PRAYER
Let’s begin with our memory verse from last month – 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Do you pray? Let’s take some time tonight to talk about
our prayer life. Psalm 14:4 tells us, “Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as
they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.” You see, the wicked don’t pray. Do you
pray? We are reminded in Luke 18:1 – “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that
men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”
PRAYER is a RELATIONSHIP
I have given much thought to what Tim Thompson
taught us in Sunday School this past January.
He was telling us that God wants to have a relationship with us! How do we build a relationship with God??
Well, we must first get into the Word and learn of Him and what He wants us to
do and be. Then, we must talk with Him
in prayer. So, I ask again, do you pray?
Here’s
what I found in Jeremiah 29 –
11 For I know the
thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of
evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye
call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall
seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
God is saying if we pray and search for Him with all our heart, then we will find Him,
and what’s more, He will LISTEN to us!!
We have a God who hears and answers prayers! Psalm 65:2 says, “O
thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.”
PRAYER is COMMANDED
Do you pray? Did you know that we
are commanded to pray? The first verse that comes to my mind is 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray
without ceasing.” Prayer should
be a constant part of our Christian walk.
Do you remember when you had your first baby? Can you remember the awe of that first night
of having that precious life at home with you?
Think back to that time and remember.
How was it to sleep that night?
Life had changed, hadn’t it? No
longer could you just go to sleep without a care. Now, there was someone depending on you for
their well-being. Do you remember
listening for that baby to breathe? Did
you get out of bed and go check to see if the baby was still breathing? I confess – I did! But as you became accustomed to this new life
in your home, sleep was easier to come by, yet you were always attuned to
listen for that baby’s cries, do you remember?
Our prayer life should become like that mother we once were. We should be constantly attuned to God in our
daily life, even when we go to sleep.
Prayer should be the first thing on our minds. This is how we communicate with God in
Heaven!
Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Be
careful for nothing; but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God.” We also read in Ephesians 6:18 – “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
You see that “watching” in this verse is just like a mother, watching through
the night for her baby. We can do that
in our prayer life! Every moment of the
day can become part of our prayer life.
Do you know of someone in need? PRAY
for them. Do you have financial
concerns? PRAY and talk with God
about your needs. Are you gloomy, down
in the dumps? PRAY and ask the Lord to direct you to His will so you can be
re-charged and serve Him with joy!
Having trouble sleeping at night? PRAY:
Talk with the Lord, asking Him to bless those around you who are resting
peacefully! Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:1,
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for
all men.”
PRAYER is
ASKING
Do you pray?
Perhaps you’re saying, “I don’t know how to pray.” I assure you, there is no secret formula to
prayer. Prayer is simply “asking.” Matthew 7:7 & 8 tells us so clearly, “7 Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” One who prays is expecting to receive. We cannot be like the woman who tells her
husband that she’s going “shopping,” yet she stays out all day to “shop” and
comes home empty-handed, having never expected to bring something home. She just wanted “window-shop.” To pray is to ask and expect to receive! Mark
11:24 says, “Therefore I
say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have
them.” In other words, prayer comes down to our
asking God for our requests and believing that He will do what He says. Again, you may think, “I don’t have that kind
of faith.” How can I know have the faith
to believe? It’s so simple. Romans
10:17 tells us, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
PRAYER is BELIEVING
We must
remember that prayer should be according to God’s will. 1 John 5:14 & 15 tells
us, “14 And this is the confidence that we
have in him, that, if we ask any
thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions
that we desired of him.” So how
are we going to ask according to God’s will?
We must be reading His Word!! As we read the Word of God, we understand
the mind of God. It is then we learn if
we are praying selfishly or by His will.
Remember that we are in a relationship with God, so
our asking should not go against what we know God, too, wants. Remember the
words of Christ in John 15:7 – “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall
be done unto you.”
And once more in Matthew 21:22 -- “And all things, whatsoever ye shall
ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Hebrews
11:6 tells us, “But without faith it is
impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
PRAYER is ONGOING
Turn with me to Luke 18 –
1 And
he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray,
and not to faint;
2 Saying,
There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3 And
there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of
mine adversary.
4And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself,
Though I fear not
God, nor regard man;
5 Yet
because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual
coming she weary me.
6 And
the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Here in
this passage Jesus tells a parable of a woman who had a desperate need. She had someone who was troubling her and she
needed help. Note that he begins the
parable by saying that “men ought always to pray, and not to
faint.” We should not give up in our prayers. So this
woman goes to an unjust (not even a fair-minded) judge and tells him of her
problem. This man’s initial response is to cast her need aside. Why should he bother?? But she would come to
the judge again and again, presenting her need.
Why would she do that? Because no
one else was going to help her!! And finally, this unjust judge gives in and helps
her. Did he want to? NO! But why did
he? Because she didn’t give up!! She
returned again and again to present her need.
What
does this say to you and me? Exactly!!
We will not always be rewarded with the answer to our prayers the first time we
ask God. Remember what Jesus says at the
opening of this chapter? Luke 18:1 – “And he spake a parable unto them to
this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” God
wants us to pray. He may want to know how serious we are about our
request. We may have to go to throne of
grace again and again. But we are to
keep at it. We are not to give up.
I
prayed for my mother’s salvation in earnest after I became saved. It seemed to me to be an impossible
task. My mother was adamant that
“religion was a private matter.” I
cannot tell you how many times when Rick and I would talk with her about the
Lord that she would hang up on us if she was on the phone or when she was in
our home, she would go to the bedroom and slam the door shut. Conversation over. Yet, the matter was of great importance. I would often prayer at such times and ask
God, “WHY?” But he is a gracious
God. And a patient God. And so after ten years of prayers and concern
for her soul, the Lord allowed Rick to have the opportunity to confront her
about her need of a Saviour. And joy of
all joys, she accepted Christ as her Saviour!! Within another year, she was
lost to us with cancer. God hears and
God answers prayer!
Psalm 81:10 -- I am the LORD thy God, which brought
thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Jeremiah
33:3 --
Call
unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which
thou knowest not.
This month as we memorize our
Scripture verse, let’s put it into practice and PRAY!
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