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

Preacher Huijun - 2 July 2015

God's Greatest Gift To Mankind

A lot of people want securities in life, they hope for a smooth-sailing life thinking that it is through this that peace can be felt in their hearts. But after having all that they have ever wanted, something is still missing in them - something deeper within themselves needed to be satisfied- the soul of man. However, sin separates man from God, the creator and satisfaction of their souls. As a result, man live in the endless race of flesh-satisfying but spirit-depriving life. The distance between man and God has thus become further. Because of the presence of sin, man cannot enjoy all wisdom and blessings from God, and they have no answer to the problems that plague them. One problem leads to another, and many more. Because the wages of sin is death, and there’s no way that man can save themselves from the bondages of sin. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16). For those who’re called into God’s kingdom, God has fashioned our hearts such that we can never find peace and security unless in a two-way relationship with Him today. And in this relationship, He convicts us, leads us and shape us to be more and more like Christ through life experiences. Unless we continue to see Immanuel and confirm Immanuel in all that we are doing, we will be easily deceived by the insinuations and lies from Satan, forgetting that God is still the sovereign God who’s leading us with His good, pleasing and perfect will today. Let's avoid the sin of not seeking Immanuel today, for God's help and presence is now and not later.

Related Topics: Knowing Jesus | More Messages from Preacher Huijun

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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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