Why don't we Pray?
The Daniel Prayer • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Just Ask
Just Ask
For the past 4 weeks we have looked at what we titled the Daniel Prayer.
The point of this study was for us to look at, see and understand how we should be taking prayer a lot more serious than most of us do.
In the Daniel Prayer he showed us some great things that if we would just get serious like he did heaven will hear us, and our, lives, our families, lives, our church families lives and nations will be changed.
We learned how Daniel prepared to pray.
He was prompted to pray.
He prevailed in prayer.
Daniel also battled in prayer.
I hope you learned some things that you will take and apply to your prayer life.
I want to kind of finish up his study by asking the question. Why don’t we pray like Daniel payed?
The fact is that everyone of us struggle to pray, someone once said if you really want to embarrass a christian get them to honestly tell you about their prayer life.
Many times us as Christians can have a great understanding when it comes to the bible, many can even give testimonies as to how they have shared the gospel with others.
But ask somebody to tell you about their prayer lives and many times you will get silence.
There was a poll done among Christians and the outcome was that most Christians prayed an average of 6 minutes per day.
Do you realize how many minutes are in a day. 1440 minutes in a day,
This should really be a concern to us as Christians.
Jesus said in John 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
The only ways to be connected to Jesus is to abide in him and that means to pray, apart from prayer nothing eternally significant will happen in your life.
What kind of impact are we going to have on ourselves, our families, our churches if we don’t start saturating our lives with prayer.
I have said it a million times but we should really take note as to how important prayer was in Jesus’ life.
If there was ever one person that we would think should not have to pray it would be God’s only son.
Jesu had all the power and all the wisdom he would ever need right, but it wasn't enough.
The bible shows us that Jesus’ life was filled with prayer.
We can specifically see this in the Book of Luke.
Luke 3 when Jesu was Baptized He prayed.
Luke 6 before Jesus choose his disciples he prayed. Right before Jesus chose the people he was going to minister with he spent the whole night in prayer.
Do we spend all night praying for the people we are going to be partnering in ministry with?
Before Jesus asked the disciples who do you say that I am? He prayed Luke 9.
After they said Jesus was the Son of God they headed up into the mountain the bible says to pray.
As Jesus got close to his death he prayed by himself several hours in the garden Luke 22.
In the hours before he was arrested he prayed for Peter. Because he knew Peter would be denying him. Also in Luke 22.
While Jesus was being nailed to the cross in Luke 23 he prayed for those soldiers that was crucifying him.
Jesus very last breath he was praying. The point here is that Jesus’ life was saturated with prayer and he was the Son of God.
Remember even when the disciples were starting their ministry they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.
They didn't ask Jesus to teach them how to talk to people, teach them what words to speak or how to preach.
And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
They witnessed and seen the importance of prayer this is why they asked Jesus to teach us how to pray.
After Jesus ascended back into heaven he gave his disciples instruction to go to the upper room and to wait for the Holy spirit. They were there 10 days and what did Luke tell us they did in Acts. They prayed.
Then Peter stood up in Acts 2 and 3000 people were saved. Get this here they prayed for 10 days and he probably preached for 10 minutes and 3000 people were saved.
Was it the prayer or the preaching.
These days we preach for 10 days pray for 10 minutes and nobody gets saved. We have to understand that prayer is the key to everything.
Most of us do know the importance of prayer at least I think we do. So if we do then Why don’t we pray?
You know sometimes I believe we don’t pray because we just don’t think it will do any good. God is going to do what he knows best anyway so why do I need to pray.
Sometimes we pray and things happen sometimes we pray and they don’t. Sometimes you forget to pray and the thing you forgot to pray for still happens.
So we wonder what good is it to pray.
Let’s look at this. Jesu wrote a parable about a persistent friend needing some bread.
.Luke 11:5-8
And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
At first the neighbor didn’t answer but because this neighbor was [persistent in his ask for bread the man finally answered and gave him what he was asking for.
Jesus even says here he didn’t do it because he was his friend. He did it because of his importunity (persistence to the point of annoyance.)
The point is not an uncaring neighbor, but the point here is that things come easier sometimes in persistence and asking.
The fact is that there are just sometimes that God will only answer when we are persistent and bold in our prayers.
Another reason some of us don’t pray is we really feel that there are a ton of prayers that have been sent up and Jesus never answers.
I don’t believe that no prayer goes unanswered it just may not be answered the way we want it to be so we say its unanswered. But let’s look at some reasons where God may not hear your prayer.
One reason is that you are not saved . Do you realize that God only hears his children’s prayers. Unless it is a prayer to God for salvation.
If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear me:
If there is some area in your life to include salvation or you have unconfessed sin in your life as a saved person and God is looking for you to repent and get things right with him.
Another reason for what you may think God is not answering is because you are praying selfish prayers, your prayer are for the wrong motives. They are all about you.
Maybe you are asking God for more money so you can buy a new car or a new house, when you should be asking God to give you more money so you can help advance his kingdom, giving to the church, missionaries, the poor etc.
Maybe you are even asking God for a spouse that you could find satisfaction in when you first need to be finding satisfaction in him.
So maybe our motives are wrong.
The main reason sometimes our prayers feel unanswered in God has a greater plan that we cannot see in that moment.
Did you realize that majority of the bible is people waiting on God to answer some type of request or prayer.
Maybe even something God has promised he would do. Look back in your life and you can see how God not answering that prayer right away or not at all the way you wanted was God really knowing best in your life.
I thought I knew what I wanted but now I can see I am much better off that things didn’t go that way.
God is no doubt pursuing many things in our lives that we do not have a clue about I can promise you he knows best.
He ways are always greater than ours.
Sometimes God answers our prayers by giving us what we would of asked for if we knew what he knew.
Some of the best work God does in our lives is in that time of waiting or that time of silence.
We need to quit giving up so quick and quit turning to something else and realize God builds our faith by waiting.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
They shall run, and not be weary;
And they shall walk, and not faint.
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
David wrote this when he was on the run from King Saul hiding in caves and fleeing for his life. David learned as long as God was close. he had no needs even in the valley of the shadow of death.
He knew whatever the circumstances sureley goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Remember what that good is.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
It is growth in Christ . Sometimes God will slow down an answer to do a work in our life so that we can truly trust in him.
I can’t tell you all the reasons God may or may not slow down our answers to prayers but I can tell you what the reason is not.
It is not that God has forgotten about you.
It is not that he hasn’t heard you unless you are not saved or have unrepented sin in your life.
It is not that God does not care.
we know that all because Jesus died on a cross for you. If he didn’t turn his back on us then he is not going to turn his back on us now.
I want us to take God at his word to believe that he is as good as he proved he was on the cross and commit to praying like David did.
Prepare, be prompted to pray, prevail and battle till the end.
