Genuine Prayer Leads to an Above Average Life

[Genuine Prayer Leads to an Above Average Life]( Current Teaching Series [Seeking God for a Breakthrough]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Genuine Prayer Leads to an Above Average Life]( By Rick Warren — 09/14/2021 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “[God] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) God wants you to live your life to the fullest. He doesn’t want you to live an average life—without any dreams and goals. As we read yesterday, God wants you to have great ambition and a growing faith. He also wants you to have a genuine prayer life. Jabez had a genuine prayer life. And it was the real secret to accomplishing his dreams. He prayed, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain” (1 Chronicles 4:10 NIV). And then the verse continues, “God granted his request.” Did you know that you can’t out-ask or out-dream God? The Bible says, “[God] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). Go ahead and stretch your imagination to the greatest thing that could possibly happen—and then realize that God can go beyond that. Jabez knew this about God, so he prayed three things: Jabez prayed for God’s power in his life. He prayed, “Oh, that you would bless me.” You might say, “I shouldn’t ask God to bless me. That’s selfish.” But according to God, asking for blessing is absolutely fine. He’s not some big policeman up in the sky waiting for you to make one wrong move so he can pounce on you. He wants to bless your life. Jabez prayed for God’s presence in his life. He prayed, “Let Your hand be with me.” He asked for God’s presence. Jabez knew that if he got more land and a larger territory, he would have greater demands and more responsibilities. He knew he’d need God’s help with it all. Jabez prayed for God’s protection over his life. He prayed, “Keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” Why does Jabez ask for God’s protection? Because he knew this: The more successful you are, the more critics you have. The same thing is true in the Christian life: The closer you grow to the Lord, the stronger you become as a Christian and the more the Devil will hassle you. What do you want God to do in your life? Help you with a problem? Ask him. Help you with some goals? Ask him. First, get the motive behind your goals and dreams in alignment with God. Next, pray the three things Jabez prayed—for God’s power, for God’s presence, and for God’s protection. And then watch how God answers your prayers! [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Do you sometimes feel like you shouldn’t ask God to bless you? Why do you feel that way? - How often do you stop and pray for God’s presence in your life? Why is his presence so important? - In what ways have you noticed that the closer you get to God, the more Satan tries to hassle you? The post [Genuine Prayer Leads to an Above Average Life]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get the Experience God's Power Through Prayer Guided Experience Book when you give a gift to support Daily Hope]( When you want to see transformation in your life—whether in your health, career, finances, or relationships—you have two choices. You can either look to man-made solutions to meet your needs, which may work for a little while . . . Or you can look to God—the only dependable source for all your needs. To help you tap into God’s power by developing a more persistent, faith-building prayer life, we want to send you Pastor Rick’s guided study book, Experience God’s Power Through Prayer. This dynamic, hardcover book, filled with full-color devotionals, Bible teachings, Scripture, and engaging exercises, provides inspiration that will dramatically transform your prayer life. And if you’re able to become a Partner in Hope with your first monthly gift below, we’ll also send you an exclusive Daily Hope welcome gift to say thanks. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 5 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Seeking God for a Breakthrough. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: How to Pray in a Crisis Message 2: Praying and Fasting for a Breakthrough Message 3: How to Pray a Breakthrough Prayer Message 4: Talking to Your Heavenly Father Message 5: Why Must I Keep on Praying Persistently? [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. 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