Ive got a few questions for you this morning, questions about prayer.

How much
time do you spend praying on a typical day? Ten minutes? Fifteen minutes?
Twenty? Am I going the wrong directionis it more like 5 minutes? Do you
even pray every day? Do you only pray when you need something? Think about
it, be honest with yourself, right now... What do you pray for? Does God answer
your prayers? What answers do you usually get from God in prayer, and why do
you think that is?
I think we can infer from Scripture that there are normally three answers God has
for most any petition you ask of Him in prayer. I'm convinced that No isnt
typically one of them. Now sure, you can ask God for a winning lottery ticket and
tell Him all the wonderful things youll do with the money (he doesn't need money
by the way, the Psalmist wrote that the cattle on a thousand hills are his), or I might
ask him to help me hit a hole-in-one, or for something else ridiculous, but Im not
talking about those kinds of requests, Im talking about things a serious, maturing
Christian might ask of God. If youve grown spiritually from proclaiming Jesus as
the Savior of your soul to also making Him the Lord of your life, you know what
Im talking about. I think God has for us three answers to our prayers:
1) Yes
2) Wait
3) I have something else, something better in mind
All of these answers are important. If you have committed your life to Christ and
you spend any meaningful effort in prayer you are going to experience all three of
these answers at some point. Many of you I dare say already have done so.
Yes is pretty self-explanatory. Yes is the one we are most quick to tell our friends
and family and fellow believers about when Yes was the answer in pretty short
order. Yes is gratifying, and evokes immediate thankfulness and praise directed
back to the Father. Yes can impart to us a sense of spiritual accomplishment and
blessing from God bringing us into playing a small role in the accomplishment of
His will. There is nothing wrong with yes. We all like yes!
Wait is where it begins to get interesting. Why would God make us wait? Do we
have to wait? Lets look in our Bibles, Matthew Chapter 7, vv. 7-8
(PAUSE...Repeat) which instructs us as follows:
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7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who
knocks it will be opened.

Ask, seek and knock...Theologian Randolph Tasker writes of this passage that the
force of each present imperative: ask, seek, and knock, is iterativeI had to look
that up--that means repetitive. We could translate these words, Keep on asking,
keep on seeking, keep on knocking. Fervent, effective prayer so often requires
perseverance on our part! When the answer to our prayer is wait, and we commit
ourselves to prayer, to keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knockingwe
find ourselves yielding to God, who is reshaping us into what He wants us to be. I
think wait is a necessary answer to prayer--necessary to our proper spiritual
growth and the accomplishment of Gods will for our lives. God doesn't require us
to waitremember sometimes His answer is yesbut He requires that we come
before Him with a spirit and a willingness to wait. We will talk about wait in
some more detail in a moment.
The last answer to prayer is I have something else in mind. Sometimes this is
where it really gets tough and we can get confused. Now you could argue with me
that this is the same answer as no, but I think "no" is reserved most of the time, as I
said, for the requests we make that are not likely to fit into the will of God in the
first place. No is a dead end answerI don't think prayer is ever a dead end
street with Godit is always a path to life, and fellowship with the Lord! If we
pray with an attitude of submission to Gods will, God has the opportunity to teach
us something and lead us towards discovering His will.
I have a personal example of receiving the answer "I have something better in
mind" that I will get to later. One of the clearest Biblical examples of "I have
something better in mind" involved the apostle Paul. 2 Cor. 12:8 tells us that Paul
asked of the Lord three times that an affliction of his be removed. God, in a
manner of speaking denied the prayer request, because he wanted to give Paul
something better, although not something more comfortable. Does that mean the
answer was No? Ill leave that to you, but God had something better in mind.
God wanted Paul to see that His grace was sufficient for Paul, and that His power
is perfected in our weaknesses. Paul learned this so well, he even boasted about
his afflictions (to the Lords credit!),, later writing in Romans 8 that we
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overwhelmingly conquer anything when we trust in God. This is one of the most
important lessons every Christian must learn: that our success isn't dependent on
our abilities, but on God's supernatural power working in and through us.
Remember The angel of the Lords words to Zerubbabel, not by might, nor by
power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts. Hide that in your heart. If you
want a lifes motto, this would be a good one. If you want to be successful in this
life as a Christian, you cant do it on your own; you can only do it by the Spirit of
God working in and through you. And one way God reminds us of this reality is
that He sometimes gives us "I have something better in mind" as an answer to
prayer.
I don't know about you, but sometimes in my life things come up that I don't even
begin to know how or what to pray. Like when a friend or family member tells
you his child has a permanent, life-threatening medical condition. Like when
someone dies suddenly in an accident or from an undiagnosed health event. Or
when a friend who has been unfaithful to his wife asks for prayer. Or when you
find out a friend is being abused, or worse yet a child. Have you ever been there?
How do you pray in the midst of that? What do you pray for?
When I am struggling with what to pray for and how to pray, I think it helpful to be
reminded of what Gods purpose for prayer is in the first place. We are going to
get to the root of it. Now, part of the purpose of prayer is basic--daily fellowship
and communication with God. But often times, as I said earlier, we are moved to
pray out of some need when we find ourselves or someone else in difficult
situations. We have every right to tell God the desires of our hearts in prayerwe
are in fact supposed to! Psalm 55:22 says, Cast your burdens upon the Lord and
He will sustain you. Phil. 4:6 says, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God. Your requests.I really like those two words. You mean I can ask God for
anything? Yes, you can!
But, sometimes we get carried away with our petitions, machine gunning our
requests to God as we fire off one gimme after another, where weve already got
the solution figured out and we just need the big man upstairs to give His stamp of
approval on it and give the word to make it happen, right? Ive been there and
done that, and it doesnt work. Often times the greatest obstacle to a fruitful prayer
life is giving in to our own selfishness. God gimme this, God gimme that misses
the whole purpose of prayer.

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We get to the heart of the purpose of prayer in both the Lords Prayer, at thy will
be done, and in Jesus prayer at the Mount of Olives, Father, if you are willing,
take this cup from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done. If you leave here
today with one thing, let it be this, Tom Constable's commentary on Hannah's
prayer for a son in 1 Samuel: "The purpose of prayer is to enable us to accomplish
Gods will, not to get Him to do our will." Let me repeat: the purpose of prayer is
to enable us to accomplish Gods will, not to get Him to do our will. We will talk
some more about Hannahs prayer in a few moments.
First, let me tell you a story. I really like listening to music. Not just Christian
music either. I listen to all types, listening for lyrics that have even a tidbit that I
can relate to of the human condition. If its thought-provoking enough, I
sometimes write these lyrics down in a list of quotes that I keep, many from the
Bible or Bible commentarieslike the Constable quote I just read, some from
classic works of literature, from news articles, songs, pretty much anything.
Not long ago I was listening to a song I hadnt heard in a long time, Gordon
Lightfoots, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Its both a beautiful and yet
melancholy ballad about a cargo ship that sank in a massive storm at night in
November of 1975 on Lake Superior. Twenty-nine men and $24 million worth of
cargo were lost. The song vividly captures the struggle in the massive storm
culminating in the ultimate demise of the crew and ship.
In reality in the last radio transmission from the ship the captain says, We are
holding our own. Just after that message, the ship wrecks in the storm and sinks
to a watery grave. At that point in the storytelling of the song Gordon Lightfoot
sings, Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the
minutes to hours? What a poignant lyric!
To me the mariner at sea in distress from a storm at night is like the needful,
prayerful Christian sometimes. You keep watch (or pray) for what seems like
hours, yet you check your watch and only a few minutes have passed. You are in
the dark, you dont know whats going to happen, waves are crashing down upon
you. You dont know where that next wave is coming from, but you know its
coming. Youre disoriented. You think you are heading in the right direction, but
you cant find the lighthouse thats meant to guide you. Youre eyes search in the
chaos for the light, but all you see is darkness. The waves are unrelenting. Fear
sets in. You are anxious, feel helpless, and cry out in the darkness to God for help.

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Sound familiar? This is a normal part of the believers prayer experience
sometimes; we get caught in the storms of life and we send up a flare to God in
the form of prayers for urgent assistance. At times we are desperate for answers,
and yet sometimes it seems like the answer is a long time in coming. I'm over
here, God! I'm praying; I've been praying for this for months. Why won't you
answer? Do you ever feel that way when you pray? Sometimes I do. Every time
we have to wait in prayer for an answer, or when the answer reveals that God has
something different in mind than what we thought or perhaps asked for, I think a
couple of important things often happen.
First I believe our faith is tested. Engaging in faithful, persistent prayer tests your
faith. We know from our Matthew 7 passage that effective prayer requires
perseverance. And James 1:3-4 says Consider it joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything.
Scripture teaches us that to grow to spiritual maturity, you have to have your faith
tested, and Im persuaded one way God tests your faith is by delaying some
answers to your prayers or giving you answers you didnt expect. Let me be plain
here, you have prayed for something, committed it to the Lord, and while you are
waiting you face the temptation to stop trusting and obeying God. Now, you know
God has promised to meet your every needPhil. 4:19 says, God will supply all
your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. But now you are
waiting, or you got a different answer in prayer, and your trust in God is being
tested. 1 Peter 1:7 says that trials will prove that your faith is genuine. Well, we
pass the test and prove our faith by continuing in fervent prayer, trusting God no
matter how long the wait and obeying Him no matter the outcome. The more we
trust God, the more He is able to meet our needs. This is a test in your spiritual
journey that you may experience many times.
There is a second thing that often happens when we have to wait or get a different
answer in prayer. In our culture where everything seems to happen so fast, when
the prayer answer doesnt come right away or meet our expectations, sometimes
we struggle as to whether we are in the will of God or not. You may be praying
consistently, but you are second guessing yourself as to whether the wait or the
different answer God gave you might mean you have somehow departed outside of
Gods will or whether you were in it in the first place.

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Theologian John Walvoord addresses this when he says of prayer, Once weve
presented in to the Lord, and our situation doesnt change, it is changed in a sense,
it is now somehow the will of God for us, even though it is undesirable, even
though it isnt sought, at least for the time being. God may change it tomorrow,
but for the time being its the will of God once weve committed it to Him.
That is a powerful, reassuring perspective, and I believe Scripture bears it out.
Consider Hannahs prayer in 1 Samuel chapter 1 about her barrenness. We studied
this passage a few weeks back with David Zinn. Hannah's anxiety was lifted by
the Lord after she prayed. Was it because she knew this time she would have a
son? Surely this wasn't the first time she had prayed to God about her barrenness.
No, Hannah had waited in prayer for years. Was it because Eli, the same Eli who
had just mistaken Hannah as being drunk, in the next breath said, Go and may the
Lord answer your prayer? I dont think so; I think it was because she presented
her request, AND more importantly this time completely submitted herself to
Gods will, trusting in Him alone. She walked away from that prayer just as
barren as she had been before it, but she left with her anguish and grief relieved,
knowing at that moment that her situation from that point forward, whatever it may
be, was the will of God for her life. I Samuel 1:20 says that in the course of time
after that Hannah conceived. Even after the prayer at Shiloh, Hannah waited a
little while longer. The Lord was mindful of her, but intended to give her His
blessing in His time. And so it often is with us and our prayers.
Now I want to give you some bullet points of how we should pray, what happens
when we pray and what happens (or doesn't happen) when we don't pray as we
should. First, how we should pray:
1) Pray faithfully, regularly--persevere in prayer (Matt 7)
2) Set a regular time and place for prayer (we don't have time to go into it in
more detail here, but see Jesus prayer habits in Mark 1)
3) Always pray for the will of God 1 John 5:14-15ask according to His will
and He hears us
4) Always confess your sins. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and
reveal any areas of any unconfessed sin. Confess them to the Lord and
thank Him for His forgiveness. Confession is a powerful act of submission
before Almightly God, all at once recognizing God's holiness, our
sinfulness, and our dependence on God for forgiveness.

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 5) We must remember that prayer is not a substitute for workwe are called to
good works which God created us to do(Eph 2:10For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand so that we would walk in them.) We must be faithful to do
what we can do and petition God to do the things that only He can do.
6) Be mindful that prayer is often a test of faith. Wait and trust!

When you pray for something and it doesnt happen (Wait or something better in
mind) remember that your circumstance or burden or situation becomes
transformed into the will of God for you. Again, remember Paul and his seeking
the Lord 3 times, some think it was for eyesightGods response? My strength is
made perfect in weaknessHe didnt remove the problemsometimes He says
we are better off with our burden or limitation or whatever it is, than we would be
without it! John Walvoord says that when we get to Heaven we may find out that
some of our most difficult times, when we may have plead with the Lord and
wondered if He was hearing us were in fact some of the best times where we were
most centered in His will, growing in faith.
How many times have you had something coming up that you knew you were
going to have to deal with, a problem, or a financial obligation, something, and you
sort of have an epiphany and say to yourself, well, I havent prayed about it yet(? )
We must really be about prayer. Pray without ceasing.
So what happens when we pray in this way, when we pray earnestly, continually,
with perseverance, for the will of God in our lives and the lives of others?
1) Our relationship with God grows! One reason God answers our prayers is
because He wants us to get to know Him! (Ps. 34Taste and see that the
Lord is good They who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good
thing.) Prayer develops intimacy with the One for whom we were created.
2) We humbly admit our dependence on Godthis is what God wants to see in
us, and remember: not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the
Lord of Hosts.
3) We experience a release of anxiety, replaced by an inner peace that comes
from confidence in GodHannah (see 1 Sam. 1:8) and Philippians 4:6-7 (be
anxious for nothinglet your requests be made known to God, and the

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 peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.)
4) We receive Gods blessings. God rewards those who seek Him. (Matt.
7:11how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good
to those who ask Him.)
5) We experience and communicate back to God our thankfulness through
prayer (Philippians 4:6-7by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let
your request be made known to God.)
6) Our prayers become increasingly aligned with Gods will. We become more
sensitive to the Spirit of God working in our lives, more sensitive to the
needs of others, more in touch with Gods will.
7) More and more, Gods answers to our prayers is YES!
So, what happens when we dont pray as Scripture clearly instructs us? There are
many things we could note here, but I am going to stick to just three:
1) We miss out on the opportunity to grow in relationship to God. Every day,
every hour, every problem, every solution, every failure and every triumph,
every birth and every death, every sickness, every healing, every accident
and every surprise blessing, everything that happens to you, every person
that crosses your path in this lifeis an opportunity for you to grow in
relationship to God if you will but recognize it before Him in prayer.
Remember the words of the timeless hymn, what a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and grief to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God
in prayer!
2) We dont receive certain blessings (James 4:2You have not, because you
ask not.). The Christian who doesn't ask God for blessings or needs in
prayer is like a man who gets a letter in the mail that he's got a relative who
has died and left him and others an inheritance with the stipulation that to
receive the inheritance, each beneficiary has to show up for the reading of
the will. If they do, each will receive what's coming to him. But on the day
of the reading of the will the man chooses not to show up at the appointed
place. Thus he loses the blessing; he forfeits what could have been received
by simply taking the time to appear as requested. Now I'm not talking about
our eternal inheritance or other heavenly rewards here, but some blessings
from God are like thisif we don't show up in prayer and ask, we don't
receive. God is also very patient with us, and unlike in my example we
often have plenty of opportunities to show up in prayer and receive good

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 things from God. The point is that sometimes we don't get what God wants
us to have simply because we didn't ask Him. Now we know that we must
also ask according to Gods willread the next verse in James, 4:3, Ye ask
and receive not, because ye ask amiss. But is that holding you back from
asking? Do you really want things that God doesn't give you because He
knows they aren't what is best for you? I don't think so! Again, Joseph
Scriven nails the essence of missing out on blessings when we don't pray
with the lyric, Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we
bear; All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.
3) In a way we settle for being content with our positional access to the
presence of God (eIm talking about ternal life after physical death), when
prayer allows us to personally experience conscious awareness of Gods
presence and to know Him now! (also eternal life)

I cannot overstate this last point! Jerry teaches us regularly on this. Remember
Jesus prayer recorded in John 17:3, This is eternal life, that they may know You,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Think of the Old
Testament and Gods people. They had a great many blessings, but remember the
veil in the Holy of Holies? Before Jesus sacrifice man had limited access to the
presence of God. Now we have unlimited access! It's there for you to realize and
experience now! Don't be satisfied in the Christian life that you are saved and you
know where you will spend eternity! Do you know where that is? It's an
everlasting existence in the presence of God! Why would you wait to experience
that? Do you know what the greatest thing was about the Old Testament
tabernacle? That God was there. What is the greatest thing about heaven? God
is there! And what is the greatest thing about prayer? God is there! Press in and
experience the presence of God now through prayer!
It says something that in a post-modern culture where we want, want, want, and we
want it NOW, that when it comes to knowing God more deeply many Christians
seem content to wait, living most of their lives outside the Holy of Holies apart
from our proper dwelling place in the presence of God. Are we really waiting, or
keeping God at arms length? A.W. Tozer says there is still a veil there in our
hearts, one of our own construction, the veil of our uncrucified flesh living on
within us. I want to draw attention to this veil this morning, that the light of God
might be focused on it. Step inside the veil today, into the presence of God
through prayer, and commit to Him to tear the veil in your heart once and for all.
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You know, I think prayer has something in common with parables, at least as to
how God uses them. Jesus taught in parables, using simple word pictures to help
people understand who God is. I used one just a moment ago. This was Jesus'
most common way of teaching. In doing so, Jesus defined the unknown by using
the known. He used ordinary everyday images (the known) to help the listener to
discover deeper meanings and underlying truths about God and the Kingdom of
Heaven (things unknown to man.) In a similar way, God draws us near to Him in
prayer using the every day things we bring to Him--our needs, our desired will
the things known to us, and in doing so He gets our attention and is able to reveal
to us or teach us about the unknownabout God, His will, His character, the
Kingdom, and what God has for us.
Prayer is so powerful. In his book Reaching Gods Ear, C. Samuel Storm wrote
that Prayer is powerful for only one reason. It is the means whereby we avail
ourselves of the power of God. Author E.K. Simpson wrote that prayer is an
engine wieldable by every believer, mightier than all the embattled artillery of
Hell. Prayer is a powerful tool in our arsenal to combat the enemy and a most
important daily exercise in fellowshipping and communicating with God. Author
Kenneth Boa sums up prayer thusly:
Spiritual growth is impossible apart from the practice of prayer. Just as the key to
quality relationships with other people is time spent in communication, so the key
to a growing relationship with the personal God of heaven and earth is time
invested in speaking to Him in prayer and listening to His voice in Scripture.1
Now let me tell you a recent, personal example of the prayer answer, I have
something better in mind. Some weeks ago, I spent two days in a nursing home
where my father-in-law, Bruce Peacock, was for rehab and long-term assessment
of his condition. He has a host of health-related maladies, chief among them
Parkinsons with increasing dementia. He also has a slow growing cancer in his
bones, for which he is in too poor shape to get treatment. He has diabetes,
neuropathy in his feet, and other things. On day one of my visit, when I walked in
Bruce didnt recognize me for a while. He was majorly out of sorts, and in severe
pain much of the day. Most of what he said all day made no sense. At one point
he told a nurse that he and I had just gotten out of prison, and he was dead serious.
I had been warned in advance of his condition, but seeing it really hit home. As
1
Boa, K. (1993). Handbook to prayer: praying scripture back to God. Atlanta: Trinity House.

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the day wore on, I began to devise ideas as to how I should pray for Bruce. Seeing
him suffering, seemingly without the mental capacity to embrace suffering as a
means of identifying with the sufferings of Christ in his condition, my mind and
heart were leading me to want to pray for God to spare him, to in effect cut his life
of little apparent quality short.
Well, I hadnt quite finished my prayer plan and day 2 was upon me. I walked in
the morning of the second day and Bruce called me by name immediately. We
talked about many things and his mind was pretty good. In the morning Bruce
sang hymns with other residents out in a common area, during which I saw another
resident on Bruce's hall quietly sobbing, deeply moved by the singing of The Old
Rugged Cross. After lunch a music therapist came by Bruce's room. Right off,
Bruce asked her if she wanted to hear him sing, and of course she did. As he
began singing The Old Rugged Cross, a nurses aid came in and asked me to step
out to the nurses station at the other end of the hall for something urgent. For a
moment I thought, how can you rob me of this special moment? I'll never get this
back! But, I walked out and cracked the door to the room behind me. Suddenly I
realized I was precisely where God wanted me to be to show me something. All
the way on my walk down the hall I could still here Bruce singing. This now frail
man still had some power left in his singing voice and he showed it well. I have
little doubt that some other residents on his hall could hear it, too. When I returned
to the room, he was witnessing to the music therapist! Not a gospel message per
se, but Bruce was telling her how much the words of the song meant to him, and
how much a particular attribute of Gods character comforted him. When the
music therapist left the room she told Bruce how much what he had said and sang
ministered to her. As you can imagine at that point my well intentioned prayer
plan felt so feeble, and Gods plan so powerful as he showed me He had something
better in mind for Bruce before I had even really begun to pray. This was also a
testament to me of Isaiah 65:24, before they call I will answer, and while they
are still speaking I will hear.
To be completely transparent with you, I was also reminded of Gods words to Job,
Where were you when I laid the earths foundations? Tell me, (Johnny). The
Holy Spirit reminds me of Job 38:4 often, and I think it a very healthy thing. It
reminds me both of who I am, and who God is.
That experience with Bruce is very meaningful to me, but also there was an
element that I think is a common experience in prayer. Often times when God has

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something better in mind we may only end up seeing in hindsight what Gods
plan is, and we must be reminded of Isaiah 55:9, For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your
thoughts. Sometimes Gods something better is completely beyond our
comprehension. Thats why it is so important that we always enter into the prayer
process fully trusting and surrendering to God for His answer just like Paul did.
As it was with Paul and likewise with Bruce, sometimes Gods something better
ends up revealing the most about how awesome God is, how deep our need for
Him, and how perfect His plan. If you know in advance that Gods ways are above
your ways, and His thoughts above your thoughts, it really just comes down to you
trusting Him, doesnt it? Do you trust him today? The more we trust Him, the
more He is able to meet our needs and bless us.
So let me ask it again: how much time do you spend praying on a typical day? Are
you praying every day? Do you want to know how much you should pray? I
know the secret, I found the answer to that one, and Ill share it with you. Youve
already heard it if youve been paying attention. Paul says we must pray
continually, pray without ceasing, for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus (1
Thess. 5:16.) This verse isn't just the secret to knowing how much to pray, it's also
an answer to that burning question, How can I know Gods will? Pray
continually and you will not only know Gods will, you will already be doing His
will, and you will be putting yourself in position to discover His will and be better
equipped to do it in all areas of life.
My favorite Bible verse on prayer is James 5:16, The effectual, fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much. From the time I was a small child, about my son
Jake's age, that verse gave me the assurance that God was hearing my prayers and
that they werent for naught. Our prayers can accomplish so much when put into
action and made effective by God.
There is one last thought I want to share with you about prayer. If you're sitting
here today thinking, Well I just haven't experienced much of God answering my
prayers. How do I know He's listening? How do I know he wants to bless me
through prayer? Hosea 6:3 says,
So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
(Now listen, here comes the blessing) And He will come to us like the rain,

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Like the spring rain watering the earth.
God wants to bless you as surely as the sun rises! You can be sure of it because of
His character, His faithfulness to his promises (and God always keeps His
promises), His power, and His sacrifice to make blessing you and having a
relationship with you possible. But you have to pursue Him to know Him. He
invites us to press in to know Him and experience His presence through prayer,
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.James 4:8; and Therefore let
us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help in time of need.Heb 4:16.
I encourage you to keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking--to
intensely pursue knowing your God and discovering His will for your life!
Now, if you are here today, and you dont know Jesus Christ, you dont have
access to God in the way that I have described through prayer right now. When
Jesus said, Ask, seek, and knock, he spoke it to His followers. We pray to God
the Father, but what about Jesus? Where does the Son of God fit into prayer?
Well, let me tell you. You can't sidestep Jesus and expect God the Father to
answer your prayers. Rather, you have access to the Father through Jesus because
of the penalty he paid for your sins through the shedding of His blood at Calvary.
If you reject Jesus, you reject the Father. If you have Jesus, you have life, eternal
life; if you don't have a relationship with Jesus, you don't have eternal life. It's that
simple. Sometimes we try to make it more complicated, but it isnt. It's not about
doing enough good things in life, or feeling enough remorse for your sins, or
knowing your Bible better than anyone, or even about turning or other things. It's
as simple as thisGod wants to give you something! He offers eternal life to you
today freely, and accepting or rejecting it is the most important decision you will
ever make in your life. Jesus said in John 6 that any one who comes to Him that
He will certainly not cast them out. Once you belong to Jesus you always belong
to Jesus, you can't do anything that would cause you to lose your relationship with
Him. Jesus perfect blood of atonement secures a place for you with Him forever.
If you don't know Him today it's because you haven't come! Come to Jesus today
and put your faith in Him and what He did for you. As we go to pray, I encourage
you to confess to Jesus today that you are a sinner, commit to Him that He is Lord
of your life and believe it in your heart by surrendering your life to Him today.
Hell forgive you, cleanse you, and freely give you a new life, eternal life, in Him.
Lets pray...

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Father we are grateful that you are always available to us, that you intercede for us,
that you never leave us nor forsake us. Thank you for being faithful, for answering
prayer and for giving us peace in the storms of life. Quicken our spirits, Lord, that
we may lay hold of eternal things. Grant us a deeper experiential knowledge of
you. We commit all our needs to you Father, with thanksgiving, in Jesus name,
amen.

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