Priority of Prayer for 2024

 

Intro: As we think about our priorities for 2024, our top priorities should be of the spiritual nature. Those things that will help us grow in our relationship with God. Our spiritual life controls how we respond to all other things. God is concerned about every area of our lives and wants us to seek Him in prayer for His will, His guidance, His blessings, favor and wisdom in all of our ways. Prayer is one of the of the greatest privileges that we have, and God encourages us to use our privilege of prayer & we would be wise if we listened to His advice!

I. One of our top priorities for this year should be prayer. (Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV) 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'

A. We have an open invitation from God to call on Him in prayer. Only through prayer can we believers stay in contact with God, know what he wants us to do and the way we should go. The people of Israel asked Jeremiah 42:3 (NLT) Pray that the LORD God will show us what to do and where to go.” God's word is like a map or G.P.S. System giving us guidance as to the right way to go.                                                        

B. The promise if we call on God is (V:33b)

1. He will answer us. We should pray in confident & complete trust in God's word to us.

2. He will show us the things we don’t know. God’s plans for the future are inaccessible to ordinary people. Only God can unlock the answer to the things we don't know. He offered this knowledge to Jeremiah and to every one of us who are children of Abraham by faith.

II. Jesus invites us to call on God in prayer. In Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV)⁹  In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹  Give us this day our daily bread. ¹²  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. ¹³  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Jesus had given the disciples and us a model prayer. Now He assures them that God welcomes prayer, and urged them to come to Him through their own prayers in His name. Matthew 7:7-8 (NKJV) ⁷ "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Jesus gives us the conditions of prayer.                                               1. Ask – Continuous and persistent action. Emphasized by the present tense. [keep on]

2. Seek- “keep seeking” - Like seeking some lost treasure that means the most to you.

3. Knock - “keep on knocking” Don't give up on prayer.

B. God's promise to us if we do these things faithfully. Matthew 7:⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.                                                                    1. We will receive. The answers we need to make right choices that will keep us on the right path and keep us faithful to Him, and keep us away from sin and trouble will be given.

2. You will find. We will find God more than ready and willing to help us along life’s journey this year. We can find God's will for our lives, our families, church and nation.

3. It will be opened. God promises that the door to His throne room will be opened to us.

III. God's promise to meet our needs when we pray. Matthew 7:9-11 (NKJV)
⁹  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
¹⁰  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
¹¹  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

A. The Father is willing to answer us because He delights in granting our request.

B. He will give us the good things that we need to promote our health and well-being, our prosperity and success in life. Prayer makes sure we live with a humble acknowledgment of our need for His grace and mercy, knowing He is our only hope for staying on course and fulfilling our created purpose. God faithfully rewards those who call on Him.

Conclusion: Prayer shouldn't be looked upon as a burden, but a privilege in which we are able to communicate with the One who created us and who is in charge of the whole universe. Philippians 4:6 in the New Living Translation says “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” For the abundant, stress free, successful life, make prayer one of your top priorities for this year. This is the way of wisdom.

Invitation: First priority in prayer is salvation. If you have never called on Jesus to save you, now is the time! Confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive your sins against God. Then invite Jesus into your life to take charge of you. Be baptized as a public testimony of your faith in Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord.

WORD OF GOD

 

Intro: God’s word is the primary means by which He is present and working in the world. We can't see God with our physical eyes, but He acts in this world by means of His word. He becomes personally known to us through His word. His word tells us His will. His word is powerfully creative. He spoke everything into existence and sustains it by His word.

I. God's word and its purposes are irresistible. [Isaiah 55:10-11] ¹⁰ "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, ¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. The meaning of these verses is plain. The hearts of people without God's word are what the earth would be without the rains of heaven—barren and sterile. How would we know about God and the truth if not for His word? God says in these verses that his truth shall accomplish an effect similar to that produced by descending showers. The rain never descends in vain. It makes the earth fertile, beautiful, lovely and causes it to produce. So it is with God's truth in the spiritual world. When God's word enters your heart it will produce spiritual life and growth. The comparison of truth with descending rain is a beautiful metaphor. Anyone who follows the teaching of God's word becomes fruitful and prosperous in the way rain refreshes the new grass and tender plants causing growth. The scriptures are a proclamation of God's will, it is a description of His character and works. Anyone who gives serious consideration to the word of God, and puts their trust in Him, can expect to enjoy a blessed and abundant life. Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT) ¹  Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. ²  But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. ³  They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

II. God’s word is totally dependable and everlasting. [Isaiah 40:8] The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. God's word represents His everlasting commitment to mankind. In contrast to the grass and flowers, God's Word never fails but it endures forever. This truth greatly comforts and encourages those who read God's words and live accordingly. We cannot depend on the words of others but we can put full trust and confidence in the word of God. When we read it, hear it and respond to it, God's word meets the deepest needs in the human heart and provides joy, satisfaction, and confident direction for our lives that can be achieved in no other manner. Luke 4:4 Jesus answered the devil saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" Just as our bodies can not live without bread, neither can our soul live and prosper without God's word.

III. God's word is powerful. [Heb. 4:12]Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. The word powerful translated means to energize. It means to say that God’s word is living and it energizes. Because it is the powerful, word of God, it can not be defeated in its purpose. The Bible has all the essentials of the life and power of God to do His work! Not only that, its penetrating power is greater than any double-edged sword and cuts to the innermost being of a person so that it exposes and judges the thoughts, attitudes and motivations of the heart. It is able to discriminate between what is spiritual in man and what is merely human because (it penetrates even to dividing of soul and spirit and joints and marrow. Joints represent the soul and marrow represents the spirit. It separates a proud soul from a humble spirit. It separates a sinful soul from a righteous spirit. It separates a rebellious soul from an obedient spirit. The inner life of a Christian is often a mixture of motivations, both spiritual and human.

It takes a supernaturally discerning agent such as the Word of God to sort these out and to expose what is of the flesh and what is of the spirit.

Conclusion: We can never hope to know God or the truth and be successful in this life apart from His word. Our spiritual life would starve and die thereby bringing only defeat and misery. Jesus said a Christian does not live by bread alone but by every word of God. [Luke 4:4]

Invitation: God's word says a man must be born again to see the kingdom of God. Have you been born again? You can be born again by confessing your sins to Jesus and asking Him to forgive you and Invite Him into your life as your Savior and Lord. If you have not done this, now is the perfect time! Don't put it off!