Dose 8
Effectual Prayer
Part III
Rev. R.W. Townsend, Senior Pastor
Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church
Fall 2010 – Summer 2011
Bible Study Series
[GOD: THE PERFECT PRESCRIPTION FOR A HEALTHY CHURCH] Fall 2010 – Summer 2011
PRAYER TIME
Do you know the greatest problem
in prayer is not unanswered
prayer? It is unasked prayer. Most
of us don’t even get to the asking
part. James 4:2c says, “Ye have
not, because ye ask not.”
~Notes~
Unoffered prayer is not merely a
tragedy, it is a sin. Samuel said,
“Moreover as for me, God forbid
that I should sin against the LORD
in ceasing to pray for you: but I will
teach you the good and the right
way” (1 Samuel 12:23).
Over and over again, the Bible not
only invites us to pray, the Bible
commands us to pray. The Bible
says of Jesus, “And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men
ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
The Lord Jesus said in Mark 14:38, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter
into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.” The
Apostle Paul said, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God” (Philippians 4:6).
A reason you are so full of care right now is because you have not truly
learned how to pray. You are to ask God for everything that you need.
God responds to our prayers in about four basic ways.
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[GOD: THE PERFECT PRESCRIPTION FOR A HEALTHY CHURCH] Fall 2010 – Summer 2011
~Notes~
1.
DIRECT: God just says yes.
We ask God for something and
God just says, “All right, My
child, you asked, and here it is.”
God gives us exactly, precisely,
immediately what we ask.
2. DIFFERENT: You ask one
thing and God gives you
something else. Romans 8:26b
says, “for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought, but
the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be
uttered.” If you pray for
something that is not the will of
God, the Holy Spirit says, “This
is what he's asking, but this is
what he needs.”
3.
DELAYED: Isaiah 30:18 says, “And therefore will the LORD wait,
that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted,
that He may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment:
blessed are all they that wait for Him.” With God, the timing is more
important than time. Sometimes God makes you wait.
4. DENIED: Sometimes the answer is no. God says no. James 4:3
says, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may
consume it upon your lusts.”
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