Praying is about Relationship
December 22, 2019      |     By: Jonathan Brickley      |      Category: Sermons      |      Location: El Dorado
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Relationships Can Be
- Healthy
- Strained
- Broken

Oswald Chambers
"...everything becomes as clear as daylight. As long as we try to serve two ends, ourselves and God, there is perplexity. The attitude must be one of complete reliance on God. When once we get there, there is nothing easier than living the saintly life; difficulty comes in when we want to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own ends.

Whenever you obey God, His seal is always that of peace...

My questions come whenever I cease to obey. When I have obeyed God, the problems never come between me and God, they come as probes to keep the mind awake and amazed at the revelation of God. Any problem that comes between God and myself springs out of disobedience; any problem, and there are many, that is alongside me while I obey God, increases my ecstatic delight, because I know that my Father knows, and I am going to watch and see how He unravels this thing."

Nothing Kills Confidence in Prayer Like Disobedience
Nothing Renews Confidence in Prayer Like Obedience

Psalm 119:165 (NIV)
165 Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

John 14:21, 24 (NIV)
21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

Jesus is Hidden Pre-Obedience
Jesus is Revealed Post-Obedience

Obedience is Very Vital / Very Significant to Praying Effectively!

Prayers Can Be Hindered:
1) Hidden Sin (Psalm 66:18, 1 John 3:21-22)
Psalm 66:18 (NIV)
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;

1 John 3:21-22 (NIV)
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.

2) Family Discord (1 Peter 3:7)
1 Peter 3:7 (NIV)
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

3) Doubt & Unbelief (James 1:5-8)
James 1:5-8 (NIV)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

4) Cold Love (Proverbs 21:13)
Proverbs 21:13 (NIV)
13 Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.

5) Disobedience (Proverbs 28:9)
Proverbs 28:9 (NIV)
9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.

6) Unforgiveness (Mark 11:25)
Mark 11:25 (NIV)
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

7) Pride (Luke 18:14)
Luke 18:14 (NIV)
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

At Christmas - Jesus Came As Our King
Kings Must Be Obeyed By Their Subjects

Luke 1:30-38 (NIV)
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.
37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Simple, Humble Obedience 

Luke 2:14 (NIV)
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”