Sermon Central
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"Wait On The Lord"
Contributed by Ray Ellis on Jan 25, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: The best way to learn to pray is to pray.
To Busy To Pray
“Wait on the Lord”
How do you view prayer? Do you view prayer like a diet? It didn’t seem to work so you gave up.
Do you view prayer like a lottery? When your number comes up you’ll find the answer.
Do you see prayer as an “escape hatch” to get out of trouble in times of emergency or to get gain for your own selfish ends?
Do you pray to “Make a deal with God?” You are in a jam, so you try to carve out an agreement with God. You offer Him some treasured gift, but only if He comes through first.
Do you see God as the Aladdin’s Lamp? If you rub God the right way he will magically be at your service. God is not like some sort of cosmic bellhop running up and down the corridors of heaven trying to meet the selfish needs of humanity.
The best way to learn to pray is to pray. The Psalmist said, Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
On one occasion the disciples came to Jesus and asked: “Lord teach us to pray.” The disciples had observed the prayer life of Jesus and knew they needed additional teaching on how to pray.
I. Pray in Jesus Name
John 14:13-14 – Jesus taught his disciples: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. That you may ask me anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Fill in the blank. When it comes to prayer I __________________.
A study group on prayer was asked this question with several responses:
• “I don’t pray enough.”
• “I don’t know how to pray.”
• “I don’t know if prayer works or does any good.”
We are instructed in pray in the name of Jesus, not Allah, Buddha, Confuses, or Mohammed. We pray in the name of Jesus.
Today in so called Christian America you can curse using the name of Jesus and very few complain, but if you pray in the name of Jesus, people are offended
In the book of Acts the early Christians gave Jesus and His name the blessing on everything they did.
In the name of Jesus there is salvation. Acts 2:21
People are baptized in the name of Jesus. Acts 2:38
Healing is in the name of Jesus. Acts 3:6
Teaching is in the name of Jesus. Acts 4:18
Preaching is in the name of Jesus. Acts 5:40
Suffering is in the name of Jesus. Acts 5:41
Missionary outreach was accomplished in the name of Jesus. Acts 9:15
Boldness was in the name of Jesus. Acts 9:27
Demons were cast out in the name of Jesus.
Prayer was in the name of Jesus. Acts 22:16
We pray in the name of Jesus because Jesus provided access to God the Father.
Sin brought about a separation between God and human kind. Jesus by his death on the cross bridged the gulf between God and humanity. The scripture clearly teach that Jesus is the only bridge over which a person can walk to find God and his forgiveness and salvation. I Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men…”
The death of Jesus on the cross was God’s gift of grace to all people who will come to Jesus and accept him as Lord of their life.
We pray in Jesus Name affirming that there is nothing we can humanly do to merit God’s grace Jesus himself said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6
Imagine walking down the road of life and coming to a fork in the road, one leading to a life that is abundant, filled with joy and the blessing of God and the other a life of selfish living far from God’s blessing. You notice that at the fork in the road two men are there, one standing and one lying down on the road. One is living and one is dead. What one would you ask directions? You would ask the living person of course. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
We pray in Jesus’ Name because we are totally dependent on Him. In ourselves we are inadequate to meet our own needs.
Pride keeps us from praying in the name of Jesus. We don’t want to admit that we are not capable of strong enough to meet our own needs.
# The organ in a large church broke down one Sunday morning just before services were to begin. A member of the congregation happened to be an organ repairman and he immediately went to work on the instrument – finding it was a simple electrical problem. When he finally got it fixed it was just about the middle of the sermon. He quietly passed a note to the organist which read: “After closing prayer, the power will be on.”
