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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Jonathan Zita

Secrets To Answered Prayer

Our loving Father in heaven, a blessing, a privilege to enter your throne room by faith and to know that you're not only here but that you actually care.

Father, we invite your presence now in our midst this afternoon.

We pray, O Lord, that we may sense the power of your Holy Spirit convicting, converting our hearts, deepening our commitment to you and our understanding of truth.

I pray once again that you may forgive us for any sin we may have committed and empty our hearts of selfishness and pride and may we be open vessels for you to speak and pour out your spirit in.

I pray that as we I speak about prayer may be you that speak O Lord.

Hide me O lord and may you be lifted up in Jesus name I thought first summer when I went I saw first summer when I went to do canvassing or knocking on doors selling religious books.

Remember I was about 16 years old and then although I am a PK or a pastor's kid, when I went out there I begin to realize I didn't know much what was prayer or what was faith and I thought I was a spiritual person but when I actually you're out there and you're nobody and people are slamming the doors in your face doesn't matter anymore what people thought of you back home everything kind of is in a different perspective And I learned many things that summer.

I remember 1 particular door I went to, I knocked at the door and a lady came and I was able to share with her some of the books that we had.

In the end she invited me in and she decided to get 2 books 1 Bible readings for the home and 1 steps to Christ and after it was just a typical conversation typical sale I would say and after I say you know lady is it okay if I can pray with you before I go she said sure So I prayed for her And at the end of the prayer she just started weeping And it was just me in the house, me and her, and I felt a little bit uncomfortable because there's 1 thing when there's a little tear in the eye, and that happens quite often when you're canvassing and you're praying for people.

But she wasn't just teary-eyed, she was literally weeping.

I didn't know what to do and finally when she got a hold of herself, she says John God sent you to my house today.

I said, praise God, God sends me to every home.

She says, no, God sent you to my house today.

She said, For months I've been praying, and it seems that my prayer doesn't go past the ceiling.

And I've been praying about this particular thing, and God is not hearing, and maybe God doesn't care.

And she says, For the last time, I got on my knees this morning and I say God I don't even know if you exist but if you exist and if you care I want you to send someone to my house today I'm turning my back on you forever." And she looked at me and says, and you're here.

I was only 16, but I remember like it was yesterday, stepping out and looking up to the sky and seeing the stars.

And for the first time in my life, I began to realize that God is a personal God.

He didn't put things into place and just kind of make things.

And I know we don't believe that theologically but many of us live our lives as if that is the case.

That God actually cares to be able to condescend and to be able to hear this prayer and to be able to make everything just happen just right.

To use this young kid that is not even converted or has not surrendered his life to God, but still use him in spite of his faults to be able to be an answer to that lady's prayer.

And that day I began to realize 2 things.

But 2, it made me think, what if I decided to stay home and watch TV that summer?

What if a few days before just I wanted to quit canvassing and I did want to quit because it was such a difficult work What if I decide to go home?

Are there other people like that that are praying and that?

We are supposed to be the answer to their prayer, But because we are not serious about our work for God Some people turn their backs on God forever Anyways there was a lesson for me about prayer and I begin to realize man prayer is a Serious thing if this lady didn't fully believe in God But she was able to kneel and to plead and pour her heart and God answer how much more Myself who has an understanding of the Word of God understanding of Scripture How much more should God answer my prayer if I understand a little bit more clearly what he expects of me.

Contrast that experience with another experience I had.

I was trying to speak to a young lady that I guess we kind of grew up with and she had decided not to go to church anymore she had turned her back on God and somehow the story came out he says John you know I decided to put God to the test to be faithful to Him.

He says, there came a point in my life where I was going to school and I didn't have enough money to be able to pay rent and pay tithe or return tithe.

It was either I return tithe and I'm on the streets or I pay my rent and I don't return tithe.

Because I made a decision that day that I would return my tithe and test God and I returned my tithe and God never came through for me.

And so I don't want to do anything to no do with this God.

And sometimes when I hear stories like that, it blows me away.

And this is within the context of secret to answer prayer how come on 1 hand this is somebody I think to be faithful and returning and she gets kicked out of into the street on the other hand is this lady that doesn't even really believe in god and she pleads up to God and God takes this kid that is not even converted and sends on a wild goose chase to the right house at the right time to be able to answer her prayer.

Today I want to go through certain points that I've put together on secrets to answers prayer.

The more that I study about prayer, the more I realize that there are conditions to answer prayer.

And in times of ignorance maybe God winks at things, but when he has revealed to us his will through his word there are conditions to answer prayer I didn't know how many people would be here today so I don't know if I have enough handouts but since you guys are all Christians you can share amen and maybe we can have somebody help me spread these out.

So if you're like a couple or if you're like friends maybe you can kind of share.

And by the way, just to make it clear, this is something I've just, as I've been studying, these are certain points that have helped me in my life, but as I was coming on the plane I was saying, man, maybe I should have taken out the numbers, because I do not want, this is not a checklist, this is not, yeah, I did that, uh-huh, uh-huh, okay, now God, it's time for you to answer me.

So this is not a checklist that you go down and you check and make sure that your life complies and then therefore.

These are certain principles, godly principles that has helped me in my Christian life.

There are, I'm sure there are many more principles out there that we can, that we can find.

But these are certain principles that have helped me.

So if you see me taking time with 1 principle, don't be scared, okay?

We're just going to go through a few of them and you can go through the rest on your...

Believe God exists and that He is who He says He is.

Or believe God exists as He has revealed Himself to us.

Verse 6 says, But without faith it is impossible to please Him.

For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

And so number 1, it is very elementary, but we must believe that God is as He has revealed Himself to us.

You know, there are many people that believe that God is, but their perception of God is so distorted that it influences if they even come to God or not.

If you see God as a tyrant or somebody that is there simply to punish you, or maybe your picture of God is the picture that you have of your father, that is maybe not a Christian.

Sometimes that will determine how you view God.

Many times that will determine if you even will come to God.

And so just because you believe God exists, that is not enough.

You must believe that God exists as He has revealed Himself to us.

Last night I spoke to you about a woman that I did Bible studies with that just could not see God as someone that she could trust someone that she could open herself to and So the first secret to answer prayer we must believe that God is as he has revealed himself to us and he is the rewarder it says of those that diligently what?

We read this quote this morning, God does not say ask once and you shall receive.

Unwillingly persistent prayer, the persistent asking brings the petitioner into a more earnest attitude and gives him an increased desire to receive the things for which he asked.

And so it's not an issue of just praying in the morning, praying for mealtime, and praying at night.

In 1 Thessalonians 5, 17 it says, Pray without what?

I remember there was a dear old lady in 1 of the churches and she was complaining.

She said, you know, when I cook and I measure, I'm trying to measure and pray at the same time and I get my bread all mixed up and it doesn't come out really good.

And we tried to explain to her, listen lady, it's an attitude of prayer, if you can keep your mind open, speak to God, as you are mixing, you can speak to God or you can listen to the lessons that God may have to speak to you.

You don't always have to be kneeling to be able to pray, right?

So there's this concept of diligent seeking it's not just morning noon and night it's not just devotion time and we're pretty good at that and it's not just when things go bad you know sometimes I don't know if you have friends that that only call you when things go bad.

Or are you like that with your parents sometimes?

I used to have a, there was a dean in college that the only time you would come around is when you would mess up.

You know, so if he came to your room you knew you're in trouble and sometimes we're like that with God I mean we have our set time with him but there's not that continue and then when we really need God oh man now we pray now we earnestly seek him that is not diligence Diligence is this constant effort, constant prayer, an attitude of prayer.

Number 3, if we can turn to Mark chapter 11, Mark chapter 11, verse 25.

The Bible says, verse 25 the Bible says and we Jesus speaking when you stand praying forgive if you have odd against any that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive your trespass.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses have a spirit of forgiveness You know that I believe that is 1 of the main sins That is keeping God's Spirit from being poured out Because of somebody in your life that you just have not learned to forgive.

And I believe that we can still come to church, pay our, return our tithe and be good Christians because I avoid that person or that person doesn't even live in this city and some people, they're dead but in our hearts we still hold grudge against them.

And God is not able to pour out his spirit upon us because of that.

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Secrets To Answered Prayer

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