On Fire Praying

We’re in the Gospel of Matthew and we’re talking about Prayer. We’ll be in Mat. 6:5-15, but especially, vss 5-6.

I wonder if you’ve heard about the big Fire at a chemical factory in Kansas? 10 Fire companies were called, but the fire was too intense to do more than spray the edges. The owner was watching his money go up in smoke and offered to donate 100,000 dollars to whichever fire company could put out this fire. There were no takers and he upped it to 150, then 250,000.

Then, from way off in the distance, a Fire Truck came barreling along. It was an all volunteer company from a small town and they didn’t stop, didn’t even slow down. They drove right into the heart of the fire and began frantically fighting the fire. They actually succeeded and put the fire out. The owner congratulated them and wrote out his check for the 250,000 dollars and asked what was the first thing they were going to do with the money. One of the men said, “First, we’re going to fix the brakes.

“On Fire” Prayer is a lot like that. Many people come to prayer or church and we keep a safe distance from God and when we’re done, we’re pretty much the same as when we started.

Some Christians, however, come barreling through, looking for the hottest part of the Presence of God! They don’t just want Church, They want God. Even then, they don’t just want God, they want the God of the Holy of Holies, the Lamb, the Lion, the Holy Fire!

You want God today? Hop on this Fire Company truck Jesus describes in Mat. 6. Don’t stop until you hear God, feel His presence and are changed by Him.

When you pray . . . PRAY!

I see three thoughts in this one word: P R A Y!

First, When you pray, PRAY! Don’t just talk about praying. Why do we so often procrastinate praying? Procrastination usually involves something fearful, painful or uncomfortable? But, when it comes to praying, the most likely reason we procrastinate is that we are uncertain or have little confidence in Who God Is!

Jesus said we can call God, “Father!” This is prayer in the Holy of Holies where we freely draw near the Throne of Grace.

I read about a Dad who took his son on a hike. They were going up a hill and stopped for a break. While his back was turned, the boy, about 4 years old, climbed up onto a boulder and, without waiting for Dad to turn around, yelled, “Dad, Catch Me!” Dad turned around just in time, and managed to catch him. He was a little upset and asked him why he did such a foolish thing. The boy said, “’Cause You’re My Dad, I knew You Would Catch Me.”

Well, we know he might have missed, we earthly fathers do not always do things right and sometimes we let our kids down. But not our Heavenly Father. He will catch us. Actually, He never lets us go; the Whole Earth is full of His glory, as the waters cover the sea. If you jump in the sea, the water is all around you. If you “jump” into the Presence of God, in the Glory of God, He is all around us and His Glory is full of His love.

So, when you pray, PRAY! Don’t just talk about it.

God is our Father; of course, He is much more than this, but that brings us to our second point.

Second, When you pray, Pray! Don’t talk to others. It’s amazing how much time we spend talking to others about our problems, instead of God. Thee was a Little girl who told her Mom she was going to say her prayers and go to bed. Mom was in the hall listening and said, “I can’t hear you.” The Little Girl said, “I’m not talking to you.”

God is Father, but He is also King and Lord, His Kingdom WILL come and His Will WILL be done.

He gets things done!

It’s the difference between a Professional and an Amateur. Once, way back around 1975, I tried to put in a hardwood floor in a small room. Being frugal, I didn’t buy or rent the equipment I should have and tried prying the boards close. I sweated and strained, and a couple of hours later had about 7 or 8 rows in. A friend dropped by. He was a professional and came up to the room where I was working. Somehow, just stepping on them, he pounded in a couple of dozen. Wow. He offered to finish, but I thought I could do that. I never quite mastered his technique, but I did finish, but mine didn’t look nearly as good as his.