Talking with God
September 17, 2017 Morning Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: Prayer is much more than a laundry list of wants; it is a time to talk with and listen to God.
Focus Passage: 1 John 3:18-22
Supplemental Passage: You do not have because you do not ask. (James 4:2b NASB)
Introduction: I’ve been seeing some disturbing things, lately, from atheists about the worthlessness of prayer. It got me to thinking; maybe many Christians think the same thing. Maybe, because of unanswered prayers, they have given up on praying altogether. Maybe they don’t think it “works” for them.
I. Unanswered Prayers
a. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:3 NASB)
b. "We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. (John 9:31 NASB)
c. But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him. (Psalms 4:3 NASB)
d. "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:22 NASB)
e. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6-8 NASB)
f. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5:16b NASB)
g. "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. (Matthew 6:5-8 NASB)
II. Pray for God’s Will
a. And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:39 NASB)
b. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1 John 5:14-15 NASB)
c. "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14 NASB)
d. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. (1 John 3:21-22 NASB)
III. Listen to God
a. pray without ceasing; (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB)
b. Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; (Colossians 4:2 NASB)
c. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7 NASB)
d. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6 NASB)
Application/Invitation: Trouble praying? Use the Lord’s Prayer as a guide. Need more? Use the Psalms as daily prayers.
Need something else?
ACTS Prayer Model:
A- Adoration
C- Confession
T- Thanksgiving
S - Supplication
