Unoffered And Unanswered Prayer
Miles Seaborn
James 4:2, 3 Luke 11:1-14
INTRO: In casting about for a suitable word to speak as we glean these last few grains of truth from James, I don't think I could bring any more appropriate or important word than the Bible subject of prayer.
Two statements stand out: ''You have not because you ask not,(and) you ask and receive not because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon your lusts.''
He simply says, you do not pray enough. And the second is that you pray amiss or wrong.
I. WE DO NOT PRAY ENOUGH
There is no mistaking the meaning of that sentence. It simply tells us, ''You have not because you ask not.''
We talk so much about unanswered prayer, but this sentence reminds us of unoffered prayer. It tells us that blessings of God are denied us because we do not ask for them.
1. How much do you pray? What would your answer be? How much have you prayed today? Sow much time and thought do you give to prayer? How real and vital is prayer in your life? Do you, like Daniel, have fixed times and places to pray? Do you know what it means to carry out the biblical injunction to pray without ceasing?
ILL. Right here we fail. Preachers, as much or more than any. Not long ago I was discussing with a group of preachers the perils and problems of the pastorate. This man suggested that the peril concerning the preacher needs to be ever on guard is about prayer, how much do you pray? We were busy here and there, busy finding texts, busy making sermons, busy arranging for funerals, busy arranging for committees for visits, for interviews -- for endless tasks, but not a man of us had made enough of prayer.
ILL. Do you, like Jesus, make that habit of daily prayer? You can't afford to neglect it, Matt.
''But thou, when thou; prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly?
ILL. I press ...
Miles Seaborn
James 4:2, 3 Luke 11:1-14
INTRO: In casting about for a suitable word to speak as we glean these last few grains of truth from James, I don't think I could bring any more appropriate or important word than the Bible subject of prayer.
Two statements stand out: ''You have not because you ask not,(and) you ask and receive not because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon your lusts.''
He simply says, you do not pray enough. And the second is that you pray amiss or wrong.
I. WE DO NOT PRAY ENOUGH
There is no mistaking the meaning of that sentence. It simply tells us, ''You have not because you ask not.''
We talk so much about unanswered prayer, but this sentence reminds us of unoffered prayer. It tells us that blessings of God are denied us because we do not ask for them.
1. How much do you pray? What would your answer be? How much have you prayed today? Sow much time and thought do you give to prayer? How real and vital is prayer in your life? Do you, like Daniel, have fixed times and places to pray? Do you know what it means to carry out the biblical injunction to pray without ceasing?
ILL. Right here we fail. Preachers, as much or more than any. Not long ago I was discussing with a group of preachers the perils and problems of the pastorate. This man suggested that the peril concerning the preacher needs to be ever on guard is about prayer, how much do you pray? We were busy here and there, busy finding texts, busy making sermons, busy arranging for funerals, busy arranging for committees for visits, for interviews -- for endless tasks, but not a man of us had made enough of prayer.
ILL. Do you, like Jesus, make that habit of daily prayer? You can't afford to neglect it, Matt.
''But thou, when thou; prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly?
ILL. I press ...
There are 15398 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
