Below you will find the latest sermon that I have preached on the topic of prayer. I trust that you find it a challenge and also as encouraging as I have. Just remember to keep praying!!
Prayer Sermon
Thanks for the opportunity to speak here today.
I just want to let the congregation know about a kids mission that will be taking place in September school holidays, this year, in Ballarat. It is run by Scripture Union and is called Rock-Solid Kidz. I am lucky enough to be a director for this mission and so we would like to find out who would be interested in helping us out. You don’t have to be young, you just have to be willing to serve God. There are many ways in which you could help us so please talk to me for further information.
I had in mind that the next time that I speak I would like to speak on the topic of prayer. When I was first asked if I would like to speak today, I accepted it knowing that it was going to be the Harvest service. At the time I thought that they would be able to tie in and I think they do. Who here wants to go deeper in their relationship with God? Well, you better listen and pay attention because I am sure God has something for each of us in today’s message.
Prayer
We have so much to thank God for; family, friends, food, clothing, homes, etc, etc Compared to some other countries we are really ‘well off’ but are we rich in material possessions and poor in spirit – where it is better to be rich in?
God has really been challenging me in the area of prayer in my life and this was the main desire for choosing this topic for the service. Several years ago I couldn’t see the point of praying but God opened my eyes and showed me that praying was something that I won’t fully understand here on earth but that it is very important as part of your faith. (Explain fully understand) “More things are wrought by prayer, Than this world dreams of” —Tennyson
I estimate that I would only spend about 30 minutes a week in prayer which is basically nothing. This is something that I am going to do better at and so will you after hearing this sermon as God helps us.
After reading various references and resources as part of the study, I found that as Christians we aren’t praying as much as we should. Jesus shows us several times in the bible of how much we should pray. He drew aside in the morning and at night and prayed to God (Luke 6:12 – This particular verse, Jesus prayed all night!) If Jesus was praying that much and He is the Son of God, how much more do we need to pray?! The early church prayed lots and see how much and how quickly it grew. I believe that as the church, God’s people, are not praying and seeking after God as they once have, that there is a drought. You hear on the news how the state and the country are in the worst drought in decades and how we are contributing to global warming by our greenhouse gases, etc, but I believe the church itself is also suffering a drought.
If the church is the body of Christ, how can it suffer a drought if it is drawing from the eternal spring of life? This shows that the church, the people individually and corporately, are not fully seeking for this flow of life and that is the reason why there is a drought. As a result of this we have less people going to church, less commitment, less people interested in church activities, etc are results of there not being a ‘thirst-quenching’ flow in the church. Now that got me thinking of if these two ‘droughts’ could be related, and I believe they are.
In 1 Kings 17 and 18 we read about Elijah and how he prayed for no rain for a couple of years and there was no rain – 1 Kings 17:1. Ok, now who here has been praying for no rain?! It then goes on with the prophets of Baal and Elijah, and then after that in 1 Kings 18:41-45. How often do we pray for something but don’t see results so our fervour and zeal for praying about it fade? I know I do it. Elijah prayed 7 times for the rain to come. What if he only prayed 5 or 6 times? Then it wouldn’t have rained and the drought would have continued. (ODB) I am sure Elijah would have kept praying and praying for rain because he knew and believed that God would answer the prayer. We know that God answers our prayers from the bible reading – Luke 11:9-10 - "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
He who does not sow with his heart in his study will never reap a harvest for God. Devotion and prayer go hand-in-hand, they are both a seeking to get to know God better. Adam and Eve would go for walks with the Lord in the Garden of Eden and so we need to make sure that our time with God is just as exercising – spiritually. We need to ensure that our devotion times are meaningful in that our focus and attention is on our study so that we can really listen and understand what God wants us to learn. Also praying that He will reveal things to you, that He will help you apply them to your life, thanking Him for His promises in His Word and committing concerns for the day to Him. God can use both of these for encouraging and challenging us as we seek after Him. The more time that we spend in both of these activities, the better our spiritual health will be and the fruits of the Spirit will show as a result (Galatians 5:22-23) If we don’t know what to pray for, you can start by praying for the people in the newsletter, praying about current issues, etc. Sometimes when we are praying we may not be able to express exactly what we are feeling to God but that doesn’t matter because if “…we do not know what we ought to pray for…the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:26)
Isn’t it funny how we use prayer as a last resort because we have tried everything else we can think of? Like you might be in a spot of trouble and don’t know what to do, so you think through it trying to figure out solutions to the pickle that you are in. After exhausting all ideas you have the last resort idea of asking God in prayer – a desperate prayer that he hears. So the next time we are worried about something or we have lost something, why don’t we remember to ask God first and go from there because He sure is capable of sorting it out. Prayer is more powerful than we can ever understand so the next time that you don’t bother praying to God about something, remember that nothing is too big or too small for Him and I am sure that He would prefer to hear us talking to Him than not. He is a faithful and a loving God who hears our prayers and answers them according to His will which is always perfect.
This rich harvest of souls remained a mystery until Hudson Taylor on a visit to
At last the secret was found! A praying man at home, praying definitely, praying daily, for specific cases among the heathen. That is the real intercessory missionary.
Matthew 21:22 – “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
James 4:2b-3 – “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
When we pray to God I believe we should first thank God for what He has given and done for us, and who He is. Then we should repent any sin that we are being convicted of, and finally we should commit our activities and concerns to Him. Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
ESA newsletter
If we return to God, obey His commands and earnestly seek after Him through devotion and prayer, then we should expect a harvest like that in Amos 9:13. "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.”
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (Matthew 9:37-38) This harvest is ready in Ballarat too, all it needs are the workers. We shouldn’t ask what God can do for us, but what can I do for Him? I am sure that there are some people here that God has and is trying to get them involved in work for Him in the fields, wherever that may be. It could be an opportunity to serve Him at school, through church, at work, overseas or on kids mission, etc. I know that some of you aren’t as young as you used to be but you can still serve God by diligently and earnestly praying for the work that God is doing.
Who wants the blessing of rain to come to Ballarat? Then let us pray daily until God sends it. We will also pray for it now.
If anyone has questions, wants notes, more study material, would like me to pray for them, please come and see me at the end of the service.
When we sing the last song we will sing is “Jesus is King and I will extol Him”. I want you to pay attention to the words and take them to heart, especially part of the last verse.
O Holy One, our hearts do adore You
Thrilled with Your goodness we give You our praise
I pray that during this week you will ask God to help you improve your prayer life and that you will be obedient to that so that you can be a worker ready for harvesting because the harvest is ready.
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