Answered Prayer: Our Assurance

We have the authority to approach Holy God because of our relationship to JC; inherited sons/daughters of the living God.

What does it mean to pray in JC's name?

1. Association-When we come to God in JC's name, this means we're coming to Him based on our association with JC. Our association is based on our recognition of our sinfullness; our separation from God; our asking JC to forgive us of our sins based on what He did at Calvary; we're forgiven of our sins; we are reconciled unto Him; He adopts us into His family, having forgiven us of our sins; we are children of God; we are joint heirs with JC; He's our Savior, our LORD, and our Master.

John 15:4--Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Our relationship with God is based on our relationship with His Son, JC.

2. Access-we recognize that JC is our access to the Father

Ephesians 2:18--He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

JC came to this world, dies on the cross as a substitute, took upon Him our sins, and gave us His righteousness. We are clothed in His holiness, which allows us to approach God's throne.

Ephesians 3:11--11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Hebrews 4:13--Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Only those who are under the blood of JC can approach the throne of God. Our access to God the Father to answer prayer is through His Son, JC. This is because of His work on the cross, justifying our sins and reconciling us to God and His righteousness that is inside us. This allows us to face Holy God, Him to hear us, and Him to answer our prayer.

3. Authority-because of our familial relationship with God, we can approach Him in boldness and confidence. We don't deserve this but God loves us some much He's granted us the privilege to come before Him and call Him "Father."

4. Agreement with His will-to pray in JC's name is to ask God to give you whatever JC would've asked of the Father on your behalf. God will carry our His will in your life even if you don't know His will. He will guide your life because you are obedient to Him.

God reveals His will for us through His word. This is God primary way of directing us. God sent us HS to guide us.

5. Awareness of our dependence upon Him-approach Him in humility. He wants us to come to Him in submission.

6. Assurance that He will grant our petition

Seeking God's Guidance

How do you make important decisions in your life? Believers start with the premises that There is a God who has a will/plan for our life. He is interested in our life, He has our best interest at heart.

Psalm 16

16:7--I will praise the LORD , who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

God will guide and direct us in our life.

1. God has promised to give us Godly guidance. "You have made known to me the path of life."

Psalm 32:8--I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Proverbs 3:5-6--Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Isaiah 58:11--The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Psalm 16:8--I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

I John 5:14--This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.

It is God's will to seek Godly guidance. He promises to direct us. He promises to refresh us.

Genesis 12--God gave Abraham sparse guidance but clear direction. He gives us a sense of direction. As we trust him day by day, His guidance becomes clearer and clearer.

It is the character of God that He would give us very clear guidance in every decision we make. Since it's His will for us to obey and please Him, it's His responsibility to show us want to do. It's not in God's character to make us guess at what we're supposed to do. God will certainly give us Godly guidance if we seek it.

2. We have a pilot in our search for Godly guidance. JC promised to send a Helper/Teacher/Guide. It's HS's responsibility to guide us. HS is living in us to guide/direct us.

Psalm 16:7--I will praise the LORD , who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.

When we're asleep, the HS has absolute undisturbed control of our mind. Our mind is highly active when we're awake. But when we're asleep, the things that we are seeking guidance for from God, HS will reveal God's guidance to us (often in the middle of the night.) That is the work of the HS.

I Corinthians 2:12--We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

Unbelievers can't understand the things of HS because they don't have HS to help them interpret/understand. Believers understand things of HS not because we're smarter, but because we have HS in us, guiding us.

First, you must believe that there is a God. He sent His one and only Son to die and pay for our sins. If you accept His son, Jesus Christ, and confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, and accept Christ as your lord and saviour, that is when you become a child of God, and can receive clear guidance from God through HS. Put your faith and trust in God. He is trustworthy and loving. He will give you Godly, which is the best direction you can ever receive.

We must watch out for the pitfalls when seeking God's guidance.

1. Strong fleshly desires. There is nothing wrong with having natural desires. We must assess what is controlling our decision-making powers. We must ask, "what's the will of the Father?"

2. Wrong counsel. Everyone can offer advice. But they don't have to suffer the consequences. But we can go to the decision maker Himself. He wants us to be able to discern His mind so we know His will for our life.

3. Impatience. We must have patience. I will wait here until I get further orders. I refuse to run ahead.

4. Doubt. Some people feel that they are not worthy of hearing from God. Others feel disappointed by past unanswered prayer. Others misinterpret God's guidance, then things didn't go as desired and they conclude that prayer doesn't work.

If we have sincere motives, God will use our experience for good, no matter what.

5. Pressures. There's external pressure (friends, family, etc.). But those people don't know God's will for your life. So we must be careful of the external pressure. There's also time pressure. We are sometimes forced by the circumstances to make a decision. Other times, the pressure of the circumstances themselves will force us to have to make a decision. Internal pressures come from promptings of HS.

How do we find genuine Godly guidance?

1. Cleansing. We must first look at ourselves. What in my life will hinder me from seeing your guidance?

2. Surrendering. If I am going to deal with things, I have to surrender my will to Him. I must bring my will under submission to His.

3. Asking.

1 John 5:14--This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.

4. Meditating on the Word of God.

Psalm 119:105--Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

God may use His word to reveal other thing that needs to be cleansed from our lives.

5. Believing.

Mark 11:22--"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

6. Waiting.

Isaiah 64:4--Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

7. Receiving.

If you've done these things, you will know that you've heard from God.

Our Trustworthy Guide

Life is an traveled trail that each of us travels. Is there anyone guiding me? All of us need a guide. God wants to be your trustworthy guide.

Psalm 32:8-9: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

God will instruct, teach, guide us on our path. Is there anyone giving me instruction, guidance in my life or am I doing it on my own? God is available to be my guide.

Psalm 31:3--Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

Psalm 48:14--For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. God will guide us until death.

Psalm 73:23-24--Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. God promises to be my guide. Am I seeking genuine guidance from anybody? We all need a guide. God did not equip us to live our lives on our own understanding. We are inadequate.

Life is a journey. We go up difficult mountains and through valleys. We pass through the desert. We have conflict with other people and times of wonderful relationship. Life is hard because we live in a fallen world. Oftentimes, when people get in trouble, it’s because they ignored God. God is motivated by love. Why would we not want to follow His plan for us? We are inadequate to live without divine guidance.
People who don’t know God may seem to do well in life, but one day they will give an account of themselves

Luke 12:16-21--And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Many people want to be like this guy. They want to acquire much and "eat drink and be merry." When you choose to live life without God, God says you are living the life of a fool. It is essential to have a guide; a spiritual guide.

Reasons to follow God
1. God knows us perfectly. He knows our strengths, weaknesses, endurance, personality, desires, relationships, etc. He knows everything about us.
2. He’s available to guide us. Are we available to follow him?
3. He has set the best path for us. He already knows our path. He knows the dangers, what we should avoid.

When things become difficult, the wise thing to do is to respond by trusting God to protect you, provide for you, and guide you in every decision. God is our guide, not the world. God will never mislead us. This doesn't mean that I'll never have trials or hardships. But God promises to counsel us with His eye on us.

There are certain things God wants you to accomplish in life. Don’t try to figure it out; leave it up to God. Trust God, guide, supply at every turn. H will never leave, fail you. God will never tell me to give up. He will tell us to surrender. Giving up means defeat. Surrendering means awesome victory.

Psalm 32:8-9--I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

God warns us not to be like an unbroken horse or a mule that won’t obey.

It's OK to ask friends for advice but it should be "what do you think God would have me to do?" God is trustworthy. He will always tell us the truth.

Sometimes we disobey because we want to choose an exciting and colorful route for ourselves. God knows what we want better than we do. When you hit stormy times, remember that Jesus will guide you through them.

Don’t you think it’d be wise to link your life to the Master Guide? He’s a trustworthy, dependable, unfailing, intimate and personal guide. It begins by asking the Lord Jesus to forgive you of being rebellious and of trying to have your own way.