2007-03-04 - Am I done yet - Luke 18 1-8
Message: Am I done yet? Newport Baptist Church
Scr: Luke 18:1-8 Date: March 4, 2007
Prayer passage for today – Colossians 1:15-23
Intro: Vaughn – wife went to church. Neighbors, friends, family, church prayed, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.
One Christmas his beloved pet dog got sick. Christmas eve he made a deal with God. I’ll go if you save my dog. He went, but the dog still died.
The prayers continued… he became a Christian and it was my privilege to baptize him.
Good thing they never gave up praying!
Explanation – Last week – How to pray - Four things! Honor God, Make known our requests, confess our sins and forgive others, depend on God
Why did we quit praying???
We quit praying because of discouragement and doubt.
We quit praying because we sometimes wonder if it does pay to pray.
James - known as old camel knees – callouses so thick from time spent praying -
says "You do not have because you do not ask God."
TS – Am I done yet? Persisting in prayer is how we… overcome discouragement, ensure success and learn our value to God.
1) Overcome discouragment – Luke 18:1
a) Problems
i) Debbie’s job search
ii) Paul’s pray continually – 1 Thess 5:17
iii) Jesus in the garden
b) Reality check
i) Jesus Knew that this would be hard!
Verse 7 indicates that sometimes God DOES delay in answering our prayers. -It would make no sense for Jesus to ask if God will keep putting off answering his people’s prayers unless he had already been doing so!
ii) Told his disciples so through this story (parable)
c) Application to life – daily prayer
-Doesn’t need much explanation…just obedience!!!
Perhaps you HAVE stopped praying fervently for something important…
Perhaps you have grown discouraged or convinced that your prayers will not be answered…
Perhaps you have thought, like I have as well as all of us, that maybe your request was not in God’s will after all, and you therefore accepted the status quo…
-If so, I hope you will do one thing…
-Get back on your knees and keep praying.
-We have every reason to keep on praying…after all, Jesus even said to…
So…Keep on praying because sometimes the answer to prayer will be delayed.
2) Ensure success! – Luke 18:2-6
Man changing light bulbs when the ladder falls! No one has to say hang on!
a) Judge and Widow
i) Didn’t fear God or men
ii) Widow needed justice, Had an adversary, kept asking!
iii) Judge relented BECAUSE OF her persistence
iv) A nobody, an uncaring judge – but she got results because of her persistence!
b) God as judge
i) Moses – prayed and God moved to free his people
ii) Elijah – prayed and it did not rain (ot & nt refs?)
iii) David – prayed when pursued by Saul
c) Application to life
i) Parable in Luke 11 – friend asking for bread late at night – keep on knocking and asking!
ii) Challenge is to trust especially when the answer does not come quickly!
3) Learn our value to God – Luke 18:7-8
a) Father!
i) Ben and Brianna – ask Dad or Mom… ask Dad… why? Cause Dad’s maybe’s are yes’s!
b) Children
i) Good gifts! Last week in Luke 11
ii) David – psalm? He learned how much value he had to God
iii) Word of the Lord - Paul – I am persuaded – (Ref?) – he knew how much God loved him
c) Application to life
i) Verse 7 – his chosen ones! – will get justice quickly! (vs 8)
So…Keep on praying because you’re special to God!
When we come to understand this, it will change your whole prayer life.
I keep on praying because I expect God to listen and respond to my request.
-I don’t expect him to listen and respond because I have great faith.
-I don’t expect him to listen and respond because I have fasted or prayed for many hours.
-I don’t expect to be heard because I’ve been exceptionally righteous or religious.
(These are important and necessary…but we must remember the essence of why God answers…)
-I expect God to hear and respond because he is a wonderful, caring God who loves me and sees me as special.
-I, like all Christians, am one of his chosen ones, so I just keep on praying.
So…Keep on praying because you’re special to God.
Conclusion – Prayer group starting this week! 8:30 am at Deb and I’s home. Prayer time, come and pray
We are going to pray together as we have been taught, as Jesus taught us.
I encourage you to make prayer part of your life every day, every week, learn the lessons of today.
Pray continually, keep on asking so that you can overcome discouragement, ensure success and learn your value to God.
Jesus asked a question at the end of this passage. Vs 8b.
So as we close …think about if Jesus were to come this week, would he find faith in your life? Would he find you persevering in prayer? Or would he find that you had quit praying because you do not really believe? I hope that he would find us persisting in believing prayer.
Prayer –
Communion Scripture – Matthew 26:26-30