Prayer and the Will of God

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Prayer and the Will of God</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id591.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Plan For Your (Eternal) Life"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id600.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Humility and the Will of God"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"Prayer and the Will of God," </B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, March 12, 2006</B></div> <bR> <div>      In our series on Discovering the Will of God, we have seen so far that God's will is being worked out in the both the circumstances of our lives and in the choices we make. We are responsible to make wise choices within the will of God, and we are to listen to the voice and leading of God through the Word of God so we can be led by God, to go where he wants us to go, to do what he wants us to do, and to become what he wants us to be – like Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29).</div> <div>      Two men were talking together. The first challenged the other, “If you are so religious, let’s hear you quote the Lord’s Prayer. I bet you $10 you can’t.” The second responded, “Now I lay my down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” The first pulled out his wallet and fished out a ten dollar bill, muttering, “I didn’t think you could do it!”</div> <div>      In the <I>real</I> Lord's Prayer, a model prayer for his disciples, Jesus taught his disciples to pray that <I>the will of God</I> would be done on earth as it is in heaven (“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” Matthew 6:9-10).</div> <div>      If God is in control and working out his will, why bother praying? What difference do our prayers make? God is going to do what he wants to do anyway, right? Psalm 115:3 says, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” (interestingly enough, it pleases him to listen to the prayers of his people). Does anything happen because people pray? How does prayer work with what God is doing? What difference does prayer make – in discovering the will of God, and in living out the will of God?</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. Two realities about the prayer and the will of God.</B></div> <div> <B>A. God is sovereign and in control, yet he responds to the prayers of his people.</B></div> <div>      Please turn to <A HREF="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch.php?passage_request=Acts 4:23-31&tniv=yes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch"><U>Acts 4:23-31</U></A>. In this prayer, they recognized the sovereign power and plan of God, that God is in control and working out his plan. And yet they <I>prayed</I>.</div> <div>      It seems that prayer is <I>built in</I> to the plan of God. God has his plan, and part of the plan is that he hears and pays attention to and answers the prayers of his people. Please look with me at <A HREF="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch.php?passage_request=Jer 29:10-14&tniv=yes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch"><U>Jeremiah 29:10-14</U></A>. God planned to bring his people back from captivity after 70 years, and the prayers of his people were built right into the plan.</div> <bR> <div> <B>B. Prayer changes things. </B></div> <div> <B>     </B>While God is working out his plan, he works in response to prayer. That means that prayer changes things. <I>Because</I> God is sovereign and in ultimate control, he has the power to answer prayer. If he weren't sovereign and able to answer, what would the point of prayer be? James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Prayer makes a difference.</div> <div>      1. Prayer can change <I>circumstances</I>. </div> <div>      Please turn to <A HREF="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch.php?passage_request=2 Chron 7:13-15&tniv=yes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch"><U>2 Chronicles 7:13-15</U></A>. Notice the cause and effect relationship between prayer and God's action (“if ... [they pray], then ... [God will answer]”). God will respond to the prayers of his people when they are undergoing discipline from the hand of God. Notice that God's eyes are <I>open</I>, and his ears are <I>attentive</I> to the prayers offered by his people.</div> <div>      In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” The things our baby girl asks for matter to us. What good gifts do we miss out on, because we don't ask God?</div> <div>      2. Prayer can change <I>us</I>. </div> <div>      Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” </div> <div>      In response to prayer, God can and does provide peace; he provides direction and guidance, strength, conviction, hope, and help, in response to prayer.</div> <div>      Let me tell you a couple of stories about how God has responded to prayer:</div> <div>      Dr. Helen Roseveare, missionary to Zaire, told the following story. “A mother at our mission station died after giving birth to a premature baby. We tried to improvise an incubator to keep the infant alive, but the only hot water bottle we had was beyond repair. So we asked the children to pray for the baby and for her sister. One of the girls responded. ‘Dear God, please send a hot water bottle today. Tomorrow will be too late because by then the baby will be dead. And dear Lord, send a doll for the sister so she won’t feel so lonely.’ [These would be very unlikely.] That afternoon a large package arrived from England. The children watched eagerly as we opened it. Much to their surprise, under some clothing was a hot water bottle! Immediately the girl who had prayed so earnestly started to dig deeper, exclaiming, ‘If God sent that, I’m sure He also sent a doll!’ And she was right! The heavenly Father knew in advance of that child’s sincere requests, and <I>5 months earlier</I> He had led a ladies’ group to include both of those specific articles.” (For more on this story, see <A HREF="http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hotwaterbottle.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/h"><U>http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hotwaterbottle.htm</U></A>)</div> <div>      In its early days, Dallas Theological Seminary was in critical need of $10,000 to keep the work going. During a prayer meeting, renowned Bible teacher Harry Ironside, a lecturer at the school, prayed, “Lord, you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Please sell some of those cattle to help us meet this need.” Shortly after the prayer meeting, a check for $10,000 arrived at the school, sent days earlier by a friend who had no idea of the urgent need or of Ironside’s prayer. The man simply said the money came from the sale of some of his cattle! (Today in the Word, MBI, January, 1990, p. 36; bible.org).</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. [Application:] Pray according to the will of God, because God knows what is best for us and for his overall plan.</B></div> <div>      1 John 5:14-15 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”</div> <div>      There a few possible answers to prayer, within God's will: 1) <I>Yes</I> – this fits with God's will and plan; 2) <I>No</I> – God has a better plan, and he will sustain you through your disappointment; 3) <I>Wait</I> – the timing is not right, so keep praying and be patient.</div> <div>      To develop a better habit of prayer, first, keep a prayer list, and include answers to prayer. Second, set aside some focused time each day to pray. Third, pray daily in an ongoing conversation with God (1 Thess 5:17 says, “pray continually”). Fourth, keep prayers simple and specific – worship God and give him thanks, confess your sins, and make your requests to God.</div> <div>      If you want to live out the will of God for you life, must learn to pray. Mark 1:35 tells us, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” If Jesus, the very Son of God and our Savior, took time to prayer regularly, so must we. It can make all the difference in the world.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2006, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>