Prayer Alone Is Powerless

Prayer Alone Is Powerless
Pastor Terry Wilcox

Revelation 3:19-20

1. Is prayer powerful?
   Prayer has been called “the breath of the soul.”
   a. Our diaphragm muscle and atmospheric pressure 
       Prayer released power, but  is the  of that power.

   b. Is there power without prayer?
       In his marvelous little book Destined For The Throne, Paul Bilheimer says it this way,

       “The Church, by virtue of her faithful use of prayer, wields the balance of power not only in world affairs but also in the salvation of individual souls. Without violating the free moral responsibility of any individual, the Church, by means of persistent, believing intercession, may so release the Spirit of God upon a soul that he will find it easier to yield to the Spirit’s tender wooing and be saved than continue his rebellion.”

       John Wesley said, “God does nothing but in answer to prayer.”

2. Does God answer the prayers of the unsaved?
   Genesis 3:13-16
   Why? Romans 5:8

Five Problems With Prayer

1. Failure to .
   Matthew 7:7-11

   Dr. Ole Hallesby explains:

   “God has all that we need, and there is nothing that He would rather do than impart His gifts. But we do not ask. We do not have the time, we say. Or we forget to pray. The result is that we go about like spiritual cripples or dwarfs, spiritually starved and emaciated, with scarcely enough strength to stand on our own feet, not to speak of fighting against sin and serving the Lord.”

2. Failure to recognize our  in Christ.
   E.W. Kenvon wrote:

   “I am convinced that the most outstanding enemy in prayer is the lack of knowledge of what we are in Christ, and of what He is in us, and what He did for us, and of our standing and legal rights before the throne.”   -from In His Presence

   Luke 10:18-20
   Hebrews 2:14-15

3. Laziness
   a. We do not need to “wrestle” good things from a loving Father. Greek lexicon says “easy”
       originally meant to take things with ease. It has transitioned to: take the easy way, do wrong
       things, play the rogue.

       Proverbs 6:6

       “A busy man is troubled with but one devil; the idle man a thousand.”

   b. The solution is to make a regular, iron-clad habit of praying before you .

4. Our .
   “The world is being moved by people who don’t  like it.”  -David Hubbard

   The author of The Problem With Prayer shares this caution, “When it comes to prayer, feeling is not the most important thing. Feelings are fickle, easily influenced by health, morale, weather, and mood. Prayer is too important to be put at the mercy of our feelings.”

   always trumps feeling! (Ask a mom.)

5. Not getting the answer we want.
   In Matthew 6 Jesus responds to his disciples’ request that he teach them to pray.
   In Matthew 6:10 he declares the  of prayer.
   James 4:3

Personal Notes