Unclaimed Blessings Series

Are we using all our strength? Not until we have asked our Heavenly Father for help we haven’t. We labor and complain of stressed-out lives while all the time God is anxiously waiting for us to call so He can answer!

Ever study the prayer life of Jesus? There are several books on the topic or you can just read "The Book".

The disciples were so impressed with Christ’s prayer life that they petitioned Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1)

Funny how, even though Christ was the greatest preacher, teacher, and miracle worker the world has ever known, the disciples didn’t request instructions on how to do any of these things. Perhaps when they saw and heard the Master pray they realized this was the key to doing all the other things. "Lord, teach us to pray". That ought to be our petition.

Jesus prayed before sunrise (Mark 1:35) and after others had gone to sleep (Matthew 26:40). He prayed in the wilderness (Luke 5:16). He spent an entire night in prayer before choosing the Twelve Apostles. (Luke 6:12-13)

When Jesus prayed at His baptism - it caused the heavens to open! (Luke 3:21) It was "while He was praying" that He was transfigured. (Luke 9:29)

He prayed so intensely His sweat became blood. (Luke 22:44) He even prayed for those who crucified HIm. (Luke 23:34)

No wonder the disciples entreated, "Lord, teach us to pray."

If Jesus needed to pray how much more do we need to pray?! How much can we learn from His prayer life!

"Call unto me and I will answer."

Our problem is not unanswered prayer.

OUR PROBLEM IS UNASKED PRAYER!

We praise God that He is all-powerful and all knowing and everywhere present. Then we set out to do everything without Him. We suffer from a radical case of self-sufficiency.

We believe He created the world in six days but fail to ask Him to help us balance our checkbook.

We say we believe He cares. We just don’t go to the trouble of soliciting His assistance.

Like the oft-quoted barb, "I want to buy $3 worth of God please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine."

"We want ecstasy, not transformation. We want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. We want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack." (Paraphrase of Wilbur Reese)

In our prayer life we want a little assurance that comes from "now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep". But we don’t want the power that comes from "and when they had prayed the place was shaken where they were assembled together." (Acts 4:31)

We don’t want our world to be shaken by God so we don’t pray over five minutes a day on average. We wouldn’t know what to do if God shook things up in our lives so we keep Him and His power at a safe distance.

We pray enough to get by...not enough to get beyond.

I told you about the business "Unclaimed Baggage" at the beginning of the sermon. The bargains are so good at this store that people literally come from around the world to shop at it. Yet in all the time I’ve lived near it I haven’t gone once. I wonder what I’ve missed.

Wonder what "unclaimed blessings" of God we’ve missed by not asking for them?

Let’s not let our blessings remain unclaimed. Let’s begin today claiming them by calling on God!