RCCG Dallas Central Parish

*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*

*DO YOU WANT GOD TO HEAR YOUR PRAYERS? (4)*

*Scripture Treasure.*
Matt 26: 36-41
v36 *Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.*
v37 *And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.*
v38 *Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.*
v39 *And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.*
v40 *And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?*
v41 *Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.*

*Insight and Highlight.*
The primary reason of prayer is to change you as a person praying.

*Scripture Commentaries.*
The primary reason for prayer, is not just a channel of communication between us and God but to change us before it changes our situations.
The purpose is to change who we are before our challenges, problems or obstacles are removed.
When God wants His people's attention or their remorseful change, He moves them to pray, 2 Chro 7:14.
The ultimate miracle of prayer is not just a change in circumstances, but a profound transformation of the individual's character and state of mind before he can stand before His God.
We continue with a look at prayers, one of the most powerful spiritual weapons of our warfare and what to do if we want our prayers heard.
Prayer is transformative.
Praying as an act can change who you are.
It can change you as a person. It can change you as a person praying.
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus took three of His disciples, Peter, James and John.
He told them that His soul was exceedingly sorrowful unto death and that while He went to pray, they should stay back and watch with Him (meaning He wanted them to pray along with Him).
Jesus came back to them a first time but found them sleeping.
He asked them why it was difficult for them to pray with Him for one hour.
He said in Matt 26:41:
*Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.*
Jesus here teaches the fundamental and God's expectations of a praying person, what praying does for a praying person and the purpose of prayer
First, Jesus in Matt 26:36-46, in Gethsemane experienced sorrow and distress which overwhelmed Him.
He repeatedly prayed a prayer *".......O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.* Matt 26: 39, 42, 44.
This prayer changed the Son of Man and provided a perfect illustration of how prayer can change us, prepare us for the most difficult situations we find ourselves.
Jesus experienced transformation. As He continued in prayer, His human agony gave way to absolute resolve. He emerged from that prayer session with the calm majesty and strength required to face the betrayal, trials, and crucifixion.
In Matt 26: after the third time of coming to see His disciples wearied, sleepy and prayerless, He said to them *"......Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.*
*Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.*, Matt 26:45-46.
Second, Jesus' statement in Matt 26:41 *"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:......"*, Matt 26:41a teaches us how Jesus was saying to them that if they must avoid and conquer temptation they must do so in the place of prayer.
No believer can conquer any situation he has not prayed against or won a miracle he has not prayed to win.
He can not conquer, if he is not himself a conqueror.
Before you can change anything in life, you must first be transformed to a change- agent of God to change anything in life.
A life of prayer changed Daniel and from his encounter with God, he declared in Dan 11:32 saying *".....the people who do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.*
Moses was changed in the place of prayer
reflecting a Divine character
In Exd 32 and 34, Moses spent 40 days and night in prayer and fasting on Mount Sinai under supernatural conditions with no food and water, all alone, speaking with God.
He was transformed. When he descended from the mountain, his face physically shone so brightly that the Israelites were afraid to come near him, Exd 34:28-30.
Later in his life, beyond the physical glow he transformed into a self-sacrificing intercessor who mirrored God’s mercy and glory to the people.
He grew before God to an exceptional spiritual height that God distinguished him as a man whom He spoke to *"........mouth to mouth......"* Numb 12:8.
Do you want God to hear your prayers?
If your answer is 'Yes', it is important that God sees you as a person who can pray a prayer He would hear.
Do you see yourself enough to pray a prayer that can transform or change a situation?
If your answer is 'Yes', it is important you are first transformed to pray a prayer of transformation or a prayer that can effectively result to change.

*Remorse corner.*
Prayer transforms the person praying by shifting their perspective, aligning their heart with God, and building inner resilience.

*Call to Word action.*
You can not change or transform anything in life, if you are not transformed
*And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,* Rom 12:2.

*The Christian clarion duty.*
Proverbs 15:8: *The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.*
(Prov 28:9, Isaiah 1:15).

*Prayer.*
Lord, give me spiritual stature. Please help me to be transformed before You in order to make my prayer answered, in Jesus name.

God bless you.

Shalom.

*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*

*DO YOU WANT GOD TO HEAR YOUR PRAYERS? (3)*

*Scripture Treasure.*
Psalm 34:6:
*This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.*

*Insight and Highlight.*
Your emotion may not manipulate God to hear you if it is not matched with godly character.

*Scripture Commentaries.*
God has emotions and can be moved by our emotions, only if they are with the right godly motives.
Psalm 34:6 tells us about the "poor" man who cried out to God
The "poor" was not necessarily talking about physical wealth but refers to the afflicted, the humble, or the needy.
The background of this Psalm was written by David who when fearing King Saul, fled to the city of Gath. Though immediately recognized as Israel's champion for his victory over Goliath, he was terrified of the Philistines so he acted like a madman to avoid being killed, leaving him in a helpless and destitute position, 1 Sam 21:13.
We continue with a look at prayers, one of the most powerful spiritual weapons of our warfare and what to do if we want our prayers heard.
Seeing that God answered those who cry out to Him in their poor state, there are, however, well-known personalities who cried out to God in their distresses, only to be met with perceived silence or a lack of the specific rescue they sought God for.
At what point does emotion work to provoke an answer from God?
Do our emotions guarantee favourable answers from God?
While we know God has feelings and emotions, Matt 14:14, John 11:35, Heb 4:15, and we know there are hardly those who called out to God that God did not help, however and oftentimes some people emotionalize prayers with demonstrable gestures thinking this would make their prayers heard by God.
We must remember two things:
First is, because you cry aloud in prayer does not mean God would hear.
Hab 1:2 says *O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?*
King Saul cried out to God but found himself completely cut off by God when facing the Philistine army.
1 Samuel 28:6 says *And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.*
Our Lord Jesus on the cross cried out in saying *Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which translates to, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?*, Mk 15:34. In that moment of intense agony, the Father did not intervene to spare Him from death.
King David in Ps 22:2 cried out for deliverance from his enemies, expressing intense anguish but God was seemingly absent. He said *O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.*
Second is that because you cry silently does not mean He will not hear.
Hannah prayed from the agony in her heart. She did not cry aloud but her lips moved.
1 Sam 1:12-13 says:
*And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.*
*Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.*
She told Eli *".....out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto......"* 1 Sam 1:16.
David said a simple prayer against Ahithophel.
In 1 Sam 15:31 *And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness."*
You can not emotionalize God to get His emotion.
Do you want your prayers answered?
Remember, if our countenance and emotions would move God, they must be accompanied by a godly and deep rooted emotions that would move God with compassion.

*Remorse corner.*
Are your heart and conscience right before God?
1 John 3:21 *Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.*

*Call to Word action.*
Psalm 124:3-4
*Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?*
*He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.*
*He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.*

*The Christian clarion duty.*
Do you rely on your emotions to whip up sympathy before God? It will not work because your heart should condemn you.
*For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.*, 1 John 3:20.

*Prayer.*
Lord, please help me when l pray to You, to faithfully cry out or silently call you with a righteous heart and conscience through the help of the Holy Ghost in Jesus name.

Good morning all and have a blessed day.

God bless you.

Shalom.

*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*

*DO YOU WANT GOD TO HEAR YOUR PRAYERS?*

*Scripture Treasure.*
Psalm 94:9:
*He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?*

*Insight and Highlight.*
God answers prayers though not all prayers are acceptable to Him to hear.

*Scripture Commentaries.*
God can hear our prayers through manifestable ways.
His manifestable ways are in form of the following.
First, through His touch.
He touched the eyes of blind men so they could see, Matt 20:34, and touched the hand of Peter's mother-in-law to cure her fever, Matt 8:15.
Second, by speaking a word. He commanded the wind and storms to be still, Mk 4:39.
He commanded Lazarus, who had died for four days and already stinking, to rise, John 11:43.
Third, He healed through the faith people had in Him.
He healed a paralyzed man because He saw the faith of his friends, who dug through a roof to lower him down, Mk 2:5.
He healed the woman with the issue of blood who had simply touched the edge of His garment believing she would be healed Matt 9:20-22.
Fourth, He can heal using immaterial things such as when he spat on the ground, made mud, and rubbed it on a blind man’s eyes before telling him to wash in the pool of Siloam (John 9:6-7).
The above illustrations teach us that every part of Jesus can heal.
God can hear our prayers through the act of hearing and can manifest the healing by any form or act of bodily functions.
He, however has the power of restraining the use of His hands, ears ( Isaiah 59:1), words (1 Sam 3:1) etc to not respond to prayers.
While prayer is one of the most powerful, recognizable and acceptable ways God attends to us, there are instances in the bible where prayer is present yet God would not hear or give answers.
In these series we will look at though prayer is present as a channel of petitioning God, God is not under any compulsion to hear our prayers, if spiritual principles are not followed.
It focuses on what to do if we want our prayers heard.
Do you want God to hear your prayers?
Do you want God to hear you?
We will look at this under the following:
First, prayer.
Second, fasting.
Third, offering.
Fourth, praise and worship.
Fifth, sin.
We will look at the first, prayer, today.
Prayer, often referred to as petition or supplication, is communication to God.
Attimes it can be just one way. In which case God does not answer, He remains quiet, 1 Sam 28:6. Attimes it can be a two-way communication. You pray and God gives you an answer either a 'Yes" or "No".
It is one of the most powerful spiritual weapons of our warfare, 2 Cor 10:4.
The entire bible teaches the presence of God with special attention to His unique attribute as a prayer answering God.
Though God uses humans as vessels through which He answers prayers, no one answers prayers except God.
Psalm 65:2 says *O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.*
It is however important that praying to God does not mean He would hear.
When we say God hears we must differentiate between hearing as an unavoidable, involuntary and uncontrollable function of the ears and hearing as as a product of being attentive.
When God hears, He is attentive to your cries, acknowledging your presence, and is actively involved in your situation.
If you want God to hear you, you must know what prayer stands for.
Many people treat prayer as a tool or channel to achieve a specific result but do not treat prayer as a spiritual tool that has principles that must be followed before divine results desired are received through them.
Prayer is an expression of submitting to Jesus' authority, relying on His righteousness instead of our own, and aligning our requests with God's will.
The presence of prayer or the contents or volume in it does not guarantee answers from God.
We often think the presence of prayer would automatically guarantee God's favour and power.
We fail to understand that a symbol of spiritual things does not itself assure one of the reality to which it points.
God remains with His people only as long as they maintain their faithful relationship with Him.
When you pray, is there a God to answer you?
There is a God who will answer when you pray when you satisfy the condition under which He answers.

*Remorse corner.*
Do you want God to hear your prayers?

*Call to Word action.*
Do not pray for the sake of prayer but pray as one who has the authority to ask in prayer.

*The Christian clarion duty.*
Do not see your prayer as a magic formula or some enchantment. It is a request for an answer at God's time. Your answer will be based on the position of your heart or your heart posture with God.

*Prayer.*
Lord, please answer my prayers in Jesus name.

Good morning all and have a blessed day.

God bless you.

Shalom.