Sermon Tone Analysis
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Last week we discussed the principal that we all know.
Bold behavior is born out of our beliefs.
Instinctively, we know this to be true.
Equally true, this week we consider,
Our prayers reveal what we believe about God.
How many people here would say they would like to improve your prayer life?
Touch someone near you and tell them....today is your day!
Today I’m going to ask us to pray some bold prayers.
Prayers like Joshua prayed in Joshua 10.
Joshua had led the army to drive out the people in the promised land.
Amazingly successful in this.
Here in Chapter 10, the Gibeonites, some folks who are like trade partners with the Israelites, are in trouble and they reach out to Joshua.
Joshua and the army marched all night.
As they marched, God spoke to Joshua:
Joshua knew that God was on his side.
God had delivered over and over.
Joshua knew he was on mission for God…even though this would be a difficult battle.
He knew that God was with him...so he prayed a bold prayer.
He asked God to stop the sun over Gibeon.
That’s a bold prayer.
God, stop the sun please because we are going to need some daylight to finish the task you have before us; and do you know what happened.
The sun stopped.
God was with them, they totally defeated the armies of the Amorites and the survivors scattered.
God stepped in and sent hail down from heaven and those killed by the large hailstones were more than those killed in battle.
I want to pray boldly like that.
I believe God wants us to pray boldly too.
I truly do.
Mark Batterson: “Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers.
God isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers.
He is offended by anything less.
If your prayers aren’t impossible to you, they are insulting to God.
But all too often, bold isn’t the word I would use to describe my prayers.
I would describe my prayers as: ___________
Small, selfish, boring, timid prayers are more common.
Frankly my prayers are more sleepy than they are soul stirring.
Wake up, you need to hear this.
Instead of praying timid prayers.
I’ve started to notice more and more that I say “just” a lot in my prayers.
I’ve begun to correct myself, but I still do it.
Lord if you would just…Father can you just...
It’s as though I pray like my prayers are an inconvenience to God.
I know what kind of sinner I am, what business do I have interrupting God when there is a man of God like Dave Kelly crying out to God.
Or Sandy Waugh.
Or Mrs BiBi.
I’m not like them.
SO I give God an out in my seeking.
God JUST...
These aren’t bold prayers.
Is that you too?
How would you describe your prayers?
God does not answer vague prayers, he doesn’t need to…we actually don’t need him to.
The more specific your prayers are, the more glory God receives.
I believe God wants us to pray bold prayers....not just saying bold things to God.
I want Bold things to come from my heart.
That’s why I say I have a prayer problem, but my prayers aren’t the problem.
“The issue of prayer is not prayer, the issue of prayer is God.”
Abraham Heschel once said, "The issue of prayer is not prayer, the issue of prayer is God."*
He means that our prayers reveal what we believe about God, and when we have the right understanding of God, our prayers will reflect it.
How big is God?
How powerful is God?
Do our prayers reflect it?
Too often we pray like we mis-believe God.
Maybe I should say I do; but I think this applies to more than just me.
We think God isn’t interested in us.
We pray like God isn’t able to deliver.
We pray like God only works in big pictures and not in the details.
But that is not true of God.
God is the answer to our prayer problem.
Are your problems bigger than God, or is God bigger than your problems?
Our biggest problem is our small view of God.
That is the cause of all lesser evils.
And it’s a high view of God that is the solution to all other problems.
I want us to learn today to be bold in our relationship with God, to pray bold prayers.
To ask God for his blessing, and expect him to show up.
This is the way Jesus taught us to pray and its what we see in Peter and John’s prayer in Acts 4.
Remember Peter and John amazed the spiritual leaders because they were just a couple of regular guys who had spent time with Jesus and now they had amazing courage and boldness.
You may remember that they were sent away with the threat of death if they ever taught in the name of Jesus again.
Let’s see what they did next.
So see this.
You have just been arrested.
Those who are in authority told you, if you do it again, I’m going to kill you.
What do you do?
Well they went and praised God.
They thanked God for all he had done.
Notice there in vs 24 they called god sovereign.
In charge of everything…everything and everyone answer to Him.
That makes the rest of the prayer in
They saw themselves as part of what God was doing.
Everything that had happened was under God’s hand.
Knowing who God is, and their relationship with Him as his disciples, his followers, they saw themselves as part of the next chapter of God’s story.
They had been arrested, so they celebrated.
They had gone through trials and difficulties, but they rejoiced.
They had seen their friend and leader Jesus beaten and crucified, but now they could praise God.
Because they had seen the resurrection.
they had experienced new life, they were filled with the Holy Spirit power, just as Jesus had promised and now they were here in this moment for God.
See what they prayed.
Not lord protect us…not lord deliver us…not lord get us out of here…no they just said,
Consider.
Lord consider our circumstances, and give us boldness to accomplish your mission.
See that’s the key to bold prayers, they are for God’s glory and mission.
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