After Prayer

1. We should trust God

a. God is wiser than man

Isaiah 55:8–9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God knows more than we do, and his plans are much more planned out than ours. His timing is best

Proverbs 3:5–6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Trust God rather than yourself, he will take care of you.

b. Trusting God provides peace and assurance for believers

Isaiah 40:31 “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Prayer rejuvenates and energizes the believer.

Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”

Trust in God gives confidence - eliminating fear, anxiety, and worry within the believer.

2. We should obey God’s Word

a. Obedience is crucial to being in God’s will

Deuteronomy 29:29 ““The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Some things are hidden from us, and that is part of the reason why we pray. But some things are not hidden, but revealed to us. Those things we obey.

“Lord, I really want to marry this person, but I don’t think they are a Christian. Lord, what should I do?” Don’t marry them!

“Lord, my finances really need to improve, please provide for me.” Alright, let’s see what the betting lines are on the sports games this weekend. Sin hinders God’s working in our lives by separating us from him.

Luke 6:46–49 ““Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.””

When we obey, we are on solid ground, but when we know the truth and choose to ignore it or live outside of it, we are asking for trouble.

1 Samuel 15:22 “And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

b. The Lord hears and blesses those who obey him

Proverbs 15:29 “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

“Wicked” describes someone consistently engaged in wicked behavior. This would be either a Christian living in active rebellion against God or someone who is unsaved. The righteous are those who make a pattern of obedience to God, and such ability only comes from the work of salvation done in the hearts of all believers.

1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

God hears the prayers of those who are righteous, but those who actively do evil God is against. If he is against them then he will certainly not be answering any prayers they offer up.

3. We should take action

a. Throughout Scripture, we are commanded to act

Believers can sometimes pray and then have a Carry Underwood type of theology by saying “Jesus take the wheel.” Sometimes all we can do is lay something at God’s feet because everything is out of our control. But sometimes there are actions to be taken our end. This is the case in other parts of our faith.

James 2:17 “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Our salvation is demonstrated by our actions. Without works, our salvation will appear to be dead. We do works because that is what God has created us to do.

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Our lives as Christians should be characterized by action rather than seclusion or passiveness.

James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

b. We are to act in agreement with God’s Word

Examples:

“God help me kill this sin habit.” Great start by confessing and repenting in prayer, but what actions are you going to take to make sure you don’t sin again? Struggle with alcohol? Throw out your alcohol! Struggle with gambling? Delete the sports betting app or the poker app. Struggle with lust? Set up some accountability, change your internet habits. Get creative. Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

What about prayers for others? Lord these people are struggling and need someone to comfort them, please help them. Maybe when you are done praying you need to give them a call, or visit with them, or offer them some help.

What about prayer for the salvation of friends and family. Many of us pray regularly for the salvation of others, but do we share the gospel with them? Ask yourself when the last time was that you shared the gospel with that person you’ve been praying for.

Matthew 5:14–16 ““You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Nehemiah hears a report about the state of Jerusalem, so he goes to the Lord in prayer for days for his people and city. When Nehemiah is before the king, the king sense Nehemiah’s sadness. and after inquiring why Nehemiah is sad, learns of the state of the Jews and Jerusalem. The King grants Nehemiah all that he asks for, and so Nehemiah travels to Jerusalem with a blank check from the most powerful person of the known world. Surprisingly, he is sent by God to be the answer to his own prayer.

4. We should keep Praying

a. Prayer is to be continual and frequent

It may seem strange and even deflating to hear that after praying you need… to keep on praying, but that is what God’s word says.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Colossians 4:2 “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

Both of these verses demonstrate the continual nature of prayer. It is to be repetitive and frequent.

b. Do not be discouraged

Sometimes prayer is not immediately answered. It is easy to feel neglected and forgotten, but our feelings do not always reflect reality.

I may watch my White Sox stink every time they play and think to myself that I could do better than those people on field. I may feel like I’m better than they are, but reality is probably different.

Luke 18:1 “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”

Ephesians 6:18 “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

Prayer is meant to be encouraging for us, so continue faithfully in prayer.

Discussion Questions:

What is the relationship between prayer and trusting in God?

Answer: The more we trust God, the more we will come to him in prayer. The more we pray, the more we see God work and answer our prayers. This gives us reason to trust him more, and so we come to him more frequently in prayer for the process to repeat itself. It is a cycle of prayer and trust that feeds on itself for the benefit of the Christian and those they pray for.

What role does our obedience to God’s Word have in our prayer life, and what kind of actions should we take or not take after we pray?

Answer: Our obedience is necessary if we expect God to answer our prayers. If we exhibit a pattern of wicked behavior, God will turn his face away from us. Of course, we do not obey God in order to manipulate him into giving us what we desire, but rather we obey out of love and devotion to the God who loved us so much that he sent us Jesus. If we have never come to accept Jesus and know him as our personal savior, then we cannot expect God to answer our prayer.

The actions we take after prayer ought to reflect biblical principles and biblical wisdom. Sometimes that means doing nothing but continuing in prayer while other times it means taking action that reflects Christ like love and care. What we should not do is anything that contradicts the Scriptures or leads us to depend on our own strength and ability apart from God’s help. Show patience - knowing that God’s ways are different and better than our ways.

Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Why is the command in Col 4:2 to “continue steadfastly in prayer” not a redundancy, but instead a command that should encourage us?

Answer: There is no minimum amount of required prayers that God demands before he will answer us, but coming to God repeatedly in prayer demonstrates our humility and dependence upon God. Pray is not for God’s benefit, but for ours. He already knows what we need before we ask, but he wants us to talk to him anyways. It is encouraging to know that the maker of the universe wants to hear from me regularly and consistently. He wants to hear from many of us more than he currently is even though there is no need for him to hear from us. He loves us so much that he wants to hear from us in the form of prayer. And as we pray, we learn to depend and trust more and more on our heavenly Father.