How Much More

We Have A "How Much More" God!

Let me recap a couple messages we recently heard on this most powerful topic. 

I. The petitioning of prayer. 

We must purpose to ASK of Him in prayer.

Matthew 7:7 

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:"

II. The proximity of prayer. 

We must purpose to be one of the EVERY ONE who asks of Him in prayer. 

Matthew 7:8

"For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

 

III. The precision in prayer. 

We must realize God is very good at answering SPECIFICS in our prayers to Him.

Matthew 7:9-10

"Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?"

IV. The person of prayer. 

We must see God as an even better FATHER than the best fathers that have ever lived!

Matthew 7:11

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

We can count on the "How Much More God" as we dial His phone number...Jeremiah 33:3.

Jeremiah 33:3

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

Note what we see in Jeremiah 33:3:

• The privilege of prayer
• The promise of prayer
• The power of prayer
• The possibilities of prayer

You can listen to this message by clicking here.

As we jump over to another message we heard in our series, "How Much More," we are challenged with the MODEL Prayer.

I. Jesus: Our greatest illustration in prayer. 

Luke 11:1

"And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."

• "He was praying"
• He had "a certain place"
• All intense prayers have an end
• Jesus’ praying was contagious

II. Jesus: The greatest instructor of prayer.

Luke 11:2-4

"And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."

• He didn’t avoid the topic
• He assumes the student will fulfill the desire to pray “When ye pray"
• He teaches relationship in prayer “our Father”
• He teaches reverence in prayer "Hallowed be thy name”
• He teaches recognition in prayer 
• “thy kingdom come”
• “thy will be done”
• “Give us this day our daily bread”
• He teaches reconciliation in prayer
• He teaches rescue in prayer

III. Jesus: Our greatest illustrator of prayer.

Luke 11:5-13

"And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

Note the three following truths we learn about this passage concerning the power of prayer.

• Importunity - keep knocking and keep asking.
• Practicality - it was a simple need that one had the ability to meet.
• Ability - God's ability and resources are greater than any man's...trust Him. Pray to Him!

Conclusion:

You will never experience the “how much more” God of prayer until you pray. 

My dear friend co-authoered a book years ago entitled, “Prayer: Just Do It.” And I believe the very reason we will never know God like Matthew and Luke submit we can, is because we simply do not or will not pray. 

The greatest tragedy in the Christian life is not unanswered prayer, but, rather, it is un-offered prayer.

So we conclude with a simple invitational prayer by copying a disciple of Christ and asking, “Lord, Teach Us To Pray."

You can listen to this message by clicking here.

Thanks for reading! God bless you!

Blessed Beyond Measure,

Pastor Justyn Smith • CrossroadsPeoria.com