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“Come to Him who Answers Prayer”
Sermon Series/Bible Study on Prayer
Based on A Study “Ask, Seek, Knock” by Richard Lieske
Adapted by Rev. Dr. Glenn E. Schaeffer
Dear brother in Christ!
This four week series can either be used for a Bible study setting or as a sermonic Bible study. I used this series as a sermonic Bible study. The Sunday service was abbreviated (although we celebrated Holy Communion every Sunday) so that 30 minutes could be committed each service to this study of prayer. Hand outs were provided for people who wanted to take notes. People were encouraged to bring their Bible and if they forgot to do so, we provided Bibles.
Please feel free to adapt this study according to your needs, but I encourage you to include time during the sermon/Bible study time to write prayers and then to speak them.
I pray the Holy Spirit will use this study to make God’s people more fervent in prayer!
May the peace of the Lord be with you!
Glenn E. Schaeffer
1 Timothy 6:12
“Come to Him who Answers Prayer”
Sermon Series/Bible Study on Prayer
Based on A Study “Ask, Seek, Knock” by Richard Lieske
Adapted by Rev. Dr. Glenn E. Schaeffer
Sermon 1: The Power to Pray
“Come to Him who Answers Prayer” based on Psalm 65:2 was the theme of the 2014 LCC convention. “Come to Him who Answers Prayer” is indeed a most appropriate theme for God invites us to pray. Our Lord invites Jesus’ followers to converse with Him concerning many matters, including “Praying for the Harvest” (Luke 10:2). “Pray for the Harvest” is the ABC District 2015 convention theme. In light of this emphasis on God’s gift of prayer, it is prudent that we spend some time discussing the topic prayer.
Beginning today, and continuing for the next three Sundays, we will be exploring the topic of prayer under the theme, “Come to Him who Answers Prayer” By the conclusion of this series, it is my prayer we will be an aggressive “praying” church … people constant in prayer … a disciple of Jesus who kneels before the Lord’s mercy seat, adoring, confessing, thanking, and interceding. With this goal in mind, one of my goals for this series is to teach you to pray. May God grant me this petition so that you might, “Come to Him who Answers Prayer.”
1. So many obstacles get in the way of praying
Let’s begin by asking, “How is your prayer life?” What pleases you about your prayer life? How often do you prayer? How comfortable are you praying in the presence of others?
For most Christian’s, their prayer life is non-existent. Sadly very few Christians are content with their prayer life. Except for reciting by rote a table prayer, most followers of Christ spend little time conversing with their Father. Praying out loud? That’s the pastor’s job!
A. What are the most common barriers to prayers? What hinders people from praying more often, more confidently, more fervently?
Common Barriers to Prayer
1. ______
2. ______
3. ______
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B. Martin Luther knew more than a little about the difficulties that stand in the way of a vital prayer life. Listen to his words, recorded nearly 500 years ago but just as true and meaningful today: “The first thing that hinders and delays us is the thought, inspired by the devil: Why, at present you are really not yet fit for praying; wait another half hour or day, until you become better prepared or have done this or that. Meanwhile the devil is there to lead you away for the half hour. Accordingly, you think no more of praying throughout the day, and so you go on from one day to another, rushed and hindered by other businesses. Besides [this] he finds his advantage in our flesh and blood, because we are lazy and cold to begin with. Therefore we cannot pray as we ourselves should like to, and though we may begin, we soon flutter away with foreign, worthless thoughts and so lose the prayer.”
2. Tongue-tied
A. In biblical times many people had trouble approaching God in prayer. Look up the following texts, and summarise the barriers between God and the people mentioned in these texts.
1. Job 9:1-20
2. Proverbs 1:28-33
B. In the meaning of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed from the Small Catechism, Luther said, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason of strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him.” What do these words tell us about our problem with prayer?
3. Crossing the Barriers
Crossing the barriers to prayer can be compared to the experience of a man who once had a great obstacle before him: a jammed city street at rush hour. He had parked in a parking garage opposite the downtown post office. He needed to pick up a package and return to the office. But each time he tried to cross the stream of traffic, honking horns and rushing vehicles beat him back. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he spotted a fellow on the other side of the street. Through the traffic whizzing by, he could see that the fellow held a package. He seemed just as frustrated, and it appeared that he wanted to cross over to the parking garage. “Hey,” the first man called over to the fellow with the package, “how did you get across?” Above the noise of the street, the reply came back, “I was born over here!”
The humourous answer of the second man is actually right on the mark. We cannot cross over the barriers between us and God by ourselves. We cannot do this in the area of prayer, any more than we can cross over from sin to holiness, from death to life, or from condemnation to salvation.
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Read the following two texts, and share how each describes how this “crossing” takes place.
1. John 3:3-7
2. Romans 5:1-2
D. The opening line of the Lord’s Prayer says, “Our Father who art in heaven.” Earlier in this service we read Luther’s explanation of this petition: “With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.” The words of the catechism are based upon the solid truth from Scripture. Consider the following passages from the Bible. What do they reveal about approaching God in prayer?
1. 1 John 3:1
2. Romans 8:14-16
3. Galatians 4:4-7
4. Hebrews 4:14-16
Conclusion:
“Come to Him who Answers Prayer!” This is not a time for us to be shy when conversing with our Father. This is not a time for us to be too busy to pray. Instead, this is time for us to be constant in prayer because Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Yes, “Come to Him who Answers Prayer!”
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“Come to Him who Answers Prayer”
Sermon Series/Bible Study on Prayer
Based on A Study “Ask, Seek, Knock” by Richard Lieske
Adapted by Dr. Glenn E. Schaeffer
Sermon 2: Your Prayers Matter
Luis Palau said, “I could tell you Bible promises on prayer, plus some of my own experiences, and those of my friends, but I can’t do your praying for you. You can read all the books on prayer, and listen to others pray, but until you begin to pray yourself you will never understand prayer. It’s just like riding a bicycle or swimming. You learn by doing.”
Martin Luther said, “Just as the business of a tailor is to make clothing, and that of the shoemaker to mend shoes, so the business of the Christian is to pray.” (CPR Vol. 3, Part 4, p. 11)
This morning I am going to teach you how to pray using an acronym that I use to teach the Confirmands how to pray. And why? Because the Psalmist encourages us to
“Come to Him who Answers Prayer”
ADORATION
Adoration is worship. Adoration is praising God simply for being God (“Hallowed be Thy name!”). Many, or most, of the psalms overflow with adoration, and they can be used as we shape and create our own prayers. Let’s look at a few psalms and identify how these psalms adore God.
A. Psalm 18:2 ______
B. Psalm 46:1 ______
C. Psalm 47:1-2 ______
D. Psalm 48:1 ______
CONFESSION
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Since the days of the early church, confession has been an essential part of Christian worship. Worshippers would not even come before the Lord “presence” without first confessing their sins to God. Only when they had received the absolution would they enter the sanctuary singing an entrance hymn of praise (Introit). The thinking behind this practice reflected what Scripture tells us: our sin blocks us from God, but God’s forgiveness through Christ removes the barricade and restores us to God. “Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess ... Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)
Confession includes not only asking God to forgive us of our sins (original and actual) but it also includes absolution – recognising that because of God’s undeserved favour we are saved from the curse and condemnation of our sins through Jesus Christ. As we confess in Luther’s Small Catechism, “The second part of Confession is that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness of sins.”
What is true of worship is also true in prayer, and certainly confession is an important part of the Lord’s Prayer for we pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”
Let’s look at a few passages from Scripture which show us why confession is such an important part of our prayer life.
A. Psalm 51:3-4, 9-12 ______
______
B. James 4:1-3 ______
______
C. 1 John 1:8-10 ______
______
THANKSGIVING
What do you think is the difference between this section, “THANKSGIVING” and the first section, “ADORATION”? (Pause for discussion)
If ADORATION is praising God for who he is, THANKSGIVING is thanking God for what he has done, is doing, and will do for us.
Let’s look at some prayers of THANKSGIVING:
A. Psalm 136 – Which thanksgiving petitions in this prayer could you pray for yourself?
______
______
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B. Philippians 1:3-6 – What is Paul thanking the Lord for in these verses? ______
______
SUPPLICATION
When Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” he was showing us that we are to ask our Father for anything we need – even physical needs. It may be true that we tend to overload our prayers with supplications at the expense of adoration, confession and thanksgiving, but that doesn’t mean we should shy away from praying for our “daily bread.”
A. Luke 18:1-5
1. For what did the woman pray? ______
2. By this parable, what is Jesus hoping to instill in us? ______
______
3. How is the judge very much unlike our heavenly Father? ______
______
4. How might this parable make a difference in your prayer life? ______
______
B. Matthew 7:7-11
1. Why do you think some people find the promises in verses 7-9 difficult to believe?
______
2. Verses 9-11 contrast our earthly fathers with our heavenly Father. What does this text show us about how our Father in heaven feels and thinks about us? ______
______
Conclusion:
Now that we have talked about the ACTS outline for prayer, I ask you to take the next few minutes, as we collect the offering, to write such a prayer. There will be an allotment of time during the General Prayer for you to pray this ACTS prayer to your heavenly Father.
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ACTS PRAYER OUTLINE
ADORATION
______
______
CONFESSION
______
______
______
______
THANKSGIVING
______
______
______
SUPPLICATION
______
______
______
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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“Come to Him who Answers Prayer”
Sermon Series/Bible Study on Prayer
Based on A Study “Ask, Seek, Knock” by Richard Lieske
Adapted by Dr. Glenn E. Schaeffer
Sermon 3: Trusting His Answer
1. The Big Question
At one time or another, many believers struggle with the question, “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?” Often the question is asked rhetorically – and nobody’s expecting an answer. Yet other times it’s asked painfully – from a heart that feels abandoned by the heavenly Father. No matter how perplexed we may be by our Father’s response to our prayers, the truth remains the same,
Come to Him who Answers Prayer!
Think of a time when you or someone you know felt abandoned or bewildered by God, as though God were not answering prayer. Which of the following statements describe what this feeling was like:
____ God doesn’t care about me/my problem.
____ God can’t do what I asked Him to do.
____ God is punishing me for something.
____ Is God really there at all?
____ I didn’t pray hard enough or long enough.
____ Other
2. Father Knows Best
Our struggles with God’s answers (or apparent lack of answers or silence) to our prayers are very real and very difficult. The Lord knows our weaknesses and is patient and forgiving. As the psalmist points out, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Ps. 103:13-14)
The truth is that our struggles with God’s answer to prayer can be minimised, maybe even removed altogether, by learning and taking to heart some basic teachings from God’s Word. These biblical teachings might be summarised as: