Call Unto Me: Points on Prayer

The following study is the kind of Bible teaching I like, where a text is picked apart phrase by phrase, its meaning explained, relevant Bible principles from other scriptures brought to bear on the subject, and it is all applied to the life of the believer.  You could call this an "expository" study if you also examined the context, as I did when I delivered this lesson on a recent Sunday evening.  The context (going back into prior chapters) is not on this outline, however.  For more on expository preaching and other sermon types, read this post.

Call Unto Me: Points on Prayer

Jeremiah 33:3

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

Prayer is Commanded – “Call unto Me!”
Reasons people don’t pray about some things:

• “I don’t want to bother God with little things.”
• Answer: “Give us this day our daily bread…”
• “I don’t have time to pray.”
• Answer: “You don’t have time NOT to pray!”
• "I have so much business, I can not get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.” — Martin Luther

Quotes on the necessity of prayer:

• “God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.” — John Wesley
• “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” — Oswald Chambers
• “A day without prayer is a day without blessing, and a life without prayer is a life without power.” — Edwin Harvey

Summary: Prayer is commanded. The prayerless Christian is a Christian in sin.

Prayer is Personal - “Call unto ME”
The saved have a personal relationship with the God of the Universe.

• Deuteronomy 4:7, 29
• Psalm 91:15
• Psalm 145:18

Compare to the pagan’s idols – a personal relationship?

• Judges 18:22-26
• I Samuel 5:2-5
• I Kings 18:25-29

How do you maintain a personal relationship?

Prayer is Pleading - “Call” means “Cry out”.
It includes the idea of seeking and getting the attention of another.

• Isaiah 55:6
• Jeremiah 29:12-14

An Answer is Promised - “I will answer thee”
Reminders of God’s promises of hearing and answering prayer:

• Micah 7:7
• Psalm 50:15
• Psalm 34:15-17
• Proverbs 15:29
• Isaiah 65:24
• I John 5:14-15

If the Lord said it, He will make it good.

You will know the answer to prayer!
“…and I will answer thee, and SHEW thee…”

• God is not going to answer your prayer and then leave you in the dark about it.
• Seeing the answer requires walking in the Spirit.

The answer may not be what you expected or even considered:
“…Great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

• “Mighty” / “Hidden”
• Compare: Ephesians 3:20; Psalm 23:5
• Examples: I Chronicles 17; I Kings 3:10-15

VM