June 26, 2011
Asking and Receiving
Coming under God's fatherhood, we have the right of petition, and all necessary gifts He will grant.
Scripture: Matthew 7:7-11; Psalm 102:1-17
Sermon Notes:
- Taking the log out of our own eye is critical to praying rightly; hypocrisy in judging others prevents the right attitude of prayer.
- God hears and answers our prayers because He is our Father.
- Everything we do is before God – He is the environment in which we live — and our priority is to seek His righteousness and kingdom.
- The Sermon on the Mount is action oriented; it impacts the world.
- If we are lazy and slow in prayer, we are seeking our needs apart from total trust and dependence on God.
- If God is our total environment, we should be seeking all things from our Father.
- We can't dictate the answers to our prayers. Sometimes God's gift doesn't seem good to us.
- Prayer without faith in God's goodness is empty. We trust that His gifts flow from His sheer goodness.
- Much modern teaching on prayer is about manipulating God to “get what I want.”
- Coming under God's fatherhood, we have the right of petition, and all necessary gifts He will grant.
- In right prayer we're seeking God in terms of His kingdom and His will, by His Spirit.
- We're not trying to work up enough faith in ourselves for effective prayer. True prayer rests in God for His good purpose and plan.
- Prayer is a natural communion in our daily walk with God; you don't have to be constantly speaking to be in communion.
- Prayer rests on the conviction and assurance that the Lord God is in every event and consequence.
- In Matthew 7:11 Jesus shows that even imperfect humans want to give good things to their children, so how much more will the eternal God give you good gifts.
- It is more likely that a woman would forget her nursing child than that God would forget His children (cf. Isaiah 49:15-16).
- In the parallel passage, Jesus concludes, “How much more will our Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit?” (see Luke 11:5-13).
- The Spirit Himself intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:16-17; 26-30).
- In being given the gift of the Spirit we learn how to seek, ask, knock, and the Spirit conforms us to the will of God.
- Christ subjects our prayers to the will of God by His Spirit.
Application Questions
- How does right prayer depend on Jesus' teaching in Matthew 7:1-6?
- What is the basis for our confidence that God is listening to our prayer?
- What's the underlying problem when the focus in prayer shifts from God to ourselves?
- How should it affect our lives to know that God is our Father and He is our total environment?
- How do the following passages portray God's providential care for us? Isaiah 49:15-16; Psalm 102:17; Psalm 27:10.
- What is the popular error people make applying James 1:5-8? How should we rightly apply James 1:5-8 to our approach to prayer?
- What confidence do we have in prayer according to Romans 8:16-17; 26-30? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer?
- What is the condition of effective prayer in 1 John 5:14-15?
- How is God calling me to change in light of this sermon?
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