Place of Promises of God in Prayer

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the second major area for discerning God's will in prayer: His promises. He asserts that scriptural prayer requires attention to both God's precepts and His…

Martin uses the analogy of physical sight to explain that while it's bad for eyes to go in different directions physically, it's wonderful spiritually to have one eye on precepts and the other on promises when praying, bringing both into focus for scriptural prayer.

And the assertion that I'm making this morning is that if our praying is to be scriptural, it must not only have one eye to the precepts relating to prayer, but it must have the other eye on the promises. Now in physical sight it's bad when one eye goes this way and one the other. But in spiritual dimensions it's a wonderful thing. It's wonderful when you can have one eye to the precepts when you pray and the other eye to the promises.

5:52 - 6:21 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He illustrates this principle with Jeremiah's prophecy of 70 years of captivity and Daniel's subsequent prayer in Daniel 9. Daniel's fervent prayer was directly triggered by God's…

He describes Jeremiah as a prophet of doom contrasted with false prophets who offered false peace, illustrating the context of God's specific promise to return His people from Babylon.

One picture is worth a thousand words, and whenever we can have a principle fleshed out in a specific example, it's more helpful to us. Jeremiah chapter 29, verses 10 through 13. Jeremiah was this prophet who was considered, of course, a prophet of doom because he constantly pronounced the impending judgment upon Israel, and the false prophets were always trying to salve over the issue and saying to the people, you're God's covenant people, don't mind this old character, Jeremiah, he just looks at the dark side of things, you're God's people, God will never treat you the way Jeremiah says. Wel...

12:24 - 13:39 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin analyzes Abraham's faith in Romans 4, highlighting how Abraham, despite his and Sarah's physical 'deadness,' believed God's promise of a son. His focus was not on his…

Martin vividly describes Abraham's realistic assessment of his and Sarah's physical inability to conceive, comparing it to expecting a man to rise from his tomb to father a child, to highlight the magnitude of the promise and Abraham's faith in God's power.

Well, the promise is given. It is a gracious promise as Paul has been establishing. Verse 17, as it is written, Romans 4, 17, A father of many nations have I made thee before him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls the things that are not as though they were, who, speaking of Abraham, in hope believed against hope, that is, who in spiritual expectation based upon the promise believed against all natural expectation to the end that he might become a father of many nations according to that which hath been spoken, so shall thy seed be. And without being weakened in f...

18:39 - 19:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Prayer is putting promises into suit, that is, pleading them before God.

Martin describes his research process for sermons as being like a bee, flitting from flower to flower among Puritan authors, to convey the thoroughness and delight in finding 'choice gems' on a subject.

All right? Having established it from the scriptures, now let me just read a couple of choice quotes. When I'm trying to investigate a subject like this, I become like a bee flitting from flower to flower, and I go through all my standard puritans, and sets, they're wonderfully indexed at the back, and I look up all on the promises and the rest, and spread the things out, and come up with some choice gems. Well, I did in investigating this subject, and in a book called Justifying Faith, The Object and Acts of Justifying Faith by Goodwin, he has a chapter, how we are to prayer, how we are in pr...

22:50 - 23:31 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We turn promises into prayers.

He references Spurgeon's book 'Faith's Checkbook' and explains the metaphor of God's promises as blank checks, signed in the blood of the everlasting covenant, which believers endorse with their prayers.

The promises are there to be turned into prayers when we draw nigh unto God. How many of you ever seen Spurgeon's little book, Faith's Checkbook? Now what is it? Someone tell us what that book is.

26:27 - 26:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Search out God's promises, not by relying on 'promise boxes' but by diligently studying the Scriptures in context.

Martin describes a 'promise box' as a cute but potentially dangerous way to engage with promises, warning that it can lead to careless application and skepticism if not accompanied by contextual understanding.

May I suggest the best way to do it is not to go to the local Christian bookstore and buy a promise box. You know what the promise box is, don't you? That's a cute little box that has little cards about the size of your finger double, about like here, and has the promises written on them and when you open it up it has a little music box singing the little

29:22 - 29:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your conscience: are you diligently searching out and applying God's promises in your prayer life?

He uses the analogy of having a check made out in one's name but not cashing it, to illustrate that having God's promises does no good unless they are 'endorsed' and 'cashed' through prayer.

If not, could this not be one of the fundamental reasons as to why you see so few answers to prayer? You have not because you ask not. And your asking is so limited because you're making such poor use of the promises. It does no good to have checks made out in my name signed by a bonafide issuer of the checks with money in the bank to back it up.

34:43 - 35:11 Read in full sermon

The point: In times of crisis or particular concern, actively search the Scriptures for promises relevant to your need.

Martin tells a story of a man agitated about marriage who searches Scripture and misapplies Jeremiah's command not to take a wife, illustrating the danger of seeking a 'rubber stamp' for one's own desires rather than God's true will.

Now, that's good and right, but is there any very real danger inherent in doing that? Well, again you see there's that problem of our remaining corruption. The problem is always there and oft times if we go in a spirit of inward frenzy looking for something that speaks to that particular thing, generally we'll find what we want to find. For instance, here's a fellow who's agitated on whether or not he ought to get married.

41:05 - 41:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Keep in mind that when an answer comes, it may not be as expected, and that promises are for God's glory and the good of His church, not just personal desires.

He uses the analogy of parents refusing to give their whimpering children something not in their best interest, to explain that God, as a good Father, will not sacrifice His higher ends for our carnal, immediate desires.

God has children just like some of us have children come whimpering and whining for something and we refuse to give it to them because we know it is not in their best interest. And if you're a parent worth your name you won't bend to their whines or their whimperings. And thank God some of you have had parents like that. I thank God that you have parents who when they are child based they are driven by the desire and the desire to be saved.

44:01 - 44:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Never insulate a promise from other portions of God's Word that define duties; diligently perform the duties God has ordained to bring about the fulfillment of His promises.

Martin uses the example of praying 'Give us this day our daily bread' to illustrate that God often answers prayer by providing the means (like work) through which we procure what we ask for, emphasizing the role of duty.

For instance, one of the old writers said, I read recently, when we pray, give us this day our daily bread, God answers that prayer by putting... by putting work in our hands by which we are able to procure our daily bread.

45:45 - 45:58 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If not, your prayer is presumption. You can go on praying till your vocal cords shrivel up or turn purple.

He references Mormonism and Brigham Young University to illustrate how intelligent people can believe a 'fairy story,' attributing it to God sending 'strong delusion' when promises are abused or misinterpreted.

Well, that turns that turns that turns the whole matter of God's revealing His truth into a far-fetched fairy story that only a spirit of deception could ever cause a mature, adult, rational person to believe. Really, I see no answer for the fact that mature, rational people can believe the fairy story that forms the basis of Mormonism. No answer but that there is a spirit of error that is given to people to let them believe a lie. Because there are some very intelligent people.

47:17 - 47:50 Read in full sermon