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

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

Preacher Huijun - 16 January 2014

Winning Formula Vs Recipe For Failure

Many times, we often live in disheartenment. We get defeated by situations, information and thoughts about things yet to come. The truth is, we do not need to wait for things to become better, bad news to subside and good feelings to come before we feel good and victorious. In Christ, we are already victorious. When we believe right, Holy Spirit will lead us into doing the right thing and the outcomes will surely be right! How often do we go back to the truth in this world that constantly engulf our faith in Christ? Today, restore the 5 Solas (Only) of a believer. When you hold onto Sola Scriptura (Only Bible), Solus Christus (Only Christ), Sola Fide (Only Faith) , Sola Gratia (Only grace), and Soli Deo Gloria (All glory to God alone), victory is not an outcome but a state of our living. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. [Mt 16:25] Paradox it may seem, yet such is the power of Holy Spirit, and everyone who believes in Him will never be ashamed. You are already victorious in Christ. Cling onto the right anchor point today!

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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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