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Plymouth-Sorrento SDA Church

Ralph Henderson

Everything Begins With Prayer

This morning we are talking about everything begins with prayer.

You know, there's a story about little six-year-old Bobby who was sitting with his dad 1 evening and he told his dad, he said, Dad, could I get a pet?

And his father said, well no Bobby, not right now.

He said, but maybe if you pray for 2 months God might bring you a little brother.

Well so Bobby was really excited about that and he began praying every day for a little brother But after a month Bobby started getting a little tired of praying and he decided that you know, this is just too long I'm just gonna whatever comes may well 2 months later Bobby was so surprised when his dad brought him into the room and introduced him to his new little brother.

And then his dad slowly pulled back the blanket and Bobby saw not 1, but 2 little brothers.

And his father looked at Bobby and he said, now Bobby, aren't you glad you prayed?

And Bobby said, yes, but aren't you glad I stopped when I did?

You know, it's interesting because when we, We learn to pray from a very young age, don't we?

We learn about praying to Jesus and bringing our thoughts and our needs to Him, even from a child.

And we learn that prayer is important in our lives.

And really, prayer, everything begins with prayer.

We pray and we say, Lord, we get up in the morning and we ask God to be with us through the day.

We get in our cars and we ask God to be with us as we're going to drive.

And when we come to church, we ask God to be with us through our service.

When we have meetings, we will have prayer to start the meeting off and we pray before we make big decisions well most of the time.

But you see prayer seems to be a very intricate part of life but the question that I want to ask you this morning as we begin is does all of that prayer really mean that you have an actual communion with God, that you have an actual experience and an actual conversation with Him that actually takes you to the throne of grace and you are actually in the very presence of God when you talk with Him.

What is your prayer life really like this morning?

You know, we are living in the final hours of earth's history.

And Isn't it important that we understand how vital prayer is in the life of God's people, those who profess to be His followers, how important it is that prayer is a very part of our life.

That we understand that prayer is the key that unlocks the door to heaven's storehouse.

That we understand that prayer is the thing that will unbind the arm of God and allow Him to move for His people.

That we understand that prayer is the very breath of the soul.

But you see, along with that, we also need to understand that wouldn't it seem logical that in these final hours of earth's history that the devil, who is always creating counterfeits for whatever God does that is good, wouldn't it seem logical that he would try to come up with a counterfeit to the kind of prayer we need so that we are confused and perhaps even taking the wrong direction in our prayer life.

This morning I've asked the deacons if they would pass out a handout.

And you know, there was a lot of thoughts that I wanted to share with you today, and I just want to go through a few of them as we carry on.

These are a few thoughts from Scripture and a few quotes from inspiration.

And I happen to say that I think it's very important, Pastor Finley said once before, I think the 2 books are the 2 things that we should be studying the most are the Bible and the spirit of prophecy.

I don't think there's anything wrong with looking at some other book once in a while, but I believe that we have all the information we need in those 2 sources that will enable us to be able to stand in the final hours of earth's history.

I want you to just really beginning to put that in your mind because it's not just about that you pray before you get in your car It's not just about that.

You say a prayer before you eat or before you Come into church It's it's what What it's really about is whether or not you are actually having the communion with God that you need that will strengthen you to be able to stand in these last hours, that you will not be deceived.

We're going to begin by just looking at a few verses that I think are important for us to remember this morning and the reason why I like doing a handout once in a while like this so that you can take it home and Look a little more deeply into the topic and you have a few references to kind of get that started for you.

So let's move quickly, because it's 5 to 12 in a two-hour sermon.

Psalm 65 in verse 2, 0 thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall what?

All of us need to be going to God in prayer.

And as we look further, it says in Philippians 4, 6, be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.

So in other words, everything begins with prayer.

Psalms 28 verse 9, he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.

Now this is where we start getting into the critical stage and where we need to understand, because if we're not walking in harmony with the law of God, And we may be praying to the ceiling rather than actually being going to the courts of heaven.

We want to understand that we need to be praying according to God's will and be striving to live our lives in harmony with His will for us.

Matthew 21, 22 said, In all things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, what?

And we know that believing is much more than just acknowledging that He exists.

Believing means that I have a response and I know that He is my Lord and Savior again so that I want to be in harmony and obedient to His will.

Romans 12, 12, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer.

So the fact that we pray for all of these things is good Because in all of these things we are acknowledging that God is our creator.

So the more often that we pray, the more we are acknowledging.

But we don't want prayer to just become some little ritual that we do every time we get in a car, every time we sit down to eat.

We want to make sure that as we pray for that meal, that it's not just that pat thing I say every day, that I'm really recognizing that truly it is God that provides for my needs.

Ephesians chapter 6 and 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all what?

Perseverance and supplication for all saints.

We should not only be praying for ourselves, but we should be praying for others, just like we did this morning to begin our service, but we should also be doing it with perseverance, pursuing after God's will for us and for those we love.

First Peter chapter 4 verse 7, but the end of all things is at hand, Be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer.

Remember, Jesus told his disciples many times to watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

So along with praying, we need to be watching.

Alright, A couple of thoughts, and these are steps to Christ.

The chapter on prayer, the privilege of prayer in steps to Christ is 1 of my favorite chapters.

You know, it was 1 of those where, you remember we talked about highlighting?

As I go into that chapter, I find that it's all highlighted, And then because some things kept seeming more and more, then I started underlining in red.

In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have actual intercourse with our Heavenly Father.

We may meditate upon His works, His mercies, His blessings, but this is not, in the fullest sense, communing with Him.

In order to commune with God, we must have something to say to Him concerning our actual life.

Now that's an important thing for you to remember as we go on through this message this morning.

Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend.

You know, I was reading 1 of the things about a friend of Martin Luther's who was listening to him pray 1 time.

And he said, as I listened to him pray, I was in awe because he was so reverent in his prayer.

He was so humble in his prayer, yet he was so bold as he approached the throne.

In 1 sense he was talking humbly like a servant to a king, but in the other sense he was so close that it was like he was talking to a friend.

And that's the way we need to approach our Heavenly Father, isn't it?

We need to have reverence when we go before God, recognizing who he is and also knowing that he loves us so much he's like a friend he wants to help and care for us not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are but in order to enable us to receive him Prayer does not bring God down to us but brings us up to him.

This is messages to young people 249 and 50.

Those lights wouldn't go on, the ones that worked.

They wouldn't go on if she hadn't plugged them in would they?

We have to be connected to the source of all power of life and prayer is the secret of Spiritual power no other means of grace can be substituted and the health of the soul be preserved prayer brings the heart into immediate contact with the wellspring of life and strengthens the sinew and muscle of the religious experience neglect the exercise of prayer or engage in prayer spasmodically now and then, as seems convenient, and you will lose your hold on God." Did you hear that?

If you engage in prayer spasmodically, if you're only praying little prayers when you get in the car, when you go to the meeting, before you eat, then you may lose your hold on God.

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Everything Begins With Prayer

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