Prayer Works
Written by Ed Allen
Sunday, 03 August 2008 09:00
Sermon Notes
The power of prayer is such that it can move the hand of God to intervene in human history and change what is happening around us and within us.
Today's scripture passage: Acts 12
- Acts 12:1-4 - King Herod kills James, the brother of John, and then arrests Peter.
- Herod Agrippa reigned form 37-44 AD and was the grandson of the King Herod who tried to have Jesus killed while Jesus was still a baby in Bethlehem.
- Herod Agrippa was persecuting Christians to gain favor and compliance from the Jews in his region.
- Acts 12:5 - The church was praying.
- Acts 12:6-10 - An angel came into the prison and escorted Peter out in a miraculous way.
- When you hear a story like this and believe it, it places a demand on your life... You must change the way you live and pray.
- This kind of thing still happens today... (example from Billy Graham book)
- Acts 12:11-19 - The people who were praying were astonished that their prayers were answered.
- However, prayer does not always move God's hand.
So, why doesn't prayer always move the hand of God?
- Sometimes we pray with wrong motives (James 4:3)
- Sometimes our difficult circumstances serve to advance God's purposes and reputation.
- This is about 11 years after Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane asking God “may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:36-43)
- John Bunyon: “You can do many things after you have prayed, but you cannot do anything until you have prayed.
- We need to be taking each others concerns to God in prayer.
3 Assignments
- Give your fall (autumn) to God.
- Pick someone here (other than yourself) to pray for this week and take them to the Lord in prayer anytime you think about prayer.
- Pray for our finances here at Gateway and for the tough decisions we need to make for this coming year.