Simple Salvation Church of God
Prayer Request: new from THE ELECT SITE
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Anonymous
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new from THE ELECT SITE (May 4, 2008)
Prayer Request:
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| Subscribe Unsubscribe Change E-mail View Archive The Unlimited Potential of Prayer Pastor Mark Stephens May 4, 2008 |
THE UNLIMITED POTENTIAL OF PRAYER
Christians are often limited in their prayer lives because they do not understand how willing God is to meet their needs. Everyone is confident of God’s ability to do anything, but not everyone is sure He is willing to do if for them today. We need to connect God’s willingness and ability together. God is willing to do anything we ask that will bring glory to Him.
“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13).
God wants to answer your prayer so that He may be glorified through Jesus. God is able and willing to answer your prayers.
Take for example the story of Jesus healing man with leprosy. In those days Lepers were considered unclean and were forced to live away from most people in what is called leper colonies. Out of desperation this particular leper approached Jesus with his plea:
“And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (Mark 1:40).
This leper undoubtedly had heard of thing great things Jesus was doing in the region. He knew Jesus was able to heal him. However, he was not sure if Jesus was willing to heal a man like him.
This leper represents us all. We were all unclean and unworthy to approach God on our own merits. Paul said in Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We all need a Savior to cleanse us from our sins and to make us clean. We know Jesus can cleanse our hearts, but is He willing to help us with other needs in our lives?
Check out Jesus’ response to this man’s plea for help:
“And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean” (Mark 1:41).
Jesus demonstrated that He was not only able but also willing to heal him. He reached out in love and touched this man whom no one else was willing to touch. Jesus touched him and answered his prayer. Jesus cleansed him from leprosy.
Jesus is willing to help you. Whatever you are asking for, if it will glorify Jesus, God is able and willing to give it to you. God is willing to help you with whatever you ask. It does not have to be a physical healing. It can be emotional healing. It can be love. It can be anything you need.
God wants you to have your prayers met. He wants you to know He will grant you whatever you ask. However, there is one important condition. God will only answer your prayer when you ask for something that is His will.
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1st John 5:14-15).
Take note of the words “whatsoever we ask.” Whatsoever means anything. There are no limits to what you can ask when you are asking according to what God has willed for you.
Many people add the tag line “if it be thy will” just before their “amen.” That could be one of a couple of things. The first it is a “religious” taught prayer that you have heard someone else pray and you took that line in your prayers or two, it could be that folks are not really sure what the will of God is and they use this “blanket statement” to cover themselves if their prayers go unanswered. Basically, when you add this to the end of a prayer, you are in essence saying you are not sure what the will of God is in this situation.
Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done and not His own. The cup He speaks of in the following verse is symbolic of his suffering and death.
“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).
The will of God was for Jesus to die on the cross. There was no other way to redeem humanity from sin, sickness, poverty and death except by dying on a cross. God’s will was for Jesus to suffer and die for your sins and mine. His death and suffering made it possible for you and I to be made an overcome and to receive abundant life. You always know it is God’s will to save people.
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
A sinner does not have to pray, “If it be thy will Lord, save me.” It is God’s will to save sinners. Any person, who is willing to change their life, and who asks God to save them, will be saved.
The initial prayer of salvation opens the door to more than a ticket to heaven. I call it “fire insurance.” Salvation allows Jesus to come and live with us in our hearts. Salvation brings a change in lifestyle. Salvation entitles the believer to wholeness, restoration and eternal life.
Traditions of men limit God by through prayers of “Lord heal me, if it by thy will” or “Lord meet my daily financial needs, if it by thy will.” If it is clearly God’s will in the Bible, it is clearly God’s will for your life too. Do not let tradition rob you from knowing God’s will for your life. Read your Bible prayerfully, and you will know His will for you concerning healing and having your needs met.
God’s will is not always done. It is not God’s will for any person to die and go to hell.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2nd Peter 3:9).
Do people go to hell? Of course they do and they do so against God’s will. Jesus said the road to hell is a broad road and the road to life is narrow (Matthew 7:13-14). Multitudes of people are on the broad road to hell against God’s will for their lives.
People use their own free will to reject the will of God. You can choose to not accept the will of God for your life, and God will honor your wishes. Because it is God’s will for a person to be saved or blessed in an area does not mean that His will is being done. You have to recognize and receive God’s will by faith.
When people die and go to hell against the will of God, this does not change the will of God. God will save whoever calls on the name of the Lord Jesus (Romans 10:13). Someone who dies of cancer does not change the will of God concerning healing. That fact that by His stripes you were healed is still true (1st Peter 2:24). Someone who goes bankrupt does not change the will of God. The fact that God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory through Christ is still true ( Philippians 4:19). Someone who commits adultery or steals does not change the will of God. God does not endorse sin. People sin against the will of God all the time. The sinful actions or inactions of others does not change the will of God for your life.
You have been given a free will to choose what you believe and what you do not believe. You should choose to serve and obey God. Joshua chose to serve and follow God. He said:
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:12-15).
You and those in your house should choose to receive and obey the will of God. Obedience to God will result in the fulfillment of all God’s promises concerning your life. When you obey God and are serving Him according to His will, all things will work together for your good (Romans 8:28).
There are religious traditions that declare many things are no longer God’s will. You know you are in trouble when religious men to go great lengths to explain why the Bible does not mean what it says. Religious tradition nullifies what the Bible says.
Traditions admit the Bible is true, but then nullify the word of God by saying it is not true for you today. Traditions say, “It is not longer God’s will to heal today” and “Miracles have ceased.”
Other traditions admit God wants to bless you spiritually, but they stop short of saying God can help you pay your rent or fix your car. They say you can never be sure if God is willing to help you with anything that is not spiritual. They say, “You can never be sure of the will of God.”
Traditions set limits on what people expect God to do for them. People have asked God for things and did not receive them. Out of their experience they develop doctrine. Because they did not receive exactly what they prayed for, they assumed it must not have been God’s will.
Many people look to the circumstances to determine the will of God. The Word of God is a higher authority than circumstances. The Word of God is true in spite of many traditions that say healing is no longer for today .
People may base their faith upon what has happened to others, or people may base their faith upon the promises of God. The Bible is full of promises. You will not be disappointed basing your faith upon the Bible. You will be disappointed basing your faith upon what happened to so and so.
Jesus came and triumphed over sin, sickness, poverty and over all the power of the devil. It is not the will of God for a child of God to be subjected to a life under the power of the devil. God’s will for your life is to be a victorious over-comer over all the power of the enemy. God’s will for your life is to reign in life over your circumstances. You reign in life by His grace and righteousness through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17).
The will of God is clear when you use the Bible as your guide. What is God’s will for you? Jesus taught his disciples to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
“After this manner therefore pray ye: our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Given us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:9-11).
This is part of what is known as the Lord’s prayer. It in all actuality should be called the disciples’ prayer. Jesus taught the disciples this prayer to help guide them in their prayer life.
Think about that statement for a moment: “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus said we could pray for God’s will to be done here as it is there. If you look at the Bible and see how wonderful things are in heaven, this gives you some idea of what God’s will might be for you.
Is there sickness in heaven? Is there poverty in heaven? Are there heartaches and disappointments in heaven? If God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, there would be no sickness, not poverty and no sorrow.
God stands ready and willing and able to answer your prayers. Paul wrote:
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
God is able to exceeding abundantly more than you ask or think according to the power that works in you. Many people today are asking, “is it God’s will to heal me?” Is it God’s will to bless me financially? Is it God’s will for me to have enough finances to help others? God has given us His will. God’s will is written in the words of the Bible. If the Bible says you can have something, this is the will of God for you.
God wants you to ask for good things. He wants you to have the things you need in your life. You must seek and knock on the door of heaven. God has promised that when you seek, you will find. He will open the door of heaven and give you what you need.
“As, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knoweth it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son asked bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? (Matthew 7:7-10).
God is a good God and wants to give good things to His children. This does not sound as if God wants you to be limited. He wants you to have whatever you need.
God will not answer prayers that fulfill your lusts. You cannot ask God to give you things you will use to fulfill evil desires. You must ask for good things. Fulfilling the lust of your flesh is not a good thing.
God’s will is not for you to fulfill the lust of your flesh. His Word tells us to be led by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit leads you, you will not be asking for things that go against God’s will for your life.
“Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to heave, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:2-3).
James points out a problem. People ask for the wrong reasons. When you ask for selfish reasons, God does not answer those prayers. James also points out another problem. He said, “You have not, because you ask not.” On one hand, you go to God and pray selfishly. On the other hand, you do not go to God unselfishly and ask for things you need. If you find out what God promises, and if you ask for the right reasons, God wil give you whatever you ask.
There are literally thousands upon thousands of promises in the Bible. God has promises for every area of your life. Relationships, jobs, money, health. Every need man has ever had, or will have, is covered by the promises of God in your Bible.
Peter says that you have been given everything that pertains to your life. He says the promises are great and precious:
“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might by partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2n Peter 1:2-4).
The Bible uses the past tense when it says “God hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness. God has already given you what you need.
The more knowledge you have of Him, the more you realize what already belongs to you. God has called you to glory and virtue. When you have what you need, you escape the corruption caused by lust. Having what you need helps you to remain pure and full of truth.
Peter uses the word “exceeding” to describe the promises of God. Exceeding means excessive. Exceeding means without limits. God want s to bless you exceedingly so that you might experience His divine nature. He wants you to escape the lustful corruption that is around you.
Anything God promises He will give you. That is His will for you. Any of these promises you can have. They are yours. He has given them to you and you can stand in faith for them.
If you ask anything according to His will, you know He hears you. Jesus said to ask the Father anything in His name and He will give it to.
With all that said I have one final question for you today:
“Deal or no deal?”
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