What Prayer
Accomplishes That Nothing Else Will!
Luke 6:12
Nov 3, 2013 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
I.
Introduction
A.
This month, God laid it on my
heart that we would be a church that is more ready to pray than ever before.
B.
Oh we gather together,
faithfully, on Wednesday evenings, and pray for an hour
C.
But are we READY to pray?
D.
Do we know HOW to pray?
E.
And more importantly, Do we know
how to get what we need for an all powerful, all wise and loving heavenly
Father?
F.
Over the next few weeks we are
going to focus on
1.
Why Pray? What Prayer
Accomplishes
2.
What Prayer Is…
3.
Why Doesn’t God Answer Our
Prayers?
II.
Background (Luke 6:12)
A.
So, Why Pray?
1.
That’s like asking, Why talk,
why breath, why cry, why smile…?
2.
We already do all those things…
with each other. It is life!
3.
Well, there is another life we
can life, and experience! Our prayer life!
4.
Prayer is talking, crying,
laughing, grasping… living and walking with God throughout our day, talking with
Him, and leaning upon His strengths and wisdom for every need!
B.
Jesus shows us prayer. Real,
agonising, struggling, wrestling prayer, that changes things!
1.
Jesus, the Son of God – God will
us in the flesh, prayed
2.
And He didn’t just make a passing
comment up to the “man upstairs”…
3.
He prayed all night! And He did
that often! Wow!
C.
If only WE all had a secret
prayer life (Mt 6:6) – that
actually was experienced, and enjoyed like it was designed to be – oh, not that
you would not have problems, but that nothing would overwhelm us anymore, and
nothing would stop us from doing God’s will
1.
We worry about everything
2.
We struggle with everything
3.
We wear out, burn out, pass out
4.
We need help – not family help,
government help, counselling help… we need to pray
D.
This month, let’s learn how to …
1.
Pray about absolutely everything.
There is nothing we should not nor cannot pray about
2.
Pray without ceasing
3.
Have power with God
III.
Message – Why Pray?
A.
Because It Is
1.
It is not natural to pray, but it
must become normal – part of our normal way of living!
2.
It is
a.
Everyone prayed (Luke 1:10)
b.
The whole church prayed as often
as possible (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 12:5,12)
c.
Joe Henry Henkins, a great
Baptist preacher said, “The early church had One Solution to all their problems…
and that was PRAYER”. That is all they had, and that was ALL they needed!
3.
Prayer is normal for pastors and
the leaders of church ministries (Acts 6:4)
4.
It is
a.
Publically
b.
But mainly privately – don’t only
wait to pray when you are in a “holy place”
5.
It is normal for kings and all
political leaders
6.
It is normal to pray especially
when in trouble (Acts 16:25)
7.
It is normal even for unsaved to
pray (Acts 10:1,2,30,31)! Oh that this world learned to PRAY from us! Our
culture has given up on God because they have seen Christians who have given up
on prayer!!!
8.
Oh dear folks! It should be so
common for us to pray – to be seen praying! To be heard praying!
B.
Because There is Power in
Prayer (James 5:16)
1.
It is the only way that God
breaks through the laws of physics, and gives miracles – through PRAYER!
a.
The laws of physics are in the
universe for a good reason – they hold everything together! This universe would
not work well if there were no laws controlling motion and gravity and energy
b.
But there are times that we an
exception – a breakthrough – a miracle
c.
I believe God made His laws of
physics so that we could tell when He had done something just for us – just
because we prayed!!!
2.
Oh, Is there anything too hard
for God?
a.
To GIVE us a church building?
b.
To restore the health of any one
of us?
c.
James says we can ask for health
(James 5:15)
3.
Praying avails of / accesses so
much that God offers us! Like walking into a huge Tesco with an unlimited Debit
Card – walking into Browne Thomas
4.
Hannah wanted a son – had no
doctor to go to, no herb – she just passionately prayed, and God gave her a
miracle son named Samuel (1Sam 1:27)
5.
David prayed before he slung that
stone at Goliath – and God guided it right into the only part of his entire body
that was not protected – the centre of his forehead!
6.
Hezekiah prayed when surrounded
by 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, and woke up the next morning to see them all dead
upon the hills (2Kgs 19:15,16,35)
7.
What happens when a person prays:
a.
You can obtain God’s forgiveness
for anything (Jer 33:3,8) – but you never will unless you pray! You have to ASK!
b.
You can actually get all that we
need (Philp 4:19)! Item by item, need by need! You just need to ask!!!
c.
God can get you out of trouble
(Ps 50:15) – or you can keep digging a deeper and deeper hole all because you
are too proud to spend time with God in prayer!
d.
Your heart gets settled / calmed,
quieted (Philp 4:6,7; Acts 16:25; Mt 26:53) – or you can keep trying out new
drugs and new counselling methods to deal with your heart’s aches and sorrows!
e.
I will rather learn to pray!
C.
Because God is Ready to
Answer Our Requests (1Peter 3:12; Psalm 65:2)
1.
He hears the words even when they
are in our heart
2.
He already knows our needs before
we ask
3.
He usually is already answering
before we ask (Isa 65:24)
4.
Thank God He actually is not
bothered by us asking – He WANTS to answer our requests!
5.
He just waits for us to want to
spend time with Him
a.
You see, we want things, we want
problems fixed, burdens lifted, enemies removed
b.
God wants us! And He just wants
to know that HE is needed! And that He is appreciated for who HE is! The God
whom we love and trust with all our cares!
D.
Because it is the MAIN way
that God speaks to you and me (Psalm 4:3,4)
1.
A woman named Nadine Moody tells
about her stopping to pray one time in an emergency
a.
“When
a neighbour’s four year old Charles Odam strayed from home one evening, everyone
in our heavily wooded, rural area pitched in to look for him. After checking out
a big, deep spring I climbed the mountainside, calling the boy and listening. No
answer.
b.
At the top of the mountain, green
moss grew in a thick carpet on the woodland floor and the late afternoon
sunlight glimmered through the trees. I had no idea where to look!
c.
Without thinking, I dropped to my
knees and prayed to God for His help. Raising my head, I noticed a faint trail I
had never seen before. It was an almost hidden path used by the forest animals.
And it was an enticing trail for a little boy!
d.
As I followed it, it ended where
someone had cut wood logs. And there was no sign of little Charles there. The
sun was going down fast. It was time to go back.
e.
But just then, I heard something
like a little "miaow" - like a small kitten. Again it came. I crouched down and
peered through some bushes. And there was Charles! He had cried and cried until
He could only make that funny little sound.
f.
He locked his arms around my neck
and I carried him all the way home!
g.
On the way I thought about the
hidden trail. What if I hadn't bowed my head to pray?
2.
In all the business of our day,
God cannot speak to you and help you unless you stop and take time to pray!
E.
Because God Yearns to
Spend Time With Us (Prov 15:8)
1.
Prayer is the best way to spend
time with God
a.
He is already here with us, near
to all of us
b.
But we are not actually SHARING
the moment with Him, unless we pray
2.
Prayer is not all about you and
me and our problems and needs…
3.
It is also about God
4.
Do you know why God liked David
so much?
a.
Because David wanted God’s heart
more than His gifts
b.
He delights in those that delight
in Him (Psalm 18:19; 37:4)
5.
Praying requires a quiet time (Ps
46:10) where you can ask God to show off just how mighty He is!
6.
He spends NO time with a proud
man, but only with a humble man (Ps 51:1-4,10,16,17)
F.
Because it is the ONLY Way
to Fight Our Enemy (Eph 6:11,12,18)
1.
We all need to learn how to
“Watch and PRAY” (Mk 14:38)
2.
How to be very aware of our
spiritual enemy’s stalking and attacks
3.
And how to pray when under
attack!
G.
Because Jesus Himself
Prayed, and Taught Us to Pray (Luke 11:1)
1.
He prayed EARLY in the morning
(Mark 1:35) – even without an alarm clock… because it was important to Him!
2.
He prayed when he was a nobody in
people’s eyes (Luke 3:21,22)
3.
He prayed when he was popular
(Luke 5:16)
4.
He prayed when transfigured (Luke
9:28,29)
5.
He prayed when it got hard (Luke
22:41-45)
6.
He even prayed on the cross (Luke
23:33,34,45,46)
7.
Jesus shows us prayer. Real,
agonising, struggling, wrestling prayer, that changes things!
IV.
Conclusion
A.
So, What is Prayer?
1.
Prayer is talking, crying,
laughing, grasping… living and walking with God throughout our day, talking with
Him, and leaning upon His strengths and wisdom for every need!
2.
Jesus, the Son of God – God will
us in the flesh, prayed
3.
And He didn’t just make a passing
comment up to the “man upstairs”…
4.
He prayed constantly, and He
often prayed all night!
B.
If only WE all had a secret
prayer life – that actually was experienced, and enjoyed like it was designed to
be – oh, not that you would not have problems, but that nothing would overwhelm
us anymore, and nothing would stop us from doing God’s will
C.
Why Pray?
1.
Because It Is
a.
It is not natural to pray, but it
must become normal!
2.
Because There is Power in
Prayer
a.
There is nothing too hard for
God!
3.
Because it is the MAIN way
that God speaks to you and me
4.
Because God is Ready to
Answer Our Requests
5.
Because God Yearns to
Spend Time With Us
6.
Because it is the ONLY Way
to Fight Our Enemy
7.
Most of all, Because Jesus
Himself Prayed, and Taught Us to Pray (Luke 11:1)