Ray Kwan.
Looking at 6 Examples of Prayer.
Isaiah 38:1-6 Hezekiah Sickness. This proud man prayed for healing and God granted him 15 additional years of life. This allowed for Hezekiah's heir to be born, allowing the Lord to fulfill His promise to continue the line of King David.
Exodus 32:9-14 Moses Prays.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10 Now thenlet Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” 11 Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
God tests the faith of His people by hearing their prayers. As Moses prays, we can see that his heart is aligned to God's. Moses shows concern for God's glory.
James 5:13-18 "Effective" prayer.
God supplies the energy for prayer.
The book of James is concerned with Wisdom put into Practice.
Luke 18:1-7 Persistent Widow.
Be persistent in asking for Justice. The KEY here is asking for things JUST.
Argument from the lesser to the greater: If this unjust judge will answer to the persistent widow, how much more so will the JUST Judge be willing to respond.
Luke 11:9-13 Knock.
This is not a blank check for prayer. The request here is for food.
Argument from the lesser to the greater: If earthly fathers provide food, how much more gracious will our Heavenly Father be with the things He knows that we need.
John 15:7 Abide in the Vine.
Verse 7: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
This is ALSO not a blank check for prayer. What is the qualification? A: His words must abide in you.
In Review, God did not grant years of life to the Prideful Hezekiah b/c he asked, but God granted that request to fulfill His Promise to David. Prayer is not about asking for what we desire or swaying God to do things for us.
We pray to: [1] ALIGN our hearts to God's Will and when the Lord answers our prayer, we must [2] ACCEPT the answer He gives us.
2 Samuel 12:22-23 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’23 But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
