Power of Prayer:
The most well known verse in the entire Bible states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…” God only has one begotten Son but he has many, many children. Jesus Christ serves as a link between God the Father & mankind. When we are saved by faith in Christ we become members of His family. Now for our prayers to be answered it is absolutely essential that we are a member of this family. Before we go any farther I want to make sure everyone here is a member of God’s family. If you have not asked Him for salvation, to wipe away the sins you have committed; join me in this prayer. You can say it in your mind or repeat it out loud. Whatever you are comfortable with. But you must do this sincerely. You cannot just say the words because God reads your heart & not your head.
Today Lord, right this very minute, I acknowledge that I am a sinner and I need a Savior. Your word says that there is only one name under heaven by which a man or woman can be saved and that name is Jesus. Today I repent of every sin that I have ever committed, I repent of every sin that I have done and I ask you Jesus to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. I believe that you Lord Jesus shed your precious blood and died for my sins and on the 3rd day you rose in victory over sin! I am willing to turn from sin and live a life that is holy and pleasing in your sight. I now invite you to come into my heart and live in me and be my personal Savior. I ask that you would fill me with your precious Holy Spirit, lead and guide me in this life Lord Jesus. Thank you for saving my soul. Amen.
Any time that Jesus had a decision to make He went to be alone for prayer. He was alone so He had no distractions from communing with the Father.
Matthew 14:23: “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.”
Luke 6:12: “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”
If you are ever have questions about things the best way to find the answer will be to ask the One who knows ALL of the answers!
We often go to God as a last resort. We ask the Lord for help when nothing else has worked. We exhaust all of our efforts to find the solution; and the only thing we find is frustration. The first thing we should do in these situations is go to God in prayer. Here is an example of this:
On July 28, 1787, Benjamin Franklin & the other founding fathers were writing the Constitution & they tried to work out a plan that would satisfy all of their desires. They met for weeks & couldn't come up with a working document. The Constitutional Convention had been meeting for five weeks, and had hit a deadlock. The large states were insisting that the number of representatives in congress be based on population; the smaller states wanted a one-state-one-vote rule. At this point eighty-one-year-old Benjamin Franklin, who had been quiet most of the time, spoke up. Here is what he said, “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?” After the convention went to God in prayer they reached the agreement that is now the Constitution of the United States of America!
Sometimes we feel like God just isn't hearing our prayers. We have prayed for something for weeks & it hasn't been answered. When this happens we have to remember that the answer to our prayer is often not what we expect it to be. Sometimes God says “No” or “Not right now”. But this answer is ALWAYS the best for us. When we don’t hear Him answer our prayers right away our faith fades. Thoughts like “Does He really care?” or “What am I doing wrong?” cross our minds. Believing that our sovereign Lord doesn't care about you is one of the many ways Satan gets his deceitful hands on our soul. Any time you feel this way, speak praises to God. There is great power in the tongue. You can speak blessings. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17). Rebuke doubt & praise God!
I watch the Christian Broadcasting Network’s show The 700 Club every afternoon. CBN has ministries all over the world. Their Operation Blessings ministry is the answer to prayers of many poor people in third-world countries. The people in these nations pray for the health of their children, their crops, education, business, & many other things. CBN gives them the medicine they need, seed & equipment for their harvest, educational supplies, and they provide surgeries that they could not have afforded otherwise. The people prayed for healing & the Christian Broadcasting Network was the answer to those prayers! When children are born with birth defects like cleft lip & pallet we Americans know it is only a birth defect. But because of the superstitious culture in these countries this small abnormality is perceived to be a curse & the child is left in the wilderness for the wild animals to eat. The only education they have is what the elders taught them. But because of the surgeries CBN provides the young ones will grow up strong.
On May 27, 2015 CBN sent me a thank-you message from a family in India. A monsoon wiped out everything they had. CBN was the answer to their prayers. Here is the letter CBN sent me:
Dear Michael,
They thought they were going to die.When monsoon rains caused the Himalayan rivers of Northern India to flood, Ulfat and her family lost everything.
The family had faced heartache before. Ten years earlier, their father died suddenly, and Ulfat became the caretaker of her mother and two younger sisters. She was only 12 years old at the time. Finding work before and after the flood was very difficult in this male-dominated area. No one wanted to help a family of women.That's when CBN partners came to their rescue with relief supplies. Ulfat and her family received food, along with blankets, shoes, and other items they needed to keep warm during the winter. They also were given a business they could run as a family. They found a place to stay, and they are saving money to buy a new home. "We are very happy because of everything you have given us," said Ulfat. "You have wiped away all of our tears and replaced them with smiles. You answered so many prayers and we thank you for that. "
When tragedy strikes a family it is natural for loved ones to cry out to God in prayer. I can confidently say that I would not be standing here today if that hadn't happened! After I was in the car wreck on June 4th, 2006 I was in a coma for 3 weeks. The doctors didn't know if I would survive the injury. Family & friends went to God in prayer. When I started rehab at the Shepherd center in Atlanta I was at the point in recovery that I was still unable to fully grasp the magnitude of the injury. In my mind I would be out of work for a little while & after I finished recovery, life would go back to what it was. But God had a different plan. When I was at therapy at Shepherd Pathways I was able to understand things better & I had a clearer picture of reality. It was then that I understood I owe everything to God. I asked for salvation when I was in therapy at Pathways. Since then I have seen Him answer my prayers many times. I’ll share a couple of examples of that now.
My grandfather is a Korean War veteran. Every year his regimen has a VFW reunion on Myrtle Beach. Mom & I take him & my grandmother to that reunion because my grandmother needs a lot of care. When we went to check into the hotel one year we were told that they only had 1 room reserved for us. Right away we knew they had made a mistake because we always reserve adjoining rooms so we will be close to my grandparents if they ever need help from us. They looked at the records but they only had one. We decided they can take that one & we would try to find one in the same hotel; preferably one on the same floor. After we got them checked in mom told me “You know what you need to do.” Mom was faithful that my prayers to God would be the solution to this problem. I’m happy to say that she was right. I asked God to get a room for us at that hotel. About 10 minutes after I said Amen we got a call from the front desk. Someone had cancelled their reservation & that room was available for us. The room was on the same floor AND right beside my grandparent’s room! ONLY God could have done that.
In the book of 1 Thessalonians the apostle Paul tells us to “Pray without ceasing”. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) This verse can be confusing. He isn’t saying we should be saying a prayer all of the time. Paul is referring to an attitude of God-consciousness and God-surrender that we carry with us all the time. Every waking moment is to be lived in an awareness that God is with us and that He is actively involved and engaged in our thoughts and actions.
When our thoughts turn to worry, fear, discouragement, and anger, we are told to consciously and quickly turn every thought into prayer and every prayer into thanksgiving. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul commands us to stop being anxious and instead, “in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). When we feel sad or lonely we should tell God how great He is. Sing hymns, quote your favorite verses, tell stories; and other things that give God glory! He will reward you with blessings & true happiness.
We all want to be well. We want to be free of pain. God wants this same thing. He did not create a world where pain exists. But after man sinned illness and injury became part of the world. God wants us to be well. The great thing about God is that He can use our illness or injury to bring glory to himself. That is hard for us to understand why we are going through this while we are enduring the discomfort of pain or illness. When someone is injured or sick that gives the Lord an opportunity to show His powers. The book of John tells about a blind man. At the end of the 8th chapter Jesus is explaining sin to His disciples. When they were moving through they saw a blind man. He had been blind since birth. Jesus’ disciples asked if it was his sin or the sin of his parents that was the cause of this blindness. But it was neither. The man was blind so God could use him to bring glory to himself. After the people asked Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:3)
One friend that I have prayed for more than anyone else is Floyd O’Kelley. Floyd was a truck driver & he fell from the top of a trailer on June 25th 2005. When I was with Floyd in therapy the right side of his body was very weak & he was deaf. God answered the prayers I was saying for him because today he is stronger and his hearing is coming back. That is a miracle of restoration. There is no medical explanation for that to happen. God stepped in and restored his health. Prayer is powerful! God is restoring Floyd’s health so that he can be a stronger witness to the Lord!
When we pray for a miracle to happen God can answer our prayer. As part of God’s family we have a responsibility to witness to the things the Lord has done for us. Let’s take some time now to talk about the prayers God has answered for us. Doing this gives God the glory!
Ask others to talk about their prayers that have been answered. Discuss the many ways God answers prayers.
Close sermon in unity by everyone reciting the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespassers, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
