Prayers and Promises
August 15, 2010 Evening Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: God will answer us in His time for His glory.
Focus Passage: I Samuel 1:9-20 (pew Bible page 311)
Supplemental Passage: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (James 1:2-3 NASB)
I. Does God really care about my specific situation?
a. It’s not about what your situation is. It’s about how you handle your situation.
b. Hanna had a bad situation – she was mocked year after year
c. But she responded badly. She isolated herself and had a pity party.
II. When you’ve had enough – Pray again.
a. Hanna had all she could stand. Instead of pouting about it, she prayed.
b. "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:22 NASB)
c. But we tell ourselves that it isn’t possible. We quit believing. And yet Jesus says in Mark 9:23 “All things are possible to him who believes.”
III. You know you’re ready when:
a. You’re ready to do whatever it takes
i. 11 And she made this vow: "O Lord... if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will..."
b. You’re ready to do it all for God
i. 11 And she made this vow: "O Lord... if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut."
c. You’re ready to keep your promises
i. How many times have we said, God, if you’ll do this, then I’ll do that. Only to find that after God is faithful on His end, we are not on ours. If we are not ready to uphold our part of the agreement, then we are not ready to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives. If we are not willing to be disciplined enough to keep our promises, then we’re not ready to have God’s plan for us begin.
ii. Hanna kept her promise. Samuel became one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament.
