Address—Nick Simon
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Perhaps we can start our meeting this afternoon.
With him #246.
From every stormy wind that blows, from every swelling tide of woes, there is a calm. A sweet retreat was found before the mercy seat. If someone could stop that police.
From every.
Sort of animals from.
The.
For.
Our souls angry.
Where glory?
Christ.
Looks a lot for his help.
God and Father, do look to thee, as I hope this afternoon as we open up thy word and hear what it has to say to us, that it might be an encouragement to our hearts. So we just look to the end upon thee, we pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.
The subject that I have on my heart this afternoon is one that we briefly touched on yesterday.
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Maybe not quite so briefly, but it's the subject of prayer.
And I know I was emphasized that how important it is that we each read the word of God.
That we read the word of God. But I would also suggest that prayer is.
And equally important part of the life of the believer that read where I was just talking to someone earlier. The reading and praying should be as natural to us as breathing.
So before I actually get into the subject of prayer, I wanted to.
If you begin what might seem as a little off topic, but let's just look at Genesis chapter 17.
And verse one.
There's just one phrase from this verse. And when Abraham was 90 years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said unto him, I am the the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect the expression Almighty God. So Abraham knew God by that name Almighty God, which in the Hebrew is El Shaddai.
The name that perhaps many of you young people are familiar with being in a song that was popular maybe some years ago, El Shaddai. But now let's move on to Exodus.
And in the third chapter.
The 14th verse God well, let's just back up. 13th verse Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come under the children of Israel shall say unto them, the God of your father says, sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thou shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am has sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thou shalt thou sand, and the children of Israel.
Jehovah God of your father's, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has sent me unto you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial until all generations, and so do the children of Israel. His name is Jehovah was revealed to him in I understand in the French it's eventually translated the eternal.
When a Jew reads his scriptures and he comes across the divine name.
He doesn't say Jehovah, it's a name he doesn't dare pronounce. And he'll say how deny which is Lord, or he'll say Hashem, which is the name.
And so.
While not to get sidetracked, Jehovah is actually a interesting derivation. But in Mr. Davies translation, he chooses to translate that word Jehovah. And so it was by his name. His name was revealed to the children of Israel, and it was by that name, the eternal one, that they were to know God. But let's move on to the New Testament and we can look at Matthew.
Matthew is a gospel especially written for the Jews.
And.
In the 5th chapter we have what is commonly called a Sermon on the Mount.
And throughout that chapter.
We find expressions such as.
In verse 22, or will begin in 21, you have heard that it was said by them of all time Thou shalt not kill, and who has ever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment. But I say unto you, And as the Lord speaking, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, And so on. Verse 28 But I say unto you, Verse 32 But I say unto you.
A lot of times this is mistaken to be a spiritualization of the mole, but it's not. It's a contrasting with the law. I might just point out that the first part of chapter 5, what we call the Beatitudes at verse 11, it suddenly switches language and said, blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you. And so it is if he begins by addressing the multitude and then turns to his disciples and then what we have following.
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Is especially address the disciples.
But now let's go to chapter 6. Now there's no mention of the law in the 6th chapter. It's no longer a contrasting with the law. But what we have interestingly in this chapter is from the beginning of the first verse. And I'm not so interested with what the verse is saying, but an expression in a take heed that you do not your arms before man to be seen of them, otherwise you have no reward of your Father, which is in heaven. And so here the Lord is beginning to introduce his disciples to the heavenly Father.
And the 4th Father occurs in this chapter, I believe 12 Times. And we're going to come back to this chapter. I said that my subject is prayer. And this chapter has things in it about prayer. It has what the world calls or Christendom calls, the Lords prayer, better called the disciples prayer.
And so it begins, our Father, which heart in heaven. And so these cycles were not in the conscious enjoyment of a relationship with God as sons with the Father. So we can turn to John chapter 16, one chapter beyond where we were.
This may seem like a very roundabout way to get to the subject of prayers.
But in the 16th chapter.
The disciples are sorrowing because the Lord has said that he would leave them in verse six because I've said these things unto your sorrow have filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter will. Holy Spirit will not come unto you. But if I do pot, I'll send him unto you. And turning over those 23, my bio has to turn a page. Verse 23 the same chapter. And that day, what day? The day of the Holy Spirit.
Is given, Ye shall ask me nothing.
Verily, verily, I send to you whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you. Hitherto ye have asked in my name, asked if He shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs or allegories. But the time cometh when Nacional most speak unto you in Provost thou show you plainly of the Father. And so we see still the Lord's speaking to the disciples of the Father.
And we find out with the coming of the Holy Spirit, as we'll get to in a minute, that we're brought into the conscious enjoyment of a relationship as sons with the Father. And so we get to the end of John. John 20.
20 and verse 17 the Lord can say to Mary, I send to my father, and your father to my God, and your God. And now Romans 8.
Romans 8, verse 15. Now in the book of Romans, it's good to see that the spirit is not really brought in until the 8th chapter. It is mentioned in the 5th. But if we understand that the Spirit comes in in the 8th chapter, it will help you in your understanding of the 7th chapter, which is frequently misunderstood. That's another subject. In the 8th chapter we suddenly have the stirrup mentioned over and over again. And so the verse that I particularly want to mention, for ye have not received verse 15.
You have not received the spirit of ******* against the fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry ABBA Father. So it's through the Holy Spirit we're brought into this conscious relationship of children as sons with a father that we can go to and cry ABBA Father.
And so when we pray, we don't pray to El Shaddai God Almighty, we don't pray to.
A heavenly father. We don't pray to Jehovah, though all these titles suit our God and our Father, but we can cry, have a father Now I should have mentioned back in John 16, the Lord says you've asked me things up to this point, but you're not going to ask me things in the future. That's because the Lord wasn't going to be with them. In fact, it uses the word demand, the disciples demanding things of the Lord.
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That he is comforting them in their sorrow. He says the better things going to happen. Yes, I'm not going to be here for you to come to me in person and hospital. You're going to be in well the Holy Spirit and so we can come to God as Father.
ABBA, father. Now what does that expression mean? Well, ABBA, the Hebrew word for father, is actually of.
The bee softens and becomes AB.
And a little child would say ABBA, so in English.
We have dad and daddy, and most languages haven't what's called a diminutive form. I just want to say a little word on this in the churches today.
I am told that sometimes the minister will address God as daddy.
When this expression occurs in Scripture, ABBA, father, it always occurs together, ABBA, father, it occurs with the Hebrew ABBA and father in Greek. Now remember this was written to Greeks. What I mean in the Greek language I should say. Why did the author fall in this case choose to use a Hebrew word when he was speaking to a Greek speaking audience? Why didn't he use the diminutive of father in Greek?
I think that the ABBA father is a special title and not simply a diminutive form of father that we can freely use with God in a irreverent way.
And so when we approach God, we can approach him as Father, as ABBA father, but we don't approach him with an irreverent disrespect for him as who he is, as God our Father. And so as we read back in John 16, and I'll be turning to many scriptures, I know some don't like that. You don't have to turn with everyone that I turn to, but.
I rarely confess that I'm not an encyclopedia of verses and I need to turn to them to quote them. And this serves another advantage. I want you to realize that what I'm telling you is from the Word of God and not something that I'm just making up as we go along.
So when we pray, who do we pray to those 23 of of John 16? What if so ever he shall ask, will petition the Father? So we pray to God the Father, that I would like to think that some of you younger children.
10/11/12 maybe younger and take some of this in and no doubt your mothers and fathers have taught you how to pray. And when we pray, we pray to our Father and our God for our God and Father.
And it's scriptural because that's what we have here. And when you listen to someone, pray.
They will end is something like in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why do we say that? Because scripture says we're to ask in his name.
So what else can we?
Or we could turn back. There are other scriptures that would tell us the same thing. John the 14th chapter 14. First, anything he shall ask. If he asked anything in my name, I will do it.
You know, I once prayed. This was many years ago, and I don't mind mentioning whose presence it was. It was a yield tongue was staying in my home for a conference and he remarked about the way in which I prayed. And I said, I guess it's because that's the way my mother taught me.
And so an encouragement to mothers, what you teach your children sticks with them.
Encouragement to fathers As an aside, you know, we have been brought into this relationship with God as father, but our children know what fathers are by the way that we behave as fathers toward them. Now, we're not always and frequently not good examples of a father should be an encouragement to us to think that our children see us as father.
How will they be God as Father?
An angry, domineering father. Is that the picture that we want to paint?
But there's also that respect and reverence that I spoke of before that we would like our children to have of us as fathers. And how do we distill?
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That into our children as well.
Is there any? And again, this may seem so elementary, but is there any particular physician that we should adopt when we pray? You know, we've all seen paintings and pictures of someone with their hands together like this.
What does scripture have to say? Well, I believe there is a scriptural precedence for the position we adopt when we pray. Let's just look at a few verses, those pings, 1842.
So first Kings 1842, this is about Elijah. Much was said about Elijah yesterday. Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel and cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees.
Daniel chapter 6 and verse 10. Again, you don't have to turn with me on these verses.
But these are not sort of verses that most of us have committed to memory.
Daniel 6 verse 10 Just reading a small portion, he kneeled upon his knees.
Three times. Well, I should have gone.
We're not doing this in a very good order, but at least a convenient order. Ezra, you don't have to turn with me. Let's me just read.
Something about Ezra. Ezra Chapter 9 verse 5.
I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands. Ephesians.
Chapter 3.
Verse 14 For this 'cause I bow my knees.
So there is a scriptural precedence for getting down on our knees to pray, to making ourselves low to getting down.
But let's have a look at a verse in Nehemiah and some of these individuals. If time permits, I'll go back and look at them because certainly Daniel is known as a man of prayer. Nehemiah the 2nd chapter.
So Nehemiah was a cup bearer before the king, the king of Persia.
And.
He had a sorrowful face.
Well, doesn't like to see sorrow, does it? And so it was actually a very bad thing for me and Maya to be looking sad in the presence of the king.
And the king noticed it, and he said, what's up with you? And Nehemiah's heart skipped a beat because he thought he was in big trouble.
And what does Nehemiah do in the fourth, fourth verse? Does it say he dropped down on his knees to pray? No, so he says, so I pray to the God of heaven, right? And and then, and then I said unto the king, So just like that he prayed on his feet. I don't even know if he closed his eyes.
So what do we learn from this? There is a scriptural precedence to be down on our knees in prayer. On the other hand, you're driving a car because again, you have to stop and get down your knees. No, you can cry after the Lord whenever and wherever you are, whatever position you're in, we can cry to the Lord. We can cry ABBA Father. But when your mother, your father, teaches you to kneel beside your bed to pray.
That is a scriptural thing, First Timothy.
Just a word on the hands.
First Timothy verse 8, and I'm going to come back to this chapter, but verse 8 says I will therefore let men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrasse and doubt. Now, I'm not suggesting that we need to adopt A special position with our hands. I suppose mothers told their children to put their hands together when they pray to stop them fidgeting as much as anything else. But what's more important, when we pray that we hold up holy hands?
And now let's just take that thought and look at a few verses in connection with our attitude in prayer. You know, I wanted to briefly look at we've all prayed for things.
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And they haven't turned out.
And then there are things that we have prayed for and God has answered them.
So let's have a little bit of a look at our attitude in prayer. And there's there's many verses, but.
One thing that we find often connected with prayer is the thought of obedience. So I didn't read it when I looked at a verse in John 14, but John 14.
It says if you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. The next person says if he loved me, keep my commandments. Now suppose younger children, you haven't been behaving particularly well.
And you go to your dad and say, oh, I really would like this for my birthday. Can you give me this? It's just what I've been wanting. And you tell him something. Is he going to be very inclined to say, sure, yes, yes, I get you that. No, you probably want to address your behavior first. You probably want to talk to you a little bit about the way you've been behaving.
And so here we find in John 14 very next verse, my commandments, the thought of obedience is connected with prayer, and more even stack verse than that is in Proverbs 28.
Proverbs 28, verse nine. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayers shall be an abomination.
Abomination. You know there's many an atheist that has suddenly become a theist when he's in trouble.
And he cries out to God.
And he wonders why God does not hear him. Well, I should say, God hears why God does not answer him.
There's another verse in Proverbs in the 15th chapter 8 verse.
Just the last part, the prayer of the upright, is his delight.
So someone that wants nothing to do with God, His prayer is an abomination.
But for one of his children to hear a prayer is his delight. He delights to hear our prayers. Oh, we'll get into some more of that as time fits in a minute.
John let's. I know I'm jumping around the loss.
First, John.
The third chapter.
Verse 20 If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, the knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not that we have confidence towards God, and whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do those things which are pleasing in his sight.
I think every child in this room understands that post. If you've been misbehaving and you go to your father and ask him for something, do you have any confidence?
That he's going to grant your request.
No. Same with God.
If we're going on in our own willful way, we have no confidence when we come to God. The beautiful thing is, is when we do stumble.
When we do go astray, it says that God is greater than our hearts. But oh, isn't it so much better that our hearts are clear that we can go to God with confidence, that we can go to him, have a father. But you know, we love it when our children come to us and say that I messed up. I messed up.
And so he's ready to hear that prayer as well.
So hold why weren't so strong the last chapter? This was read yesterday. If we ask anything 14th 1St of the last chapter, if we ask anything according to his will and heareth us, you know, I said that it it says and and you can go back and look at it, that if you ask anything in his name, he'll do it.
Now suppose I wrote a check on behalf of the Treasury of the United States and signed it. Barack Obama. I signed it with his name. Is that check going to be honored?
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We cannot.
Take our willful desires to God, and in the Lord's name make a request for them, and expect God to honor them whatsoever we ask according to His will.
He heareth us.
You know, it was mentioned yesterday that we should, and this is a quote from someone you're all familiar with, but it doesn't really matter because of the substance of it is so good that we should be so familiar with the Word of God that our thoughts are formed by it. You know, if you have a desire to do something and you say, well, I'm going to find out whether this is the right thing to do, and you go to the Word of God looking for a verse.
You will find it. You will find what a verse to satisfy whatever you will is. I'm quite convinced of that. I'm not saying it's wrong to go to the Word of God if you're uncertain about something, but it's much better if the Word of God is so instilled in us that our thoughts are formed by it.
Few more thoughts and prayer. By the way, when I started looking at the subject of prayer and it's been an ongoing thing for some months. There is so much in scripture about prayer.
So First Thessalonians 5th chapter.
And I was going to read 2 verses because I'll come back to it. Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing. Now I like to point out a little bit later.
The connection that seems to be in Scripture between rejoicing and prayer.
But here I wanted to bring out the photo praying unceasingly.
Now there's a another verse in Romans that's similar Romans 12 and there it says.
Go pray unceasingly would suggest that we should always be an attitude of prayer.
But in Romans verse 12 I read it from Mr. Davies translation as regards prayer, persevering, persevering. So not only we always be an attitude of prayer.
But we're to pray persevering. We're to persevere in prayer. And then one more end of Ephesians.
And this is in connection with the armor.
And just the first part of that verse, it says praying always with all prayer. And again, Mr. Davi says praying at all seasons. What would that mean? Well, when do we like to pray the most? When we're in trouble.
That's not God's way.
We're going to pray at all seasons when things are going well. We shouldn't be just driven to our knees when things are going badly. But isn't that the way we are so often now? How would your Father like it if the only time you went and spoke to him was when you needed something or you're in trouble?
You know, as far as we like the relationship with our children, we don't like it. The only time we see you is when you want something from us.
And maybe if we don't have the relationship, we as much to blame ourselves as our children. But.
And as God S persevering in prayer, something that bothered me, it says back in Matthew 7 and again, no need to turn there.
It says.
Verse six, Sorry Matthew six to seven. When you pray, use not vain repetitions. So it concerned me that in praying, is it OK to pray the same thing over and over again?
I believe the answer is yes, it is OK to pray the same thing over and over again. We know Paul prayed three times and God gave him an answer and I believe he stopped praying for that thing when God gave him an answer. But if there's someone who saw you particularly concerned about, it's okay to pray for them over and over. So what's vain repetition? Well, it's it's so interesting that that verse occurs just.
One verse before what's known in Christendom is the Lord's Prayer, which they have turned into a vain repetition.
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It's taking a a prayer like the Lord's Prayer, our Father, which are in heaven, hallowed be thy name, and making it an empty, vain repetition.
But we don't have to take something like that to make it a vain repetition. Brother Bob mentioned yesterday about a young man that said, well, he didn't read the Bible, but he prayed every day. Well, I guarantee he didn't understand praying either. Because if you think that praying is a substitute for reading, you don't understand prayer.
And so we can make our prayers empty, I'll get down the knees a little quick prayer, hop in bed. I've done my duty.
But it is OK to repeat a matter in prayer.
We could turn there's a verse in Luke verse 11/8. Usually I think young people love it. It mentions for his importunity. He'll answer him. What does importunity mean? Well, I had to look it up. It means.
Shameless persistence. Shameless persistence.
So we can, with shameless, completely shameless persistence, go to God about a matter.
A First Timothy, we're already there in that chapter, but I wanted to look at a little more detail, beginning of the chapter, because First Timothy chapter two, I think, is a chapter that's especially about prayer.
So First Timothy chapter 2, just the first verse. I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving them thanks He made for all men.
Here I believe that we have 4 different aspects of prayer. I don't know whether to say that they cover all the aspects of prayer, but they're fairly broad.
And I would like to suggest that given the words chosen here, the supplication in this verse particularly means the things, the requests that I make of God concerning myself.
In a session, I believe would be speaker requests made for another.
And so this is probably our most common prayer.
As we go and make requests for ourselves.
I know that Brother Bob mentioned yesterday this word supplication.
You know, there's something deeper in that word than just simply asking God, what would you do this for me? You know one thing we should keep in mind that prayer is not a way to avoid our responsibility.
Now that may seem odd. I said that to someone once and then they didn't like it.
Let me give you an example again to our younger folks. Supposing you have a test coming up and you choose not to study for it. You have a brand new video game which you'd rather play. Come the morning of the test, you get down on your knees as you've been taught, and you pray and you ask God to help you pass that test.
Prayer is not a substitution for our own responsibility.
Our own responsibility. You know, there are things in our life.
Esor is a good example.
You know, just reading a verse in Hebrews.
It says of Esau in Hebrews 12 verse 16 that he was a profane person who sold his birthright for a morsel of meat. And paraphrase that it says For ye no heaven. Afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it happily with tears. What did Esau seek with tears? Well, you can go back to Genesis and read the story. He did not seek repentance with tears.
He sought the blessing with tears. Well, we all want the blessing, don't we? We all want to go to God and say, give me the blessing. But sometimes repentance is needed in our life. Sometimes there's something that is our responsibility and prayer does not allow us to sidestep it, to get around it, to leap over. Sometimes there are odd things that we have to work on in our hearts that don't mean to say that we work on them or not on our own.
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But Esau did not go.
To his Father with repentance and so maybe in our lives if we find out that God doesn't seem to be listening.
There might be something hindering your communion, something that you need to take to him. Repentance. Repentance is a process. I mean, it's a whole subject in itself. The repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation. The old had to get confused.
Whose responsibility is who? We don't go to God and ask him for forgiveness. This is a common thing you hear in the churches.
I don't believe we used to go to one another and ask for forgiveness. It's a way of putting your responsibility on them. The scriptural principle says if we confess our sins, that's our part. God is faithful and just to forgive us.
So confession. We go to God, we can confess, We don't go to God praying for forgiveness. He is faithful and just. He will do his part. We can be sure of that. So supplication.
Prayers. It says supplication prayers. What's prayers? Well, so often we think of prayer as being a one way street where we're talking to God, telling him what to do. But I read a verse there at the end of the Armor of God, often prayers listed as the 7th.
Of God? Well, if you were in an army, do you go and tell your captain what to do?
Prayer is where we go in communion with God to find out what He has for us to do.
Find out what he has. I don't mean to say, let me necessarily hear a voice from heaven go. No doubt there are those that have heard such things.
But if we have the Word of God so instilled upon us, He may bring a verse before us. It was a number of ways He may answer our prayers and speak to us and guide us. And young people facing marriage. Marriage is a serious stuff. I spoke on Walla Walla once on the subject of marriage. We speak so often on courtship, but never on marriage.
It's a wonderful subject to look from a scriptural standpoint. I believe it has all your answers that you need for whatever problem you may be facing in your marriage. And if you don't have problems in your marriage, you will have problems in your marriage. Does that mean you're going to have a bad marriage at all? This lack of job or any other thing that's worth working at, you will have difficulties in your marriage. And scripture has answers for getting off topic, but intercession, Do we know what intercession is? Interceding for someone else?
I'm afraid not. I was talking lightheartedly with a brother over here.
After a conference in West Palm Beach, and he says so often our prayers of intercession of something like, Lord, take care of that brother. I leave God to his funeral.
You know we're apartment to pray to fix all our brother's problems.
We ever get down to pray. Maybe we have the problem now in the seating for someone else is and you read this chapter and talks about good exceptional the sight of God our Savior when we pray and we thinking of the glory of God, we thinking of the blessing of the other person or we're just thinking Get Me Out of this trouble. Lord, I have a conflict just Get Me Out of it.
That's not in the session for someone else.
You know if you can't, well Elijah, the antecedent against the people of God.
If you can't intercede for someone.
Then you probably should be praying for yourself.
But look at the end of job.
Well, again, if you don't want to turn there.
Listen.
Last chapter of Joe, there's blessing that comes within the session for someone, particularly when there's difficulties. So in joy 42 verse 8, middle of the verse, it says my servant Joel shall pray for you. Verse 10, the Lord turned the captivity of Joel when he prayed for his friends. Do you think he prayed for his friends and said there's been so mean to mean to you mean make sure they get what they deserve. I don't think that's the sort of intercessory prayer Bill me.
For his friends, and Job's captivity was turned in interceding for his friends.
So back to first Timothy, giving a thanks is the last aspect of prayer. So we had supplication. We can look at that as a request made for ourselves, prayers, communing with God, no particular request, but simply communion with God, intercession to think more of others. And by the way, in the honor of God, what it talks about prayer at the end of the honor of God is to pray for All Saints.
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It can be so narrow.
You know, thinking, but Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving. Do we ever thank God for anything?
Daniel, if we don't get to him, it says he got down on his knees and he thanked God. Now he knew the penalty for what he was doing would be to be thrown in the lion's den, but he thanked God, thanked God.
So I wanted to mention a little bit about the connection between prayer rejoicing that I've absorbed in Scripture. I don't hammer this home as a point, but we saw back there in Thessalonians that it says rejoice evermore, pray unceasingly. And if you turn to Philippians.
The end of Philippians last chapter 41St rejoicing the Lord OA. And again I say rejoice, let you moderation. We don't want to hold man. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication. And there we have these words again with Thanksgiving.
Let your request be known unto God and then.
Acts 16th chapter.
16th chapter verse 2593 the King James post. And at midnight fallen silence prayed and sang praises unto God. Now I'm going to read it in Mr. Davies new translation. And at midnight Paul and Silas in praying we're praising God with singing. It was Him praying that they could rejoice.
You know, a lot of times we.
Don't find ourselves rejoicing in our hot food.
You know, the hymn that we opened with was a favorite of an aunt of mine, and I can't help but think of her when I sing it. But just some of those words, you know? What comfort they bring is 246.
From every swelling tide of woes that is accomplished, a sweet retreat is found before the mercy seat. And so we can rejoice in heart, even if the circumstances around us seem to.
He's so totally against us now. You know, I didn't look at prayer because I thought that I had such a I had a dentist once used to give me a shot and start working my teeth and then asked me, how is your prayer life?
Well, I didn't, I don't particularly like that expression, prayer life, but I I'm not up here talking because I have a wonderful prayer life. I'm up here talking because I struggled with these things myself.
So I'm not up here saying that. Oh yes, when talents are so difficult.
I'm rejoicing, but I need to hear these things.
Myself.
So individuals.
Individuals. Well, we mentioned quite a bit about Elijah. Oh, I wanted to mention one more thing about Elijah wasn't mentioned yesterday. First Kings.
Back in First Kings.
18 The first one I came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came through lighter in the land in the third year, saying, Go shoreline so far, the Ahab and I will send rain upon the earth. So God gave direction to Elijah and said, go speak to Ahab and I'm going to send rain.
Now the bit I read before was Elijah falling down on his knees, putting his face between his knees and praying for rain. And we know he did for sure because God gives him the credit in James. He says in James that Elijah or Elias was a man subject to light passions and that means he was just an ordinary person like you and me.
And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, that something that we only find in James, and it rained not on the earth by the space of two years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain. Why did God?
Record here or give Elijah the credit for the rain. God told him it was going to rain. Did Elijah even need need to pray for the ring? You know, this goes back to our relationship with God as father. Now I'm not suggesting that he lied to you, God in relationship as father, but the nothing pleases a father more than a son to come up to him or a daughter very much daughter as well and say, dad, can we do this? And it's right there on the father's heart that he wants to do the same thing.
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And you have a God that delights when we go to him with a request. That's just what he's like. And so when it says we pray according to his will, I think that's what it means. And what he's talked about yesterday about the Lord is the perfect example, the one that always did his will.
And he's AI should be going by rapidly. But we can turn to the gospels and maybe I should have began there and look at the Lord in his dependence in prayer. Mark, Luke.
And so we have Elijah, who is a man of prayer. Daniel, I've already read a little bit about him. Daniel was a man of prayer. You want to find an example of a praying man, look at Daniel. Oh, let's look at Daniel chapter 10.
10th chapter of Daniel.
Now I may not seem like at the beginning of the chapter he's praying, but in the second verse it says in those days I didn't was one of three cool weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flashing a wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all. The three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Verse 12 we find out that then said he unto me, fear not Daniel from the first day that thou deceit thine heart understand chasing myself before thy God, thy word rehearse. I believe we can quite correctly assume that he prayed.
And I can't provide words, but the Prince of Kingdom of Persia was stood me one and 20 days. How many days? One in 20. How many weeks is one in 20 days? 3 weeks. Daniel was mourning 3-4 weeks. So Daniel prayed and he didn't get an answer for three weeks.
You know, I talked about we often wonder why God doesn't seem to answer our prayers quite the way we expect. Well, here Daniel, Daniel, a mighty man of prayer.
An extraordinary individual and he had to wait three weeks for his answer. There were things going on in the spirit well.
Well, that we don't see with our eyes that we may not understand Floyd that hindered financing to that prayer.
Another thing to note is Daniel has said he.
Hate no present pleasant bread neither king flesh and wine in his mouth. You know, reminds me of what the Lord says in Luke, that this sort goes not out with my prayer and fasting. A little word on fasting. It means to deny ourselves the things that satisfy the natural body. And you know, we're all looking for formulas. So I was once working in an office and the girl was a temporary secretary and was working in the front desk.
And she, I believe, was a believer. She was fasting. She was going to fast 40 days or something like that. You know, we want a formula. Well, if I fast and I pray God, who has my prayer? I don't think that was the order in which it occurred with Daniel. Daniel had a burden and he couldn't eat. Have you ever been in love?
And eat.
And swallow. It's a wonderful feeling. Glad it doesn't last forever.
There is no formula when I talk about intercession. I should have mentioned the end of James. It talks about praying for others. Let me just read it.
Now I'm not going to say that I fully understand these verses, and I would be quite happy for an older brother to explain the practical application of them. But it says, is any sick among you? Let it hope the owners of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer of the face shall raise the sick. So again, we I believe if we take this totally, I'll say this much about the most we take this as a formula. It's not going to work. And notice that it says the prayer of faith.
Shall save the sin, not the anointing. Doesn't say the anointing will save the sick, but the prayer of faith will save the sin. You know we so often look for formulas and God wants reality in our hearts.
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So another individual well.
My clock is on time and that one's slow. I should go by that one.
I wanted to just briefly mention there was two more subjects I wanted to mention. One is sometimes we get what we pray for.
And secondly, a little bit about collective prayer.
Five years, we get what we pray for. Do I have time to turn to Hezekiah? It's the second Kings 20 now. Hezekiah.
As we turn to it, our speak was told that he was going to die.
And what does Hezekiah do in verse two? He turned his face to the wall and prayed under the Lord saying, you know, I know people take this different ways, but this is the way that I heard it in my youth. Hezekiah salt on his bed. He powered I don't want to die. I had a good reason to be upset. He didn't have an heir. He didn't have a son to sit on the throne and he prayed and God gave him an answer to his prayer 15 more years.
And in that time he had a son called Manasseh. And I know that Manasseh was born within those 15 years, because Manasseh in the next chapter was 12 years old when he took the throne. Manasseh was, it says of him.
He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. After the abomination of the heathen whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel, we find out Manasseh was one of the worst kings ever.
Be careful what you pray for. If God has a plan for you, it might be better to stick with His program.
Another a different case, but I could tend to his habitat. I love the minor prophet habitat. The habitat had a book and he goes to the Lord and says, Lord, how long are you going to let this go on? The injustice is the evil, the things that are going on. Have we ever prayed? Lord, come quickly. How long can you let the injustices go on in this world? And God answers his prayers. I'm going to send the Chaldean and pour Habakkuk. No, not the Chaldeans. Do you know what he's going to do?
He's like a fisherman. He's going to just scoop Israel up, but you're up like a fisherman scoops up, fishing in it.
You know what the Chaldeans like. And poor Hezekiah Habitat puts his hand over his mouth and says, I'll wait and see how the Lord will reprove me. And God answers his presence. Habakkuk, I know all about the county.
You know, Habakkuk's heart was in the right place, but you know, let's be careful about praying that the Lord come, because when he comes, it's over. Older for this. Well, I know that there is the gospel, everlasting gospel and so on, but basically, it's over for the United States. It's over for those acquaintances of yours at school that don't know the Lord. As they say, it's all.
I mean, I understand there's more to it than that, but I just keep it simple. So we sometimes get what we pray for. Now collective prayer. We we know I've been talking mostly about individual prayers, but there is such a thing as collective prayer and we find out that when it speaks of the apostles that they continue those that were saved in the beginning back. That's true. Those 42, they continued steadfastly and the apostles doctrine and fellowship and breaking the bread and in prayer.
If you turn over to the.
4th chapter 30 first verse when they had praise a place where shaken.
Did your assembly room they ever been shaken after you got down your knees and prayed? You know, the prayer meeting we all know is probably one of the poorest attended meetings, and I will rarely confess that I find public prayer typical it requires.
A honesty of heart.
That.
And I think we should, I think we all should be searching for that. We get down unease and pray.
That it requires a true brutal honesty of high. We need to remember that when we pray collectively, it's not a time to minister to our brethren.
Another collective prayer meeting Acts chapter 12. We know that Peter was in prison and they got together and those tax 1212. Many were gathered together praying and Peter knocked at the door of the gate. The dams were came to hack and they wrote it and when she knew Peter's voice she opened up the game for Gladys but ran in and told her fetus stood before the gate. They said there are my eyes. So here we have a case where they prayed but they never believed the prayer would be answered.
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How often do we pray like that? You know, it talks about in James nothing wavering. But again, I want to be careful. We we make this a formula. If I just be really intense, God's going to answer my prayer. I really want this you know, I just want to move out one.
Personal incident.
And that is when I was a child.
And I remember how old I was. Australia, where I grew up, is particularly the southeast, and Australia is particularly prone to Bush fires.
You may have tornadoes here. We worried about those fires and we had them every summer, but usually the conditions were not so severe that it caused widespread damage, but just localized damage. And there was a fire coming and it was heading towards our farm. And I can remember myself and my two brothers, my memories a little hazy, but we got down and we pray.
And the next morning, I believe it was Sunday, we were on our way to the little meeting that we went to. We looked up on the hill.
And the fire had stopped at a fence, like just a straight line had stopped and not come over the hill down into our valley where we live. You know, there's something wonderful about the faith of a child. Nothing wavering. That's the sort of faith, not this I just really believe it's going to happen thing. It's just a simple faith that God is going to answer your prayer. One thing and then I'll close. I mentioned only about marriage. Well, there is a collective prayer that's outside the prayer so I can read Daniel's. You know, Daniel went with his friends to his house to pray.
But there's one prayer in marriage. It's in post Peter that I just want to close with. This is a special sort of collective prayer and it's just encouragement to every marriage couple here.
First Peter 37 likewise your husbands well with them, according to knowledge, giving honor as the wife, as under the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life that your prayers do not hinder. And so we find out that the behavior of the husband towards his wife was this verse is directed towards the husband and hinder prayers in the family. There is a proper order, an order established by God between the husband and wife. And so the world please misinterprets it. They see it as an order of inferiority versus superiority.
It's not, but God has given the husband a role, and he's given the wife the role, and the husband's role happens to be his head. But the wife has a unique role as a mother that the husband cannot fulfill. But a husband can be overbearing to his wife. And so we have here that they're to dwell with them according to knowledge, remembering that they, the wise human God's sight, is an heir of the grace of God, just like you are.
Your prayers together be not ended. You know, again, I said that when we pray collectively, it demands a certain honesty of heart. And when the difficulty comes in a marriage?
If you can't speak to your wife.
Pray with her as you can speak to God.
And don't lecture her in your prayer. That doesn't the assembly as well. You hear a brother getting prey. I don't need to Not picking on anyone in particular, but you're wondering is this a ministry meeting or is this a prayer? Prayer is not a time to with your wife, with your brethren, to how get them. But you sincerely get down on your knees with your wife and pray. What a wonderful way to resolve difficulties and tensions in a marriage.
OK, let's just pause with.
Our God and Father, perhaps in all this we we should have.
Focus far more on the example now. Bless the Savior, Lord Jesus Christ, who went up into a mountain to pray, prayed all night. That perfect one, the dependent one, that the servant in mind, the dependent man in Luke.
And we pray that we might, this might be an encouragement to each of us to know our God and Father. We can come to you as a father in that relationship and pour out our hearts, whether it be in supplication and community and intercession. And may we not forget Thanksgiving. We just thank thee for our Savior and would certainly pray for eating this room tonight that did not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, that none of this applies to them. They need to make that prayer first of all.
Confessing their sins and accepting or acknowledging themselves as sinners and accepting that work that's been done for them. We just pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.