Praying Prayers that will be Answered

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Transcript
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I want us to learn how to pray for answers. If there ever was a time we need to pray for answers, it’s now.
We will look briefly at a couple of passages and then camp out in 1 Kings.
Amos 4:4–12 The Living Bible
4 Go ahead and sacrifice to idols at Bethel and Gilgal. Keep disobeying—your sins are mounting up. Sacrifice each morning and bring your tithes twice a week! 5 Go through all your proper forms and give extra offerings. How you pride yourselves and crow about it everywhere! 6 “I sent you hunger,” says the Lord, “but it did no good; you still would not return to me. 7 I ruined your crops by holding back the rain three months before the harvest. I sent rain on one city but not another. While rain fell on one field, another was dry and withered. 8 People from two or three cities would make their weary journey for a drink of water to a city that had rain, but there wasn’t ever enough. Yet you wouldn’t return to me,” says the Lord. 9 “I sent blight and mildew on your farms and your vineyards; the locusts ate your figs and olive trees. And still you wouldn’t return to me,” says the Lord. 10 “I sent you plagues like those of Egypt long ago. I killed your lads in war and drove away your horses. The stench of death was terrible to smell. And yet you refused to come. 11 I destroyed some of your cities, as I did Sodom and Gomorrah; those left are like half-burned firebrands snatched away from fire. And still you won’t return to me,” says the Lord. 12 “Therefore, I will bring upon you all these further evils I have spoken of. Prepare to meet your God in judgment, Israel.
Too often we think that the difficulties we are going through are God’s judgement or punishment. But they are really God calling us to repent before we get his judgement.
James 5:16–18 The Living Bible
16 Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as completely human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and a half years! 18 Then he prayed again, this time that it would rain, and down it poured, and the grass turned green and the gardens began to grow again.
God says that when we admit our faults to each other and pray for each other, we will be healed. Then he says that the earnest prayers of Righteous people are effective. Elijah was a righteous man.
Elijah had just called down for from heaven…
1 Kings 18:41–46 NLT
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” 42 So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees. 43 Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.” Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. 44 Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’ ” 45 And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. 46 Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.
I want us to be a church of people who pray… so let’s look at some principles of how to pray for answers. If there ever was a time for Americans’ to get on our knees and pray, it’s now.
Someone once said,
In relation to His people, God works only in answer to their prayers
That’s heavy.
RA Torrey said
Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer but that which lies outside the Will of God.
Someone once said,
Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive Introduction

When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do—and that is something.” And he said, “When we depend upon education, we get what education can do—and that is something. When we depend upon money, we get what money can do—and that is something. When we depend upon singing and preaching, we get what singing and preaching can do—and that is something. But when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do—and what all of the churches, homes, schools, and individuals need is what God can do

How do we get what God can do? Through prayer from our hearts!
Here are 5 things that are necessary for in a prayer for spiritual revival or spiritual blessings.

1. We must pray with integrity

1 Kings 18:42 NLT
42 So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.
Elijah went and prayed while everyone else went to eat.
Who is Elijah? We see him as almost super-human, but he was a man just like you and me.
James 5:17 NLT
17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!
He put his pants on just like you do. As a matter of fact, he failed just like you and I because in the very next chapter, he is running for his life from Jezebel. He becomes discouraged, depressed, and ready to give up… possibly even suicidal. Elijah was not perfect by any means, but he was a righteous man. He did his best to listen to and follow God.
We all need some revival in our lives right now, our area needs it, our nation needs it. To be revived, we have to do the prayer and God doesn’t hear us unless you are righteous.
Proverbs 15:29 NLT
29 The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.
Psalm 66:18 NLT
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
God does not hear the prayers of unrighteous people.
The good news is that Jesus gives us His righteousness so that when we are a follower of Jesus, God hears our prayers.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We have to let go of our sinful control over our own lives and allow god to be in control.
ILL - Monkeys - Take a coconut and tie it to a tree and put some rice in it. A monkey will come along and reach in and grab the rice, but his fist is so big that he can’t get his hand out of the coconut. All he had to do to escape was to let go of the rice, but he won’t do it.
Do you know anyone like that? Like a silly monkey who won’t have their prayers answered because they won’t turn loose of something in their lives?
Psalm 66:18 NKJV
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.
You will not have your prayers answered as long as you hold on to the things God has told you to turn loose. James meant what he said in
James 5:16 NIV
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

2. We have to pray with intensity

1 Kings 18:42 NLT
42 So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.
Elijah went up on the Mountain by himself to pray. This was not a drive by prayer, this was an intense prayer. He understood what Jesus said in ...
Matthew 6:6 NLT
6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
Jesus tell us to get to a place by ourselves where we can really pray. Jesus himself did this often… he would withdraw to a place alone and pray. So should we.
Elijah meant business. He bowed to the ground with his head between his knees… any idea how hard that is? In doing this, he shut out everything around him. His ears were covered, his mantle over his head. He put himself in a position where he could not see what was going on around him. He did not want his faith disturbed by what he saw. He prayed for rain and did not want to see the sunlight everywhere. He prayed until his servant came back and told him there was a cloud coming.
Most of us would have gotten up after the first time the servant said there were no clouds… Elijah did not.
Jesus prayed with intensity.
Hebrews 5:7 NLT
7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.
ILL - an old pastor was called to the home of a man, who was a drunkard and asked to pray. The man had a wonderful saint of a mother. The son, told the pastor, I need you to pray because my wife has cancer. The pastor began to pray… the boy said, Pastor you ain’t praying… so he prayed a little louder and faster… Pastor you aint praying. Just then the pastor noticed the mother who had been at the kitchen table was not there, so he got up to find her. He heard her in the next room and there she was on holy ground face down pouring her heart out for that boy and his wife. That boy knew what real praying was because he had grown up listening to a praying mama who REALY prayed.
Do you pray with that intensity? Jesus did, and I need to more and more.

3. We must pray with Authority

Elijah prayed with authority.
1 Kings 18:41 NLT
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!”
Elijah heard the storm coming even when it was a beautiful sunny day with no clouds in the sky. How could Elijah say that.
1 Kings 18:1 NLT
1 Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!”
Elijah prayed with authority because he had heard from the Lord and was prying in his will. He had faith that God would do what he said he would do. You can’t have that kind of faith without the WOG.
Romans 10:17 NKJV
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Listen, many people would not have prayed because they had already seen where God said it was going to rain… he was going to answer. But the promise is what caused Elijah to pray, and pray with authority. The WOG is full of promises that never were utilized because we did not hit our knees in prayer. God makes promises to grow our faith, so the promise should drive us to prayer for it to come to pass.
People will say that you can pray for whatever you want, but unless God has given you a word that he is going to answer your prayer, you cannot pray with that authority. God may want to situation to get worse so that it will change people involved.
Prayer does not bend the will of God to fit your will. Prayer finds the will of God and gets in it.
Look back at Amos, God sent drought, floods, fire and they would not repent. But they would not repent and turn to God.
Look at when Elijah prayed for rain with authority. He prayed after the fire fell… the cleansing fire. First, people have to believe in God, then the answer to their prayers. God’s plan was to send rain all along, but he sent it in His way and in his time. Too often we want the rain without the fire… the answer without the relationship.
We want this virus to go away, but we don’t want to repent as a nation. We don’t want to turn to the one who can, who wants to and who will get rid of the virus. Instead we have leaders who say, God didn’t cause out numbers to go down, it was our hard work...”
We can pray with authority when we have turned to the Lord and gotten a word from Him.

4. We need to pray with humility

1 Kings 18:42 NLT
42 So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.
Elijah bowed to the ground… he humbled himself. We need to humble ourselves.
2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT
14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
Elijah was bold. He could look at a King and tell him that God was going to bring him down… that he was the problem… How could he do that? He had just been with the King of Kings.
Any man who knows how to kneel before God can stand before any other human without intimidation
If you humble yourself before the Lord, he will raise you up at the right time. A proper fear of the Lord will remove all other fear.
Elijah was bold but he humbled himself before the Lord.

5. We need to pray with persistency

1 Kings 18:43 NLT
43 Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.” Seven times Elijah told him to go and look.
You can see a long way from the top of the mountain.
Elijah kept praying even when his servant kept coming back with bad news. (7 times)
6 times there was no answer, but on the 7th… there was a cloud followed by rain. We have to pray with persistency.
Colossians 4:2 NLT
2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
Isaiah 30:18 NLT
18 So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.
God’s delays are not God’s denials. You devote yourself to prayer and you wait for his help.
Prayer is asking, seeking and knocking… and not stopping.
Matthew 7:7 NLT
7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
I don’t know why God doesn’t answer every time. God wanted rain, he promised rain, and Elijah was a man who was right with God and he had to ask 7 times for it to rain.
1 Kings 18:44 NLT
44 Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’ ”
Conclusion
We are in need of rain… of answered prayer for our nation, our state, our neighborhoods and our families. Whether or not God blesses our nation, I know that God will revive you … that he will send you rain. It’s not your job for you to convince God to send revival into your heart, he wants to. Your job is to allow him to do what he wants to do in your life.
Isaiah 44:3–4 NLT
3 For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children. 4 They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.
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