Standing In The Need Of Prayer

Standing in the Need of Prayer

Matthew 7:1-7

I. Pastor – parrot

A. all would say, “Let’s pray, let’s pray.”

1. Pastor tried to teach parrot to say other things but to no avail

B. Pastor learned that a Deacon had a parrot

1. Deacon’s parrot would only say, “Let’s kiss. Let’s kiss.”

C. Pastor invited Deacon and parrot to house

1. Put parrots in same cage to see what would happen

2. Deacon’s parrot said, “Let’s kiss, let’s kiss.”

3. Pastor’s parrot said, “Thank you, Lord. My prayers have been answered.”

D. Prayer is one of most neglected spiritual disciplines

1. Sometimes pray before meals and when called upon to pray

2. Pray when things are bad

3. We fail to pray unceasingly

4. I Thess. 5:16-18 “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all

circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

E. Why neglect to pray?

1. Maybe we feel that God knows anyways, so why pray?

F. God wants us to pray

G. Great power in prayer

H. One of the most important activities a Christian can do

I. Prayer is possible for every child of God

1. We cannot all pastor but we all can pray.

2. We cannot all give large sums of money, but we can all pray.

3. We cannot all go to the mission field, but we can all pray.

4. We cannot all teach a class, but we can all pray.

II. When call someplace – talk a real person, not computer answering

A. As we pray, we hear

1. Thank you for calling heaven, your call may be monitored for quality control.

2. Please select one of the following options…

a. Press 1 for prayer requests

b. Press 2 for prayers of thanksgiving

c. Press 3 for prayers containing complaints

d. Press 4 for all other prayers

3. I’m sorry; all of our angels are busy helping others right now.

However, your prayers are important and will be answered in the order

received, so please stay on the line.

4. If you would like to leave a voice mail message for:

a. God, press 1 now

b. Jesus, press 2 now

c. the Holy Spirit, press 3 now

5. If you would like to hear the King David Singers sing a Psalm while you are

holding, please press 4 now

6. To find out if a loved one has been assigned to heaven, please enter their

Social Security number (without dashes), then press the # key.

If you get a negative response try again using area code 666.

7. For reservations please dial 5646-316 (John 3:16)

8. For nagging questions about dinosaurs, the real age of the earth,

where Noah’s Ark is, and any other questions, please wait until you arrive.

9. Our computers indicate that you have already prayed once today.

Please hang up and try again tomorrow.

The office is closed on weekends, and any State or Federal holiday.

Please pray again between 9am and 5pm EST Monday – Friday.

If you need emergency assistance when this office is closed, contact

your local pastor.

B. Isn’t good to know when we pray that we don’t come away upset, like

Most computer assistance answering systems make most of us

C. Is not like that at all, many feel calmer and content when we pray

D. The sheer magnitude of the idea that we can communicate with God

should stir our souls

E. seen that all Lent

2. today conclude our series on prayer

3. with Standing in the Need of Prayer

4. we have talked about how important prayer is, taking time to pray,

praying for others, listening to God

5. today – something we tend to forget or feel embarrassed about doing it

F. Have you ever asked a dumb question?

1. Teachers – no dumb questions

2. Afraid to be teased

G. Today one of those questions

1. People have asked me if it is okay to pray for one’s self?

2. They don’t think it is right

3. Selfish

a. starving children around the world

b. strife and violence in our own land and in other countries

c. should be praying for these things

G. I have an answer from scripture

1. John 17 & Luke 22 – Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane hours

before the crucifixation

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but

yours be done.”

2. now if we see Jesus praying for himself, then the answer is absolutely YES

3. praying for yourself is not a sin

4. God cares about what you care about

H. Jesus – sincere and honest

1. our prayers – sincere and honest

2. not self-centered like “Lord, I need $1,000,000 & a Lear jet if you don’t