The power of prayer
Ephesians chapter 6:18-6:20
Introduction-
We are ending our series putting on the full armor of God. No really!
We have looked at all the pieces of armor.
We have given examples of how God wants us to wear and use all of these pieces.
We have seen that believers need to be engaged in spiritual warfare and be successful and not beaten up by the enemy that wants to destroy us.
I said last week that all of these pieces of armor are for defensive purposes except one.
Only one is an offensive weapon. That is the Word of God!
Nothing that we can do in ourselves is able to defeat the enemy of God.
Nothing in ourselves can defeat the problems that go on inside our lives - except prayer!
Prayers offered up to Almighty God. Having a conversation with God the Father!
He is not the man upstairs; He is our Father in heaven.
Prayer is a communication with God that makes life bearable
That makes things possible
That puts truth to things that we do not understand.
Last time for a while, turn to Ephesians 6, and we will read just verses 18-20.
Ephesians chapter 6:18-6:20
I have said if you are not reading the word of God and praying, you literally have no weapon against the enemy.
For some of you for the last several weeks, we have been in basic training and today you are graduating out of boot camp and ready to take what you have learned and what you have been given and ready to do something for the Lord.
Most people associate prayer with troubles and hardships we go through.
No problems, no prayer life!
We have problems and we cannot go to God fast enough to tell him what we need Him to do for us.
Intimacy with God starts with a pure heart.
Pure hearts does not mean a perfect heart or a heart that is free of guilt.
• It means that we need to come to God honestly.
Come to Him where we are at, so He can take us where we need to go. (repeat)
James 4:8-
“Draw near to God and God will draw near to you.”
Prayer is so important in your relationship with God that you cannot go higher than your prayer life.
Your walk with God can never go deeper than the time you spend with God.
Prayer connects us with the heart of God while society and the world try to tear down our relationship with God.
When most people think of spiritual warfare, they think of devil stomping, rebuking evil spirits, binding and loosing something….and it can be!
But most of the spiritual warfare goes on right inside of you.
I want you to see something right up front- 3 points.
1. Priority of prayer
2. Persistence of prayer
3. Power of prayer
(v18-19)
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I may fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
Capital S here, Spirit- meaning not out spirit, but the Holy Spirit.
On all occasions, on all kinds of prayers and request.
Make sure your prayers and request line up with God’s will and ask the Father.
Be alert.
Be smart.
Know the danger.
Know the Word.
Know what to do when you need to do it.
Pray with the help of the Holy spirit-
As hope sustains believers when they suffer, the Holy Spirit helps us when we pray.
We are saved by faith, not hope. I don’t hope to get to heaven. By faith, I know I will make heaven.
Hope sustains believers in hard times and the Holy Spirit helps us when we do not even know what and how we should be praying.
Everything in our society fights against prayer.
Our lives being so busy interferes with times of prayer.
(Anybody know what I am saying?)
There is no special formula for prayer- if you are not praying, start praying!
If you spend little time in prayer or God’s Word- discipline yourself and spend more time with Him.
Let’s be honest with God this morning, Everyone of us needs to spend more time in prayer with God- Amen.
Sin usually keeps us from coming to God- things that we know we are doing that is wrong-
Sin blocks the channel of communication with God. We cannot hide our sins from God and we cannot expect God to pretend he does not see it.
King David after his unfaithfulness with Bethsheba, asked God for forgiveness, and God gave it to him. In fact, God called him a man after God’s own heart.
That’s God great policy on forgiveness.
You ask, mean it, He forgives it. It is the best return policy anywhere.
David’s response back to God is recorded in Psalm 139:23-
“Search me O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Still being honest with God,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from unrighteousness.”
God wants to communicate with you and I on a daily basis.
He does not want anything to be a barrier from the communication.
Back to the three points.
I. Priority of prayer
Priority by definition “means superiority of rank, position and privilege.”
When we prioritized something- we take those things that are important and put them in the right place.
You just don’t know how busy I am pastor! We are all busy!
Mark 1:35-
“Very early the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where He prayed.”
I am not a morning person pastor!
Paraphrase Mark 1:35- Very late at night, while it was still dark, _________put your name here stayed up, went off to a solitary place, where he/she prayed.
You will do what is important to you! You will find a way! We always do!
No matter if you get up early or stay up late, make sure God gets quality time- Make it a priority.
“Devote yourself to prayer.”
“Pray without ceasing.”
Remember Jesus statement- “Without me, you can do nothing.”
II. Persistence of prayer
“With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Always keep praying- persistence!
There is a term we use to use in the church and that is “praying through”- it meant that you were going to give your request to God and be persistent until you felt that God had an answer for you. No audible voices necessarily, but a peace that He has answered you.
Yes, no or maybe, are all answers the Lord could give, but you were not going to stop praying about it until He answered.
Illustration-
Bill Hybels tells about an interesting experience after a baptism service in their church. He writes: “I bumped into a woman in the stairwell who was crying. I thought this was a little odd, since the service was so joyful. I asked her if she was all right. She said, ‘No, I’m struggling.’ She said, ‘My mom was baptized today. I prayed for her every day for almost 20 years. The reason I’m crying is because I came this close to giving up on her. At the 5-year mark I said, “Who needs this? God isn’t listening.” At the 10-year mark I said, “Why am I wasting my breath?” At the 15-year mark I said, “This is absurd.” At the 19-year mark I said, “I’m just a fool.” But I just kept trying, kept praying. Even with weak faith I kept praying. Then she gave here life to Christ, and she was baptized today. I will never doubt the power of prayer again.”
Sometimes when we pray and pray we feel like we are experiencing the law of diminished returns — so we stop praying. We correspondingly diminish our desires and dreams. We stop believing that God cares and that he will act — that he is indeed a God who wants us to ask. I hope that you will trust God’s love and concern for you, and his ability as well. I hope that you will continue to be persistent in prayer, no matter how discouraging the circumstances seem.
The Bible is full of people who persevered.
Naaman dipped 7 times before he was healed. 6 would not have done it. 6 would have been close- 1 short of a miracle.
Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord. “I will not let go until you bless me.” Perseverance!
Let’s be honest,
What do you need from God?
Are you willing to hang on until God gives you the answer.
An answer that you will be okay with even if it is not the one you were wanting.
Will you be in communication with God when the answer comes from God?
III. Power of Prayer
(18) “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request.”
Praying in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Praying and trusting that what God wants done, He will do it in the power of His might.
If your prayer life has become dry and lifeless, maybe it is because you are trying to do it in your own strength and power.
2 Chronicles 7:14-
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
You cannot pray in the Spirit or walk in the Spirit if you have no experience with the Holy Spirit in your life.
Closing:
If you know that your prayer life is not where it should be, this morning seek Him for a fresh filling of His Spirit. What I am saying is that you will allow him to be a part of your decision making, you will be in communication with Him by prayer which is taking to God.
I am not wanting you to feel guilty or feel like I am pushing you to do anything that you do not want to do. What I am saying that if you are not happy with where you are at, you can change it by seeking Him.
Devil beats people up, I am trying to encourage you on.
I want you to see that prayer and discipleship is not a duty, it is a privilege. It is spending time with God and allowing Him to speak to the needs that are in your life.
God is looking for some to stand in the gap and be prayer warriors.
He is looking for some this morning to admit that communication with God is not where it should be and you want to do something about it.
Apostle Paul in these last verses asked the people of God to pray for him, and your pastor is asking the same thing for myself and the leaders of this church. We want to do and be all that God wants us to be.
Amen.
