Heaven’s Way
of Doing Business

Up-Dated - Thursday, July 14, 2011

Table of Contents
* The Struggles We Face
* The Structure We Follow
* The Success We Find

The solitary economy of Heaven is Prayer.
If you do not participate in the economy of the country in which you live, you will not succeed..

James 4:2 “…ye have not, because ye ask not.”

In order to succeed …
A person must ask for what is needed.

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The Struggles We Face

None of the struggles of life …

Are worthy of discussion until we address the one struggle that keeps us from victory over all the other struggles.

What is that single struggle?

It is not Liberalism in the pew.
It is not the Flesh in the hearts of our followers
It is not Apathy of our members

But our greatest struggle is
The army of enemies that keeps us from prayer.

Our single struggle

To have fellowship with God is what life is all about.

What ever keeps us from this Fellowship is our greatest enemy.
What ever steers us from this Prayer Time is our worst opponent

We excuse our lack of Prayer

with justifications of not having time
with defenses of being too busy
with acquittals of too much other things to do for God.

Please listen to this next statement
it may be the most important illustration that I will use in this sermon

“No woodcutter ever lost time by stopping to sharpen his axe.”

Sin in one’s life is the hindrance to prayer and God’s true work.

Prideful hearts give birth to
twisted logic
cold heart
failure
and the disdain of those we attempt to lead

But …

A heart newly warmed by Calvary Love
will reach out to otherswith rich blessings
victories
and the urge of those you lead to follow.

What is our greatest struggle?

fighting off those things that keep us from prayer.

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The Structure We Follow

There should be some structure in our prayer life and that structure should be Biblical.

Our Structure should have Preparation.
Prepare by reading the Word of God.
Allow God’s Word to speak to you.
Speak from the Pages of His Blessed Bible

Even though it pages are generally white with black ink and hardly no reflective value at all they still act like a mirror showing our sinful souls to be filthy, careless, prideful and lustful.

James 1:23 "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:"

James 1:24 "For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."

James 1:25 "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."

Not only does the Word seach us,
but it will also strengthen us and equip us to enter into His presence.

Our Structure in Prayer should have a Pattern

Use Matt 6.9-13 as a model to follow
Our Father Who art in Heaven ….
type out the Lord’s prayer and comment on its Phrasing.

Our Structure should have Procedure

Spend time interacting with the Lord.
When He talks, answer Him back.
When He speaks, compare it to the Bible.

Right there on the spot.
Turn to the pages that reinforce what the Lord says.
Turn to the pages that do not reinforce, to see if it is really the Lord speaking.

Read through portions of the Bible PRAYERFULLY.

Discussing each verse with the Lord.
Our Structure in Prayer should reflect our Privilege
We are invited to pray about everything of life.

Phil 4:6 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

Why carry the burden
Take it to the Lord
Place it in His pierced hands
Leave it there on His able heart
Go on with life with victory

What a tragedy to substitute man’s feeble programs
for God’s provision.
Live in the power of God.
Not in the power of craft or scheme.

Our Structure in Prayer should have Persistence

Exo 17:11 "And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed."

Exo 17:12 "But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."

Notice that Moses was not praying for himself
but for the Victory of his people.
How can we preach to the Church
if we do not pray for the Church?
In order to minister to our followers
we must minister in their behalf before God ahead of time.

Practical Pointers

Let the Spirit lead.

Select a time best for you. Make it an unbreakable appointment.

Consider spending some of your prayer time walking to keep from being drowsy.

Keep a pad and pencil handy.

To make note of things that might be a distraction for the moment.
To make note of what God says to you.

Make your prayer life the most rewarding time of the day.

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The Success We Find

Our prayer time works out to be
the wisest investment of our time.

The intimacy that develops
will be a time of refreshment
and source of strength.

The Power that will become ours
One greater that David will slay the Giant Enemies of our life.