Untitled Sermon (5)

PRAYER THAT WORKS

Week 1: How to Pray Like A Righteous Man

A man by the name of Harold Lamb told this story of a sales presentation he made at a church board meeting:

“My co-worker and I were making a sales call to a rural Baptist church. We gave our presentation to the church committee, and then the group’s chairman walked to the altar and knelt down.

After a minute of silent prayer, he returned and announced in a solemn tone, “The Lord tells me we should wait.”

My colleague responded by walking to the altar and kneeling down himself. Then he returned to the group, looked at the chairman and declared, ’He wants to talk with you again.’”

I’m not really sure EITHER man was ACTUALLY praying, but I found it interesting that both men saw PRAYER as a way of getting what they wanted.

James 4:2 (GW) You want what you don’t have, so you commit murder. You’re determined to have things, but you can’t get what you want. You quarrel and fight. You don’t have the things you want, because you don’t pray for them.

He writes in 4:2 that one of the reasons we don’t receive what we desire is we don’t pray.

In other parts of his letter he tells us:

· If we lack wisdom we should pray

· If we are troubled we should pray

· And if we are sick, we should call for the elders to anoint us with oil and pray for us.

In other words -- If there’s something you want from God - you should pray, or have others pray for you.

And most of us believe that God answers our prayers. In 1994, Life Magazine published a survey which indicated that 94% of those who prayed regularly believed God had answered their prayers

But, if we believe that prayers have such power, do we pray as often as we should?

There is a nagging suspicion that we don’t pray as much as we might think.

How many of you pray as often as you think you should? (Raise Hand)

Well, don’t feel bad. Most people don’t feel like they pray enough either.

ILLUSTRATION

Larry Davies, in the online magazine “Heartlight” tells of the time he asked his class:

“Does God answer prayers?”

The class erupted with answers like, “Of course.”

“Yes.”

“Always.”

“Well then,” he said “why don’t we pray more frequently?”

James 5:16-18 (MSG) Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

In other words… if you want to have a good model of how to pray, look at how Elijah prayed. SO that’s what we’re going to do this morning.

At the time of I Kings 18, the King of Israel was a man named Ahab, and he was married to a Philistine woman who has since become infamous because of her wickedness - Jezebel.

Partly because of Jezebel’s evil influence -- Ahab and the nation of Israel had fallen into a kind of “hybrid paganism.”

· They apparently still prayed to Yahweh

· BUT they also worshipped some wicked pagan gods: Baal and Asherah

So - because of their disobedience - God sent Elijah to tell King Ahab that he and the nation of Israel would be punished with a drought. There would be no rain and no dew (this ended up lasting 3 ½ years.) At the end of that 3 ½ years, God sent Elijah back to King Ahab and offered a challenge. Elijah vs. the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mt. Carmel. All of Israel gathered at the foot of the mountain and they heard Elijah confront them with these words:

1 Kings 18:21 (MSG) Elijah challenged the people: “How long are you going to sit on the fence? If GOD is the real God, follow him; if it’s Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!” Nobody said a word; nobody made a move.

Then the challenge begins: Follow along with me as I read I Kings 18:22-40

All this precedes the prayer that James says is our example. Now let’s see what’s so special about Elijah’s prayer.

1 Kings 18:41-46 (MSG) Elijah said to Ahab, “Up on your feet! Eat and drink—celebrate! Rain is on the way; I hear it coming.” Ahab did it: got up and ate and drank. Meanwhile, Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bowed deeply in prayer, his face between his knees. Then he said to his young servant, “On your feet now! Look toward the sea.” He went, looked, and reported back, “I don’t see a thing.” “Keep looking,” said Elijah, “seven times if necessary.” And sure enough, the seventh time he said, “Oh yes, a cloud! But very small, no bigger than someone’s hand, rising out of the sea.” “Quickly then, on your way. Tell Ahab, ‘Saddle up and get down from the mountain before the rain stops you.’ “ Things happened fast. The sky grew black with wind-driven clouds, and then a huge cloudburst of rain, with Ahab hightailing it in his chariot for Jezreel. And GOD strengthened Elijah mightily. Pulling up his robe and tying it around his waist, Elijah ran in front of Ahab’s chariot until they reached Jezreel.

SO -- What is it about Elijah’s prayer that makes it such a good example for us?

1ST -- HE “WORKED” AT HIS PRAYER.

He prays sitting down with his head between his knees. In preparation for these sermons, THIS HAD TO BE an extremely uncomfortable way to pray. Now there might be many possible reasons why Elijah prayed in this fashion, but my personal conclusion is that

Elijah was using this painful posture to help himself focus on the prayer at hand.

He didn’t want to be distracted by anything else -- and the discomfort kept his mind focused on what he was talking to God about.

Next, notice how many times Elijah prays.

Not just once, twice, or 3 times. No. Elijah prays 7 times. He kept at the prayer until he saw an answer.

My mother in law, Mae Horn, when she would get a prayer request -- would go into her bathroom and not come out until she had heard from God.

Why should that matter to God? Why should it matter that we “work” at our prayers?

Because when we work at our prayers – it shows the answer “matters” to us.

ILLUSTRATION

How many of you have had little children? What’s it like when you take them to the store and they see something they want? They ask for it, don’t they? And then they ask for it again… and again… and again… and again. If they’re creative, they’ll think up a dozen different ways to remind you that they want that candy, or toy or other object. Why do they do that? Because it’s important to them to receive what they’re asking for. So, they work at getting your attention.

Likewise, Elijah “worked” at his prayer – he made it his business to pray.

This morning, we’re going to help you “work” at your prayers. Before the sermon began we handed out a Prayer Journal.

We want you to put it someplace in your home, where you’ll be often. In the living room, in your bedroom on the nightstand, in your Bible. Anywhere you’ll have it close at hand. This is your tool to help you “work at your prayers.

2ND -- ELIJAH WAS SPECIFIC IN HIS PRAYERS.

He didn’t simply ask God to “bless” Israel. He was asking for rain. He was asking for a “SPECIFIC” answer in response to his prayer. Inside your Prayer Journal you’ll find this suggestion:

1. Use this journal only for prayer requests you can actually “measure” or see fulfilled.

2. Avoid “God bless” my son, or daughter type of prayers, because there is no way to determine if God has actually answered you.

ILLUSTRATION

I learned a long time ago about being very specific with my prayers. I wrote down specifically to the tee what I wanted in a wife and it wasn’t more than 1 month later I met my wife of 45 years.

Be specific in your prayers – then you’ll know when God answers

3RD -- ELIJAH PRAYED FOR SOMETHING HE KNEW GOD WANTED TO DO.

God wanted to send rain on Israel. That’s why Elijah had come back.

1 Kings 18:1 (MSG) A long time passed. Then GOD’s word came to Elijah. The drought was now in its third year. The message: “Go and present yourself to Ahab; I’m about to make it rain on the country.”

If you look at some of the powerful prayers in Scripture you’ll find that they all mention either:

* A specific promise God had made

* A goal God was known to favor

* How answering this prayer would result in praise to Him

* How God’s answering of the prayer would affect how they could witness

When we pray we need to think about why God should want to answer our prayers.

That’s what Jesus meant when He told His disciples:

John 14:14 (TLB) Yes, ask anything, using my name, and I will do it!

PRAYING in “JESUS NAME” is to be asking for what you believe Jesus would want you to ask for.

Healing -- Prosperity -- Souls -- Direction In Your Life

4TH -- ELIJAH INVOLVED SOMEONE ELSE IN HIS PRAYER.

Notice that he sends his servant to look for rain. Elijah could have done that. BUT Elijah was involving someone else in his prayers

Matthew 18:19 (TLB) “I also tell you this—if two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask for, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

With your prayer journal – get your family/ friends involved in your prayers. Pray together with someone else.

5TH -- ONCE ELIJAH PRAYED, HE BEHAVED AS A MAN WHO EXPECTED AN ANSWER.

He repeatedly sent his servant to look for a cloud. AND once a cloud was seen -- he acted like a man expecting it to rain.

ILLUSTRATION

The story’s told of the western town that had experienced a hard drought. One of the local churches held announced special prayer meeting one night to pray for rain. On that night, the church building was packed, but the preacher told them to go back home. There’d be no prayer meeting that night – because no one had come expecting to have their prayers answered…

NO ONE HAD BOTHERED TO BRING AN UMBRELLA.

Now, I don’t know if that’s a true story -- but I do know that is how God looks at our prayers.

James 1:6-8 (NKJV) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

When we pray – we need to pray expectantly, believing God WILL answer.

That’s why I’m giving you a Prayer Journal. If you’ll notice there is a column dedicated for you to note the date God answers your prayer. We want you to pray – expecting an answer. (But remember - “no” is an answer to).

One man once said:

“To become more effective in our praying, we need to remember: It is not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they be; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they be; nor the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be; nor the method of our prayers, how orderly they may be; nor even the theology of our prayers, how good the doctrine may be - which God cares for.

It’s The Fervency Of Our Prayers

The Constant Faith In Prayer

Being Specific In Prayer

Agree With Others In Prayer

That Wins The Day And Unleashes The Power Of God.”