Do You Really Give God Your Prayer?

IWESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH

PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN

SERMON TITLE: DO YOU REALLY GIVE GOD YOUR PRAYER?

“For God so Loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth in Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18

TEXT VERSE: PSALMS 69:13 “BUT AS FOR ME, MY PRAYER IS UNTO THEE, O LORD, IN AN ACCEPTABLE TIME: O GOD, IN THE MULTITUDE OF THY MERCY HEAR ME, IN THE TRUTH OF THY SALVATION.”

This wasn’t what I thought we’d be preaching on tonight but the Lord changed my mind. I guess what laid this verse on my heart tonight was that we had a lot of prayer requests tonight. Got a lot of people out sick. There’s not really one person in the church tonight that if you walked up to them and asked them if they had a need in their life, they would say yes. Some of them are small needs. Some of them a greater needs. Some of them are burdens. Some of them are trials and tribulations. Some of them have problems. Some even mental problems. I don’t know. But the devil is always is always causing problems in people’s lives, but I’m glad I know the problem solver. I’m glad Jesus is the problem solver.

I want to talk a few minutes on this: Do you really give God your prayer? The Psalmist said, “As for me, my prayer...” Notice he said (My Prayer). He wasn’t concerned about what every body else was praying. I like that scripture where Jesus said when you prayer enter in to your closet, shut the door and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father which is in secret, and your Father which is in secret shall reward you openly. When I pray it’s not your prayer. It’s what’s in my heart. And when you share your prayer requests with me I pray what’s on my heart and give them to God. I just like turning things over to God.

Before service I went back to the other room and cried out to God. I said Lord, we have a lot out sick and I want to call them up to you and I want you to hear my prayer and answer the prayer according to your will where ever their at. I want you to know tonight that we need to give God our prayers. You ask, can I pray it one time and never pray it again? That’s not what I mean. I believe the Bible says we have not because we ask not. I think we need to ask that it shall be given, seek that it shall be found and knock that it shall be open unto us. Take the first letter of those three words: Ask, Seek, Knock and you come back to ask . We need to ask God and keep on asking God to answer these prayers. But don’t carry your prayer around with you by worrying and wondering when and how God is going to answer it. If your going to give God your prayer then give him all of it.

Then the Psalmist says, My prayer is unto thee. It was his prayer and not he’s giving it to God. We pray it and once we pray it, it become his prayer. God knows what’s in our heart even before we pray. I remember Hannah in the Bible where she was praying. Her lips were moving but nothing was coming out of her mouth. Eli thought she was drunk. She said, I’m not drunk, it’s sorrow of heart. I’m praying to my God. There’s other times in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus prayed out loud. They say his sweat was as great drops of blood. He prayed in agony. There’s been simple prayers where the thief who hung beside Jesus prayed that Jesus would remember him when he came into his Fathers kingdom. It don’t take a lengthy prayer but whatever you pray, pray it from your heart and turn it over to God.

Number one: In an acceptable time. Lord, when it’s right for you then you answer my prayer. Not in my time. Lord, I’m giving this prayer to you and in your acceptable time, you answer the prayer. Answer it the way you want and not the way I want because I’m giving it to you. God’s time is not our time. His thoughts are not our thoughts. He does things according to His will and not our wants. I looked up that word acceptable, listen to what it means. Adequately enough to satisfy a need.