This week we began examining the third enemy to our spiritual health: self-reliance. We defined self-reliance as living our day-to-day lives depending primarily on our own strengths and resources and we looked at how we fight to grow our dependence on God through prayer. We hope these additional resources will be beneficial as you fight self-reliance in your own life.
Book: A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller
In his book, Miller lays out a pattern for living in relationship with God and includes helpful habits and approaches to prayer that enable us to fight against self-reliance and return to a childlike faith.
Video: “We Can Do Nothing” by John Piper
In this short, 3-minute video, John Piper provides a metaphor for how we can glorify God by appropriately depending on Him to do things we are unable to accomplish. Coming out of John 15, Piper reminds viewers that prayer is one of the most powerful tools we have to fight against self-reliance because it is the turning away of ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide what we need.
Article: “Christian Life Beyond the Quiet Time” by Jared C. Wilson
Wilson examines what it means to “be filled by the Spirit” and the connection between not just cultivating a daily “quiet time” but a quiet life that intentionally and diligently focuses on the finished work of Christ in our everyday, ordinary lives.
Article: “A Simple Way to Pray Every Day “ by Nick Aufenkamp
In this helpful article, Aufenkamp summarizes some of Martin Luther’s advice on why and how to use the Lord’s Prayer as a structure for daily prayer. The article also has some nice tie-ins to fighting distraction as well as self-reliance.
Video: “Teach Us to Pray” by John Piper
Breaking down each phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, Piper gives an example for how The Lord’s Prayer is a helpful model for our prayer lives.
Book: Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren
Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices and habits that form us. Warren sets out to show that every area of our lives is designed for communion and engagement with God. We’d especially recommend checking out Chapter 4: “Losing Keys” as it’s particularly relevant to fighting against a daily mindset of self-reliance.
Article: “Three Ways to Fight Prayerlessness” by Aaron Armstrong
In this short article, Armstrong gives three simple, but not often heeded, steps for fighting against prayerlessness in our lives.
Sermon Series: “Pray”
Check out this 3-part sermon series from the Midtown Archives called “Pray” which looks at what prayer is and how to practice it well.
Sermon Series: “Luke”
During our study through the book of Luke, we dove into the topic of prayer on two occasions. You can check out those sermons: “Persisting in Prayer” and “War-Time Prayer” here.