Pray the Promises
Pasture of Prayer • Sermon • Submitted
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Announcements
Hope’s birthday today
Mission and Vision
There was a rabbi and a pastor… not they didn’t walk into a bar… but they were talking at an event and the rabbi hears the pastor pray and the pastor does a great job of just simply praying
Lord we ask if you would just… and would you please… and Lord God we lean on you to move if it’s your will...
The Rabbi pulls him aside after the event and he says, You Christians are too nice to God. We Jews know that God has promised us some things and we intend to keep him to His Word.
See if we look back to the OT we see this theme play out
In a lot of the prayers we have, we see the same through line… “Lord remember the promises you made… Lord you promised to your children Abraham and Isaac… Lord forget not your promises… Lord forget not your people you promised to save”
We see that the people of God lean into the promises of God…
This is a truth that you need in your life today… the promises of God are for the people of God
The people of God knew that Father God loved them and was faithful and in that they believed that he would do what he promised
Not because he was bound by some oath but because God speaks out of his character…
in other words, Who God is is reflected in what he says and does
We get a glimpse of the will of God by taking note as to what he has already said and who he has already proven to be
As a church we are going to continue to be lead by the spirit through this pasture of prayer
How many of you used your prayer journal last week?
How many of you found opportunities presented to you to pray for others this past week?
As we continue to walk in this pasture of prayer, God is going to continue to give you opportunities to seek him
God has called us to join together as the people of God and pray. We are committing the next 5 weeks to prayer
We are going to be praying for unity, praying for our country, praying for our church, praying for God to move
And we are praying expectantly. That is a faith filled prayer knowing that God wants to hear the prayers of his people
Prayer is the primary activity of the life in Christ Jesus
If you are a Christian you are a praying person
Think about it… Your life in Christ formally began when you cried out in prayer to the Lord
In that we should never stop praying
It is in prayer that you are able to maintain your living and vital connection with the God of the universe
Think about it
God has graced us with the opportunity to access him and his love 24 hours a day.
We have access to the throne-room of God, We have the ear of the king
Hebrews 4 tells us this
We are able to speak to the creator of all things.. and he has said that he will listen because he calls us sons and daughters
How Amazing is that? If you are not floored by this truth, then I’m going to question if you truly understand it
Lets jump into our text
Our text for today 1 John 5:13-15
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
John the beloved disciple is writing to the people of God who were spread out around the roman empire
he is giving them amazing in sight into how to live the life of faith. The life of Agape love empowered b the spirit of God
He tells us in chapter 5 here… similar to what he says in the Gospel of John, he gives us his intentions
He says the reason he is writing all these things is so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life
The Word of God is given to you so that you don’t have to guess, you don’t have to assume… you can know that you have eteranl life
And have a confidence in the Person of God who has given you his word
See yall, this is a root of our prayer life
Do you want to know why you don’t pray? I’ll let you know
It’s because you don’t truly know and believe the person of God
You don’t know the God of all love and grace who has called you into a living relationship with him
You don’t know the God that blesses his children with all good things
YOu don’t know the father who is ever faithful
I mean you’ve heard of him… but you don’t truly know in the deepest parts of your being
If you did… you couldn’t help but to call out to him throughout the day. you wouldn’t be able to contain yourself from giving that God praise when the good things happen and petition when the bad comes
John is telling us that this word of God is given to the people of God… Remember he says this is for those who believe in the name of the SOn of God
And the word is given so that we can know that we have eternal life in Him.
Going on in v 14
And this is the confidence… has to do with an assurance or a trust in the character of God to do what he says he’s going to do…
a confidence that we have toward him… that if we ask anything he will hear us
No?
If we ask anything ACCORDING to his will he hears us
Stop there
How do you know if you are asking things according to the will of God?
How do you know what the will of God is?
Your word has to be a key part of your prayer life. This pasture of prayer is not simply an emotional pasture where we are fed by good feelings
You need the Bread of Life! You need the living water! You need the promises of God to stand on
Like the rabbi, you need some things that God has said so that you can hold onto those and say “God I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know you”
And YOU SAID… not me. I didn’t just reach out and make something up… but YOU said
The only way to get there is to be in your BIble. Reading the promises of God. and then praying those promises over your children. Over your life. Over your situation.
This isn’t about name it and claim it but it is about having a knowledge and afaith in the God of all creation and the gift of salvation that he has given you through the death burial and resurrection of his one and only Son Jesus Christ
that says… God you’ve done so much and you’ve been so faithful… I’m going to hold on to your word and trust in your truth. Even when I can’t see the outcome
even when I don’t know what to do… I’m going to trust in your word
Even when I’m not even surewaht I want.... I’m going to lean into you and what your will is
That’s where that last verse comes in
We know that he hears us in what we ask and we know that we have the requests
Not because we said the magical incantation, not because we’re good enough, but because He is God and he has promised and he is faithful and we are walking inline with his will
So this week hear is what I want you to do
Continue to listen in your prayer life. Not just talking at Him…
And as you’re writing in your prayer journal the person you’re praying for to come to Christ, as you’re praying for the things that you so desperately feel the weight on your life, you are going to read your word and you are going to find a promise that God has for you and you are going to pray that Promise to the Lord. You are going to pray the scriptures and take them personally and own them
Maybe some of you are thinking… how do I know what promises are for me and what promises were meant for certain people… there’s this awesome website called google!
there is an awesome concordance called Openbible.info and right at the top it says what does the bible say about _______ you go there and you type in promises of God
Then you go to those scriptures and you read the verses in context… that means you read what comes before and after the verses and see what the writer is talking about
Then you put that promise in your prayer journal and you pray it
Or here’s another place you can start
Go through the gospels and find the parts where Jesus is praying… see what he prays for you. Then pray those promises over your life. If Jesus is praying for you in certain areas, you can be assured that it is the will of God
Closing time of reflection
I want you to take a few moments and if you have your prayer journal… write down something that the Lord has put on your heart today
If you don’t have the desire to pray… pray for the desire to pray
If you don’t know God well enough that you can trust him to be who he says… pray that
Ask God to show himself to you so that you may know him deeper