Do You Believe When You Pray?

Setting The Sails

• When Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary, first went to China, He went by boat

• At one point during the voyage, the wind stopped blowing and the boat drifted dangerously close to the shore of island that was inhabited by cannibals.

• Because of the lack of wind it kept slowly drifting shoreward

• and the savages were eagerly anticipating a feast.

• The captain came to Mr. Taylor and begged him to pray to God for help.

• Taylor said “I will if you set your sails to catch the breeze.”

• The captain didn’t want to look stupid for setting the sails in a dead calm

• So he refused

• But Taylor said, “I wont pray unless you will prepare the sails.”

• Reluctantly the captain agreed And it was done.

• While Taylor was praying in his cabin there was a knock at his door

• Taylor cried out “Who is it?”

• The captain’s said “Are you still praying for wind?”

• Taylor answered “Yes.”

• And the captain, said “you’d better stop praying, because we have more wind than we can handle

Today we are going to look at John 4:46-54

• It’s the story of a royal official who had a problem

• A problem that he knew only Jesus could fix

• And this story shows us that not only does God listen when we pray,

• But He answers our prayers as well

Jn 4:46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.

Jn 4:47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

Jn 4:48 “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

Jn 4:49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

Jn 4:50 Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed.

Jn 4:51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.

Jn 4:52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”

Jn 4:53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.

Jn 4:54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

Lets start out by asking Do you believe that when you ask for things

When you pray

• Do you believe that God will help (Elab)

• Or are you just throwing prayers up in the air hoping something will happen

• That’s what we’re going to look at True belief

Jesus had returned

• He had returned to the place where He had turned water into wine

• He would have been known there

• When something happens in a small town you hear about it (Elab)

• This is what has happened here

• Because of Jesus’ reputation The crowds had begun to gather

They welcomed Him

• Not so much in the sense that He was the messiah

• They weren’t welcoming the One who could save them

• They instead saw Him as a miracle worker that would amaze them

• In the same way we watch people like Chris Angel the magician on TV

• They wanted to see the show

But there was a Certain Royal Official whose Child was sick

• If your child was sick what would you do? (Elab)

• We are spoiled with health care in the US

• We have at our disposal numerous ways to get them feeling better

• (Drugstores, call the doctors, Promt care, emergency rooms)

• But the official doesn’t have these options

• We aren’t told what his job is

• But there is no doubt that he was an officer in Herod’s service

• Normally people with a position like this expect the preferred treatment (Elab)

But he believed so much that Jesus could help him that he traveled 17 miles to see Him (Elab)

• After he got there he forgot about his standing in the community (Elab)

• He begged Jesus to help him (Elab)

• One thing I think we should remember is

• Herod at Jesus birth had wanted to kill him, and this man worked for Herod

• So this man, this official was going behind his boss’s back to see Jesus.

• Because he knew that Jesus could help him