If you have ever had a safe deposit box at a bank, you know that in order to access it, you've got to have two keys, the bank's key and your key.
Have you ever stopped and thought that there are two keys required to access the power of God?
The first key is the Holy Spirit.
God has given us the gift of His Spirit to empower us to live the Christian life the way that He intends, the way that He has worked in us to enable us, the way that He calls us and instructs us in His Word to live it.
Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher in the 1800s in England, he explains how dependent all of us are on the Holy Spirit.
He says, without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing.
We are as ships without wind.
We are useless.
We need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The second key to accessing the power of God is prayer.
God has given us the gift of prayer to access His power.
The New Testament scholar D.A. Carson points out how the Apostle Paul stressed the importance of prayer as he wrote letters to many churches.
Here's what he said.
Paul recognizes that the true power for effective ministry and life transformation comes from God in response to prayer.
You know from your own experience that meaningful prayer doesn't always happen, even when we want it to.
It's not easy.
In fact, a lot of times prayer is a struggle for most Christians.
More often than we want to admit, when we pray, we feel distant from God, don't we?
We don't really always enjoy being close to Him, feeling close to Him.
We feel powerless at times, even as we pray, over the sin habits in our lives, the sin nature, the sinful desires, the temptations that come our way.
We feel powerless instead of being confident.
As Paul said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Let's just be real honest about this matter of prayer.
How often do we bow our heads and talk to God and we're really mostly concerned about getting things from Him than we are being in His presence and enjoying that time with Him as our Heavenly Father.
If you're tired of that, if you're tired of a joyless and meaningless spiritual life and prayer life, I've got good news for you today.
God wants to empower you.
He wants to empower you with His Spirit.
He wants you to access that power with prayer.
And He wants to do this in such a way that you will bring glory to Him.
You will make a meaningful difference in the lives of the people you live with, work with, all people in your life.
And God wants to revitalize you personally, spiritually as well.
Let's look at how God does this this morning.
The first thing I want us to note is really a review.
Power for living the Christian life comes from the Holy Spirit.
The only way that we can kill sin, get rid of it, eliminate it from our lives, and develop Christian character,
and then effectively serve God as He calls us, is through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now that's what we looked at two weeks ago.
We spent the entire time looking at how God has given us His Spirit to live within us,
to teach us, to equip us, to comfort us, to convict us, to empower us to live a Christian life.
So we're not going to go back to that today.
What I want us to focus on this morning is point number two.
Power for living the Christian life is most often accessed through prayer.
Power for living the Christian life is more often than not accessed through prayer.
Now I want to be clear about this.
God is not confined to working in our lives only in response to our prayers.
God is sovereign.
God can do whatever He wants to do whenever He wants to do it.
God is not enabled by anything we do.
God also is not limited by anything that we do not do.
But there is a principle found in Scripture that God normally works in response to the prayers of His people.
And I want us to look at one passage of Scripture that is a great example of God answering the prayers of His people in great power.
Read with me if you would from the book of Acts, chapter 4, verses 23 through 31.
When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them.
That's describing Peter and John.
They had been preaching.
People's lives had been changed.
A man had been healed.
People had been saved.
Many people had been saved.
Well, the Jewish authorities hated that.
The Jewish authorities arrested Peter and John.
They threatened them.
They tried to intimidate them.
Then they let them go.
Peter and John, look at it again, verse 23.
They went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them.
And when they heard it, that is their friends, not just the other apostles,
but Christians of all walks of life who were there with them, their friends.
And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said,
Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
why did the Gentiles rage and the people's plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.
And that's a quote from Psalm 2.
But they understand that was a prophecy about Jesus.
We continue on, verse 27.
For truly in this city, there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus,
whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
while you stretch out your hand to heal.
And signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken,
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
That was powerful prayer that resulted in a powerful answer from God.
Let's look at it.
This passage reveals some of the characteristics of powerful prayer.
First, prayer should be focused on God.
All of our prayers.
A lot of times we're just thinking about ourselves,
or we're just thinking about someone, or a certain situation,
especially in a time of crisis.
But all of our prayers need to be focused on God as theirs was in this case.
These Christians were focused on God as they addressed Him as sovereign Lord in verse 24.
This describes a ruler, a ruler of unchallenged power,
that idea of a sovereign Lord.
What they're doing here is they're acknowledging God's absolute power and authority
over everyone and everything,
including those religious leaders who had threatened them,
who had told them they could no longer preach in the name of Jesus.
Addressing God in prayer like this,
it honored God,
and that's the number one goal.
But it also,
when we address God like this,
when we honor Him like this,
it helps us to keep what's going on around us in perspective.
No matter what's going on,
we have an audience with Almighty God when we pray.
He is really and truly sovereign.
He is in control.
They also, as they prayed,
acknowledged some aspects of His sovereignty.
I want you to note with me,
they pointed out how God created all things in verse 24.
They pointed out how God controls all things in verses 25 through 27.
When they quoted that Old Testament prophecy that was pointing to Jesus,
then they talked about how it was fulfilled in the crucifixion of Jesus.
But note again, in verse 26,
everything happened according to God's predetermined plan.
It says to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
No matter what, God's in control.
Even when people are doing things to hurt you,
as they were these apostles,
God is at work.
God is going to use it in some way for His glory,
for your good, for other people's good.
It may be hard.
There may be suffering involved.
We've got to trust our sovereign God.
He didn't just create everything.
He continues to control everything.
There's one other thing they pointed out.
God has a purpose for everything.
We see that again in verse 28.
Now, what I want us to think about is we look at how they are praying,
how they address God,
how they rehearse who God is,
what God has and is doing.
They know God personally.
They're not just speaking words.
There is no formality here.
They are having a conversation with their holy God,
sovereign God, their heavenly Father.
Now, I want you to think.
Do your prayers reveal that when you talk to God,
it's a personal relationship?
There's personal fellowship going on.
You know, many people who write about prayer emphasize that the primary purpose of prayer
is to have fellowship with God,
to enjoy being in His presence.
Professor from Southeastern Seminary, John Hammett,
he describes it like this.
Prayer is not exclusively or primarily about getting things from God.
It is about enjoying and growing in intimacy and fellowship with God.
D.A. Carson,
effective prayer is the fruit of a relationship with God,
not a technique for acquiring His blessings.
So let's think about it.
Is your prayer time,
is your being with God,
with your head bowed, eyes closed,
or driving down the road,
just talking to Him,
is your prayer time more about being with God,
enjoying Him,
having a conversation with Him,
or is your prayer time times
mostly about getting things from Him?
Our greatest need in life and in prayer
is to know God better,
to be able to draw close to Him in real fellowship.
Our real need is to know Him and love Him more and more every day,
to understand His purpose,
to understand His will as revealed in Scripture.
Everything about our Christian lives,
everything about prayer,
flows out of our personal relationship with God.
Now,
how do we do that?
How do we develop this kind of relationship with God?
How do we draw close to Him and know Him?
Well, it's no secret.
God has given us two primary ways
to develop a relationship with Him.
Prayer and Bible study.
The Christians in Acts 4 that we're reading about,
they had a real relationship with God
that they had developed
by spending time with Him in prayer
and by studying His Word.
For them, it was just the Old Testament.
Their prayer, look at it again,
their prayer shows
they know a lot about God.
And they learned it.
They didn't even have scrolls.
They didn't have their own Bible.
They learned it from hearing.
They learned from being taught
the Old Testament Scriptures.
They knew a lot about God.
And more important,
or just as important,
it is just as important,
they knew God personally
because they'd spent time with Him,
talking to Him,
listening to Him
as they pray,
as they listen to His Word.
What do your prayers reveal
along this line?
Do your prayers reveal
that you know a good bit about God
that's come from your study of His Word
personally, in church, wherever?
Does your prayer life reveal
a knowledge of God
that you have gained
through the study of His Word?
And then,
does your prayer life indicate
that you do know Him personally?
If people overhear you praying,
where are they going to come away thinking,
you're having a conversation
with someone you know,
your Heavenly Father?
John Piper describes
what's going on here
in Acts chapter 4 like this.
He says,
it is remarkable
that these Christians
take five verses
to tell God who He is
and two verses
to ask what they want from Him.
Now, God does not need
to be told who He is,
but Christians need to know
who He is,
and precisely in their prayers,
they need to know
and confess
that He is the kind of God
who can and will
answer their prayers.
In essence,
what they are doing
in verses 24 through 28
is hallowing God's name
before they pray,
Thy kingdom come.
These Christians are praying
as Jesus taught them.
They're praying the model prayer,
as we sometimes say,
the Lord's prayer.
Their focus is on God,
on His kingdom,
and on His will.
If we're serious
about wanting to experience
God's presence
and God's power
as we pray,
we've got to learn
to pray like this.
Prayer should be focused
on God personally.
But that's not all.
Prayer should be focused
on God's purposes as well.
We see that
in verses 29 and 30.
I want you to note
in verse 29,
as they pray,
they've just come
from those Jewish officials
who have threatened them,
intimidated them.
You cannot preach anymore,
threatening them
with bodily harm.
They do not come
and pray and say,
Lord, rescue us,
deliver us.
Look at what they say.
They said,
look upon their threats.
What's going on?
They come together,
they're praying,
and instead of saying,
Lord, you get them.
Look what they did to us,
your servants.
They just said,
look upon their threats.
Now let me say,
it would not have been wrong
for them to have asked God
to deliver them,
to spare them from suffering.
Paul did that at times.
Nothing wrong with it.
But for some reason,
that's not what they asked for.
Maybe what they're doing
in this statement,
look upon their requests.
Maybe as they are focusing
on the fact that God is sovereign,
they're just going to trust Him.
They're just going to rest
in God doing what's best
in their situation
to accomplish His purpose.
Now,
they did make requests of God.
Look next.
They asked God
to enable them
to be bold witnesses.
Verse 29,
And now,
Lord,
look upon their threats
and grant to your servants
to continue to speak
your word
with all boldness
while you stretch out
your hand to heal,
and signs and wonders
are performed
through the name
of your holy servant,
Jesus.
Notice what they prayed for.
Not safety,
but they prayed
for the power
and ability
to boldly,
effectively
preach the word of God,
preach the gospel.
Think about that.
They were living
under difficult times,
tough circumstances,
but they did not pray
for easier circumstances.
What they're actually
praying for
is the ability
to be faithful
in the midst of
those difficult circumstances.
Are your requests
similar to that?
Or,
if you're honest,
are most of your requests
to God
to make your life easier?
to make your life
less painful?
Are most of your prayer requests
basically selfish?
Think about it.
Many years ago,
a young lady
wanted to talk to me
about her job situation.
As we were going
to get together
and talk,
I thought of her
as a very mature
Christian young woman.
She had been involved
in college
and campus ministries,
leading Bible studies
and things of this nature.
She had been involved,
was involved
in the life of the church,
involved in teaching
women's studies.
When we got together,
she told me
that she was working
in an office
with two other women
who were not Christians.
They were very worldly.
She said that
the way they talked,
the way they acted
made her feel
terribly uncomfortable.
But they didn't mistreat her.
They didn't abuse her.
It was just the way
they were.
It was just who they are.
And they were fine
with her.
But their ungodly lifestyle
just made her feel
very, very uncomfortable.
She didn't like working there.
She asked me,
what do you think?
Well, I tried to encourage her
that God had her there
for a purpose.
I pointed out,
you know,
they're not doing,
saying anything to you.
They're treating you fine.
I encouraged her.
Think about it.
God has you,
a mature,
committed Christian,
there in that little office
with two unbelieving women.
He wants you
to be a witness to them.
And just the way you live,
the way you interact with them.
And he,
if I think he'll be faithful,
prayerful,
careful,
look for opportunities.
He may even give you
the opportunity
to share the gospel
with them,
probably one at a time.
She seemed to be okay
with that.
We prayed
that God would give her
the ability
to relate well to them
and be a faithful witness
before them
and look for the opportunity
to share the gospel
with them.
Well,
you know what happened?
A few weeks later,
she just quit.
She just quit.
And her response was,
I just felt so uncomfortable
being in that office
with those unbelieving women.
The truth was,
she was more concerned
with being comfortable
than with being faithful.
She was more concerned
with personal comfort,
being at ease
where she worked,
than she was being used
by God
to be a faithful witness
to two women
who may not have had
anyone else in their life
to shine the light
of Jesus Christ.
What about you?
Are your prayers
more about seeking
your will
or God's will?
It's certainly not wrong
to pray for things
like your health,
your job,
things going on at school.
If we are parents,
grandparents,
we pray for our children's success
in many areas of life,
academically,
athletically,
with music,
things of this nature.
Those things are part
of a healthy Christian's prayer life.
But what's the focus?
What's the top priority
when it comes to your prayer life?
Jesus taught us,
be more concerned
with God
than ourselves.
Be more concerned
about His will
than our own will.
And that's what we see here
in Acts 4
that these Christians
were doing.
We need to pray more
for God to empower us
to develop Christian character,
to be able to overcome
sinful habits,
to resist temptation,
to be faithful witnesses.
Those are some of the priorities
that every Christian
needs to have in prayer.
We also need to make requests
like this
for the other people
in our lives
that we pray for,
including our children,
including those
who are closest to us.
What do you pray
for your children?
Is it just
that they be healthy?
That they do well in school?
That they not get into trouble?
That they make friends?
That they make the right friends?
That they do well in sports
or whatever they're interested in?
What do you pray
the most about
when it comes to praying
for your children?
How often do you really pray
as they're growing up
for their salvation?
For God to work in their lives
to help them
to have an awareness
of their sin,
their need for a Savior?
How much are you
talking to them about Jesus,
who He is,
what He's done for us,
how He can save us?
If your children are Christians,
your grandchildren are Christians,
do you pray
that they would develop
Christ-like character,
that they would be concerned
about living a godly life
and pleasing God
more than anything else?
The way we pray,
our actions
reveal just what
we consider most important
in our lives
and in the lives
of the people we pray for.
Now, accessing God's power
in our lives,
it involves prayer
that's primarily focused
on God
and God's purposes.
And that's the kind
of prayer
that we can expect God
to answer
in a powerful way.
Let's look at the next point.
Prayer is answered
with God's power
in verse 31.
And when they had prayed,
the place in which
they were gathered together
was shaken
and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit
and continued to speak
the Word of God
with boldness.
Now, note how God
answered their prayers.
The place where they were praying
was shaken.
It could have been
an earthquake.
It could have been
something like
powerful thunder.
I felt our house
shake at times
in some of these
terrible storms
over the years.
There was some kind
of supernatural event
that took place
to let these Christians
know that God
is heard
and God is answering
the prayer.
He is with them
in a powerful,
supernatural kind of way.
But look also,
they were filled
with the Holy Spirit
and empowered
to speak the Word
of God
with boldness.
that's what
they were praying for
and God answered
that prayer.
The point
that I want to make here
is that God
answers prayers
according to His purpose.
God answers prayers.
Prayers prayed
according to His purpose.
So just think about it.
Is God answering
my prayers?
Now keep in mind
that we talk about
God answering prayers
He does more
than just answer
our prayers yes.
Sometimes God,
His answer
to the most godly Christian,
the most humble request
is no.
The Apostle Paul
is probably the best example
of that.
Paul had a problem
that he referred to
as a thorn in his flesh.
It may have been
some kind of physical problem.
Some people think
he may have had malaria,
may have had eyesight trouble
as a result of that.
He prayed that God
would remove
that thorn
from his flesh.
He asked God
to do that three times
he tells us
in 2 Corinthians
chapter 12.
But God's answer
was a direct
no.
And God's explanation
was
in 2 Corinthians 12
my grace
is sufficient
for you
for my power
is made perfect
in weakness.
God wanted
to use Paul
in a powerful way
with whatever
that was
that made him
weaker.
That was God's plan.
That was how God
was going to use Paul
and Paul accepted that.
Paul even goes on
to talk about
glorying in the fact
that God would use him
in such a way.
Sometimes God answers
our prayers
no.
Sometimes though
God answers
our prayer
wait
not now.
It may be
the times
not right.
It may be
that you're
not right.
It may be
the circumstances
may not be right.
So when we talk
about God
answering prayers
sometimes
he answers
our prayer
yes.
Sometimes
he answers
no.
Sometimes
he answers
wait.
As Christians
we can trust
our Heavenly
Father
he knows
what's best
in our life
and he's
going to so
work
to accomplish
what will be
best
in terms of
our
serving his
purpose
doing what
he has
called us
designed us
intend for us
to do.
You know
Jesus made it
clear in one
of his teachings
that God
really does
like
enjoy
answering
his people's
prayers.
This is found
in Matthew
chapter 7
beginning in
verse 9
Jesus said
which of you
if his son
asks for bread
will give him
a stone
or if he
asks for a
fish will
give him
a snake
if you
then though
you are
evil know
how to
give good
gifts to
your children
how much
more will
your Father
in Heaven
give good
gifts to
those who
ask Him
God
desires
to give
God
desires
to bless
His
children
what we
need to
learn
is to
pray in
a way
that shows
we honor
God
that we're
more concerned
about Him
than His
blessings
you know
when we
look at
the prayers
of Christians
in the Bible
we see
that they
often
they pray
differently
than we do
they were
focused more
on God
than they
were
themselves
they had
a relationship
with God
that just
comes out
in the way
they talk
to Him
the way
they interact
with Him
in prayer
when we look
at their prayers
not just Acts 4
but many prayers
in the New Testament
these people
are focused
on serving
God's purpose
not their own
if we want
to be people
who experience
power
as we pray
experience
powerful answers
from God
we need to learn
to pray
like Jesus
taught us
in Matthew
chapter 6
the Lord's
prayer
the model
prayer
and
the way
that these
Christians
in Acts 4
model for us
the right way
to pray
I want to
encourage you
make a commitment
to spend time
with God
every day
in prayer
and as you do
don't think
about forms
and formalities
think of your
prayer time
as talking
to God
as fellowship
with Him
communion
with Him
as a conversation
with Him
make your prayer
more God
centered
than self
centered
read the
prayer of
Jesus
in Matthew
6
the model
prayer
to see
the priorities
that ought to
be in our
prayers
seek God's
glory first
always
seek God's
purposes
before your
own
it's important
to pray about
everything in
our lives
don't hear this
prayer
this sermon
and think
I'm talking
about we should
never ask God
for anything
we should
but in the
proper time
our focus
is on God
knowing Him
drawing close
to Him
having fellowship
with Him
seeking His
will
seeking to
please Him
and with that
mindset
that heart
He's going to
help us to know
what we should
ask for
what we don't
need to ask
for
He'll help us
to pray
more accurate
prayers
that we can
expect
real answers
to
you know
some people
have found
it helpful
to use
the acrostic
acts
A-C-T-S
to help them
to guide them
in their prayers
A stands
for adoration
we begin our
prayer time
praising God
worshiping Him
loving Him
see His
confession
as we draw
into God's
presence
as we realize
His holiness
and purity
we're going
to be
made aware
of our sin
we're going
to be convicted
of sin
and we need
to confess it
be honest
with God
adoration
confession
thanksgiving
we have much
to thank God
for every day
at the top
of the list
is the life
He has given
us in Christ
the forgiveness
of our sins
last
adoration
confession
thanksgiving
and supplication
that's making
your request
to God
talking to Him
about needs
in your life
needs in other
people's lives
I want to
encourage you
make time
to pray
personally
make time
to pray
with your family
you may feel
uncomfortable
doing that
it just takes
practice
and if you feel
uncomfortable
right now
get your family
together
and pray
the Lord's
prayer
together
read it
from Matthew
chapter 6
but get
together
with your
family
talk to God
together
talk about
God
together
pray
together
read His
Word
together
final thought
what we saw
a while ago
from D.A.
Carson
listen
effective prayer
prayer is the fruit
of a relationship
with God
not a technique
for acquiring
His blessings
make your prayers
conversations
with God
enjoy
being with God
in prayer
would you bow
with me
Father
work in every
one of us
to give us
a desire
to experience
the kind of
prayer we've been
looking at
this morning
give us
Father a desire
to know
you better
to draw
closer to
you
to feel
your presence
and your love
to be able
to call you
Father
and know
that we are
your children
Father I pray
that you'll
convict us
of our
failure to
pray
and convict
us of our
sins of just
praying selfish
prayers
just reading
off lists
to you
to the
neglect
of enjoying
being with
you
Lord I
pray
that you'll
help each
person
to make
sure that
there's a
time every
day
that they
set aside
for you
make an
appointment
with you
to just
be before
you
to talk
to you
to listen
to you
with an
open Bible
an open
heart
in Jesus
name we
pray
Amen
church
Amen