New Durham
Baptist Church

When I was last with you on Sunday April 15, I talked about the church in Antioch that sent out Paul and Barnabus on the first missionary journey. I mentioned the three things that that great church at Antioch did upon sending out Saul and Barnabus.

They:

-Prayed, Acts 13 says that they fasted and prayed for them.

-Partnered, they laid their hands on them symbolizing their association with what they were called to do.

-Parted, they sent them from that local assembly to do the work which the Holy Spirit of God called them to do.

I want to look at one thing today as we prepare next week to begin our annual mission conference here at New Durham Baptist Church. It’s the one thing that everyone in this church can and should do in preparation, not only for the missionaries coming, but for us to get our hearts right with God to see what He wants us to do as an assembly to help spread the Gospel around the world.

That one thing is "prayer"!!

I have an insert put in your bulletin today that I want every one of you to take with you this week and pray over daily. It has a listing of all of our missionaries that we presently support and then a list of the missionaries who are coming to speak this year, some who we presently do not support. (Read some names off this list)

I want us as a church to bath this list in prayer. If you can only do it once a day, that’s fine, but if you can pray twice or three times a day, that’s even better. I want us to spend as much time with God this week as you possibly can. Why?

Because prayer is vitally important to the work of the ministry!!!!!

I want you to see several important things about prayer this morning.

#1) We Need to Pray:

Paul knew the importance of prayer. The church at Antioch prayed and fasted when they sent out the first missionaries from their church. Acts 13:3 says,

"And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away."

When Paul was preaching in Corinth, he asked the church at Thessalonica if they would pray for him. Look again at II Thessalonians 3:1-2,

"Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith."

**Charles Spurgeon was preaching one time on prayer and he quoted another preacher named Henry Martin and said this,

"A workman in time of need would part with everything before his tools; for to lose them would be to lose all. Reading the Word of God and prayer are the tools of the Christian's craft; without them he is helpless. How is it then, that when time presses, he so often foregoes these, or shortens them? What is this but to sell his tools? If there be anything I do, if there be anything I leave undone, let me be perfect in prayer."

Jesus Himself told us that,

"men ought always to pray, and not to faint" In fact Jesus gave His apostles two stories that demonstrated the importance of praying with importunity. (Luke 11:8; 18:1)

Remember that Jesus’ disciples didn’t ask Him to teach Him how to do miracles, or how to walk on water, or how to turn water into wine. They asked Him in Luke 11:1,

"Lord teach us to pray."

Someone once wrote that "Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath! And said that the church must be near to dying of asphyxiation, because never before in the history of the church has prayer taken such a low profile and level of unimportance!!

 

There are many organizers, but few agonizers;

Many who pay, but few who pray.

Many are enterprising, but few are interceding;

Many are entertaining, but few intervening.

Don't mistake action for unction, commotion for emotion, reprisals for revivals.

The secret of praying is praying in secret.

When payment has been made, the place is taken, when prayer has been made, the place is shaken.

In the realm of effective praying, never have so many left so much to so few.

Tithes may build a church, BUT TEARS WILL GIVE IT LIFE.

Anything that the Lord blesses will first have to be bathed in prayer!! We need to covenant together as an assembly and as a family to pray for our mission conference.

**Story:

Prayer Path:

In one region of Africa, the first converts to Christianity were very diligent about praying. In fact, the believers each had their own special place outside the village where they went to pray in solitude. The villagers reached these "prayer rooms" by using their own private footpaths through the brush. When grass began to grow over one of these trails, it was evident that the person to whom it belonged was not praying very much.

Because these new Christians were concerned for each other’s spiritual welfare, a unique custom sprang up. When ever anyone noticed an overgrown "Prayer path," he or she would go to the person and lovingly warn, "Friend, there’s grass on your path!"

????-How many of us have grass on our path??? When is the last time that you prayed for an hour or two or three and cried out to God??

We sing the hymn, "Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer" and we can barely stay awake and discipline ourselves for five minutes of prayer.

And that’s why we don’t have the same results that the Lord had and the early New Testament church had!!!!!!!!

Paul said, "finally brethren, pray for us."

Paul knew firsthand the importance of prayer. He knew that if the Word of God was going to have free course, he needed prayer from God’s people. If our missionaries desire one thing more than anything else, it is that we pray for them!!!!

D.L Moody once said,

"When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; when we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do, and so on. Nor am I disposed to undervalue any of these things in their proper place, but when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do."

#1) We simply need to just pray!!!!!

#2) We need to pray Effectually:

James 5:14-16 says,

"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

The Greek word used for effectual fervent prayer in James 5:16 is "energeo", which we get the word energy or energize. One commentator says,

"This kind of prayer referred to here is not listless, indifferent, cold, lifeless, as if there were no vitality in it, or power, but that which is adapted to be efficient--earnest, sincere, hearty, and persevering."

What James is saying is that we need to not only pray, but to pray with fervency, energy, desire and compassion!

Psalm 126:5-6 says,

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

 

Story's:

**The prayer of Jabez moved the heart of missionary John Hyde to pray with great faith, expecting answers to his prayers. As a result, he became known as Praying Hyde and the world still feels the impact of his powerful life.

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman once wrote to a friend, telling of Praying Hyde's influence on him. He had been holding meetings in England, but the attendance had been disappointingly small. Then he received word that Praying Hyde was going to pray down God's blessing upon him and his work. As a result of Hyde's powerful praying, the tide soon turned and the meeting hall became packed with people. At Chapman's first public invitation, fifty men received Christ as their Savior.

Relating the story, Chapman said: As we were leaving I said, "Mr. Hyde, I want you to pray for me." He came to my room, turned the key in the door, and dropped to his knees, and waited five minutes without a single syllable coming from him lips. I could hear my own heart thumping, and his beating. I felt hot tears running down my face. I knew I was with God. Then with upturned face, down which the tears were streaming, he said, "O God." Then for five minutes at least he was still again; and then, when he knew that he was talking with God, there came from the depths of his heart such petitions for me as I had never heard before. I rose from my knees to know what real prayer was."

*James Duncan, preaching with great unction and power, was asked what was the secret of such powerful preaching. "The secret," he said, was "thirteen hours of consecutive prayer."

*When asked the secret of his spiritual power, Charles Spurgeon said: "Knee work! Knee work!"

*Livingston of Shotts, on two different occasions, preached with such power that in each service 500 were converted. Both sermons were preceded by a night of prayer.

*Charles Finney, after spending a day in the woods in prayer and fasting, preached that night in a phenomenally irreligious congregation. The sermon was accompanied by such divine power that the whole congregation, except one man, fell prostrate upon the floor, and voiced their agony under conviction of sin, in such loud outcries that the preacher was forced to stop.

*Of "Uncle" John Vassar, The Tract Society colporteur, his pastor says: "He absolutely prayed day and night -- prayed about everything, prayed for almost everything, prayed with almost everybody he met. He prayed when he went out and when he came in. He prayed before every religious service, and then prayed all the way through it. I have occupied the same room with him night after night, and rarely went to sleep without hearing him in prayer, or awoke without finding him in prayer."   

In Luke chapter 22 we have recorded the fervent effectual prayer of our Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane where the Bible says in verse 44,

"And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

Listen folks, if we are going to see the mighty hand of God in our generation, then we are going to have to do it the Bible way, and that is through fervent effectual prayer!!!!!!!!!!!!

#1) We need to pray

#2) We need to pray fervently, effectually, energetically.

#3) We Need to Pray Specifically:

Look again at what Paul asked for prayer for in II Thessalonians chapter three and verse one.

"Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course"

The word used in the original for "free course" means to "run." Paul is asking for prayer that the preaching of the Gospel would have nothing holding it back and that it might run free and unhindered as it reached into the hearts of the lost who are hearing it.

One commentator put it like this,

"The idea is, that it might meet with no obstruction, but that it might be carried abroad with the rapidity of a racer out of whose way every hindrance was removed. The gospel would spread rapidly in the earth if all the obstructions which men have put in its way were removed; and that they may be removed should be one of the constant subjects of prayer."

Next Paul asks them to pray for divine protection in verse two when he says,

"And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith."

God wants us to be specific in our prayers so that when He answers them we know that it was only Him that could’ve done it.

We pray too many general prayers like,

"Lord bless all the missionaries" or

"Lord help people to get saved"

God wants to show Himself strong and wants us to ask for specific needs that only He can supply. In Ephesians chapter three Paul said that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think!!!!!!

***Story:

Things looked bleak for the children of George Muller's orphanage at Ashley Downs in England. It was time for breakfast, and there was no food. A small girl whose father was a close friend of Muller was visiting in the home. Muller took her hand and said, "Come and see what our Father will do."

In the dining room, long tables were set with empty plates and empty mugs. Not only was there no food in the kitchen, but there was no money in the home's account. Muller prayed, "Dear Father, we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat."

Immediately, they heard a knock at the door. When they opened it, there stood the local baker. "Mr. Muller," he said, "I couldn't sleep last night. Somehow I felt you had no bread for breakfast, so I got up at 2 o'clock and baked fresh bread. Here it is." Muller thanked him and gave praise to God. Soon, a second knock was heard. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. He said he would like to give the children the milk so he could empty the cart and repair it.

-We need to pray

-We need to pray fervently and effectually

-We need to pray specifically

What I want and I know that the Lord wants is to see New Durham Baptist Church be a very strong mission minded church that is willing to be used of God to see the Gospel go to the ends of the earth. We must pray, we must pray fervently, we must pray specifically for God to help us to do all that we can as a church to help send missionaries to the ends of the earth.

That may mean that God wants us to go, or our children to go, or our prayers to go, or our finances to go, or some of our members to go. Whatever it is, we need to say "yes" to God and allow Him to work in our lives that His will would be done.

Sometimes I think that when we pray, we pray "Lord send so and so" or "Lord please help me to win the lottery so that I can give to missions"

And God is saying, "I don’t need your money, or for you to pray for someone else, I need you."

God wants us each to just say that we will do whatever it is that He wants us to do!!!!!

That should be the prayer of every believer in this church today. Will you surrender to the Lord and let Him tell you what He wants you to do.

Like the Hymn says,

"But we never can prove the delights of His love until ALL on the altar we lay;

For the favor He shows and the joy He bestows, are for them who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

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