Prayer That Moves God – Dr. Charles Stanley

Praying is serious business with God. I am talking to the creator of the entire earth. I'm talking to the one who doesn't have to talk, he can just think about it in bed. I am talking to a God who can change anything. anywhere at any time according to your will below in InTouch

prayer

that

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God you often wonder why your

prayer

s are not answered you know some scriptures and talk to God but somehow so many of your prayers remain unanswered there must be some reason have you thought about why you have You looked at your life to ask yourself a question: Is there something in my life that would make God not answer my prayers?

Have you thought about this? Have you thought about the God to whom you are making your prayers? You say well, everyone believes. in God, well not everyone believes in the one true God and many people pray to a god and expect God to answer their prayers and somehow they don't get an answer and then you stop praying and you think you think right The Bible is not really true, the Bible is very true from the beginning to the end, so I want you to listen carefully to this message because you might discover one of those reasons why your prayers are not answered, listen carefully, so turn if you want .

Up to Acts chapter 12, this is a familiar passage and I want us to read a few verses, but we'll probably take most of this chapter starting in verse 1, the Scripture now says that at that time King Herod laid his hands on some who belonged to the church to mistreat them and he ordered James, brother of John, to be killed with the sword and as he saw that he pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter. It was also now in the days of unleavened bread after the Passover and when he had captured him he put him in prison handing him over to four squads of soldiers that four squads would be 16 they were there to guard him and take him out before the people so Peter stayed in the prison but they were praying for him fervently for the church to God remember that he was done fervently for the church to God would you say that you pray fervently or just say well I don't know if it's reaffirming it's not but I just pray well let's look at what's going on here and maybe you'll discover something about your own prayer life so this Herod had James killed and That seemed to satisfy the Jews who hated Christians and then he thought that it worked, so he had Peter arrested and imprisoned.

Peter is now in prison and his death is imminent, very evident that he intends to kill him, that he intends to bring him out before the people and kill him with a sword like he did with James and he thought that would satisfy the Jews by killing the Christians and So the result is that the Christians gathered, as the Scripture says in Mary's house, and there they gathered to pray for Peter. They remember that Santiago was probably killed without warning and here is Pedro, their leader, who is going to be killed. They know he's going to do it. be killed and that's why they're praying, but they have to be struggling to some extent with that because James already died and they know how the Romans imprison a prisoner and that's why they're praying and praying for God to release him and so I want us to read alone a few verses if you want and look if you want verse 6 on the same night that Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains and the guards in front of the door were watching. prison and behold an angel of the Lord appeared in a light that shone in the cell and struck Peter's side and woke him up saying get up quickly and the chains fell from his hands and the angel said to him, gird yourself, put on your sandals and he So he did and he told him to refu cloak around you and follow me and he came out and kept following me and he didn't know what he was doing but because of the angel it was real but he thought he was seeing something having a vision when they had passed the first and second courtyard they arrived to the iron gate that opens to the city that opened itself for them and they went out and went down a street and immediately the angel left him then, what happened when Peter came to his senses?

He said, now I know for sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from everything that the Jewish people expected now I want you to think about something the two words here that really caught my attention when I read this and already many times, if you return to the Fifth verse, look at what it says, so Peter was kept in prison, but the church of God was fervently listening to the prayer for him and those two words just jumped off the page to me. God, if I were to ask you who the god is that you are praying to, chances are that most of you sitting here and most of you who believe us could say, "Well, I'm praying to the one true God who when I pray even when I think." but I want you to think about people who pray who don't necessarily pray to the one true God and what I have discovered is this when I talk to someone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and they talk to them about prayer, I would say: well, what? who do you pray to?

Well, I just pray to God. Well, who is this God? Well, he is the god I pray to and the more you talk to them, the more you listen. This is what you find many people have. He mentally created his own God from him and this God agrees with them about what they want to do, how they want to approach what they want to drink and what kind of sexual relations they will have. If this guy just fits right in with them and Then they say I believe in God, yes, or you pray to him, yes, I do, what do you say to him?

Well, now you're getting personal. I'm going to tell you what I pray to him, they can't because he is not God. a God that they have created in their minds but listen, they will never tell you that he is holy, that he is just, that he is a God of judgment, that he hates sin, they are like, I will say that they will talk about the God who has modeled their desires according to their desire. , the way they live and so many people when they are praying, so I prayed to God, then someone says, well, what kind of God does a Christian pray to?

I will tell you that he is the God who created this world, he is the God who destroyed this world through the flood, he is the God who gave us the Ten Commandments, he is the God who tore down the walls of Jericho, he is the God who gave to David the Psalms, he is a god who gave us prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, he is the God who has given us the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and our Savior, now if that is nothing, God, to which you fear, you have a homemade weapon and it doesn't work, it is a holy God, it is a just God, it is a perfect God, it is a God, here is an answer to prayers, it is a God who loves us unconditionally, it is a God who He forgives us our sins, but He is a God who does not tolerate sin because He knows that sin is a destroyer of the very people He loves if He does not. you have that God you don't have a God you have a homemade God you have one that suits you listen to this who has no power to promise you anything nothing that we can say by the absent writing of the body present with the Lord that you can say about your God, I can tell you what What do you say, well, I guess it all comes to nothing, I just disappeared, no, you know it well, I guess we were brought together by love, treat everyone the same, no, no, you can't go up. with all kinds of excuses about your god but you don't talk about judgment you don't talk about justice you don't talk about a day of judgment you don't talk about appearing before a holy God and giving an account of your life and I notice you don't talk about hell, you can talk a little from heaven because you think everyone goes there, that's really true, no it's not, then your God is God to you, but your God can't do anything for you, he has no power. not at all because he is a god of your imagination the God who is the only true eternal God is the god we just described a few moments ago he is the God who gave us the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes and all the wonderful scriptures that we have in the world.

Bible Now the reason I ask you what gods you are praying to is because if you are not praying through God, it makes no difference in your life. Now these Christians, hearing of Teeta's imprisonment, gathered together and began to pray. and intercede for him and it's interesting when you look at this passage and think about what was about to happen, that even in his prayers they had to be struggling a little bit. I think he would have done it, but I have been one of them. and so from every human perspective, every human perspective, Peter was going to be killed tomorrow, I mean, tomorrow is D-Day for PETA's death for Peter, so they gathered at Mary's house and started praying and crying out for that God would do something. unusual to do something amazing for them because he meant a lot to them and for them to kill him would have been a total disaster in their thinking and especially what was happening in the church, so we saw a few moments ago what happened.

Peter in prison God sends his angel, he takes him out, then he goes to Mary's house, he knew that everyone was there praying, he knocks on the door and this young woman comes to the door, the scripture says, when a servant knocked on the door at the gate, a girl called Rhoda came to answer when she recognized Peter's voice, do you think she would have run, opened the door and ran back and said here is Peter, now what she did, she heard him and didn't open the door for him, she just ran. She came back and said it's Peter and what did they say?

Oh, I can't be Peter, he may be an angel, but he can't be upstairs, he steals them, they can call to try to get in and they're in the south. It won't be him, I mean they've been praying fervently, they forgot to release him and he releases him and they're still there saying no it can't happen so that will give you a little bit of wandering faith and so they told him. You're crazy, look at this, they've been praying, crying out to God, she says he's at the door, they say you're at the door, you're crazy, and so she kept insisting and so on, but Peter continued knocking and I wonder what he was thinking and when they opened the door they saw him and they were amazed. so God answered his prayer what I want us to look at here and I want us to say this over and over again because I don't want you to.

I don't want you to miss this. The Bible says they were praying to God. Let me ask you: how many of you pray to God? How many times have you gotten down on your knees and started talking to God about what you need? You were worried and then you went from praying for your husband, your wife or your kids or your finances, whatever it was, the next thing you know you're praying for something else, the next thing you know you're praying for something else, in fact, in fact, you I've read all over the world and then you get up and leave about two hours later, someone says to you, don't pray, could you pray?

Well, I am afraid of many things, when you pray to God, you will know. for what you prayed now listen carefully what happens is that in our mind we fix our mind on God to pray to him and we call it a verse God, you said that if I ask you something in your name, you did that, I was wrong, this is the name of Jesus praying to you and then we start praying and the next thing we know we move on to something else and God gets lost in the whole thing. Finally, the way we put a period on it we say in the name of Jesus.

Amen, we don't even know. what that means in the name of Jesus. Amen, much of our prayer is not profitable because we do not pray to God. I am praying to God for my finances. I am praying to God for my husband or wife. I am praying to God. about my children, I am praying for his words, he must be the most important thing in our prayer and our thinking, otherwise we get caught up in all kinds of things like we said before and sometimes we can't even remember what it was , but God is the most important thing for most.

I am praying to Heavenly Father about this and I am not going to keep praying and get sidetracked with something else and forget who I am praying to and what he is like. God is honored when we come to him, he is honored when we talk to him and he is willing to hear an answer to our prayer, he says calling me, I will answer you and show you great and powerful things that you do not know can part the Red Sea, tear down the walls of Jericho and if you can give us the Ten. Commandments, he can answer any prayer that we pray that fits his will and his plan for our life, so once you notice something else here about them, it says that the scriptures say it, for him the church was fervently doing the pray fervently, you know what?

It means there is some enthusiasm there is some feeling there is some belief fervently let me ask you a question do you love your children fervently? sure you do it fervently it means my heart is in it when I talk to God fervently it means I want to quote him in the scriptures and we quote the scriptures in our prayer not to remind God of anything, but to do what reminds us of what he has told us. promised when we come to him praying and then pray fervently, for example, when Jesus stood before the cross. The scriptures say he was praying in Luke chapter 22, he was praying fervently, I mean, he was dying and I wonder when was the last time you could honestly say that I prayed fervently for him, that means you put your whole heart into it, it means that probably maybe We are crying in their name because you said God, I will do whatever you say, I will do whatever it takes to help you in this situation that you are going through, in the name of Jesus, and with so much fervor it means that it is wholeheartedly. and many times we say.

I will pray to someone for you nowe should say that if we don't mean it now if I tell someone I'm going to pray for them I'm going to pray for them I want to do something to remind myself that I told them I would pray for them and that's why sometimes I say yes, make a list now look at this If you want God to do something, many things come to him once, it will not be enough. It's not because some problems in situations make us have time to fix the situation so that we can answer your prayers, so if you only pray once and say well, God didn't answer my prayer, you didn't give him a chance to answer your prayer. the way he wants to answer it the way he gets the most credit and may you bless him and remember him next time you have a request this is how you come to him he tells you call me when I will answer you and show you brilliant. and powerful things that you don't know, you don't even understand, so if I tell you, you have a list, it's for this way, if you are very serious, I bet your prayer life and on the people that you pray for you.

I'm going to do something to remind you to keep praying until God changes the circumstances and that's why I have a list. You said what kind of list you put at the top of the prayer list and at that time you can put that name and the The good thing is that I discovered that a long time ago I should put a date for this is a date. I started it maybe three days when I can write down another day answered prayer it can be three months six months and I prayed for people for more than that and some people are prayed for and prayed for and prayed for.

I can still set a date but look, look at this, but at least I remember, at least I can still pray for that person so that God will change them in some way. I will provide something in his life. The problem is: Am I praying fervently that I love this person because I don't care? I'm not going to pray for everyone the same way, you're not going to go the closer people are to you, the more likely you are to pray for The more sincere your prayers are, the more intensely you will pray for someone you genuinely love or someone you see hitting in the wrong direction and there have been people I've told not to do that.

Don't do it, I tell you not to do it, and they are heading in that direction. I pray to God that I trip, that I fall, that I hurt myself. Blocking them, just blocking them so that they don't take their life, won't do me any good. pray for God to block something for them I want to see how to work in their life and that's why he says to pray fervently and then the third thing I wanted you to notice is without sin and that is the prayer that

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God maybe made by those who are according to each other and in the will of God, for example, if I have a big burden in my heart about something, I will talk to someone, it is sitting. here, for example, and I'm going to say to that person, this is what I'm really worried about and that's you, let's you not pray together about this, there's something, look, there's something about agreeing, if two of you They agree on earth. as for touching anything of the father's will, he gets involved and so there is something about praying together and let's put it this way, the deeper your pain, the more pain, the more likely you are to ask someone to pray. with you, not just pray for you, but to pray with you and if I were to ask you today how many of you have a prayer partner, but I don't need anyone to pray for me, yes we all need someone to pray for us, we need someone May he pray for us to warn.

We are going in the wrong direction and I have had people come up to me over the years and say well now you are sure about this and our garden, if a godly person says to me are you sure that is that the right way? The right thing to do is what I'm going to say. I'm not going to be proud and you understand this, don't say it right at all. I'm sure not, if you ask that, I'll say God, I love you. to clear this up in my mind to make sure I'm going in the right direction to ask for the right thing for the right purpose the right motive and so on God is so willing to grant us the needs the desires of our hearts when we come to him with a clean heart an open mind willing to listen to him willing to be obedient to him then the most powerful thing that you and I do is to pray with a prayer to God we must pray fervently with the heart Despres and his will what he wants and what he desires for our life and a One of the best things we can do, look at this, it helps us and helps someone else is to have someone to pray with, what is this?

Because we must all be accountable, a person who does not want responsibility. he's in something they shouldn't be in, that's why they don't want to have to answer. Accountability is a safety zone for us, but what I keep, where I go, who I go to, what I spent with, your words, I want to be accountable. that's for sure someone I say I want freedom you want freedom to destroy your life freedom to go into debt freedom to have relationships with people you're not supposed to have relationships with responsibility is a safety net for each of us and God knows we all need to be safe walking in his will and in his way, then the church in these days were smart, they all gathered together and prayed for Peter's release and to their surprise he was released and what happens is a long time after that, Now I come down to ask you this, if you had to describe your prayer life, what would it be like?

Well, I say my prayers at night, well, let's understand this, what do you mean by saying your prayers at night? I understand what you're saying, but if Just Fred, the night before you go to sleep, I can tell you that right now you're going to be in trouble because, first of all, you may have gotten about two-thirds of sleep before you started praying, so that you don't even know what you're saying. No. words, you could also say the prayer I remember my mother taught me life in Berlin because she knew what was happening now I lay me down to sleep I ask the Lord to keep my soul if I die before I wake up I ask the Lord my soul to take it It's better than nothing but it's not the best kind of friend now if we laugh at it the oppressor discards pray to God Almighty through His Son Jesus Christ who died on the cross and shed his blood for your sin praying to be saved to God Almighty through His Son Jesus, serious matters, pray for our needs, sirs, madam, pray for each other, serious matters, pray for the nation, serious faults, prayers, serious matters, listen, not just serious, it is a powerful matter , praying with fervor makes changes in people's lives and can make change in a nation and the people of God need to be praying amen and probably thank you because it pleases you when we pray willing to listen to us willing to respond to us willing to strengthen us willing to build our faith willing to teach us how to love you and we pray today in the name of Jesus right now, anyone who is needed here, anyone listening wherever they are, if their prayers count, help them understand, first of all, that they must make a commitment personal of your life with Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins that opens the door to prayer and makes it possible and before that happens there is no employee that is just talk and that is why we pray that someone today will be saved, maybe Many people are saved, but Lord God, may you get your way. in their lives and in each of us who call ourselves Christians who name the name of Jesus that they gave us that we would all be praying people it is my prayer in the name of Jesus amen if you have been blessed with today's program please visit us at intouch.org