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Matthew 7:7-11
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can download our service on iTunes or tune in for “The Good Word” each day on AM 1230 WSAL or on Hoosier Country 103.7 FM just after 8am. We are continuing to study this high in holy privilege of talking directly to the Almighty God in prayer. It is important that we remember God always answers prayer according to His own good and perfect will! It is important that as believers we understand that prayer is not a grocery list we read to God telling Him what we want. True Biblical prayer is in fact verbal expression of our relationship to God as our Heavenly Father. Let’s consider now:
- CALLING ON OUR FATHER IN PRAYER. Read Ps. 103:13, 14. Notice that David makes a comparison that helps us understand both the dignity and responsibility of fatherhood. Watch how David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, assumes that the husband/father has, and displays, in his daily life, the character quality of compassion. Compassion = “the quality of showing kindness or favor, of the gracious, or of having pity or mercy.” We learned God shows kindness, favor and He is gracious, and has pity or mercy on those who fear Him! That is that same dread fear that stops you in your tracks we talked about in proper worship to God! It is that dread fear that teaches us to honor, respect, and remember above all that God is holy when we approach Him in prayer. Now consider:
- THE COST TO OUR FATHER FOR PRAYER. Go to 2 Cor. 3: read 12-18. In the context Paul is explaining to the Corinthians that because of the finished work of Christ, those who are redeemed/saved can come to God knowing there are no barriers between them and God. That’s what he is saying in v. 16 when he tells us that the veil is removed. And in v. 17 the freedom is unrestricted access to God with the privilege of saying to Him whatever is on our heart. In v. 18 Paul repeats the truth that we have freedom/openness in the phrase “with unveiled face.” So when we read in Ephesians, or anywhere else in Scripture that “we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him” it would do us good to remember that the privilege of prayer was paid for at a very high price. Go to Rom. 8: read 31,32. And here’s the point: there wasn’t – or isn’t – anything that could stop God from doing all that needed to be done – no matter what the cost (even His own Son) – so we could have open access to Him in prayer. Finally, prayer as a relationship to God
- CONTEMPLATES A LONGING FOR GOD. The opening verses of Ps. 42 are familiar to many students of the Word. Lange’s commentary on the Psalms defines the word “pants” as a sense of longing and desire. He goes on to say “the word however, does not mean simply a quiet longing and inward desire, but an audible panting produced by the agony of thirst! That’s the picture David is painting in v. 1 of Ps. 42. But notice in v. 2 it is David’s soul that thirsts for the Living God. It is the inward, eternal part of David’s being, created in God’s image and likeness that has that agonizing thirst – watch – not just for God, but to be with God! A truly redeemed heart that is born again by the Spirit of God contemplates its longing for and desire to be in the presence of the God that breathed into it life that will be spent in the eternal, Shekinah glory of our Heavenly Father.
If we can help you answer your spiritual questions, call us at (574) 643-9419.
