Anush A. John Podcast
Anush A. John Podcast
Prayer and God's Will
Why bother praying if what will happen will happen? Why bother praying since many prayers are not answered anyway? These and other questions are explored in this recent sermon!
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Good morning. Thank you, sam Muckle, for this privilege to be here and to participate in worship and to speak God's word. In August 1877, george Muller had to go from Bristol, england, across the Atlantic Ocean on the ship called the SS Sardinian, and he had to get to Quebec the following afternoon. But the ship ran into some thick fog. So he asked the captain of the ship, who is Joseph E Dutton, and said can you take me to the chart room so that we can pray? And so the captain said yeah, I mean, we can go down to the chart room and you can pray, but I don't think prayer is going to do anything. So he still went down with George Muller to the chart room, and once he were in the chart room, george Muller prayed for the lifting of the fog. And soon after George prayed, the captain was about to pray, but George Muller stopped him and said you don't need to pray, partly because you don't have the faith that it's going to happen and partly because I think the fog is already lifted. And then George Muller told the captain in 50 years I've never failed to have an audience with the king. Come, captain, let's go upstairs. And as they went up to the deck of the ship, they found that the fog was lifted and George Muller was able to keep his appointment in Quebec the next day.
Speaker 1:One of the most powerful and yet one of the most underused weapons in the Christian's arsenal is that of prayer, and this morning, in a sermon entitled the Fog has Gone, I want to look at the issue of prayer. The text that has been given to me is James, chapter 5, and verse 16 through 18. James, chapter 5, 16 through 18. And if you can turn your Bibles to it, we will read those three verses James, chapter 5, verse 16. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power, as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again. The heaven gave rain and the earth bore its fruit. This morning, I want to speak on three things. In the first part of the sermon, we will look at prayer and passion. In the second part of the sermon, we will look at prayer changes and the third part of the sermon, we will look at prayer and God's will. First let's look at prayer with passion, and I'm going to read James, chapter 5, verse 17. Again. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. It says Elijah prayed fervently.
Speaker 1:Some of the translations say Elijah prayed earnestly, but in the original Greek there is no word there for earnest. There is no word there for fervent. Instead, the Greek phrase is he prayed with prayer. He prayed as if he was stacking one prayer on top of the other.
Speaker 1:What does it mean to pray with passion? What does it mean to pray with fervency? What does it mean to pray with passion? What does it mean to pray with fervency? What does it mean to pray with earnestness? Jesus himself prayed with earnestness. He prayed with passion.
Speaker 1:Let me read a verse Hebrews, chapter 5, verse 7. Hebrews, chapter 5, verse 7, says In the days of his flesh, jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. So Jesus prayed with passion. So if I say, well, we need to pray with passion. What does that mean? What does prayer with passion look like?
Speaker 1:Let me give you an illustration. Let's say, after worship today, you had your time of fellowship. You ate the samosa that was there and you drank the chai that was there, and you gathered your four-year-old son and you went to your car and you stopped your four-year-old son at the back and you and your wife or your wife and the husband they started driving back home. And as you're driving back home, you are one of the last few remaining fans of the Brooklyn Nets who are following them this season. So you look at your phone to see how they are faring, are they going to make the playoffs or not? And so, as you're looking at the phone and driving, for one split second you don't pay attention and your car gets T-boned and the next thing you know your four-year-old son is unconscious and now you have to drag him. You call another car, you drag your four-year-old son and you go to the hospital and they quickly do a CT scan. And as the radiologist looks at the CT scan, he shakes his head and says no, there's too much bleeding in the brain. They call the neurosurgeon on call and he comes quickly, and they need to take your son to the operating room to reduce the pressure in his brain. There's too much blood inside the brain and so the neurosurgeon takes him into the operating room to do a craniotomy to release pressure on the brain.
Speaker 1:What are you doing outside? Do you need to attend a seminar on prayer? Do you need to listen to a sermon on prayer? Do you need to read the book the ABC on prayer? Do you need an encouragement to pray? No, we will be praying, isn't it? You will be crying, you will be pleading, you will be begging. If you, as a finite human being, can grab something out of the hand of an omnipotent God, you would do it. You would pray for the life of your four-year-old. That, my friend, is passion in prayer.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you another question. What if in that operating room was somebody else's child? Would we have the same passion in prayer? Would we have the same passion in prayer? Do we have a passion in prayer? Yes, sometimes we do have a passion in prayer for our own needs, but do we have a passion in prayer for the things of God? Would we have the same passion in prayer for a non-believing colleague who we have worked with for the last 15 years and they still don't know Jesus. Would we have a passion in prayer for their soul to be saved?
Speaker 1:Evangelist and author Leonard Ravenhill, in his book why Revival Tarries writes these words we have many organizers, but few agonizers. Many players and payers, but few prayers. Many singers, few clingers, lots of pastors, few wrestlers, many fears, few tears, much fashion, little passion, many interferers, few intercessors, many writers, few fighters. And that's why revival tarries. Second, let's look at prayer changes.
Speaker 1:The church has been conveniently divided into two halves, so I'm going to ask you one question for each side and then one common question All right. So on my left side, how many of you believe that prayer changes circumstances? Prayer changes circumstances, all right, all right. So on my right side, how many of you believe that prayer changes us? How many of you believe prayer changes us? All right, let me ask a question for everybody. How many of you believe prayer changes us? All right, let me ask a question for everybody how many of you believe that prayer changes God? Prayer changes God. It's not a trick question. I sometimes ask trick questions, but this is not a trick question.
Speaker 1:Let's read a few verses Exodus, chapter 32, verse 14. Exodus 32, verse 14. And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. The Lord relented. That means he changed his mind. Let's read another verse 2 Samuel, chapter 24, verse 16. 2 Samuel, 24, verse 16. And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people it is enough, now stay your hand. Jonah, chapter 3, verse 10. When God saw what they did this is talking to the people of Nineveh. When God saw what they did this is talking to the people of Nineveh. When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, god relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them. God was about to do a disaster on them, but they repented and God changed his mind.
Speaker 1:Let's read one more verse Jeremiah, chapter 15, verse 6. Jeremiah, chapter 15, verse 6. You have rejected me, declares the Lord. You keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you. I am weary of relenting. God has relented so many times that he is getting tired of changing his mind. There are numerous examples of God changing his mind in scripture. So in 2nd King, chapter 20, it talks about Hezekiah. We're not going to look at the verse, but it talks about Hezekiah, who the prophet Isaiah said he was going to die, and the Bible says he turned to the wall and he pleaded with God for his life and God changed his mind.
Speaker 1:Let me read one more verse Malachi, chapter 3, verse 6. Malachi, chapter 3, verse 6. For I, the Lord, do not change. For I, the Lord, do not change. We have a problem here, isn't it? We have a verse that says God does not change. We have verses and numerous examples that says that God does change. How do we reconcile the fact that God does change with the doctrine about the immutability of God, that God does not change, immutability of God, that God does not change? God does not change in the eternal plan, but he changes in the immediate present. God does not change in the eternal plan, but he changes in the immediate present. Let me give you an example to drive this point home. How many of you have driven from here to Florida? Okay, how many hours did it take you? 30 hours, 17 hours. Let's say that I'm taking my family from New Jersey to Miami, florida. Okay, it takes 17 to 20 hours In the big plan. The big plan is for me to take my family from New Jersey to Miami, but in the big plan I have also planned to have changes in the immediate present. I'm going to stop multiple times along the way. I need to put gas in my car, I'm going to stop for food, I'm going to stop to stay probably Not like this brother, but I'm going to probably stay. So, even though the big plan is to reach Miami in, let's say, 20 hours. But I have already planned to change in the immediate present along the way, and that's what God does.
Speaker 1:Many people simply accept everything is God's will. What's God's will is going to happen to me. But that's actually not from the Bible. That's a Greek philosophy called determinism by this former slave in Nero's court, by the name of Epictetus. He became a philosopher and his philosophy was Greek determinism, where what is going to happen is going to happen. But that's not from the Bible. In fact, what is the motivation for us to pray if we think that what's going to happen is going to happen? I mean, why should we pray, why bother, if what's going to happen to me is going to happen to me and there's nothing I can do about it, why pray?
Speaker 1:But when you look at prayers in the Bible, the saints in the Bible, when they prayed, they prayed as if their prayers made a difference, as if their prayers would do something. Jesus in the New Testament commanded us to ask, right. He says ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you will find Knock and the door will be opened to you. That's three ways of saying ask, ask and ask. Let's read another verse James, chapter 4, verse 2. James, chapter 4, verse 2. You do not have because you do not ask. You don't have because you don't ask.
Speaker 1:If your prayer could change the mind of God, what would you pray for, right? If your prayer could change the mind of God, what would you pray for? Everything? Right? You would pray for everything under the sun because I can change God's mind. Why not? So I pray. When the plumber comes to a house, I pray that Lord give him the sense to do the right thing so he doesn't flood our house. When the electrician comes, I pray that Lord give him the sense to do the right thing so he doesn't flood our house. When the electrician comes, I pray the same thing when we do anything, on any level. It doesn't matter if our prayers can change the mind of God. Why not pray? We can pray for our needs. We can pray for our neighbors needs. We can pray for the salvation of our friends. We can pray for the spiritual awakening of a family members. We can pray for our neighbor's needs. We can pray for the salvation of our friends. We can pray for the spiritual awakening of our family members. We can pray for anything and everything. So we looked at praying with passion and we looked at the fact that prayer changes God.
Speaker 1:If you have to go for an important appointment, don't leave yet, because if you leave now, the sermon is very, very imbalanced. You leave now, the sermon is very, very imbalanced, very, very imbalanced. What we're going to say next is what adds to the balance of this sermon. Thirdly, let's look at prayer and God's will. Prayer and God's will. There are many promises in the Bible on prayer.
Speaker 1:I'm going to read three verses and I'm going to ask you a question after that. Okay, john, chapter 14, verse 13 to 14. John, chapter 14, 13 to 14. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do that. The father may be glorified in the son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Speaker 1:Second verse Mark, chapter 11, verses 23 and 24. Mark, chapter 11, verses 23 and 24. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be taken up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. Another verse Matthew, chapter 18, verses 19 to 20. Matthew 18, 19 and 20. All of these are verses that we've read before. Again, I say to you if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. Alright, so the first verse talked about asking something in the name of Jesus. The second verse talked about believing that you've received it and it will be yours. And the third verse says if two people on earth agree on everything. It talks about unity in prayer.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you a question how many of you have used at least one of these three verses when you have prayed in the past? Let me ask you another question how many of you, in spite of using one of these three verses, did not receive the answer to prayer? You can say the truth we're in church, it's okay. So what happened when the verse said right, you ask in Jesus' name, you'll get it. Or you ask believing that you received it and you'll get it. What happened? Unity in prayer. It didn't happen.
Speaker 1:The issue of God's will. God's will supersedes every promise in prayer. Over every promise of prayer is the issue of God's will. If it's not God's will, it's not going to happen. You'll say well, that doesn't make sense with what you said earlier, because I said earlier that I could change God's mind and now I'm saying I cannot change God's mind. The issue of God's will is a whole day seminar, but let me tell you about two types of God's will.
Speaker 1:There are multiple kinds of God's will, but let me tell you two kinds of God's will. The first one is called the secret will of God. The secret will of God. It's also called the decretive will, which God established by decree, or the sovereign will of God. It's also called the decretive will, which God established by decree, or the sovereign will of God. This will of God is secret. Nobody knows about it other than God? When it happens. That's when we know about it. We will never know about it ahead of time. So the second coming of Jesus, when is that? Nobody knows. That is part of the secret, the decretive, the sovereign will of God. Most deaths, most human deaths, are part of the secret will of God. I say most because sometimes it's not, and when it happens it happens.
Speaker 1:A second kind of God's will is what is called as a revealed will of God. God has allowed us to know his will ahead of time Doesn't mean that we know his will, because we're not trying to know his will. But if you want to know his will, the revealed will of God is available for us to know. Let's read a verse. That is a beautiful verse. It shows both kinds of God's will in one verse In Deuteronomy, chapter 29, verse 29. Deuteronomy 29, verse 29 the secret things belong to the Lord, our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever. That we may do all the words of the law. You see how it's talking about both kinds of God's will. It's talking about the secret will of God that we may do all the words of the law. You see how it's talking about both kinds of God's will. It's talking about the secret will of God that we cannot know, and then it talks about the revealed will of God that we can know.
Speaker 1:There was one will of God, or the mystery of God that Paul talks about in Ephesians, chapter 1 and 2. He talks about the mystery of God that has now been made known. It was hidden for ages. But in that specific context he's talking about the unity of the church, especially in regards to the Jews and the Gentiles. Prayer changes God in the immediate present only in the aspect of the revealed will of God. Let me say it again Prayer changes God in the immediate present only in matters relating to the revealed will of God. That means, if it's not part of the revealed will of God, there is nothing you can do about it. There's nothing we can do about it, and thankfully so. Otherwise God would be changing his decreative will all the time, based on human vicissitudes.
Speaker 1:Let me expand on an illustration I gave earlier. Let's say that I'm driving from New Jersey to Miami. It's going to take me 20 hours. There are four kinds of requests that my kids can make. The first one is nothing. Whenever I stop, they stop. So some of us, our prayer lives, are like that. We believe it's all determined. Whenever God stops, we stop. Whenever God moves, we move. There's nothing we can do. The second kind of request that they can do let's say that my 10-year-old son, as we're driving along, you know, we are somewhere down Virginia and he says, daddy, can I have a camel to take with us? He says, daddy, can I have a camel to take with us? I say, well, I'm willing to change in the immediate present, but a camel is not part of the big plan. So he can make a request for a camel, but I am not tying a camel on top of my van and taking it all the way to Miami.
Speaker 1:A third kind of request that they can ask is when we stop at a gas station, they can ask for snacks. If they didn't ask for the snack, I probably maybe I wouldn't buy it. But they ask for the snack and I say, sure, you want chips, you want any one of those candies, by all means. They ask for it, you can get it. There's a fourth kind of request and before I tell you the fourth kind of request, let me tell you something about myself. I love chocolate, I love ice cream. I can eat chocolate and ice cream all day long Breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's purely for the purposes of trying to show my kids an example that I don't do it Otherwise I would be. That doesn't mean I can't do it at work, but they don't know that. What if, as we're driving along, my kids say, daddy, can we stop for chocolate? What am I going to do? Absolutely Anytime In the requests that we make of God, there are certain things, there are many things that we ask for ourselves, but there needs to be some things where we are asking what God wants.
Speaker 1:When kids are small, their entire mindset is me, me, me. They think only about themselves. And that's how it is with spiritual immaturity All you're thinking about is my need, my need, how God can talk to me, how God can answer my need, how God can build me up. But the more mature kids get, we hope that they look at the parents and they wonder what are their needs. As we get spiritually more mature, at some point we have to realize what does God want? What are the things he wants, what are the things that are close to his heart, and then our asking will be a little different.
Speaker 1:Let me take you, finally, to the Garden of Gethsemane. Let me take you, finally, to the garden of Gethsemane. The plan of God involved the crucifixion, the suffering and the death of his only son. But the burden of universal sin and the agony of temporary turning away of the face presence of God was too much for the eternal son to bear. And so in the garden of Gethsemane he pleaded and he said my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. And he didn't stop there. He said yet not what I will, but as you will. He said yet not what I will, but as you will.
Speaker 1:The first time he prayed that, if you look at the text, he comes back and Jesus asks couldn't you stay awake with me for at least one hour? That means Jesus was praying for at least an hour, and this is what he was praying. Then he went again. Maybe, let's say another hour, second time, and third time, another hour. And this is what he was praying. Then he went again. Maybe, let's say another hour, second time, and third time, another hour, another hour. This is what he prayed. What did God, the Father, do? There was silence. Because, you see, the eternal plan involved the suffering of Jesus, and because he died, because God did not answer his prayer in that way, the way has been opened for me to pray, the way has been opened for me to come into the presence of God so that we can pray. Ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to pray about everything with passion and submit it all to the will of God. Thank you.