★ MY SERMON NOTES
@ Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN)
Area 1, Garki - Abuja
17th January, 2016
☆ SERMON
* Speaker: Elder Yunana Malo
* Topic: Jesus Believes in Prayer
* Theme: Imitating Christ
* Sub-Theme: Imitating Christ in Prayer
* Service Leader: Elder Simon Bunshak
* Text: Matthew 21:18-22
★ 2 Chronicles 20:1-24
★ Matthew 6:5-13
* Prayer is the live-wire of every believer. It is the believer's primary source of spiritual strength
★ Genesis 2:17 →"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
* Sin caused the critical part of man that relates to God to die
→ Your communion with God is affected every time sin is present in your life
* If you do not have God's Spirit, you cannot communicate with Him
* Jesus came to restore the lost relationship between man and God through the shedding of his blood
★ 1 Peter 1:23 →"For you have been born again, not by a seed that perishes but by one that cannot perish—by the living and everlasting word of God."
★ Isaiah 59:1-3 →"See, the LORD’s hand is not too short to save, nor are his ears too dull to hear. Instead, your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God, and your sins have concealed his face from you so that he won’t listen. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your tongue mutters wickedness."
* Sin hinders God from hearing your prayers
* Communication is very critical to our spiritual survival, welfare and warfare
→ You cannot afford to be cut off from your Central Command Centre as you engage in the battles and issues that life throws at you
* It is the nature of Jesus inside of you that energises you to pray in line with God's will
* In most cases, we do not listen to God's spirit
→ If you are sensitive in the Spirit, you will always sense His promptings to pray
* Laziness prevents believers from praying
* Through prayer, you are able to remove what is dirty in your life so that you are able to receive the nature of God
* Prayer enables us to have fellowship with God
* Whenever you encounter challenges on your way, always remember the promises of God
☆ Prayer entails:
(a) Asking (making petitions)
(b) Seeking (engaging God's word to find his will concerning an issue)
(c) Knocking (praying God's Word back to Him)
* You must remain consistent and persistent in prayer
* Jesus is our best model for prayer
* Jesus prayed:
→ privately (Matthew 14:23)
→ publicly (Matthew 14:18-19)
→ all night (Matthew 14:23)
★ What is prayer?
"an address (as a petition) to God in Word or thought."
* NOTE: prayer does not only involve speaking words, but also thoughts.
→ That is why it is important to ensure your thoughts always glorify God;
→ Your thoughts are clear and echo powerfully in Heaven as your words!
★ Forms of Prayer:
1. Adoration (Psalm 144-150)
2. Confession (Psalm 51)
3. Thanksgiving (Psalm 75)
4. Conversation (Genesis 18:16-33)
* Christian prayer has been essentially been essentially petition in nature
* Your worries persist because you have not understood and unlocked the provisions of God through prayer
★ Benefits of Prayer
1. You recieve strenght
2. It builds your trust in God
→ It deepens your faith
3. You receive salvation
4. You obey God
5. You seek God's face
6. You recover all
7. You receive direction
8. Your character is transformed
9. You are able to overcome temptation
10. You recieive nourishment and encouragement
11. It prepares you for heaven
12. You receive ability to deal with situations
13. Deep secrets are revealed
14. Bondages, yokes, curses are broken
15. It transforms the weak into the strong
16. It restores the sick
17. It purges away your faults and guilt
18. It governs the rich
19. Upraises the fallen
20. It gives you access to God's presence
☆ Question:
→ Why are your prayers not heard by God?
* You must always ensure that you are connected to God so that your prayers will be heard
★ Romans 10:13 →''Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
* If the communication line between you and God is broken, you need to take deliberate steps to restore it today!
★ MISSION CHARGE
"I profess and claim to be by the grace of God a sound Christian and while there is breath in my body, I will speak forth and defend the law of it. I am ready to defend my convictions even unto death."
→ John Wycliffe
★ QUOTE
"Don't tiptoe into God's presence, trying to find the secret of attracting his attention. Just call home and say 'Hello father' and know that He loves you and loves to hear your voice. Pray."
→ Bill Hybels
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