Knocking On Heaven’s Door Series

Knocking on Heaven’s Door

JCC 03.01.10 am part 1 Prayer

If you had the opportunity, what one thing would you have liked Jesus to show you?

See miracles? The dead raised? Etc

One thing the disciples asked Him to show them

They asked Him to teach them to pray

Luke 11:1

We are not told if Jesus ever prayed with his disciples

But they observed him

But everything he did was a link to his prayer life

They were aware he was committed to going off to pray

Sometimes all night, sometimes with fasting

Usually just a few steps away from them

Like in the garden of Gethsemane

The disciples wanted Jesus to teach them prayer like John did with his disciples

John taught his disciples prayer

John wasn’t always preaching repentance

John was also known as a prayerful man v1

This is why he knew it was time for him to decease, job done

The reason for Jesus’ success was his prayer life

Apprentice, one to one, or small groups are the best way of learning; not done much these days

The best form of learning is watching, listening and applying

The disciples were observing him

Some of us have years of impressions of what prayer should or might be like

Voice, tone, language, length etc

The Pharisees taught the people self righteous prayers

They were known for their standing on street corners

The disciples knew Jesus’ praying was far more than they had experienced previously

The disciples didn’t say, ‘teach me to walk on water’, etc. They recognised they needed prayer

They heard Jesus pour out his heart and pause to listen to what the father said to him

A two-way conversation

They knew everything he did was out of his connection with heaven

They knew ‘how’ to pray, the mechanics, but they wanted to pray

We have millions of books, DVD’s, CD’s etc on how to pray, but we still don’t pray

Many find it the most difficult thing to do

The prayer meeting is the least attended. Why?

It’s because we have this mentality that we aren’t doing it right

Will God answer anyway?

Some need a prayer book with prayers written for them

Someone asked me to pray once because they didn’t have a prayer book at hand!

Prayer isn’t that important to some

Yet it should be the most natural thing for us to do; talking to daddy

Your child didn’t learn ‘how’ to talk to you, they just talked

Some prefer to come Sundays where they get fed, but not Thurs because prayer is hard work to them

Not if it’s based on relationship

It’s only difficult if you don’t know the person you are talking to

None before Jesus had ever looked to heaven and said, ‘Abba father’; not Moses, David, Samuel etc

Come like children to a father

We have baggage on our prayer life

Especially if our earthly father was, or is unapproachable

We don’t know the joy of freedom in talking and have conversation with the Lord

The art of conversing is more and more diminishing

Texting and emails are the art of conversation now

But what’s missing, is the rest of conversing: body posture/language, facial gestures

These convey much more than words at times

Sometimes we don’t have to say a word. The look is enough

You need wisdom to know how to pray

Wisdom is a powerful tool in our hands, that’s why Solomon asked for it

It helps us to weigh everything up

It’s like wool or material in clothing

You can’t knit without wool

You can’t make a garment without material

You can’t pray without wisdom

Knowing what to pray and why is the key

We must pray for specific things

Nehemiah questioned himself when faced with the situation back in Jerusalem

He thought, “What can you do about it Nehemiah?

Come, it has to be done, and you are the man that is to do it, at least, to do your bit

What can you do?”

He decided to set apart a time for prayer

It never left his thoughts for nearly four months!

Day and night Jerusalem was written on his heart

He could only see Jerusalem

Have you had times like that?

Your focus was on something or someone?

When he slept he dreamed about Jerusalem

When he woke, the first thought was, “Jerusalem!” and before he fell asleep again his evening prayer was for the ruined walls of Jerusalem

Consistently was he in communion with God

Then that moment he couldn’t hide his feelings came

Serving the King his wine, his face told it all, his communication was not with words to the King, but the King knew something heavy was on this man

Nehemiah 2:4.

“So I prayed to the God of Heaven.”