WHY BELIEVING IN THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD MAKES OUR BLOOD PRESSURE GO DOWN ABOUT 35% WHEN WE PRAY
The first of five videos of this one message: (Goodness).
BIBLICAL FACTS ABOUT PRAYER AND SOVEREIGNTY PART TWO: THE HEART AND PURPOSE OF PRAYER AND THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD.
Charles e. Whisnant
ACTS 4:23-31
1. Confidence in God’s sovereignty – the true foundation for prayer. 23-28
2. Asking for the right things – the true test of prayer. 29-30
3. The felt realization of God’s presence and power – the true answer to prayer. 31
1A Believers in both the OT Scriptures and the NT Scriptures had no problem believing in both the absolute sovereignty of God and the necessity of prayer.
· The early church had no problem with the sovereignty of God in their plight.
· The first recorded prayer meeting of the early church.
· Notice how they begin their prayer meeting: 24-25
2A Prayer can be used as a means of refusing to submit to what we know is the will of God!
· Abraham was not in agreement with God’s purpose and decided to “pray” in hopes of changing God’s mind. Genesis `18:17, 23-31
· Abraham seemed determined to compel his will on God and correct God’s purpose.
· What happen? God did not change His mind, but prayer changed Abraham.
· While God could have came down on Abraham rather hard, God let him vent his fears and then shows us how unreasonable we are acting. “Verbalizing” our events sometimes shows us our we just blew it out of proportion.
3A It is not wrong for us to pray what has been termed “selfish prayer.”
· David and his child: 2 Samuel 12:13-15. David sinned; God told him what was going to happen. Yet David felt he had to still pray. 2 Samuel 12:16. What happen when the child died? Vs 20
o The servants were expecting David to respond negative. What was his response? Vs 21-23. He in faith bowed to God’s sovereign providence.
· Habbakkuk challenges God’s apparent inactivity. Habbakkuk 3:1, 2,13,16-19. Result?
o Prayer with God radically changed the prophet’s whole perspective and attitude.
o Vs. 2 is real prayer. Vs 13 show a true understanding and application of God’s purpose in history. Everything that happens involves the people of God.
o Vs. 6-19 Shows our attitude at what we know is going to happen to our nations.
