Ephesians 6:18 “… praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”
Commentary from the sermon “Praying…” by Alistair Begg:
“It is our prayers which reveal the preoccupations of our lives, which can be unashamedly selfish and self-oriented to the absence of the great concerns of the kingdom of God. …
“To pray in Jesus’ name is to be in the Spirit. To be in the Spirit is to be trusting the Lord Jesus’ saving work as the sole ground of our access to God.”
2 Samuel 7:25“And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken.”
Commentary from the sermon “‘Do as You Have Spoken’” by Alistair Begg:
“‘Oh,’ you say, ‘that seems rather strange, asking God for things he’s promised.’ Well, it may seem strange to you, but fathers can make promises to their children, and they don’t mind when their children come back and remind them of the promise. In fact, I think it’s a refrain you hear often from a child’s voice, even as you’re passing in the street: ‘But Daddy, you promised! But you promised!’
“That’s what David is saying: ‘Father, I have found courage to pray this prayer because You promised—not because I think it’s a bright idea, not because it’s an outlandish concept, but because You made this promise.’ You see, courageous praying on our part is not on the basis of the extent of our faith but is on the foundation of God’s promises.”
2 Chronicles 20:12 “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Commentary from the sermon “The Advantage of Weakness” by Alistair Begg:
“God’s purpose is that we might depend upon Him entirely. That’s why the story is one of the supremacy of the enemy and of the inadequacy of the people. And it’s because of this perspective that God brings things into our lives. …
“It’s only when we’re confronted by the facts of our own personal inadequacy that we will then be enabled to call upon God for all the adequacy that He provides.”
Luke 11:11–12 “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”
Commentary from the sermon “More Help on Prayer” by Alistair Begg:
“There is no inconvenient moment for going to our heavenly Friend. … Not only does our Father love it when we ask Him for what we need, but He also loves it when we give Him what we can’t handle. …
“We think we can just soldier on and carry it all by ourselves, and we’re not prepared to bow down before God and tell Him, ‘I’m sorry, but my shoulders are absolutely far too narrow to carry any of these burdens.’”
Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Commentary from the sermon “Prayer” by Alistair Begg:
“The devil recognizes that when we go in prayer, we become supernaturally empowered, and therefore, the only thing he is afraid of is that we would ever get serious about going in prayer. He’s not too concerned about preaching that is not backed by prayer, or worship that is not prayed out, or witnessing that is not prayed out, because he recognizes that all of the little monsters and creatures that he has and the pitfalls along the journey that we make through life are more than able to swallow us up—unless, of course, we are taking seriously this matter of prayer.”
