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River Church Sermons


Feb 2, 2020

#forparker #5

God Call Us To Pray #forparker

By Louie Marsh, 2-2-2020

God Wants Prayer To Be…

 

1) HONEST –

 

21  And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22  And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23  And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25  And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26  And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. Mark 9:21-27 (ESV)

 

2) OPEN – to the Spirit’s moving

 

18  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)

 

26  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 (ESV)

 

A young Iraqi Christian girl is among those who have lost everything at the hands of brutal Islamic State militants.

Now living with her family in a half-built mall in Northern Iraq, the child recently had a stunning reaction when a reporter asked how she would retaliate against the terrorists, if given a chance.

“I won’t do anything to them,” the child, named Myriam, told SAT-7, an Arabic-language TV network. “I will only ask God to forgive them.”

When a reporter for the Christian satellite network asked if she, too, could forgive the Islamic State, she responded, “Yes.”

In addition to Myriam’s compassion for her enemies, she also explained just how profoundly her life has changed since she and her family were driven from their home in Qaraqosh, Iraq, and are now living in the Ainkawa Mall along with many others, according to the Christian Post.

“We used to have a house and were entertained, where as here we are not,” the little girl said. “But thank God. God provides for us.”

When she was asked to elaborate, Myriam said God loves her and the other Christians who escaped and that he “wouldn’t let ISIS kill” them.

Other children also shared their perspectives about what it’s like to live in the mall with many other refugees who have been left with few if any possessions after fleeing from the Islamic State.

“Jesus will be with us no matter where we go,” said another child named Flourine.

3) INTIMATE - abba

 

14  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:14-15 (ESV)

 

4) KINGDOM  - not self centered -

 

2  And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Luke 11:2 (ESV)

 

30  I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31  that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32  so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. Romans 15:30-32 (ESV)

 

5) In Jesus NAME

 

16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:16-17 (ESV)

 

45  Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 1 Samuel 17:45 (ESV)

 

The True End of All Prayer

 

  • PRAISE & WORSHIP

 

Ps 145 – 150 all Psalms of Praise – the book ends on that note and it’s a big hint!!

 

17  The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. 18  The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19  He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. 20  The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21  My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. Psalm 145:17-21 (ESV)

 

9  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV)