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Oct 11, 2020

Pursue Our Compassionate God Through Prayer

Pursue Our Compassionate God Through Prayer

Speaker: Dennis Gallaher

Series: The Compassionate Character of God

Category: Sunday Morning

How do we receive the compassion of God?

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 

John 9:31 He listens to the godly person who does His will. 

I Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their prayer. 

1 John 5:15 And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.

Jeremiah 29:12-13 When you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 

John 16:24 Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.

God listens and He is ready to answer...all we need to do is ask. Prayer is hardly one-sided - it is not shouting and hoping that God will hear. Prayer is the basis for a relationship because prayer is communication and conversation with an all-loving, merciful Father. 

Compare fence post digging to prayer...Often holes are not dug deep enough to secure the post because of the hard layer of dirt or rock. Most prayer scratches the surface and it never breaks through the solid footing. The secret is the breakthrough of the rock. 

Three tools are needed to dig the holes: a post-hole digger (to get the hole started), a heavy steel bar (to get through the harder rock layer), and water. 

After using these three tools, you can get deeper. Post Hole Digger - shallow prayer; Steel Bar - breakthrough intercession; Water - Holy Spirit.  

Luke 18:1-4 The Parable of the Widow and the Judge. God is patient and hears the prayers of His people who appeal to Him day and night - Interceding to see God move.

Luke 11:5-13 The Persistent Friend asking for Bread. Ask, seek, and knock. 

The breakthrough prayer happens in intercession. Intercession takes our willingness to use the tools through the power of the Holy Spirit of God. The church needs intercession - the act of intervening on someone's behalf. 

Isaiah 53:12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

Romans 8:27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Intercession is the link between our needs, our wants, our desires and the release of answered prayer into our lives. Jesus demonstrated the power of prayer for us while He was on the earth. Jesus asked. The Father heard. The Holy Spirit intervened with power. It's the same plan for every one of us to give ourselves to intercession. We ask in His Name; Jesus intercedes on our behalf; the Father sends the Holy Spirit.

It takes more than poking around - it's hard work. We need breakthrough. We need the power of the Holy Spirit in our prayers. 

2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. 

When we come to the Lord with our own needs or interceding for others, we are approaching the Creator of compassion who is defined by His love of comfort. 

Our goodness will not get an audience with God. The Father and Creator of Compassion is pursuing us. He has for us forgiveness of our sin. He takes away the guilt and shame we carry. He asks us to come. He gives us rest. Pray and ask Him to come in and change our lives. We become son and daughter of the God of all compassion.

Dear Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe that on that cross You took my guilt, my sin, and my shame and You died for it. You faced hell for me, so I wouldn't have to. And You rose again to give me a place in Heaven, a purpose on Earth, and a relationship with Your Father. Today, Lord Jesus, I turn from my sins to be born again. And now, God is my father, Jesus is my Savior, The Holy Spirit is my helper. And Heaven is my home. Amen.

How do these tools of fence post digging relate to prayer?

Describe intercessory prayer.

How have you become more persistent in prayer?