Praying in Troubled Times: Tapping into the Muchness of God

Message for Sunday, April 19, 2020 from Pastor David Elliott. Part three of a series on prayer.

Video

The service video is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/gYI-A9CerTI , but can also be played directly on this page.

Audio

Either listen to the sermon using the embedded audio player directly above or download the mp3 audio file by (right) clicking on this link and choosing “save link as…” or similar.

Notes

PDF Sermon Notes

Ref: James 5:13–18

You don’t have to be a __________ human to pray.

Acts 14:15

Our God is a god of “______________”

Psalm 23, Ephesians 3:20, James 1:5

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”
(NASB, James 5:16)

The muchness of God is in contrast to the _____________
of our lives.

Revelation 3:14–15,17

Prayer is the _____________ to God’s “muchness”.

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
(NKJV, James 5:16)

Q: What kind of prayer releases God’s muchness?

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21)

Luke 18:1–8

Q: When I tap into God’s “muchness”, what am I tapping into?

James 4:2,3,5:1–9 and James 2:1–6,4:13–16

The “muchness” of God’s p_____________.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what
you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will
experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind
can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in
Christ Jesus. (NLT, Philippians 4:6,7)

The “muchness” of God’s p____________________.

Psalm 91:1–4, 9–10

Digging Deeper

1. Worried about the economy? Rent? Bills? Read Matt. 6:25–34 and Phil. 4:10–19

2. Read and reflect upon the words of the hymn below. What encourages you the most? What challenges you the most?

   I Need Thee Every Hour

   I need Thee ev’ry hour, Most gracious Lord.
   No tender voice like Thine, Can peace afford.

   I need Thee, oh, I need Thee; Ev’ry hour I need Thee!
   Oh, bless me now, my Saviour; I come to Thee!

   I need Thee ev’ry hour; Stay Thou nearby.
   Temptations lose their pow’r When Thou art nigh.

   I need Thee ev’ry hour, In joy or pain.
   Come quickly and abide, Or life is vain.

   I need Thee ev’ry hour, Most Holy One.
   Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son!

   (Words: Annie S. Hawks, 1835–1918; Music: Robert Lowry, 1826–1899; Words and Music Public Domain)

3. Read James 2:5–8. How does this scripture relate to persistent prayer?
4. Consider the following quote. Do you agree? Disagree? Why?
   Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that
   God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer. (R.A. Torrey)