Hallelujah!  The Lord is good; amen?  And His mercies endure forever.  I want to talk a little bit about sovereignty and prayer, how these two things work together.  Aren’t you glad to know that we can rest in the fact that God has already ordered our ways, amen?  And our steps.  And, very clearly, the Scripture says to us that there’s nothing that can change the will or the heart of God, for He does whatsoever He desires.  Amen?  No power, no force, can come against the will of God or thwart His purpose for you.

When we’re talking about the sovereignty of God, God being unable to be contended with in His place of majesty, His authority.  We also want to look at some of the other attributes that accompany sovereignty, because it’s one thing to be sovereign, but if you run into a greater sovereign, then you have a problem.  Our God is also omnipotent; He is all-powerful.  Amen?  He’s omniscient; He knows everything.  So, we realize, with Him knowing the beginning to the end, that all of His decisions are made upon that knowledge and accompanied, then, by His great mercy, His majesty, and His goodness to us.  We’ve talked about the goodness of God and the fact that this is what has been preordained for each and every one of us.  We think about predestination and prayer.

First of all, we need to not misunderstand what prayer is or how to pray effectually.  Prayer does not change God’s will.  Amen?  Prayer reveals God’s will.  Prayer allows us to be able to see into the heart and the mind of God through His presence.  “In your presence, that’s where I belong.”  Amen?  So that fellowship that we have with Him—Hebrews says that we can boldly come into His presence, and through prayer and through practicing the presence of God, obtain these great and mighty things that He’s ordained for us, that we might find that help in the time of our need, praise God (Hebrews 4:16).  So, we’re resting in that fact that God has made an access to us.

We pray because God’s told us to pray.  The Bible is very clear.  In Luke 18, a passage that we’re all familiar with, “And he spoke to them in this parable, and said men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).  Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.  Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”  So, He shows His character and His nature and essence in admonishing us to pray all manner of prayer, meaning intercession, petitions, praise, and worship; amen?  All of these things that are expressions of prayer, this great gift and opportunity that He’s given us to come boldly into His presence.

Psalm 34 says, “His ears are open unto the cry of the righteous.”  Can you say praise God for that?  He never sleeps nor slumbers.  As we get into this aspect of the sovereignty of God and how merciful He is in showing that great grace to us.  The grace of God, that unmerited favor that is expressed toward us—we don’t deserve it, but because God is love, He continually shows mercy and grace; amen?  That mercy just means that He’s pitiful for us.  He knows our frame.  He knows that we’re just dust.  He knows our weaknesses.  He’s given us that right, that opportunity, then, to come before the throne of God and to obtain help in the time of our need.