The Power of Prayer - How to Pray with Absolute Confidence, Part 2

One thing I know about Jesus. He had absolute compliments that God heard his prayers to God's power would be unleashed as he trusted. Yes, Jesus was fully God, but he was fully man and his prayers were as a dependent human being in faith trusting the will and the promises of God is my question. Do you know how to pray with absolute confidence. If not, stay with welcome to this edition of living, albeit with Chip Ingram Living on the Edges of international discipleship ministry featuring the Bible to thanks for joining us as giraffes of the series. Our well before we begin, let me encourage you to try using Chip message containers outline Scripture references notes will really help you remember what. Maybe even sure what you're learning to download these message notes just go to the broadcasts tab@livingontheedge.org app listeners Fill in notes. You have your Bible.

Handy open it out of the book of first John chapter 5, let's join Chip for part two of his message how to pray with absolute confidence.

The next question is opens up is not only pray according to God's will set this point.

I hope your mind is in saying you just have a quick aside, I hope your mind is saying in your heart of hearts I pray a lot of a prayers. I'm not sure I pray real. Specifically, I think that instead of having faith in what I find my life and probably many of you I find instead of praying and think I'm usually pray and hope all gone. I hope this happens. Oh God, this is the desire of God and this is be nice if you did it is not what Jesus Jesus said when you come asking in faith believing that you received the enemy given to you. I don't think he's talking people are thinking this through that one out to impress Peter and the boys. I think he was saying if you can know the will of God is once you understand my will and you can ask for and I will deliver and you can take. I want you to pray specifically and with certainty and with confidence and I will answer the question, is a $64 question is how do you know God's will.

So you asked the right stuff right there's two ways. The first is by the promises of God in Scripture.

The second on those areas where they're not promises will look at later is by the ministry of the Holy Spirit leading you in prayer and showing you the guy can give a personal word for you, and how to pray. You see right here in this book. I understand some of the promises in this book are just for Israel, not for you and me. Some of the promises for specific people we know Hezekiah gets in special promises no but some of her special New Testament saints, but I want to tell you there are literally hundreds of promises that I can claim you can claim I know it's God's will. I can ask according to that promise.

And God promises 100% of the time answer your prayer when you bring that promise and pray according to an amazing thing I've learned as I've been studying and prayer is the great many great women of God and pray they pray with an open Bible to pray with the Bible open and they go to God, not thinking once you read three chapters today to keep up my little chart. They read and they pray God show me your will for me. Show me your will for your family.

Show me your will for the future and they asked God he gives in specific promises and they take it to the bank and they pray specifically.

And God comes through for let me give you a couple examples of how to pray according to the will of God first by the promises. Let's pretend I'm sure no one here has this, let's pretend some of you have a big decision to make or you have a big problem and you would really like to know what God wants you to do.

You need to know what to do or you need to know how to do it. You got married situation and you need to say something to your spouse that your friend.

If I say it that way old – if you would give me wisdom God about house situation with 20 or children. You know that you are back in away and you need to move into the situation and speak the truth that you know if you do it wrong you have fireworks and you need God to give you wisdom about how to approach her child are some of you have job situations in your supervisor when the people that work for you. You need wisdom from God about how to step into this delicate situation and know God's will so that he can work it out and so your need is wisdom biblical definition for wisdom is the ability and the skill to understand God's design for life, and then find your part in it so it works so can I tell you this morning if you need wisdom. There is a promise from God. James 15 and in some conditions. In verse six and seven. Here's what God promises every person in this room, if any man is generic man or woman if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men.

She generously and without reproach, right but let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the seat is tossed to and fro. Let not that man expect to receive anything from the Lord. So here's a promise you, you have that conversation, you need to know what you need to know how to do something the Bible says you can go right before God is a God my fingers on this promise. You said if I ever need wisdom that I can come and ask. I know it's according to your will, because it's writing your word I'm asking right now for wisdom. Please give it to me and as you do that you can be guaranteed with certainty. God will give you wisdom. Now note you will have to keep your environment every promise has a condition. The condition as is without any doubt, that doesn't mean there's no doubt in your heart that means the word talks about is a double minded man. It means that once God shows you what the wisdom is you already sign off and say whatever you show me all do as you were hoping it would be a nice little light conversation and you praying God shows you need to confront so-and-so you need to address this head on, or you need to bring up an issue that everyone in the whole families been afraid to talk about.

He says if you will ask me for wisdom. I guarantee 100% of the time I'll show you exactly what to do and exactly how to pray specific is that's how God wants you to pray where you need wisdom you can pray for Shelley for deliverance if it's drugs or alcohol, pornography or issues in your mind you're involved in a relationship that you know is not holy. There is a promise from God. You can pray specifically. And God guarantees will hear you know what is first Corinthians 1013 says no temptation has taken you but such is common to man. We've all had but God is faithful, and with the temptation will provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. You can come to God if you need deliverance if you need help in getting over the hump is something you can open your Bible and put your finger on that promises in God, show me the way deliverance and then the condition is that you take might be joining a 12 step program and might be sharing your struggle with a close friend or even your mate. It might be saying I'll never drive home that way anymore. In my meeting you get your cable disconnected could drop late at night watching tracking. If you find yourself drawn back to. I don't know the landscape God's as you pray specifically answer the third example here is, arrest or piece some of the common man. You know the truth or known we could look peel back the façade of health, energetic and cool and nice and warm and lovely that we all look you dine inside your worn-out beak what you need is rest what you need is peace in your RPMs one zoom zoom zoom in you open your calendar need for God another week and Monday here to do that here there there and the kids are here Wednesday and you're about as some of you here the emotional end of your wits and you think I can't take it and I can't take the life anymore is a promise you can pray a specific promise and you will gotta God will step in. Help calm the storm and he will restore your body and your story or emotion due to the promise. Matthew 1128, unto me, all of you that are heavy burden laden down overwhelmed is the idea and I will give you rest. Take my yoke come into my leadership. My authority for your life. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me prime meeting on lowly of heart um-hum one can put a trip on you I love you I'm God. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. For some of you need to block off a couple hours today and turn off all the TVs and turn off all the junk I get two or three hours alone with God's sake on icon to you as I need rest and I and you go sit in the presence of God for a couple hours and it'll do more than anything ago. You could ever take a slow you down show you where you need to slow down all those pushes and those on snowshoeing's and all those demands from people who show you what his yoke demands and how you can say no to stuff and how you can say no to pressure and how you can be walking in his will, and how he can renew you from the inside out and you know the people that need rest.

The most are those that are sit here and you never made a personal relationship you've never asked Christ to come into your life. It is a great person.

Your neat person.

People like you.

What you really long for his peace in your soul ends and right now I'm talking you can shut off the whole rest of this message and you and God can have a conversation and his invitation, his condition for you, right now. Okay, forget what that guy in a structured same. Listen to me you come right now and you asked me to come in your life asked me to forgive you. Take my yoke come under my leadership in my authority for your life. Take my word is guidance rest. I'll give you peace all restore the relationships of give you forgiveness into that right now to honor his word. The final one here is for financial provision.

Maybe you're here and you're thinking. How do you pray on it bills up my ears. I get credit people give me call and other people keeps the enemy more credit cards and never understood that every week they want to give me more credit cards but your overwhelmed and genuine and you look at that stack of bills you look here and I think that the way to get you anything pressure all the time God says you can pray specifically for financial issues, and he will answer here is the promise. Philippians 419, my God. The apostle Paul writes to a struggling young poor church that is just given a very generous gift. His ministry my goddesses shall supply all your needs by his riches and by his glory in Christ Jesus you got any take care of it. Now please don't read that to me. My God shall keep my middle-class lifestyle.

In fact it is they that he says only Chinese. You know if you're in debt up to your ears if you made unwise financial decisions.

God may allow some consequences to get you in a position of getting real dependent real quick late. The other thing you'll notice is there is a condition of this passage is written to a group of people who don't have much, but have been generous with the firstfruits of what God gave this promise is for people that have financial need, but who by faith are giving first to the work of God. And if you're not doing that. This promise doesn't apply to you see with every promise, there's a condition God promises to meet the needs of those who are trusting him by faith. And as you trust him by faith with your time with your finances. He says I'll always come through for you and the biggest evidence that we don't trust him is when I don't get in my time when I'm getting my finances because what I'm saying is if I give it to you, God, you pay the bills and self fund. Finances are so important to the American church because probably the only way in such a wealthy society that we have a good chance David Truscott is basically of God died tomorrow, which is off obviously impossible. A lot of Christians would know it for months when God doesn't have to do anything supernatural in your life to come through for you and until you put yourself in a situation for him to do that you don't get that exercise trust will let me ask you here. What do you do those are promises. That's how you know to pray according to God's will, as we wrap it up. What you do if you have a promise from God. How can you pray if you you got a sick friend or a sick, giving me another example child or a sick spouse and look at Romans 826 to 27 this is what God says is incredible. He says in the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness will what kind weakness. Well, when we don't know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the spirit because the spirit intercedes for the saints in how accordance with God's will with our passage in first John teaches. If you pray according to God's will, he hears us.

If he hears us. We know for certain what were you to get what we ask. So there's times where you don't have a promise and you sit quietly depends upon the Holy Spirit show me how to pray here. We don't always have a promise to pray and so what we need to do is depend on the Holy Spirit, some of you there praying for kids or people that you love or people at work and you don't know how to pray for one of my older sons. Those of you parents are going through rough times and pains. I have been there. I mean the name of the game in our home was sparks sparks and then heavy sparks and then this kid is so much like me that we not kids all the time and I'm glad that he moved out of the stage and is matured and grown, but I remember you know just icing lackeys and white and it is this rebellious chip on his shoulder and out in public with other people, great kids at home is passed in the all the time, I'm seeing God you know any non-communicating you know that rebellious spirit to deal with and I member at my wits and literally crying doing quote what I know is right and going bedroom, three semi-be into hard money in an idiot. What's it mean I think of doing God's will, I hope, I think maybe even there's a parent member praying memorize our present Lord be show me how to pray for my son as I was praying Lord we break in spirit that's the problem. My soul and I pray directly right God wheat we transform this kid's attitude and as I prayed with Holy Spirit show me how to get any audible voice that is there and when I realize the spirit of God begin to reveal in unit best friend sometimes shut up and let him speak God to send you know it's not rebellion is not the issue.

It's hurt and his woundedness and feel good about himself and he feels an adequate and what I started to pray differently. God help him see himself the way you made him God shore up the wounds and their currently has inside because that's where was feeling from and I kept the boundaries and then my wife and I like absolute lunatics look for opportunities and times and the slop code. Let's go talk any common ground just communicate my son part of the performance that we love you and you'll never do anything right.

How to free with absolute governments series the power of prayer, whether you're a new Christian or a seasoned follower of Christ. Prayer is absolutely essential to our relationship with God is how we communicate with them as his children, we are given free access anytime, anywhere.

But how does that actually work in this series, you'll discover the steps to developing a dynamic prayer life. How to remove common roadblocks to answer prayer and what it means to pray with confidence for limited time the resources for the power of prayer are discarded and the MP3s are always free for additional ordering and pricing details, visit LivingontheEdge.org or give us a call at 8883336003 Listeners top special offers. I want to pause before we continue, and I want to thank just for the last few weeks we've talked about this match. We talked about the ministry we talked about what God is doing in the response and the generosity has been overwhelming and just a reminder that today is the very last day of the match your gift is going to be double dollar for dollar up to midnight tonight if it's postmarked by this date, you're good or you have to go online before midnight tonight for your gift to be doubled. Thank you very much. Thanks for praying.

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We promised as we close today's program and wrap up this entire series on prayer. You know it's one of those topics that on the one hand, we need to step into and have confidence in pray boldly and yet it's so easy to start thinking that if I do certain things God is obligated in the unhealthy sense to do these things and it really becomes very subtly about again my performance. I'm gonna do this this this this XYZ and then God's going to do this and I'm gonna come boldly and I assured that story about my son.

At the very end because I just want to remind you of something. The goal at the heart of conversation with your heavenly father is that you would both feel and experience his fatherhood and his love for you that as a daughter of the living God as a son of the living God. He's for you. He understands he he gets your struggle. Just as I could see it took me a while that my son was on a journey in a process and some of the things those many years ago that we were dealing with was really about a wound in his heart.

What I really wanted to do was helping with that.

So we could be close more than his behavior. At the time, getting you know writer better work some other expectation that I had. So what I want you to recognize is that you have a heavenly father who want you to come in confidence because you coming in Jesus name you're coming boldly as a son or daughter because Jesus blazed the trail you come before the throne of grace. You have every right to be there because he looks at you as the righteous son the righteous daughter you are justified before him. You have been set apart.

You've been adopted. His spirit lives inside of you and he is for you and so he he is complemented. If you will. When you come with an absolute confidence to say Lord I want to pray your will. I want to be your son.

I want to be your daughter. I believe you're going to interact. Not because I'm wonderful, but because I come in the name and the power of Jesus. And this is for you and your glory and you promise this and so I'm standing on that promise.

When you begin to come to God like that it brings him great delight you will experience great power and the transformation that will occur may be far more NU than even all the circumstances your praying about. So take God up on this offer experience his power in prayer just before we close. Let me give you one last reminder about our midyear match so many of you already been incredibly generous in order.

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Until next time, this is Dave saying thanks for listing this Edition of Living on the Edge