Page 63 - The Importance of Prayer Student Textbook

Study Section 9: Prayer Nuggets - continued

9.1 Connect

When I was a kid, a neighbor put a small boat out in his front yard and put a “for sale” sign
on it. It was only $20! I really wanted that boat, so went home to see if my mom would
advance me my allowance to be able to buy it. My mom told me that I needed to ask God
if it was His will for me to have the boat, and if so, I should go out and work for the money
to purchase it. So, I prayed and asked God to have the boat not sell until I raised the
money needed. I worked several lawn jobs but it took a couple of weeks to earn that amount. When I
got my last pay and finally had $20, I rushed down to the neighbor’s house only to find out that the boat
had been sold. I was heartbroken. I went home to tell my mom that the boat was gone.

She asked me if I prayed about the boat to ask Jesus if it was His will for me to have it. I told her yes, I
did. She replied, “Sometimes God says NO!” For some reason, it was not God’s will for me to have the
boat. That year, rather than sail the high seas, I joined a baseball team and we won the pennant – 1
st
place. I hit the winning home run in the final playoff game. I would have missed all that if I had gotten
the boat. As I look back, I am so thankful that God says, “No!” when He has something better for us.
Let’s learn more about prayer…

9.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to recite the ACTS acronym for praying.

2. The student should be able to state a Biblical view of modern medicine and healing.

3. The student should be able to list several hinderances to prayer.

9.3 Worry List

A similar passage encourages us in I Peter 5:7-8 to, Cast all your care upon Him; for He careth
for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour: Martin Luther summarized the key to overcoming
anxiety in five powerful words; “Pray and let God worry”. Make a worry list and give each
item to God. George Mueller was a master at turning his worries into prayers. Mueller was
responsible for caring and feeding orphans in two homes. One day there was no food in
either house with no prospects on the horizon. What did he do? He turned his problems into prayers. He
called his workers together for a day of prayer. During the morning prayer meeting, two-thirds of the
needed money for food was delivered unexpectedly by three separate individuals. When they met latter
in the day for prayer, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. There stood a messenger, and the
rest of the need and then some was provided for. The practice of turning problems into prayers stuck
with Muller. The larger the problem, the more frequently and ardent were his prayers and the greater
the provision. Each time he faced a need, prayed for help, and saw God answer, his faith grew.
Eventually he was feeding several thousand orphans a day, by prayer and faith. To read Mullers
biography or his narratives of answered prayers is to read story after story of miracles.

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