Sermons

Week 28 – Matthew 9:27-31 – 8/18/24 How to Deal with Unanswered Prayers

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Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Today, we read about how Jesus had two blind men calling out to Him. By taking a look at this, we can learn what to do when we feel like our prayers are going unanswered.

1. Start by checking your:

 

i.   Motives

James 4:1-3, Micah 3:4, Prov. 15:8

ii.  Sin

1 Pet. 3:7-12, Prov. 28:9, Is. 59:12, John 15:7

iii. Faith

James 4:3, 1 John 5:14, Matt. 21:22

 

2. Next, make sure to:

i.   Pray, and pray continually

Luke 18:1-8, Col. 4:2, Rom. 12:12, 1 Thess. 5:17, Eph. 6:18

ii.  Put it in God’s hands, and be ok with His answer

2 Cor. 12:1-10, Eph. 6:10, Rom. 5:3, James 1:2

iii. Ask God to strengthen your faith

Mark 9:24, 10:27, Heb. 11:6, Luke 17:5, Phil. 4:13

 

3. Finally, after all of that, don’t forget to:

i. Be obedient to God

John 14:15, Luke 11:28, James 1:22, Rom. 6:16, 1 John 5:3

ii. Remember God’s faithfulness

Ps. 77:11-12, Ex. 12:25-27, Deut. 6:12, 8:2, Joshua 4:21-24, 1 Cor. 11:24

iii. Tell others about God’s faithfulness

Matt. 28:19-20, 1 Pet. 3:15, Rev. 12:11

Reflecting on God’s Word

Getting Started

  • Take some time to read over Matthew 9:27-31 and pray. 
  • Have you ever read or heard about this before? What stood out to you as we were talking about it? 
  • What surprised you as we talked about it?
  • Have you ever felt like God wasn’t answering your prayers? What was the situation like, and what ended up happening? If you feel like you’re in that situation right now, take some time to jot down how you’ve felt during this process. 

Diving In 

  1. In this passage of Scripture, there is no indication that Jesus stopped to talk to the men who were crying out to Him. They probably felt like Jesus had abandoned them, and didn’t hear their cry for help. Have you ever felt like that? 
  • If you have ever felt like that, what was the situation that was going on? 
  • Do you feel you have been praying about something during this season of your life and God hasn’t answered your prayers? What have you been praying about? 
  1. Looking at your answers from question #1, and looking at the first part of the message outline, what in your past has hindered your prayer life? 
  • Be honest with yourself: is there anything during this season of your life that is hindering your prayer life? 
  • If there is something that is hindering your prayer life, what is your next step to deal with it in a way that would honor and glorify God the most? 
  1. Instead of just letting Jesus pass through, the blind men follow Him, which would have been difficult considering the nature of their disability. What do you think led them to accomplish this daunting task?
  • How easily do you stop praying about something? What could encourage you to continually pray? Spend some time in prayer, asking that God would strengthen your faith. 
  • When you do get an answer from God, how can you be more content with whatever answer He gives you? 
  1. It’s so easy to forget the situations that we’ve been through, but if we are intentional not to forget the situations that God has pulled us through, it can help to strengthen our faith down the road. What’s a situation that you can remember, that God answered your prayer after you cried out to Him? 
  • How can you help yourself not to forget that prayer that God answered? 
  • How can you best share that story with others to encourage them in their faith? 

Applying the Scripture

What are your biggest takeaways from this passage of God’s Word? 

  • What practical step(s) do you need to implement in your life to apply what God has taught you in this passage of Scripture? 
  • How would applying this affect your life and your relationship with the Lord? 
  • Who can you ask to keep you accountable to applying this to your life?

 

Small Group Guide:

Open with prayer.

Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?

If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.

Prayer Time:

Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.

Staying Missional:

Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:

Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?

What’s next?

Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?