POWERFUL PRAYERS to a powerful God
How many times in your life have you prayed?
I’ve been a Christian for around 27 years now, and if we assume that I have prayed only once a day for 27 years thats 9,855 prayers.
I’ve probably prayed more than that,
I start and end my day with prayer
I often pray for people during the day,
I go to prayer meetings and I still pray a prayer of thanks before I eat a meal.
Prayer is a natural part of my day and I hope it is part of your too.
Prayer is simply speaking to God.
If you are like me, then there have been times you have prayed short prayers and other times when you have prayed long prayers.
You’ve probably prayed for circumstances and situations in your own life and the life of others.
You have prayed prayers of praise and prayers of petition. Prayers of sorrow and prayers of joy.
At times you have prayed in public and you have prayed in private.
Maybe there have been times when you have thought long and hard about how you should pray about something specific
and maybe there have been other times when you have just opened your mouth and the words have just flowed straight from your heart.
All of those different prayers and different ways of praying.
As I thought about that in preparation for this message it led me to think about 2 other questions:
How often have I experienced the Power of Prayer in my own life?
and
How often have I prayed a Powerful Prayer?
I think all of us have in one way or another experienced the power of prayer in our lives.
God answering prayer in the perfect way at the perfect time.
We know when we pray, we pray to a God who listens and answers according to His perfect will and purpose.
Christians through the centuries have experienced the POWER OF PRAYER.
But maybe too many of us have assumed for too long that Powerful Prayers are always prayed by someone other than ourselves........
The truth is Prayer is one of the greatest blessings God has given to every believer.
Prayer is a powerful weapon.
Prayer is one of the most important things in a life of faith.
It is often said that prayer changes things,
and I believe that God wants prayer to change us too!
I believe God wants every one of us to move forward in our prayer life - individually, corporately God wants us, His people, to be Powerful Pray ERS that pray powerful prayers.
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The Bible teaches that God is the same yesterday, today and forever doesn’t it?
God has not lost His power. But sometimes it seems that our prayers are devoid of any power.
Friends, the miracle working God we read of in the Bible still works miracles today and He will continue to work miracles tomorrow too.
We need to expect God to answer prayers in power.
And maybe we need to trust God more that He can work a miracle in our own life and in the lives of others today.
Maybe we need to really trust in the power of prayer.
Each and every one of us has the potential, in faith,
to pray a powerful prayer.
A prayer like the prayer of Moses that saved Israel,
a prayer like the prayer of Elisha that raised the dead,
a prayer like the prayer of the Church that rescued Peter,
a prayer like the prayer of Pentecost that led to 3,000 people being saved.
Prayers of people who had the faith to believe in God’s power and God’s promises.
Powerful prayers to a powerful God.
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This morning I want us to briefly consider three powerful prayers of people who had the faith to believe that God could and would act in a powerful way.
The prayer of Abraham
The prayer of Joshua
The prayer of Jabez
THE PRAYER OF ABRAHAM
Life was not easy for Abraham, Abraham had times when his faith wavered.
Abraham had the faith to go to a new land but did not believe he and Sarah could have a son.
But, if there is one thing that Abraham teaches us,
it is sincerity.
There are times when God tests us to see how sincere we are in what we are asking Him for.
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In Genesis 18 there is the account of when God appeared to Abraham, and they spoke with each other.
Remeber I said earlier that prayer is speaking to God, imagine what a difference there would be in our prayer lives if we also spoke face to face to our Lord.
There are two parts to Genesis 18, in the first part the Lord tells Abraham that Sarah, at the age of 90, would give birth to a son.
Something that Abraham and Sarah found hard to believe could happen - but God proved that even the seemingly impossible is possible for God.
Then in the second part of Genesis 18, God reveals his plan for Sodom and Gomorah to Abraham, and Abraham speaks to the Lord to intercede for Sodom.
Lets me read to you from Genesis 18 verses 20-33:
20 So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. 21 I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”
22 The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. 23 Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? 24 Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes?
25 Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
26 And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”
29 Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?”
And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”
30 “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?”
And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”
31 Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?”
And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
32 Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?”
And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
33 When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.
Abraham, spoke, he prayed, he asked God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gommorrah if there were ten righteous found there. But there were not ten righteous people, and God did not spare the city.
But God answered the heart of Abraham’s prayer by bringing Lot and his family out of Sodom.
This passage shows us that like Abraham we need to be persistent in prayer.
Persistent praying helps develop and strengthen our faith.
Simply put, Abraham sought God in prayer, and we should too.
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THE PRAYER OF JOSHUA
Joshua was a man of faith and he was a man of prayer. Joshua was a man who was willing to humble himself before God.
Listen to Joshua 5:13-15
13 When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
14 “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.
This was not a angel for angels are not worshipped. Joshua realized he was in the presence of God.
And Joshua humbled himself before his Lord, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence.
We know God loves us, we know God cares for us,
we know God listens and answers our prayers, but
maybe we need to be more reverent when we pray.
Maybe we need to be more humble before the Lord.
Let me remind you of the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14 when God said: if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
Friends we need to humble ourselves before God.
We need to pray.
We need to seek His will for our lives.
We need to turn away from things that are wrong in God’s sight.
We need to turn away from anything that is wicked in God’s sight.
God is Holy, His will is perfect, he is smarter and stronger than we are, and we need to be humble not arrogant before Him.
Joshua was willing to obey God’s words without delay.
The commander of the Lord’s army replied,“Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.
Remember the song that says:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way,
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Joshua was obedient to God’s word and we need to do the same.
Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience.
The cost of obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience.
As Joshua said, as Joshua prayed
“I am at your command, what do you want your servant to do?”
A powerful prayer that each of us should be willing to pray.
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THE PRAYER OF JABEZ:
There are a lot of books written about the Prayer of Jabez.
He is remembered for his prayer but Jabez only makes a quick appearance in the Bible and then he is gone.
When Jabez prayed He simply requested God’s GRACE: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 says:
There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. 10 He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.
Oh, that you would bless me - how often have you prayed that prayer?
How often has God blessed you?
Jabez prayed, Jabez sought God’s best for his life.
Jabez Requested GROWTH: expand my territory!
The word ’expand’ to make larger,
His desire was to reach out beyond himself...
to expand his sphere of influence.
Is that your desire this morning?
Is your prayer this morning the prayer of Jabez?
Lord Bless me, Lord expand my territory?
Is your prayer also that God will be with you?
Jabez requested God to guide his life:
Please be with me in all that I do
and keep me from all trouble and pain!
There are times when each of us face trouble and pain, and those are the times we need to know God is with us.
God has promised to never leave us or forsake us,
God is with us every moment of our lives,
when we are happy, when we are sad,
when we are weak and when we are strong.
Jabez was aware that he needed the power and presence of God in His life and we should too.
And God granted Jabez his request.
Another powerful prayer with powerful results.
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I will close by saying this:
Abraham, Joshua, Jabez and many others have prayed powerful prayers. Will you?
Friends, powerful prayers can be a key part of every christians life.
Will you allow Powerful Prayers to be part of your life?
