These notes accompany the sermon Power and Prayer which can be found here: https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/whitesrun/sermons/59201645572814/

Power:

• Two great misconceptions prevent us from properly understanding what Jesus means here by “mighty works”:
  • A misconception about the purposes of the Gospel.
  • A misconception about the nature of mankind.
• See John 16:7; Romans 8:11; Matthew 12:22-32; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Luke 16:19-31; 1 Timothy 1:15.

Prayer: 

• “In my name,” means according to my will, or as my representative, or in my interests. 
• See John 15:16, 17:1-5; James 4:2-3; Isaiah 43:7.
• Some references in the gospels of this promise of prayer:  Matthew 7:7-8 (see Matthew 6:33), Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24; Luke 11:9; John 14:13, 15:7, 15:16.  See also 1 John 3:21-22, 5:14-15.

Big Idea:  The Church of Jesus Christ can thrive without his physical presence because God has granted mighty works to continue and prayers to be answered.   

Invitation:  Am I struggling in my prayer life because I am praying according to my own desires, and not the priorities of God?  Do I truly believe that Jesus Christ died to save me from my sins?  Have I repented and embraced Jesus Christ as my only hope for life?

Helpful Quotations:

1 Timothy 1:15, (ESV) “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” 

 “There are, no doubt, passages in the New Testament which may seem at first sight to promise an invariable granting of our prayers.  But that cannot be what they really mean.  For in the very heart of the story we meet a glaring instance to the contrary.  In Gethsemane the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him.  It did not.  After that the idea that prayer is recommended to us as a sort of infallible gimmick may be dismissed.”  — C. S. Lewis [1]

“Praying ‘in His name’ or ‘according to His will’ means to pray with God’s desires as our priority.  And the scriptures clearly show forth His desire to be glorified in His people by their faith, worship, obedience, character, love, and ministry of His Word.” – Pastor Eric

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[1] Martindale, Wayne, and Jerry Root. The Quotable Lewis: an Encyclopedic Selection of Quotes from the Complete Published Works of C. S. Lewis. Tyndale House Publishers, 1989.