POWERFUL PRAYERS
GENESIS 4:25-26
Since that day in history, some 10,000 years ago, Christians have been bombarding heaven with their prayers.
Some had been short prayers, some long prayers, some for self, some for others, some out of sorrow, some out of praise, some private , some public, but the main thing is that Christians through the ages have learned the POWER OF PRAYER.
The prayer of Moses saved Israel, the prayer of Elisha raised the dead, the prayer of the Church rescued Peter, and the prayer of Pentecost led to 3,000 souls being saved.
Jesus said, My house shall be called a house of Prayer. But we have made it anything but a house of prayer. I believe we have lost much of our power in our generation because of lack of prayer.
There was a preacher who was a manuscript slave. He not only wrote his sermons but he read them word for word from the pulpit. One Sunday night the lights went out in the Church. The Preacher thought someone was playing a practical joke on him. Turn the light on, he demanded in a stern voice. He was told that the lights were definitely off. What could he do? He could not speak extemporaneously, even in an emergency. He wisely said, If he power is off, it is time to pray. -Tom M Olson
BROTHRS AND SISTERS IN A TIME OF WEAK POWER IN THE CHURCH, IT IS TIME TO PRAY
I-THE PRAYER OF ABRAHAM SHOWS PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER:
Gen. 18:23-33
There are times when pray just a simple pray and God open Heaven and gives us His blessing. But there are times when even after many trips to God in prayer, we don’t get a answer. Why? We can get some answers in Abraham’s prayer.
A-Persistent Praying DEMONSTRATES Our Sincerity:
If There is one thing that Abraham shows, it is sincerity. Nothing could stop him for he held on the altar of God.
Some time, God tests us to see how sincerely, we desire what we ask from Him.
When my children were young, they would ask me for certain things at Christmas.I didn’t consider them until they asked me several times . I wanted to see if they really wanted them.
Admiral Perry found the North Pole after 20 years of searching, He was persistent. He wouldn’t quit. The Eskimos said, you are like the sun, you always come back.
May you and I demonstrate our persistent in prayer by always coming to God.
B-Persistent praying DEVELOPES Our Faith:
Man becomes physically strong by working continually. Football teams now have year round weight programs in order to have better physical conditioned players.
In the spiritual realm, only through persistent prayer is our faith exercised and strengthened.
It was at this time, that Abraham was having some faith problems. He had faith to go to a new land but not to have a son. But one years after this prayer, his son, Isaac was born.
ILLUSTRATION: It’s been stated these days, “They just don’t make missionaries like William Carey.” Carey changed the history of missions and the face of India 200 years ago. Few know of Carey’s sister, paralyzed and bedridden for 50 years. Although unable to speak for much of that period, with great effort she allowed herself to be propped up in bed. She wrote long encouraging letters to her brother. And she prayed for him several hours per day for 50 years!
SHE WAS PHYICALLY WEAK BUT YET SPIRITUAL STRONG
C-Persistent Praying DELIVERS Our Answer:
And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten." So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
In Genesis 18 Abraham asked God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gommorrah if there were ten righteous found there. Because there were not ten righteous people, God will not spare the city. But He will still answer the heart of Abraham’s prayer by bringing Lot and his family out of Sodom, even if it is practically against’ Lot’s will.
If Abraham, a great hero of the Bible needed to seek God in prayer, how much more do you and I need too.
ILLUSTRATION: 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)
II-THE PRAYER OF JOSHUA SHOWS POSTURE IN PRAYER:
Joshua was one of the great men of faith. He was never one of those who wanted to return to the flesh pots of Egypt. His desire was to go into the promise land. He was a mighty man of prayer.
A-Notice The Person He SAW: Joshua 5:13-14A
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14: And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come.
This was not a angel for angels are not worshipped. He realized he was in the presence of God .
Why pray, if God loves us and knows all we need before we pray? “What if he knows prayer to be the thing we need first and most? What if the main object in God’s idea of prayer be the supplying of our great, our endless need—the need of himself? What if the good of all our smaller and lower needs lies in this, that they help drive us to God? Communion with God is the one need of the soul beyond all other needs; prayer is the beginning of that communion. ( George MacDonald)
ILLUSTRATION: They tell us that at Waterloo, when the English soldiers were there, and the "thin red line" had to stand the fire of the enemy hour after hour, and no charge sounded -- when silently the soldier had to take the place of the fallen, as comrade after comrade fell beneath the withering fire -- they tell us that as the Duke of Wellington rode up and down the lines, whenever he appeared, the soldiers whispered, "Here is the Duke!" and they stood firm. Oh, how they stood So let us say, ’Here is Jesus Christ," and stand firm.
B-Notice The Position He SOUGHT: Joshua 5:14B
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
In 2 Chron. 7:14, we find the recipe for Revival, and the first condition is to humble ourselves before God.
ILLUSTRATION: I read about a preacher and a deacon visiting a unsaved man who was on a tractor. As they shared Jesus with him, he paid no attention to them. All of sudden, the deacon fell into dirt on his knees and begin to pray for the man to be saved. When he was finished, he got up and left with the preacher. But that night, at the Revival, the man on the tractor got saved.
When asked the secret of his spiritual power, Charles Spurgeon said: “Knee work! Knee work!”
ILLUSTRATION: George Adam Smith was a Scottish bible scholar of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He once climbed Switzerland’s Weisshorn mountain on a very stormy day. Smith and his two guides climbed up the sheltered side of the mountain. When they reached the top Smith stood at the top of a peak and was almost blown away by the wind. One of the guides pulled him down, saying "On your knees, sir! You are safe only on your knees." (encyclopedia.com).
C-Notice The Performance He SHOWED: Joshua 5:15
And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. The cost of obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience.
ILLUSTRATION: Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in ‘71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a “genius mind” when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team. Roger later said, “I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory.”
AS THE SONG SAYS, THERE IS NO WAY TO BE HAPPY IN JESUS BUT TO TRUST AND OBEY
III-THE PRAYER OF JABEZ SHOWS PETITONS IN PRAYER:
Jabez makes a quick appearance and then he is gone. He is remembered for his prayer, rather than his heroic act.
A-He Requested GRACE: 1 Chronicles 4:10A
Oh that thou would wouldest bless me indeed"
ILLUSTRATION: The 1993 Christmas issue of Newsweek magazine carried an article on angels, a rather surprising topic to find in a secular publication. As might be expected, though, many points were in conflict with Scripture. For instance, Professor Robert Ellswood, a specialist in unorthodox religions, made this assertion: “With angels around, people feel they don’t have to bother an Almighty God in order to get help.” (Our Daily Bread_
WELL JABEZ DIDN’T BELIEVE THAT FOR HE WENT TO THE LORD IN PRAYER
We aren’t talking about money, fame, or possessions here, though they may come, we are talking about seeking God’s best for our lives.
ILLUSTRATION: A certified public accountant did something that maybe all of us should do. He decided to open a journal with God. He wanted to write everything that God gave him and everything that he gave to God. He started keeping a debit and credit book with God. If someone did him a favor, he put it down as God’s gift to him. He credited God with the sun, his food, his health, his friends and relatives, and a thousand other benefits he received. On the other hand, he put down what he did for God. Finally he gave up saying, "It is impossible for me to balance the books. I find that God is indeed my creditor and what I have done for Him is next to nothing." (PULPIT HELPS)
B-He Requested GROWTH: 1 Chronicles 4:10B
"Enlarge my coast".
The word ’enlarge’ means simply to make larger, His desire was to reach out beyond himself...to expand his sphere of influence.
ILLUSTRATION: Pastor Don Robinson-When my parents built their new house they put in cable electric heat. This was quite a change from the old coal and wood stove that they had in their old house. Each room had individual temperature controls. They were not marked with a graduated scale. They just had a section on the control that simply read "Comfort Zone". Go above that section and the room would be too hot; go below and the room would be too cold. Keep it in the "Comfort Zone" and everything is great. I believe that we, as Christians, also have our "Comfort Zones". When we are in them we are more likely to relax and be satisfied with the way things are.
WE SOMETIMES ARE LIKE THE FARMER I READ ABOUT WHO WAS NOT MAKING MUCH PROGRESS IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
ILLUSTRATION: An old farmer frequently described his Christian experience by saying, “Well, I’m not making much progress, but I’m established!” One spring when he was hauling some logs, his wagon wheels sank down to the axles in mud. Try as he would, he couldn’t get the wagon out. Defeated, he sat atop the logs, viewing the dismal situation. Soon a neighbor who had always felt uncomfortable with the farmer’s worn out testimony came along and greeted him, “Well, brother Jones, I see you’re not making much progress, but you must be content because you’re well-established!”
C-He Requested GUIDANCE: 1 Chronicles 4:10C
and that thine hand might be with me
A little boy was standing with his father near the Grand Canyon. "Let me take your hand," said the boy to his father. "No, let me take yours," replied the wise father. (So God says He will take our hand.)
What a comfort to know that God is there with an open hand to take ours and lift us up when we are down, and encourage us when we are weak.
D-He Requested GODLINESS: 1 Chronicles 4:10D
and that thou wouldest keep me from evil,
Jabez was aware of the power of evil and the fact that God could deliver him.
ILLUSTRATION: In October 1993, police sharpshooters in Rochester, New York, surrounded a car. In the back seat of the car was a man with a rifle. The police attempted to negotiate with the man. No answer. The police watched and waited. No movement. Finally the police discovered the truth: The armed man in the back seat was a mannequin.
When the authorities tracked down the owner of the car, he told them he keeps the mannequin in his car for protection. "You’ve got to do this," he said. "With the car-jacking, it helps if it looks like you’ve got a passenger."
These are dangerous times. Whom do you rely on for protection? A mannequin or the Mighty One? (Contemporary Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers, & Writers)
1 Chronicles 4:10E And God granted him that which he requested
CONCLUSION:
POWERFUL PRAYERS ARE THE KEY TO EVERY ASPECT IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
There are no shortcuts when it comes to revival. The church desperately needs revival, but it is not going to come by quick and easy methods. Evan Roberts prayed for eleven years before the Welsh Revival broke out, and his ministry during that remarkable time broke him physically. More than one hundred thousand people were converted to Christ during that mighty awakening, but it was not the result of manufactured meetings (they were spontaneous) or manmade promotions. True revival goes deeper than that, it was powerful praying.
(Warren Wiersbe)
