Prayer Asks for Help

Psalm 121:12

Central Theme:  Prayer is a cry for help.

Introduction–I have a friend who has a poster.  It says,  “When things are so bad or scary that you don’t know what to prayer, memorize this prayer and pray it:  HELP!  God gives us prayer so that we can ask for help.

                  Have a member read Psalm 121:12.

I.     Tell the story of Samuel and the Philistines (I Samuel 7:4-11)

A. God sent the Philistines to punish the Israelites.

B.  The Israelites repented and Samuel prayed for help.

C. God sent lightning and thunder and the Philistines were scared and ran away.

  II.     Praying for help is usually what we do best but somethings keep us from asking for help.

A. We have sin in our lives and we don’t want to talk with God.

1.  This can be subtle and sneaky.

B.  We think we can handle the mess ourselves because we are prideful.

C. We are looking to other people for all our help–professionals and parents.

Conclusion  Prayer is a great tool when we need help.