Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

BACKING OUR PRAYERS

1. "Awake, awake, put on thy strength O Zion" - Is. 52:1; we have here the cry of a depressed people:
   1. They plead with God to undertake for them in a special and manifest way
   2. They remind him of his promises to bring deliverance to them
2. And we have also a speedy answer from the Lord:
   1. He asks Zion to use the strength it already has - "Put on thy strength of Zion"
   2. Use the powers you have already before asking the Lord to give more strength
   3. What a paradox prayer can become - if used unwisely, motivated by human selfishness

1. Prayer is legitimate and wonder-working:
   1. If we are willing and ready to cooperate with the Lord, said Jesus; "And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say" - Luke 6:46
   2. The principle is this - our "strength" must back up our supplications; Examples: Moses had to hold up his hands to God before the Lord used His strength to give the army of Israel victory - Ex. 17:11-13; the priests of the Lord had to put their feet into the Red Sea before the Lord divided the waters - Ex. 14:20-25
2. This may be the cause of our prayers and supplications being unanswered:
   1. There is a measure of wisdom in that old adage, "The Lord helps those who help themselves"
   2. The farmer that pleads with the Lord for a bountiful harvest must do his part to make the harvest possible - prepare the soil, sow the see, cultivate the soil - then leave the rest to the Lord of the harvest
   3. If that is true in the material things of life, it is equally true in our Christian experience
   4. Do you see the truth of our two opening texts? "Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O arm of the Lord" - "Awake, awake, put on thy strength of Zion"

1. That means:
   1. That we must do our humble part before we even have a right to ask the Lord to intervene; Examples: It was not David that killed Goliath; it was the God of Israel who used David to slay Goliath - David had a sling and some well chosen stones - and the Lord used these to do the work. Christ used the five loaves and the three fishes to feed the multitude the loaves and fishes in the service of Christ brought about the miracle
   2. And so it is with our prayer for strength, God wants us to use the strength we already have, if we do, He will add what we are lacking; Examples: A certain woman, in the days of Elisha, was unable to pay her debt to her creditors, they about took her two sons. She appealed to Elisha for help; she had but one pot of oil and the prophet, rather the Lord, used that oil to multiply to a point where she could pay the creditors - 2 Kings 4:1-7
2. When I, as a believer in Jesus Christ:
   1. Live the truth I already have, God will give me more light, but I must use what God has given me already
   2. The Lord will not perform a miracle to cover up the miracle that exists
   3. So before we appeal to the Lord to reveal His strength in Zion, we must make sure that we are using the strength we already possess
3. What a thought-provoking paradox of the two short verses of our opening texts:
   1. The prayer, "Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days in the generations of old" - a wonderful prayer
   2. God did work gloriously in olden days, but under certain conditions when His people did their part too. God saved Noah and his family in the flood which destroyed others; but Noah had to prepare the ark
   3. "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion" is God's reply to the petition. In other words the Lord says to Zion, you do your part, use the strength you have then I will do my part; that is the condition I work under - combining human weakness with the Divine strength.