Revival Praying – 6

 Revival Praying – 6

Subject – Giving Thanks as a Big Part of Our Praying

By Rick Welborne

Philippians 4:4-9 (NKJV)
⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
⁵  Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
⁷  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
⁸  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.
⁹  The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. 

--With thanksgiving…The Apostle Paul was exhorting us to not be afraid but to pray. How many of you know it is easy with what is going on in our world to be afraid?

--Paul was definitely telling the church at Philippi to pray but he wants them to understand one of the greatest keys to approaching God…approaching Him with thanksgiving.

--Many of us without doubt approach God with our list of things we want Him to do and unfortunately, many times, we forget to thank God in advance for what we are asking Him to do. 

--There is no telling how many times I have read our text and how many times I have preached these verses. But Holy Spirit is so faithful to highlight what we need to see when we need to see it. Verse 9.

Philippians 4:9 (NKJV)
⁹  The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. 

--The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do. These words jumped off the page as I considered our Revival Praying and I thought about us being thankful.

--No disciple of Christ, as far as I can tell, suffered more than Paul and he encourages us to emulate his life. Not necessarily all his pain, but his attitude toward it. 

--We, most of the time, pray for ourselves or others for God to deliver us or them from what we are suffering but not Paul. Consider when he was toward the end of his life.

Acts 20:22-25 (NKJV)
²²  And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,
²³  except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
²⁴  But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
²⁵  And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.

--Our human response to these things is to pray against them, rebuke them, not to submit ourselves to them like Paul. It goes against much of what the church has taught for years.

 Acts 21:12-14 (NKJV)
¹²  Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.
¹³  Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
¹⁴  So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, "The will of the Lord be done."

1. The Lord’s will be done.

--What a concept! What an idea! When Paul wouldn’t listen to the saints they finally prayed, “The will of the Lord be done.”

--I have actually heard people say that praying that prayer is a lack of faith and a sign of weakness. What about Jesus? Didn’t He pray that prayer three times in the garden?

Matthew 26:42 (NKJV)
⁴² …He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."

--I personally do not believe it is a lack of faith but an act of submission. Jesus asked the Father, if it was possible, for Him to be delivered but when He understood it was not to be so…Your will be done.

--Could it be possible that we are praying the wrong prayer when we or our brothers or sisters are going through adversity? We may be working against the plan of God to pray they get delivered. What?

--If we would have been there when Joseph was thrown into a pit, falsely accused in Potiphar’s house, thrown in prison, we would have probably tried to rescue him.

--Let’s say we did rescue him. Who would have made it to the number two leadership in Egypt and ended up saving the then known world from starvation? Even God’s people.

--What about Paul, when he was shipwrecked, when he was being beaten, when he was being stoned, and when he was put in prison? Would we have the prison epistles? Two-thirds of the New Testament?

1 Peter 4:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹  Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

--What if, as soon as I got sick a few weeks ago, if I would have been immediately healed instead of spending three nights in the hospital? Would I have been blessed? Yes!

--But as it was with Joseph and with Paul, it is not always all about us. This new gospel seems to be that way. God is always thinking about the lost and we should be too.

--The next time you face a sickness, a trial, great adversity, just ask the Lord who does He want to touch, save, or encourage. Then, submit yourself to the will of God. He will take care of you when the time is right.

2. Pray in the Spirit (Holy Spirit).

Romans 8:26-28 (NIV)
²⁶  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
²⁷  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
²⁸  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

--I see five things in these three verses that are very important if we will do Revival Praying or spiritual battle as we intercede.

A. Holy Spirit is available to help us in our weakness, sickness, or adversity.

B. Holy Spirit is available to help us when we do not know what to pray. He intercedes for us.

C. Holy Spirit knows what is in our hearts and will work on our behalf.

D. Holy Spirit prays through us in accordance with God’s will. God, your will be done.

E. Holy Spirit is working with the Father to make sure things turn out for our good.

--Many times when I am praying for my family or you guys, I don’t know what to pray so I pray in the Spirit knowing that I am praying the will of God and knowing I am praying for your good. 

--Example: Pastor, pray for my son to get out of jail so he can get help. Well, I don’t know if God wants him out of jail. He may be where God’s wants him to get his attention. 

--So many times Holy Spirit wants to intervene in behalf of our loved ones but He can’t because we intervene for them according to our will and what we think is best. We don’t know. Holy Spirit does.

3. Prayer with thanksgiving. 

Philippians 4:6 (NKJV)
⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

--What Paul is saying here is that at the same time you are asking, you should be thanking God even before the answer comes. Thanks to God sets you up for more opportunities to say thanks.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 (NKJV)
¹⁶  Rejoice always, ¹⁷  pray without ceasing, ¹⁸  in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.

--These verses tie everything together. Your will be done. What’s His will? Rejoicing, praying continuously, giving thanks, and not quenching Holy Spirit. These are keys to bringing God glory.

--In everything not for everything, give thanks. I didn’t feel led to thank God for being in the hospital, but in my situation, in the hospital, in the harvest field, I felt the need to thank Him. To worship Him.

Psalm 105:1-4 (NKJV)
¹  Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!
²  Sing to Him, sing Psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!
³  Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!
⁴  Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!