What is prayer? Conversation with God.

Why pray? As part of developing our relationship with God.

Why aren’t our prayers answered? Yes, no, wait.

How do I pray

The basic images for prayer show that prayer is a relationship. Prayer is a
conversation; it assumes trust and devotion; it is like a conversation between
friends

A. Obstacles to Prayer

What do you worry about?

Why do you worry?

What do you think when you read verses like these?

Matt 6 25 所以我告诉你们，不要为生命忧虑吃什么喝什么，也不要为身体忧虑穿什么。难道生
命不比食物重要吗？身体不比衣服重要吗？

Matt 6 25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat,
and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your body
more than clothing?

Phil 4 6 应当毫无忧虑，只要凡事借着祷告祈求，带着感恩的心，把你们所要的告诉　神 Phil

4 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.

1. What does it mean to be anxious?

Mark 4 18 那撒在荆棘里的，是指另一些人；他们听了道， 19
然而今世的忧虑、财富的迷惑，
以及种种的欲望，接连进来，把道挤住，就结不出果实来。

Mark 4 18Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones
who hear the message, 19but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all
other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don’t bear fruit.

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus worry and anxiety grow like weeds in our lives, and destroy our
relationship with Christ.

Luke 10 38 他们走路的时候，耶稣进了一个村庄。有一个名叫马大的女人，接他到家里。 39
她有一个妹妹，名叫马利亚，坐在主的脚前听道。 40 马大被许多要作的事，弄得心烦意乱，
就上前来，说：“主啊，我妹妹让我一个人侍候，你不理吗？请吩咐她来帮助我。” 41 主回
答她：“马大，马大，你为许多事操心忙碌， 42 但是最需要的只有一件，马利亚已经选择了
那上好的分，是不能从她夺去的。”
 Luke 10 38 As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he came to a village where a
woman named Martha welcomed him in her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat
down at the feet of the Lord and listened to his teaching. 40Martha was upset over all the
work she had to do, so she came and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me
to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!” 41 The Lord answered her,
“Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things, 42but just one is
needed. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Question: What was the one thing that Mary chose? (Allow for answers)

Luke 21 34 “你们应当自己小心，免得在贪食醉酒和生活的挂虑压住你们的心的时候，那日子
突然临到你们，

Luke 21 34 “Be on your guard! Don’t let yourselves become occupied with too much
feasting and drinking and with the worries of this life, or that Day may suddenly catch you
35
like a trap.

We become anxious when our cares and worries crowd everything else out of our lives,
everything, including God. All the energy that we should use to worship and serve God
goes into take care of our everyday problems.

Pray? How can I pray? I don’t have any time, I don’t have any energy. How do I know that
God will hear me? How do I know that he will answer my prayers?

If I don’t have time to take care of things in my day to day life, how can I possible take
time out to pray to God and read my bible and all the other things I should do if I don’t
have time for all the other things that are in my life?

2. What can we do to prevent worry and anxiety?

Jesus uses two examples to talk about worry and anxiety: Birds and flowers.

Matt 6 25 所以我告诉你们，不要为生命忧虑吃什么喝什么，也不要为身体忧虑穿什么。难道
生命不比食物重要吗？身体不比衣服重要吗？ 26 你们看天空的飞鸟：它们不撒种，不收割，
也不收进仓里，你们的天父尚且养活它们；难道你们不比它们更宝贵吗？ 27 你们中间谁能用
忧虑使自己的寿命延长一刻呢？

Matt 6 25 “This is why I tell you not to be worried about the food and drink you need in
order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn’t life worth more than food?
And isn’t the body worth more than clothes? 26Look at the birds: they do not sow seeds,
gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren’t
you worth much more than birds? 27Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?

He says not to worry about food and clothing. These two items are the basic things that we need
to live.

First, let me tell you what Jesus is NOT saying. He isn’t saying that if we have enough faith, God
will fill our mouths with food and put expensive clothes in our closets. You and I both know that
there are a lot of followers of Christ who go hungry every day.
So what does Jesus mean here? Jesus uses the example of the birds to show that they neither
sow seeds or harvest the crops or put it into barns, but they are cared for. And they can work
very hard. But they don’t sit in their nests and wait for God to give them seeds to eat. Unlike you
and me, the difference is that the birds do not worry about their next meal is coming from. They
work hard, but God provides for them. So, don’t worry.

Matt 6 28 何必为衣服忧虑呢？试想田野的百合花怎样生长，它们不劳苦，也不纺织。 29 但
我告诉你们，就是所罗门最威荣的时候所穿的，也比不上这花中的一朵。 30 田野的草，今天
还在，明天就投进炉里，　神尚且这样妆扮它们；小信的人哪，何况你们呢？
28
“And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or
make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth
had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. 30It is God who clothes the wild grass—
grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burnt up in the oven. Won’t he be all the more
sure to clothe you? How little faith you have!

And what about wild flowers of the field? They are beautiful, more beautiful than
anything a fashion designer can imagine. The flowers are beautiful one day, and the next
they are dried out and ready to be thrown into a fire. But God goes to great trouble to
make a little, unimportant flower to look beautiful. I he will do that for a flower, what will
he do for you, his own child?

Matt 6 31 所以不要忧虑，说：‘我们该吃什么？喝什么？穿什么？’ 32
这些都是教外人所
寻求的，你们的天父原知道你们需要这一切。
31
“So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’
32
(These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven
knows that you need all these things.

Flowers are temporary. They are beautiful, but after a few days they die and dry out.
Birds are not worth much. Jesus said you can buy several birds for a cent/fen. But how
much is a person worth? That is how God looks at it. You are worth more than birds and
flowers, so if he will take care of them, certainly he will take care of you.

Matt 6 33 你们要先求他的国和他的义，这一切都必加给你们。 34
所以不要为明天忧虑，因为
明天自有明天的忧虑，一天的难处一天当就够了。”
33
Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he
requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. 34So do not worry about
tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles
each day brings.

This means that the most important thing in our lives should be the kingdom of God. It means
that we face the troubles and problems in our life trusting that God will take care of us. He can
and will work in our lives.

My first concern is about what God is doing is doing in the world today. When I worry and have
anxiety, I am taking God out of the picture.

God is ruling the world today, through Jesus Christ, who lives in our hearts. When we
accept him as the king/ruler over our lives, we enter into the kingdom of God, and the
kingdom grows by another person.
Notice v33 – if we are concerned about the kingdom of God more than anything else, he
will give us everything else we need. 33 你们要先求他的国和他的义，这一切都必加给你们.

This is what the kingdom of God looks like. Who’s on the throne?

3. What about tomorrow?

Jesus also tells us in v34 “do not worry about tomorrow” 33

你们要先求他的国和他的义，这一
切都必加给你们

Tomorrow has enough troubles to worry you, so worry about today’s troubles.

When does tomorrow come?

You can’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow never comes. When does tomorrow
come? Never! You can only live in the kingdom today. You can’t live in it tomorrow, so it
only distracts us from today. We can depend on God today and we can depend on God
tomorrow, but we can only live in the present, today.

Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.

God wants to teach us how to respond to our troubles as they come, one by one.

Jesus isn’t telling us not to make plans or be careful about our money and resources and
things like that.

What Jesus does tell us is that when we think about the future, we need to remember
that we live in the kingdom, think with hope, plan with confidence and rely on prayer.

Who are you? Where do you live?

If I were to ask you who you are and where you live, what would you say?

What would you say if I said this should be the answer to this question:

Who am I? I am a child of God in whom Christ lives, and I live in the Kingdom of God.
How would that change the way you look at things in your life?

4. What about prayer?

Paul writes in Phil. 4.6:

Phil 4 6 应当毫无忧虑，只要凡事借着祷告祈求，带着感恩的心，把你们所要的告诉　神

Phil 4 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

What does he say to do about worry and Anxiety?

a. Be anxious about nothing;

b. In everything by prayer and supplication/qi dao make your requests know to God.

应当毫无忧虑，只要凡事借着祷告祈求，带着感恩的心，把你们所要的告诉　神

The famous British Christian writer C. S. Lewis once said that if you have weeds in your
garden, you shouldn’t pray about the weeds, but pull them up.

What he means is that we should do what we can in a situation, we need to turn the
situation over to God, and keep worry and anxiety from taking over our lives.

For example, if we have someone we love who is very sick, or a large financial problem
that we cannot solve, we need to turn the matter over to God and pray about it.
b. Phil 4 7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
7
这样，　神所赐超过人能了解的平安，必在基督耶稣里，保守你们的心思意念。

When prayer replaces worry, the peace of God, which surpasses all our
understanding comes into our lives.

It acts as a guard or a sentry/mén wéi for our minds and hearts. It will help us to keep
safe from a sudden attack of fear and anxiety and temptation.

5. Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?

a. Wrong Motives
James 4 3 你们求也得不到，因为你们的动机不良，要把所得的耗费在你们的私欲上。
James 4 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, in order that you
may spend it on your pleasures.

b. We are double-minded.
James 1 5 你们中间若有人缺少智慧，就当向那厚赐众人，而且不斥责人的　神祈求，他就必得着。
6
可是，他应该凭着信心祈求，不要有疑惑；因为疑惑的人，就像被风吹荡翻腾的海浪。 7 那样的
人，不要想从主得到什么； 8 因为三心两意的人，在他的一切道路上，都摇摆不定。
James 1 5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask for it from God, who gives to all without
reservation and not reproaching, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask for it in faith,
without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven by the wind and
tossed about. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8
 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

c. We don’t pray according to the Spirit

d. We don’t want to change. I know what I want, I’m praying about it, and God
better give it to me.

Romans 8
照样，圣灵也在我们的软弱上帮助我们。原来我们不晓得应当怎样祷告，但圣灵亲自用不可言喻
26

的叹息，替我们祈求。 27 那鉴察人心的，晓得圣灵的心意，因为圣灵照着　神的旨意替圣徒祈求。 28 我们知道，

为了爱　神的人，就是按他旨意蒙召的人的益处，万事都一同效力。 29 因为　神预先知道的人，他就预先命定
他们和他儿子的形象一模一样，使他的儿子在许多弟兄中作长子，
Romans 8 26 And likewise also, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know
how to pray as one ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unexpressed
groanings. 27 And the one who searches our hearts knows what the mindset of the Spirit
is, because he intercedes on behalf of the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we
know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are
called according to his purpose, 29 because those whom he foreknew, he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many
brothers.

e. We are not submitted to God in his Kingdom

Matt 6 33
你们要先求他的国和他的义，这一切都必加给你们。
Matt 6 33
 But seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to
you.

f. God does not answer our prayers as we think he should, so we believe that he is
not answering our prayers.

6. How can I pray?

PAPA Prayer

Present yourself to God. Be a real person in the relationship.  Tell Him whatever is
going on inside you that you can identify.

 God, I’m really tired right now, my life is very hard

 God, I’m confused, I have a decision to make, and I just don’t know what choice to
make

 God I’m really angry at this person right now, I want to have revenge for how he
has treated me

 God, I feel empty right now, no motivation, unable to focus on what I need to do.

Attend to how you’re thinking of God. Again, no pretending.  Ask yourself, “How am I

experiencing God right now?” 

What does God look like to me? How picture do I see of him?

 Is He a vending machine,

 a frowning father,

 a distant, cold force? 

 is He your gloriously strong but intimate Papa?

Purge yourself of anything blocking your relationship with God. Put into words
whatever makes you uncomfortable or embarrassed in your relationship with Him.  How
are you thinking more about yourself and your satisfaction than about God and His
pleasure?

Approach God as the “first thing” in your life, as your most valuable treasure, the
Person you most want to know.  Admit that other people and things really do matter
more to you right now, but you long to want God so much that every other good thing in
your life becomes a “second thing” desire. Seek first the kingdom of God and its
righteousness…

Anything less than this is idolatry.

 1. Set aside some time every day to pray about things.

2. Think about everything that concerns you, that you are anxious about or
worried about.

3. Make a note or list or something about what these things are.

4. Note or mark those things that you can take care of or can do yourself.

5. Do the things you can do

6. Turn everything else over to God

7. Pray to God and make specific requests to God about your concerns.

God can handle our prayers. If He has a better way to take care of the prayer request, he
will deal with it, and, He WILL let us know.

We need to cast our cares on God, and we have to learn to wait for him and see what he
does.

a. Prayer shows us that God can provide for our every need, and he will make that
provision available to us.

b. As we pray, we begin to see things from God’s point of view, which will help us to see
our problems in a new way. But we must learn to be patient and learn to listen for God
when he speaks to us.

 Sometimes he speaks to us through circumstances

 Sometimes he speaks to us through a friend or someone else.
 Sometimes we will feel a push or nudge or something will come into our minds that
is totally unexpected.
There are a number ways that God can speak to us, and I’m not going to even try to tell
you what they are. Most of you have had an experience of hearing from God. It takes
time, it takes patience, and it take commitment to God.