God's Will - Pray without ceasing
Notes
Transcript
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God’s Will, it’s for you
God’s Will, it’s for you
God’s will is not a mystery, it is fully revealed through His word. That is the subject throughout this series, today we are looking at prayer. God’s will for us to come in prayer. We are going to be looking at the why prayer is God’s will and the importance of it and the how to, some simple instructions about prayer.
Previously we looked at
God’s will for us to rejoice in life
Rejoice in life regardless of circumstances
God’s will for us to rejoice in our salvation
Rejoice in the salvation we have and the final salvation we are promised
God’s will to be evident in the life of a joyful believer
Joy is evident and it is contagious and may we be contagious to others
Our theme verse is 1The5:17, but that is only our starting point today.
17 pray without ceasing;
Not many words and I don’t think there is any wiggle room on interpretation on it either is there? So why are to do it without ceasing? Why is it important? And then, how are we able to pray without ceasing?
Why we are to pray without ceasing?
Why we are to pray without ceasing?
It sounds good that we are to do it, but really is it possible? May we look at at some reasons why it is important and 13 reasons, subjects to pray about, when we pray without ceasing.
You think your prayer life may need a tune up, maybe an overhaul? Maybe it needs a charge. Here are 13 reasons, things we can, should do in prayer.
Warning, this is a scripture packed sermon, so get ready for here we go!
Pray to praise God (Mt6:9; Eph3:20-21)
9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Exampled prayer as set by Jesus in teaching the apostles to pray started with acknowledging God, His place, His worthiness because of His holiness.
20 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, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
To praise Him because of what He can, will do in our lives is even more than we can ask or think. He deserves all the glory, all the praise for He truly is praiseworthy!
Pray to seek God’s will (Mt6:10)
10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Remember you are in His kingdom now, you are God’s kingdom on earth, the church, and as such we should know and want to walk in His will, so pray for His will to be done in and through you!
Pray for our daily provision (Mt6:11; Mt6:25-34)
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
God’s daily provision, pray for it for it physically and spiritually too. God knows our needs and we should pray acknowledging that He is the provider of our needs.
IF we were to look at Mt6:25-34 you would see we are told don’t worry, don’t worry about your provision, see God first. Don’t worry about tomorrow, God is taking care of today today and will take care of tomorrow tomorrow!
Pray for a heart for forgiveness (Mt6:12) and thanking Him for our forgiveness (1Jn1:7-10; Act8:22)
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Forgiveness, it is a salvation issue. It is peace issue, it is a contentment issue and Jesus makes it a command, why, because of the forgiveness offered to us.
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
Forgiveness needed, forgiveness given, so if you have been wronged, hurt, damaged by others, offer forgiveness!
22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
Pray for deliverance and protection (Mt6:13; 1Cor10:13)
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
Deliverance, deliverance from evil, protection from evil too. We know we live in the midst of a wicked and perverted generation that there is evil all around, we need Gods protection and God’s deliverance from the temptations of this world.
13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
He will provide the way of escape when we seek Him, so seek Him prayer!
Pray for peace, internally speaking (Php4:6-7)
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
There are some simple instructions and promises found in these couple of verses. hi-lite them, underline them, memorize them, put on your fridge, write them on your heart, this is perfect application of praying without ceasing! And in case you forgot, that is the will of God.
Pray for power for the inner man (Eph3:14-16, Eph3:20)
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
Power to the inner man through the Holy Spirit! Now, who does not need power, free power, renewable power, sustainable power? Why? Just look at this:
20 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,
His power at work in us, so can work through us!
Pray for opportunity , for open doors (2Cor2:12; Col4:3)
12 Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord,
Paul prayed for open doors, asked for prayer for open doors too. There are lots of doors here in this area, so keep praying for open doors of opportunity for us
3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;
Doors of opportunity to speak the mystery of Christ, the gospel of God about the kingdom of heaven that is available to all who believe!
Pray for boldness to speak up and out (Act4:23-31; Eph6:19-20)
In Act4 they were asking for boldness (v.29) in prayer that was earth moving (v.31). So pray for boldness the that word of God would be proclaimed (v.31) That is a great passage about in the midst of persecution and tribulation they did not stop but to pray that the Lord would help them to speak up and speak out! - Look at Paul’s prayer request of the church at Ephesus
19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Pray for wisdom (Jam1:5-8)
5 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. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
pray by faith for God’s wisdom for you!
Pray for healing (Jm5:14-16)
14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
Here you have the command for prayer when sick!
15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
Here we have the promise of answered prayer.
Pray for tranquility so to be an example to others (Dan4:17; 1Tim2:1-2)
17 “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men.”
God is in control, God is always in control and we should have peace and tranquility in that regardless of our situation. How you live is an example a display of the God you have your faith in. So live our your faith in peace and tranquility.
1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
Pray for others, prays for peace and tranquiliity so can lead quiet lives in all godliness!
Pray to thank God (Col4:2)
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
(expand on that verse 1-2 minutes)
How to do it!
How to do it!
What does it mean, how do we do it, you know pray without ceasing?
What does it mean to pray without ceasing?
It is not about constantly, but consistently and persistently. Not about praying every minute but praying in everything and through everything. What are we not taking to the Lord in prayer?
It means to not give up, but to pray by faith and not lose heart (Lk18:1-8)
1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
You can read the story of the persistent widow as Jesus parable to teach about persistent and constant prayer.
It is an attitude, a set attitude toward prayer, continual fellowship with God through prayer, being conscience that God is with you and will be with you through all things.
Set apart times for prayer
Jesus example (Mk1:35; lk5:16; Lk6:12 to name a few)
Jesus early in the morning
35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
In the evening
12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
and in the desert or isolated places
16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
Exampled prayer times for others
David (Ps55:17); any time is a good time
17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice.
Daniel (Dan6:10)
10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.
May prayer, be a habit, set time for prayer and do it constantly, but not systematically, it’s not about the words, it’s about the heart. Not rote words like the Gentiles would offer up.
Pray in the moment (1Chr5:20; Neh2:4-5; Act16:25)
Look at the heat of the moment in the heat of battle prayer was offered
20 They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.
In the heat of battle He hears your prayers of faith your prayers of trust in Him that He will work out all things for the good (Rom8:28)
4 Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
In the moment, in this case in the spur of the moment as the need arose, prayer was offered up.
25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
I think prayer and song go hand in hand often, and here in the middle of prison in the middle of the night prayers and song were offered up, we know the results, others were listening and God listened and answered prayers and set them free. And because of this others became free too! Free from the bondage of sin.
I know for me if someone asks for prayer i better stop and pray right then for in this world and even in ministry you can get interrupted and not make it back to it, so do it as the opportunity is given, pray.
(Pray without ceasing slide)
So, some things to prayerfully consider this morning
to pray without ceasing is to listen to and follow the command of Jesus and the apostles
It is praying in the moment, it it a devoted time set apart for prayer
It is praying knowing this is time in fellowship with the Lord and knowing He is with you throughout the day.
It is because of the work of Jesus on the cross and the resurrection that we have the privilege of prayer, and the power of prayer made available to us knowing he hears our prayers and will answer in accordance to His will.
(Invitation slide 1) invitation (Invitation slide 2) song, prayer (exit slides after the prayer please!)