Beneath the Surface: Going Deeper Than Appearances! | Part 1: Deeper Praying!

Psalm 139:23,24 (NLT)

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Mark 7:15 (NLT)

“It’s not what goes into you that defiles you; it’s what comes out from your heart (from beneath the surface)!”

Deeper Prayer #1: “God, Help Me See My !”

Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

Self-Deceiving Statements:

• “I don’t eat unhealthy foods … that often.”
• “I’m only going to have … one drink.”
• “I’m not self-centered … but if I don’t think of me first, who will?”
• “I’m not materialistic … it’s just that more stuff makes me happy!”
• “I don’t have a lust problem … I’m just a connoisseur of the beautiful bodies God created!”

“Beneath the Surface” — Heart Symptoms:

• A shorter temper?
• Jealous thoughts that won’t let go?
• Feelings of resentment toward someone else’s success or stuff?
• A nagging sense of guilt or shame? (Remember: Guilt says — I did something wrong; Shame says – something’s wrong with me!)

Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)

“I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

Psalm 51:10 (TLB)

Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.

Deeper Prayer #2: “God, Help Me Face My !”

Facing our fears is revealing and freeing!

Denying our fears is enslaving and exhausting!

A “Fear Fact”:

What we fear most often reveals where we’re trusting God least!

Deeper Prayer #3: “God, Help Me Follow Your !”

• We need to “preventatively” pray about our!

Matthew 26:41 (MSG)

“Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander (out of the right lane) into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger.”

Matthew 6:13 (MSG)

“Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You’re in charge!”

• We need to “proactively” pray for God’s!

God shows us his best paths through his Word!

Psalm 119:105 (MSG)

By Your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.

God confirms his best ways through his peace!

Colossians 3:15 (NLT)

Let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.

God helps guide us toward right paths through godly advisors!

Proverbs 15:7 (LB)

Only the good can give good advice.

Jeremiah 6:16 (NLT)
This is what the LORD says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.”

What happens beneath the surface … shapes everything above it!