The Importance of Prayer in the Life of the Believer (With Greg Laurie)

alright well let's grab our Bibles and turn to two passages you may be there already Ephesians chapter 6 Luke chapter 11 and the title of my message is the importance of prayer and the life of the believer this is a part of our series that we're calling what every growing Christian needs to know now if you don't want to be a growing Christian well I guess you don't need to know this but the fact of the matter is every believer should recognize that there's a long ways to go I remember when I was a young believer and I met Pastor Chuck Smith and I asked Chuck how long have you been a Christian and I think at that point I don't know how long it had been exactly he may have said thirty years but he said thirty years something like that and I was just like astounded 30 years I mean thirty years I'd been a Christian for like four months and I'm thinking what's it like to be a Christian for thirty years you're almost like an apostle or something well let me tell you what it's like because I've been a Christian now over 40 years and there's a lot of things that happen in your life a lot of changes that take place but you want to know a little secret the longer you've known the Lord the more you realize you need to keep growing spiritually I know I have a long ways to go those of you that know me well are seeing Amen you sure do yes and you do as well we all do and so if you want to be a growing Christian there are certain principles that must be constantly in play in your life because we look at some who start what we might call the race of life some just take off with a burst of energy and they go across that finish line with flying colors others may take off maybe they stumble but they get up on their feet again and they finish and then some they get up and they take off with a burst of energy and they collapse and they never get up again why why does some make it why do some succeed why do others fail answer it comes down to choices choice has hundreds of choices thousands of choices that we make every day every week every month every year we make our choices and then our choices make us then we repeat that again we make our choices and then our choices make us it comes down to discipline I know that's a word we don't like nowadays you know discipline you mean I have to actually deny myself yeah there are certain things you don't want in your life you if you're going to grow spiritually and there are other things you do want in your life if you're going to grow spiritually you show me a person who is successful at anything and I'll show you a person and apply discipline I heard about a concert violinist in New York's Carnegie Hall she was asked how she became so skilled I love her answer she said it was planned neglect planned neglect she said she planned to neglect everything that was not related to her goal so in her case she wanted to be a great concert violinist but in our case we want to be a strong and fruitful Christian right yes okay then there's planned neglect as we read earlier there in second Timothy 2:22 run from anything that stimulates youthful lust run after anything that makes you want to do what is right pursue faith and love and peace and enjoy the companionship on those that call on the Lord with a pure heart so follow those things that will build you up run with those people that are running in the same direction and run away from those things that will pull you down so let's review what we've learned and then we'll pick up if you want to be a growing Christian number one you must read study and love the Word of God if you want to be a growing Christian you must read study and love the Word of God you will never reach a plateau in your life where you move beyond your need to study the Word of God over in Joshua 1:8 we read these words this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth you shall meditate in it day and night observe to do all that is written in it and then you will make your way prosperous and you will have good so this is something we want to constantly keep in play now this brings us to principle number two and this is where we're going to focus on and our time together to be a growing Christian you must have a prayer life you know in the room where I was not preparing for the study I get a little audio feed of the sanctuary and a number of you were here in the church praying before the service how many of you were here for that little permitting raise your hand up I might just say God bless all of you and thank you so much for that so I was sitting in that room and I came walking in and I heard somebody praying for me by name and that's just really humbling to be prayed for and I listened to that prayer and I was so touched by that and I just thought God bless every one of these people who came to church early and they could be hanging out talking you know or having a latte from our amazing new espresso machine or or eating at one's tacos or whatever it is and nothing wrong with any of those things but these people said I'm going to get into the sanctuary early and I'm going to pray and I'll tell you what if this church is blessed one of the main reasons for it is because of people like you that pray like that so thank you for that and I hope others will join their ranks but if you want to be a growing Christian you must have a prayer life that brings us to our first passage Ephesians 6:18 there are different kinds of Prayer identified in the Bible Ephesians 6:18 says we should pray always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints notice it says pray always with all prayer so the southern translation is all y'all ought to be praying all kinds of prayer all the time by all kinds of people y'all there's a lot of ways and there's a lot of places you can pray you can pray publicly you can pray privately you can pray verbally you can pray silently you can pray kneeling down standing up sitting lying down you can even pray while you're driving just make sure you keep your eyes open and by the way in the Bible we have people praying with their eyes closed and open did you know that I think sometimes you think if you open your eyes your prayer doesn't work like if I'm praying with my eyes closed the moment I open the prayer stops just doesn't work anymore no no you can pray with your eyes open we read that Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and pray do you see now why don't we close our eyes well it's a good way to sort of block things out as we're concentrating on what we're saying I was we've been being with our grandchildren and only have them pray before the meal and it's always hilarious to get kids to pray you know because they're so honest who wants to pray no one's hand goes up or or you know you can't understand them half the time but when they pray a beautiful prayer just touches your heart so the other day we were having a meal and who wants to pray and so I decided I would pray and as I was praying I opened my eyes and I looked and my granddaughter Stella was eating her french fry with her eyes closed he said it's okay as long as your eyes are closed have you ever been praying with some people maybe you're in a little circle you're praying about something and you know after a while goes by you open your eyes and you see somebody else or their eyes open and you make eye contact and that's a really awkward moment like you're both cheating you're like okay it's okay it's okay you can pray with your eyes open the main thing is praying you can pray in any position at any time any where sometimes we may think is the feelers of God hears our prayer more in the sanctuary then he hears them in the mall or at the beach or walking down the street well God is not anymore in a place where we gather for worship than he is in any other place God is omnipresent which means present everywhere but at the same time there is no question when God's people gather together for worship and prayer the Lord manifest his presence in a special way right don't you sense his presence when your worship with other believers well God says he inhabits the praises of his people that's why that is and Jesus said when two or more gathered together in my name I'm there in the midst of them so when we pray together when we pray as a body there is power in that prayer but having said that God will hear you any place in the Bible we find people praying in all kinds of places Daniel prayed in a lion's den David prayed in a field Peter prayed on the water and under the water remember it Jesus said come and he came in then and then he was on the one when he was under the war he went under that was an underwater sound effect did you hear it he was saying lord save me I'm gonna do it again ready Lord this water an okay just some sound effects are better than others but how about Joni he prayed from the belly of a great fish or a whale God will hear your prayer wherever it is the main thing as Paul says his praying always by the way the word all here speaks of the frequency of Prayer their frequency of prayer that means you pray in the morning you pray in the afternoon and you pray in the evening the Bible says pray without ceasing for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ concerning you we all know the story of Daniel the prophet and he was elevated to a place of great influence and Kingdom there of Babylon and the King trusted his words King Darius and Daniel had enemies political opponents and they wanted him out of his place of authority but the problem with Daniel was while there were no skeletons in his closet there were no scandals the guy just was godly they said well the only way we're going to nail this guy is if we find something to do with him and his God they knew Daniel how to have it a praying three times a day he'd gone to his house he'd opened up the windows he'd get down in his deeds he'd face Jerusalem and he would pray everyone knew that about him so of course you know the law past that no one could praise any God except the King and that law was signed and Daniel heard about it and he went to his house and he closed all of his windows and he went into a closet and he turned off the lights and he prayed silently is that what we read no we read that Daniel went into his house as he always did every day he opened up his windows and he knelt down and he pray but here's what's significant it says he prayed as he always had done listen giving thanks to his God is that what you would have done under those circumstances or would you afraid God help a law has been passed that it's illegal to pray no he gave thanks to God because you see Daniel understood that God was in control we call this the sovereignty of God the Bible tells us to give thanks unto the Lord for he is good and His mercy endures forever you see I don't give thanks because I feel good I don't give thanks because things are always good I give things to the Lord for he is good it makes all the difference in the world it's a good reminder that our sovereign powerful good God is always in control so we give thanks to the Lord and that's exactly what he did is he offered his prayer we need to always be praying the Bible tells the story of Nehemiah he was the cup bearer of the King what does that mean it means that his job was to taste the King's food before the King ate it so basically if he ate you know someone gave the king of Burger and he took a bite and died the King would not eat the burger and then he would also look for a new cupbearer that was the job of the cup bearer but it wasn't only that the cup bearer because the king would eat often had to be in close proximity to the king so it was more than just a guy who tasted his food in time he would become the Kings confidant he would become the King's advisor he would become the Kings friend and Nehemiah a Jew was in a position of great inflow with the king and one day he was down a bit because he was thinking about the plight of his fellow Jews and Jerusalem and how the walls of the city lie in ruin and the king came in and said hey why is your face so long Nehemiah what why are you so sad which would say to me most of the time Nehemiah was a joyful guy I have a friend his name is Ricky he lives in Hawaii and he's always smiling maybe it's because he lives in Hawaii I don't know he's a pastor there Ricky Ryan one of the happiest guys I've ever met always joyful always smiling always upbeat in fact I some one day and he wasn't smiling and he looks strange because he smiles that much that was probably Daniel excuse me let's get our right characters on the right stories here that was probably Nehemiah always smiling always happy always upbeat but not this day why you're so sad Soni am I told the King about the plight of his people but I love what it says it says before he said anything to the King Nehemiah 2:5 with a prayer to the God of heaven he said if it pleases your majesty and you're pleased with me your servant send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried sometimes we have the luxury of time in prayer sometimes we just throw up a quick prayer to the God of heaven because you might be called to the principal's office or you might be called to the boss's office or you might be called to the Oval Office I don't care where it is but it's a situation that comes up and you're saying now lord give me wisdom father give me the right words at the right moment maybe it's an opportunity where you're sharing the gospel and they're asking you all these questions and then start talking you're just praying God I actually don't know the answer to any of these questions and I need help right now and I have seen the Lord answer those prayers haven't you so you pray all the time everywhere okay so let's answer question number one why should I pray why should I pray simple answer because Jesus told you to you really don't need any more answer than that but I'll give you a few more reasons but jesus said in Luke 18:1 men are always to pray and not give up and by the way Christ Himself was a model of Prayer he was always praying in the Garden of Gethsemane as he's contemplating the horrors of the cross he's praying father if it's possible let this cup pass from me on the cross he's praying for his enemies saying my God my God why have you forsaken me and then he prays Father forgive them for they know not what they do before he raised Lazarus from the dead we read in John chapter 11 he looked up to heaven and prayed father thank you that you hear me and then he shouted Lazarus come forth before Jesus fed the five thousand we read he looked up to heaven and ask God's blessing on the food mother's would bring their children to Jesus so he would lay his hands on them and pray for them now listen if Jesus felt the need to pray how much more should we feel it Jesus was God and yet he prayed all the time he would pray through the night do you pray were commanded to pray we ought to pray men ought always to pray and not give up now let's just say to make a point that prayer was the most painful thing you could do let's just say that every time you prayed it was like getting a root canal how many of you like to go to the dentist you enjoy going to I didn't think so how many of you dread you like it interesting okay how many of you dread going to the dentist okay you probably have a really good dentist that's probably your secret but I have a great dentist myself but there's always pain I don't care what they say there's pain whenever there are sharp objects going into your mouth there's going to be pain and you know what they do for me as they clean my teeth okay so they're cleaning it but first they start poking around at that little pick thing you know poking poking looking for trouble I just don't find anything don't find anything and then the girl will say oh doctor I see something and then the doctor comes in and he looks oh no no no don't say it well it may need a rue don't say don't say root root canal cuz in the drill see you know that sound you know that smell do you know it I hate it let's say every time you prayed it felt like a root canal that's miserable but because of the results of it come from prayer you figured it was worth it you'd probably still pray when you but yet is prayer like a root canal no it's prayer hard no it's prayer painful no then why do we not do it more we should pray because Jesus told us to here's now a reason that may appeal to you as to why you should pray point number two we should pray because prayer is God's appointed way for obtaining things that's right prayer is God's appointed way for obtaining things that is not the only purpose of Prayer that's not the only reason we should pray but having said that the Bible does say in James 4:2 you have not because you what ask not see if you don't ask God for it there may be times in your life when you don't have what you need didn't it ever occur to you that you have this sickness and you've never actually asked the Lord to heal you know I think you know that I don't believe God heals everybody but at the same time he does heal some and it's possible you could be ill and you continue to be ill and you've never actually prayed and said Lord would you heal me of this you might have financial challenges and you don't know why the bills are always unpaid and you don't know why you're always struggling question have you prayed about it have you said Lord would you provide for me right now could it be that you have not because you ask not well maybe you find that you never have the opportunity to lead others to Christ those doors never open up for you here's a thought could it be that you have that because you ask not but prayer is the way that we obtain things from God we always say Lord if this is not your well don't give this thing to me but if it is please do because the Bible promises that my God will supply all of my needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus it doesn't say he'll supply all of my greets but it says to supply all of my needs so that's how we obtain things from God here's another one prayer is the way by which God helps us to overcome our anxiety and worry prayer is the way by which God helps us overcome our anxiety and worry and light is full of worry isn't it I mean I could talk for 25 minutes about all the things going on in our crazy world you know all the threats that we face and the dangers we face but how about just your life just your own personal challenges life is full of troubles there's health troubles there's family troubles or financial troubles but it's been said if your knees are shaking kneel on them so here's what the Bible says about that Philippians 4:6 these are verses every believer should commit to memory don't worry about anything but pray about everything and it goes on to say and if you do this the peace of God that passes all human understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus how many of you ever worried you were okay and I worry too and worry is not a virtue by the way sometimes we may think it is I heard about a guy that was a real worrywart always worrying worrying and finally he just stopped and one of his friends said yeah I noticed you don't worry anymore the guy says I don't worry anymore his friend said what's your secret the guy says I hired someone to worry for me really hutch how'd you find a guy like that took an ad out in the paper wanted someone to worry for me what do you pay a guy to do that I pay him $5,000 a day wow that's a lot of money you don't have that kind money how are you gonna pay and he says that's for him to worry about well if that doesn't work try praying instead it says if you will pray about it instead of worrying about it God's peace will keep your heart and mind and the word therefore keep means to protect or to mount a guard and the wording that Paul uses sort of describes a Roman sentry like a Roman guard guarding the room guarding the heart Paul says if you pray about it instead of worrying about a guard will God put a guard guard around your heart and your heart will have peace so you know in the middle of the night when those worries come in like flaming arrows right there does that sound a bit better than the other one or one okay here's what you do lord I give every one of these to you turn your worries into prayers because that's how God helps us overcome our anxiety and worry also prayer is one of the ways in which we make ourselves ready for the return of Christ prayer it's one of the ways by which we make ourselves ready for the return of Christ Luke 21 Jesus says take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and the cares of this life so the day of the Lord comes upon you unexpectedly watch therefore in pray always that shall be worthy to escape these things speaking of his coming Jesus said in mark 13 of that day and hour no one knows not even the angels in heaven nor the son but only the father take heed therefore and watch and pray for you don't know when the hour is so prayer is not an option for the believer we need direction in life you all have heard of Yogi Berra not Yogi Bear Yogi Berra a great baseball player who recently died and yogi was known for his amazing statements it was yogi that coined the phrase it ain't over till it's over and sometimes the things he said seem to contradict themselves but they were really quite clever one of the Yogi Berra statements was quote if you don't know where you're going you might wind up someplace else I love that but you know there's some truth there if you don't know where you're going you might wind up someplace else yeah that's true so we need direction from God don't we we need to pray for his will to be revealed to us here's a way to sort of sum it up when you pray about something God may say no consider this if the request is wrong God says no if the timing is wrong God says slow if you are wrong God says grow but if the request is right and the timing is right and you are right God says go want to hear that again no I want to do the underwater effect again Lord's a blue arrow okay I'll say it again here we go if the request is wrong God says no if the timing is wrong God says slow if you are wrong God says grow but if the request is right and the timing is right and you are right God says go so are there secrets to answered prayer well yes and no I mean if you think this book is a secret maybe there are if you've never opened the users manual of life then I guess it's a secret but the fact is God has proclaimed very clearly in Scripture how to have our prayers answered in the affirmative he gives us principles to follow and probably the greatest example of that as a template he gave that we call the Lord's Prayer that we all prayed together in Angel Stadium and that is not like the prayer to pull out in case of emergency though there's nothing wrong with praying the Lord's Prayer but it's more than that the Lord's Prayer is not just a prayer to play pray it is a template for prayer it is a model for prayer again remember Jesus gave this prayer in response to the request of his disciples who said he know what John taught his disciples to pray Lord teach us to pray so he gave them this prayer now if you want to get real technical this really isn't the Lord's Prayer and by that I mean Jesus never prayed the prayer we're about to read this is not a prayer he needed to pray because he never sinned as he did not have to ask for forgiveness from the Father it's been called the Lord's Prayer the Bible never calls it the Lord's Prayer it's traditionally known this way so I'll refer to it as such if you want to read the Lord's Prayer if you want to read the prayer that only Jesus could pray in your spare time read John 17 that's your homework assignment either all the way through that's the Lord's Prayer but this is our prayer this could be called the disciples prayer the believers prayer but we'll call it the Lord's Prayer because that's how it's known and it's Luke chapter 11 and we're going to read verses 1 to 4 Luke 11:1 to 4 now it came to pass as he was praying in a certain place when he seized one of his disciples said to him Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples and he said to them when you pray say our Father who art in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who has sinned against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever notice how the Lord's Prayer begins our Father who art in heaven before a word of personal petition is offered I just sit back for a moment and contemplate the awesomeness of God I am speaking to the Almighty God the everlasting father the creator of the universe but here's the good news he's not just the father he's your father he's your father in here's a good acronym to keep in mind when you're thinking of how to pray it's acts a CTS aren't you impressed I can spell acts but it's an acronym a stands for adoration C stands for confession T stands for Thanksgiving S stands for supplication so what I'm saying is when you pray it's always good to start with a adoration before you get to petition before you get to supplication if you have the luxury of some time begin with adoration contemplating the greatness and awesomeness of God a for adoration C for confession confess your own personal sin T for Thanksgiving and then ask supplication praying for others so our Father who art in heaven so here we have principle number one if you want your prayers answered in the affirmative you must pray according to the will of God if you want your prayers answered in the affirmative in other words if you want God to say yes to you when you pray pray according to the will of God Jesus modeled this for us when he taught us to pray our Father who art in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done now some would teach something contrary to this they would say when you pray you tell god what you want and you ask it by faith and you don't doubt it and you speak it into existence because your faith is a force and you harness the force of faith and you pray this boldly to God I even heard one teacher say don't ever pray not my will but yours be done okay whatever you're wrong if you hold that view I'm going to go with Jesus on this one if you don't mind if anything I'm going to go with Jesus on all of it and Jesus God in human form taught me to pray My Father who art in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven here's what I've learned about myself I don't always know what's right big revelation sometimes I think I do but a lot of times I have it all wrong so I am so glad that my father who knows all things and has my best interests at heart well sometimes overrule my prayers from my own good lord I want this alert said no no that's not what you want Greg your brain is the size of a little grain of sand okay just I'm gonna do this for you instead you'll thank me later trust me and I do never be afraid to ask God to over your rule your prayer if it happens to be outside of his will you know sometimes God answers our prayer didn't we thought he would heard about three men who were going through a forest they came to a large raging violent rushing river they want to get to the other side so they decided to pray the first guy prayed for strength to cross the river suddenly boom boom his arms were big and muscular in his legs to and any swam across the river he almost drowned it took him about two hours but he barely made it but he got to the other side second guy this is a true story by the way huh I was there I saw it no I think you know this is a joke right keep just so you know second guy he sees it happens to the first guy he prays he says all right lord I pray for the strength and the tools to cross the river he too has strong muscular arms and legs but God gives to him a boat and a paddle and takes him about an hour to get across he capsized twice but he made it third guys watching this he says lord I pray you give me the strength and the tools but most of all the intelligence to cross the river poof he turned into a woman she looked at the map height upstream a hundred yards and walked across the bridge aren't you girls glad you came to church tonight so you see here's the objective of prayer the objective of prayer is not to get God to do what I want him to do god I love you I have a wonderful plan for your life come over here you know sometimes my grandkids want to take me places they're like Christopher he's the little guy he'll grab my hand he's pulling around London I'm like this you know and he takes me upstairs because he wants me to play with the Train or he wants me to do something I'll show he has this little plan and that's what we're like God come on come on come on this is what I want here's what gonna do but look that's not the objective or prayer the objective or prayer is saying Lord where are you going because I want to go there too what do you think about this because I want to think that - what is your will in this because I want that to be my will - and so I want to get in alignment with God and when I find God's will and I start praying accordingly I will start seeing my prayers answered in the affirmative the problem is I'm often out of what God's will and sometimes even praying prayers that are contrary to as well 1st John 5:14 says this is a confidence we have in him if we ask anything according to his will he hears us and we have the petitions desired of him listen to this nothing lies outside of the reach of prayer except that which lies outside of the will of God God will only answer the request that he inspires you see prayer is surrender it's a render to the will of God and it's cooperation with that will you say well I don't know that's kind of a drag why even pray because God wants you to be a part of the process so here's how it works God puts a burden on your heart maybe it's for a loved one maybe it's to pray for the salvation of someone maybe it's to pray for some other thing but he puts this burden on your heart and you pray and then you seek God do the impossible and answer that prayer it is a man I am a powerful man of Prayer no you're just you serve a powerful God and you got in sync with them that's all so we need to be praying that's why we should pray for America because the only hope for our nation is a spiritual awakening and we pray a prayer like that God's going to cure it because that's something I believe God wants to do for our nation and when we pray for the gospel to go out and that people will believe in Jesus and we pray for harvest America next year I believe we're praying according to the will of God because the Bible says God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance so we want to get in sync with the will of God okay having said that there also is a place in prayer for your personal needs because jesus said give us this day our daily bread now here's our problem here's our prayers usually go if we rewrote the Lord's Prayer it would sound like this our Father who art in heaven give us this day our daily bread kind of like a let's cut to the chase shall we you know like when I go into a restaurant I like to order in fact when I go into a restaurant I know what I want before their server even comes sometimes I come what would you like to drink well I would like to drink a glass of water but I would also like to order this and my wife says I'm not ready yet I'll say okay sorry and then my wife reads at the menu and I'll just say to her you're gonna order this I'll just say what she's gonna order she doesn't even hear me because she's contemplating the menu then after the server comes back and sometimes you know they go for water and leave us for days right they're gone for days then they return which is your water mommy says quick question about the menu can I substitute this for that and that for this and change this and change that and the server will say let me go back and check in the kitchen no don't go don't go and then they go in they're gone for two more days and they come back I yes we can change this to that and then my wife orders the thing I said she was going to order at the beginning I'm just like let's get to it let's order let's eat and then I want to go to sleep that's pretty much it my wife enjoys the meal I eat it like a dog with food and a dish this is a sad thing but we can be this way with God alright Lauren let's just get to it how you don't love you Amen okay here's what I need right but Jesus taught us this after this manner pray our Father who art in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven now give us this day our daily bread but see if I've contemplated the awesomeness of God and considered his will and purpose and if I've already surrendered my will to him asking for his purpose above my own that could just have a little bit of an effect on what I now pray for personally couldn't it now I'm going to sort of see things a little differently because as I'm looking at God now I'm kind of getting things a perspective maybe even as I started out in prayer my need was so big and God was so small but as I saw how big God is I saw how my need was so small comparatively big God small problem big problem small God we just need to see who God is and there's greatness but then praying give me this day my daily bread so amazing that God wants to do this for us here's another secret to answered prayer you may not like this one you must forgive others you must forgive others in the model prayer Jesus teach that's first for forgive everyone that is indebted to us this word indebted means those that have sinned against us now your forgiveness is not hinging on your forgiving but your forgiving should hinge on his gracious and generous forgiveness to you in other words Jesus since I'm saying you better be forgiving of someone or you won't be forgiving what he's really saying is you've been forgiven so forgive others because if it was me forgiving to receive forgiveness I'm almost establishing a works relationship with God like I have to do something to get something the forgiveness that comes to me from Christ is based on his merit and on his death in his love for me but if I know anything about what he's done for me if I've been forgiven I should forgive others listen to this forgiving people should be forgiving people let's say that together forgiving people should be forgiving people if you're a person who holds grudges if you're a person who keeps score if you're a person that can't let it go you're going to be a person that suffers in life let me tell you something else about yourself you're going to be a person that's going to see your prayer life come to a screeching halt so we have to learn how important it is to forgive when we pray because forgiveness is the key to all relationships that are healthy it's strong and lasting in fact Jesus said in Matthew 5 23 when you're standing before the altar and the temple offering this sacrifice to God and you remember that someone has something against you leave your sacrifice go and be reconciled to that person then bring your gift to God so right now let me ask you this are you harboring a grudge toward someone you say well okay I am but they deserve to have something harbored toward them because they did this to me they said that about me okay let's just say for the sake of a point they did honestly a lot of the times we miss understand you know sometimes we think people said stuff about us that they actually didn't say sometimes we misunderstood something that someone did but let's just say for the sake of a point they said that thing they did that thing and now your payback is I'm not going to forgive them and if they walk in this church I'm gonna just give them the evil eye while I'm worshiping I'll just Lord I love you so much you're just going to hold it uncomfortably long and father it you know we're wait stop you got it all wrong you know who's getting hurt damn the evil eyes hurting them newsflash they may not even know about your stupid evil eye they look at you and say what's wrong with them here's who's getting hurt you not forgiving someone is like eating rat poison and hoping it kills the rat it's going to kill you harboring resentment and not forgiving is going to hurt you more than the person you're harboring the resentment toward if you want to be healthy and vibrant spiritually you have to forgive you know you do well Greg they don't deserve it okay do you do I know we don't but what does the Bible say Ephesians 4:32 be kind tender-hearted forgiving one another as God for Christ's sake as forgiving you number four if you want to have your prayers answered as much as possible stay out of the place of temptation first for it only this into temptation but deliver us from evil in other words he's saying Lord don't let me be tempted above my capacity to resist now if you want to live in a temptation world a temptation free world to actually leave this world and the problem is even if you hitched a ride on a spacecraft on your way to Mars you'd still get tempted you can't escape it so here's what Jesus is teaching us don't put yourself unnecessarily in the way of temptation look life is hard enough don't go out there and make it harder you know where you're vulnerable you know where you're weak you know where you could fall so keep your guard up Lord lead me not into temptation but deliver me from the evil one one final principle about having your prayers answered don't give up don't give up look at verse five now and Jesus said which of you shall have a friend and go to him at midnight and say friend me through friend lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has come in this journey and they have nothing to set before him then a Lancer from within and say don't trouble me for the doors now shut up my children are with me in bed I can't rise and give it to you I say though he will not rise to give because he's his friend yet because of his persistence he'll rise and give him as many as he needs here's the big one now verse 9 so I say to you ask and it shall be given seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you ask seek knock don't give up in fact the words asked seek and knock indicate in ascending intensity now let me explain this scene here he's talking about some guy that wants food late at night basically in biblical times you know they would have a home they would live in and if you weren't really wealthy you might only have one big room that everyone sleeps in you're there your wife is there your mom and dad are there your kids are there yeah you know uncle Harry's there and you know everybody's there it's a big thing a lot of people sleeping so you're all in this little room and some crazy guy comes knocking at your door I'd like two in the morning I need some bread a friend came into town he like go away we're all asleep but he keeps knocking the door so finally just to get the guy to go away you give him some bread that's a picture Jesus uses so he's saying if you would do that for some guy because of his persistence how much more will your father answer your prayer because here's the good news God wants to answer your prayer but sometimes he won't do it as quickly as you would like because he wants to draw you out and he wants to teach you faith thus Jesus says ask and it shall be given seeking you'll find knock on the door will be open the word ask implies requesting assistance seek denotes asking but adds the word action to it meaning involves effort and not means asking plus acting plus persevering so you pray for something one time doesn't happen fast forward a month not you're praying more often you give me some friends to pray with you you don't get the answer fast forward six months now you're calling out to God because maybe it's a prodigal son or daughter maybe it's a desperate situation maybe it's a medical situation whatever it is you're calling out to God I believe if we want to see a spiritual awakening in America we need to cry out to God cry out to God I don't think you can be a casual lord save the country amen what's for lunch but it's got to be one of those storm the gates of heaven we are not giving up we're going to keep praying for a spiritual awakening and our nation keep asking keep seeking keep knocking Jesus is calling us to passionate persistent prayer maybe our prayer is no power in it because there's no heart in it so let's pray like never before now let me ask you in closing do you know how to pray you know I think sometimes we say prayers we even teach this to our children say your prayers at night right teach them a little prayer sometimes there's prayers for food you know for this meal that we're about to receive we truly give thanks or something like that or you might teach your child to pray okay now let's pray before you go to sleep now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep if I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take how many of you do that prayer with your kids you do that don't don't do that for anymore that's kind of a weird prayer I'm sorry it just is is that a good thing to say to a child kay honey I'm gonna put you to bed now pray this prayer think about the prayer now now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep okay so maybe I could lose my soul don't keep it Lord just keep the soul so I don't lose it while I sleep if I should die before I wake or if I die in my sleep tonight I just pray the Lord my soul to take then we say good night sleep tight don't let the bedbugs bite so God doesn't take your soul if you don't die in bed the bedbugs might get you tonight and then you know maybe we read them a little Nursery Rhyme before that let me read you this little story Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after that's very nice Jack and Jill went up a hill Jack Bell cracked his head open and Jill rolled down after the you know oh I have one more Rockabye Baby in the treetop when the bough breaks the cradle will rock and these are crazy things that say to kids stop don't teach them prayers teach them how to pray there's a big difference and even as adults sometimes we have prayers what we don't pray here's my prayer my little prayer my pre-written prayer i memorize this prayer know pray prayer is communicating with God you know it's possible to offer prayers and not be hurt in heaven it's possible to pray the most beautiful eloquent prayer ever prayed and I would not go any higher than the ceiling God even says these people draw near to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me why is that because sometimes we're filled with sin maybe it's unforgiveness maybe it's a sin we've never confessed maybe it's something else but it's just like there's a barrier between us and God it's like we were in a phone call with God and our battery went dead or even worse we hung up we hung up and if you want to reconnect with God again you need to call back but you need to confess your sin and say lord I've sinned and admit that sin you've committed and God will forgive you and communication will be restored do you need to do that there might be some of you that have always tried to pray but you've never known the God you're even praying to that's the most important thing of all it God wants a relationship with you and prayers an ongoing conversation that you can have with them all day and all afternoon and all night long and listen to this all life long in your young years and your middle years in your older years this conversation with the Lord and one day you'll close your eyes and wake up and you'll be there with them in person and carry on you walk with Him on earth and one day you'll walk with him in heaven I love the story of Enoch it says Enoch walked with God and was not for God took him that just means that every day unique would get up and he take a walk with God and he did this for many years and then one day God says you know when Enoch we're closer to my house and yours one should come home with me and that's life you just walk with God day in and day out year in and year out decade in and decade out and then one day the Lord says come on we're closer to my house come home then you're with them that's prayer but you can't pray if you don't know that God that you're praying to and that's why Jesus died on the cross because he died to forgive you of all those sins that you and I have committed that separate us from him and if I'll turn from that sin and ask Jesus to be my Savior and Lord he'll come into my life and forgive me and this relationship will be have you asked Christ to come into your life yet do you know your sin is forgiven or is there something right now that's troubling you something you've done you know is wrong it's causing great guilt great pain listen let's not just deal with the symptom let's get to the problem it's sin you confess that sin you'll come into this relationship with God I'm going to give you an opportunity as we close now in prayer to ask for his forgiveness and start this relationship with him maybe some of you have never asked Jesus to come into your life you can do it right here right now maybe some of you have known the Lord at one time but you've allowed some sin don't work its way into your life and it's brought your prayer life to a halt you can confess that sin and God will forgive you God says if you will confess your sin he's faithful and just to forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness you can come to Jesus right now let's all bow our heads father I thank you for everybody here everybody listening everybody watching I prefer anyone now who may not yet know you I pray that you'll help them to see their need for Jesus and help them to come to you and receive your forgiveness

Channel: Pastor Greg Laurie

Views: 99,344

Rating: 4.823729 out of 5

Keywords: greg laurie, New Believer, Bible Study, Prayer, bible, life, greg laurie live, greg laurie sermons, greg laurie sermons 2020, the importance of prayer in the life of the believer, prayer in the life of the believer, prayer in the life of a believer, prayer in the life of a christian, the role of prayer in the life of a christian, how to pray as a christian

Id: ZvhtrOIqsoE

Length: 53min 48sec (3228 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 26 2015