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Life-Changing Prayer
Question: Does Jesus tell the truth? As we see Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:7-8, haven’t we all asked God for certain things that have not been given to us? So, does prayer really make any difference at all, if God knows what He’s going to do in the first place?
Prayer makes a huge difference when we begin to realize:
1. It’s not about asking for what we want. It is about asking for what God wants.
2. It’s not about searching to figure out how I can get what I want. It’s about searching for the will of God – knowing many decisions have no clear Biblical answer; such as “Do I marry this person or not?” “Do I take this job or not?” Do we move to this city or that?” Prayer involves searching for the will of God in areas where the Bible is not clear.
3. And prayer is about knocking – persistently asking what God wants and then praying for His will to be done, until it’s done!
When we begin to pray this way, we begin to see incredible results. We see results that we could never even have known to pray for, because God sees the whole picture of our lives. He knows what’s best.
But, as we think about prayer, perhaps the most important reason we have to pray is that Jesus did. If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to pray regularly, sometimes all night praying to the heavenly Father, then certainly we need to pray. When Jesus prayed, “Father, take this cup from me” the night before His crucifixion, did God give Him what He wanted?
No. Because God knew that if Jesus didn’t go to the cross, none of us would ever be able to spend eternity in heaven. But look just a little further into that Scripture and you’ll also see that Jesus said, “But Father, not My will but Thine.” And when we learn to pray the same way, then we begin to experience a faith that is real. It’s a prayer life that changes us and changes the world.
Question: Does Jesus tell the truth? As we see Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:7-8, haven’t we all asked God for certain things that have not been given to us? So, does prayer really make any difference at all, if God knows what He’s going to do in the first place?
Prayer makes a huge difference when we begin to realize:
1. It’s not about asking for what we want. It is about asking for what God wants.
2. It’s not about searching to figure out how I can get what I want. It’s about searching for the will of God – knowing many decisions have no clear Biblical answer; such as “Do I marry this person or not?” “Do I take this job or not?” Do we move to this city or that?” Prayer involves searching for the will of God in areas where the Bible is not clear.
3. And prayer is about knocking – persistently asking what God wants and then praying for His will to be done, until it’s done!
When we begin to pray this way, we begin to see incredible results. We see results that we could never even have known to pray for, because God sees the whole picture of our lives. He knows what’s best.
But, as we think about prayer, perhaps the most important reason we have to pray is that Jesus did. If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to pray regularly, sometimes all night praying to the heavenly Father, then certainly we need to pray. When Jesus prayed, “Father, take this cup from me” the night before His crucifixion, did God give Him what He wanted?
No. Because God knew that if Jesus didn’t go to the cross, none of us would ever be able to spend eternity in heaven. But look just a little further into that Scripture and you’ll also see that Jesus said, “But Father, not My will but Thine.” And when we learn to pray the same way, then we begin to experience a faith that is real. It’s a prayer life that changes us and changes the world.
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About this Plan
This series takes the Sermon on the Mount and breaks out the Beatitudes in ways that help make them more understandable and relevant to our lives.
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