Who Do You Think You're Talking To?

40 Days of Prayer

Who Do You Think You Are Talking To?

Matthew 6:5-8

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” A.W. Tozer

(To download and print blank sermon notes to complete while you listen, click HERE.)

Your understanding of what God is really like shapes everything else in your life, including your prayer.

“For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

Because God Is Always Good…

1. God’s Plans for my life will always be good

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” (Psalm 31:19)

God is not mad at you; God is Mad About You!

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20)

God is not trying to get even with you; God is trying to Grow You!

2. God always gives me what I need, not what I Deserve

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:10–12)

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:1–2)

God forgives me not because I am good, but because God Is Good

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15–16)

3. God does not say yes to every Request

“Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9–11)

“Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking.”” (Matthew 20:22)

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9)

“God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”

4. Christ Jesus Sacrificed for us

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14–15)

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

Christ Jesus did not die for you just to Desert You!

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,” (2 Peter 1:3)

5. We can Live With Him Forever

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16–18)

This life is preparation for Eternity

The more I understand the love and goodness of God, the more I am going to Enjoy prayer!

Prayer will move from duty and drudgery to Delight

Making It Personal

• Have I personally responded to the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ for my sin through repentance and faith?

• What misconceptions have I been believing about God? How has this impacted my understanding and practice of prayer?

• How will I meditate on these truths about God’s love and goodness this week?

• In light of God’s goodness and love, what will it look like for me to make more time for drawing nearer to God in the days ahead?

• Who can I share these truths with?