TEXT:
Psalm 81:10 "I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: OPEN THY MOUTH WIDE, and I will FILL it."

Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee GREAT AND MIGHTY THINGS, which thou knowest not."

INTRODUCTION:

  A. GOD’S ABILITY TO ANSWER PRAYER
    1. Christian parents often teach their children a little prayer that goes,
      "God is great, God is good! Let us thank Him for our Food!"
    2. The fact is, GOD IS indeed GREAT!
    3. God is Almighty, Omnipotent, All Powerful!
    4. God is infinitely ABLE to do anything He chooses!

  B. GOD’S DISPOSITION TO ANSWER PRAYER
    1. God is GOOD!
    2. Not only does God have the power to answer prayer, He also has the
        disposition to do so.
    3. God delights to answer prayer.
    4. In fact, God delights to answer big prayers for big things.
    5. He is not only the infinite and almighty God, but He is the loving Father of
        His children.
    6. If the creation of the worlds proves God's power, then the giving of His
        Son proves God’s love.
    7. Romans 8:32 "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us
        all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
    8. God is able, and He is willing to answer big prayers for mighty things.
    9. God is great! God is good! Let us pray big!

  C. MAN’S FAILURE TO ASK
    1. A man was once praying about some serious problems he was having.
    2. He prayed, "Lord, it may seem like I’m asking an awful lot here; but if
        You will hear me just this one time, I’ll never ask for so much any more!"
    3. That’s ridiculous to think that we might exhaust God’s infinite supply.
    4. Nowhere does Scripture hint that any man ever asked too much of God!
    5. In fact, I  believe it saddens God when we are so unbelieving that we lack
        the faith to ask God for big things!
    6. In Matthew 13:58 concerning the town of Nazareth it states, "He did not
        many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
    7. I believe the same is often true of many churches today.
    8. We miss out on many of God’s mighty works because of our unbelief.
    9. We simply fail to pray!

I. GOD COMMANDS PRAYING BIG

  A. GOD’S RESUME (Psalm 81:10)
    1. "I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt:
        open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it" (Psalm 81: 10).
    2. God gives His resume here as if He is looking for the job of answering prayer.
    3. He said, "I brought you out of Egypt.
        a. I opened the Red Sea in answer to Moses' prayer.
        b. I brought all the plagues upon Egypt.
        c. I brought you out  between the piled-up waters of the Red Sea!
        d. I fed you with manna from Heaven for 40 years in the wilderness.
        e. I gave you water from a rock.
        f. I brought you across the flooded Jordan river on dry ground.
        e. I caused the walls of Jericho to fall!
    4. That’s the kind of God I am!
    5. Now if you want any big things done, JUST COME TO ME!
    6. GOD IS JUST AS WILLING NOW AS HE WAS THEN
    7. He is still the same! He hasn’t changed!
    8. He wouldn’t be reminding them of Egypt if He wasn’t willing to do the
        same kind of miracles again!
    9. He says, open your mouth wide and He will fill it!

  B. WE HAVE LITTLE BECAUSE WE ASK LITTLE (James 4:2)
    1. James 4:2 says, "Ye have not, because ye ask not."
    2. The logical conclusion is, we also "have little, because we ask little."
    3. If we would ask more, we would get more!
    4. Psalm 81:10 was one of George Muller’s favorites.
        a. Muller is called the modern apostle of prayer.
        b. He received and dispersed over seven million dollars for the
            Lord's work without ever asking a man for a penny.
        c. All of it was received in answer to prayer.
        d. One by one he prayed into existence the orphanages in England,
            to care for more than 2,000 orphan children.
        e. Day by day he prayed for their food, clothes, and teaching.
        f. All these needs were met in answer to the prayers of this man of God.
        g. He supported hundreds of missionaries, printed millions of tracts and
            circulated a multitude of copies the Word of God.
        h. George Muller opened his mouth wide, and God filled it.
 

  C. THE GREAT AND MIGHTY THINGS (Jeremiah 33:3)
    1. "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things,
        which thou knowest not" (Jeremiah 33: 3).
    2. God exhorts us to call on Him so He can give "great and mighty things.
    3. God obviously has in mind big prayers.
    4. He wants us to ask for "great" things.
    5. God had been dealing with Jeremiah on this matter of big prayers.
        a. They NEEDED A GREAT AND MIGHTY THING
        b. The Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar had surrounded Jerusalem.
        c. They had thrown up mounts against the walls.
        d. They were ready to swarm over the walls and take the city.
        e. Famine and pestilence had already taken their toll on the people.
        f. They were distraught, and facing a sure death.
        g. They needed a GREAT AND MIGHTY THING!
        h. Then Jeremiah cried out in Jeremiah 32:17,

Ah Lord God! …thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power!
Ah Lord God! …thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thine outstretched arm!
Nothing is too difficult for thee!  Nothing is too difficult for thee!
You’re a great and mighty God! Great in counsel and mighty in deed!
Nothing! Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Nothing is too difficult for thee!

    6. Then Jeremiah reminded God of how He had dealt with the children of
        Israel before in bringing them out of Egypt.
    7. And in verses 26 and 27 we find God's answer: "Then came the word of
        the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,
        "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too
        hard for me?" (Jer. 32: 26, 27).
    8. God was still going to allow Jerusalem to fall.
    9. But it was because of their unrepentant sin that they would fall!
    10. It was not because God didn’t have the power to stop it.
    11. It was because He had warned them and they continued in sin!
    12. God said, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great
        and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
    13. God was stating, "Just ask me for forgiveness!" I’ll annihilate these
        Babylonians! Just ask me!  I’ll show you great and mighty things!

  D. NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE (Matthew 17:20)
    1. Matt 17:20 "…If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto
        this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and
        nothing shall be impossible unto you." (KJV)
    2. The disciples couldn’t cast a demon out of a lunatic boy, and asked Jesus why.
    3. Jesus said it was because of their unbelief.
    4. Then he gave them an amazing promise, "…nothing shall be impossible to you!"
    5. Nothing is impossible to those who pray with faith!

  E. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO ALL BELIEVERS (Mark 9:23)
    1. "Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that
        believeth" (Mark 9: 23).
    2. In Mark’s account of the same incident, we have an added promise.
    3. In Matthew it says, "nothing shall be impossible TO YOU."
    4. This verse includes the same promise to all believers!
    5. Jesus addressed the boy’s father and said to him, "If thou canst believe,
        all things are possible to him that believeth."

  F. EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABLE (Eph.3:20-21)
    1. Eph 3:20-21
        20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
        or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
        21  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world
        without end. Amen. (KJV)
    2. He is able to do ABOVE all that we ASK!
    3. He is able to do ABOVE all that we THINK!
    4. He is not only able, but abundantly able.
    5. He is not only abundantly able, but exceeding abundantly able to do above
        all that we ask or think!

II. PRAYING BIG HELPS GOD'S WORK

  A. SMALL ASKING MEANS SMALL WORK
    1. Next, the work of God lacks because of our small asking.
    2. Missionaries are called home because we don’t pray.
    3. Missionaries can’t do great things because they don’t have great resources.
    4. A/G missionaries are notorious for having good resources.
    5. A/G people know how to pray big.
    6. At a recent Light for the Lost banquet, I heard A/G missionary Phil Hutsell tell the story of
        a woman praying them through a life threatening situation in Paraguay!
    7. She asked what had been happening on that day at that time.
    8. Their family had been ambushed by terrorists, but they amazingly escaped.
    9. This is an example of a Christian woman praying big and our Big God answering.

  B. LITTLE PRAYERS BRING LITTLE POWER
    1. Church congregations dwindle because of lack of prayer.
    2. Revival efforts fail because of lack of prayer.
    3. Soul winning efforts fail because of lack of prayer.
    4. God says we are to expect MIGHTY THINGS from Him (Jeremiah 33:3)!
    5. If we prayed big for a mighty move of God, no doubt we would have it!

III. PRAYING BIG HELPS THE SAINTS

  A. THE SLAVE WHO DIDN’T ASK FOR MUCH
Dr. John R. Rice (a fundamentalist preacher) used to tell of an old slave in a southern state after the close of the Civil War who had been the personal servant to a southern gentleman, was set free by Lincoln's proclamation. His master was old and he begged the slave to stay and take care of him.
He promised to take good care of the former slave if he would stay. The slave loved his master and humbly agreed to stay as this man's servant, which he did until his master died. After the master died, the former slave mowed lawns, chopped kindling, and ran errands to make a living. Eventually his legs grew stiff and his body became bent with age. There came a time when he couldn’t do enough work to buy even the poorest and simplest of groceries. He lived in an old shack and got his clothing out of people’s garbage. An old friend of his master's family said to him one day, "Sam, you don't have to live this way, your master told me that he deposited $5,000.00 in the bank for you. Go to the bank and get some money to buy what you need!"  Back on those days, a man might work a whole day for less than one dollar. After much persuasion the timid old man decided to go to the bank. Standing at the teller's window, turning his hat nervously in his hand, he inquired of the teller if any money had been left in the bank for him. The clerk told him yes that there was money at hand for him and that he could have it whenever he wished. He said, "Could I have as much as fifty cents to get me a sack of meal?" The teller replied that he could have as much as he wanted, up to $5,000.00.  So the former slave told the teller to make out a check for fifty cents, and with trembling hands he made his mark beside his name. Then he took the bright fifty cent piece and shuffled away to buy some meal, and to live in his poor little shack in his rags and poverty, leaving $4,999.50 in the bank!

  B. DO WE REALLY BELIEVE GOD IS GREAT AND GOD IS GOOD?
    1. In essence, we teach our children to pray:
        "God is great, God is good, but we just want a little food."
    2. God says that the gold and the silver are His
    3. God says the cattle on a thousand hills are His.
    4. God invites us to tell all our needs: "what things soever ye desire when ye pray."
    5. God promises us "great and mighty things!"
    6. God tells us to open our mouths wide!
    7. We have not because we ask not. We have little because we ask little.
    8. Take to heart God’s promises and pray the kind of prayers that will allow God
        to do the GREAT AND MIGHTY things He wants to do for you?