What Does Prayer Accomplish?
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Transcript
intro:
Before we jump into our next study… which is 1 Thessalonians, we are taking some time to consider the topic of prayer.
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Prayer is a big deal in the Christian life… but it’s an easy thing to grow lax in.
Not only that, it’s something that many Christians don’t mature into… - We begin our prayer life by asking God to do stuff...
And often times… we never move past this…
We just approach prayer as if it’s a list of requests from us, to God… asking Him to fulfill our hopes and expectations… asking Him to do something in the lives of those who are close to us… asking Him to intervene in our times of trouble.
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Now… we should be asking God all of these things…
But when Jesus taught His disciples to pray… - the ‘GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD’ was a pretty small part of the lesson.
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So, we are taking a few weeks to look at all the other things about prayer… We have talked very little about the ‘making a request’ part of prayer… and we will continue to talk very little about that part.
WHY? - Because we probably have that part figured out.
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You don’t have to teach a child to ask for food when they are hungry.
In the same way, you don’t have to teach a child of God, to seek His help in time of need. - That comes natural..
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But there’s so much more to prayer…
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Last Week: we asked the question: “WHY PRAY?”
And even though there are way more than three answers… we focused in on three fundamental aspects.
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PRAYER IS COMMUNICATION WITH GOD
PRAYER IS A PRACTICE OF LISTENING AND EXPECTATION.
PRAYER IS A DEMONSTRATION OF RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
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This Week:
We will ask the practical question…
I know why I’m supposed to pray… but c’mon… really… what does it accomplish?
Is it really a good use of my time?
Is there a product, a result, a fruit that I can expect?
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Here’s the big question:
2. What Does Prayer Accomplish?
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Just like last week… this week we will focus in on three potential answers.
Answer number one:
PRAYER INITIATES AND MAINTAINS INTIMACY WITH GOD
In Jn. 15… Jesus gives the vine and the branches lesson.
In that lesson… He talks about our need to abide… literally… to continue with Him.
What does it mean to continue?
There are many elements to this question, but they all can be summed up with one word: RELATIONSHIP.
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TO CONTINUE… TO ABIDE… with Jesus… is to walk in relationship with Him. Relationship calls for a life of harmony, obedience, commitment and communication.
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Those who walk in harmony with Jesus… those who obey Jesus… those who are committed to Jesus… and those who communicate with Jesus… will- AS JESUS PROMISES… bear fruit.
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In vs. 9… Jesus said, “I loved you. Abide in my love”
In vs. 10… ‘If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love’
IN vs. 11… Jesus gives the reason for this lesson: “so that His joy may be in us, and our joy will be full”
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Continue in Jesus’s love (which requires us continue in communication with Him
Keep His commandments, (which involves the listening part of prayer)...
The result of all this, is that Jesus’ joy will be in us, and our joy will be full.
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All of this relationship talk… speaks of an intimacy, and a closeness to Jesus.
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Jesus says one more important thing in this lesson...
He let’s His disciples know… that they have achieved a level of closeness and intimacy with Him
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15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
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This, is the kind of relationship we want to have with Jesus.
This is the kind of closeness and intimacy we want to have with our God.
And this doesn’t happen, if our prayer life solely consists of giving God a ‘to do’ list a few times a week.
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Asking God for help is a necessary expression of dependence upon Him, and we should continue to do so… We need to be reminded that we are helpless w/o Him, and God desires our acknowledgement, that He is our helper, our healer, and our provider.
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But a regular expression of dependence, will not create in us… the relationship that Jesus described in John 15:15.
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But… - if we commit ourselves to abide… to continue with Him… - If we commit ourselves to practice these necessary elements of relationship… if we are a people who continue in prayer…
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It will contribute to a closeness with Jesus.
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Just like with any relationship we have with other people… communication is key. Those with whom we share real, honest, unveiled communication with… are those with whom we will have the strongest relationships.
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God has shared openly with us… through His Word. Nothing is hidden from Him… so we should have no reason to not share our honest and unveiled communication with Him.
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So… What does prayer accomplish?
POINT ONE: - It initiates and maintains intimacy with God
POINT TWO: - PRAYER ASSISTS IN THE PRACTICE OF HOLY LIVING (keeping God close in our minds) (James 4.8
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8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
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When we recognize our weaknesses… and we mature to the place where we are determined to do something about it… - generally, we turn to the practice of accountability.
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In accountability… we take actions to make our temptations unavailable to us… and we bring in others to hold us to our convictions.
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16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
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This is a big part of what fellowship with one another is. The sins and struggles we might willingly give ourselves to in privacy… we wouldn’t do, if our brother, or sister were present to keep us accountable.
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In accountability with one another, we pray for each other… and it leads to healing.
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It’s not uncommon that many a Christian might have a testimony of how they have experienced just such a healing. Their fellow Christian helped them through the struggle, and they have experienced healing.
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But… friends, and companions, and brothers are not always around. Our struggles to maintain holy living in spite of our weaknesses… is ongoing.
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24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
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We struggle with holy living… when we are alone… - when we are w/o accountability..
But… the reality is, we are never alone.
We are never lacking accountability.
There is a friend… who sticks closer than a brother.
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As we realize the truth behind the call to ‘pray without ceasing’… we realize, that God is present at all times.
God is available… but our opportunity to experience Him in closeness… is up to us.
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We just read from James 4…
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.
Who is James talking to?
Those who sin. Those who need to cleanse their hands and purify their hearts.
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James tells these people who sin...
that friendship with the world, is enmity with God.
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enmity… - that literally means: hostility.
hostility with God… will not, in any way… assist in the practice of holy living.
In fact… it will do the opposite.
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Just as the separation from that friend who helps you with accountability makes you vulnerable..
Separation from God… friendship with the world… hostility with God… will not only make you vulnerable… but it will produce a heart that willfully and purposefully twists truth… and justifies any action the flesh desires.
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How many times have you seen a believer walk in world affirming compromised faith… - who also continues to practice a life of holiness?
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Odds are pretty good… that your answer is zero.
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15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
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It’s a simple fact… that if you commit to someone in terms of honest and open relationship, and real communication… - they will not be your enemy.
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And with God… if you love the world… you have made yourself an enemy to Him.
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With God… if you love the world… His love will not be in you.
With God… if you love the world… you will be walking in ways, that are not from Him.
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When it comes to the practice of holy living… this exemplifies the extreme opposite.
But for the Christian with weak prayer life… it demonstrates a lessons.
Which direction do you want to go? Do you want to draw near to the world, or do you want to draw near to God?
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If you draw near to God… He draws near to you.
His love will be in you..
You will be walking in His ways..
And you will abide… continue… experience the practice of relationship… forever.
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So:
Point One: PRAYER INITIATES AND MAINTAINS INTIMACY WITH GOD
Point Two: PRAYER ASSISTS IN THE PRACTICE OF HOLY LIVING
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and finally… point 3 - What does prayer accomplish?
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PRAYER REMINDS US OF OUR POSITION WITH GOD (dependence, trust, compliance, resignation to His will, praying for our enemies) - (Jer 17.5-9
, Phil 4.19
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19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
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When we understand our position with God...
We will better understand our relationship with God...
And we will understand more clearly, how we are to pray.
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This passage tells us indirectly, that we are not the suppliers of our own needs.
How is that?
Because it says… that my God will supply every need…
What needs exist outside the realm of ‘every need’????
there aren’t any.
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What does this say about our position with God?
It reminds us… that we are utterly dependent upon Him.
I said this earlier, but it fits better here… - When we are asking God to fulfill our needs… - We are expressing to Him, our dependence.
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We often say… God is sovereign… God is going to fulfill His will… God has His purpose and His plan… - and then, the natural conclusion to this for some folks is… - “Then, why do we pray?”
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Why bother praying, if God is going to do what God is going to do anyways?
Well… first off. This is not always true.
We just read a verse a bit ago that says that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much…
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We don’t know, for certain, how God is going to respond to our requests.... - He might give us what we ask for… or He might do something completely different according to His greater plan.
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Whether we get what we want, or not… is irrelevant to the question, “Why should we even pray?”
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We ask God to meet our needs… because it’s an expression… a confession… a recognition of our complete dependence upon Him.
He is the one who supplies our every need… according to His riches in glory.
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21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
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We often pray according to our plans… but our plans might not stand. We pray to God… letting Him know that our needs are His to fulfill… and we trust… that His purpose will prevail. His is the purpose that will stand.
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In Matt 6:25, Jesus taught His disciples to not be anxious about their life… their basic needs…
He told them… that life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
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Jesus is laying forth an order.
There is a priority that we are to establish in the things we seek… that is, in our prayer life.
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He has made promises about our needs… and Jesus went on to explain how God will take care of the clothing and the food..
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But first… Matt 6:33 / Seek first… the kingdom of God and His righteousness… - and all these things, (WHAT THINGS?)… The needs… - they will be added unto you.
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And then… in vs. 34… these incredible words of wisdom - ‘do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’
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Do we pray for our needs?
Absolutely. Jesus did teach us disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”
But we need to pray with understanding...
That God our Father’s name is holly.. - and we pray for His Kingdom to come… - When we pray these things first… we set an order of priority.
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Not one that is set by us… Jesus set this order.
We seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness...
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And then, we ask for God to meet our needs.
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In both passages… the promise of Jesus… is that God is concerned with today’s needs.
Notice… even in the Lord’s prayer… the word ‘day’ is mentioned twice in : “Give us this day, our daily bread”.
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God will add to us, our daily bread… and we should ask Him to…
But not as a request that demands fulfillment according to our expectation..
But rather.. as a simple confession… and expression… of our dependence upon Him.
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5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
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Not only is prayer a confession of dependence… but it’s also a declaration of trust, and a resignation to His will.
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Do you want to be blessed?
Then put your trust in the Lord.
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Now… we use the word ‘bless’ a lot. Be a blessing. Bless you. I am blessed.
And we use it in the context of how maybe Webster’s dictionary defines it. - ‘To enjoy happiness… contentment… good fortune’
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How’s life?
Oh, I’m blessed!… meaning, Life is good. I’m happy. I got a good year end bonus.
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But the Bible defines the word differently.
It literally means… ‘to kneel’… or ‘to kneel down’. - It is interpreted other ways… but the root meaning, and the majority interpretation, is… ‘to kneel’..
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If you are blessed… you are figuratively, in a kneeling posture.
What does that mean?
It means, you are in a position of submission to a higher authority, and you are making a confession of superiority to a higher authority.
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The Bible always speaks of blessing in a good way…
To be blessed… is to be in the best position.
To be in the best position… is to be under the Lordship of God...
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We’ve already seen why… - He supplies every need.
And in this passage from Jeremiah..
He will make you like a tree planted by water, instead of like a shrub in the desert.
When the heat comes… when the hard times come… when there is trial and complication… your leaves will remain green.
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When life brings a year of drought… you will not cease to bear fruit.
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If you are blessed… you are kneeling before God… you are trusting in Him.
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The final verse we read in this Jeremiah passage says....
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
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Why does Jeremiah say this?
Because… it is our deceitful heart… that will tell us… to trust in ourself.
And self trust… leads to dryness, fruitlessness, and drought.
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In prayer, we are reminded… of our position with God...
We depend upon Him completely...
We trust in Him completely…
And… we resign ourselves to His will.
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CONCLUSION...
Now… this is not the kind of message that you will hear from one of those private jet owning word of faith mega church pastors…
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They’re going to tell you… that if you pray with positive confession faith… and you use the right words… and you demand of God with specificity… and you sow a seed of sacrificial giving to their ministry…
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That He is obligated to ‘Websters Dictionary Bless’ you… with health and wealth.
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That is what prayer accomplishes.
It gets you stuff.
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And at it’s core… that is legalism. Follow the rules, comply to the pressure, submit to the guilt, pay your dues… - and you will get the things you seek.
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That’s not prayer.
That’s manipulation.
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Prayer is not about ‘you getting stuff from God’
Prayer is more about “God getting more of you”
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So,
We’ve asked… WHY PRAY? and WHAT DOES PRAYER ACCOMPLISH?
next week, we will ask:
When Do We Pray?
close.
NEXT WEEK:
3. When Do We Pray?
WITHOUT CEASING. (1 Thes 5.17, 1 Chron 16.11)
WHEN HEALING AND FORGIVENESS ARE NEEDED (2 Chron 7:1)
WHEN WE ARE IN TROUBLE (James 5:13)
WHEN WE FACE TEMPTATION (Matt 26.41)
WHEN WE ARE WEAK, DISTRESSED AND W/O WORDS (Rom 8.26
, 1 Pet 5.7)
THEN…
4. How Do We Pray?
WITH THE RIGHT HEART / MOTIVE (James 4.3)
WITH THE RIGHT THINGS (not just requests… look at The Lord’s Prayer)
WITH THE RIGHT DOCTRINE (pray Biblically. Pray Bible verses)