This is going to be a study of
the subject more than anything. It should
be of great interest to you, and I hope the Lord will bless
it. I hope it will be beneficial to you. Mark 11, verse 24. Our Lord Jesus Christ is speaking,
and he says to his disciples, I say unto you, what things soever
you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you
shall have them. What things soever you desire,
when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have
them. That's puzzling, isn't it? That's
puzzling. But the Lord promises And I asked the question this
morning, and I'll ask it again this evening. I hope the Lord
will answer it for us. Do your prayers go unanswered? How often do you pray and pray
for something, even beg God for something, and he doesn't seem
to hear you, certainly doesn't answer you? Has that happened
to anybody here? Anybody experience that? I have. I do. Pray and pray and beseech
God for something you think is worthwhile, and He doesn't seem
to hear and certainly doesn't answer you. Why? Why? Why doesn't He give us the
things we're asking for? We read that scripture there.
It seems to say that he'll give us what we're asking for. Listen,
we're not alone. I want you to listen to David. Let me just go through a few
select psalms. And I had trouble a while ago
picking out a scripture, a psalm to read with that in mind, David
pouring out his heart, because nearly every one of them are.
So I had to pick just one. I wanted to read them all, but
listen to this. Listen to David. This is a man after God's own
heart. He says, Give ear to my words, O Lord, and consider my
meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my
cry, my King and my God, for unto thee will I pray. My voice
shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord, and in the morning will
I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Listen to this
one. Why spend this hour far off,
O Lord? Why do you hide yourself in times
of trouble? Listen to this one. How long
will you forget me, Lord? Forever? How long will you hide
your face from me? How long shall I take counsel
in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? Consider and
hear me, Lord. Listen to this one. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping
me and from the words of my roaring? Listen to this one. Unto thee
will I cry, O Lord, my rock. Don't be silent to me, lest if
you be silent to me I become like them that go down into the
pit. Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry unto thee. Listen to this one, Psalm 42. As the heart panteth after the
water brook, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth
for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear
before God? My tears have been meat, and my meat day and night,
while they continually say unto me, Where's your help? Can you do the things you're
asking for? When I remember these things, I pour my soul out in
me. Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted
in me? Hope in God. O my God, my soul is cast down
within me. Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? Why are you disquieted within
me? Listen to this one, Psalm 55. Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me
and hear me. I mourn in my complaint and make
a noise. Hear me, my heart is sore, pained
within me." Listen to this one, just on and on and on. Hear my
cry, O God, attend unto my prayer. For the end of the earth I will
cry unto thee. My heart is overwhelmed. Listen
to this one. Save me, O God, for the waters
are coming into my soul. I'm sinking. I'm going down. I'm sinking. I'm weary of my
crying. I'm tired of praying. My throat
is dry. My eyes fail while I wait for
my God. Listen to this one. Make haste,
O God, to deliver me. Hurry up and hear me. Make haste
to help me, O Lord. Listen to this one. Just on and
on and on. I cried unto God with my voice,
even unto God with my voice, and he gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble, I sought
the Lord, and my eyes ran in the night, and cease not, my
soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, that is, I
remembered to pray to God, and I was troubled. I complained.
My spirit was overwhelmed. You hold my eyes awake and can't
sleep. I'm so troubled, I can't speak. Anybody been through that, any
of this? Just one person. Why doesn't
God hear us? Why doesn't he hear us when we
ask for something in prayer? Why doesn't he give us the things
we are asking for? Well, first of all, because God
is not obligated to give us anything. He doesn't have to give us anything. We don't deserve anything. Barnard
used to say, anything this side of hell is mercy. And the older
I get, the more I see how true that is. Anything, anything from
God's hand, any blessing, this side of hell is mercy that we
don't deserve. We don't deserve anything from
God's hand, and we have to admit, if we're honest, he's given us
a lot more than we deserve already. A lot more. And perhaps part
of our problem is we have so much that we're not content with
what we have. Is that right? I know what it
is with this man. Secondly, not only is God not
obligated to give us anything, He doesn't even have to hear
us. I say this as a man, but God
is working. He doesn't have to stop and take
the time to hear us, does He? He said this, what is man, that
you are even mindful of him? Rick, why should God stop and
pay attention to me? We don't pay much attention to
him, do we? Not much. It's like, it's kind
of like if I were to call the President of the United States
one day, call him up, and if somehow I was, well, his secretary
answered the phone, and I said, I'd like to speak to the President.
Well, who are you? I'm Paul Mahan. Who? While I'm
blowing my hand, I'd like to speak to the President." Click. God hear me. Why should I? Who are you? What have you done?
Is that not right? Is that not right? But, you say, the scriptures
seem to promise. The scriptures are full of promises
that say that God will hear us and answer our prayer. We just
read one. Then it says that even God will give us what we ask
for. Well, turn over to James chapter 4. Let's look at this
for a few minutes. James chapter 4. Now, I confess that there have been many times
that I've begged and begged God for something, and when he didn't
seem to answer me and certainly didn't give me what I was asking
for, that I got real frustrated. And if you're honest, you'll
say the same thing. even mad. Have you? Come on, now. Well, you're not alone in that,
either. Jonah did. He got mad, because God wouldn't
destroy a city. It made him look foolish. He went out and said, God's going
to destroy you. And God gave him repentance,
and they turned, and God had mercy on him. Jonah got mad.
It made him look bad. Elijah did the same thing. He
said, I might as well be dead. Job said it, I wish I'd never
been born. He got mad. But look at James
chapter 4, verse 1. He says, From whence come wars
and fighting among you? Where do all your problems come
from? Where do all our troubles and
problems come from, by the way? Do we blame this on God? Come they not hence even of your
own lusts that war in your memories? Where do our problems come from?
Me. Me. I am my problem. I am my
biggest problem. God's on the throne. I'm in the
dirt. I am my biggest problem. Why
are we always so torn up in trouble? Because of flesh and sin and
self. Me. Paul said, there's an old
man inside me that's at war with me. Somebody use this illustration.
It's like two men living in the same house. One lives on the
third floor, and one lives on a three-story house. One lives
on the third floor, one lives on the first floor, and every
now and then they'll meet on the second floor and have a fight.
And then they'll go back to where they came from. Is it that way
with you? I'm in a battle, I'm knocked
down to drag out, and then they go back to their respective places.
Look at this. He says, You lust and have not. You kill. It's a dog-eat-dog-out
world out there, isn't it? And we're right in the midst
of it. Desire to have, working, striving, can't get it, can't
obtain it. You fight and you war. Oh, I
want this so bad. Yet you have not. Look at these
four words. Because yes, not. We have not, because most of
the time we don't ask. We just fuss. We just fuss. And David, if we'd
study it, we'd see David pouring out his complaint. My soul, how
do we have the right to complain about anything? We just fuss. Our mouths, we're guilty, aren't
we? We're just most of the time full of murmuring and complaining,
aren't we? Very little thanksgiving. We'll
get to that in a minute. And when we do ask, when we do
get around to acknowledging God, to asking him for something,
it's generally out of frustration. And it's really just for our
own sake, for our own lust, our own ease and our own comfort.
Did you hear what he said there? He said, you have not because
you ask not. Now, be honest before God. God knows, we studied it this
morning, God knows our heart. We can say all we will in front
of one another. How many in here really pray with any regularity? Be honest now. Do you know that prayer is commanded? It's not only a privilege, but
it's a command for the believer. Yet few really do. Few believers
make use of the means that God has given us, the means of grace.
All the comfort, all the peace, all the hope, the encouragement.
The directions in our life are found right here and in communion
with God. And these things gather dust,
and our voices are rarely heard, except every now and then to
cry out in our trouble. Is that right? Isn't that right?
You know, prayer is commanded, but you think about how absurd
this is. You think about how absurd this is. It's kind of
like a hospital issuing orders to sick people to come. Now,
y'all better get down here, you've got pneumonia. But men and women need to be
commanded to seek the Lord, or they'll refuse and they'll just
die in their sins. When the remedy is, the word
is near you, right in your mouth, he said. It's near you, right
on your coffee table. Kind of like little children,
aren't we, who need to be taught, now, honey, just come to Daddy. If you've got problems, just
come to me and tell me about them. And the older they get,
the harder and worse it is, and they start clamming up and won't
confide in Mom and Dad, you know. They start knowing something. Why don't we pray? Let me give
you some reasons why we don't pray. And I'm guilty. I'm guilty. First of all, worldliness
keeps us from praying. Like I said a moment ago, we
give our strength to the world. We give 99.9 percent of our day
to the world and one-tenth percent to God. We give our strength to the world,
all our time and energy and effort. We give our sickness to God,
don't we? We give our troubles to God.
You know what I'm saying. I'm speaking as a man. We give the firstfruits to this
world when God demands firstfruits. First thing in the morning, thank
you, God, for that night's rest. Oh, no. What am I going to do
now? And we get in trouble or something.
We need something. Oh, God! Isn't that the way it
is? Isn't that the way it is? Why
should he hear us? Hours for the world, minutes
to God. Worldliness. Sin is another reason why we
don't pray. Sin. This could be your case. It has been at one time, probably. It has been mine. It still is. Satan tells you, you're too sinful.
God's not going to hear you. Think about what you were just
thinking, man. Think about what you just did. God's not going
to hear you. Why, are you a hypocrite? Boy,
that's the time we need to go, don't we? That's the time we
need to go. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love, wherewith he has loved us, even when we
were dead in trespasses and sins. And he tells us, he says, call
unto me and I'll answer you. Call unto me. Why don't we pray?
Worldliness? Sin? Unbelief. Listen to me, please. This is
necessary. This is vital. This is beneficial. Unbelief is another reason why
we don't pray. Unbelief. If you're honest with yourself,
you have to say this, I just don't believe God's going to
hear me. I don't, I certainly don't believe he's going to give
me what I'm, so I'm just not going to answer. Have you ever
reached that point? Most of the time, most of the
time we don't know what to pray for, and most of the time we
think God's not concerned anyway with our little, little problems
here and there, small things. Well, look at this over in Philippians
chapter 4. Look at it. Philippians chapter 4. Rick and
I were discussing these things the other night. This scripture
came to mind, Philippians 4, verse 6. He says, Be careful
for nothing. That is, don't put anything off.
But in everything, Philippians 4, 6, in everything by prayer
and supplication. And here's the key, with thanksgiving,
first of all, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known
to God. In everything, in everything, be careful for nothing, but in
everything, by prayer, don't lean on the arm of the flesh
for anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving now, begin it with that. Let your request be made
known to God. Well, you know, since we don't
believe most of the time that God will hear us, much less answer
us, most of the time we pray like this, don't we? Lord, oh, what's the use? Have you
ever done that? Do you do that? Oh, what's the
use? But he says, we're commanded
anyway, and this is a struggling. You know, Jacob wrestled with
the Lord. He said, listen to all these scriptures. Call upon
me in the day of trouble, I'll deliver you. You people, pour
out your heart before him. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Call upon him while he's near. Ask, and it shall
be given thee. Seek, and you shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened. Watch and pray, lest you enter
into temptation. Pray without ceasing. Draw nigh
unto God, and he will draw nigh unto you. Continue in prayer,
and so forth. Scripture after scripture after
scripture that command us. Like little children, we have
to be commanded to come to Him. Don't stop. Come on. Pray to
Him. Well, you say, I do pray. I do
pray, but God never gives me what I ask for. I do pray, but
He doesn't give me what I ask for. Well, what are we asking
for? And this is what I wanted to
get to. What are we asking for? And here's some reasons for unanswered
prayer. Look at James chapter 4 again.
Back to James chapter 4. Reasons for unanswered prayer. Look at James chapter 4, verse
3. James 4, verse 3. He says, you
ask. Oh, you do ask occasionally. And you receive not. Because
you ask Him this, that you might consume it upon your own lusts,
your own desires, your own self. What you're asking for generally
is for your own self, not God's glory. For your own self. We
need to ask ourselves every time we stop to pray, every time we
ask for something. And there's nothing wrong with
asking. We just read in Philippians 4, let your needs, your petitions
be known to God. supplication, pleading with him
for something. We need to ask ourselves this.
What we're praying for, is it a need, is it something I really
need, or just a desire, just a covetous desire? Listen to
this, and turn over to 1 John chapter 5. If you're interested
in having your prayers answered, bear with me. 1 John chapter
5. Christ said, He said, whatsoever
you shall ask in my name, I'll do it. Didn't He? He said that. He promised. He said, whatever
you ask in my name, I will do it. I will do it. And this is
what John says in 1 John 5 verse 14. He says, this is the confidence
that we have concerning Him, that if we ask anything according
to His will. He hears us. And if we know that
He hears us whenever we ask, we know we have the petitions
we desire of Him. Well, listen, to ask something
in the name and the will of Christ is to ask in the same attitude
as Christ. the same mind, the same desire
as our Lord had. The Apostle said, let this mind
be in you. Let the mind of Christ be in
you, dwell in you richly. What was the mind of Christ?
What did he pray for? Huh? What did he pray for? He said, not my will be done. Not what I want. I want what
you want. Not my will be done, but thy
will be done. That's my desire." And he meant
it. Christ never prayed for his own
benefit. He didn't. One time, for our
sakes, that we might know what he was going through in the garden,
it was recorded. If it be possible, let this cup
pass from me. Nevertheless, he was quick to
add, not my will, but thy will be done. He never asked the Father
for anything strictly for his own benefit. He never used miracles. He never did anything of the
sort for his own relief. He didn't do it. But he always
had the glory of God in mind, didn't he, Terry? Always. I always
delight to do the will of the Father. And I always do those
things that please my Heavenly Father. So to pray in the will
of Christ and in the mind of Christ is first and foremost
wanting only God's glory. Wanting only God's glory, not
my relief first. And it's wanting only what will
make me conformable to his will and to his image. Look how he
bids us to pray in Matthew 6. Everybody can quote this, even
little children, the so-called Lord's Prayer. Look what he bids
us to pray for. Look at this. There's only really
one material thing he asked for in there—bread. Just bread. Frieden-Reimann, didn't he? Look at Matthew 6, verse 9. He said, After this manner, therefore,
pray. This is the way you're to pray.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed holy be thy name, O
Sovereign God, you're on the throne. Thy kingdom come, and
it will. And your will be done in earth
as it is in heaven. That's what I want more than
anything, your will to be done. Give us this day our daily bread.
That's all we need. That's all we need. Give us this
day our daily bread, but we do need forgiveness of our debts,
our sins. Forgive us our debts as we forgive
those our debtors. In another place it says, if
you're not showing mercy to someone else, God's not going to hear
you. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil, for thine
is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Amen. There's nothing in that
prayer but praise, thanksgiving, repentance, and one petition
for daily bread, isn't it? One petition. Well, why don't our prayers get answered? Well,
most of all, like James said, you ask amiss, consume it upon
your own lust. Secondly, unbelief. I said that
before. Look at James chapter 1. Like
I said, this is a study, and we've got to search the scriptures.
James 1, verse 6. Look at this. This is why men don't pray and
aren't heard when they do, is unbelief. Verse 6. He says, Let
him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavers like a wave
of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that
man think he shall receive anything of the Lord, a double-minded
man is unstable in all his ways." Let me illustrate that. Kind
of like my child, I say one day, I say, Honey, I'm going to take
you to the circus. Thursday at seven o'clock in
the morning I'm going to take you to the circus. Well, Tuesday
rolls around. Daddy, are you sure you're going
to take me? Yes, I told you I would. I'm going to take you. Wednesday
rolls around. Daddy, no, come on. Are you sure you're going
to have time? Yes, honey. Wednesday night rolls around.
I just don't believe that. I just don't believe you're going
to take me. Thursday morning rolls up, she's
laying in bed. Come on, honey, let's go. Oh,
no, you're not. You're not going to take me. Unbelief. So finally, OK,
I won't take you. I'm not going to do it then.
You don't take me at my word. You don't believe me. Forget
it. Go on your way. Just forget it then. Indefinite desire is the reason
for unanswered prayer. Listen to this. Prayer is mostly praise, like
our Lord taught us just now to pray. Mostly praise. Our Father
in heaven, hallowed and holy is your name. It's mostly praise. But it's also asking for petitions.
It is now. He told Solomon, ask me what
you desire and I'll give it to you. Ask me. Well, indefinite desires will
get you nothing. It's kind of like an archer,
a marksman, just taking his bow and an arrow and
just shooting it up in the sky. Not aiming at anything. What's
he hoped to accomplish? You understand? You see what
I'm saying? We need to have definite desires.
Definite desires. Fourthly, another reason for
unanswered prayer. Insincerity. Insincerity. Are our prayers heart prayers
or just head prayers, little duty we go through? It's time
to pray. I'm told to pray. I'm commanded
to pray, so I'm going to pray. Or is it a heart pleading, a
real heart prayer? Or do we feel a need or are we
just reciting some words? And do we really want what we're
asking for? Listen, listen to it now. Some
people really don't want what they're asking for. Like this, like a total change
in commitment. Lord, make me like Christ. Make
me like Christ. I want a total change in commitment. And then run right out pursuing
after something else. He didn't mean that. You really,
now do you really want to be made like Christ? That is the
all-scouring of the earth, hated by all men for his namesake,
even your father, your mother, your wife, your husband? You
really want that now? Well, maybe I was a little hasty. Insincerity. Coldness. We can't expect a prayer to touch
God's heart that doesn't touch ours. running into God's presence,
just running up. Like, I get a, well, I don't
get a kick out of it, I get sick of these little, seeing these
people offer their little two-bit petitions at dinner tables, out
in the restaurants and so forth. You've seen them, haven't you?
Sit down, they kind of look around, see who's watching them. Don't they? I get sick of that.
You think that bounced off the, you think that got anywhere past
the ceiling? We're guilty of the same thing, though, aren't
we? Well, listen. The text, Mark 11. Back to the
text. Mark 11, chapter 24. Believing
and receiving. That's praying. Let's look at
believing and receiving. He says, Therefore I say unto
you, verse 24, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe
that you receive them, and you shall have them." Listen
to this. He that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently
seek him. To be heard, there are some things
we must believe. Listen. Christ said, according
to your faith, so be it unto you, didn't he? There's a direct
connection between faith and answered prayer. I don't have
the answers necessarily, but I just know it's so. He said,
according to your faith, so be it unto you. He said in another
place, if you can believe, if thou canst believe, all things
are possible to them that believe. Well, that scripture I just quoted
out of Hebrews. Them that come to God must first believe that
He is. Well, this is a basic belief. We must first believe
that God is God. We can't approach, we can't ask
something of an impotent God. We've got to come to be God,
the God of all glory, the God that's on the throne, the sovereign
God. He's the one that's in control of all things. He's the one in
whose hands our breath is and are all our ways. He's the only
one that has the ability. to do the power and the will
to do all things for us. We must believe that Christ is
our only acceptance with God, that He's our only mediator,
He's our only righteousness, He's our only hope, He's the
only one we can pray to. We've got to believe that. This
is foundational truth, and I believe everyone in here understands
that and believes that, that we've got that Christ is all.
and in all, and we dare not approach unto this holy God except through
Christ, Him alone. But we've got to believe God's
able, too. The Scriptures—listen to all these Scriptures. Is anything
too hard for the Lord? With God, all things are possible.
All things? Yeah, all things. Listen to this. Being fully persuaded in what
God has promised, He's able to do it. He's able also to perform. Listen to this one. He's able
to do exceeding abundantly above all that we even ask for, even
think about. Somebody said this, ask great
things of God. He's a great God. It's kind of
like me being reluctant to go down and get a glass of water
out of the ocean. I'm afraid I might deplete it. That's what
it is, asking anything of God. He talked about mountains. In
this very passage, he talked about moving mountains, didn't
he? We've got to believe, too, that
God's willing. He says, if you ask anything
in my name, I'll do it. In my name, I'll do it. Don't think for a minute
that God won't answer prayer. Oh, He answers prayer. We have
had some prayers answered, haven't we? We have. God is love and
mercy and grace. How could he refuse? Turn over
to Matthew 7. I love this passage of Scripture. I love this. Matthew 7. How could
God refuse to help those that he loved? How could he? Barbara! His children! He sent his son to die for us.
How could he refuse? Oh no, he delights to show mercy. And I tell you what, he must.
His character, his faithfulness. If we don't believe, the apostles
said in Timothy, if we don't believe, yet he abides faithful. He continues to bless us. Even
when we don't believe, he will. And he has to accept that which
he provides, doesn't he? He does. His character demands
it. And I tell you what, he has ordained.
He's ordained the reading of the Word and prayer to bless
us by. And he'll do it. He'll do it. Ask, verse 7, and it shall be
given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened unto you." The problem is we're just not
doing it. That is the biggest problem. It really is now. It
really is. For everyone that asketh, receiveth.
That's a definite promise. He that seeketh, findeth. To
him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Now what man is there
of you if his son asks bread? Will he give him a stone? Did
you notice what he asked for, though? Just something, what
he needed. Bread. He didn't say a new car. He said
bread. Deborah, if one of your children
asks you for something to eat, my soul, you'll fix them the
biggest feast they ever had, won't you? What are we asking
for? That's the key, isn't it? If
he asks a fish something to eat, something necessary, meat and
potatoes, will he give him a serpent? If you, then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall
your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that
ask him?" What good things? The Holy Spirit, the things of
God. That's what he said. What's good
about this world? It's perishing, right? We have
very little need of these things. We think we do, but we have very
little need of them. He that spared not his own son,
but freely delivered him up for us all, just gave his son an
apple of his eye, how shall he not with him freely give us all
things?" Listen to this. Note this. If he heard our cry
for mercy when we were enemies of his, won't he hear us now that we're
sons? Yeah, you better believe it. You better believe it. And
this, we've got to believe this. Now, this may be the key to it
all. Listen. We've got to believe. He that
cometh to God must believe that he is. Listen to this. He must
believe that God will do what's right. Oh, this is so important. We've got to believe, and I'll
go on to illustrate this in a minute. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? Huh? He stands infinitely wiser
than we are, isn't he? Oh, he knows what to do. And
we're like little babies. You know your children, they've
asked for so many things, and if you gave it to them, it hurt
them. Things that would hurt them, so you withhold them. Rick and I were talking about
this. We got a kick out of this. How about sometimes when your
child, some of your older children when they ask
this, Dad, can I go over to Johnny's and spend the night? And you
know that Johnny's a little child of the devil. You know it's a
bad place to be and you don't want that kid over there. You
don't want him to go over there. Dad, can I go over to Johnny's
house and spend the night? Sit there reading the paper.
You don't answer him. Have you ever done that? You just refuse
to answer. Dad, no. You know, you don't need to give
him an answer. You know what's best. He doesn't know. Right? He's
not capable of understanding. He doesn't know. And that's what
we've got to believe about God. Shall he not do what's right?
Shall he not do what's right? The Lord gave, the Lord taketh
away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed, blessed, blessed
be the name of the Lord. He knows what he's doing. Thank
God for what he's done. Well, listen to this. Don't go
to God in prayer having already made up your mind about it. Don't
do that. Already made up your mind what
you're going to do. You know, you've got it all planned
out. You've got it mapped out what you're going to do tomorrow.
Oh, I was supposed to ask God about this. Then you go ask him. That's like the disciples, remember?
Remember when the apostles, when Judas killed himself, the apostles,
they found them two fellows, and then they came to the Lord
and said, which one of these do you choose? God didn't choose
either one of them. He had Apostle Paul in mind,
didn't he? But no, they'd already chosen
before they even asked God about it. And we do that, don't we? Yeah, we do. So listen to this,
and I'll sum this thing up. How do we pray to be heard, Dan,
and receive those things that we desire? How? First of all,
we pray with the mind of Christ. Not my will. Lord, I really don't
know what to pray. But not my will be done. Not
my will be done. I don't want—I want what gets
God the most glory, even if it costs me denying myself, even
if it costs me that which is dear to me. And if we pray in
this way, somehow or another—well, listen to me, I'll give you an
illustration of that. Praying in the womb, submitting to the
will of God. My wife, she wanted a child so
badly. You know, women are born with
this motherly instinct to have a child. I think all women are
born with it. God-given. She wanted a child
so bad. So bad. She said from a little
child, all she wanted to be was a mommy. A mommy. Well, she wanted
a child so bad. We went five years without having
a child. And she was torn up about it.
She kept praying. She said she prayed and prayed
and got bitter, got angry and prayed and begged and pleaded
and asked God and asked God and He wouldn't give us a child.
Well, she said there finally came a day when she felt like
the Lord spoke to her through various different means, a word,
preaching, and so forth. And he gave her finally peace
and contentment about her situation. Be content in whatever state
you're in. Learn, he said. She said finally
she reached the point where she felt like, well, God will do
what's right. He knows what he's doing. If
he wants me to have a child, I'd have a child. If he wanted
me to have a child, I'd have a child. So he just doesn't want
me to have a child, so that's fine with me. She can see. You take what it's worth. But
it happened. It happened. Pray with a mind of Christ. Pray
fervently, the effectual fervent prayer. Prayer is from our heart
to God's heart. Cold prayer, Spurgeon said, invites
denial. It's better to have a heart without
words than words without heart. Pray for particulars. Examine
what you need, and if it's in keeping with the will of God,
then ask for it specifically, even temporal things. I just believe that this could
work out for your glory. But you know better, but this
is what I think. But Lord, show me. Show me."
Somebody said this, too. Stick with the job until it's
finished. Pray until you receive an answer, or at least you're
convinced you don't need it. And pray believing, trusting
God's wisdom and his goodness, and believing that he knows what's
best. Let me get down to brass tacks
here. I got to hurry. What do I really want? This is
what we really need to ask ourselves in prayer, about this thing of
prayer. What do I really want from God? Well, believing prayer, true
prayer of faith, never asks for more than it really needs. Never. And it never asks for more than
is promised. True believing prayer. Salvation? You want salvation?
You've got it. It's yours. It's the one thing
needful. To love Christ, to win Christ
and be found in Him, you've got it. It's yours, Joe. Christ is
yours. To love and desire and diligently
desire His Word, you'll get it. He's promised. To love God's
people and be loved by them, it's yours. As good as done.
A new car? No, no, no. A new house? No. It's not in there. Food and arraignment? Yeah. Yeah,
you'll get that. You see what I'm saying? You
see what the Word is saying there? Riches, honor, fame, forget it.
Forget it. David prayed, keep me from those
things lest I forget God. But keep me from poverty lest
I steal. And I ask you this, I ask myself this, what do we
really want from God as a church? I ask this as a group, as a collective
group. What do we want from God as a
church? And I need to ask myself that. Sitting there a while ago,
I have to admit, a little disappointed in number, that certain people
aren't here and so forth. Well, what do I want? I don't know. I don't know. Thank you very much. you Okay. you