PRAYING WITH FAITH

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PRAYING WITH FAITH
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• ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRAY WITH FAITH
• Critics abound who disparage Christians from
  praying
• God doesnt exist so you are just talking into
  the air when you pray.
• Even if there is a God youre not going to
  change His mind by praying.
• Instead of listening to the critics let us listen
  to God.

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• God Invites Us To Pray
• God declared His Temple to be a house of prayer.
• For My house shall be called a house of prayer
  for all nations. Isaiah 567.
• Jesus confirmed that Gods house is a house of
  prayer.
• He said to them, It is written, My house shall
  be called a house of prayer Matthew
  2113 Mark 1117 Luke 1946.

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• Jesus gave us a model prayer that embraces the
  essential areas of a true believers life.
• Our Father in heaven Matthew 69-13 Luke
  111-4.
• Jesus encouraged His disciples to believe God to
  answer their prayers.
• Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you
  will find knock, and it will be opened to you. .
  . Matthew 77.

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• On the night before His crucifixion Jesus gave
  His disciples these promises. . .
• And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do,
  that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If
  you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John
  1413, 14.
• If you abide in Me, and My words abide in You,
  you will ask what you desire and it shall be done
  for you. John 157.

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• These are tremendous promises to those who
  understand them and meet the requirements. It
  is likely that every true Christian has asked
  something from God and tacked on the words, in
  Jesus name. Time passed and their prayer was
  not answered. The prerequisites stated by Jesus
  are If you abide in Me, and My words abide in
  you. . ..
• This surely means that to get our prayers
  answered we must be in unhindered fellowship with
  Jesus and pray according to His will as revealed
  in the teaching of His words.

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• May I share that I have often checked up on
  myself by asking this question, What would
  Jesus pray if He were in my situation at this
  point in time?
• Those times when I experienced total peace that
  the request I wanted to make was in harmony with
  the will of God were the times my prayer was most
  often answered.

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• Jesus taught that FAITH is the essential
  Ingredient of answered prayer.
• So Jesus answered and said to them Have faith
  in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever
  says to this mountain, Be removed and be cast
  into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart,
  but believes that those things he says will be
  done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I
  say to you, whatever things you ask when you
  pray, believe that you receive them ,and you will
  have them. Mark 1122-24.

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• SOME BIBLICAL ANSWERS TO PRAYER
• Abraham prayed that Sodom would not be destroyed
  (because his nephew, Lot and his family lived
  there). Sodom was destroyed but Lot was spared.
  (Genesis 18).
• Jacob wrestled in prayer with the Angel of the
  Lord because his brother Esau was coming after
  him with 400 warriors. His prayer was, I will
  not let You go unless You bless me. (Genesis
  3226). Jacobs name, which means supplanter,
  was nullified and changed to Israel which means
  a prince with God and Esau spared him and his
  family.

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• God instructed Moses to pray to Him by lifting
  his rod. Moses lifted that rod ten times in
  confrontation with Pharaoh and a plague fell on
  Egypt.. Pharaoh agreed to let Israel leave the
  land. Moses lifted that rod at the Red Sea and
  God opened a path across on dry land. When
  Israel crossed Moses lifted his rod again and the
  Red Sea closed over the pursuing Egyptian army.
  Every time Moses lifted that rod in Israels
  journey a miracle took place.

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• Joshua needed more time to defeat the Amorites in
  battle. He spoke to the LORD in the day when
  the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the
  children of Israel, and he said in the sight of
  Israel Sun, stand still over Gibeon And Moon,
  in the Valley of Aijalon. So the sun stood
  still, and the moon stopped, Till the people had
  revenge upon their enemies. Joshua 1012-13.

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• Hannah was unable to conceive a child. She was
  in bitterness of soul and prayed to the LORD and
  wept in anguish.
• She made a vow to the LORD that if He would give
  her a male child that she would give him to the
  LORD all the days of his life. God gave her a
  son whom she named Samuel who became the greatest
  judge in the days of Israels judges.
  1st Samuel 11 10, 11, 20.

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• King Hezekiah prayed that God would deliver
  Jerusalem from destruction by the mighty Assyrian
  army. God sent one angel that night who killed
  185,000 Assyrian soldiers.
• I Kings 18 and 19 Isaiah 37.
• Space does not allow me to describe how many
  prayed to Jesus for healing and deliverance from
  demons and had their prayers answered or other
  miraculous answers to pray in the New Testament.

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• Let us learn to follow these words from James,
  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,
  who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
  and it will be given to him. But let him ask in
  faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like
  a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
  For let not that man suppose that he will receive
  anything from the LORD. James 5-7.

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BECOME A WITNESS FOR CHRIST

• The main reason every disciple should become a
  witness of Christ is because this is The Great
  Commission of Jesus to His disciples.
• The gospels record these statements from Jesus in
  the days following His resurrection

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• Go therefore and make disciples of all nations
  (Matthew 2819 Mark 1615).
• Repentance and remission of sins should be
  preached in His name to all nationsAnd you are
  witnesses of these things. Luke 2447, 48.
• As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.
  John 2021.

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• The book of Acts records the last words of Jesus
  before His ascension back to Heaven
• But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
  has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to
  Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
  and to the end of the earth. Acts 18.
• A personal reason for every disciple to become a
  witness for Christ is that this is the means by
  which we receive the crown of rejoicing when all
  true believers are assembled in glory. The
  apostle Paul wrote his converts at Thessalonica,
• For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of
  rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of
  our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are
  our glory and joy. 1st Thessalonians 219, 20.

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• GUIDELINES TO BECOME A WITNESS FOR CHRIST
• We Must Acquire A Compassion for Lost Souls.
• If we do not have a compassion for lost souls we
  will not become an effective witness.
• A disciple of Jesus should meditate on the
  following truths

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• Every lost person is spiritually blinded by
  Satan to prevent them from coming to a saving
  faith in Christ. (See 2nd Corinthians 43, 4.)
• Lost souls are described as having no hope and
  being without God in Ephesians 212.
• Those who depart this life without coming into a
  saving relationship with Jesus Christ will be
  separated from God forever in torment.
  (See Luke 1622-26).
• We should meditate on these truths until a
  compassion for lost souls arises within us.

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• We Must Seek Training To Effectively Bear Witness
  of Christ
• We can receive very good training by going with a
  well trained soulwinner and experience on the
  job training.
• We can study many of the fine books on how to be
  an effective witness.
• We can attend soulwinning and witnessing classes
  when they are available.

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• We Need to Learn to be Tactful to Make Contact
• Tact is defined as a quick, or intuitive
  appreciation of what is proper the mental
  ability of saying and doing the right thing at
  the right time so as not to unjustly offend.
  (See 1st Corinthians 919-23).

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C.S. Lovett suggested the word FORM as an
acrostic in presenting the gospel

• F family interests (shows personal care for
  them)
• O occupation (appreciation of their vocation
  and their
• knowledge of it).
• R religious background (tactfully introduces
  the subject
• of spiritual matters and reveals some of
  the religious
• influences of their life).
• M message (If they are believers you encourage
  them and
• perhaps invite them to visit your church.
  If they have not
• received Christ as Savior you tactfully
  present the gospel.

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• All are sinners Romans 310-12, 23.
• God has given His Son to receive the punishment
  for
• our sins in our place. Romans
  56-8
• To be saved we must receive Jesus Christ by
  faith to be
• our Savior. John 146 Romans 623.
• Jesus has promised to save all who ask Him in
  sincere
• faith to save them. Romans 109-13.
• Offer to lead them in a prayer to ask Jesus to
  forgive
• them of their sins, save them, and make them
  a
• child of God.

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• Follow up by encouraging them
• to make a public confession of their faith in
  Jesus
• follow Jesus in believers baptism and
• unite with a local Biblical church.

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