Bible Session Notes from July 23 - A little late :)

Perspectives on…  Prayer and Perseverance

7-23-12

Prayer

Louis’ Story:  I have a small bunny named Louis La’Bunny.  He weighs 2.5lbs and is fully grown.  The other night I made a HUGE mistake and left him in the exercise pen out in our yard instead of putting him back into his hutch for the night.  Please note we live in Bothell and have raccoons, a local eagle that visits fairly regularly, and a heron that steals koi from our neighbors’ pond.  Needless to say as I was reading to Isaac the next morning and realized what I’d done, I went straight into major panic mode.  I ran out to see if he was still in his exercise pen, and he was not. Gone.  Probably gone forever.  I ran back inside to wake up my husband, who instantly jumped out of bed and threw on some shoes and ran outside to help me look for Louis.  I stayed inside for a moment with our 2.5 year old son, Isaac to put shoes on and pray that Louis would come home.  When my husband ran outside, Louis was gone.  Not in his pen, not in his hutch, not in the yard.  I thought he might have gotten out of our fenced area and been hit by a car or something, so I stepped outside the gate to check.  There he was… in our neighbors’ driveway getting ready to run out into the street.  I ran along our fence and stepped into the road. My husband was trying to get something to catch Louis with when our son decided he had to go potty.  I’m on my own trying to keep an eye on Louis til Jason can come back out and help.  Louis starts to run.   Not into the street, but away from me.  He also does not run down the long driveway towards the neighbors’ backyard and pond, but he runs back towards our house, under our cars, through our fence and back into our yard.  He actually came home.  Now I could have prayed that we would find Louis.  I could have prayed that Louis was somehow not eaten by another animal.  Instead, I prayed that Louis would come home, and that’s exactly what he did.

Bible Verses:      I John 5:14-15 – This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.

Philippians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Mark 11:22-24 – “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the seas,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Matthew 7:7-11 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Point: Be specific in what you ask God for when you want Him to do something.  Like any good Father, He wants to give you what you want as long as it is good for you.

Perseverance
Aquilante’s Story : This is a story from a secular venue… a non-Christian situation.  On Mother’s Day weekend, Brett Spaude and Andrew Aquilante were competing in a Continental Sports Car Challenge race.  Having taken Pole Position, they were excited for a good result at this race.  Brett Spaude handed the car over to Andrew Aquilante in good shape, but in the pit lanes Aquilante bump another competitor’s car resulting in a stop and go penalty.  This means he does his lap, comes back into pit lane, and has to come to complete stop before going again.  Aquilante tried to battle back but in another pit stop, he hit another competitor’s pit box on his way out and received yet another penalty.  He had to complete the lap and return for a stop and hold.  That means he had to sit in pit lane for 30 seconds.  That is a race killer right there.  He could have just given up.  He was in 12^th place.  These were not car problems.  These were not crew problems. The fact that he went from Pole Position to 12^th place was basically all his fault.  Instead of giving up, he continued to fight.  In the last nine laps of the race Aquilante took over the lead, held the lead, and won the race.

Bible Verses:                      Romans 5:3-4 – Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Hebrews 12:1 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

James 1:12 – Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Point:  It doesn’t matter how bleak the situation may look, press on, persevere, win with God on your side.