SERMON NOTES :: Sunday, February 9, 2014 - Boldness to Pray God-Honoring Prayers

Mars Hill Fellowship Church Feb 10, 2014

MESSAGE |

Boldness to Pray God-Honoring Prayers

SERIES |

Boldness

SCRIPTURE |

Hebrews 4:14-16

SPEAKER |

Pastor Michael Allwood

KEY THEME |

I.   Prayer honors God. However, many of us walk in timidity when approaching God. This stems from a lack of understanding of how God desires to relate to us as His children. In Luke 11, Jesus teaches the disciples to pray and invites them to ask God to give them each day their daily bread.

II.   When we pray, we have to remember that we are praying to our advocate and not our judge

    1. Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 

III.   As our advocate, Jesus is able to empathize with the temptations that we face on a daily basis

    1. Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

IV.    Since Jesus understands our temptations, we do not have to walk in fear when we approach God. Rather, He invites us to come boldly to him to receive what we need to overcome the temptation – mercy and grace.

    1. Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

V.   In Luke 11:5-8, Jesus illustrates the boldness that we should have in approaching God through prayer.

    1. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

VI.   3 ways that we can exercise boldness in our prayers to God

    1. Lack of shame in coming to God
      1. Jesus shared with the disciples the example of a man who had “shameless audacity.’  Though it was the middle of the night and the door was already locked, the man requested bread from his friend. Jesus said that the man would get “as much as [he] needed.”
      2. We are reminded that God has created all things and controls everything. He desires to hear our needs even when we are in the ‘midnight’ hour of our situation. We shouldn’t try to con God. He already knows our needs.
    2. Sacrificial Prayer
      1. We are called to be bold in praying on behalf of others. The man asks for what he needs so that he can be a blessing to someone else. God loves to honor bold prayers that bless others.
    3. Consistency
      1. We are called to be bold in all types of needs. Sometimes we neglect bringing things to God because they seem to be trivial. However, Jesus teaches the disciples to: ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.’

 

Sermon: Boldness to Pray God-Honoring Prayers