Why Pray? Series

Why Pray?

Series:"Why?"

Opening Illustration: Song and clip from "Jesus take the wheel." This little clip we just heard reveals how prayer is only a breath away. It’s really more natural to pray than not to pray.

Thesis: We need to understand the importance of prayer and the impact of prayer in our lives. The song you heard reflects the importance of prayer and really how natural it is to pray.

Introduction:

When you think of prayer what comes to mind?

The other day I was listening to this song you just heard called "Jesus take the wheel." sung by Carrie Underwood. The story is about a women driving and then the car loses control and she cries out, "Jesus take the wheel." She is spared a horrible accident and thanks the Lord for help and in that moment her prayer changes her. She then tells Jesus to take the wheel of her life. It is a powerful song about the power and the importance of prayer. Let’s listen to the words for a moment.

Lyrics of Jesus, Take the Wheel

(James/Lindsey/Sampson)

She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati

On a snow white Christmas Eve

Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat

Fifty miles to go and she was running low on faith and gasoline

It’d been a long hard year

She had a lot on her mind and she didn’t pay attention

she was going way too fast

Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass

She saw both their lives flash before her eyes

She didn’t even have time to cry

She was sooo scared

She threw her hands up in the air

Jesus take the wheel

Take it from my hands

Cause I can’t do this on my own

I’m letting go

So give me one more chance

Save me from this road I’m on

Jesus take the wheel

It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder

And the car came to a stop

She cried when she saw that baby in the backseat sleeping like a rock

And for the first time in a long time

She bowed her head to pray

She said I’m sorry for the way

I’ve been living my life

I know I’ve got to change

So from now on tonight

Jesus take the wheel

Take it from my hands

Cause I can’t do this on my own

I’m letting go

So give me one more chance

Save me from this road I’m on

Ooh, Jesus take the wheel

Ooh, I’m letting go

So give me one more chance

Save me from this road I’m on

From this road I’m on

Jesus take the wheel

Ooh, take it, take it from me

Ooh ooh wah ah ooh ooh ooh

I recall a time in my life when I was driving and the truck started sliding sideways on a snowy road in Minneapolis. I was on an entrance ramp with Bear and He and I cried out to Jesus to take the wheel and believe it or not the truck straightened out and spared us a horrible accident. So I can relate to this song and to the natural reaction of prayer in crisis moments.

Have you ever wondered why people in trouble who are not Christian’s pray?

So why do people who are not even Christians pray?

Especially in crisis times?

They cry out in prayer when facing death?

They turn to prayer in the face of natural disasters?

After 911 many were open to prayer even on the street corners of New York.

Most of your secular magazines have done issues dedicated to the prayer, Time, Newsweek and others.

U.S. News and World Report in Dec. of 2004 did a magazine focusing on the power of prayer: Jeffrey L. Shelter wrote in his article,"The Power of Prayer" on pages 52, 53:

"A pierced and tattooed man quietly bows his head at a noisy lunch counter. A child in pink pajamas kneels at her bedside and recites a familiar blessing. A baseball player crosses himself as he steps to the plate on national television. A white-haired woman lights a candle and weeps silently into her handkerchief for her dying husband. A dark-suited minister prays for peace on Earth, and the Congregation in one voice cries out,"Amen." Prayer has become familiar terrain in modern America. It is woven into the daily rhythms of life, its ethos embedded in the public and private experiences of millions. Indeed, a recent Roper poll found that nearly half of all Americans said they pray or meditate every day-far more than those who regularly participate in religious services. Over the centuries, its practitioners have included saints and scoundrels, skeptics and believers, the meek and the mighty-people of every creed and culture and of every station in life who, whether out of pious faith or primal fear, have reached out to a reality greater than themselves. Prayer has been called the native language of the soul and the universal expression of an innate human desire to make contact with the divine.