Many of us are carrying burdens God never intended us to carry. We carry worry, fear, anxiety, guilt, and more. Prayer is God’s invitation to transfer those burdens from our shoulders to His. The Bible says “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). Prayer is not informing God of something He doesn’t know. Prayer is inviting God into something we can’t handle.
Notes:
Luke 18
As God’s child, you don’t need a badge to reach Him.
Hebrews 10:19 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.
Prayer is the Christian’s secret weapon.
There is a right and a wrong way to pray.
Prayer is God’s invitation to transfer those burdens He never intended for us to carry from our shoulders to His.
God cares about your problem.
1Peter 5:7 (NKJV)
Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Jehosaphat called the people together for prayer.
2 Chronicles 20:12
God is bigger than your problem.
2 Chronicles 20:6 (NLT)
“O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!”
Prayer is inviting God into something we can’t handle.
God has His perfect timing.
Read Luke 18:1–8
We need to be persistent in our prayer.
Luke 18:1
We all have a choice as to what we will do and to whom we will turn when a crisis hits. We can lose heart or we can pray.
We should pray simply because Jesus told us to.
We should pray because prayer is God’s appointed way for obtaining things.
James 4:2
You have not because you ask not.
Luke 11:9
Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened to you.
Prayer is the way God helps us to overcome our anxiety and worry.
Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Philippians 4:7 (NLT)
Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Worry is not a virtue but can actually be a sin.
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.
The judge was the powerful one; the widow was the weaker one.
Our loving Father in Heaven is the very opposite of this judge.
Luke 18:7
The widowed woman had persistence and a just cause, and that was enough. We have something far greater, a Heavenly Father who already wants to help us.
Every prayer is answered:
Yes,
No,
Wait.
Read Luke 18:9–14
We look on the outside, God looks on the inside.
1 Samuel 16:7
The most religious man in the room went home empty, and the man nobody wanted to sit next to went home justified before God.
Some will use prayer as an opportunity to:
Brag.
Gossip.
Impress.
Attitude is so very important in prayer.
If we pray selfishly, it can hinder our prayers.
James 4:2–3
An unforgiving attitude toward another can hinder our prayers.
Matthew 6:15
We must confess our sin to God.
How do we approach God?
Like the widow, with persistence.
Like the tax collector, with humility.
Like little children.
Read Luke 18:15–17
Luke 18:16
Let the little children come to me
The objective of every parent is to bring their children to Christ.
God sees things differently than we do.
The weak widow is strong because she prays with persistence.
The sinful man’s prayer is heard because he admits his sin.
The child is an example for us to follow in approaching God.
To be childlike means we come with complete honesty to God.
Children come with complete helplessness.
We must come in complete dependence on God to be saved and forgiven.
Children know how to receive a gift.
Come like a child to Jesus right now.
Worry is strangling you, guilt is crushing you, and fear won’t let you sleep.
Jesus said, “Come unto me all who are burdened with life.”
Come to Jesus as you are, a sinner, and become His child.
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