Beginning today we are asking you to join us in 40 days of focused prayer. This prayer focus will lead up to our capital funds campaign. In preparation for this time of prayer I want to share a message entitled “A Journey in Prayer.” The material I share today could be taught over a period of weeks or even months. Volumes of books have been written from the passage we are about to read. I do not plan to be exhaustive. The purpose of this message is to encourage and challenge you in your prayer life. Also, I hope to challenge you to take the next step in your walk with God.
The passage we examine is Mt. 6:5-15. This passage falls within the context of the Sermon on the Mount, found in Mt. 5-7. In this sermon Jesus was training His disciples. He was equipping them for service as a disciple. I want to examine three aspects of prayer. I want to examine these in a quick moving sweeping fashion in order to help you strengthen your prayer life during these 40 days. Let’s look at the three aspects.
The first aspect of prayer is the preparation for prayer.
What if it came time for the annual Alabama/Auburn game and coach Saban or coach Tubberville decided not to practice for the game? I suspect the fans would be ready to hang them out to dry. Even so, a believer should prepare himself/herself for prayer. The purpose of the Sermon on the Mount was to prepare Jesus disciples for ministry. He desires to help us prepare our hearts for prayer.
Joke:We need to be prepared in what to pray and how to pray! Two men were walking through a field one day when they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn’t make it to the fence. Terrified, the one shouted to the other, "Put up a prayer, John. We’re in for it!" John answered, "I can’t. I’ve never made a public prayer in my life." "But you must!" implored his companion. "The bull is catching up to us." "All right," panted John, "I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used to repeat at the table: ’O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.’"
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Michael Belcher)
In preparing to pray there should be a relationship. The Sermon on the Mount was given by Jesus to His disciples. These were people who had a relationship with Him. They had chosen to follow Him by faith. They were in a position to pray and for it to mean something. Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ?
In preparing to pray recognize that it is a learning process. The word disciple means a learner. There is nothing wrong with admitting you do not know how to pray. The tragedy occurs when we fail to learn.
In preparing to pray we should recognize its importance! If Jesus took the time to teach it He expected His disciples to take the time to practice it. Some of our spiritual leaders expressed the importance of prayer.
Quotes:
“Life is war. That’s not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den. God has given us prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call headquarters for everything we need as the kingdom of Christ advances in the world. Prayer gives us the significance of front-line forces, and gives God the glory of a limitless Provider.” (John Piper, “Let the Nations Be Glad”)
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Adam Cruse)
“The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray. It is not the only thing, but it is the chief thing. The great people of earth are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time to pray.” (S. D. Gordon from Quiet Talks on Prayer. Contributed to Sermon Central by Wesley Eader)
Dr W E Sangster wrote: "If you are too busy to pray then you are too busy", and hear the words of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones: "There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christians so much as our prayer life."
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Owen Bourgaize)
• We would not expect a coach to go to a game without a game plan. He must be prepared.
• We would not expect a race car driver to take the track with a half empty tank of gas. He must be prepared.
• We would not expect a builder to start a house without a blue-print. He must be prepared.
• We would not expect a hunter to go hunting without his gun. He must be prepared.
What about a follower of Jesus Christ. He must be prepared.
The second aspect of prayer is a place to pray. In any endeavor of life people have special places they go. Fishermen have a special fishing spot. Hunters have a special hunting spot. Shoppers have a special shopping destination. Golfers have a golf course they prefer. Jesus taught His disciples that they should have a special place of prayer. When He spoke of the closet He was not speaking literally. He was using a closet as an example of a special place. In his book Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster advocates building a special room in your house for prayer and communion with God. Obviously, all of us cannot install a special room in our homes. However, the point is well taken. It helps to have a place where you go to spend time with God. Jesus gave several suggestions about this place.
It should be a private place. (6:6) This private place should be a place where you can get alone with God. It may literally be a closet. There are many of our modern day closets that would make a wonderful prayer area. They are large and are padded with clothing to muffle the noise. It may be a study. It may be a sun room. It may be a garden. It may be your bed room. It may be a vehicle.
It should be a personal place. (6:6) It is a place where there are no interruptions and other people respect your privacy.
It should be a peaceful place. (6:6) Jesus often went to remote areas to pray. Since I have been in Fairhope I have gone to the park by the bay, on several occasions, to pray and meditate. It is peaceful down there.
The purpose in finding a private, protected and peaceful place is concentration. Jesus wants us to daily concentrate on communicating with Him in prayer.
The third aspect of prayer is a pattern. Jesus gave us a pattern for praying. Jesus did not give this pattern as a check list. Jesus did not give this pattern as something we should go through each time we pray. Jesus gave this pattern as an example. He gave it in order to improve the substance of our prayers. Look at the pattern.
The Lord ’s Prayer consist of six sections. The first three sections focus on God. The last three sections focus on our needs. This pattern is not accidental. The focus of prayer should always begin by focusing on God. If you get your focus right then other matters will fall into place. Our focus must be right. Prayer is all about God. God created you to know Him and worship Him. Many times prayer is like a pacifier for spoiled babies. Prayer is about God. Prayer is about honoring Him.
The same is true about worship. Worship is about honoring God. It is not about you.
The same is true about church attendance. It is about God. It is not about you. We are living in a generation of people who are consumed with “me-ism.” We are so consumer driven that everything is about me. Prayer, worship and church involvement are about God. Jesus said “You shall worship the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind and with all your strength.” I shared something a few weeks ago I want to review. Rick Warren said “If you want to find the meaning of life, begin with God.”
The first part of the pattern includes focuses on the Person of God. Jesus said pray to “our Father in Heaven.” Notice the words in this phrase.
• “Our”- You are talking to somebody you know personally. This goes back to the principle of having a personal relationship with Him. In addition, you are not praying selfishly. You pray for yourself but you also pray for other people.
• “Father”- You are speaking with someone you feel comfortable talking with. You are talking with someone you trust.
• “Heaven”- You are talking to somebody that is bigger than you. You are talking to someone who is bigger than life. You are talking to someone who has something better for you.
I sometimes hear people use a phrase that disturbs me. I hear people refer to God as the man upstairs. First, He is not a man. Prayer would not be prayer if it were directed to a man. Second, He is not upstairs. He is the omnipotent God of the universe. He is bigger than we can comprehend. He is more wonderful than we can ever imagine. The one to whom we pray is “our Father in Heaven.”
The second part of the pattern is Praise. We are to “honor God’s name.” Jesus said it this way “Hallowed be your name.” This phrase can be broken down into sections. When we “hallow” God’s name we do several things.
• We seek to honor Him. We do this with our words. We do this with out attitude. We do this with our plans. We do this with our priorities.
• We will praise Him. You can use scripture or a hymnal to praise Him.
• We will approach Him in humility.
We see an illustration of this in Isaiah 6. Isaiah saw a vision of God sitting in the temple. As Isaiah viewed this scene he saw God sitting on a throne and His long robe flowed by His side. He saw angels singing “Holy, holy, holy.” As Isaiah examined the scene the temple shook and was filled with smoke. This signified the awesome power of God. As Isaiah watched he was overcome by the scene and cried “woe is me.” Isaiah was humbled. In that situation Isaiah felt an impulse to honor and praise God. That is the essence of prayer.
The third part of the pattern is alignment with God’s plans. Jesus said pray “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Prayer involves aligning our will with God’s will. Occasionally I have to replace the ink cartridges in my computer. When I do this a screen pops up that instructs me to do an alignment of my computer. The alignment is intended to align the ink jets, printer cartridges and computer mechanisms for proper printing.
The fourth part of the pattern is praying about personal needs. Jesus said pray about “daily bread.” In the Bible “bread” represents needs.
• This represents our job.
• This represents our family.
• This represents our worries.
• This represents our daily schedule.
• This represents the people we are to meet.
Illustration: We should be like the 3-year-old boy (that Paul Harvey told about) who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, "Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask." She put him in the cart and he sat in the little child’s seat while she wheeled down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. He saw the chocolate chip cookies and he stood up in the seat and said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any at all.” So he sat back down.
They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie aisle. “Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you that you can’t have any. Now sit down and be quiet.”
Finally, they were approaching the checkout lane. The little boy sensed that this may be his last chance. So just before they got to the line, he stood up on the seat of the cart and shouted in his loudest voice, “In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?” And everybody round about just laughed. Some even applauded. And, due to the generosity of the other shoppers, the little boy and his mother left with 23 boxes of chocolate chip cookies. (SOURCE: Jeff Strite in "The Power Of Persistent Prayer" on www.sermoncentral.com.)
That may be stretching it a bit but at least he understood the principle.
Notice Jesus encouraged us to pray about “daily” bread. When we pray this prayer we are recognizing our dependence on Jesus for His provision.
The fifth part of the pattern is praying about forgiveness. Jesus instructed us to pray that we be “forgiven …our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” We should pray to be forgiven. Sin places a barrier between us and God. We need that barrier removed. In addition, our failure to forgive other people produces a barrier between us and God. If you cannot forgive others God will not forgive you. Jesus said “if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Mt. 6:15
The sixth part of the prayer pattern is praying for protection from temptation. Jesus said pray that He “not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” We are praying that we be delivered from the power but also the temptation of sin.
We have examined some of the basic mechanics of prayer. Let me close by saying a few words of encouragement concerning the act of prayer. Prayer is a wonderful privilege. There is much about it that we do not understand. Personally I feel unworthy and inadequate when it comes to the subject of prayer. I am definitely in the growing posture. However, one thing of which I am sure. Prayer is a privilege. God does not need us. God can do anything He wants without us. None the less he has chosen to give us the privilege of communicating with Him in prayer. Consider this fact. The creator, sovereign and omnipotent God of the universe has given us the opportunity and privilege of communicating with Him. That is fantastic!
In addition to being a privilege, prayer is a powerful force. I have just completed reading the book 90 Minutes in Heaven. This book tells the story of Don Piper, a Baptist minister. Don was involved in a tragic traffic accident in Texas a few years back. In the accident an 18 wheel truck crushed Don’s car and Don was killed. Shortly after the accident another minister, Dick Onerecker, happened on the accident. Dick walked up to the state troopers and asked if he could help. The troopers informed Dick that two people sustained minor injuries and one person (Don) was killed. Dick Onerecker said God told him to pray for the dead man. Dick instructed the troopers that he wanted to pray for Don (the dead man). The troopers had instructed Dick that Don had been pronounced dead. Don later said he lay dead for 90 minutes. Even though the troopers thought Dick was crazy, Dick crawled under a tarpaulin and prayed for Don. After 90 minutes of death, God used Dick Onerecker’s prayer to bring Don Piper back to life. Don spent 90 minutes in Heaven. The important issue is this….prayer is a powerful force. It is not our responsibility to determine when God does miracles and when God answers prayer. It is our responsibility to pray. May we be diligent about prayer!
