Grosey's Messages

DIAL-A-PRAYER They have all sorts of new telephone services today. Now they've got a dial-a-prayer service for atheists. You call a number and nobody answers.
A minister asked a little boy whether he prayed every day. "No, not every day," said the boy, "there are some days I don't WANT anything!"
More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. . .. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)
Wherefore, let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
"He ... continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12).
The Lord's Prayer surprises us here. For after dealing with the elevated petitions
Our father which aret in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” the prayer quickly descends to the very real very this worldly needs of the petitioner. We could understand perhaps if the prayer dealt with the very spiritual petitions first: Forgivenss, deliverance temptations, glory! But it doesn’t./ We are plunged straight back into our very real world. And here with is petition, we are brought face to face with a very real sense of frustration!
For us there is a sense of frustration when we pray. There is a sense where we see the Lord act remarkably in answer to our very real prayers. And there is a sense in which we don’t see the Lord act quickly or in the way that we pray for our real needs.
God releases His grace and power when we pray. Jam 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful. We have seen of recent times two folks experience remarkable healing. The Lord touched Ken’s life, when he had 1 month to live through cancer, and the Lord gave him a remarkable remission. He passed away two years later of the cancer. We saw a little girl stricken with Gwillem Benoits syndrome, expecting 12 months hospitalization after prayer go home recovered the very next day. And yet we have seen others we have prayed for not healed.
Intercession is the key to great works. Jn 14:12-13 I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
Prayer transforms society. 1 Tim 2:1-2 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. We in Australia live in one of the most secular unchristian societies in the world, with barely 1% of our nation being evangelical Christians, and yet a great proportion of our government leaders are professing Christians, evangelicals! Is this an amazing answer to prayer?
People are saved through prayer. Jn 17:20; Rom 10:1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation! I remember at the last church I pastured we held a 4 hour Saturday morning of prayer. It was a wonderful time. One young man was walking past our building at the time of the prayer meeting oblivious of anything Christian, when he came under a deep sense of conviction of sin, tapped on the front door, and asked “What must I do to be saved?”
He came to know the Lord! Remarkable answers to prayer, and then there are the family members we have prayed for over many years, and they are still not saved. Why is it so? Do you feel a sense of frustration?
Prayer defeats Satan. Eph 6:12,18 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.
Exod 17:8-13 11 While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12 When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put [it]under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.
Lk 22:23 31 “Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
We are to be a people of prayer. The apostle Paul writes: Col 4: Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the message, to speak the mystery of the Messiah—for which I am in prison—
And yet there is a sense of frustration in prayer. Some times our prayers are answered directly. Sometimes they are not. And we become frustrated. What do we do about this? How do we understand this?
“Give us this day our daily bread!” This petition gives us the clues to resolving the conflict in our hearts:
I. God Understands the Crises You Face
‘Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.” Psa. 147:5
“Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Mt. 6:8
Recognise God is interested in us. We are His children.
Recognise That Our temporals are a concern to Him. Sure man must not live by bread alone, nor can man live without it. We are a mixture of physical soulish and spiritual needs.
God understands your crises.
The snipers killed 10 and wounded 3 around Washington DC a year or more ago. 50 Christian truckers got together to pray to pray that somehow the sniper terrorizing the Washington, DC area would be caught. Ron Lantz would be retiring as a driver in a few days and didn't even live in the area, but he felt sure that God would answer their prayers. In fact, he told the others there that God was going to use him to catch the sniper. A few days later he was listening to the radio as he was driving again through the region and felt compelled to pull off the highway to a rest stop. It was just a couple of miles from where the prayer meeting had taken place. As he pulled in, he was shocked to see a car similar to what was being described on the radio right there before his eyes. Carefully trying to read the license plate, a chill went up his back as the numbers matched. He quickly called 911 and remained there for what he said were the longest 15 minutes of his life until the police arrived. He even pulled his truck across the exit, there would now be no escape for these elusive murderers. The rest is now history -- the snipers were taken into custody without incident.
Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, Uttered, or unexpressed-- The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
II. God Hears Your Voice
“Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.” Psa. 86:6-7
Prayer is the burden of a sigh, The falling of a tear-- The upward glancing of the eye,
When none but God is near
Prayer is the simplest form of speech That infants lips can try-- Prayer the sublimest strains that reach,
The Majesty on high.
Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice Returning from his ways, While angels in their songs rejoice,
And cry, "Behold, he prays!"
Not long after Dallas Seminary was founded in 1924, bankruptcy knocked at its doors. By noon o one particular day, every creditor threatened foreclosure. That morning, the founders of the Seminary met to pray in president Lewis Sperry Chafer's office. They asked God to provide the needed funds. Harry Ironside was part of that prayer meeting. When it was his turn to pray he prayed in his characteristically pointed manner; "Lord, we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are thine. Please sell some of them and send us the money." Meanwhile as these men were praying, into the seminary's business office came a tall Texan. Addressing a secretary, he said, "I just sold two carloads of cattle in Fort Worth. I've been trying to make a business deal go through and it won't work, and I feel that God is compelling me give this money to the seminary. I don't know if you need it or not, but here's the check." Well aware of the situation and knowing that it was for that purpose the founders were gather in prayer, the secretary took the check to the door of the president's office and timidly knocked. When she finally go t a response, Chafer took the check out of her hand and stared at it with amazement. The amount matched the exact size of the debt. Looking at the signature on the check, he recognized the name of the cattle rancher. Turning to Harry Ironside, he said, "Harry, God sold the cattle!"
Our own skill and industry. God is the giver; he gives daily bread. Psa 136: 25; he gives riches. ‘It is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.’ Deut 8: 18.
I heard a story the other day of a man who encountered a bit of trouble while flying his little airplane. He called the control tower and said, "Pilot to tower, I'm 300 miles from the airport, six hundred feet above the ground, and I'm out of fuel. I am descending rapidly. Please advise. Over." "Tower to pilot," the dispatcher began, "Repeat after me: "Our Father Who art in heaven...'"
C. H. Spurgeon once said, "Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might."
III. God Responds with a Father’s Love
Recognise You Are Dependant upon Him. God is the Giver James 1: 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning Psalm 104:10 He causes the springs to gush into the valleys; they flow between the mountains. 11 They supply water for every wild beast; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 The birds of the sky live beside [the springs]; they sing among the foliage. 13 He waters the mountains from His palace; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of Your labor. 14 He causes grass to grow for the livestock and [provides]crops for man to cultivate, producing food from the earth, 15 wine that makes man’s heart glad— making his face shine with oil— and bread that sustains man’s heart.
27 All of them wait for You to give them their food at the right time. 28 When You give it to them, they gather it; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When You send Your breath, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.
The word "daily" is an interesting word. This is the only time this Greek word is used in the entire Bible. When the scholars were translating the Bible into English they couldn't find this word anywhere in Greek history. They thought maybe that somebody had just made it up -- maybe the Lord had made up this word. It wasn't in Plato, Homer, the Iliad, or Aristotle or any other Greek classical literature. Nobody knew what the word meant. Daily for daily bread. In 1947 they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel and as they were pulling them out of the cave and found all the rare documents and manuscripts of the Bible which proved its authenticity and veracity back thousands of years earlier, they found this word on some fragments. When they discovered what the fragments were -- they were shopping lists, grocery lists. These items were perishable items that you couldn't store for more than a day. In those days they didn't have refrigeration. You had to go to the store every day for things like milk, bread, all those things we have to have today. Those were items that didn't last. Then they knew what the word meant.
Give us this day our daily ration ... not enough for tomorrow... not enough for the next week, but for today. That's how God wants you to live. One day at a time. Bread. I wonder that the idea of daily bread doesn’t arise in the heart from the record in the book of Exodus, where for forty years in the desert God fed three million people on a daily basis. Literally. He sent bread down from heaven that covered the ground. Literally daily bread for forty years for three million people. It was called manna. Manna is the Hebrew word for "What is it?" They had never seen anything like it.
The interesting thing about manna is God provided it. It was kind of a bland, tasteless bread and you had to get up early in the morning. They would gather it every morning. If you were lazy and slept in you didn't get any. The early bird got the manna. God gave them manna. They would gather it early in the day. They would get just enough for that day. You couldn't store the manna. You couldn't save it. If you tried to save it overnight it would get worms and go rotten and it was useless. God made it so that it was only enough for that day and every day, day in, day out, for forty years three million people had to depend on daily bread. He wanted them to live moment by moment.
The brilliant scientist Sir Isaac Newton said that he could take his telescope and look millions and millions of miles into space. Then he added, "But when I lay it aside, go into my room, shut the door, and get down on my knees in earnest prayer, I see more of Heaven and feel closer to the Lord than if I were assisted by all the telescopes on earth."
IV. God Desires Your Praise
Give Glory To God For His Provisions Psalm 104 :31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works. 32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to Him; I will rejoice in the Lord. 35 May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. My soul, praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
Romans 1: 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools If I really develop the conviction that God is the source of everything I need... My job is not the source of my income. If you feel that way you're going to get under tension if you lose your job. You're uptight. God is the source of your income. He just happens to be using a particular job as the channel. If He turns off one faucet He can just as easily turn on another. What happens when I really make God the source of my life and I really look to Him to provide all my needs? Two things happen:
1. You become more at peace. Circumstances don't bother you any more. You look beyond the circumstances to the One who is ultimately in control and you just don't sweat it. God is my source. If tomorrow you went to work and they asked you to make an unethical decision and you refused because you are a Christian and you got fired, what would you do? Panic or pray? Would you feel like you're going under for the last time, that your life is falling apart? Or would you say, “God is my provider; He'll provide another
job because I'm honoring Him. He said if I put him first in my life I don't have to worry. He's going to take care of my needs between now and when I get the next job which He has in mind.”
The other thing that happens... How do you know when you're really trusting God?
2. You become more generous. When you're stingy with your time, your money, and your effort it means you really don't believe God's going to provide for you. So you've got to hoard it, hold on to it, and you can't give it away. If I am absolutely convinced that God is the source of my supply and He meets my every need, then it's easy for me to help others and it's easy for me to tithe ten percent of my income. God's my source. People won't tithe because they don't really believe God's going to meet their needs. It's a faith issue. How generous am I?
If you're a Christian, do you realize that every Sunday when the offering basket is passed, God is giving you a faith test? He's giving you a test, every week. Can I live without X dollars? Can I do what God has told me to do, or can I not trust Him? I can't afford to tithe because I need every bit I make to make my payments. Do I really believe God? That's the issue.
What are you worried about the most? You job? Your health? Have you thought about asking God for assistance and remembering His resources and then trusting His timing? He wants to teach you to live by faith day by day. "Give us this day our daily bread."
Nothing tunes the soul like prayer. He that is able to pray and plead his case with God shall soon "mount with wings as eagles; shall run and not he weary; shall walk and not faint." We should pray for a spirit of prayer; we cannot expect a favor we do not ask for. I am persuaded that God will honor every species of prayer. It is a sad thing to let the devil persuade us to stand still or go backward because we cannot do all we wish. Prayer is the key that unlocks every blessing. Beware of general requests; it is a sign of a cold, unfeeling heart. Come and specify what you would have; carry your real concerns to Christ; and be satisfied with his care and management of you. The government is upon his shoulders, not yours. It is enough that he undertakes for you; therefore transact all your affairs with him. A Christian who is sometimes found sitting still as a man of faith, is at other times found wrestling as a man of prayer. -- J. Wilbur Chapan,

Prayer is the Christian's vital breath-- The Christians' native air-- His watchword at the gates of death--
He enters heaven with prayer.
A crowded gathering of distinguished scientists had been listening spellbound to the masterly expositions of Michael Faraday. For an hour he had held his brilliant audience enthralled as he demonstrated the nature and properties of the magnet. He had brought his lecture to a close with an experiment so novel, so bewildering, and so triumphant, that for some time after he resumed his seat, the house rocked with enthusiastic applause. And then the Prince of Wales... afterwards King Edward VII rose to propose a motion of congratulation. The resolution, having been duly seconded, was carried with renewed thunders of applause. Suddenly the uproar ceased and a strange silence settled over the audience. The assembly waited for Faraday's reply. But he did not appear. Only his most intimate friends knew what had become of him. He was an elder in a little church... a church that never boasted more than twenty members. He 2as gone to the prayer meeting. He had an appointment with one far greater than Edward VII. Do you? Have you kept your appointment with God?