Why Pray? Series

Americans are on edge. Our stock market has taken a tremendous beating over the past two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial average plunged 513 points on Thursday and gyrated violently on Friday. The recent debt ceiling negotiation of this past Tuesday has caused Standard & Poor to lower the United States government from its list of risk-free borrowers for the first time in our nation’s history. Some are speculating that such a move could cost the national government tens of billions of dollars each year in higher interest payments on our debt. Americans are on edge.

31 Americans were killed yesterday in Afghanistan, as 22 of the 31 belonged to a Navy SEAL unit. Locally, wild fires this week near Rudy road burned sixty acres and threatened numerous homes in the area, including some members of our church. The summer is scorching hot outside and we need rain. Still others are grieving the loss of children in at least two recent deaths within our congregation.

American are on edge and nervous as few other times in recent memory. We are uncertain about our future. We pray for the security of our nest eggs but see little results. We pray for the safety of our troops. We pray for rain and the rain doesn’t come. And we pray for our health.

Does Prayer Make Any Difference?

Paul and Jill are the parents of six children. One of the six, Kim, had been diagnosed with Autism. The family had struggled with Kim’s Autism for years as she had gone to speech therapy for some five years with no success. While away on vacation in the mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Paul was walking down from the campsite to their Dodge Caravan when he noticed his fourteen year old daughter, Ashley, standing in front of the van, tense and upset. When he asked her what was wrong, she said, “I lost my contact lens. It’s gone.” Father and daughter looked down at the forest floor, covered with leaves and twigs. There were a million little crevices for the lens to fall into and disappear. Paul said, “Ashley, don’t move. Let’s pray.” But before he could pray, his daughter burst into tears. “What good does it do? I’ve prayer for Kim to speak, and she isn’t speaking.”

We’ve all asked this question at one time or another: Does Prayer Make Any Difference?

“Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.?2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.?3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.?4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,?O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas;?6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might;?7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,?8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.?10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.?11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.?12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,?13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy” (Psalm 65:1-13).

David, the former king of Israel, writes a poem of praise to God. He tells us in verses one through four that God is worthy of our trust and He is worthy of our praise. David praises God for hearing our prayers. David further tells us that God atones for our sin. From the end of verse five through verse eight, God’s power is such that it stills the roaring of the seas. David says that God’s power raises the mountains to their peaks. In verses nine through thirteen, God generously waters the crops for their growth. David’s writes a celebration of God’s good gifts and His acts to deliver His people. If King David were asked, “Does Prayer Make Any Difference?,” He wouldn’t hesitate to say, “Yes.” But are we as convinced today as David was in Psalm 65?

I want you to have the confidence in God that David had. I want you to know… God Hears Your Prayers. God is a Being who not only hears your prayers… but He is eager to hear your prayers anytime of the day or night. Despite the tragedies of our days, I want to convince you that God hears your prayer(s). More so, I want you to see how prayer reveals the uniqueness of God. And more than simply confirming that God listens to you when you pray… this morning I want you to see the character of God Himself. I have just one sentence as the major point of today’s message: God Hears Prayer.