The Power and Purpose of Prayer

Where has God answered prayer?

Yadah!

The call to be a Prayer Warrior

When God Seems Silent

Psalm 102: 1-7

Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.

Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones. I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.

Job 30:20 20 I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; when I stand up, You merely look at me.

Psalm 22:1-2 1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?   1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning? 2 My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer, by night, yet I have no rest.

 we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

“All of God’s saints, if allowed to live long enough, are led into the wilderness.”

Believing atheism is like moderns believing in a flat earth. “From where I stand, it doesn’t look like God is there. Jahaziel son of Zechariah

Isaiah 55:8  8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

Hebrews 13:5   5 Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you Jahaziel son of Zechariah

Luke 11:9  9 “So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking,[c] and the door will be opened to you. Jahaziel son of Zechariah

Yes, pine for thy God, fainting soul! ever pine; “The Desire of God”   Yes, pine for thy God, fainting soul! ever pine; 
 Oh languish mid all that life brings thee of mirth; Famished, thirsty, and restless — let such life be thine — 
 For what sight is to heaven, desire is to earth Fredrick William Faber

What do we do when God seems silent… that we shouldn’t?

Run around looking for him

Get angry

Pursue instant gratification

What do we do when God seems silent?

What should we do we when God seems silent?

Be still… and know that I am God Psalm 46:10

Seek forgiveness

 Psalm 66:18  18 He would not have listened if I had not confessed my sins

What sin is in my life that is preventing me from hearing you?

Don’t ignore the silence

Some of the biggest moves God has made in my life have come after a period of spiritual dryness… when it seemed like God was doing nothing in my life. Stay very close to God and watch for Him to eventually display His power. He will in the fullness of time.

If He is silent, you need to think back to the last thing God asked you to do, and do it.  Usually we think that we are waiting for an answer from God, when in reality, God is waiting for us. 

Joshua 24:15

15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Trust More… Not less 

Directives from Jesus Christ Gospel of Matthew

Do not put God to the test (4:7) Worship God and serve him only (4:10) Repent (4:17) Resolve your anger (5:22)

Be reconciled to anyone who has anything against you (5:23) Settle matters quickly (5:25) Anything that makes you stumble–anything–get rid of it (5:29)

Give to the one who asks, do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you (5:42) Give anonymously (6:3) Pray secretly (6:6)

When God Seems Silent

"When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible — with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation." Oswald Chambers

Yadah!

The Power and Purpose of Prayer