When You Haven't Got a Prayer - Part A

Have you noticed that sometimes people never pray except when they're in trouble that many people view God like an aspirin or need aspirin tell you what hurt I don't need God until I hurt now. I heard God has been a price. The tree guy like an emergency review. Somehow the ER doctor Billy Graham once said in the morning prayer is the key that opens us to the treasure of God's mercies and blessings. In the evening is the key that sets us up under his protection and safeguard today on connect with Skip Heinsohn. Skip shares how you can cultivate a powerful habit of prayer in your daily life. First, Skip wants to share about another great way you can hear his uplifting teachings. No real quick.

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To get to share the good news of Jesus with more people in our darkened world. Call 800 9218 819 to 18 for visit connect to SCIF.com/domains that connect with.com/donate now we're in first Samuel chapter 12 as we dive into the teaching with Skip like when something is impossible when there's no hope of succeeding and something we often say you haven't got a prayer with like good luck. Dr. Napa never going to have.

You haven't got a prayer, so winning the Powerball lottery since the odds of that happening are one in 175 million number two at the site you have a got a prayer or expecting to get in a on the exam when you never opened the book once you barely attended classes. You have got a prayer or the guy who didn't brush his teeth using the date that beautiful girl asked her out. Do you have a got a prayer that little idiom you have a got a prayer is for some people reality. What I mean by that is, some people have a got a prayer because they never have a prayer. They just don't pray when Billy Graham, who as you know, recently went to heaven at age 99 when he was asked one of the most important steps in preparing for an evangelistic outreach. He answered by saying three things mattered most prayer prayer.

Prayer he was a man of prayer. He believed in prayer get a ministry bathed in. I have a magnet that is still hanging on in my kitchen its refrigerator magnet that just shows Billy Graham's profile and that one word underneath. Pray I love just walking by. Oh yeah seeing that is a helpful reminder when a telegram was interviewed one time.

It's become a famous one he was asked the question if you had to do it all over again what would you do differently in his answer.

I would study more, I would pray more, I would travel less.

I would take fewer speaking engagements, I would spend more time in meditation and in prayer just telling the Lord how much I love him and adore. I believe that the last years of his ministry God gave him his heart's desire. I just had this conversation about many times with people as to why do you suppose God Billy Graham alive for so long 99 and he was kept up and at home and you can get out when able to do much speaking or writing you just up there so I just think the Lord allowed him to have a reset on his life because he always said I wanted to pray more and he was able to spend the last few years of his life. Justin prayer for people in contemplation of God that you know some people have just a simple faith a profound simple faith and they just pray about everything. You know whatever comes our way there. Let's pray about that. You know that that's their first response is so beautiful. I have a friend I would say more of an acquaintance of always marveled at his life since I've known him, as he goes into difficult places, but he'll be in a conversation with this guy and what will be talking about some future possibility and he'll just say additional deposit. Lord we just pray about that writer to start talking to God while he is just been talking to Mansell. Whoa, which is epic, but he does a lot of become second nature. So I just get used to that when I'm around him that profound simple daily trust in the Lord. I heard about a Christian lady who lived next door to an atheist, and she prayed about everything and she often would pray aloud so that her neighbor would hear her pray not not for that reason, but it was just paper thin walls of the windows were open but he could hear sometimes her pray and so you know he would think that Creighton ladies nuts. Doesn't she know there is no God. That praying doesn't really matter really work and but she just kept praying. No matter what.

She prayed, she prayed aloud for her needs will one day the old gal ran out of groceries and she was in a desperate need and so she prayed about it and she prayed out loud about it, she said, Lord, you know, I need groceries. It's a difficult time of the month, but Lord, I trust that you're going to provide what he heard her over.

Pray this and he thoughts.

I'll fix her so he went out about a whole bunch of groceries and put all these groceries and bags on her doorstep and knocked on the door, and hid behind the bushes. She opened the door, look down, so all the groceries and she said, praise the Lord God is provided groceries forming and she started getting all excited and doing a happy dance with us neighbor jumps up out of the bushes and says you know times is you crazy old woman guided by you.

Those groceries I did you know he thought he had her that she gets even more excited starts going down the street in front of all the neighbors praising the Lord and thanking the Lord, that atheist neighbor caught up with her. So why are you doing that she's a well I knew the Lord would provide groceries. I did know he was gonna make the devil pay for the so you just got to appreciate that simple, profound say that people have been trusting God for anything. Others, however, I would include most of us I think honestly struggle with this area for about you but whenever there's a sermon on prayer group gauges automatically start getting ready because you just have this instinctive knowledge that yeah this is an area of my life that I really need to work on. Perhaps our greatest challenge well with that as an introduction. I want to take you to first Samuel chapter 12 and verse 19 it says all of the people. It is the people of Israel said to Samuel, he's the prophet.

At that time. In this case, all the people said to Samuel, pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die for.

We have added to all our sins. The evil of speaking of asking a king for ourselves. Then Samuel said to the people do not fear you have done all this wickedness. You do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart and do not turn aside for then he would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing for the Lord will not forsake his people for his great namesake because it is please the Lord to make you his people.

Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good in the right way. I would like to look at this passage with you. Like peeling an onion to state one layer at a time and with each layer will go a little deeper little more profound sort of star general and superficial and work our way to the deeper part. I want to give you four facts about prayer.

Now II do want to say this in front. I do not want to guilt you into pray I don't you feel really bad. Okay on them to do it now.

I feel bad enough on I want to guilt you into anything. I do however want to lovingly go you into prayer. In fact, I'd like to guide you into seeing how much we need to do it. Let's begin with the simplest layer. The simplest level, and that is the prayer is needful. Prayer is needful.

You'll notice in verse 19 all the people said to Samuel, pray that Samuel was known as a man of prayer.

Ever since he was a little kid and he was dropped off at the tabernacle and its is recorded in chapter 3 of this book. He prays speak, Lord, your servant, here's just got a picture little kid just a little older than being a toddler with his little robot hands and they are going speak Lord, your servant here's he was a man of prayer wealth. Centuries later, the prophet Jeremiah recorded that Samuel was known to God is a great prayer warrior God through Jeremiah and chapter 15 of that book said God speaking. Now, even if Moses in Samuel stood before me.

My mind would not be fair so God picks out two examples of prayer warriors. One being Moses, the second being Samuel great men of prayer also in Psalm 99 Samuel celebrated when the Psalmist said, and Samuel was among those who call upon God's name.

The people knew this about Sam golf samurai. We know by now they knew this about Sammy. They knew that Samuel was mighty in prayer because he demonstrates it here you go back a few verses of verse 16 and notice now therefore stand and see this great thing Samuel the prophet says see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes is today not the wheat harvest I will call to the Lord and he will send thunder and rain. You may perceive and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord and asking the king for yourself.

So Samuel called to the Lord and the Lord said thunder and rain that day and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel and all the people said to Samuel, pray.

Here's the setting.

Samuel is giving a speech at the coronation of Israel's first king, which was King who thinks all but Samuel was not a happy camper because the people of Israel had asked for a king, and the reason asked for a king is that we may be like all the other nations we want to be like everybody else around us. They have a cane. We do have a king. This book sandals heart. Why, because God had directly ruled over them in a in a theocracy didn't want a theocracy that one of the monarchy because other nations have kings and queens and we want a king that broke his heart. But he warned him for chapters back in chapter 8 he says you know I just want you to know what you can get if you get a king. He said he's going to draft your sons for his army. He's gonna take away your land. Some of it by eminent domain.

He's in a place, a 10% taxation on everything you own and everything you get easily use your children for his own labor in his palaces and you will live to regret regret this request and they said we don't care we want a king. So he's all bummed out goes to God in prayer. God says hey give them what they want or not rejecting you there rejecting me.

So there's a great principal there and that is that God wants to raise you up to the highest possible level, whatever level you allow him to raise you to, and he will do the very best for you at that level.

However, if we insist on our own way, which we often do I want to do my way when we do that we often settle for second best or third-best, or fourth best. Here's got try to raise us up to the highest possible level, and he will do that and do the very best for you at that level for God so often wants well now they come to him and they want prayer because suddenly they realize they need prayer. So they come to him in verse 19. They say pray that you notice that sometimes people never pray except when they're in trouble that many people view God like an aspirin you need aspirin tell you what hurt I don't need God until I hurt now, I hurt God. That's when they pray they treat God like an emergency room use them call the ER and talk to people you call the ER if you need to get in because you have a crisis of an emergency.

According to the best research, 78 or 79 it's a 79% of Americans pray once a week, 55% say they pray every day, listen to the article set up for the research. Some of these prayers are born in extremis that is in desperate situations. There are, says this article there are few atheists in cancer wards or unemployment line. The Huffington Post, I read an article this week noted 90% of Americans have prayed for healing. I get this. I understand this, that when life put you in a corner you instinctively look up to God. Even if you don't do it regularly. That's the time you talk to. I understand that when we can't fix the situation. We look hopefully to someone who can.

But most people pray as a last resort, not as a first response. I'm here to tell you when you make prayer. Your first response.

It'll never have to become your last resort. You start with that, Charles Haddon Spurgeon said prayer pulls the rope down below in the great bell rings above. In the years of God. Some scarcely stir the bell for the pray so languidly. Others give only an occasional jerk at the rope, but he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continually with all his might. Can you imagine a rope and a bell and somebody pulls it thinking followed and despondent coupon you think – this is bargaining be that guy be that guy got the gun being green being. Some people say regarding prayer that will I prayer God is sovereign right to believe God is sovereign, so got a sovereign God rules the universe God can do whatever he wants to do. What difference would your prayer make if God is sovereign and can do whatever he wants to do. He will accomplish his purpose. No matter what.

So I pray to listen very carefully in his sovereignty, God has voluntarily linked himself to human operation you get that in God's sovereignty is made, the sovereign choice to voluntarily linked himself with human cooperation that is God is bound to the prayers of these children.

He merges his work with our prayers. Often he will do that you could do whatever he wants regardless but often he will do that and there are so many scriptures about that. I'll just give you 21 Revelation chapter 5 End of Days. Jesus takes the scroll out of the right hand of God the father.

It's the title deed to the earth. He is performing what God had always said he would do.

That's God's eternal purpose that never changes.

He's doing what God the father wanted him to do this and I was written as he took the scroll the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they had golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Here is the land doing with the father always said he would do in cooperation with the prayers of the saints. There's another one it's stood out to me because I was in my devotions reading this yesterdays in Ezekiel chapter 36 where God tells Ezekiel will prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say the people are going to come back and be very populated on you all the people will come back to this land and be very fruitful in this land. This is what I the sovereign God will do it over and over again. He goes I will do this I will do that I will do this I will do that. So you think Glendale got a sovereign is going to do about listen to what he says after that, he says I am ready to hear Israel's prayers for these blessings and I am ready to grant them their requests very fascinating. God says this is what I am to do Ezekiel so I want you to know and you tell them I'm now ready to hear them pray about that. So God is voluntarily linked himself to human cooperation. Augustine put it this way without God. We cannot but without us. God will not very interesting. I just wonder if God is want to give you so many things picture somebody with gifts in his arm just waiting for you to ask you. Oh come on God just to give them right. Well James came right out and said this, you have not because you asked not you have not because you asked not so prayer is needful.

That's the first layer. Let's drill down a little bit prayers needful, but intercession is powerful. Notice verse 19 notice something they just don't come to San Jose hey Samuel, pray your matter. Purchase pray they came to him in verse 19 said pray for your servants. Pray for us that we may not die. They're not just asking Samuel to pray they have a specific kind of prayer in need, what we would call intercession, praying for somebody praying on behalf of somebody else intercession means to ask on behalf of somebody else know why will they just seen how effective Samuel's prayer was in the natural world bringing thunder and rain and the storm so the thinking a spread some of that around, pray for us. We don't want to die now when it comes to praying. There's a few different kinds of prayers I know most of you know this already, but just follow me here sometimes.

Often times, prayer is easy to do hold on you. Easy to do. It is easy to some forms of her easy others are hard example adoration praising God easy or hard, pretty easy to dig a hole out effort to realize God's pretty awesome and to tell him is he's awesome. I didn't take a lot of effort as our hearts are like I had until God. It's cool, really.

Are you a knucklehead. He is cool he is awesome praising him and effortless, so easy to do adoration so easy to okay let's get that out-of-the-way second form of prayer, petition, personal petition asking things for myself easy or hard at really easy because I always know what I think I need. I'm always in touch with you. I need God I need them, so that's pretty easy to pray for myself because I am aware of my need Philippians 46 be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication tension let your requests be made known to God that Skip the message from the series white colors.

Now we want to share about a special resource that will encourage you even more in your face look like Don Hardy of the Old Testament shows that the Jewish calendar with regular mandatory holidays and celebrations in the book of Esther says that God is variance light and gladness, Julian Hunter, at such time, like your family celebrations.

Listen to this insight from skip.

I think that one of our own regular holidays. Valentine's Day or God so loved. That's the essence of his nature. The Bible says God is love, for that is so simple to say so hard for some of us to happiness, holiness, and holidays is a four DVD collection of celebration messages from Pastor Stan suggests that could be a game changer for your family. Take holidays from toxic stress to celebrations of light and joy.

Here's a sample you are logged by God, not because you deserve it because just because that is his nature.

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