God Answers our Prayers.a look at 3Bible stories about Prayer
Wednesday night Prayer • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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1. Hannah is infertile, and she prays desperately for a son.
1. Hannah is infertile, and she prays desperately for a son.
Hannah was the unfortunate barren second wife, ridiculed and humiliated by the wife who easily bore children. So Hannah pleaded with God for a son, promising to give him back to the Lord:
11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
Sure enough, Samuel became the greatest prophet in Israel’s history, who maintained direct communication with God throughout his life. In addition to Samuel, God gave Hannah three more sons and two daughters. When we are willing to give our best to God, He blesses us with more!
2. Peter is in prison for preaching the gospel; the church prayed for his release.
2. Peter is in prison for preaching the gospel; the church prayed for his release.
After the Christian faith began to take root, the religious Hebrew governor, King Herod Agrippa, arrested Peter and put him in prison.
Acts 12:5 (ESV)
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
later on in this chapter it tells us One night, an angel appeared in Peter’s jail cell and led him out of the prison, through doors and past guards.
and then in verse 12, Peter arrived at Mary’s house, where the church was gathered praying; the servant girl was so surprised, she forgot to let him right in the house.
Sometimes, God answers our prayers so quickly, it surprises us!
thats not all- the people inside who were praying didn’t beleive it was Peter Because they were still praying about it.
3. Hezekiah prays because God tells him that he is about to die.
3. Hezekiah prays because God tells him that he is about to die.
When King Hezekiah became deathly ill, the prophet Isaiah came to him with a message from God that he would die. Hezekiah prayed and cried to God.
1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’ ” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord,
Before Isaiah had left the palace, God instructed him to return with a new message: “I have heard your prayers and seen your tears; I will heal you… I will add 15 years to your life.”
These are wonderful stories for us to look at about how God hears our prayers and answers them.
But I want us to look at 3 things I see in each of these prayers
The People who were praying were already walking with God
Hannah-Went up with her husband often to the temple to worship the Lord
The People praying for Peter -were so committed to following Jesus that they risked their lives and met in secret at night to pray.
Hezekiah -2kings 18:3 “ he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord more so than any other King of Judah.
All three of these people where walking with God in their lives before their trials began
2. They didn’’t pray alone but with other Beleivers
Hannah Prayed in the temple and the Priest Eli- Joined in her prayer and said may the God of Israel grant your petition.
the People Met with one another and prayed together for Peter
Hezekiah- Prayed with the Prophet Isaiah.
3. Their response to Gods Answered prayers
Hannah -Chose to worship God and gave her son Samuel to serve the Lord- And God blessed her and her son greatly.
The Church- it doesn't say they praised God in that moment but what we read in verse 24 is that the gospel of Jesus continued to go fourth with Boldness.
I believe that when they heard how an angel came and released Peter from Prison their boldness for the gospel grew so much deeper and this caused them to spread the good news even more fervently
Hezekiah- appears to continue to walk with God after this prayer was answered because we see in the next chapter that He gets sick to the point that God sends Isaiah to tell him he is about to die, and Hezekiah falls on his knees again and cries out to God to heal his sickness so that he can live awhile longer, and God once again answers his prayer.
The point is that He believed in the power of answered prayers ands wasn't afraid to ask God for what his heart was desiring.
So what does this mean for us today as we pray
1. We should make sure that our lives are faithful, that we are walking with Jesus, that we are not coming to the throne of God with unconfessed sin in our lives.
2. We should not be afraid to share our request with other believers so that they can pray with us.
3. We should respond to Gods answers with humility and gratitude- no matter what his answer may be.