THE POWER OF PASSIONATE PRAYER
INTRODUCTION: How many of you believe that God answers prayer? How many of you pray on a regular basis? How many of you have seen notable, miraculous answers to prayer?
THE BIG IDEA: One of the reasons Christians don’t pray more than they do is because they don’t really believe that God answers prayer. However, the Bible clearly teaches that the earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous person makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working.
• My goal this morning is to stir you up with a new passion and excitement about prayer!
OPENING TEXT:
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” (James 5:16b-18).
• The story of Elijah:
• In the midst of a famine – an economic crisis – the Lord sustained him supernaturally.
• The Lord supernaturally provided for a widow and her son through Elijah.
• Elijah prayed three times for a boy to be raised from the dead, and he was!
• Elijah prayed seven times for rain to come. How did Elijah pray? Persevering prayers!
• “The earnest (heartfelt, continued), prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available (dynamic in its working).” (James 5:16, Amplified).
• What does this Scripture teach us? About the power of passionate prayer!
QUOTE:
“I tell the Lord my troubles and difficulties, and wait for Him to give me the answers to them,” said one man of God. “And it is wonderful how a matter that looked very dark will in prayer become crystal clear by the help of God’s Spirit. I think Christians fail so often to get answers to their prayers because they do not wait long enough on God. They just drop down and say a few words, and then jump up and forget it and expect God to answer them. Such praying always reminds me of the small boy ringing his neighbour’s doorbell, and then running away as fast as he can go.” (E.M. Bounds, The Purpose of Prayer).
KEY TEXT: John 15:4-11
I. ABIDING IN JESUS = PRAYER:
“4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
• Abiding in Jesus in prayer is like a branch remaining vitally connected to a vine or a tree.
• When we don’t abide in Jesus, we become peanut brittle Christians – dry & crunchy!
• If we want to be juicy fruit Christians (fruit of the Spirit), we need to abide in Jesus.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY: I have gotten so busy and weary I had neglected this recently!
• “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31).
• Jesus said if we don’t abide in Him, we can do NOTHING. (I have tried)
• How do you know when you’ve neglected personal prayer? Weary & easily frustrated.
II. ABIDING IN THE WORD = BIBLE STUDY:
“7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
• If we want to see the power of prayer, we need to abide in God’s Word!
Why is it sometimes we don’t get answers to our prayers?
1. We’re asking for something God hasn’t promised.
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (1 John 5:14-15).
Remember, faith comes by hearing His Word (Romans 10:17).
The more we know His Word and His promises, the more faith and confidence we will have in prayer.
2. We don’t ask.
“You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2b).
Jesus said: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7:7-11).
ILLUSTRATE: Many Christians pray, but don’t ask for anything. Example of praying for Aunt Gertrude. ASK!
3. We ask selfishly.
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:2b-3).
EXAMPLE: BMW Z4 CONVERTIBLE
4. We don’t ask in Jesus’ name.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14).
5. We are walking in disobedience to God’s Word.
“(If you obey), The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow… (But if you don’t obey)… your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.” (Deut. 28:12,23).
III. ABIDING IN HIS LOVE:
“9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:4-11).
• Prayer is not just asking God for things, it is also fellowship with Him and His love.
• Why don’t Christians pray more than they do? They don’t know God loves them, or the revelation of the Father’s heart has grown cold.
• “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works.” (Revelation 2:4-5).
• “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42).
CLOSING CHALLENGE: The Call to the Secret Place of Prayer – Matthew 6:6
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20).
VISION! Let’s be a people of passionate prayer, to impact our world with God’s love!
CLOSING PRAYER: Pray for hunger and a call to the secret place…
Beausejour Community Church Website: www.beausejourchurch.ca
Pastor Chris Jordan’s Blog: http://thelandofpromise.blogspot.com/
