1. PRESSING ON IN

2. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (kjv)
James 5:16b
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (kjv)

3. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (kjv)
James 5:16b
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (kjv)
The word ‘fervent’ means to have intense feeling and enthusiasm for something. We come across this word in the book of James, when the writer uses it in the context of effective prayer.
James is making the point that praying with passion and intensity is an important part of seeing our prayers answered - we are not to just simply go through the motions of prayer.

4. A.B. Simpson
“There is no wonder more supernatural and divine in the life of the believer than the ministry of prayer… the hand of the child touching the arm of the Father and moving the wheel of the universe.”

5. 1 Kings 8:23-52
vs (niv)
“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below---you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. [24] You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it---as it is today.  
[25] “Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.' [26] And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.

6. 1 Kings 8:23-52
vs (niv)
[27] “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! [28] Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God…
Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.
[29] May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. [30] Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

7. 1 Kings 8:23-52
vs (niv)
[31] “When anyone wrongs their neighbour and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, [32] then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.
[33] “When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, [34] then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

8. 1 Kings 8:23-52
vs (niv)
[35] “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, [36] then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance. [37] “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, [38] and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel---being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple--- [39] then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), [40] so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.

9. 1 Kings 8:23-52
vs (niv)
[41] “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name--- [42] for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm---when they come and pray toward this temple, [43] then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.
[44] “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, [45] then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

10. 1 Kings 8:23-52
vs (niv)
[46] “When they sin against you---for there is no one who does not sin---and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; [47] and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly'; [48] and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; [49] then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. [50] And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; [51] for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.

11. 1 / From Great Need
[52] “May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you…”

12. 1 / From Great Need
[52] “May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you…” Sovereignty of God’s Will vs Faithfulness of God’s Word vs.25-26

13. 1 / From Great Need For God’s glory (v29) - of wrongs committed (v31)
- in defeat (v33) - disobedience (v35)
- disaster (v37) - defection (v41)
- conflict (v44) - discipline (v46)
- repentance (v48) - forgiveness (v50)

14. 1 / From Great Need
[52] “May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you…”

15. 1 / FROM GREAT NEED
[52] “May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you…”
- Abraham (Gen 18) - Joshua (Josh 10) - Hannah (1 Sam 1) - Bartimaeus (Mark 10) - Woman with Blood (Matt 9) - Thief (Luke 23)

16. 1 / GENUINE prayer RISES from great NEED
Pressing on in prayer

17. 2 / Reveals Who I Really AM
Pressing on in prayer

18. 2 / WHO I AM
Judges 16:17-21 

19. 2 / WHO I AM
Judges 16:17-21 [20]…But he did not know that the Lord had left him. [21] Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison

20. 2 / WHO I AM Judges 16:17-21 Judges 16:28
Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

21. 2 / WHO I AM
Job 42:2-6 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. [3] You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. [4] “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ [5] My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. [6] Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

22. 3 / Reveals What I Really Believe
Pressing on in prayer

23. 3 / What I Believe
Luke 1:6 …both were righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

24. 3 / What I Believe
Luke 1:11-13 (esv) And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. [12] And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. [13] But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

25. 3 / What I Believe
Luke 1:18 (esv) And Zechariah said to the angel “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

26. 3 / What I Believe Sarah/Isaac Rebekah/Jacob & Esau Rachel/Joseph
Manoah’s wife/Samson
Hannah/Samuel

27. 3 / What I Believe
Daniel 2:17-18 (esv) Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, [18] and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

28. 3 / What I Believe
Daniel 2:19b-24 Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. [20] Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. [21] He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; [22] he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. [23] To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter.“

29. 3 / What I Believe
Daniel 2:19b-24 [24] Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

30. 3 / What I Believe
‘fervent/genuine’ prayer from ‘great need’ Who I am… Samson, David, Job What I Believe… Zechariah, Daniel

31. 3 / What I Believe
‘fervent/genuine’ prayer from ‘great need’ Who I am… Samson, David, Job What I Believe… Zechariah, Daniel “May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you…”

32. PRESSING ON IN