SERMON NOTES

Part 1 Life-giving Truth
4 Statements Jesus Made About Prayer

1 Matthew 6:5 (NLT) 5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.

Matthew 6:5 (MSG) 5 “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

  1. When praying keep it simple and honest.
  2. When praying just be you, the real you, not some weird version of you.
  3. When praying say exactly what’s on the inside of you, just as you would to anyone .
  4. When praying with many or few words, your Father in heaven loves hearing from you and He understands your unique style of communication.
    ***To be friends with God means to pray with simplicity, like children talking to their parents. By Pope Francis

2 Matthew 6:6 (NLT) 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Matthew 6:6 (AMPC) 6 But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.
#3 Matthew 7:7–8 (NLT) 7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8 (AMPC) 7 [a]Keep on asking and it will be given you; [b] keep on seeking and you will find; [c]keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.
3 Keys To Increase Persistence

  1. Continual asking is the first step. Never Quit
    Point: Stay in a Posture of Prayer
    Posture | Collins English Dictionary: A posture is an attitude that you have toward something.
    ***If we knew how much God loved us and was for us, we’d talk to Him all day long. – Donald Miller
  2. Continual seeking is the second step. Never Quit
    Point: Stay in God’s Word
  3. Continual knocking is the third step. Never Quit
    Point: You Must Have Resolve
    ***It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required. – Winston S. Churchill
    Penned Truth: Never Ever Give Up! Is This Your Resolve?
    4 Elements To Effective Prayer
  4. Adoration
  5. Thanksgiving
  6. Submission
  7. Knowing The Power

4 John 14:13–14 (NET) 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 14:13-14 (CJB) 13 In fact, whatever you ask for in my name, I will do; so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me for something in my name, I will do it.
Acts 3:16 (NLT) 16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
Acts 4:9–12 (NLT) 9 are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead
Final Statement: Christians must remember this statement, “Since we do not fight against “flesh and blood” prayer is critical to the Christian, it is where we fight the battle.” No Christian can succeed without prayer, and it is where God’s power is released in us and through us. How’s your prayer life?