Does Prayer Influence God? - Part 1

Welcome to the index podcast with Charles Stanley Thursday, September 29 spent much of his time praying today you will be encouraged to follow his example. Let's get a better understanding of how prayer connects believers to the wisdom and power of God as a follower of Jesus Christ. What is your most powerful asset. What is your greatest privilege and what is the most practical gift of God is a regular will the answer to all three of those questions is prayer.

So what I like to do in this message is I want to deal with this whole issue of this does prayer influence God doesn't or does it not so you turn if you will do very familiar passage in the sermon on the Mount seven chapter of Matthew and beginning the seventh verse some of the simplest things that Jesus ever said about prayer and often times people have the idea of all I have to do is just ask and I'll get what you have to remember is this that the purity of our heart affects the response of God. The repetitions listen to what he says in verse seven of Matthew seven. Ask and will be given to you seek and you will file knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be open.

They asked the question of what man is there among you who when his son asked for a low will he give him a stone or if he asks for a fish, he will give them a snake will the if you then being able know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask him. That's the kind of God is is a good God who desires to give his children good things that with that in mind this ask a question that is why does God bid us to pray in the first place. Well, one of the first reasons he bids us to pray is because prayer honors God. I want you turn to Isaiah chapter 57 I what you notice just a couple of verses here because in this passage.

Isaiah describes God as you now to see when we pray we honor God, we honor him for being the God he is the sovereign ruler of this universe, the one who rules and reigns over everything and everybody listen to what he says beginning in verse 15 for thus says the high and exalted one who lives forever whose name is holy dwelling on high and holy place, and also with a contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite God says I am hi and exalted above all and beyond all pieces. My name is holy and will not handhold the place but also he includes all of us have a contrite heart. God is interested in hearing our prayers.

A second reason that that he bids us to praise because it is a primary means of their spiritual growth. You show me a person doesn't pray and I'll show you someone is not going their spiritual life, no matter who they are one of the most important aspects of our spiritual life is our prayer life. This is why do believe that you and I should listen wake up every morning and begin talking to God. We should talk to him all during the day we should go to bed at night, and probably the last thing I think we ought to do is to talk to him.

Listen the bouncers with the pray always present me not to get on Mondays always know but it does mean there's that in my spirit. I am available at any moment to talk to him, something they print my mind that the pray for particular person or some situation or circumstance. I need wisdom and direction and guidance in the situation in life, prayer, or to be a vital part of every believer's life. If it is not you, not going to grow in your Christian life you memorize all the Scriptures you want to memorize go to church be baptize have communion you can talk to people about Jesus. You do anything you want to do you neglect prayer in your life.

Prayer business is a sure sign listen that your own the road to ultimate spiritual defeat because God made it. Listen he gave us this awesome privilege in order to do what to develop this intimate relationship with him.

You can develop an intimate relationship with anybody. If you don't talk to me you don't listen to because there's something about listening and talking and learning who the other person is in prayer. What is God and he reveals himself summarizes level or what God like you spent enough time with him in prayer.

Listening to him reading his word.

Talking back to him.

He will reveal himself to you. To the degree to which you give yourself to him to listen to him listen and not just listen but old Bay what he tells you the greatest privilege is to be able to spend time talking to him 1/3 reason he talks to us about prayer and business to praise this. This is the way when the primary ways he gets you and me involved in his work that times of our people say well you know what what difference the model prayers make. First of all, what makes your prayer a little.

What makes someone else's prayer be.

Don't judge your prayer by somebody else's reputation or somebody else's position when he was a child of God come to your heavenly father with a pure heart seeking the mind of God. You want the will of God. In this situation you want what you want you desire what he desires that prayer is as powerful as anybody else's prayer and what we do is this. We discredit ourselves, and we say well you know what differences my prayer make will think about this. This is one of the primary ways one of the most awesome effective powerful ways that God involves you listen in ministry all over the world biggest matter who you are and what the situation is when you talk to God.

You can talk to God about anybody anywhere on this go now like to think of it in terms of a triangle.

That's like this that God is at the head of the triangle. He's at the top here I am over here here's God in here is my petition was somebody that I'm praying for and so what happens is, God sees this person's need.

He then, in turn, lays there need upon my heart and soul.

God helps me to see what that need is then what do I do I talk to the father about this person's need and the father response to my petition in their behalf answers their prayer I see what happens.

And so what happens I get blessed.

That person gets blessed and God gets glorified. There's not a single person on the face of the earth. You cannot touch if you willing to touch them through prayer.

That's the awesome thing about God is willing to listen when you come to him that's that's how he involved in the work and often times people say well, but I'm not a preacher, and I'm not a missionary and I'm not this and I'm not that they give God all these excuses that what they know what you thought about what you are talk about you get your asset summarizes will I can't say a lot of people gainsaying the way you think the altar will I keep preaching. I can't teach and I can do this and I can do that. Let me ask a question can you pray well I don't know whether I cannot was not a matter with you cannot smell it with you will not you get right with God. Come before him. Listen with an open heart and a pure heart and a pure mind you know what happens. God makes you an awesome powerful tool in the kingdom of God and I can think of some people who have greatly impressed my own life of what article prayer warriors who given themselves the prayer and nobody ever know their names, they face is not on the TV or listen to them on radio than on the newspapers and magazines. You know what they God's awesome saints, and I think about so many people who retired and they say will undiscovered time to sort of take it easy. Listen if you don't retire do something profitable in the most profitable thing you usually have to leave home this if you don't need in the money usually have to leave home get on your knees, get on your face before God and begin to cry out to God for needs not just your own personal needs.

What a shame on our part that we do not exercise this awesome gift of God to see people's lives change to help them when they're sick, and they help them when they go under difficult and to help them when they're in financially when the most powerful thing we can do pretty but it is to bring their name before the living God who controls everything and saying to them. Father, my brother is in need my sisters in need.

I'm beseeching you I'm at the ceiling in their hat.

I know you know there need you the one who placed them upon my heart and crying out to you dear got to do something in their head. Do you think God's going to know that no he's not. He's not going to ignore it. If you have needs their unmet questions. Have you asked God to make if you got friends and loved ones are in trouble going through suffering and sorrow and heartache and maybe sick or whatever it might be what you saying to God about is the often times we just trust the medical field to do what only God can do and do some things that only God can do and do some things listen he's not going to do it is something that we can do this.

It is we cooperate with him. I want to think about this is not a single spot on this globe or in space.

You cannot touch with your life by talking to the heavenly father who owns always created all no matter where it is and occurs when the reasons evinces the praise because that's the way our needs are met. Go back one chapter the sixth chapter of Matthew and notice what he says he's talking about how to pray and so forth and not to pray like hypocrites and then he says in verse eight, so do not be like them. Those who are praying to be seen for your father knows what you need before you ask him his seat.

We will have to inform God about anything he wants us to pray because he listen he desires that you come to him asking for your needs and your desires because what's happening, you honor God in that fashion.

You say will. How does it honor God because you are acknowledging that he is the source of unity in your desires that he is a loving father whose promise to meet your needs. My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

That's who he is using the reason we don't praise we don't know who years.

We forget who years. We forget what the privileges what the awesome petition is in their hand about living God who controls all things, so he says in James chapter 4 verse two, he says, urinate you don't have is because you don't ask for and it's amazing to me how many times we think we are asking God. But you see, prayer is serious business because we talk into the God of all creation.

We are talking the God who loves us so much he sent his only begotten son to die on our behalf talking serious business. Prayer isn't something we just flip along well with the Lord blessed me and I think about sometimes people pray the Lord bless him, bless me bless my family bless my finances blessed my job less my vocation blessed my future with my kids in college, tectum and all these things in Jesus name, amen.

Hop in the bed. I don't even think God pays much attention. I'll tell you why because so many people pray the same thing all the time. All they have to say is God. Remember what I said last night. Yes, ditto, and then to make it worse, they say, in Jesus name a man is that you making fun of prayer and making fun of the way people pray because it is not right.

We talk into a holy God, we talking the one who controls everything sometimes you may have to prayer. Prayer at all times people asked me what I will know what you think about so is always a God grant me wisdom quickly because I know I needed quickly. That's then God answers prayer. Yes he does. But you see quick prayers are only as effective as the time we spend when their prolonged women out in a hurry when he has absolute total focus when we sit on the lab before him, and he's listening and we're talking and we're listening God up to something awesome he desires to meet your needs, but if you only come to them only when you have needs.

What about one of our primary purposes and that is to build an intimate relationship with him is what you going to find out live long enough, pray long about the know this the longer I live the less I ask for about myself but the simple reason I know he's going to take care of me.

I think of it, all the people who need me to pray for them. The circumstances and the situations of life and I know that intimate relationship with him.

It is so easy for me to ask him about things and people. For myself, as well as our without any doubting that into floundering about it and no hope. So because you see, I've got enough years to understand and look back and see he is absolutely faithful.

You don't have to wonder about him. There's no hope so. There's no hope. So when you're talking to God is a God, he gives you his advantage and he never says that you will know it and I guess Mr. Doctorow here I'm listening to so-and-so right now how the I'll get back to you later. None of that Africans do is that where they can have that we understand that, but what about God, you have his on divided attention and you have the awesome potential of touching anywhere in the world. Why don't you pray is because as we said a few moments ago you asked the question but my little prayer is no such thing. I'm thinking about later. Right now is been in heaven long time and when I was a kid growing up I walked down the street next to her house. I can hear this woman praying I mean she was crying at the unlimited thing she said but I just heard her voice crying out to God, I'll never forget can impression it made on me. I know her name. I've never forgotten her name. The only thing I know about her is that woman.

When I walked by her house and she was praying I felt this awesome sense of I could as as a kid. I did notice understand what it was but I'm sure it was the presence of God reminding me that I was walking through holy atmosphere. This woman knew how to talk to God. Do you realize that you don't have any earthly add-in that you never will have an idea of how much it's going on your life.

It's good because somebody else pray for you. None of us of a figure that out is so foolish and about to take credit for anything, God does not line the simple reason that so much of what God does has nothing to do with what we did what we do. It has to do with the people who prayed for you pray.

Pray if you think about, for example, your grandparents who prayed for you, your parents, you prayed for you, your friends who pray for you to utilize the greatest asset you have with your friendships and life is that you got people who call your name before the Lord estimate company; the Lord bless all my friends what what in the world is at me but if I call your name and I say Lord, knowing I was just what I what you do for Gerald specific is what we to do but Mary is what I want you to do for John is what I'm asking that their behavior Judas think about the privilege you have. So the question is, do our prayers influence God. If we mean by that is, it invoked him to respond yes if it means to cannot persuade God to do something against his will know never, never, never listen to some of the exhortations to pray and we take in preventing, for example, he says beginning in Luke that six chapter and the 21st know what's what he says in the he says I know we don't have time to turn always would listen. He says pray for those who persecute you. He would never tell me to pray for someone who is abusing them is using in some fashion. If God didn't intend to do something about the Lord's prayer says give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, he would not ask you to pray that prayer if he did not intend to do what provide you bread, and forgive your sin he said to the disciples in the garden that night before his crucifixion. He told them to pray, to pray because he knew they were going to be tempted to pray about it. Why because he knew they needed it and he knew the father would hear their prayer while he makes its request, then I think about the ninth chapter of Matthew, since for close to veteran if you will find chapter of Matthew and the 37th verse is what Jesus said.

He said chapter 9 of Matthew, verse 37 then he sent his disciples, the harvest, that is, souls are plentiful but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest, that is, pray to God to send out workers into his harvest. He would never tell us to pray for God to call people in the ministry. The call people the Sunday school teachers play in the August or sing in the choir work on the park and there was, he would not ask as he said it that the harvest is so awesome that people everywhere who need the gospel therefore pray that the Lord of the harvest will call them if he was a God who ignores you prayers, he would never have said that quantity said because that's the way he gets his work done. He involved you in his work by doing what laying a burden upon our heart we cry out to him and he answers their prayer pieces pray the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers. Paul said in Ephesians chapter 1 he was praying the prayer that God would open the hearts and minds of his readers that they may understand who they were in their relationship to God, he said. For example, in Colossians chapter 4, he said the Colossian Christians.

He says pray that God will give me an open door and also listen open go to preach the gospel, and also that he said that I may say it clearly, speaking clearly while when he asked the pray that if he did not believe that God would hear what they said and answer their prayer and then I think, for example in James chapter 5. Speaking of healing. He said other people among you who sink them called veils of the church that I'm anonymous all lay hands upon them at the be confession of sin and pray the prayer, pray the prayer of faith will heal the sick. There so many exhortations to prayer. Why does God exalt us to pray like that because he's given us this privilege.

He knows the power of it, and his willingness to answer listen. The truth is that most of what God does.

Other than his decrees which will come to he doesn't answer the prayer was the church week because the church up and down his prayer is why individuals weaken the Christian life because they're prayerless. There's just something about that relationship that connection that audible listen, but quiet connection between you and God that makes an eternal difference in people's lives and makes it daily difference in your life. Thank you for listening to does your prayer influence if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley for intense ministry. My intent is that OIG podcast is a presentation of intense ministry mandatory