Whatever You Ask in My Name

May 31, 2026 · Brad Yates

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Scripture referenced 15 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

John 14:11-14 primary text for the sermon on prayer

11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
12 Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.
13 Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.

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John 14:13

key verse broken into three points on power, premise and purpose of prayer

13 Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

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2 Corinthians 12:9

cited to support the idea that weakness is an advantage and dependence on God is the goal

9 He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.

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James 5

referenced as a great chapter on prayer and pointing back to Elijah

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.

2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.

3 Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.

4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies.

5 You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.

6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.

7 Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain.

8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9 Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.

10 Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

11 Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

12 But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear— not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”; so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.

13 Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.

14 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord,

15 and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

16 Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months.

18 He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

19 Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,

20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

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1 Kings 17

Elijah praying to shut up the heavens for three and a half years

1 Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

2 Then Yahweh’s word came to him, saying,

3 “Go away from here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.

4 You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

5 So he went and did according to Yahweh’s word; for he went and lived by the brook Cherith that is before the Jordan.

6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.

7 After a while, the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8 Yahweh’s word came to him, saying,

9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her, and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”

11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12 She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son.

14 For Yahweh, the God of Israel says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’”

15 She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate many days.

16 The jar of meal didn’t run out, and the jar of oil did not fail, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by Elijah.

17 After these things, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

18 She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!”

19 He said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the room where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed.

20 He cried to Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?”

21 He stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh my God, please let this child’s soul come into him again.”

22 Yahweh listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

23 Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the room into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “Behold, your son lives.”

24 The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that Yahweh’s word in your mouth is truth.”

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Romans 8:28

cited as part of a framework for understanding unanswered prayer

28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

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Genesis 50

cited alongside Romans 8:28 for understanding unanswered prayer

1 Joseph fell on his father’s face, wept on him, and kissed him.

2 Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel.

3 Forty days were fulfilled for him, for that is how many the days it takes to embalm. The Egyptians wept for him for seventy days.

4 When the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying. Bury me in my grave which I have dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come again.’”

6 Pharaoh said, “Go up, and bury your father, just like he made you swear.”

7 Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, all the elders of the land of Egypt,

8 All the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

9 There went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company.

10 They came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they lamented with a very great and severe lamentation. He mourned for his father seven days.

11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

12 His sons did to him just as he commanded them,

13 for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field, as a possession for a burial site, from Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre.

14 Joseph returned into Egypt—he, and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.”

16 They sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying,

17 ‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

18 His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

19 Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for am I in the place of God?

20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is today, to save many people alive.

21 Now therefore don’t be afraid. I will nourish you and your little ones.” He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.

22 Joseph lived in Egypt, he, and his father’s house. Joseph lived one hundred ten years.

23 Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children also of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees.

24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am dying, but God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

25 Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”

26 So Joseph died, being one hundred ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

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Luke 11

location of the Lord's Prayer, also referenced as Jesus modeling prayer

1 When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”

5 He said to them, “Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight, and tell him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,’

7 and he from within will answer and say, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you’?

8 I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs.

9 “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.

10 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?

12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he?

13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

14 He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”

16 Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven.

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls.

18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

19 But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore will they be your judges.

20 But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you.

21 “When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe.

22 But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder.

23 “He that is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters.

24 The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of the man, passes through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none, he says, ‘I will turn back to my house from which I came out.’

25 When he returns, he finds it swept and put in order.

26 Then he goes, and takes seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

27 It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!”

28 But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”

29 When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah, the prophet.

30 For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will also the Son of Man be to this generation.

31 The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.

33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light.

34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.

35 Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness.

36 If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”

37 Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in, and sat at the table.

38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed himself before dinner.

39 The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness.

40 You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also?

41 But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you.

42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.

43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces.

44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.”

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you insult us also.”

46 He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those burdens.

47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

48 So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build…

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Matthew 6

location of the Lord's Prayer and God knowing what we need before we ask

1 “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.

3 But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does,

4 so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

5 “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.

6 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

7 In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.

8 Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.

9 Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

13 Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16 “Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.

17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;

18 so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

19 “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal;

21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.

23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.

25 Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26 See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they?

27 “Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?

28 Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,

29 yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?

31 “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’

32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.

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Matthew 6:8

God knows what we need before we even ask

8 Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him.

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1 John 2:4

partially quoted in connection with keeping God's commandments as an act of obedience

4 One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him.

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Matthew 7:9-11

Jesus asking which father would give his son a stone instead of bread, to illustrate God giving good gifts

9 Or who is there among you, who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he asks for a fish, who will 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!

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John 15

Jesus saying if you abide in me, referenced to support praying and abiding leading to greater accomplishment

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.

2 Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

3 You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.

8 “In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.

9 Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.

10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.

11 I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.

13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

14 You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.

15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.

16 You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

17 “I command these things to you, that you may love one another.

18 If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.

19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

21 But all these things will they do to you for my name’s sake, because they don’t know him who sent me.

22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

23 He who hates me, hates my Father also.

24 If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now have they seen and also hated both me and my Father.

25 But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’

26 “When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.

27 You will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

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1 John 1:9

if we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will purify us from all unrighteousness, used in the ACTS model under confession

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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Colossians 3:17

closing benediction: whatever you do in word or deed do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus

17 Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Brad Yates preached from John 14:11-14 on the subject of prayer, working through what Jesus means when he promises to do whatever his disciples ask in his name. The message pushed back against the idea that prayer is a mechanism for getting what we want, and made the case that prayer is first and foremost about relationship and dependence on God.

What was said

Brad opened with a question most people have wrestled with at some point: if God is going to do whatever he is going to do anyway, why bother praying? He was upfront that he was not going to offer a formula that gets God to act on our timeline. Instead, he wanted to show what is actually available to us in prayer every day, because the point of prayer is not to get God to do what we want, but to get more of God and to fix our eyes on him.

The first point was the power of prayer. Brad argued that the greatest thing God gives us in prayer is himself, not health or money or comfort, but his own presence. He used the analogy of coaching his third and fourth grade lacrosse team: the best thing he can give those kids at an away game is himself going with them. Jesus told his disciples the night before he left that they would do greater works than he had done, and history through the church has shown that to be true. The power in prayer is never about the one praying; it belongs entirely to the God being prayed to.

From there Brad moved to what Jesus actually means by the phrase "in my name." He said this is not a tagline or a Christian asterisk tacked onto the end of a request. In the ancient world, doing something in someone's name meant acting by their authority, in their way, and for their benefit. To pray in Jesus's name is to pray in accordance with who Jesus is as a whole person, which means praying in line with what he came to do: display the wisdom and love of God, reconcile sinners, and restore the kingdom. Brad noted that Jesus modeled extended, solitary prayer throughout his ministry, and that most of us, himself included, tend to default to a rushed morning routine while telling ourselves we are too busy for more, which he called a lie that the calendar disproves.

Brad then addressed unanswered prayer directly, rather than passing over it. He said the answer is already in the key verse: the purpose of prayer is not to get God to satisfy our desires immediately, but to set our hearts on the things that will satisfy them ultimately, which is knowing God, pleasing him, and becoming the people he wants us to be. The problem, he said, is that we are short-term oriented in a way that God is not, and prayer is one of the main tools we have for pushing back that pressure.

He offered three reasons to pray even when it feels like God is going to do what he is going to do regardless. First, it is for the relationship. Second, God commands it and we are called to be obedient, and God actually delights in us asking even though he already knows what we need. Third, there is a clear pattern in scripture and history where God responds more directly to prayer than to non-prayer, even if the full interaction between prayer, human free will, and God's sovereignty is something we will not understand completely this side of eternity.

The third point was the purpose of prayer: that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Brad described prayer as having two sides, like warfare and relationship at the same time. On the warfare side, every believer is a soldier in a spiritual battle that is already won at the cross and empty tomb but still being fought by an enemy who has lost, and prayer is calling in airstrikes with the victorious king. On the relationship side, prayer is the special access that children have to their father. He used the image of a child walking into the Oval Office in the middle of the night, something no cabinet member could do, to illustrate what it means to be a child of God. He also pointed out, drawing on Jesus's words in Matthew 7, that God loves to give good things to those who ask, even more than a flawed human father does.

Brad closed with practical guidance, though he said he had thrown out a long list of tips and tricks because the goal is not behavioral modification but heart transformation. He encouraged anyone who has never prayed to simply start, talking to God honestly and respectfully as a child would a father, for twenty-one days. He walked through the ACTS model, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication, noting that supplication comes last for a reason. He also shared his own version of the Lord's Prayer written in his own words as an example, and gave the congregation a few minutes of silence to pray on their own before the service closed.

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Brad said that 'the power of prayer is that God gives us himself, and it's the greatest thing he can give us.' Do you actually live as if that is true, or do you find yourself measuring the value of prayer by what you get out of it? What has shaped that in you?
Brad described prayer at its core as 'an admittance of your lack of self-sufficiency' and said that in our culture we use 'an unholy trinity of time, talent and money to be self-dependent.' Where do you see that pattern most clearly in your own life, and how has it affected your prayer life?

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Speaker 2Good morning, church family. I'm so glad we are here this morning ready to worship our savior Jesus Christ. Amen? Will you please stand up and let's feel his presence in this place. Amen?

I know we don't say that quite often, but will you please turn your phone on silent, and let's make it special this morning so we can hear his voice. Amen? Let's not be worried about anything else except his presence. My desire this morning is to hear his voice. Oh my goodness.

So much noise around me lately. So much things to do. So much here and there. But this morning, I wanna hear his voice. I wanna hear him speaking and saying, Florin, you need to do this or stop doing this or, Florin, keep going.

He will tell you. I promise you. If in sincerity, you would say, Lord, speak something to me. He will say something to you this morning. Amen?

Let's worship him as he is right here, not only in our hearts, among us here. Amen? Let's make it special. Praise the Lord.

Speaker 3Morning, everybody. You're be seated. But as you sit, scoot towards the middle. Let make some room for folks coming in. It's a full house this morning.

So, man, if you're visiting for the first time, welcome. We're so glad you're here. There's a little card in the front if you want us to track you down and find you. Or if you just wanna be connected, fill it out. If you've been here a long time and you want prayer or whatever, there is a card right there for you to fill out.

So so do that. Would be a great way for us to connect. We are starting to do announcements a little bit differently. There are a lot of announcements involving a revival at the rodeo grounds. There's a study for folks in their twenties.

There's all kinds of stuff that is looping. But the main two announcements that I wanna make, first, we have a membership class at 10:15 in Pastor Ray's office. I'll be leading it. So if you're interested about becoming a member or if it's just something that you wanna learn more about, you don't have to commit to this covenantial membership today. But if you just wanna learn more about it, we'll be having that class during the connect hour.

The second thing, I know last week, I had the privilege to preach and we shared about the great commission and how it's it's the Lord's will for all of us to take part somehow, right? And taking the gospel to the nations. So, we have two short term trips coming up in November. One is to Zambia. We've got a a family.

Their last name is Olsen. They've been serving in Zambia. The missions team here has been supporting them in multiple ways. And the Macuis, Brian and KC, are leading this trip. I think it's the first week of November, and they're gonna be helping with construction and and different things like that, meeting physical and spiritual needs to support long term efforts that we can be a part of in Zambia.

So that's one of the trips. The second trip is to Costa Rica. I'm gonna be leading that with my wife Lauren. Lauren's family has been connected to this long term missionary in Costa Rica for, well, like, over twenty years, and they are opening the door to, like, over 70 folks. So all of you almost yeah.

Half of you could come. I don't know. There's a lot of people in here, but a bunch of you could come. And we're gonna be doing similar things, meeting physical and spiritual needs in Costa Rica. And for both trips, the the first one to Zambia is just 10 folks.

But for both trips, we're gonna be really intentional with the lead up. So the interest meeting is in two weeks. It's June 14 at 4PM. Again, you don't have to commit to the trip. You don't even need to sign up to go to the interest meeting.

You don't even need to plan to go on the trip. Like, if you just wanna pray for these, for the people going on the trip, or if you wanna support financially, or if you might go but you're not sure because you hadn't dialed in plans, just come to the meeting. We'll give way more detail, and and you can figure out how you can be a part of what we are doing on these short term trips. The other part of that is every month leading up to that trip, we're gonna have a study. Both trips are together in this.

Well, Costa Rica and Zambia, we're gonna be studying a book together and preparing ourselves to to go and serve overseas. So really excited about that. I hope you come. And, again, just super thankful that everybody's here today. So y'all can stand back up, greet one another, and we'll continue in in worship.

Speaker 2Let's worship the Lord. Amen? Jesus is the king forever. God is in charge. Amen?

Sometimes we understand God's plans. Sometimes we don't get them very well. But the Bible said, the word of God says that he is in charge. Either we like it or we don't like it. God is in charge.

Amen? Amen. So he reigns forever. Let's worship him. Our our heavenly father, we are thankful and privileged to be here this morning in your house.

Lord, I'm grateful to see that this building needs more chairs because people are standing in the back because there's not enough place. How thankful are you for that? Oh, thank you for bringing the people here in your house to hear your voice. Lord, as we gather, please touch our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit to change our lives the way you like, the way you want us to live our lives, Lord. We know there is a battle in this world, and it will always be a battle in this world as long as we breathe.

But we have you, Jesus, our foundation. You provide salvation through what you've done for us on the cross, but give us the strength to walk in your will. Lord, we fell short many times. Sometimes we don't see it. Sometimes we don't understand it.

But, Lord, would you touch our hearts and give us the the passion and desire to look for your will in our lives. And please forgive us of our sins. In Jesus' name, pray. Amen. I really love this song.

I love the rhythm. I love the lyrics. So sing it sing sing it loud, please. I saw the Lord Amen. I don't know what's happening, but I feel the church on fire.

Praise the Lord. Please take a seat, and we will go through a time of, offering. And we invite the elders to come up front.

Speaker 3Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this morning and the moisture that you're providing the land. Thank you for all of us who are here in the room. We pray that you speak to us today. We pray that you open our hearts and our our minds, ears, spiritual eyes to to what you have for us.

Lord, we pray that we can be convicted on how to use our life to glorify you. We pray that whether that's resources or prayer or time or whatever it is, lord, that you would show us your will and your way as we seek to glorify your name. In Jesus name. Amen.

Speaker 2Praise the Lord. Amen.

Brad YatesFor children's church, which also means for those standing in the back, we're opening up some seats around. So if you had a couple little ones run away, make room and invite somebody in. If this is your first time here or we haven't met, my name is Brad Yates. Welcome to First Be. We hope that you find this place to be like home whether you're visiting from out of town or it's just been a while.

Today we're gonna look at John fourteen eleven through 14. We're gonna be talking about prayer, big surprise in church. But before we do that, I'm gonna pray for us. Father, thank you for this time for your church to gather together. Lord, would you give me the words that you want your people to hear?

God, would you give them hearts to receive it? Would you give us eyes that seek you and seek your truth? And would you help us to love one another and to love you all the more? And we pray all of this in the perfect and powerful holy name of Jesus. Well, Teresa of Calcutta also known as Mother Teresa was interviewed by Dan Rather quite some time before podcasts.

And at one point in the interview, Rather asked Mother Teresa about her prayer life. And he says, well, when you pray, what do you say to God? And she says, I don't say anything. I listen. And he says, the obvious follow-up.

He goes, well, when God speaks to you, what does he say? And she says to him, he doesn't say anything. He listens. Then seeing the obvious confusion on Rather's face, she goes, and if you don't understand that, I can't really explain it to you. What's the point of prayer?

I mean, if God's already going to do whatever it is that he's going to do, why should we bother? I think most of us have struggled with this in some aspect of our lives before. And I'll be upfront with you. If you are looking for a clear cut answer that benefits you materially, I'm gonna horribly disappoint you today. Because there is no magic formula to get God to do what we want him to do on our timeline.

But my hope with the rest of today's message is to show you the beauty of what is available to you each and every day in prayer. Because the point of prayer is not to get God to do what you want him to do. The point of prayer is to get more of God and to fix our eyes on him. So let's look at our text for today. We'll key in as usual on one primary verse and then we'll get to work.

We're going from John 14, the NASB. Believe me that I am in the father and the father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes in me, the works that I, Jesus, do, he, that's you, will also do. And greater works than these will he do because I am going to the father.

And whatever you ask in my name, this I will do so that the father may be glorified in the son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. So our key verse for today is gonna be verse 13 if you're taking notes. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do so that the father may be glorified in the son. We'll break that up into three parts as usual, three point outline from Brad.

Power of prayer, this is whatever you ask. The premise of prayer in my name is what Jesus says. The purpose of prayer that the father may be glorified in the son. Then we'll take a quick look at the practice of prayer, which is our application for the day, and then we'll move on. So first point, the power of prayer, whatever you ask.

Church, the power of prayer, right up front, I'm giving you everything I got right here at the beginning. The power of prayer is that God gives us himself, And it's the greatest thing he can give us. Not health, not money, not comfort, not power or control himself. The trick is for each and every one of us to actually believe and live that out. Now by way of example, I coach third and fourth grade boys lacrosse here.

It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of other things as well. And we've got a great group of parents and kids and all of that sort of thing. But let's say we have an away game schedule. We're going down to Salt Lake City.

What's the greatest thing that I can send with them? It's myself. Because as great as those kids are, if myself or another coach doesn't go down with them, they could maybe make their way onto the field, right? But if I go with them, I can help them get organized, right? And again, that's not because I'm some brilliant coach, it's because I'm 40 and they're 10.

Now I could also make the opposite mistake of not going and I could step out on that field and could I win that game single handedly for my team? Absolutely. I don't wanna brag, but I am way better at lacrosse than any 10 year old you've ever seen. But that wouldn't be the point, would it? Because the point of the whole thing is yes for them to have fun, but it's also for them to develop as men and for them to learn the game that we're working towards.

And I rob them of that opportunity if I just step out there and do that. So it would rob them of an opportunity and probably get me arrested for child abuse. But similarly, Jesus is going to send his disciples out into the world to do greater works than he did. But they aren't just accomplishing a task, they're also continuing to be developed to be the people that God would have them to be. Jesus is leaving their his disciples and they are not ready.

And yet he says to them, hey, I'm gonna give you the Holy Spirit. I'm gonna give you the gift of prayer. And with those two things, you're gonna do greater things than anything you've seen me do. Church, Jesus raised people from the dead. He gave sight to the blind.

He fed the 5,000 and he says to his disciples, you ain't seen nothing yet. Do you guys feel that? We can dwell on that. Because Jesus did all these miracles and the night before he leaves, he huddles up the boys and he says, hey, I'm going to give myself to you in a way that you can't possibly understand yet and it's actually going to be better. And you are gonna do greater works than anything you've seen me do.

And history has shown that through the disciples and through the continuing faithful legacy of the church, that has absolutely been the case. Church, God doesn't have to use us, but he chooses to. That humbles me because I know my own heart. Frail and broken vessel that I am, God still chooses to use me and he can choose to use each and every one of us in our faith. Prayer then, relating it back to our topic today, at its core is an admittance of your lack of self sufficiency.

Prayer at its core is admitting your dependence on God. Prayer is saying, God, I can't but you can. And church, if dependence is the goal, then weakness is an advantage. It's a strategy. That's second Corinthians twelve:nine from Paul writing to that church.

Boast in our weaknesses. How un American does that feel? This is the exact opposite of that old saying that we've probably all heard where God helps those who help themselves. There is zero biblical basis for that church. Dependence is the goal, then weakness is an advantage.

But God wants us to realize our dependence on him. And the most mature Christians that I've ever done life with, that this is the thing that they are all acutely aware of. And I have, in my own slow learning sort of way, finally started to understand this. Because in our culture, we have this obsession with self dependence, independence we might call it. We use an unholy trinity of time, talent and money to be self dependent, to achieve things.

And some of the time we do that to achieve things for God. But God wants us to realize our dependence on him. We can and are expected to do things for the kingdom of God. But we recognize in our work that God is sovereign and not us. In the same way, the power of prayer is the power of the God whom we pray to.

James five is a great chapter on this. But it actually points back to first Kings 17 when Elijah prays to God to shut up the heavens for rain for three and a half years. But the point is, it's not Elijah that turned off the rain in Israel for three and a half years. It's God. And it's the same with any of the sign gifts.

It's never about the prophet, it's about the provider. So when we pray to God, we are expectantly saying, God, I can't but you can. And I think most of us underestimate prayer because we forget who we are praying to and why. In our mind, we build up that idea of the sky man that needs to be placated through a daily routine and we rob ourselves of the opportunity to interact in relationship with our father, our creator, our redeemer and Lord. For most of us, if we struggle in prayer, we need to refocus on the relationship, which leads us to our second point that we'll look at today, which is the premise of prayer.

Jesus says, in my name. What does it mean to pray in Jesus name? Is that just a tagline that we throw on? Is it the Christian asterisk at the end of every prayer? Because it's not wrong to close a prayer that way or to open it that way.

But I think sometimes we forget what is fully implied by saying in Jesus name. By way of counter example, there's a famous prayer by the modern prophet, Janis Joplin. Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porsches. I must make amends.

If you've never heard of Janis Joplin, she's not a prophet, Was not a prophet. Look it up. It'll benefit you anyway. But even if even if Janis were to were to tack on in Jesus name to the end of that prayer, it's obviously not what Jesus is talking about here. Right?

Similar to the song that we sang today, and thank you Florine for that one. It was awesome. When we when we sing about we love to shout the name of God, we've lost concept of this in our modern in our modern times. In ancient times, the name, it was so much more than what we think about. So when we're shouting the name of Yahweh, when we're praying in the name of Jesus, it's to encompass the totality of who he is.

So is it wrong to ask for a nice car or a new job or if you can't get pregnant for a child or if you don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend for one of those or if you deeply desire to want to get married. It's not wrong to ask for those things in Jesus' name. But when we do so, we can have some awareness of what's going on in our hearts. And we give the underlying motivations of our hearts up to God as well. And then we keep an eye on how he answers that prayer.

Because to do something in Jesus name, that meant to do it with their authority in the way that they would do it and on their behalf. If somebody showed up and said that they were doing something in Caesar's name, that meant that they were doing it the way that Caesar would by his purposes and in his benefit. And it's the same way when we pray in Jesus name. And church, this is a big deal. Jesus is the eternal son of God, the instrument of all creation.

And we as his disciples were given the opportunity to live life as he lived and to pray as he prayed. I think we forget that. So when we pray in Jesus name, we're doing so in according to him as a whole person. And what did Jesus come to do? He came to display the manifold wisdom and goodness and love of God.

He came to reconcile sinners to him and to each other. And he came to restore the kingdom. And he came to die on a cross. And he called each and every one of us to do it after him. I need that reminder all the time that Jesus didn't come for my comfort or my happiness or my reputation.

Jesus came to restore me and all to the glory of God. Now Jesus himself, he also talked more about prayer than about any other specific spiritual discipline. And he modeled it for us, not just in the Lord's prayer, which is in Luke 11 and in Matthew six, but in the way that he often went alone to be with the father. And yet, how many of us that are his disciples have extended moments of solitude like that? If you're anything like me, the habit that I develop is kind of this like rushed morning prayer time where I ask God to do a bunch of things that I think are good things.

And then I go on about my day. Because in my mind I'm so busy and important that I buy into the lie that anything else I do could actually be more impactful than prayer. And it's hard. It's hard to not buy that lie. But when I take an honest look at how I actually spend my time, there is no excuse.

I was convicted by this John Piper quote, so you get to be as well, which is that one of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the last day that prayerlessness was not from a lack of time. You can get as uncomfortable as you want, it's going to stay on the screen. I would add Netflix or shopping or the news or whatever relevant blogs or podcasts. It's the same idea that our prayerlessness is not from a lack of time, it's for lack of conviction that I don't spend more time with the Lord. So that's kind of the long slow quiet time and we'll come back to this a little bit.

But then also throughout the day, I do what I kind of call walkie talkie prayers. I'm sure you guys do this as well, especially as summertime tourist traffic gets here. Welcome if you're from out of town. Please don't look at your phone. But I can go through my day and okay, God, I'm thinking to this person, God, you protect this person?

Would you lift this person up? God, would you bless this person in their California plates? God, would you help me be the man that you want me to be? But it's almost always perfunctory and rushed. Sometimes it's more inspired.

And those those walkie talkie prayers, those are a good thing. That show that is expressing dependence upon God. That is praying without ceasing. But it can turn out to be a little bit more like the neighbor who never really wants to develop time with you or develop a relationship, but they just wanna borrow your tools or help you load something into the truck. It just stays a shallow relationship.

Instead, prayer is like eating and a dedicated quiet time, that's like the big meal of the day. And these walkie talkie prayers, they're like little snacks. Now when you get busy, you can survive on snacks and fast food. But I think most of us have discovered at some point that's how you survive, but that's not how you thrive. And it's the same thing with our prayer life.

A good meal, a truly good meal is a feast. And we have a feast made available to us each and every day in the opportunity to spend time with our creator. And yet we walk past this beautiful Thanksgiving feast, and all we have to do is sit down and eat. But what about unanswered prayer? As the teacher up here, I made you guys uncomfortable with this quote.

But I guess we're leaving it. What about unanswered prayer? As a teacher, it would be easier for me to ignore this and move on. Let you guys just deal with it later. Go to gotquestions.org or something about it.

But I think the answer for this, because I because we've all done this. Right? We've all fervently asked God to do something in our lives and then we've not seen the results or the timeline that we would expect him to do even if it's something good. But I think the answer is right here in our key text for today. And we'll look at it again.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do so that the father may be glorified in the son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. So when we make these requests and God doesn't do anything, does it mean the requests were wrong? Does it mean Jesus is a liar? Or that we didn't get the formula right?

I hope by now you're seeing that that's not the case. But here's a helpful way to reframe that same question. Because this is based on the totality of scripture, but you can even focus in on like Romans eight twenty eight or Genesis 50. And if I've lost you, this is a great time to refocus back in because this is going to to do that. And And we're to do And The purpose of prayer is not to get God to satisfy your desires immediately, but to set your heart on the things that will satisfy your desires ultimately, which is to know him, to please him, to promote his glory, to serve him, to become the person he wants you to be, which in the end will make you glorious and happy.

The problem for so many of us, myself included, is that we are so short term oriented. But not God. God's eternal. And the crazy part is actually in ultimate reality so are we. But we forget it because we are bombarded with messages constantly trying to trying to stimulate our short term desires.

And then we freak out when we don't get that thing. How different would our prayer life be if we knew that this world would one day end and that everything will be subject to God's judgment be made right in his holy and perfect ways. Because that is our ultimate reality. But it's not our immediate reality. That's not the waters that we swim in every day when we walk outside these church doors.

So we have to use prayer to push back that darkness. Now maybe like me you've heard some of this before. Great. You say, what's the point? If God is already going to do whatever it is he's going to do, why should I bother?

Three points. Refer back to the first point. It's the for the relationship. Second, God tells us to and we are called to be obedient. So first John two four, if you love me you will keep my no that's anyway.

If we love him, we will keep his commandments. But God tells us to pray. So it's an act of obedience in developing that relationship. Here's the crazy thing is God knows what we need before we even ask according to Matthew six eight. But he delights in us asking.

And then third, there's this pattern in scripture and throughout history where God responds to prayer more directly than he does to non prayer. Now how prayer and and human free will and God's sovereignty interact, that is the subject of great debate and we're not gonna know it perfectly this side of eternity. Church, if God is the size of the Pacific Ocean and our brain is slightly bigger than a Coke can, there's just gonna be stuff that doesn't fit. And some of that's the beauty of God is recognizing that he is infinite and we are incredibly finite. So we pray because God tells us to and we pray because he wants us to.

And if you don't feel like praying in that moment, you can just remind yourself of who you are and who God is. That you were a sinner destined for righteous judgment and so was I. But now through Jesus, you are a child of God. So even when we pray for things that we assume have to be in God's will, we can do it with humility and keeping an eye on our heart that underlies the desire. So that's praying in Jesus name.

That's praying in the way that Christ himself did with that level of awareness. And that leads us to our last point, which is the purpose of prayer. That the father may be glorified in the son. How does the father get glory in the son when we pray and he grants whatever we ask in Jesus name? It's in love, church.

God loves you. He loves the people around you. He loved you so much that he sent his son to die for you. And he will not withhold or delay anything that is for your good and for his glory. One of my mentors, Todd Wagner used to always say, you need to know that God is not looking to rip you off.

He is looking to set you free. He will not withhold anything good from you. So when we pray, we're doing this amazing thing because of the nature of God that is like part warfare and part relationship. Now it's warfare in that each and every one of us are taking ground for the kingdom of God. Every single one of us that are committed to Christ, we are soldiers in a spiritual battle.

God is waging a war to reunite his heavenly family and his earthly family. And he will destroy all those that stand opposed to him. And we are soldiers in that battle. But right now, though the battle is actually already won, there is still an enemy. Do you know that thirty years after World War two ended, there were still a few Japanese soldiers hiding out in the jungle waging war?

The most famous example is a guy by the name of Hiro Enoda. Hiro was a young intelligence officer sent to The Philippines in 1944. Only a year later as the history buffs will remember, August '45, Japanese surrender. But Hiro and he had two other guys that were with him that actually died shortly thereafter. They didn't believe the pamphlets that were being dropped into the jungle saying the war is over, you can surrender, it's all safe to come out because they thought it was enemy American propaganda.

Hero continued to fight for thirty years, scavenging, getting in battles with the local police, with civilians, killed over 30 civilians. And it wasn't until thirty years later they got his former commanding officer to put on the old uniform and go to where Hero was and say, you have to surrender that he finally did. Now why do I tell you that? One, I think it's a really interesting story. And two, to illustrate that the war for heaven has already been won.

Death was defeated at the cross and the empty tomb. But we still have an enemy that fights even though he has lost. And so when we pray, we're communing with the victorious conquering king, but we're also we're calling in airstrikes. Right? And so when we fight in the trenches and this is so that's the warfare side.

The relationship side and this is why it's prayer is so unique. The relationship side is we are also affirming our special access to the king. So yeah, we're calling in airstrikes, but we're also calling in airstrikes as children. For example, let's say that I want to have a conversation with the President right now. Hop on a plane, go to DC, figure out where Trump's going to be, start running at him.

President Trump, President Trump, running at him. What's going to happen to me? Best case scenario I get tackled and have sore ribs. Worst case scenario I'm shot and probably next Sunday there's going to be guys in suits asking funny questions of all of you. But who can break in on the President without an appointment?

Who can kick in the door in the middle of the night and ask for a cold glass of water? It's their children. You've probably seen this famous picture of JFK with JFK Jr. Working at the door of the Resolute desk. What if JFK's Secretary of State had done that during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Right? There is special access in being child a child of the president and certainly of the king. When that kid is sick, in the middle of the night, no matter what's going on, he's coming in. And it's the same for us with God. Now I'm never gonna be a president or a cabinet member or anything that elevated.

But I love it when my kids rightly ask me for good things. And it's the same with God because we are his children. Jesus tells a story to that end during the sermon on the mount in Matthew seven nine through 11. He says, which of you if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, 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 knows what we need before we even ask him. My kids love Shake Shack. Love it. And Shake Shack is fine.

But anytime we're on the road, we go to an airport or we're driving by one, I can see it coming, know, because thankfully I have slightly better awareness than my eight and nine year old. And I can see it coming. I know what they're gonna ask me for. They are go dad dad dad dad dad. It's like, yes.

I see it. We're going. Because I love to give my kids the things they ask for. Because I love for them to ask their father for good things. How much more, even though I'm evil, how much more our heavenly father?

So we're encouraged to bring God our short term needs, but we also we need to invest in the whole relationship because the whole thing can't be about short term needs. A lot of you know my wife, Natalie. We're in a time of life that is full. I don't like to use the word busy. But we can get by most of the time coordinating with text messages, with shared calendars, AI assistance and quick phone calls.

But if Natalie and I don't sit down and spend time together without an agenda just talking and listening to each other, then we're not in a marriage, we're in a cooperative partnership. And it's the same with God. If I only ever ask him for stuff and direct him to things, even good things that I'd like to see him do, I'm treating him like a genie in a lamp or like a manager or an employee. Because we get to know God more when we don't just study him, but when we contemplate him and through prayer invite him into our lives. And paradoxically, and this is the tip for you type A you will actually achieve more when you spend more of your time with God.

Because what can we work on that actually lasts eternity? It's the kingdom of God. Jesus referred to this in John 15 when he said, if you abide in me. When we abide in Christ, we will actually accomplish more of the things that matter. Because what two things are actually eternal?

God and people. The irony is when we pray more, abide more, we actually achieve more of the things that matter just like Jesus said. I've developed this axiom over the last couple of years that's been really helpful in my life, which is that I am no longer trying to just be clever and productive. And here's where the axiom starts. I just want to be faithful with the inputs and trust God with the outcomes.

If the outcomes are up to me, I get stressful, I get anxious, and I'm not a lot of fun to be around. But I can trust God with the outcomes to work for the kingdom. And that's why Jesus came. That's why you are still here. Each and every one of us to run a rescue mission, to run a hospital, to commune with our savior and introduce others to him.

So those are our three points for today. Power of prayer, whatever you ask. Premise of prayer in my name. Purpose of prayer that the father may be glorified in the son. Now the practice of prayer.

How do we put this into practice? Key takeaway from all this is that if you're feeling convicted right now, if you're like, oh, I really should be doing that. Don't get caught up in the shoulds. I don't want you to try harder. If you try harder, God will honor that, it'll grow something out of it.

But the Christian way is not moralism. The Christian way, the way that we grow is we fall more in love with Christ. And then out of that love, we become more like him. So engage in prayer, absolutely. But the better way is to want to pray more.

We have to get our hearts to that desire. I had a lot of best practices and tips and tricks and techniques around prayer written out. But I scrapped all of it because the the core goal for today is not information, it's transformation, not behavioral modification. We are looking for heart transformation. So what do you do?

If you don't know how to pray, if you're somebody that this has never been a part of your life, just start. I promise you three weeks, use a little bit of discipline, but set your heart on Christ. Start every day thinking about who he is and who you are and your need for him. Pray every day for twenty one days. I guarantee it'll change your life.

Just start. Just talk to God. Some things to keep in mind though as we talk to him is that he is king and yet he is your father. So we can be reverent and yet honest. That means we don't have to pray in the formality of the King James.

Right? We don't have to thee, thou, and thy. Right? Talk to God. Be like a child as Jesus exhorted us to over and over again.

A good child is respectful and yet honest, has no guile, has no hidden agenda, calls it like it is but does so respectfully. Then if we're looking to add structure to our prayer, if we want to add balance, acts, cat's model is the classic. Adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, ACTS, adoration. This is you telling yourself and telling God who God is to you. God is awesome and it's our job to say it.

Pretty straightforward. Confession, who you are. Telling the truth about yourself and to God. Said it right. About who you are.

It's admitting your need for a savior. But all the same time recognizing that abundant grace and mercy has flowed out for you. First John one nine, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will purify us from all unrighteousness. So good. T, Thanksgiving, gratitude.

Just thank God for things. It's a lot of this doesn't have to be hard. It'll develop over time. And I think I've mentioned this before, but did you know that neuropsychology has proven that you cannot be both grateful and anxious at the same time? What a cure for our anxious generation.

If you are battling anxiety, start in that moment by thinking of three to five things that you are grateful for. And thank God for them. And they don't have to be crazy big idea holy stuff. So yes, thank you God for the rain. Thank you for the rain on the land.

Thank you that like modern clothes are really comfortable compared to what you see in ancient times. Thank you for air conditioning. You ever thank God for air conditioning? It's awesome and it gets rid of your anxiety in multiple ways. Then supplication.

Notice this is last on the list. This is petitioning and asking God for stuff. This is where we tend to run to and it's not wrong. It just can't be the whole thing as I think I've said over and over again. So ask God, be aware of what's on your heart.

Ask God to do things in your life. Don't shy away from it. Just be aware that he is sovereign and we are not. Last, I have a really detailed prompt, prayer prompt sheet. You purposely can't read that.

When I'm struggling with what to pray, I have this sheet. It redirects my heart towards God and also helps me work through the things in supplication that I want to be covering on a regular basis. Email me, I'll cross off some names and send it to you so you can just use the template, use it as a format template. We'd you don't all need to know John Hammond's personal sin struggles. See?

But I wanna be careful about stuff like this because discipline for the sake of discipline is how we end up being Pharisees. Don't do that. We don't do anything for our self righteousness. We don't do anything to be seen in righteousness by others. We do it to develop our heart and our love and our relationship with God.

And then we live out of that righteousness. Last, and and we'll close with this. Is it the the Lord's prayer in your own words? I love this one. So you pop open Luke 11 or Matthew six.

Read the Lord's prayer out out loud and then say it back to God again in your own words. Here's mine that I wrote when prepping for this. Takes two minutes. Now I'll invite Lisa and to come up and play a little bit and the band, and then I'm gonna close with a quick comment. So bow with me in prayer here.

God, you are amazing. All things shout your glory, and I should praise you with everything that I have. Because you have a good plan for all things to be according to your will and subject to you, and I want to be a part of that happening on both heaven and earth. But I need your provision, Lord. My job, my family, this church, none of this works if you don't make it work.

Would you take care of what I need, and I'll just try to work faithfully. Father, forgive me. I fall short of your perfect standard, and I have a heart that is an idle factory and makes my desires supreme and not yours. Make me sensitive to the impressions of the Holy Spirit. Help me show the same grace and mercy to those around me, And Lord, protect me from the enemy.

Help me recognize his lies. I wanna be on mission for you. Help me, God. Thank you for what you've done and what you're already going to do through Jesus. Thank you that you are working in ways that I cannot even begin to comprehend or see, But I trust you in Jesus' name.

Now because it's me and we're running a little bit late, I do wanna give you an opportunity. It's raining. You don't have anywhere to go. I wanna give you a couple of minutes to practice this right now. So Lisa's gonna continue to play for a couple of minutes.

And I want each and every one of you to do business with God for the next two minutes. I want you if you have never prayed with him, I want you to pray with him. If you don't have a relationship with him, I want you to ask for one. If you want to build your prayer life, I want you to ask him right now for help in this. Then the band is gonna start to play us out, and we'll have a great week of worship.

Let's all now talk to our God individually in prayer for just a couple of minutes.

Speaker 2Praise the Lord. Thank you, Lisa. Oh, that was so beautiful. Will you please stand up and let's worship the Lord with one more song? I will in heaven for eternity, I I wanna play all the instruments, but piano will be the first choice.

Let's worship God. Amen? Amen. Praise the Lord. I think there's no verse at the end as usual.

Okay. And whatever you do in in word, in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through him. Amen. May the Lord bless you. Have a great Sunday.

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Anxiety Prayer Spiritual Discipline Talking To God Unanswered Prayer Why Pray

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