1. GENESIS 32:22-28 The Power of Praying Fathers

2. Happy Father’s Day  Mark Twain – “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years”  A father carries pictures where his money used to be  James Dobson – “Can't you see the Creator of the universe, who understands every secret, every mystery... sitting patiently and listening to a four-year-old talk to him? That's a beautiful image of a father”

3. Happy Fahter’s Day My dad made me do crazy things!  He made me act right and respect other people  He made me do what my mom told me to do  He made me get up every Sunday morning to have breakfast with the family and then go to Sunday School  He made me do my homework  He made me mow the lawn and work in the garden  He held me responsible for my actions  CRAZY STUFF!!!

4. Wrestling with God in Prayer Genesis 32:22-28 22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

5. Wrestling with God in Prayer Genesis 32:22-28 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

6. Wrestling with God in Prayer Jacob and Esau  Jacob was worried that his brother Esau was coming to kill him and his family  Esau would have been justified in killing Jacob  Jacob grabbed a hold of God that night and did let go until he got the answer he was looking for  Jacob’s name was changed from Jacob “the heel” to Israel = “the one who prevails with God”  He held on to God with everything he had because his family and his very life were at stake

7. Wrestling with God in Prayer Jacob and Esau  Fathers, Satan is out to kill your family!  John 10:10 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly  If you want to save them then you must wrestle with God on behalf of our family

8. Wrestling with God in Prayer Father’s Who Pray  In an age of declining families what we need are more fathers who pray, who will wrestle with God until He answers!  EM Bounds said that what the church needs, (and I think the world too), is men of prayer  Our families need fathers who are men of prayer  There is tremendous power in a praying father!

9. Wrestling with God in Prayer Father’s Who Pray  Unfortunately, even within the Christian community, far too often fathers are standing on the sidelines when it comes to their family and spiritual leadership in the family  If a father will just pray with and for his family, then he might win the battle that rages for his family's faith, his children's souls, and his wife's respect and affection  Every person here today needs a deeper relationship of prayer with God, but fathers need it more than anyone else because of their influence on the family

10. Wrestling with God in Prayer Father’s Who Pray  James 5:16 “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much!” (NKJV)  ESV - “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working”  NLT “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results”

11. Wrestling with God in Prayer Father’s Who Pray  James 5:16 “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much!” (NKJV)  Not only will it change your family, but the prayers of a righteous man will cause him to be changed, too  Prayer is absolutely critical for a father to fulfill his rightful role of spiritual leadership within the family

12. Wrestling with God in Prayer Father’s Who Pray  James 5:16 “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much!” (NKJV)  If your prayer life has become stale or remote I have the cure for it – pray! Pray for your children, your marriage, boldness, God's wisdom, unity, protection, victory, peace, patience, and much more  Go ahead and give it a try – it will change your life and the lives of your family!

13. Luke 11:5-13 5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

14. Luke 11:5-13 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

15. Persisting in Prayer Fathers Need to Persist in Prayer!  Never Give Up!  Jesus is talking about a continuing action  Not a 2 minute shopping list prayer  Prayer that doesn’t quit until you know that you know that you touched the heart of God  Remember the parable of the persistent widow? - Luke 18:1-7

16. Luke 18:1-7 1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man,

17. Luke 18:1-7 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? Never give up! There is great power is in the persistent prayer of a father for his family!

18. Persisting in Prayer Fathers Need to Lead in Family Prayer  What hurts your family life more that any other thing?  The problem is more that just lack of prayer  It is also because your family does not hear your praying!  Your family needs to hear you praying for them!

19. Persisting in Prayer Fathers Need to Lead in Family Prayer  No matter how strong a father is in his prayer life, if he does not “come out of the closet” with his praying, then he has a limited ministry to his family and a limited view of prayer  God wants us to pray together and that is no where more important than with our family  Families today are in desperate need of prayer and of hearing the fathers praying for them

20. Persisting in Prayer Fathers: Key to their Children's Faith  Too many fathers themselves have reduced the role of fatherhood to something nonessential or even unnecessary  Many men today see parenting as primarily the mother's role  Somehow it is no longer associated with "real" manhood  Too many men, including professing Christians, define their role as "father" only in terms of being a financial provider  The fact is children are not looking for financial provision!  They are looking for love, guidance and a role model for what it means to be a man

21. Persisting in Prayer Fathers: Key to their Children's Faith  An obscure study conducted by the Swiss government in 1994 and published in 2000 reveals some astonishing facts concerning the spiritual impact of fathers on their children  The study concludes that "It is the religious practice of the father of the family that, above all, determines the future attendance at or absence from church of the children.”

22. Persisting in Prayer Fathers: Key to their Children's Faith  The study reported:  If both father and mother attend church regularly 33% of their children ended up as regular churchgoers 41% ended up attending irregularly 25% ended up not practicing at all

23. Persisting in Prayer Fathers: Key to their Children's Faith  The study reported:  If the father is irregular and mother regular in church attendance 3% of the children became regular attenders 59% became irregular attenders 38% will be lost from church

24. Persisting in Prayer Fathers: Key to their Children's Faith  The study reported:  If the father is non-practicing and mother regular 2 % of children became regular worshippers 37% attended irregularly 60% of their children will be lost completely to the church!

25. Persisting in Prayer Fathers: Key to their Children's Faith  Let us look at the figures the other way round  What happens if the father is regular but the mother irregular or non-practicing?  Extraordinarily, the percentage of children becoming regular goes up from 33% to 38% with the irregular mother and to 44% with the non-practicing

26. Persisting in Prayer Fathers: Key to their Children's Faith  Loyalty to a father's commitment grows in proportion to mother's laxity or indifference to religion  If a father does not go to church, no matter how faithful his wife's devotions, only one child in 50 will become a regular worshipper!  If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between 67% and 75% of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular)

27. Persisting in Prayer Fathers: Key to their Children's Faith  The role of father as spiritual leader is:  To love our wives as Christ loves the Church  To model Christ-like love for our children in our most important earthly relationship  To care for our children as our Father in heaven cares for each of us and to diligently teach our children the truth of God’s Word  Put into practice the commandment of the Lord to teach our children 'when they sit at home, when they walk along the road, when they lie down and when they wake up.’ - Deuteronomy 6:7

28. Faithful Men Pray Fathers Need to Pray for Themselves!  Proverbs 20:6 asks a very sobering question...“But a faithful man - who can find?”  If ever there was a day when our world needed “Faithful Men”... Today is the day!  You need to pray for yourself and ask God to make you a faithful man  The men of America need a “wake-up call”  Our world needs us today, more than ever

29. Faithful Men Pray Fathers Need to Pray for Themselves!  Our world needs us to be godly men  Your wives need you to be a godly man and to pray for them  Your children need you to be a godly man and to pray for them  Your church needs you to be a godly man and to pray for them  Your business needs you to be a godly man and to pray for them  Your community and your nation needs you to be a godly man and to pray for them

30. Faithful Men Pray Fathers Need to Pray for Themselves!  What the world really needs today are some fathers who know the power of prayer!  Believe God for great things for your family  Isaiah 65:24 “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear”  Fathers, God wants you to really pray for your family, and He wants you to pray together with them  Before you call out to Him, He is ready to answer and He will hear your prayers!

31. A Father’s Prayer Dr. Thom Rainer  President of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention  When his sons were 5 and 3 years old and 5 months old  He was dealing with the demands of being a full-time seminary student, serving as pastor of a small church, and working an additional thirty hours a week at a bank

32. A Father’s Prayer Dr. Thom Rainer  One night he took a break in his studies one evening and read a reprint of a prayer by General Douglas MacArthur  The prayer was MacArthur's prayer for his son  Throughout the prayer, he repeated the phrase "Give me a son"  He would then expand on how he hoped God would shape his son

33. A Father’s Prayer Dr. Thom Rainer  “But in one of those moments that is both indefinable and rare, I sensed that God was telling me something very clearly. My first prayer should not be about my sons, but about me. God gave parents the role of shaping and influencing the lives of their children. I knew that I was the leader God had placed over our family. I needed the help. I needed the prayers for me.”  He took MacArthur's prayer and began to write his own prayer  The major change was to pray for himself as a father instead of asking God to make his sons according to his desires

34. A Father’s Prayer Make me the father, O Lord, who will show my sons the strength to face weakness; the courage to face fear; the grace to accept honest defeat; and the humility and gentleness to accept victory. Make me the father who will show my sons not a path of ease and comfort, but the ability to accept the challenges of stress and difficulty. Use me, I pray, to be the example of one who can stand up in the storm, and there learn compassion for those who fail.

35. A Father’s Prayer Make me the father who will teach his sons the value of a clear heart and a high goal; to look in the mirror of their own faults before they find fault in others; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to cry; to reach into the future without ever forgetting the past. Make me the father, O Lord, who will show my sons enough of a sense of humor, so that they will always be serious, but never take themselves too seriously. Give them humility, so they will always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

36. A Father’s Prayer And after all these things are theirs, add for me, I pray, the wisdom to show them the dubious value of titles, positions, money, and material gain; and the eternal value of prayer, the Holy Bible, a Christian home, and a saving relationship with Your Son Jesus Christ. Then I, their father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain."