PRAYER THAT WORKS--PART V

SERMON TITLE: THE PRAYERS OF A RESOLUTE MAN

SERMON THEME: THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

PRAYER THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE WITH GOD IS PRAYER THAT FIRST MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN YOU.

DANIEL 9:1-3

In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. ³ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

· PRAYER IS GOD'S WAY OF INVOLVING YOU IN WHAT HE INTENDS TO DO.

· PRAYER THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN YOU BEGINS WITH GOD'S WORD AND ENDS IN GOD'S GLORY.

HOW DO YOU STAND FIRM IN YOUR FAITH WHEN YOU PRAY?

I) YOU HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD.

DANIEL 9:4-8

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

⁷ “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. ⁸ We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you.

· WHEN YOU COME BEFORE THE LORD, HOW DO YOU SHOW HUMILITY?

MATTHEW 24:36-39

³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[a] but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

· LIKE JESUS YOU TRUST IN THE FATHER TO DO WHAT IS BEST.

II) YOU PERSIST IN YOUR PRAYERS.

DANIEL 9: 13-16

¹³ Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

¹⁵ “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

· GOD IS DOING MORE THAN YOU CAN SEE OR UNDERSTAND.

I CHRONICLES 16:11

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

· WHEN YOU ABIDE IN CHRIST YOU ARE SEEKING HIS GLORY AND YOU WILL ASK FOR THOSE THINGS THAT HONOR HIM.

III) YOU ARE TO LISTEN MORE TO GOD.

DANIEL 9:17-19

¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

· GOD'S STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN YOUR WEAKNESS.

I CORINTHIANS 3:16-17; 19-20

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; ²⁰ and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

· WHERE THERE IS NO UNITY OR HARMONY, THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE ARE WORTHLESS AND THEY WILL GO UNANSWERED.

I CORINTHIANS 1:10

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

· WHEN WE COME TO GOD READY TO LISTEN, THEN WE ARE MORE LIKELY TO GET SOME ANSWERS TO OUR PRAYERS.

CONCLUSION: BE FIRM IN THE LORD BECAUSE THE MOMENT YOU PRAYED HEAVEN HEARD YOUR PRAYER.