Lord, Do it again!

Mark 8:22-26  (NKJV)

22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 

23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.

24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”

25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 

26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”

1. See people as how they could be.  

Be patient.  

2. Realize that change is a process.  

All change is supernatural.  All miracles are designed to help us see Jesus. 

3.  Believe in God's ability to change people.  

God is full of surprises.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOBIPb-6PTc   

Your Prayer Seed

A prayer request is not a problem to be solved, but a seed to be planted.   


What we sow in the ground is going to be hatched, but we have to sow our prayer first to see it.



1.  We can harvest a harvest of peace if we plant our prayer seed.  


Our job is to sow our prayer.  God is responsible for the harvest.  The Lord is the Lord of the harvest. 



We experience peace when we know it's God who's taking over.    


Don't be afraid to pray.  


We don't make prayer work, but we are responsible to plant our prayer.  


We must plant our prayer into the ground, and God will bring something up.  


2. We can harvest a new perspective.  


We are wanting God to answer, but we must sow it first.  


God is waiting for us to sow our prayer in faith.


3. We must expect.  


God is not a God who disappoints.


He is a God who delivers.  


We must expect God's answer before it is manifest.    


Expect your God to act.  You must not count yourself out.  


It can look impossible.  


Be faithful to pray, and God will be faithful to answer.  


Your harvest is waiting on the other side of you sowing your seed.  

Does God Play Favorites?

With all the billions of people, can God hear them all?

2 Chronicles 16:9 (ESV)

9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. 

God plays favorites. 

God hears those who have dealt with sin by confessing and forsaking it.   

Psalm 84:11 ESV)

No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.

God hears those who decide to walk with Him. 

Joshua 1:8 (ESV)

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

If you want God to do what you say, you must first do what He says.

John 3:16 ESV)

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

God loves everyone, but for Him to help you.  Confess your sin.  Surrender to Him as your final authority.  He won't turn you away.    

 

Romans 10:13 (ESV)

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

    

2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)

14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face (not my hand) and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Overcoming Worry

Philippians 4:6  (ESV)

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

We are commanded by God to not worry about anything.  Doing less is sin.

Philippians 4:6-7 (MSG)

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.

When a troubling thought enters your mind, take that worry and transform it into a sentence prayer to God. 

First, worship.

Next, make a request. 

Lastly, thank God that He's got it handled, and is taking care of you.    

Do your prayers bore God?

The two longest prayers that I know of in the Bible are in 2 Chronicles 6 and John 17.

2 Chronicles 6 contains 42 verses, and it is King Solomon's dedication of the temple in Jerusalem.  It take less than 5 minutes to pray.  The result was fire came down from heaven to fill the temple.

In John 17, it contains 26 verses, and it is Jesus's prayer for His disciples to have unity.  Ultimately,  it resulted in the disciples being baptized by the Holy Spirit and fire in Acts 2.  It also takes less than 5 minutes to pray.

Why do we think that God loves to hear long prayers?  I don't think He does.

Matthew 6:7 (ESV)

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

There's not a connection between how many words we pray and answered prayer.

When Jesus's disciple asked Him to teach them to pray, He gave them a one minute prayer.  

Luke 11:2-4 (ESV)

² And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
³ Give us each day our daily bread,
⁴ and forgive us our sins,
    for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”

That's covers it really well.  

Prayer for God's reputation, check.  

Prayer for other people to surrender to His God's, check.  

Request for daily provision, check.

Repentance from sin, check.  

Forgiveness of others, check.  

Request for overcoming temptation, check.  

It is an one minute heart felt prayer that does the trick.

Jesus taught...

Matthew 7:7 (ESV)

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.   

Get to the point.  

Mark 11:22 (ESV)

22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.

If you take a moment to pause and remember who your talking to before you pray, it goes a long way. 

I know. I know.  

In Matthew 26: 36-46, Jesus prayed an hour.  It consisted of 3 sentence prayers.   What was He doing in between?   He was focused upon God.

When you pray to God, do you pray to you?

Luke 18:11-14  (NKJV)

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’

13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be [a]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

When you pray to God, are you praying to you?   Are you focused upon you, or are you focused upon Him?  Do you truly believe that you are in God's presence, and He is really listening?   

If you are praying in unbelief, how can that please God?   Wouldn't that be offensive to Him?   

When you are praying, are you lifting up you or God.   Do you think that God likes to hear self centered, selfish prayers.  If so, why would you be so shocked that your prayers go unanswered?

God's where is God's will

Matthew 6:9-10  (ESV)

⁹ Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.

God wants us to meet with him in private. 

Matthew 6:6 (ESV)

6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

God wants us to meet with Him daily.  

Matthew 6:11 (ESV)

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

God wants us to meet with other people who love Him.  

Matthew 18:20 ESV)

20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

When Jonah went to Nineveh, God saved a nation.  When the disciples stayed in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit fell on them.  When Peter went to Caesarea, the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles. 

When we get in God's where, our lives will change.