart too.

    More from this series

    Talk It Over

    Discussion Guide

    Additional Resources

    Books on Evangelism

    Dive Deeper this week by checking out one of these Saddleback recommended books on evangelism.

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    More from this series

    One Life
    February 12 - March 5, 2023
    • Discern Next Steps
      March 5, 2023
    • Cultivating Conversations
      February 26, 2023
    • Building Friendships
      February 19, 2023
    • Asking God for Help
      February 12, 2023
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