I have been reading the book Alone with God by John MacArthur Jr. for my sermons on Sunday.  But there is much more in this book than I can fit into the sermon each week.  Plus there is a lot of material that does not fit my focus on “Unanswered prayers.”  So I thought that I would add some additional quotes from his book about prayer.

 

This last weekend I spoke on God’s will verses our will.

“Prayer begins and ends not with the needs of man but with the glory of God (John 14:13). It should be concerned primarily with who God is, what He wants, and how He can be glorified. Those who teach otherwise are not preoccupied with the extension of Christ’s kingdom or the glory of God’s name but with the enlargement of their own empire and the fulfillment of their own selfish desires. Such teaching attacks the heart of Christian truth—the very character of God. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1995). Alone with God (pp. 43–44). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

 

We have been using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide to understanding unanswered prayer.  MacArthur says this about the Lord’s prayer that is always useful when teaching about it.

“This prayer, often called the “Lord’s Prayer,” when it could more accurately be titled the “Disciples’ Prayer,” is not a set group of words to repeat. When Christ said to “pray, then, in this way,” He didn’t mean pray with these exact words. His intention was to give them a pattern for the structure of their own prayers, especially since He had just warned them of the dangers of meaningless repetition. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t recite it, as we do with so many passages in Scripture. Memorizing it is actually helpful so you can meditate on its truths as you formulate your own thoughts. The prayer is mainly a model we can use to give direction to our own praise, adoration, and petitions. It is not a substitute for our own prayers but a guide for them. (Ibid p. 45).

 

Think about these things this next week and join us next Sunday for part 3 of the Mystery of Unanswered Prayer.  You can join us live at Groveland Missionary Church or download the message on our website https://www.grovelandmc.org/media