Opening Video: The power of prayer – a baby healed!
Series: Find joy in the journey through Prayer!
Scriptures:
Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Matthew 6:9-13: “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Thesis: Jesus was filled with joy and this inner joy came from His relationship with God the Father through prayer. Prayer and inner joy are linked together because prayer opens a door to the presence and guidance of the Lord.
Sermon 1: We observed some of the prayers of Jesus – to show us how He prayed.
Sermon 2: We studied the prayer Jesus gave us on How to Pray called, “The Lord’s Prayer.”
Very important to note: The Lord’s prayer is not to be simply memorized and repeated without a heartfelt commitment and connection with God. If it becomes nothing more than a repeated mantra then it is only the hypocritical mumbling that Jesus had just condemned the religious leaders of the day for in the beginning of Matthew 6. This prayer was never meant to be mimicked and just repeated; it was to serve as an outline, or a personal guide to how to pray to God the Father. This famous prayer requires an honest love for God on the part of the one praying it or it means nothing. The Lord’s Prayer was given by Jesus when one of His followers asked Jesus to “Teach us how to pray!”
Main Point: This prayer is a model prayer of how to pray 1st and foremost – you can repeat as is but it is meant by Jesus to be a model to follow on how to pray.
Reference the handout by Dr. Larry Lea on The Lord’s Prayer from last week!
Sermon 3: Find joy in the Journey through prayer! Why Pray?
Thesis: Prayer is an act of our faith and demonstrates a relationship with the Lord – It shows we are connected together – it’s a natural reaction to a deep and trusting relationship with the Lord. Truth is when we are so connected to the Lord we cannot help but talk to Him and listen to Him!
Introduction:
Today we are going to look at the question of “Why Pray?” We could be thinking the following thoughts and questions: “Why Pray? What is the point of prayer especially if God knows the future and He is in control of the future and even my future? Does He not control all things? If He does, why should I even pray – it seems meaningless! It seems pointless! How could I ever change the mind and will of God?
Simple answer: Prayer does not change God’s will it changes me – C.S. Lewis
But there is more to prayer than many understand today. Prayer is not used to send God on your errands! Pray does not manipulate God or His will. Prayer is given to us by Jesus just like breathing is given to us. Prayer is easier to do than you think – you do not think about breathing you just breathe – right! This is how pray is to become in our life - you don’t think I have to pray you just pray! You pray throughout the day – before any decision – before every meal – when doing good or in struggle!
Prayer is a way to honor God and serve God see (Luke 2:36-38) it’s rooted in being obedient to what Jesus instructed us to do – we do it daily!
Got Questions reminds us - Why Pray? (The following gleamed from GotQuestions.org)
We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7).
God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations (like):
• In preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13)
• To overcome demonic attacks and barriers (Matthew 17:14-21)
• To gather workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:12)
• To gain strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41)
• To obtain the means to strengthen others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19)
• To be healed or delivered:
o The Syrian woman with the demon possessed daughter asked Jesus to deliver her and He did – but if she had not asked her daughter would not have been set free (Mark 7:26-30)
o The blind man outside Jericho called on Jesus to heal him – if he had not asked he would not have been healed and been able to see (Luke 18:35-43).
o The truth is we often go with out because we don’t ask or pray to God for a solution or need (James 4:2)
Scripture Text:
Matthew 7:7-12: 7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Story of Bach: JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)
His prayer:
“Jesus, help me show Your glory through the music I write. May it bring You joy even as it brings joy to Your people.” — JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (Hill, Susan. Dangerous Prayers (p. 15). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.)
In 1723, after years of study and having held several prominent musical positions, Bach settled in Leipzig, Germany, where he remained until his death. He became the musical director and choirmaster of St. Thomas church and school. Bach’s tenure there was dismal. He struggled with the town council, who was critical of
his work and unwilling to pay him a reasonable salary. Yet, it was in this unfortunate environment that Bach wrote his most enduring music, including his classic Mass in B Minor, The Passion of St. John, and The Passion of St. Matthew.
Today a composer who writes one cantata a year is highly esteemed. For a season, Back was writing a cantata every week, 202 of which remain. Johann knew that without Jesus’ help, he would never be able to complete the task of composing each new piece, so before writing the first note, Johann carefully wrote the letters J J—short for Jesu, Juva, or “Jesus, Help”—at the top of the page. With that, the music began to pour from his soul and onto the page. When he was finally satisfied, he wrote the letters SDG at the bottom of the page. These letters stood for Soli Deo Gloria—“for the glory of God alone.” His prayer was that whenever the music was played, it would point toward God. Nearly 75 percent of Bach’s one thousand compositions were written for use in worship. Because of his talent, his love for Christ, and the impact of his musical contributions, Bach is often called “the Fifth Evangelist.”
Hill, Susan. Dangerous Prayers (p. 12-14). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
T.S. – This Scripture is so simple on the surface, that we are in danger of failing to recognize it’s immense and deep message. Jesus is instructing His disciples to ask, seek, and knock – but to get a response to a request we have to do these three things.
I. You pray so you receive - Prayer is asking and then receiving!
a. It is the act of making your request known to God or verbalized to God.
i. When you know the will of God regarding a material or a spiritual need – Jesus tells us to then go ask God to meet that need – he says, “You will receive!” “It will be given to you!”
1. Key here is knowing the will of God: You may be think if How do I know the will of God!
a. To know and understand the will of God you need to understand the following Realities of God (From Experiencing God Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King.
i. God is always at work around you – we just need to open our spiritual eyes.
ii. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal – it needs to be maintained by you.
iii. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work. – you have to choose to serve.
iv. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways (all part of understanding His will)
v. God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
vi. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
vii. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.
2. See I John 5:14,15: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”
a. God does reveal His will to us if we are willing to listen and obey!
II. You pray so you find what you are looking for - Prayer is seeking and finding:
a. When you do not know the will of God regarding a need, whether it be material or spiritual, then you are to seek His will in prayer concerning this need until you find it and His answer to it.
i. James 1: 5-6: If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
b. This is prayer for a knowledge of the unrevealed will of God in a specific need:
i. See Colossians 3:1-2: 1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
ii. Jeremiah 29:12-14a: 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,”…
c. When we pray – or to answer the question Why we pray it is to seek clarity in any given situation – its about discovering the will and plan of God for every and any situation.
i. DIETRICH BONHOEFFER (1906–1945) the following from - Hill, Susan. Dangerous Prayers (p. 20-23). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian, and author known for his resistance to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. He was among a small number of dissidents who worked from the inside to dismantle the Third Reich. Bonhoeffer, a young pastor and speaker when Hitler rose to power, was one of the earliest critics of the Nazi regime. He was among a group of pastors and theologians who launched the Confessing Church, a movement that denounced the infiltration of Nazi ideology in the German Evangelical Church… Ultimately, Bonhoeffer was charged with his connections to resistance groups, and he was arrested and taken to a concentration camp, where he spent two years before being sentenced to death. He was executed shortly before the end of the World War II.
2. A decade after Bonhoeffer’s death, a doctor who was present at his murder described Bonhoeffer’s last moments: The prisoners . . . were taken from their cells, and the verdicts of court-martial read out to them. Through the half-open door in one room of the huts, I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer, before taking off his prison garb, kneeling on the floor praying fervently to his God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued in a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I have worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God. Hill, Susan. Dangerous Prayers (p. 22). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
3. This was one of written prayers:
a. Restore me to liberty, and enable me so to live now that I may answer before Thee and before the world. Lord, whatever this day may bring, Thy Name be praised. Amen. —DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, - WRITTEN WHILE AWAITING EXECUTION IN A NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP
III. You pray so the door is opened for you – Prayer is knocking and opening:
a. When you know the will of God, and yet you find a closed door, you are to knock, and keep knocking until God opens the door.
i. This is tenacious prayer – prayer for mountain moving faith. Knocking prayer perseveres until the impossible becomes the possible. This is miracle-working prayer and intercession – it takes time and persistence.
ii. Example – This is what the Christians within the Pro-life movement have been doing through prayer – through crisis pregnancy centers, through 40 days for Life events – here are some the answered prayers:
1. See notes from Jill Stanek’s speech Thursday at 40 days for life event:
a. See her speech and research! Highlight!
i. Copies available on request. Sign up at info desk.
2. See article given to us on the State of Il losses from David E. Smith Executive director of Il. Family Institute
a. The horrible Abortion laws in Il – the horrible stories see doctor who keep over 2,000 of babies remains.
b. What our law makers are doing in Il – highlight handout Did you know?
i. Highlight – copies available on request!
iii. See Matt 17:14-21:
1. 14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.
15“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” 17“O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
iv. All things are possible when you ask, seek, and knock.
Conclusion:
You may not like my next statement – “If you have a lack of prayer in your life it demonstrates a lack of faith or lack of trust in God and His Word!”
Thesis: Prayer is an act of our faith and demonstrates a relationship with the Lord – It shows we are connected together – it’s a natural reaction to a deep and trusting relationship with the Lord. Truth is when we are so connected to the Lord we cannot help but talk to Him and listen to Him!
Challenge attend the GROW LIFF Group Wednesday night at 7pm in connect room!
What do we need to know from this message?
Answer: All things are possible when you ask, seek, and knock!
Why do we need to know this?
Answer: Do you need a miracle? Do you have a need? Then pray – ask God – seek His will and direction and watch Him answer and I believe you will receive from Him. But Prayer is also the primary means given to us by Jesus to see God work in other people’s lives – did you hear me – Shout “yes pastor Mike” God has given you prayer to help others! It’s not just for you!
What do we need to do with what we heard today?
Answer: Ask God – pray to Him – Seek His will for the situation – step back and receive form Him!
Why do they need to do this?
Answer: because your faith will grow as God answers your prayers – you will see miracles – you experience God – you will see others set free and healed – you will see the lost ones come home!
