Actions Speak Louder than Words - Lesson 4 - ... with our Prayers

Actions speak louder than words with our prayers.
How is your prayer life?
You don’t have to answer that question but the answer is,
It could be better.

Are you the person who prays when you are in trouble
And ignores God when things are going good.

Or are you the person who also ignores God
when things are not going so well because you are mad at Him.

Do you have wimpy prayers that carry with it less strength
than a child blowing out his birthday candles and making a wish.

Are your thoughts the same as the Lords?
Are your priorities the same as the Lords?
Are your prayers in line with His Word?

Matthew 26:36-46, ‘Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.’


My personal DVD thoughts on this verse

Are you a prayer warrior like Jesus
or are you like the 3 He chose to stand watch?
Or do you hopefully lie somewhere in between?

You thoughts…





(I used to sit in Pastor Paul’s class and stay silent when I thought I needed to say something, I would be mad at myself for at least the rest of the day. I don’t want you to do that to your self. If you are worried about talking too much or saying something wrong, what is personal and stated in this class stays in this class.)

Verse 41. ‘…that ye enter not into temptation…’
If we cannot endure a little fatigue when there is no suffering,
how will we do when a strong temptation, a trial or a storm comes?

Your thoughts …





‘…watch and pray…’
Watch, that we are not caught off guard
and pray, that when it comes we may be able to bear it.

Your thoughts …





‘…the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak…’
I am sure your intensions are good
I am sure you are truly sincere,
However of this good will be overpowered by your timidity.

We wish to continue unwavering in our obedience to the Master,
but in our own strength our fears will lead us to desert Him.

So what kind of prayer will help us with this?





Vs. 44 Jesus is praying a third time.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9, ‘For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’

Where is the balance between fervent prayer
and the thought that possibly the Lord didn’t hear us the first few times.
Has the Lord told us ‘No’
Or has He told us not yet?

Your thoughts…





Philippians 4:6, ‘Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’

‘…be careful for nothing…’
Meaning, having no anxiety.
So then if we are anxious and have anxiety
does that mean we do not trust the Lord?

You can sit there and say I don’t suffer from anxiety,
Then let me give you some synonyms:
nervousness, worry, concern, unease, apprehension, disquiet, fretfulness,
angst, restless, fearful.

Now let me ask,
How confident are you in your trust of the Lord when you go to Him in prayer?





Matthew 21:22, ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’

Let’s not read into this one more than we need to.
All means all.
Believing means believing.


If we are praying in the will of God and calling on His promises
we will then know and believe it in our heart.

Then it just comes down to the fact that we have to wait on His time.
He did not say no or maybe, it was more of a not now.

Example with our children.

Your thoughts …





Matthew 7:9-11, ‘Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?’

James 5:16-18, ‘Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’

I want you to stop wishing for God to answer your prayers.
I want you to stop hoping for God to answer your prayers.
I want you to search the scriptures and know you are praying in His will.

Our actions should speak louder than words with our prayers.
I want your prayer life to be stronger today than it was yesterday.
I want you to call on the promises of God.
And believe than He wants to give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 21:2 & Psalm 20:5

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