Title: Prayer to Overcome Circumstances
Contents
Text: Acts 12:1-15
Hymns:
Title: Prayer to Dominate the Environment
It is said that when faced with trials and tribulations, people are divided into three types.
The first is a balloon type.
They are people who do not know what to do and go wherever the wind blows like a balloon and eventually stumble.
I couldn't focus and I flew here and there, but the wind fell out and I was stabbed by a thorn and eventually burst
The second is bull type.
It is because of you that I have become like this, and these are people who resent others and fight with the people around them until they lose their strength and despair.
He said he was good at everything, but the people around him didn't.
Third, it is an eagle.
We Christians are eagles.
These are people who fly into the sky on the wind of trials, look at the world through God's eyes, and try to discover new perspectives.
Like the wings of a soaring eagle, it is about escaping trials and finding joy
To become such a Christian, we must pray above all else.
The early church faced a great crisis.
Herod killed the apostle James and put him in prison to kill Peter again.
What can the church do?
Prayer.
How should we pray in our lives?
First, we must pray persistently and not give up.
When faced with a crisis, everyone prays.
The situation of the church in Jerusalem was not simple.
Didn't the church pray when James was in prison?
would have prayed
Nevertheless, James was martyred.
people would be disappointed
But there is a deep providence of God that we do not know. Satan always hinders our prayers as we ascend to God.
Let's look at Daniel 10:12-13.
read
They said I interfered for 21 pills.
That means it took 21 days to pray and hear the answer to your prayer.
Daniel did not lose heart for three weeks and prayed persistently.
The satanic camp that was obstructing Daniel's prayer was destroyed, and the answer came within 21 days.
If you stop praying with discouragement that God's answer isn't coming soon and that your prayer hasn't come true, then you cannot live a victorious life.
We must pray, but we must be patient and persistent in prayer that does not give up
Second, we must pray, but we must pray according to the will of God.
When the saints of the Jerusalem church prayed earnestly for Peter, they firmly believed that their prayers were in accordance with God's will, and God answered their prayers.
When we discern God's good, pleasing, and perfect will and pray according to that will, God's voice comes quickly.
A prayer that only asks God to do something for my own benefit, or a prayer that asks someone to torture me and torture me, is a prayer that God does not hear.
Third, we must pray with one accord.
When Peter was in prison, many people gathered at the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, to pray.
Praying together is more powerful than praying alone.
When we unite in prayer, an amazing power is created that transcends reason and sense.
Fourth, we must pray to the end.
God answered our prayers that did not give up.
He sent an angel to rescue Peter
When Peter, who escaped prison with the help of an angel, went to the church, the church was praying at that time as well.
It took 7-8 days for Peter to be rescued, judging from the text saying that he was caught on the Feast of Unleavened Bread and tried to bring it out after the Passover.
The church had been praying without ceasing until then.
How long should we pray?
We must pray to the end.
Prayer has the power to change destiny and circumstances
Also, prayer enables us to repent and live a life of thanksgiving and be able to fulfill the role of light and salt in this world.
It is the original attitude of the saints to always pray.
The first thing we should do in life is to always pray and watch
When we pray with one accord according to God's will, but do not give up and pray persistently, all our problems will be resolved quickly and the glory of God will overflow in our lives.