Open Door Fellowship

Pentecostal Church of God, Bland Mo. 65066

Full Gospel Ministry in Song and Word

Pastor Rev. Steven Wagner Telephone: 573-437-5190

Rt 3, Owensville MO. 65066

Answered Prayer

Open Door Fellowship

July 27, 1997

Rev. Steven Wagner

 

Scripture: (James 5:16 KJV) Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

A. Prayer: The Souls Breath

a. When a person is born again, he begins to sustain a spiritual life through prayer.

b. A wise man, Rowland Hill, once said, "Prayer is the breath of a newborn soul, and there can be no life without it."

c. When people speak of having a "prayer life" they should realize that prayer is not just a feature of spiritual life but the thing that keeps spiritual life going.

d. In prayer, you are talking to your Father-God in heaven, thanking Him, praising Him, blessing Him, loving Him, and asking His help for others and yourself in times of need.

e. Mean while, He desires to speak love and encouragement to you.

B. What is prayer?

a. Prayer is a two0way conversation with God.

b. It is the most intimate relationship with the Creator you can have.

c. In prayer, the depths of your spirit are in communion with the depths of the Spirit of God.

d. Out of this can come instruction, guidance, and suggestions for new focal points in your prayers.

C. How Should I Pray?

a. When Jesus' disciples asked Him how to pray, He gave them what we know as The Lord's Prayer.

(Mat 6:9 KJV) After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

(Mat 6:10 KJV) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

(Mat 6:11 KJV) Give us this day our daily bread.

(Mat 6:12 KJV) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

(Mat 6:13 KJV) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

b. As you meditate on each phrase, you'll see how the Lords Prayer touches on each facet of our lives and God's character.

c. It is a complete outline for our prayers and is a good model to build on.

d. As we pray The Lord's Prayer, we begin by acknowledging God's sovereign fatherhood when we say, "Our Father, who art in heaven."

e. Then we adore His name. Because His name represents His nature, we praise His very being when we say the next phrase, "Hallowed be Thy name."

f. Next we must be concerned about the extension of His kingdom. We must care that people should come to know Him and submit to Him, so we say, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

g. Then we turn to our personal concerns and ask God for our daily bread-not only literal bread, but whatever we need to carry out His work. This prayer is for His daily provision for our immediate needs, and so we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."

h. Next comes a prayer of release from sin and guilt, the prayer of confession, repentance, and forgiveness: "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Here we are asking God for His grace in our relationships with other people, because His forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others go hand in hand. If we are going to expect answered prayer, we must be willing to forgive other people, even as God is willing to forgive us.

i. Finally, we seek God's protection from temptation and evil: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. "We ask Him to keep us walking in His way, so that we might be covered by His power and anointing and might not be susceptible to evil influences.

j. All prayer should close with praise and thanksgiving to our Father, who out of His love for us provides answers to our prayers. Conclude prayer with praise like Jesus concluded The Lords Prayer saying in- (Mat 6:13 KJV) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

D. How Can I Know That God Will Answer My Prayers?

a. The Bible is full of promises to hear and answer his children.

(1 John 5:14 KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

(1 John 5:15 KJV) And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

b. To pray according to God's will means to pray in a way that is consistent with the principles in His Word.

c. The Bible shows us that a righteous person's prayers will be answered in James 5:16.

d. But righteousness means a lot more than "clean living." More than that, it means depending on Jesus Christ for answers to every problem you face.

e. The Old Testament prophet Elijah was one such righteous man. "He prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit"

(James 5:17 KJV) Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

(James 5:18 KJV) And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

f. So remember if you need to call forth showers of blessing in a dry and barren situation, remember that the key is righteousness-your trust in God's promises.

g. Don't underestimate God's ability to make a way for you when one doesn't seem possible.

h. Ask with faith, and be like Abraham when you pray: The Bible says of Abraham,

(Rom 4:20 KJV) He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

(Rom 4:21 KJV) And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

i. Jesus also told us to pray according to His name,

(John 14:13 KJV) And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

(John 14:14 KJV) If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

j. He is the Architect, Creator, and Sustainer of all that is, and He promises in His words to the disciples,

(Mark 11:24 KJV) Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

k. No obstacle is too great to withstand His power or to big,

(Mark 11:23 KJV) For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

l. Begin on a regular basis to pray about the biggest obstacle you face, and command that particular personal mountain to move by the power of the name of Jesus.

E. How Can I Know God's Will

a. God's will is best understood through a combination of different sources-sources that balance and complement one another and protect the believer from errors.

1. First source is the Bible. If you are familiar with the Bible you will know the will of God, because He has laid it out for us there. The Bible says,

(Col 3:15 KJV) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

2. Second, is that inner peace that you experience when you are in communion with Him ( or the lack of it ) can show you whether you are praying according to God's will.

3. Thirdly, God also reveals His will for us through godly counselors, people whose wisdom and walk with the Lord you can trust.

4. Fourth, We may also, sometimes, discern His will through circumstances that seem to favor or hinder a course of action.

b. But remember, in whatever way God reveals His will to you, it must agree with His Word, the Bible He will not oppose Himself, "for He cannot deny Himself"

(2 Tim 2:13 KJV) If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

c. Once we have learned God's will, we must stay in it, abiding in the Lord Jesus, who said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7)

d. We cannot abide in Jesus and at the same time keep holding on to unbelief, unforgiveness, resentment , or bitterness, unfaithfullness, in and out of church and in and out of our relationship with Him, wishy washy, up and down etc.

e. Such sins will keep us from that intimate relationship that He desires with us, and they will cloud our ability to know His will

(Psa 66:18 KJV) If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

F. What About Unanswered Prayer

a. First of all nowhere in His Word does God promise that all of His answers will be instantaneous.

b. Unfortunately, far too many people try to measure God's response by what they are immediately able to see with their natural capacities.

c. We must wait on the Lord if need be,

(Heb 11:1 KJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

d. Many people have become disappointed and discouraged because they did not see the answers to their prayers at the time when they thought they should.

e. If an answer is delayed, don't doubt. Doubting only undermines our ability to see any of our prayers answered.

(James 1:6 KJV) But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

(James 1:7 KJV) For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

f. Many times we think that God has failed to answer a prayer and that He has not honored His Word, when He actually is working out something in our lives far greater that we had imagined possible.

g. We must be patient and bear in mind that His ways are far beyond ours.

(Isa 55:9 KJV) For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

G. Is It Permissible to Pray More Than Once For Something?

a. Jesus taught in Luke, chapter 18, that at all times we ought to pray and not lose heart.

b. He used the parable of the unrighteous judge and the helpless widow who kept on pleading with him for legal protection. Because of her persistence, the judge granted her request. In the same way, Jesus taught, the constant cries of God's children are heard and their prayers answered.

(Mat 7:7 KJV) Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

(Mat 7:8 KJV) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

c. We are also told to pray without ceasing,

(1 Th 5:17 KJV) Pray without ceasing.

d. Rather than ask if it's all right to pray again and again about a thing, perhaps we should ask if it's right to ever stop praying about it until we receive and answer.

e. Through our constant, believing prayer we not only receive answers, but we acquire a growing maturity in out live in Christ.