Sep. 08, 2024

Background:

• The keys allow access to the Kingdom of God
• Sometimes God's people think the answers to our prayer are beyond locked walls
• Sometimes it seems like god is not listening to us and we begin to become upset
• Sometimes we knock and feel like we haven't received an answer, but have we been knocking the right way?

Key Sermon Points:

1. Praying according to the will of God
   1. If we want an answer, we must pray according to God's will
   2. This will bring us to everything that God would have us to have and is rooted in confidence
   3. Confidence could mean boldness
   4. How do we determine God's will?
   5. God's will is in His Word (Psalm 119:11-16)
   6. Knowing God's Word and praying from that perspective will produce phenomenal results...and
   7. Our prayer life will mature
   8. Our life will change (conduct, talk, thoughts, etc. will change)
   9. Prayer will allow us to accept God's will
   10. God knows exactly what we need
   11. God can shine in our weakness and can use us better
   12. We must pray in God's will (Matthew 6:8-12)
   13. Believers should have confidence towards God (1 John 3:21) in:
       1. Eternal life in Christ
       2. Answered prayers (1 John 5:14-15)
       3. Victory over sin (1 John 5:18)
       4. Belonging to God (1 John 5:19)
       5. Jesus being the One True God (1 John 5:20)
2. Praying in the name of Jesus
   1. While Jesus was going to ascend to the Father, the disciples needed to start praying in Jesus' name
   2. Praying in the name of Jesus is above all other names
   3. The name has power and authority (Acts 3:1-8)
   4. To pray in Jesus' name is to pray with full  assurance of who he is and what he can do
   5. He gives us the legal right to use his name in prayer because we are to be his representative on earth
   6. It is in Jesus' name that demons tremble
   7. There is power in praying in the name of Jesus
   8. Pray according to God's will and God will do it (John 14:12-14)
3. Praying in faith, not wavering
   1. We can't go to God wavering in our faith
   2. We must ask in faith (Mark 11:24)
   3. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6)
   4. God is faithful and trustworthy!
   5. Our responsibility is to do what he says
   6. We must pray and believe that God is able to do what he says he will do
   7. Faith is resting in what God has done for us in the past
   8. When we remember what God has done, we remember how great God is...and it gives us encouragement to believe him in the future
   9. It also means hoping for what he will do for us in the future
   10. We ought not to be double-minded, meaning partly on God and partly on the world. We ought to be completely focused on God. We can't waver.
   11. Faith must be activated and accessed in order for it to work