Our Prayers Do Matter

In Jesus Holy Name September 15, 2024

Text: Mark 9:28,29 Redeemer

“Do Our Prayers Matter?”

After the healing of the man who was deaf and unable to speak in last week’s gospel lesson Jesus and three of his disciples when up on a nearby mountain to pray. There the disciples saw Him transfigured. They heard the voice of God. They saw the glorious dazzling white robe, the glory that He would possess after His resurrection. They were overwhelmed. They wanted to stay, no, something important was waiting for them on the valley floor.

At the foot of the mountain two kingdoms are on a collision course. The kingdom of God in Jesus and the kingdom of Satan who was possessing this boy, throwing him to the dirt.

On the mountain, Jesus had told the disciples, Peter James and John, that he was going to Jerusalem where he would be arrested, tried, crucified, and murdered, and then rise on the third day, in order to reestablish peace and forgiveness between human beings and our God. The did not understand these comments of Jesus about “rising from the dead.”

As the disciples and Jesus were heading back down the mountain, He saw a large crowd had gathered. Upon arriving, Jesus discovered that a man was asking the disciples to heal his son who was possessed by a demon.

In Colossians Paul reminds us that the full deity of God the Father dwells in Jesus. “Jesus often said: “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” In other words “I’m standing here. I am the kingdom incarnated. Not only in what I do, but in who I am.” (Jesus Manifesto Sweet p. 107) Because Jesus has all authority on heaven and on earth, He commanded the demon… Get out and never come back!”

This prayer of the father, doesn’t sound courageous or confident. It was the prayer of a desperate parent with a demon-possessed son in need of a miracle.

Most of our prayer lives could use a tune-up. Sometimes our prayer lives lack consistency. Other times we need sincerity. And some honestly wonder if prayer makes a difference. We are tempted to wait to pray until we know how to pray. No, we never really learn how to pray, even if we read books by the same title.

Prayer is talking to God, calling Him into action in our personal history. Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. Remember, the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference. (Max Lucado)

The truth is that the Jesus who walked the shores of Galilee is the same person who indwells the church today. The Jesus who lived in Galilee had a preexistence before time, before creation, but chose to enter time, and He has given His Spirit to every believer. There is no circumstance too hard for Him. Do not be distracted, there is no circumstance too hard for Him.

Take the Lord’s prayer seriously every day. Lord deliver us from the evil one. This same spotless, sinless, Jesus who was put to death by the power of Rome on a cross. Yes, beaten bloody, naked, mocked, and shamed, a public spectacle, causing Satan to laugh. This same Jesus defeated the powers of darkness and took back the keys of death, hell and the grave. He did this by His resurrection. This same Jesus now sits at the right hand of God, a faithful “high priest” constantly hearing our prayers and interceding for us. (Leonard Sweet Jesus Manifesto p. 167)

Read Philippians 2:6-11

I’m going to repeat the answer to why Mark has written his gospel from 9 weeks ago. Question #1 What is Mark trying to tell his reader when he records each miracle and each confrontation with Satan’s power on display?” The answer: Jesus is the visible presence of the invisible God. “I’m standing here. I am the kingdom incarnated. Not only in what I do, but in who I am.”

“What is Jesus to do?” Redeem Creation from Satan’s grip and each of us.

1. Ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s one command, several things have happened. Death became a human reality. Everything dies. Harmony and peace with our Creator and our fellow human beings has been lost. God now expects us, like the father in our gospel lesson, and like the mother of the demon possessed daughter in Sidon, to pray. To ask.

God’s plan for our world is stated every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. “May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

For Mark the true mission of Jesus was played out in an ongoing “cosmic war” between God and Satan over the control of the God’s creation, both the earth and the human body.