All right. Well, good morning, good morning. And what a glorious, with Dennis and I walking out there, it's like what a glorious sunny day that we have today. Let's open with a word of prayer and then we'll get started. Heavenly Father, as we begin this morning, really the most important topic for a believer's growth next to reading the word is prayer. Without prayer, we can't grow to know you, we can't help one another through prayer, so much is accomplished. And it's a recognition that we are dependent upon you, that we need you, but also that we love you, carrying on our conversations with you. So we just thank you for that we can pray, that we have Jesus Christ, our great high priest intercede for us, and that we can bring everything to him, and he understands our weaknesses and failures. And so thank you for prayer, Father. In Christ's name we pray, amen. All right, just another shameless plug, don't forget. We have the reflect the glory of God, adding another list of acronyms for prayers. When I was writing this book, there's like 20 or 30 acronyms for prayer, like acts, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. So I'm like, you know what? I'm going to add one more. Let's add reflect. So there you go. That's my shameless plug. Okay, we're in chapter eight of the Fundamentals of the Faith book, and we're gonna talk about the why, the when, the how of prayer, answer of prayer, and why it is a struggle. And here's one of the questions, I just wanna throw it right away. You've ever heard this question? If God is all-knowing, why pray, right? If God already knows what we want, and need, why pray, right? In seminary, I think I shared this story, we had a prayer class, and it all started off with this Dr. Roskopp, who's a godly man, not with the Lord, he wrote a book on prayer, like actually. Three Vimes, kind of neat. I got to get his, at the time he was trying to publish his book, I don't know if you remember, I think it was The Prayer of Jabez, Bruce Wilkinson, little wafer of a book. It was super popular and it was selling. and he couldn't get his book published. And in God's providence, I ended up working for Logos Bible Software and got his book electronically and it became the best-selling book for the company at that time. And then I worked for AMG Publishers and finally got into print. and it was a two-volume book, I believe, yeah. But anyway, it was every prayer of the Bible, like, exposited and explained. And so we had this prayer class with this man. It was amazing. And the requirement of the class was we had to pray one hour every day. And I forgot to get the recording going. So, at first we're like, oh this is going to be awesome, we're going to grow, we're going to become spiritual men. Well, by the end of the first week of praying an hour a day, all of us came back crying, complaining, this is impossible, this is legalistic, why are you making us do this, this isn't spiritual. So, it really is a struggle, isn't it? To pray every day consistently. I mean we were running around give me just tell me something I can pray for give me something for my list I mean it was it was pretty crazy, and then you're doing it night because you had to be able to check the box I did pray today for an hour, and you got graded on the percentage of time you spend in prayer Yeah You could, and many of us end up doing that towards the end, but we tried doing the one stretch, and that was very impractical, I discovered. But prayer expresses our faith in God. Think about it. Yes, Dennis. Sorry, I have a question about something you brought up, that prayer of Jesus. Yes. I remember being in a church that really pushed that. That was kind of a problem. Yes. So the prayer of Jabez, in fact, let me just go ahead and open that up. Let's see, let me just do person Jabez here. And let me read it because once you read it, it's going to become very obvious that something was not right. There it is. Okay. Now Jabez called on the God of Israel That's what prayer is. Oh, that you would bless. This is First Chronicles 410. Oh, that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my border and that your hand might be with me and that you would keep me from harm, that it might not pain me. And God granted him what he requested. Now here's the problem of why this prayer is inappropriate for the New Testament church. This is an Old Testament, Old Covenant prayer. Enlarge my border. Be with me. Keep me from harm. Do Christians have any borders? Right? So this was a very godly Old Covenant prayer for an Israelite. Totally appropriate. And that's why it's a great prayer and also God granted because it was aligning with the will of the Father. Yes? the border of Israel. Remember how God allotted land to all the Israelites, the land of Canaan? That's the border and Israel never has yet to get all their land that God had promised and they won't until the Millennial Kingdom. Exactly. And now what Wilkinson did is he took and he tried to principalize the prayer. But again, it's still the problem with this is that this is rooted in an Old Testament promise for the Israelites in the land. And so yeah, so it took an Old Testament prayer and kind of said, this is appropriate for New Testament church. You look at New Testament prayers, you don't know anything about borders. You don't have anything about, we already know God's hand is upon us. And as far as harm goes, We know God allows suffering. Look at Paul. So it's totally contradictory to the experience that a believer has in the New Testament. And fortunately, it's sold like hotcakes because it kind of filled that void of the health and wealth prosperity kind of concept. And so yeah, so nothing wrong with his prayer in of itself, but it's for the Old Covenant and Israelite. Would not be appropriate at all for a New Testament believer to pray. So great question. Yeah, it's sold like hotcakes. So yeah, so prayer, back to my PowerPoint here, expresses our faith in God. Think about it. You're recognizing that you're helpless, and you need help, and you're appealing to the Creator for that help through Christ. And prayer expresses our submission to God by recognizing Him as God. So let's jump into the purpose of prayer, and in the workbook, letter A, And by the way, the key verse, of course, is perfect for this chapter. Be anxious for nothing, Philippians 4.6. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So for the believer, letter A there, prayer is a learning experience that must be developed into a spiritual discipline. And this is really important. So Luke 11, 1, what did the disciples ask Jesus? Teach us to pray. And this is something we have to learn how to do. And it will change over time the way you pray, and certainly the events of your life will change the content of your prayer. And we have seasons which we're fervent in prayer, and we have seasons sometimes when we're not so fervent. And that's the dynamic and the challenge. We can also fall in the habit of getting into rituals, right? Sit down at dinner, and we just do our perfunctory prayer, right? Thank you, Lord, for this food. Let's eat. Romans 8, 26, of course, gives us some insights. In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings, too deep for words. So this is a beautiful picture how the Spirit is involved in our prayer life. So the answer there is the Holy Spirit. We do not know how to pray. And He intercedes. And in light of that, what should we do when we are not sure what to pray for? Pray and express our uncertainty to God and trust the Spirit to intercede for us. Ever been in those situations where you're like, Lord, I don't know how to pray. Here's my situation. Just fix this. Help this. Give me wisdom, give me insight. I don't know what else to do. And so the picture of prayer is we pray to the Father. That is who we should be praying to. But we pray through the Son, because he's our high priest intercessor, and we do it with the help of the Holy Spirit. So all three are involved in the Trinity. And it's a beautiful picture, isn't it? And then a couple of things, let me add here. MacArthur notes this, although nothing benefits a believer more than prayer, the purpose in praying must first of all be for the sake of God, not self. Prayer is above all an opportunity for God to manifest His goodness and glory. So that's why in my prayer book, that's one thing as you study all the prayers of the Bible that struck me, is almost every prayer, pretty much every prayer starts off with, Thinking about who God is, his character, his attributes. So you're remembering the glories of God even before you get started. Before you start asking for something, honor God for who he is. Recall his attributes. Acknowledge those things that are true about him. Recall the past of what he's done. These are all the things that is a good way to start a prayer. Let me get you. And that's a good way to practice getting to know God is recalling things about God. Some people will pray through the Psalms, which is real easy because most of the Psalms start off with, God, you're this, God, you're that, you've done this, you've done that. So that can be really helpful. And one of the things about prayer is it aligns us. Sometimes people try to think of prayer, I'm going to get God to do this. That's not what prayer is about at all. Prayer is about you aligning with the Lord. One example from my life that really brought this truth to home was I had been you know, praying for my dad, and I had a chance to share the gospel with him, and the next day he passed. You know, don't know if he believed or not. And I realized that in the praying, it was aligning me to be ready for that event. And so when it happened, I was ready as much as one can be with the shock and all that. But then as the events unfolded, I got to do his eulogy and a few other opportunities came along. And I realized that prayer is about me getting aligned to the will of God, to be ready for what is around the corner. It doesn't mean that life gets easier. It doesn't mean my borders expand and my protections are all there. A lot of times it's just getting you ready in the mode and mind of thinking so that you are ready to do what's next. You have the right heart attitude. So in letter B there, let me see, I can just add a few, yeah, perfect. What does Psalm 34 15 say about the Lord? The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous. And I love this promise. And his ears are open to their cry. And that's such a great truth. No matter how difficult the circumstances of your life are, he hears you. What did David bring before God in prayer? And there were many. I pour out my complaints before him. I declare my trouble before him. This is something that I'm striving to always practice more in my life is before I complain to anyone else, complain to God first. There's something about when you do that, you get a new perspective on your problem. And so it's a really good thing to do. Number three, how are we encouraged to approach God? And Hebrews 4.16, of course, is this great passage of Christ being our intercessor. Let us draw near with confidence. Some of the texts say boldness, but I don't think that really captures the essence of here. It's a confidence. We're not walking in there strutting. I'm the child of the king. No, we're walking in there with a confidence to the throne of grace that we can access God so that we may find mercy and find or receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And then number four, though we have the privilege of access, what caution does Ecclesiastes 5.2? This is a great verse from Solomon. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth, therefore let your words be few. Boy, is that something you don't see today. Think about that. Hasty in word or impulsive. So there's, in other words, there's a reminder there that even though we have access to God, he's still the almighty. He's still on the throne. He's still sovereign. There's a level of respect that he deserves every time we go in prayer. And then number five, what comfort does Peter offer believers? And of course, this is another wonderful passage. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time. And here it is, casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Isn't that a very warm, touching thought there that no matter what your situation is, anxiety, he cares for you. And so therefore, we need to share with him, hey, this is my burden. This is my struggle. And sometimes those burdens are not days, weeks, months, but they're years. And he has that strength to give us, to help us endure. We don't have to be anxious. We really don't. And of course, worry is sin, right? Not to say you can't be concerned and say, Lord, I'm really worried about this situation. I'm concerned about this situation. But I'm going to trust you in this. It'll work out according to your will. But here's my concerns. That's totally appropriate. But when all we do is fret and we're not invoking prayer, we're not relying on the Lord, that's when the worrying becomes a sin. When we start to let it distract us away from praying or reading the word or being obedient, if it starts to paralyze our life, then it's probably time to revisit prayer. Thoughts, Dennis? Yeah. Well, I'd have to know more details. I think I would take that context specific. So there is a sense in which if it's praying for a decision and that time of decision hasn't happened, you might be waiting to see, right? And we have to be careful in that because, you know, sometimes there's doors. that if we say Lord open the door, there's doors that open that we shouldn't walk through and there's doors that are closed that need to be opened. We don't always know, right? And so it's very, you gotta be very careful looking for things. to give you clues, because that can sometimes lead to false positives. Oh, this means yes, or this means no. That's very dangerous. The rule is go back to the Word of God. What does it say? So I would say in a situation where you're not sure, go to the Word, talk to someone who knows the Bible, and say, OK, what can I do that is biblical while I wait for this answer? Yeah, that's a good question. So I can speak from personal experience on that one. Before I met Stephanie, my bride, she's like, Oh no, what is he going to say? So I'm a brand new believer. I mean, you know, you're in the faith. I haven't met Stephanie yet. I want to get married. Um, and I go to a church and I'm a single guy and suddenly, you know, there's all these choices and, and, uh, it was stressing me out and, and I didn't want it at the end of the day. Um, And so I just went to the Lord and I said, Lord, when you want me to get married, make it really clear for me. And I'm going to stop this dating thing. And then Stephanie came along. And I was like, yeah, that's the one. And the Lord made it really apparent. But that was my experience. There's nothing wrong with dating, but you gotta be careful in what are you doing with the dating. If you're just dating for the sake of not being alone, there's something wrong there. Now that's an idol, right? But if you're dating with the goal to honor God in the marriage, to raise godly children, to so forth, then that would be inappropriate. So you have to examine your heart. This is why you can't have a one size fits all. It ultimately comes down to your heart. What is your motivation? Why do you want to be married? So you're not alone? Or do you want to be married because you want to serve and grow a family and honor the Lord that way? So yeah, I mean, sometimes, I mean, I would, of course, be careful about certain dating apps. That might get you in trouble. And of course, in the case of dating, you can't compromise and marry an unbeliever. That's where you can get into some trouble as well. So I would be very careful. Always check your heart, your motive, and making sure whatever decision you make is a decision that's going to bring glory to the Lord. Yes, Dennis, part two, follow up. No, this is good. He does when it's according to his will, but he's not obligated. There are times when, and I think that's God's gracious way of leading someone to faith. If you look at some of the miracles in the Bible, particularly when Jesus was in Jerusalem and serving, there were many people who were unbelievers and just asked for the miracles and he healed them, or didn't even ask at all. So I do believe God answers the prayers of unbelievers, but he's not obligated. And it's all part of his will. So when you say he's not obligated, are we saying that he's obligated to answer the prayer of the believers? Yeah, not in the sense that he's under our control, but that he is going because he's our father. He is going to answer. He is hearing our request. He hears the request. He will respond with a yes, a no, or a wait. So he does answer our prayers. And again, it's not like obligation in the sense that he is under our submission, but it's because he's our father and he cares for us. And he said, pray for us, or he's asked, pray to me. So in that sense, we can expect an answer. That's the nice thing. An unbeliever, not necessarily expect an answer. All right, good questions. So letter C, prayer is effective. It can change situations and people. We are encouraged to pray expecting results. For whom do the church pray in Acts 12, five, remember this? Peter, remember, who was in prison. This is really tricky. This is one of those where it's mysterious. Does prayer change the outcome? It can. And this is where it's a very interesting dynamic. Is it God already was going to do that? And now I'm getting in line with his prayer and I see an answer and it was always going to be that way. But there seems to be some intimation through several passages in the Old Testament and New Testament that praying will result in a response from God that will change the course or direction. So yeah, I do believe that, but how that mystery works between the sovereignty of God and the limited will of man, that's a mystery, but we do know praying makes a difference. And I guess the best answer to prove that point is in the Ninevites would probably be the best example. Remember, Jonah goes to preach. God was gonna destroy him in 40 days. They repented, they prayed, and God relented. So there are some examples like that. Michael. Oh yeah, yeah, lots of examples. So again, we believe prayer changes things, but it's hard to understand in the sovereignty of God how that's all worked out. We do know in the book of Revelation, the prayers of the saints are manifested on the incense of altar. And I've always wondered have there been days when that? Altar of incense is kind of not really smoky and then are there days when it's really smoky It must be weird for the angels to see what's going on Michael Absolutely Yeah, and it's a wonderful truth that we can go to literally the creator of the universe through Christ, help of the Holy Spirit to know that our prayers will be answered one way or another. And I don't know about you, but I have a conviction that I can pray. and I can trust that it has been heard and it will be answered in the way that God seems best. The other side of the equation of praying is making sure that you don't put expectations, that just because I ask, I'm always going to get a yes. There is that side of the equation. I think part of praying is examining your motives, right? Why are you praying? What is the purpose of this? And that's a good thing to always examine. Why am I praying? Because remember, James talks about it, the wrong motives of prayer. And so God doesn't answer those prayers. And so when we don't see prayers answered for a long time, it's always good to just double check the motives. Michael. You've heard of white magic, or prayers for, you know, get rid of my enemies, or to hurt someone else, actually to sway to your way of thinking. You know what I mean? Well, I mean, there's, for example, there's imprecatory prayers that David prays against his enemies. And those are very unique and special. And you got to be very careful as a Christian praying against your enemies, because Christ says directly to us, pray for your enemies. So it's different. But there is injustice in this world. And we can pray for justice. And that may result in consequences for those who are unjust. That's appropriate. As far as favor, God clearly shows that he grants favor to people. There's nothing wrong with saying, Lord, grant me favor in this situation. I'm about to evangelize this neighborhood. Grant favor that I might have a chance to open my mouth and speak forth the gospel as Paul would pray. So I wouldn't call it white magic, but the worldly, yeah. Yeah, that's a very scary term to think about. But yeah, for us, we can pray for those things wisely. Again, back to what is your motive. Okay, number two there, how did God answer their prayers? Well, he sent an angel, didn't he? And poked Peter on the side, get up. Peter's thinking he's in a dream when he literally walked out of that jail. That's pretty cool. And of course you had Rhoda at the front door. This must be his ghost. People are praying upstairs. Oh Lord, deliver Peter. They hear a knock on the door. Rhoda answers it. She goes up. Peter's there. Oh, that must be his angel or spirit. It's like literally God answers their prayer and they don't even realize it. It's like, so where's the faith in that, right? You know, I think that happens to us often. We pray, we forget that we prayed, the Lord answers the prayer and we forget to thank Him because He answered it. Oh, it's a shame. Okay, number three, besides the answers, what else does God grant to those who pray? And this is a great reminder, the peace of God. And I believe this piece is connected to our trust in the sovereignty of God that he has heard and he will respond. And that's huge, isn't it? You know, like at work in the employee-employee or the supervisor-to-employee relationship, right? An employee will come to the supervisor and say, hey, I've got this situation on my hands. Can you take care of it? There's a sense in which the supervisor says, yeah, I'll take care of it. And the employee can go back going, OK, they're going to take care of it. That's part of the peace here that we get from God. Also, sometimes it's the peace, we don't understand what's going on. We can't comprehend it, but God settles our minds to say, I've got this. And that's a wonderful thing. I know we've experienced this as a couple over the years in difficult situations, just we lifted to the Lord, we can trust that things will work out. When we left the previous church and didn't have a job, we prayed about it, we knew we had to leave, we resigned, and we trusted knowing we had no idea what was next, the Lord worked all those details out and he did. And that's part of the peace too, he's in control. And of course, James 5.16 says a lot about how your obedience plays a part in your prayer. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. So great truths on that. All right, let me just see. So prayer is not, let's see, I got extra notes in here. Let me throw a couple other thoughts out there. Prayer is not an option. Okay, Jesus prayed, commanded us to pray. We're commanded to pray at all times. To pray at all times, what does that even mean? That just means, as Michael, you alluded to earlier, it's a conversation, right? It's just throughout the day. where everything we see and experience becomes kind of a prayer, lived in a deep awareness of, and a surrender to our Heavenly Father. A couple weeks ago, my daughter Olivia was in town, we saw these little eggs on the ground, and so Stephanie and Olivia put some flags around it, and the little bird, and we were like, oh man, hope the lawnmower respects the flags, they did. Well, just the other day, the birds hatched, the little eggs hatched, and they're killdeers, they're like little birds, and they're born literally running around. It's the coolest thing. And there's two little kids, so we're just thanking the Lord for his creation, and that he protected these little birds. But when we came back the next day, they were gone. We couldn't find them. And we're like, oh no, we're all grieved. And we're like, oh Lord, please don't let those birds be dead. And then, poof, they appeared out of nowhere. So that's the conversation, you know, that's going on. Pretty cool. Okay, the practice of prayer. Let's get into that. Throughout the Bible, God encourages and commands Believers to persevere in prayer. Luke 18.1, the disciples were taught that they should pray and not what? Lose heart. Has that happened to you? Have you lost heart sometimes in the middle of prayer? Maybe you're praying, or the situation's just so difficult. It can happen. And just recognize when it does, and then say, Lord, I'm so sorry, Lord. I've lost heart here. I need some encouragement. What is God's will for believers in Christ Jesus? That we should pray without ceasing. And then when should believers pray? At all times. So what's the picture here? It's an ongoing conversation with the Lord. And like I said, it may ebb and flow. There's peak seasons, there's lulls. But make sure that you're regularly, routinely sharing with the Lord. And find a way that works with you. Everyone prays differently. If you're very more rigid, you've got a schedule, go with that. If you're more on the fly, go with that. But whatever you do, choose something that works, that's maintainable, and that it continues on. Let's see. Conditions for answered prayer. This is just a few thoughts. There are conditions if one's prayers are to be answered. First, one must be abiding in Christ, right? We must be obedient to him. Another aspect of this is praying according to his will. If you're praying to something that's contrary to scriptures, well, you might have a simple no stamp on that prayer. Second, and this is key, one must not be harboring sin. One must have confessed sin and turned from it. This is another prayer hindrance. Remember the men not loving their wives in an understanding way so that your prayers are not hindered. So that's a really important aspect there. You must abide in Christ, as we said, and his words must abide in you. So being obedient is really key. And then praying according to the will, and that is knowing the scripture. So pulling out the Bible, reading the passages, and saying, okay, let's pray in light of this truth. That's a good way to grow your knowledge in scripture, but also to pray according to God's will. And that's one of the questions that I'll ask myself is, okay, here's my prayer. What verse is this, you know, rooted in? And if I can't think of the verse, I might have a problem. And that can be a good test. Of course, adding that little tagline at the end. in Christ's name to the Father. That's not necessary for a prayer, but that's just an acknowledgment of who we're praying to. Here's some things. So we want to pray to his will. We want to pray consistent with his name. We want to pray that it'll bring glory to God. That's a really good one. Lord, how can this glorify you? And this requires, when you start praying this way, It may help you see the bigger picture because often prayer is, you know, self-centered. This is what I need, right? This is what I want. And you have to ask the question, well, if I get this, how will that impact others? You think about it, God's accomplishing his will. Remember the verse in Romans, right? Romans, let me just read it because it's, this is something that's always blown my mind. Okay, we know God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose, right? So imagine every believer praying. Do you think at some point, some of those prayers could indirectly or directly impact the other people so that their prayers can't be answered? This can happen. I want this. So let me give you two examples. Two Christians praying for a job. Let's say it's even for the same location, for the same position. How does God work that out? Right? Civil War. Both sides are praying that God's on their side. Well, there was only one victor in that one in the end. Actually, everyone lost on that one. But do you see how, how does God work all that out? And so when you pray for the glory of God, it allows you to step back from your self-interest and say, Lord, if I get this job, wonderful. But if there's someone else who needs this more than I do, well then answer their prayer. That's the perspective. praying for the glory of God. And it helps us move from being self-centered to other-centered to ultimately God-centered. That's hard to do though, I'll just be honest with you. But it's something we should always have in the back of our mind as we pray. Let's see, and so praying his name means to be, oh yeah, Dennis. That's like praying Lord Jesus, come quickly. It can be to a point and examine your heart, you're right. But it does say at the end of Revelation 22, which is a verse in the Bible. Jesus says, he who testifies to these things says, yes, I am coming quickly, amen, come Lord Jesus. So there's an aspect which that part of the prayer was okay. Lord come quickly, but then you can balance it off with saying, but Lord, as you come, please bring these people to salvation. Yeah. And that's the tension, isn't it? There is a self-interest here, and then there's the other interest. And that's the balance. And it's great that you saw that, Dennis. That's showing you the bigger picture. All right. Hindrance to prayer, sin. wrong motives, right, and lack of faith. Those are three things that will impact your prayer life. Very, very key. Let's see, I'm not gonna read that long paragraph by John, so number two, what does Jesus teach as a requirement for answer prayer? John 15, seven, abide in me. This just means obedience, that's the key. Number three, according to 1 John 5.14, what is our confidence? If we ask, here it is, according to His will, He hears us. That's the key. That's our confidence. We know that He hears, and then we can trust His response will be the best, the optimum. And then a Jesus pattern for prayer, this is really neat, the principalizing of the Our Father prayer, right? Pray to God, our Father's in heaven. Hallowed be thy name, that's exalting him. Your kingdom come, your will be done. Submit to him, praying. Our daily bread, there's our sustenance, look to him. Forgive us our debts, confess to him. Then do not lead us in temptation, depend on him. and then deliver us from evil, trust in him. Those are the principles, really helpful when you start looking at the prayer. I still think it's a great prayer to memorize, but it's not meant to be repeated vainly over and over. But if you have it memorized, then you can think of those principles, and that can be helpful. There's the Acts, Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving. Let's go to number three. Let me just check a couple notes here. Yeah, here's some good general guidelines for prayer. Pray to the Father through Christ in the power of the Spirit. That's pretty straightforward, I mentioned that. If you do not know what to pray, ask the Holy Spirit to intercede. Lord, I don't even know how to pray this situation. Spirit, can you help me? There's nothing wrong with that. Prayer needs to be an intimate communion with God, so you're addressing him. Avoid using meanness repetition. That's the pagans, that's not gonna work. And I've been to churches where they do this. They just say the same thing over and over and over. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus. No, we don't do that. God's not deaf and God got it before he even said it. So watch out for those kind of things. And then do not be hasty, right? Be thoughtful in what you are about to pray. Okay. Number three, the struggle of prayer. Prayer can be hard work, but that should not keep us from praying even when it requires sacrifice. How long did Jesus pray before he selected the 12 apostles? The whole night before. Interesting, isn't it? These guys were chosen before the foundation, and yet here's Jesus praying the night before all the way through the night. Describe the intensity of Jesus as he prayed as he prayed in anticipation of the cross. We know the picture in agony fervently Sweat like became like drops of blood falling down on the ground intense Have you guys I don't know if you've had that kind of intense type prayer But I'm sure there's been moments in life where there has been intense prayer due to some Situation. I remember when our daughter Olivia was born and she wasn't breathing And so Stephanie and I immediately started praying. And then they brought in the oxygen tank. That's the next step. And we're just like, Lord, Lord. And then she started crying. Scary, scary times. So there's those moments when you are in a helpless situation. Pray in those situations. What should believers be careful to do when we devote ourselves to prayer? Yeah, this is a good one. Keep alert. In other words, look for the answer. I've shared this before. I was at a job praying for an opportunity to share the gospel with coworkers, and this guy kept coming to my desk. I'm like, how am I gonna get any work done with this guy interrupting me? Oh, that was the one that I was praying for, you know? So be sure you're on alert. And look at that attitude, thanksgiving. How many people have you ever met, not quantity, but have you met anybody where you're sharing the gospel and they're like, yeah, I prayed to God, He didn't answer, now I hate him. You know, I'm oversimplifying, but that's very typical among many unbelievers. They expected God to be at their beck and call, and when he didn't, they no longer had to add to a thanksgiving. They were bitter. Letter B, even when we are frustrated, or discouraged, we can still approach God in prayer. I love this truth. Sometimes we just gotta be honest. Lord, I'm mad. Lord, I'm really upset. This stinks. There's nothing wrong with sharing those things as long as, here's the key, you're not blaming God for that. That's the key. Why was David discouraged in Psalm 13 one? He thought God had forgotten him. That's a truth that should never happen to us as believers. We should never, ever, ever think that God has forgotten us. What was David's complaint in Psalm 22 too? Oh my God, I cry day by day, but you do not answer. And by night I have no rest. David thought God had forsaken him. Now, I believe some of the things that David went through were pictures to help us grasp what Christ would ultimately go through. God never forsake David, but for a moment, In time, Christ was forsaken by the Father on the cross for our sin. And so these are pictures, and these are, I think it's just the honest fact that we're frail, and this is the way we think, and we struggle, and it's okay, as long as we come back to that rock of who God is, and that is we don't blame him, and we just remain trusting him. letter C, prayer is governed by God's sovereignty and his purpose determines his answer to our prayers. This is so key and this is why I think without a right understanding that God is sovereign, you just, I don't know how you pray and I don't know how you live. If God is not ultimately the final decision maker in everything, how can we hope and how can we pray? 2 Corinthians 12, 7, 9, Paul prays. Let me just read that. It's a good passage. Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh. A messenger of Satan tortured me to keep me from exalting myself. Concerning this, I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. In other words, no. for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, Paul then responds, therefore, I would rather boast about my weakness so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. So often, a no request is putting you in a place of weakness so that you can find the power of Christ as you wait for the answer or to handle the answer with a no. He prayed three times, got three nos. So this is a good reminder, not every prayer is gonna get a yes. and that there's a greater purpose. If you're getting a no for a biblical prayer, then that's a clue that God has something very specific in mind he's trying to accomplish. And you have to wait on that. Mark 14, 35 to 36, what did Jesus ask the father concerning his hour of suffering? Jesus says, So the ground began to pray if it was possible the hour Might pass him by and he was saying Abba Father all things are possible for you remove this cup from me. Here's the key Yeah, not yet. Not what I will but that your will but what your will and That's the key At the end of the day, we lift up our requests, and then we should always have an attitude. Maybe we even need to say the words to remind us. Not my will, but your will, Father. That's just a good way to remind ourselves. Let me see if I have a couple, just a couple things. Okay, we talked about the Lord's Prayer. Again, the reflect, which I think summarizes all of it, remember the glories of God, examine your motives and manner, face life through scriptures, love God, love people, expect suffering and persecution, concern yourself with the kingdom, and take every opportunity. That's the reflect. And those principles have helped me over the years in difficult situations. And let's see, a couple more thoughts here. Discouragement's real, and if you are finding that you are discouraged in prayer, go to the Psalms, because David really works through those. It's amazing, right? How many Psalms start off with discouragement and end up in what? Worship. That's the key. When you're discouraged, go to the throne on your knees, lay out your heart, and worship. I think that's the key. Here's just some thoughts like in, I'm not sure which, this is in Psalm 22. David is discouraged and wonders why God doesn't answer. David recognizes God, remembers God's past faithfulness. As he considers God, he is humbled. David pours out his burdens upon the Lord. David calls on God for help, asks for assistance. David is moved to praise for he knows God cares. And at the end, David is lifted up. That's just one Psalm, Psalm 22, one through 28. So that's the process of what prayer can do to us as we pray. There's something about the process of prayer that can actually encourage you as well. And well, they say trespasses, but in the Bible they say debts. Well, let's close in prayer. We've got to get started soon here. Heavenly Father, again, thank you for this chapter and the reminder and all the examples and scriptures of how to pray. We want to glorify you in our prayers. Help us not to be selfish. Guard our motives. Keep our hearts centered on you, trusting in you. And even just right now, just take a moment for many of the unanswered prayers in all our lives. You know what those are, Lord. Please answer those soon. in your timing, in Christ's name we pray.