A Room With A View: Perspectives On Prayer -- Broken But Blessed

Room With A View: Broken But Blessed

Today, we continue our series . . . Room With A View, Perspectives on Prayer. Last week we talked about the distractions that can keep us from getting into the room. They keep us from experiencing the very presence of God.

Our theme passage comes from a statement Jesus made in the middle of one of his teaching times with His Disciples (and others). In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount , Jesus instructed them about prayer:

Matthew 6:5-8 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Of course the “room” is more than a physical location –it is about a relationship. We know, on this side of the cross, that it is about God’s invitation into the “holy of holies – by the blood of Christ” (Hebrews 10:19-22) It is about relationship. The “view” is all about our view of Christ – in a personal, life-transforming experience of his person, presence and power through prayer.

As we will see – we can experience this room privately in our walk with God, or we can experience it corporately with others, and as a church. In any case, we can now experience the Lord in the “secret place” of the heart – where the Lord sees the real – and often hidden things of our hearts.

Last week, we took a look around this room. I pointed out that we have a trophy case. We talked about getting past the trophies of our heart (or the distractions of our successes) . . . and into the presence of God. Today – we come to a mirror. This is significant because the Bible uses the idea of a “mirror” to describe our experience of His presence in prayer.

2 Corinthians 3:18 - But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Just like a person looks in a mirror to see an image – we gaze upon the person of Christ as we pray – and through that experience we are literally transformed into the image of Christ. I am sure you have noticed that last week, the mirror was not broken . . . but this week it is. And even though it is broken, you can still see your reflection. When it comes to prayer, a broken mirror limits our view of, and experience of Christ – and keeps us from becoming like him – which has tragic and far-reaching consequences.

Isn’t that how life is? Almost ‘overnight’ our lives can change direction and challenges get inserted into our lives without notice or invitation – and we begin asking ourselves Why? & “When will it go away?” Or, “When will God heal me?” When our lives are broken, we can’t just keep going through the motions (attending church, trying harder, attempting to pray) but we need to hitting our knees and cry out to God for help & healing. We need Him to restore our vision and experience of Christ – and change our hearts.

Today, I want to invite you to focus on a few truths about God, His love, and His character that will put our minds in focus and align ourselves with God’s Word . . . so that our broken hearts and mirrors can be healed – and our experience of Christ in prayer restored. I want us to see God’s response to our Brokenness then look at how we can and should respond then the “mirror” or our life has been cracked or shattered.

I . God’s Response In Our Brokenness

1. God Cares About You! Period. No qualifiers. No disclaimers. The Bible states this in the simplest of terms in 1Pet. 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Now, let me tell you how you should interpret this verse. This is NOT saying, “Hey, let God know so He can only sympathize and cry with you. ANYONE can do that! Anyone can ‘care for you’ or ‘sympathize’ with you. BUT ONLY GOD cares for you AND has the ability to do something about it!!!