Ephesians 6:18-19 KJV Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; [19] And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
I. INTRODUCTION—PRAYER HAS NO SUBSTITUTES
-There is no replacement for prayer. Church attendance, praise, singing, working for the church, giving can never replace your prayer. There are things that God wants to give to us that cannot be sung up, praised up, worked up, or preached up. They are things that will only be prayed up!
-Prayer is the key to heaven and faith can unlock that door. Prayer revivals are important for our church. Something happens when we give ourselves to praying for the lost, for revival, for ourselves.
-If you look to the past days of Pentecostal history, you will find prayer to be a key factor in the powerful events that took place during their days.
• Their churches were steeped in prayer.
• Their homes were baptized in prayer.
• Their preaching was preceded by prayer.
• Their altars were blanketed by prayer.
• Their witnessing was prepared by prayer.
• Everything they did was marked by prayer.
-We have to careful that we do not buy into lesser substitutes for prayer. Prayer is a place of surrender and there are a lot of problems and difficulties in our lives that would be resolved if we were given to prayer.
-God can do so much when we give ourselves to praying for things that really matter in life. Hezekiah was told that he was going to die and the Bible says he turned his face to the wall and prayed. God answered that prayer and added 15 years to his life.
-The Bible is filled with examples of prayers that were answered when people were in dire circumstances.
• Prayer for direction.
• Prayer for sick children.
• Prayer for deaf ears.
• Prayer for victory over defiant enemies.
• Prayer for cleansing.
• Prayer for renewal.
• Prayer for a host of other things that men needed from God.
-A saint, a preacher, a church cannot continue without prayer.
II. FIVE REASONS A CHURCH CANNOT CONTINUE WITHOUT PRAYER
-The great tragedy of our generation is that we want people to pray for us and we don’t want to pray for ourselves. We believe that prayer is an instant cure-all for everything going wrong in our lives. However, prayer is much more important than just being a consolation to you when you are in a trial or difficult time of pressure.
-Prayer is not like a drive through. It is not something that you just zip through and sing out a few requests and then expect the answer to be dropped right into a bag with no onions, no lettuce, and extra bacon on the burger!
-Just through a little outline, I am going to give you five reasons that we cannot continue without praying.
1. Prayer empties the heart of its cares.
-Without prayer, you will collect all kinds of baggage, stress, pressure, mental calamities, and a host of things that will drag you down. But there remedy for all of that is prayer.
1 Peter 5:6-7 KJV Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: [7] Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
-There are times that we seek out human answers to try to fix difficult matters of life. Put the cares of life in the hands of the Lord.
-Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. . . This is what the Sermon on the Mount calls for. There has to be a purity of heart so that the Lord can answer our needs. But when the heart is so full of the cares of life and the sin that so easily besets us and habits that weigh us down, prayer becomes difficult. . . . so we give up and don’t pray.
-Instead we talk on the phone, chat on Facebook, we text and do a host of things besides pray!
-Hannah was a woman who had a sorrowful spirit because of her barrenness. Her barrenness sent her to a place of prayer where she began to wail before the Lord. Apparently her prayer was such that it caught the critical eyes of Eli who begin to chastise her for being drunk.
-There will be times when you empty your heart before God that others around you may think that you are drunk or about half-crazy. But it is these kinds of prayer meetings birth prophets, change the religious landscape, and will change nations.
-Emptying the heart is going to take a holy vehemence and desire and you will have to forget what others think about you when you are getting there.
-Hannah literally unloaded her heart on God. How can we ever hear God with a heart that is overloaded with the cares of life?
-Hannah could have remained sorrowful in her spirit for the rest of her life but a prayer meeting changed all of that. She got desperate in the house of the Lord! When the heart gets emptied of all the hindrances, God can fill it with such revelation and power that you will be astounded.
-Yet when we are unloading our heart before God, we must understand that it is more than just a laundry list for God.
• I need a job.
• I need enough money for the rent.
• I need You to do something about Gertrude.
• I need You to get on Freddie because he is about to drive me crazy.
• I need to go to the doctor to have a lobotomy but I don’t want any pain with it.
-That is what the devil wants you to do with your praying. Turn it into a laundry list of unreasonable requests and then when they aren’t answered, the devil will make sure you get mad with God.
-Prayer is when you begin to understand the attributes of God and seek after those things. His righteousness, love, knowledge, wisdom, truthfulness, holiness are just some of the attributes of God that can add faith to our prayers. There is nothing that is beyond the reach and touch of God!
2. Prayer acknowledges that the answer is beyond your human ability.
-Prayer will help you to understand that you cannot fix everything and that you are not the sum total of everything that takes place in the world. Prayer helps you to see the big picture by showing you how small you are in God’s plan and purpose.
-The moment you bow your knee and your head is an acknowledgement that you need God. Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. Therefore I don’t have to know all the answers; I just need to know who does have all the answers.
-Prayer will create humility in the heart.
Mohammed Ali got on the plane one time and settled carefully into a seat. On this particular day, he decided that he would not put on his seat belt. A little while later, a stewardess came down the aisle, not knowing who the great boxer was. She told him, “Sir, you need to put on your seat belt.” As quick as lightning, Ali replied back to her, “Superman don’t need to seat belt.” She was just as quick back to him, “Superman don’t need no plane either. Put on your seat belt!”
-It does not matter how great you are, how much money you have, how much education you have, have much clout and position you have, you need to pray!
-Prayer anchors itself in God. Our hope is in God. . . . not in all the answers that the world would attempt to offer to me.
-There are a lot of messages in some of the old songs that we sing around here:
Where do I go
When there's nobody else to turn to
Who do I talk to
When no one wants to listen
Who do I lean on
When there's no foundation stable
I go to the Rock I know He's able
I go to the Rock
CHORUS
I go to the Rock of my Salvation
I go to the Stone that the builders rejected
I run to the mountain and the mountain stands by me
When the earth all around me is sinking sand
On Christ, the solid rock I stand
When I need a shelter, When I need a friend,
I go to the Rock
Where do I hide
When the storms of life are threatening
Where do I run to
When the winds of sorrow blow
Is there a refuge in the time of tribulation
Cause I go to the Rock
I know He's able.
When the earth all around is a-sinking sand
On Christ, the solid rock I stand
When I need a shelter, When I need a friend,
When the earth all around is sinking sand
On Christ the solid rock I stand
When I need a shelter, When I need a friend
I go to the Rock
3. Prayer is the way to divine direction.
-Refresh your memory of the preacher named Jonah. He was a man who was a half-backslid preacher and was determined to do what he wanted to do. There was a problem with that. What he wanted to do was in direct conflict with what God asked him to do. That is called disobedience.
-One of the greatest lessons that we learn from the story of Jonah is that decisions made without prayer can lead to storms and destruction. The whole reason Jonah ended up in the storm, in the belly of the whale, and nearly dead was because he made a decision that he did not pray about.
• Woe is us unto us if we make decisions that are not based on our earnest prayer of inquiry with God.
• Woe is unto us if we go to unspiritual people, who are just as confused as we are, and seek out their direction for our lives.
-It will have a bad outcome!
-You cannot trust your decision to do the right thing when you cannot see around the corner. Go to God who can see around the corner and can help in every aspect of your life.
-Prayer brings direction from what Isaiah calls the wonderful Counselor. If you have a wonderful counselor, you need nothing else. But to get that wonderful Counselor involved, you have to ask and seek after His will.
• Before we do anything. . . Seek God!
• Before you take that job. . . Seek God!
• Before you make a financial decision. . . Seek God!
• Before you get married. . . Seek God!
• Before you decide to walk away from the church. . . Seek God!
Proverbs 3:6 KJV In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
-When you begin to acknowledge God, He will help you. You have to include God in every single aspect of your life.
-The Lord’s prayer. . . Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. The will of God has been taken care of in heaven but the challenge is getting the will up there. . . down here. That is the whole challenge of prayer, learning how to pray in such a manner that you are not in control but rather that God is in control.
-When you pray, there is a connection that is taking place on the earth that was started in heaven. Prayer opens up the windows of heaven to us!
-I need divine direction and prayer will help. Prayer is not a monologue. It is a dialogue. God can talk to you if you will listen to Him. You cannot come to the altar and dump everything on God and then get up and leave. We need to linger at the altar and let God talk to us!
-Prayer causes you to turn loose of that old nature to want to manipulate things in life. There are some who get to pouting when God doesn’t answer their prayer in the exact manner that they think it ought to be done.
-But if you can ever relent to the will of God, all will ultimately turn out for the best. God is not to be manipulated by our fleshly whims. You have to make up in your mind that you are going to serve the Lord no matter what!
-He alone is God! He alone is to be praised!
-Prayer is not over when you have had your say, prayer is only effective when we take divine direction from Him!
4. Prayer strengthens my relationship with God.
-Far too many have a relationship with a church, with a preacher, with a movement, or with a group. Prayer gets way beyond that, it causes you to be able to hear the voice of God for yourself.
-We have to get beyond just letting the Lord stay in the church. He has to be with us all the time. What would happen to us if we had all the trappings of religion were removed?
• What if the youth program crashed?
• What if the sound system died?
• What if the music crashed?
• What if the whole church just imploded in on itself?
-This would be so rattling to some. . . maybe the majority. . . they would give up and throw in the towel. This is where those who are the pray-ers would suddenly begin to flourish. Somewhere along the way you need to be able to pray and speak with God because you know who He is!
-In the old days, they did not have any of this stuff. They might come to church and somebody have an old beat up flat top guitar, an old piano that was out of tune, and they could have a move of God!
-Hand-clapping, foot stomping, singing to the top of their lungs. . . .
Would you be free from the burden of sin?
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood;
Would you o’er evil a victory win?
There’s wonderful power in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.
Would you be free from your passion and pride?
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood;
Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide;
There’s wonderful power in the blood.
Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow?
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood;
Sin stains are lost in its life giving flow.
There’s wonderful power in the blood.
Would you do service for Jesus your King?
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood;
Would you live daily His praises to sing?
There’s wonderful power in the blood.
-All of that was followed with long-winded preaching and praying.
-The old folks did not need all of those substitutes that we have today just to keep us running. They had such a relationship with God that when they got to church, they already knew what to do. If all they had was an old wash-tub to keep a bit of rhythm for them, they would carry on in faith and power!
-In the absence of relationship with God we have to get close to people who are close to God then we don’t need to be close to God. We just ask them to pray for our spiritual needs and our spiritual man gets weaker and weaker and more anemic by the day!
-Years ago we had to have operators on the phones to help us call long distance numbers. When Jesus got up out of the grave, He removed the need for an operator.
Hebrews 4:14-16 KJV Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. [15] For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
5. Prayer changes me.
-The last reason that you cannot make it without prayer is because it changes me/you. Prayer is not so that we can change God.
Malachi 3:6 KJV For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Psalms 90:2 KJV Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
-If God were to change then that would mean that He is not perfect. But since God is perfect and He will never change. So if we cannot change God, then why are we praying?
-We pray because God changes us!
• Prayer changes my attitude.
• Prayer changes my perspective.
• Prayer changes my circumstances.
• Prayer changes my philosophies about life.
• Prayer changes me into a saint of God.
• Prayer gives me favor with God.
• Prayer changes the folks that I work with.
-You can go into your secret closet of prayer and all sorts of changes can begin to happen.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
• You don’t need to have a heart attack; you need to have a prayer attack.
• You don’t need to have a nervous breakdown; you need to have a prayer breakthrough.
• You need to turn off the computer and get down on your knees and have a prayer meeting.
• You need to take authority in prayer and say, “Satan, you’re kingdom is coming down!”
• You need to take authority in prayer and say, “Satan, you can’t have my children. You can’t have my mind. You can’t have my life!”
-If my people who are called by name will humble themselves and pray. . . healing. . . deliverance. . . power. . . freedom. . . whatever it is that you need, God has it for you!
-There is nothing wrong with you that God cannot take care of. . . Take it to the Lord in prayer!
• Prayer will unlock doors that have been closed.
• Prayer will bring a mighty rushing wind.
• Prayer will set you apart.
• Prayer will change your entire world.
III. CONCLUSION—SAUL IN ACTS 9
-In Acts 9, Saul was on his way to kill the church in Damascus when a great light knocked him to the ground. When God spoke to Ananias and told him to go and pray for Saul of Tarsus, there might have been some hesitation on his part, until God told him, he prayeth (Acts 9:11).
• He used to be a persecutor but he is praying now.
• He used to be a killer of the saints but he is praying now.
• He used to be a godless man but he is praying now.
-How many are in that stead right now? They used to be into all sorts of terrible things but now they are like Saul. . . They are praying. . . When men and women get to praying. . . Anything can happen to them!
-If prayer changed you. . . I have a feeling that prayer can change everything! God is bigger than anything you are facing right now!
-You have to understand that the devil is like one of the biggest bullies you have ever faced but if you can get your daddy after him. . . all will be well!
Philip Harrelson
November 7, 2010
