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Isa. 6:1-7
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. Two weeks ago we began looking at prayer as a response to God. I would like to look at the 2nd half of that definition today as we focus on seeking God’s guidance concerning His will for our lives. You will remember in the model prayer recorded in Matt. 6, Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” You also remember when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane just before His arrest, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” People often say, “I wish I knew what God’s will for my life is.” God does not teach us to pray, us on the one hand, Thy will be done, and on the other hand, keep us in the dark by making us try to guess or wonder what His will for us is! Everything God expects us to do to obey Him, He clearly reveals to us. If you want to know what God’s will for your life is – read the Bible! So, now that we know God has taken guesswork out of the Christian life let’s look at how we can use prayer in response to seeking guidance for God’s will in our life. Let’s start with:
- PRAYER OF CONFESSION. Let’s focus on prayer of confession in response to God’s holiness. Read Isa. 6:1-7; 55:6-11. Of all God’s attributes, His holiness is the first and most important. Holiness is His covering attribute. In this passage there are three truths to keep in mind as we pray: 1st God’s consecration. We are never allowed to forget Who God is, and that He is, above all, Holy. The 2nd truth here is Isa.’s confession. Isa. is telling us here in light of God’s holiness as it is revealed to him from the throne room of heaven, he realizes that his awful and sinful condition is made abundantly clear to him. 3rd we see God’s compassion. Notice here how it is God Who sends the Seraph to Isa, not Isa going to God! It is always God’s compassion that causes Him to come to us calling us to redemption. When see prayer as a confession in response to God’s holiness, we are then able to offer
- PRAYER OF COOPERATION in response to God’s purposes. Go to Phil. 2: read 12, 13. Paul’s comment to work out your own salvation… does not mean one gets saved by works; it means because of the enormity and cost of the gift of salvation, every believer is to, as Peter tells us in ch.1 of his 2nd letter “make every effort, will all diligence” to make some spiritual progress in your life every day. How does one grow spiritually every day? See Ps. 119:105, 6. We find God’s formula for spiritual growth is to memorize and obey Scripture. Go to John 15:7, 8, 16. Now watch, there are two purposes here. We glorify God and prove we are true Christians. But Jesus adds another way. He says, “showing, (NIV) proving, (ESV) you are my disciples.” What is the best way to prove we are true Christians? See I, II above!! Also, viewing prayer as a response to God, includes:
- PRAYER OF CONFIDENCE. In response to God’s Mercy and Grace. Go to Neh. 1:4-11; now go to Ps. 123:1,2; There are many definitions for God’s grace. One of them is God providing forgiveness and salvation to those who don’t deserve it. As if that isn’t enough, God’s mercy is also extended to you. Like grace, there are many definitions for God’s mercy. Also, one of them is God withholding eternal punishment and separation from those who deserve it. We deserve hell and God offers us heaven! I trust you see that prayer is not just mind-numbing repetition of flowery, “King Jamesy,” or worn out and over-used phrases and words. True prayer is offered as a response to God’s call to us, and is the way we confess His holiness, and our sin to Him.
If we can help you answer your spiritual questions, call us at (574) 643-9419.
