Prayer is always an interesting topic for Christians.  We tend to talk about prayer, ask each other for prayer, but at most churches the least attended service is often "the prayer meeting".  So, what is so important about prayer?!?!?!  Well Hebrews 4:16 is a good verse that reminds us that we are to: “...come boldly unto the throne of grace (come unto the Lord humbly) so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”
 
So praying is reaching the throne of God.  It is not just the saying or the utterance of words.  Prayer is really getting in communication with our God!  It is not just lip service-saying a bunch of words in the correct order.  Prayer, as someone defined many years ago, is like playing tennis; you hit the ball over the net and your partner hits it back.  Well, in prayer you speak to God then you let Him answer, literally you listen for HIS response.  Surprising as it may seem, sometimes the Lord will answer your prayer, but HIS answer may not always be what you want.   Remember, sometimes He will say: “Yes”  Sometimes, He will say: “No” and at other times He may say: “Not Yet, I Have something better for you in MY time.”
 
Believe me, power in prayer is very much the gauge of our spiritual condition.  Prayer comes spontaneously from those who abide in Jesus; prayer is the natural "out gushing" of a soul in communion with Jesus. 
 
For the Christian, praying is supposed to be like breathing, easier to do than to not do. We pray for a variety of reasons.

• For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also.
  
• Another reason to pray is that God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations. We pray in preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13); to overcome demonic barriers (Matthew 17:14-21); to gather workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2); to gain strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41); and to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19).   We come to God with our specific requests, and we have God’s promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we do not receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27). He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15). Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8).  Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God’s will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.
  
• In other situations in which we do not know God’s will specifically, prayer is a means of discerning His will. If the Syrian woman with the demon-influenced daughter had not prayed to Christ, her daughter would not have been made whole (Mark 7:26-30). If the blind man outside Jericho had not called out to Christ, he would have remained blind (Luke 18:35-43). God has said that we often go without because we do not ask (James 4:2). In one sense, prayer is like sharing the gospel with people. We do not know who will respond to the message of the gospel until we share it. In the same way, we will never see the results of answered prayer unless we pray.

A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others' lives. Because it is our means of “plugging into” God’s power, it is our means of defeating Satan and his army that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. Therefore, may God find us often before His throne, for we have a high priest in heaven who can identify with all that we go through (Hebrews 4:15-16). We have His promise that the fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16-18).

​May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayer.

​Every Christian should know the gospel and be able to explain the gospel. Sadly, some Christians struggle with knowing what passages or truths to reference when sharing the gospel, or they know a few basic truths like, “Jesus died for your sins,” or “God loves you.” As believers, we ought to “…..and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

But how can we do this effectively? The Romans Road can be a fantastic tool for learning, retaining, practicing, and then sharing the gospel. This “journey” through the gospel message comes straight from the letter of Romans and allows a believer to easily turn to passages of Scripture if sitting with someone who needs to hear the gospel, or to remember passages that highlight the foundational elements of the gospel.

Here are the 5 “stops” you should make as you journey along the Romans Road:

Stop #1 | Romans 3:23“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
The word “gospel” literally means good news! The reason it’s good news is that there is bad news. Why would anyone ever believe they need to hear the gospel or believe the gospel unless they understood their need for the gospel? That’s where this passage comes in. Romans 3:23 is a foundational reminder that we are all sinners. No one is righteous (Romans 3:10-12), no one is good, and no one keeps the Ten Commandments perfectly. God is holy, and every single human being who has ever lived does not perfectly live up to God’s standard. Whether you’ve sinned once, or are serving a life sentence in prison for murder, whoever fails to keep the whole law in one point is accountable for all of it according to God’s standard (James 2:10).

Sin is a reality that needs to be presented if we are going to understand the gospel. Everybody is a sinner. Being a sinner separates us from having a relationship with a holy God.  We all need a solution.


Stop #2 | Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The second stop on the Romans Road emphasizes the unconditional love of God towards the sinner whom He is willing to save. We were unlovable, but He loved us. We were hopeless, but He gives hope. We couldn’t save ourselves, but Christ could. In our spiritually dead and sinful condition (Ephesians 2:1), God chose to show mercy, love, and kindness to us.

This passage brings Christ into the forefront and provides an opportunity to integrate Him into the good news.  JESUS IS THE SOLUTION to the separation from GOD that we all face!   If it wasn’t for God sending His Son to deal with sin, we could never be saved from the penalty of sin. That is where the new stop on our journey comes in.


Stop #3 | Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
After stops 1 and 2, a person might readily accept that everyone is a sinner, that God loves us, and that Jesus died for us. But stop number 3 takes us deeper into the bad news, before highlighting more of the good news.

Upon hearing that “the wages of sin is death,” someone might ask, what does that mean? This stop provides you with the opportunity to highlight God’s wrath towards sin, His dealings with the unrighteous, and the reality of a literal heaven and a literal hell (Romans 1:18-32; Matthew 13:42; Revelation 21:8). The earned payment for sin — all sin — is death. Much like a human court system has a standard of law that if not kept leads to punishment, God has a law and there is punishment for not keeping it. More than that, as human beings who readily admit that we are sinners, we must also admit that we cannot keep God’s law faithfully. Therefore, we all are condemned in God’s court and deserve the wages for our sin: DEATH.

But Romans 6:23 also includes good news! In contrast to our inability to keep the law of God and our wages earned by sin, God gives the gracious gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. This aspect of the gospel provides you with the opportunity to know and share what Jesus did on the cross. He died in the sinner’s place. He paid the penalty for sin so the sinner wouldn’t have to. He gave His life so you could live. By “eternal life,” the Bible means that you don’t need to die and end up in hell forever. You don’t have to experience the judgment of God upon sin for all eternity. You can live in heaven with Him for all eternity after this life ends. The Bible teaches that everyone will die (everyone knows this is true) and that after death in this life comes a moment of judgment (Hebrews 9:27). That moment of judgment does not need to end badly.
God has given us a gift. His name is Jesus Christ.


Stop #4 | Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ…”
This is really good news! If you are “in Christ”, that means you’ve put your faith in Him, believing that He died for you and rose again from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4).  Anyone in Christ is not going to be condemned for their sin and will not go to hell. If that’s you, then you don’t need to walk around feeling guilty or shameful over your sin once you’ve believed in Christ because your sin is washed away (1 John 1:7).


Stop #5 | Romans 10:9 “…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…”
The final stop is where the rubber meets the road! 
     Do you believe that Jesus is Lord?
     Do you believe He was the Son of God who died for your sin and rose from the dead?
     Are you willing to confess your sin, accepting the bad news that you are spiritually bankrupt without God’s help?
     Are you willing to accept the good news that God has made a way for you to have a relationship with Him and be saved from the penalty of sin, which is His wrath?

Through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s power can change you!   You don’t have to live a life of brokenness and bondage, you don’t have to be hopeless. Jesus can set you free.  Jesus can give you hope that we ALL need!

The question is often asked, how do I know if I’m saved? The simple answer is that if you have truly believed in Jesus Christ and put your faith in Him, God will transform you.  The old ways of sin that you used to enjoy are going to fade, and the new life you live in Christ will dominate your passions (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In a world looking for solutions to the brokenness of human sin, the gospel declares that Jesus is the ONLY answer.   Trust HIM as your Lord and Savior today!

If you have ever been to a church in your lifetime there is one word that I am sure you have heard and that is….FAITH.  Why do I say that?  The Bible teaches that faith is the key to everything for the Christian.

• By faith we come to Christ.
  
• By faith we live our Christian lives with joy and gladness.
  
• Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
  
• Faith is the core of our Christian living.

 
You see, Jesus Christ is the message of the Gospel. The Gospel centers on the person of Christ.  It is all about HIS sinless life, the atonement of our sins, and the supernatural resurrection. He is the center of the Gospel, so He is the center of our faith.  The fact is we are totally unable to save ourselves.  True Biblical faith is never a work we perform because we are somehow good and worthy. True Biblical faith means rejecting all of our works and trusting completely in Christ for everything.  Perhaps we should look at faith as resting one’s whole weight on God.
 
You see, we believe that we can do all things but of ourselves we can do nothing.

Have you gotten to that point in your life yet?  Where you have put all of your trust on the Lord, Jesus Christ, and given up your control for His control.  Faith is not just something by which we enter into a right relationship with God, faith is also what we live with every single day. It is not that we come to Christ by faith and then we live by good works.  It isn’t something we put on Sunday and then the rest of the week we go by what we “feel” or “think”.  No it is continual faith.  It is progressive in that we grow-up spiritually and realize that we have no control but He does.
 
George Mueller was known for his powerful prayer. He is referred to as a man of faith.  In the course of his ministry to the orphans of England, he never asked for financial assistance from men - only God...and he constantly received what was needed to the penny.
 
Once while on his way to speak in Quebec for an engagement, on the deck of the ship that was to carry him to his destination, he informed the captain that he needed to be in Quebec by Saturday afternoon. As the captain related the story, he said "’It is impossible, do you know how dense this fog is?’"
 
"’No,’ he replied, ’my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of life. I have never broken an engagement in 57 years;  let us go down into the chart room and pray.’  He knelt down and he prayed one of the most simple prayers. When he had finished I (the Captain)  was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. “As you do not believe He will answer, and as I believe He has, there is no need for you whatever to pray about it.’
 
"I looked at him and George Mueller said, ’Captain, I have known my Lord for 57 yrs.and there has never been a single day when I have failed to get an audience with the King.’
 
“Get up, Captain, and open the door and you will find that the fog has gone. "I got up and the fog indeed was gone, and on that Saturday afternoon George Mueller kept his promised engagement.

God wants us rich in spiritual things.  He wants us to grow spiritually.  Unless we grow up in Christ you now what happens?  We remain childish and petty wanting all His attention all the time and wanting to be amused. But the Bible reminds us that faith is to become a way of life for us. Faith is the principle of life for the believer.

The Bible calls all of us to trust in Christ through Faith.  We are called to believe in Christ.

• Do you believe?
  
• Do you truly trust Christ?
  
• Have you experienced, in the Spirit, that Christ is your Savior?
  
• Does your heart call out to Him in childlike trust and faith?

Churches and perhaps I should say Believers, today have forgotten that God is our Strength.  We have forgotten that God is our Redeemer.  We have forgotten that Prayer is where our power is at, and as a result we are dying and dwindling spiritually and we are declining in doing what is God’s purpose for our lives; God’s passion and God’s power. 

God is looking for a people who will seek Him and trust and have faith in what the Bible teaches that we will not only read about faith but that we will put faith into practice in our lives.  Everyone has cell phones today and everyone has apps, but you have to apply them to get the information that you need. 

Today, let’s apply the Word of God to our lives and start putting it into action so that others will become jealous of the things of the Lord.