When God Says No


James 4:1-4
(Program 2134, Airing on 6.7.09 & 6.14.09)

  1. INTRODUCTION
    1. In James 4:1-4, two great problems are mentioned:
      1. The problem of unasked prayer
        1. Jeremiah 33:3
      2. The problem of unanswered prayer
    2. God responds to our prayers in four basic ways:
      1. The answer may be direct.
      2. The answer may be different.
        1. Romans 8:26
        2. Ephesians 3:20
      3. The answer may be delayed.
        1. Isaiah 30:18
        2. Matthew 7:7
        3. Hebrews 10:36
        4. James 1:4
      4. The prayer may be denied.
        1. James 4:3
  2. WE ARE TO PRAY IN HIS NAME 
    1. John 14:6
    2. John 14:13-14
    3. John 16:23-24
    4. What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name?
      1. It means to pray with His approval.
      2. It means to pray for His acclaim, for His glory.     
      3. It means to pray with His authority.
  3. WE ARE TO PRAY IN THE SPIRIT
    1. You must be surrendered in order to pray in the Spirit.
    2. Ephesians 6:18
    3. Jude 20
    4. Why must we pray in the Spirit?  (Romans 8:26)
      1. Because of our human weakness.
      2. Because of our human ignorance.
  4. WE ARE TO PRAY IN THE WILL OF GOD
    1. Prayer is not some method by which man on Earth gets his will done in Heaven; prayer is a method by which God in Heaven gets His will done on Earth.
      1. Matthew 6:10
    2. 1 John 5:14
    3. Romans 12:1-2
    4. True prayer is the Holy Spirit finding a desire in the heart of the Father and putting that desire into our hearts.
      1. Psalm 37:4
      2. Matthew 6:33
    5. James 4:1-3
    6. Examples of praying outside the will of God:
      1. Luke 12:13-15
      2. Matthew 20:20-22
  5. WE ARE TO PRAY IN OBEDIENCE
    1. Examples in the Bible of people who learned to pray in obedience:
      1. David  (Psalm 66:18)
      2. Isaiah  (Isaiah 1:15-16, Isaiah 59:1-4) 
      3. Samuel  (1 Samuel 8:18)
      4. Ezra  (Ezra 9:6)
      5. James  (James 5:16)
      6. The Apostle John  (1 John 3:22)
      7. Joshua  (Joshua 7:10-11)
    2. Proverbs 21:13
    3. Luke 6:38
    4. Sometimes we become selfish in our desire to be filled with God’s blessings; we tend to be a reservoir rather than a conduit.  But God intends for us to be a blessing to others as He has blessed us.
      1. Philippians 4:16-19
  6. WE ARE TO PRAY IN FELLOWSHIP
    1. Mark 11:25-26
    2. 1 Peter 3:7
  7. WE ARE TO PRAY IN FAITH
    1. Matthew 21:22
    2. Hebrews 11:6
    3. John 16:24
    4. Faith is not having faith in faith.  The emphasis of faith should not be upon the amount of faith we have, but the emphasis of our faith should rest solely upon who God is.

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