A Prayer-Hearing God Part 1
(Reworked from a sermon preached by Jonathan Edwards in 1735)
Psalm 65:1-2
Mar. 5, 2006 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor
Introduction:
A Clip from "Meet The Parents" (DVD Chapter 5, Start @ 24:27-26:16
1 As Greg’s experience clearly demonstrates, we do not know how to pray.
a Pray should be more than just empty words.
b Prayer requires a relationship be in place between the one praying & God.
2 Too many Christians today pray what I call "soap opera prayers." I used to watch a little Days Of Our Lives back in college, and usually when a character would pray on that show, it went a little something like this:
a "uh, God, I know I haven’t been much of a church person. But I really need you to help me out here, and if you do, I promise I’ll turn my life around."
b It’s too bad that prayer is often viewed as a last resort. A spare tire. Something to use only in emergencies instead of a way of life. If Jesus our King has given us the high honor of being his priests, let’s take full advantage of this awesome privilege!
B There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, O God, and to You the vow will be performed. 2 O You who hear prayer, to You all men come. Psalms 65:1-2 (NASB)
1 Essence of the text in a sentence: The psalmist praised God for some remarkable answer to prayer.
a Possibly praising for an anticipated answer (v.1)
b Looking forward to when all will come to God with prayer!
2 Essence of the sermon in a sentence: Believers can be certain that their sincere prayers of faith are heard by God.
a I hope you’ll have a higher level of understanding of prayer in your relationship with God (Objective).
b What are you going to do in your prayer life that proves you believe that God hears? (Probing question)
3 Transitional sentence:
I What is it about God that makes Him a prayer-hearer?
A God’s character/nature is conducive to hearing prayer.
1 It’s the nature of a tree to produce leaves, provide shade, lose its leaves in the fall, squirrels & birds nest in its branches, its wood burns in a fireplace.
a Tree’s nature...created to do these things.
b God, by His very nature, hears prayers. It’s what He does!
2 God wants to hear our prayers.
a The mighty Maker of heaven & earth wants to hear our prayers.
b He delights in our offering of prayer. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight. Prov 15:8 (NASB)
3 The price God paid for us to have our prayers heard came at a high price.
a And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Mark 15:37-38 (NASB) Veil was ripped from top to bottom.
aa The veil divided the temple common & the Holy of Holies
bb By the cross, the veil was removed & God became acceptable to all through Christ. (Invitation)
b Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb 4:14,16 (NASB) 24/7, day/night, at all times we have the privilege to pray!
B God’s character/nature is conducive to answering prayer.
1 God had presented Himself to us as a loving Father.
a "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 "Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" Luke 11:11-13 (NASB)
b God wants to answer the prayers of His children.
2 Sometimes God wants to answer prayer with power.
a Moses with the plagues, Joshua with the sun/moon, Samson with the water from a lion’s jaw, Elijah with a 3 ½ year drought-powerful.
b He’s God & He can do mighty & powerful things.
3 Sometimes God answers prayer with peace.
a As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. 1 Sam 1:13a (NASB) Hannah prayed a silent prayer & a miracle happened.
b No plagues, droughts, sun standing still, water from a lion’s jaw...just peace (comfort, hope, solace).
II Why does God want us to pray, anyway? (We can’t tell God something He doesn’t already know).
A God wants to show us His mercy.
1 Our prayers witness to the fact that we are utterly dependent on God.
a Similar to when we cried out for salvation.
aa We had the revelation of Eph. 2:8-9 & understood we can’t save ourselves! For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2:8-9 (NASB)
bb Not baptism, membership, Lord’s Supper, church...only the atoning work of Christ!
b Prayer says we need God & God wants us to know we need Him!
2 When’s God people are stirred to pray, God listens!
B Prayer prepares our heart for the answer of prayer.
1 The dependence we acknowledge prepares our heart for God to move.
a We will be more able to anticipate, discern, & accept God’s answer when He chooses to move.
b Prayer gets us ready for the answer.
2 Sometimes, God gives us what we ask for, & He also, at times, gives us more than we asked for.
a Our mindset is, "How little can I give, offer, do, donate."
aa But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 (NASB) "gives generously..."
bb For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. Psalms 86:5 (NASB) "...abundant..."
cc Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us Eph 3:20 (NASB) "...exceeding abundantly..."
C There was a saintly elderly lady who was on a tight/fixed income.
1 Often she wouldn’t have the resources to eat for the entire month.
a Regardless of her plight, she’d pray & thank the Lord for His mercy & grace.
b Her neighbor was a non-believer who found no use for God, His church, or God’s Word.
c The woman had not received her check, but she prayed anyway!
aa Prayed by her open window, "God, I have no food, no money, but I have You, God, & You have me. Thank you, Lord."
bb The neighbor, sitting on his porch, overheard her prayer.
cc Went to the store & bought a car load of groceries, put them on the lady’s porch, knocked, & then went to hide in the bushes.
d The woman rejoiced in the Lord!
2 About that time the neighbor jumped out from behind the bushes
a He exclaimed, "God is not real, I bought those groceries."
b The old woman exclaimed, "I knew my God would supply my needs, but I didn’t know He would make the devil pay for them!"
Conclusion:
A The psalmist praised God for some remarkable answer to prayer.
Believers can be certain that their sincere prayers of faith are heard by God.
We’ve asked two questions that can help us have a higher level of understanding of prayer in our lives.
a What is it about God that makes Him a prayer-hearer?
b Why does God want us to pray, anyway?
B I hope you’ll have a higher level of understanding of prayer in your relationship with God (Objective).
C What are you going to do in your prayer life that proves you believe that God hears? (Probing question)
When my Dad was in the Korean War his job was stretching telephone wires across battlefields from forward positions to the commander. They used those lines of communication to direct the troops. In this way the commander had recognizance and intelligence to guide them.
If there were no lines of communication between the commander and his troops, the battle would be lost because the troops would simply be blind as to the foe they were facing.
The same communications are absolutely essential for you and I to win the battles before us.Do you think he would withhold that information from you? If you but ask.
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Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
