be with you i want to bring to you a word from 1st john 5 and verse 14 1st john 5 14 where we read if we ask anything according to his will he heareth us if we ask anything according to his will he heareth us now i've been doing a series of studies on the sovereignty of God in our midweek meetings and we've been dealing with the whole subject of God decreeing all things from eternity and that His will cannot be thwarted. His will is done and so I've been preaching on this doctrine And it's been a real blessing. But the question has come up, well, what about prayer? How does prayer of individuals fit into this? And prayer is one of the greatest privileges that we have as believers. It's the means by which we speak to our savior, to our creator, the creator of the universe. We are bringing to him our burdens. We are bringing to him our joys, our requests before his throne. But if God is sovereign, if he has ordained everything from the scriptures, from the beginning I should say, as the scriptures teach, well why do we pray? Are these prayer meetings each day, are they a waste of time? Can our prayers really change anything? And how do we reconcile the idea of a sovereign God with the invitation to ask and it shall be given to you as our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 7 and verse 7. So these are questions that can leave us scratching our heads. Some people swing too far in one direction thinking of prayer as a way to bend God's arm and make him to do what we want. Others swing too far the other way, thinking, well, if God has already decided everything, why bother praying at all? And the answer lies in understanding the nature of prayer itself. Prayer isn't about changing God's mind. It's about aligning our hearts with his will and being part of the means by which he accomplishes his purposes. And I'm sure you know that story from the life of George Muller, who only lived about 45 minutes from where I live in the city of Bristol. Muller was that 19th century Christian leader who is known mostly for his orphan ministry, And he faced a dire situation one morning. The children in his orphanage had no food for breakfast. And instead of panicking, you know the story well, Mueller, he gathered the children, he gathered his colleagues, the staff, and they prayed. And what did they do? Did they say anything that, oh, we don't have any food? Did he get on his WhatsApp or on his phone texting people and saying, we don't know what to do, what are we going to do this morning? And did he get on his phone and ringing around? No, he didn't do that. First of all, he didn't have those means, but also he wouldn't do that. But they gathered together and they thanked God for the provisions that he would send. And moments later, there was a knock on the door. A local baker stood there saying he had been led to bake extra bread that morning. And then shortly afterwards, there was a milkman who arrived explaining that his cart had broken down outside the orphanage and he was offering his milk or it will go off, he said. And Muller's prayers didn't change God's sovereign plan. It was the means through which God provided. And all of these accounts, and you've got many stories in your life to tell me. You could write a book about answers to prayers and amazing ways God has answered prayers. But what is prayer for? And think about it. Prayer in praying in the light of God's sovereignty. There is, you see, there's a danger of man-centered prayer. There's this modern teaching that often elevates human effort in prayer, suggesting that if we just pray harder, or pray the right words, or claim God's promises, we can dictate the outcome. We can't do that, dear friends. This is a wrong kind of mindset that follows the slogan, prayer changes things. No, prayer doesn't change things in that sense. It implies as if we are in control. But scripture declares, the Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens and his kingdom ruleth over all. That's what the scripture says. And to suggest that our feeble prayers changes God's eternal purposes is to misunderstand his sovereignty. And no, the scripture says this in Ephesians 1.11, he worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. And so this should actually humble us. It shouldn't discourage us, it should humble us. God is in control. I can pray with that confidence. And prayer also is as a means to God's end. God ordains not only the ends, but also the means by which he accomplishes his purposes. Prayer is one of those means. So you think about Elijah, he prayed fervently for rain after a long drought. James tells us in James 5, Elijah knew God had promised rain, yet he prayed with persistence because prayer was the appointed means to bring about God's plan. You have Daniel 2, he prayed, he knew that God was going to released the Israelites from captivity and he had read it in the prophecies but he still prayed about it but all of these examples they are showing us that prayer is not about changing God's will but participating in it but something else that what are we doing in prayer we are actually depending on God the nature of prayer is that we are depending on God and also we are worshiping God So you think about it. Every time you're praying, you're actually saying, Lord, I'm depending on thee. Every time you're praying, you're saying, God, I'm worshipping thee. That's what we are doing. It's not just bringing a list of matters, but I'm worshipping God. And you think about something else that when we pray, we are coming by faith and we are coming with humility. The scripture speaks about that our prayers should be faithful. The prayer of faith shall save the sick, we read in James 5.15. But faith is never demanding. It trusts God's wisdom. I'm saying, I will trust the outcome. and we could talk about that but we need to we need to be humble about it when we pray because we might pray about some matters and we know God is in control and he may not take away the thorn in our side but we hear at the same time these words my grace is sufficient for thee prayer doesn't guarantee we get what we want but it guarantees we receive what we need it guarantees that and the purpose of it we could go on about this the purpose of it is it is for our good for god's glory i should say um we are glorifying god in prayer and also we are uh it is for our good as well but let me just finish with some words of application i've got a few points of application and very quickly i'll go through them when you come to pray you trust in god's sovereignty Think of, again, George Miller, his unwavering faith in God's sovereignty, and he prayed. trusting in God that God is in control he can do whatsoever he wills and so when we pray we trust that the God who holds the universe together and he upholds all things by the word of his power will also provide for us in his perfect way and timing even when the answer doesn't match our desires we trust his infinite wisdom something else prayer you pray according to God's will There is the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord Jesus Christ is praying and he's shedding tears, he's shedding sweats as of blood and he's being heard to pray like this, not my will but thine be done. So despite his deep agony, he submits to the Father's will, knowing the cross was necessary for what? For our redemption. And you have it in church history. Amy Carmichael, that missionary to India, she often prayed for healing from her ailments. And yet, when healing didn't come, she surrendered her desires to God. She found that her suffering allowed her to empathize deeply with the orphans that she served. So like them, let us learn to pray with open hands, asking for his will to be done, trusting that his plans are always good plans. But something else, submit to God's answers. Submit to God's answers. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, he once remarked, he said, I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the rock of ages. I've learned to kiss the waves that throws me to against the rock of ages. So all of these things that are happening to you, and I don't know what's going on in your life, but are they throwing you against the rock of all ages? Are these troubles throwing you to the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, kiss them. Say, thank God for them. I'm getting closer to the Lord Jesus Christ because of them. And he understood that God's answer to prayer, whether yes or no, or whether he says, wait, are always for our ultimate good. And something else, cultivate a prayerful life. Cultivate a prayerful life. Martin Luther is reported to have said, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer. And then the next week he had more things to do and he said, I need to spend four hours in prayer. At one point he said, I am so busy, I have to pray six hours a day. That's amazing. or to find ministers like that, or to find Christians like that. But you begin each day with prayer. You go through the day with prayer. And so we are acknowledging God. We are saying, Lord, I'm depending on Thee all the time. I need Thee every hour. And make your prayers your first response in every situation. And something else, guard against pride in prayer. guard against pride in prayer. The Pharisee in our Lord Jesus Christ parable is exemplifying the danger of pride in prayer. His prayers were self-righteousness. He was essentially demanding recognition from God. Look at me, Lord. Look at me. I'm better than these other people. And then you contrast that with the tax collector, the publican, who humbled himself and he prayed, God, be merciful to me a sinner. He couldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven. He was beating his chest. And so, dear friends, that should be our attitude when we think about the sovereignty of God and our prayers. And just think about this. Yesterday morning, I was thinking of this. Prayer is like a lifeboat tethered to the shore. And the shore represents God's will. It's firm. It's unchanging. The shore doesn't move. And so when we pull on the rope, you don't pull the shore to the boat, do you? You pull the boat closer to the shore. That's what you're doing. And prayer doesn't move God's will to ours. It moves our hearts closer to Him. And so we are aligning ourselves with God rather than altering God's eternal purposes. So with this I finish, dear friends. God's sovereignty and prayer, they are not at odds. Prayer glorifies God. It aligns us with God's purposes. It transforms us. We need to pray. God doesn't need us to pray. And it transforms us into his likeness. It humbles us. It strengthens our faith. It encourages us. It is showing that we are depending on the Lord. And as the commentator John Gill said, though God has helped us, provided and promised blessings, he will be sought unto to give them. And so the Lord wants us to seek him so that he might give us the blessings. So will you approach prayer with humility? Will you approach it with faith and confidence and boldly looking unto Jesus, trusting that our sovereign God works all things for his glory and for our good? Well, may our hearts echo the disciples' request. Lord, teach us to pray. Amen.