Text: James 5:13-20

Topic: How to understand prayer

Introduction:

• Illustration: May begins by quoting D.L. Moody about desiring to know how to pray more than to know how to preach.

• Jesus taught his disciples how to pray because prayer is the most important aspect of our lives.

• Big Idea: Prayer teaches us to depend on God.

• James 5:13

• Illustration: May illustrates a crisis-prayer only attitude through a joke about a man who prayed for help, but then told God, "Never mind," when help arrived.

• When we're happy, sad, troubled, and sick, we need to take our concerns and our joys to God.

• Philippians 4:6

• 1 Peter 5:7

• 1 Thessalonians 5:17

• Ephesians 6:18

• As far as God is concerned, there are no unimportant parts of your life—everything about you is important to him, and the Bible urges you to pray about everything.

• The more we can be open and honest with one another about our weaknesses, the more of the power of God we can experience.

• Matthew 18:19-20

• Illustration: May summarizes a story from Richard Foster's book, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, about a girl who was healed when a group prayed for her.

• James 5:14,16

Prayer makes a difference.

• James 5:15

• While the Bible makes bold promises regarding answered prayer, we mustn't let ourselves give into the temptation of thinking that God has surrendered control of the universe to us.

• James 5:16

• Illustration: May compares God's answers to our prayers to his answer's to his children's requests—sometimes love means giving what is best, not giving what they ask for.

• James 4:2

• Some of the things we ask for may be good, but they don't fit into the big picture.

• We can ask for anything we want with the absolute assurance that he will only give us what is best.

• Illustration: May quotes lyrics from the Garth Brooks song, "Unanswered Prayers," illustrating how God's "no" can truly work out for our best.

• 1 John 5:14-15

Conclusion:

• Do you know what prayer comes down to? Prayer is depending on God.