Advertisements! They’re everywhere you look! And they all promise to deliver! But do they? For the last few weeks I’ve been using a new shampoo called Root Awakening. When I use it I feel like shouting “Folicles, come forth!” Yet not one of you has said to me, “Jack, your hair is looking really alive today.” I’m beginning to think that my hair is “mostly dead all day.” On top of that I’ve been using a conditioner called Length and Strength. But not one person this morning has said to me, “Jack, you hair seems longer and stronger. So what’s up with advertisements? They promise much but deliver little. Nevertheless American businesses shell out some 150 billion a year in advertising! That’s billion! And if you have 4 million dollars burning a hole in your pocket, some people at CBS Sports might like to have a word with you. Thats the average cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad spot. I’m here this morning with advertisements from a far different source: God. What He promises He fulfills! When He declares, He delivers! Especially in the area of prayer! This morning we’re going to explore six Biblical “advertisements” for prayer, and it is my hope that we will go away from the Scriptures with a root awakening deep in our lives to “pray without ceasing”. I. Prayer- The Proof II. Prayer- The Promises III. Prayer- The Pattern IV. Prayer- The Petitions V. Prayer- The Power VI. Prayer- The Progeny I. Prayer- The Proof A. Hannah’s Prayer (1 Samuel 1:1-11,20) 1Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. 4And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb. 6And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat. 8Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 9So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD. 10And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. 11Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” 20So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.” The name Samuel sounds like the Hebrew words that means “asked of God”. Samuel was her answer to prayer. Can you point to any “Samuel’s” in your life? Things that God has done in response to your prayers. There should be many! My Bible is filled with the numbers 14:14. Why? John 14:14 The Voice (VOICE) 14 Let Me say it again: if you ask for anything in My name, I will do it. B. Elijah’s Prayer (1Kings 17:17-22, 24) 17Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. 18So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” 19And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20Then he cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” 21And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” 22Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived…24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.” What impossible situations have you spread your life over in agonizing prayer? We have entered one in our family-cancer. God is listening and will honor your persistence by revealing to others the One you serve is the true God, and that your witness to Him is the truth. C. Nehemiah’s Prayer (Nehemiah 1:1-6,11, 2:4) 1The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, 2that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” 4So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, 6“please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned… 11“O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer…4Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. There are monthly prayers (prayers we’ve brought to God for months and months) and there are momentary prayers. God hears and answers both. Prayer moves the hand of God and God moves the heart of kings. See Proverbs 21:1 D. The Church’s Prayer (Acts 12:1-8, 11-16) 1Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. 5Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me… 11And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.” 12So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. 15But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” (Greek –maniac/ You’re nuts in the head). Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.” 16Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Instead of chiding others, we should be greatly comforted that God answers such faithless prayers. We all tend to be unbelieving believers.-BBC II. Prayer-The Promises A. Old Testament Promises 3‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3) God’s phone number is never busy! 3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. (Psalm 4:3) The “when” is our responsibility! B. New Testament Promises 12“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14“If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:12-14) 7“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7) 16“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. (John 15:16) 24“Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24) 7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10“Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:7-11) 14Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (1John 5:14-15) III. Prayer- The Pattern 21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22) 15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:15-16) 12Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12) 18And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (Luke 9:18) 28Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. (Luke 9:28-29) At that very moment, Jesus overflowed with joy from the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you’ve hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and shown them to babies. Indeed, Father, this brings you happiness. (Luke 10:21) 1Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 2So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, (Luke 11:1-2) 41And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:41-44) 33And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:33-34) 44Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:44-46) If the Son of God began, continued, and ended his ministry on earth in prayer, what does that tell US? Jesus Christ never taught his disciples how to preach, but only how to pray. IV. Prayer- The Petitions 14For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19). [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! “To be so strong spiritually, so compelled by love, that one is totally dominated by the Lord with nothing left of self.” (John MacArthur 9And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11) FILLED with the LIFE of CHRIST by His Spirit’s power! 9For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Colossians 1: 9-10). “What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.” J. C. Ryle V. Prayer- The Power Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21) Unlimited power to glorify God! being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:11-12) Unlimited power to endure trials! 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31) Unlimited power to power to preach the Word! No prayer-no power-little prayer-little power-much prayer-much power! J. Pengwern Jones recalls the prayer life of John Hyde. He was always on his knees when I went to bed, and on his knees long before I was up in the morning, though I was up with the dawn. He would also light the lamp several times in the night, and feast on some passages of the Word, and then have a little talk with the Master. He sometimes remained on his knees the whole day. The Spirit made him an object-lesson to us, that we might have a better idea of Christs prayer life. VI. Prayer- The Progeny 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there. (1 Samuel 1:27-28) The child Samuel did his part beyond what could have been expected from one of his years; for of him that seems to be spoken, He worshipped the Lord there, that is he said his prayers. He was no doubt extraordinarily forward (we have known children that have discovered some sense of religion very young), and his mother, designing him for the sanctuary, took particular care to train him up to that which was to be his work in the sanctuary. Note, Little children should learn betimes to worship God. Their parents should instruct them in his worship and bring them to it, put them upon engaging in it as well as they can, and God will graciously accept them and teach them to do better. (Matthew Henry) The best thing we can do for the next generation is teach this generation to pray. A few days ago, on the35th day of my 35th year of teaching, my students presented me with a treasure: a 1935 edition of the James Moffatt Bible. Let me close with his translation of Ephesians 6:18: “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all manner of prayer and entreaty-be alive to that, attend to it unceasingly…” We will die. Our prayers will live on. It is written of Enoch in Hebrews 11:5, “He still continues to speak, even though he is dead.” May that be true of us! That is the Root Awakening we need!
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 22:13:26 +0000
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