Prayers: Don’t Trust The Heart, Yet You Need The Heart

04 Nov Prayers: Don’t Trust The Heart, Yet You Need The Heart

Posted at 11:22h in English Service by

Deacon Hui Zhen - 11 December 2014

True Gospel Man, The Wise Builder, The Gospel-Driven Living

All English Service

A true gospel man knows that the reason why Jesus gave the sermon on the mount is not to force upon us a certain code of conducts that believers should adhere too. Instead, he knows that God wants us to restore the original love with God in Christ, one that is grounded in love, and thus fearless. A gospel man knows that he is called by the gospel not because of his esteemed conditions but purely the grace and sovereignty of Lord, despite his weaknesses and ordinary conditions. Because of the irrevocable love of God, he will want to face the Lord in all things and in all times, and his focus will gradually be shifted from the earthly matters to the matters concerning the kingdom of God, the spiritual matters. No one can walk in this journey of faith without confirming what God has done in her life, and how faithfully God has led her through all this while. If the gospel we believe in is true and from God, He will prove Himself to be true - our eyes will be able to see the evidences of His sovereign leading in our lives if we live in obedience to God - for the fruits of the Spirit will emerge and blossom in our lives, inside out. Test and confirm if you have been walking closely with God today. One who is walking closely and needing Lord at all times will delight herself in prayers in all things and in all times, only want to hear from God alone. The set apart life she leads will lead to beautiful spiritual fruits developing in her life, manifesting the glory of God through all her conditions.

Related Topics: Knowing Jesus, Regeneration & Sanctification | More Messages from Deacon Hui Zhen

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Prayers: Don’t Trust The Heart, Yet You Need The Heart


We no doubt know the importance of prayer. Yet in reality, prayer could be the hardest thing to do in our Christian life. And the reason is probably because our hearts doesn’t seem to draw close to God in prayer. We felt more like engaging in a ritual than prayer often times. So the problem at heart is THE HEART. How do we overcome the problem of the heart then?

 Verses to read:
<Jeremiah 17:9> <Mark 7:20-21><James 4:7-10><James 4:1-2,4>

Introduction:

“Pray in the spirit with all kinds of prayers in all occasion” <Eph 6:18>.

  • Yet, prayer is by far one of the most difficult spiritual exercise in most Christian lives. Few enjoyed prayer becoz they could not draw near to God.
  • In prayer, our heart lies at the center of the problem.
  • Should we trust our heart? Yet without the heart, how to pray?
  • The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and HE saves the contrite in spirit <Ps 34:18>.

1. The Gospel reveals the nature of the Heart.

1) Its deceitful above all else <Jer 17:9>.

  • It creates its own truth, even about God.
  • People who believes in the wrong gospel are NOT praying, even though they are.
  • What is the fundamental gospel truths?
    – SIN (against God)
    – Salvation (through Faith in Christ alone)
    – To live in pursuit of God and the Kingdom

2) So there must first be a renewal of the heart

  • heart of stone to a heart of flesh <Eze 36:26>.

3) Yet, the heart is always prone to spiritual attacks.

  • Prone to the enemies lies (temptations, accusations, worries of life, feel abandoned by God, etc)

2. How to draw near to God, despite spiritual attacks?

1) Know our spiritual enemy – The Devil

  • He works through:
    (1) Our sinful desires
    (2) The World
    (3) Haughtiness, proudness

2) Yet God showed us MORE GRACE! <v6>

  • My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. <1 John 2:1>
  • If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. <1 John 1:9>

3) Act of True Confession <v8>

  • (1) Wash your hands, you sinners
  • (2) Purify your hearts, you double-minded

4) Grieve, mourn and wail… <v9>

5) Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up. <v10>

Reflection:

1) What is the greatest obstacle in your prayer life?

2) How do you usually deal with a “no heart to pray” situation?

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Pastor Vincent Choo
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Vincent serves as the President of The Blessed Run Church. He is also the Senior Pastor of The Life Church and Missions (Singapore) and is an ardent missionary to the Chinese World. He currently lives in Singapore with his wife, Qiufen, and has three kids, Mary, David, and Caleb.

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