Participants:
Series Code: RQRA
Program Code: RQRA000018A
|
00:01 I don't understand.
00:04 Why did this have to happen to me? 00:08 I feel like I just can't make sense of things. 00:12 I need answers. 00:15 Where is God? 00:21 One of the most powerful men of prayer in modern day history 00:24 was a man by the name of George Mueller. 00:26 Back in the 1800s, he ran orphanages. 00:29 And many times, they would run desperately low on resources. 00:33 He would pray to God and God would answer him. 00:36 At the end of his life, he had seen the equivalent 00:38 of over 75 million pounds in financial miracles 00:42 as a direct result of those prayers. 00:45 Hi. Welcome. My name is Mark Paden. 00:47 Welcome to Raw Questions Relevant Answers, 00:49 where we are seeking biblical answers 00:51 to the very deepest questions that we as young people face. 00:55 I'm joined by my co-hosts 00:56 Michele Doucoumes and Dee Casper, 00:58 and we are so thankful 01:00 that you have joined us here today. 01:01 Our topic today is prayer. 01:03 How can we pray like George Mueller prayed? 01:06 Or even better yet, how can we pray 01:07 like Jesus Himself prayed? 01:10 Today, we're gonna go ahead and dive in again to questions 01:13 that people, young people around the globe 01:15 have send us on our Facebook page. 01:18 So this first question that we're gonna do is, 01:21 "Why does it feel like when I pray God won't answer? 01:25 My prayers just seem to hit the ceiling?" 01:28 This is from a female, age 16, in the state of Michigan. 01:32 Well, I'll give one of the principles 01:34 regarding when prayer seems to go unanswered. 01:37 This is from a book called Steps to Christ, 01:38 great, great book on just practical Christianity. 01:41 It says, "If we regard iniquity in our hearts, 01:43 if we cling to any known sin, the Lord will not hear us. 01:46 But the prayer of the penitent contrite soul 01:48 is always accepted. 01:50 When all known wrongs are righted, 01:52 we may believe that God will answer our petitions. 01:55 Our own merit will never commend us 01:57 to the favor of God. 01:58 It is the worthiness of Jesus that will save us, 02:01 His blood that will cleanse us. 02:03 But yet, we have a work to do in complying 02:05 with the conditions of acceptance." 02:06 And the principle of this verse, 02:08 this quote comes from is from Isaiah 59:1, 2. 02:12 It says, "Behold, the Lord's hand 02:13 is not shortened that it cannot save, 02:15 nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear, 02:17 but your iniquities have separated you 02:19 from your God, 02:20 and your sins have hidden His face from you 02:22 so that He will not hear." 02:23 It deprives God of being able to hear actively 02:27 and respond to us as He would want. 02:28 It says one category, right? 02:29 If there's known share of sin, but sometimes, God just... 02:33 The answer is no because he sees things 02:35 that we don't in these situations, right? 02:38 The only things that God would ask for us to do 02:40 with the things that we ourselves 02:41 would choose to do 02:43 if we knew what He knew, right? 02:44 We would accept what he's wanting 02:45 if we knew all of what He saw in those moments. 02:47 Yeah. 02:49 Yeah, I like some of those principles. 02:50 Some of it reminds me of James Chapter four. 02:53 We are told in verse three, "You ask and do not receive 02:57 because you ask amiss 02:58 that you may spend it on your pleasures." 03:00 And so what are we asking for? 03:03 Maybe sometimes they are not hearing 03:04 because those things are not according to God's will, 03:07 they are not in line with what they should be. 03:10 Other times though, maybe they are. 03:11 I think of Daniel, 03:13 he was praying for some very good things. 03:15 He was praying for the deliverance 03:16 of his people that were in captivity, 03:18 something that didn't already prophesied, right? 03:22 And so Daniel Chapter 9, he prays. 03:24 He doesn't seem to get an answer for a good while. 03:28 Finally, in Daniel Chapter 10, 03:30 an angel comes to give him an answer. 03:32 But he says something interesting. 03:34 Verse 13, he says, "But the prince 03:36 of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days." 03:40 There was a spiritual battle going on 03:43 where this angel could not get through, 03:46 and then finally he could, and he came with an answer. 03:50 He was sent at the beginning of Daniel's prayer, 03:53 but there were some bigger picture things 03:55 that Daniel couldn't see that made it a wait 03:59 instead of a now. 04:01 So maybe sometimes there is a wait, 04:04 and we give up pretty easily. 04:06 Yeah. 04:07 You know, one of the principles too 04:08 that I want to bring in here is found in Hebrews 11:6. 04:13 "But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, 04:16 for He who comes to God must believe that He is, 04:20 and that He is a rewarder 04:22 of those who diligently seek Him." 04:23 You see, many times in the gospels 04:25 when people came to Christ asking for certain things, 04:29 they didn't believe it. 04:31 And so it didn't happen. 04:33 Or in many cases, Christ reproved their unbelief 04:37 and then they fell in penitence on Christ saying, 04:39 "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." 04:41 So another principle of prayer in the sense is that 04:45 we need to believe, first of all, that God is, 04:48 that God is who He says He is, that He is almighty God, 04:52 and that He has the ability. 04:54 And also, that He is a rewarder of them, 04:57 the diligently seeking. 04:58 So if we seek God, He will be found of us. 05:03 And we're also promised 05:04 that if we pray according to the will of God, 05:06 we will receive an answer 1000% 05:09 and we're guaranteed of that in scripture 05:11 that if we're praying in accordance with God's will. 05:13 So one of the things... 05:15 And it's not just like we say 05:16 in Jesus' name at the end of a prayer, 05:17 so we should just say 05:19 and Your will be done at the end of the prayer, 05:20 like we should, it should mean something to us 05:23 when we say that. 05:24 Another really important premise in prayer 05:26 is the soil of the heart, right? 05:29 Not just what the words of the mouth are 05:31 but the actual soil of the heart. 05:32 So if we say, "Oh God, 05:34 you know, I'll do whatever you want 05:36 or you know, I'll go wherever you want." 05:38 But then in your heart you say, "But oh, not yet." 05:41 God has to answer the prayer of the heart 05:43 over the prayer of the mouth. 05:45 And sometimes 05:46 there is a contradiction internally, right? 05:48 There is internal inconsistency 05:49 that what we say with our mouth is not in harmony 05:51 with where our heart is at that point in time, 05:53 whether what we want or how we're living 05:55 or what we believe. 05:57 You know, to another part of this is, 06:00 sometimes we may ask for something 06:03 that isn't against God's will 06:07 but it isn't necessarily promised in scripture, right? 06:09 You know, we have times 06:11 where maybe we've lost something, 06:12 maybe we were... 06:13 There's a loved one that is getting really sick, 06:16 and in those times, 06:18 it can often be really quite a struggle 06:22 to know how to feel in our minds 06:25 because we want to believe. 06:26 But at the same time, will God actually do it? 06:29 You know one thing I think in those situations 06:31 is to trust the heart of God. 06:33 Wow. Yes. 06:34 To know that God will do the very best thing for us 06:38 and to leave it in His hands. 06:40 And in those moments where it's just mentally painful, 06:43 and we've all been there, 06:45 it's that process of saying, "Lord, 06:48 I'm putting this in Your hands." 06:49 And continually surrendering it to Him 06:50 and looking up to remember His promises, 06:53 and not to trust, "Okay, He is going to do this," 06:55 but to say, "Lord, Your will be done. 06:58 I'm resting in You for it." 06:59 And then trust him because He's faithful. 07:01 I think it's an important point that if we have 07:03 a true conception of who God is, 07:05 we're going to give Him the benefit of the doubt 07:07 in those things that we don't understand. 07:08 Yeah. 07:10 Because we know He would never leave me somewhere 07:11 that I would want to go if I knew or He knew. 07:13 Yeah, yeah. It's a great point. 07:15 Hundred percent. Okay. 07:16 So here's the second question. And this is quite practical. 07:21 "How do I pray when I always get distracted 07:24 or fall asleep when I try?" 07:26 Oh, man. 07:27 I will start that off because I have been there, 07:30 I feel that. 07:31 You know, for a long part of my Christian experience, 07:35 prayer was like this much, 07:36 and then studying the Bible 07:38 or things was a much larger portion 07:40 primarily because I had a difficult time praying. 07:44 I mean, I would pray, 07:46 but then a little bit through my mind would be over here 07:50 and what I had to do and then the other things 07:52 and then I fall asleep. 07:55 I feel their pain. 07:56 There are different things that help. 07:58 Some people really enjoy praying out loud, you know? 08:01 That can be a big thing. 08:02 Just go somewhere where you can pray out loud. 08:05 Don't pray in your bed lying down. 08:08 Right. That's a good... 08:09 I've noticed that one. 08:11 But also, one thing that's actually helped me a lot 08:13 is I started writing my prayers. 08:15 I journal a lot. 08:17 And that is a way that I focus. 08:19 And it really started to transform my prayer life 08:25 and that prayer started to transform my spiritual life, 08:28 and that's a huge encouragement. 08:29 If you're studying with prayer, don't give up on it. 08:33 If we think about it, in the book, Steps to Christ... 08:36 Actually no, it's in the periodical, 08:38 Signs of the Times, first of all. 08:40 February 3, 1904, it says, 08:42 "Prayer is the breath of the soul. 08:45 Jesus lived in dependence upon God 08:47 and communion with Him." 08:49 And as we pray, it grows a relationship, 08:55 and that's what I started to see. 08:56 It's like studying the scripture is the bread. 08:59 But have you have ever had bread 09:01 and it's kind of dry and you have no water? 09:04 To me, prayer is like the breath 09:06 or maybe the water that goes with it in a way, 09:09 and we need those together. 09:11 And so I would encourage you, if you're struggling with this, 09:14 try some different things, try speaking your prayers, 09:17 try writing your prayers, 09:18 pray with other people sometimes, 09:20 some people like a prayer special closet or a place 09:24 or going outside to pray, 09:26 so maybe switch it up some to a way that you can focus 09:31 and start to have that communion with God. 09:34 You know, one other principle here that I love 09:35 in Psalm 116:1, 2. 09:38 It says, "I love the Lord because he has heard my voice 09:42 and my suffocations 09:44 because he has inclined his ear unto me, 09:46 therefore will I call upon him as long as I live." 09:49 I think one of the biggest motivators to prayer 09:51 is really an experience 09:54 where we test the promises of God and He comes through 09:57 because when we... 09:59 Like George Mueller. Yes. 10:00 When he was in need, doing work for the Lord, 10:03 like that 75 million pounds 10:05 wasn't just for him to buy a Ferrari, right? 10:08 He was doing Practical Ministry with that money, 10:11 and when he was a need, when he was testing 10:13 the promises of God, God came through. 10:15 And so do you think 10:17 George Miller struggled with praying 10:19 after all those times when he had prayed 10:21 and God had shown Himself faithful? 10:23 I don't think so. 10:24 When we are willing to test the promises of God 10:27 in that practical visceral way... 10:30 Yeah. 10:31 For me, one of the things that was a big help 10:33 was walking and praying. 10:35 So that's generally what I do every day is 10:36 I'll just take time to walk and pray, and I will... 10:39 Even when I'm just praying in my room, 10:41 I'll just pray just under my breath, 10:42 I'll have to enunciate, I'll have to speak. 10:44 But it's not loud enough 10:45 for anyone in the room to hear it, 10:47 and it focuses my mind 10:48 because more than one of my senses is being engaged, 10:50 but walking has been a big help too. 10:52 I wanted to give some resources 10:54 that have been immensely helpful for me 10:56 on the topic of prayer in some of these categories. 10:58 The first was Roger Morneau. 11:00 He has a book, MORNEAU, 11:03 Roger Morneau, has a book called 11:05 Incredible Answers to Prayer is what it's called. 11:08 And he would pray in his car, he did traveling business. 11:11 And so he would have this massive list 11:13 for people he would pray for every day. 11:15 And while he was driving he would pray. 11:17 So just take some time to turn your radio off, 11:19 turn the other stuff off, 11:20 and just pray to God, listen to God. 11:23 His book has been an amazing resource. 11:25 A second resource is from a friend of ours 11:26 Melody Mason. 11:28 It's called Daring to Ask for More, 11:30 and it's another great asset 11:32 where it just kind of walks through 11:33 the whole principles of prayer, the soil of the heart, 11:36 what lies are you believing, what are your practices, 11:38 what's your view of God and yourself? 11:41 It kind of goes through a lot of it... 11:42 Super practical resources. 11:43 And the third is 11:45 you are going to search this in Google. 11:46 Pavel Goia, P-A-V-E-L, 11:48 and his last name is Goia, G-O-I-A, 11:51 and search Vital Prayer. 11:52 There's a whole series of sermons he does 11:54 that deal with a lot of other components. 11:56 Those three together have revolutionized 11:58 my view of prayer, and I've seen tons of answers, 12:01 huge miraculous answers, 12:03 by implementing those principles. 12:04 What you mentioned, 12:06 Pavel actually lists, that he says, 12:07 "It's not safe to ask 12:09 until we've praised Him enough to trust." 12:11 Yeah. 12:12 And the point was that when you start 12:14 your prayer experience in praise, 12:16 you're reminding yourself that you're speaking 12:18 to a faithful God. 12:19 You are coming into the presence 12:20 of the Almighty God of the universe 12:22 who's been faithful to you, 12:24 and if that's in the forefront of your mind, when you ask, 12:26 you're already believing that He hears 12:28 and He's going to answer 12:29 because you've had previous experiences with Him. 12:32 You are not thinking, "God, are you there? 12:33 Do you care? Here it is. 12:35 Hope it works." 12:36 You know whose presence you're coming into 12:38 and who you are speaking to. 12:39 I think that's a big thing is sometimes we think 12:41 a prayer is just going through our list, 12:44 "Please be with aunt Mary who has cancer, 12:47 or please be with this and that," 12:49 but prayer is more than that. 12:50 We see that even in the Lord's Prayer. 12:52 You know, our Father in heaven, hallowed is Your name. 12:56 Starting with maybe praising God for who He is, 12:59 remembering who He is, 13:00 then Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, 13:02 submitting ourselves to God, 13:04 or maybe praying through even confessions 13:07 that we need to make in our own heart. 13:09 Sometimes, there is stuff that needs to be cleared 13:11 between us and God, to pray about those. 13:14 And then praying through the actual requests 13:16 that we have, 13:18 and then thanking God for things. 13:19 Yeah. 13:20 And so my prayers have become 13:22 a lot more of just my daily dialogue about life with God 13:26 and not just a list of things that need to be done. 13:31 Well, I think the power of that is that 13:33 prayer isn't just something that we were required to do 13:36 in order to expiate or make atonement, 13:39 get rid of our sin, 13:41 prayer is something in which it's a daily experience 13:44 of communion with God as to a friend, 13:46 opening the heart to God as to a friend 13:48 whether that's about where we've messed up, 13:49 or what we're happy about, or what we need. 13:51 Another big thing too 13:53 is claiming the promises of God. 13:54 There are so many rich promises in this book 13:56 that if we claim them, 13:58 He's pledged Himself to respond. 14:01 So if you want to pray more, 14:03 I encourage you to dive into the Word of God, 14:06 really come to God and make that a priority. 14:09 Thank you so much for joining us. 14:11 God bless. |
Revised 2018-09-10