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I Need To Pray
“Prayer moves us towards the will of God.”
James 5:13-20
Sunday Morning Sermon
Intro: (Start with Text & Title)
A country preacher sold a mule to a friend, and told him the mule was trained to go when the rider said "Praise the Lord," and to stop when the rider said, "Amen." The buyer mounted the mule and commanded, "Praise the Lord," and the mule shot off like a rocket. The startled rider panicked. "Whoa!" he screamed. The mule was headed straight for a cliff, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" At the last second he remembered the preacher’s instructions. "Amen!" he shouted, and the mule screeched to a halt right at the edge of the cliff. As the new owner peered over the cliff, he wiped his brow and sighed, "Praise the Lord."...
Discussion
Prayer changes our situation. Prayer changes who we are, and brings the will of God into a clearer perspective.
Can you do something for me? Can you say with me 4 simple words – “I need to pray.” Good. I’ve discovered it would be much easier to look good in your eyes, than in the eyes of God. I cut my hair, shave my whiskers, brush my teeth, take a shower – and I look pretty good – to you! I am struck by the reality that I don’t need to look good for you, and you, as good as you look this morning don’t need to look good for me or the person next to you – but we need to look good in the eyes of our heavenly father . Jesus told a group of people something fairly harsh – (Advance) Matthew 23:28 (NIV) In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Those are not nice words. People looking good on the outside, with their clean hair and clipped toe nails – but inside they are rotting away.
It is my desire this morning that you will take four words and put them into practice. I’m going to either brainwash you into praying more, or convict you into spending more time in prayer. Say those four words with me again “I need to pray”. Good. A church that prays together stays together – Amen – But also grows together.
Turn with me this morning to our text (James 5:13-20) (Advance) read
Our text this morning asks an excellent question: How do I move myself closer to the will of God? I am going to give you three ways
(Advance)
I. Pray (13-15)
Prayer is not a time on a calendar. I think God is offended when we pencil him in while waiting on the traffic through town. I think God is offended when we pray while trying to stay awake. I think God is offended when we rush through communion with him and offer him something less than our time. Prayer should involve all of who you are, the good the bad and the ugly.
a. Prayer is a lifestyle –
God is near to us in every moment of life. All realms are open to prayer.
James isn’t giving directions for certain kinds of prayer as much as he’s showing us that we can pray no matter what – listen to what he says
i. Is any one of you in trouble?
He should pray. So many times our response isn’t prayer! People that we care about ignore us, the IRS doesn’t like us. Our parents don’t understand us, our kids are crazy. Someone is rude to you, someone is controlling you, or some one is embarrassing you -- Your response, the godly response – prayer.
b. Prayer gives you
i. The ability to think clearer
When you take the time to stop and pray – you are given the chance to reflect and to become obedient to His spirit working in you. Now, it’s much easier to shoot your mouth off, and pick up the pieces later, hit a wall and fix the damage later. But the wise person will weight the words and actions before they get to the point of anger. Prayer gives you
ii. The time to make a good choice – good questions to ask
1. Is this the right decision for me?
2. Are these the right words to say?
Ask yourself – If I continue to say something – is God glorified? Is my own will being followed or am I working towards following His will.
Can you repeat those four words with me? (Advance) “I NEED TO PRAY” Good. Prayer gives you
iii. The Right perspective – Listen to the question he asks
Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise! You will never have a good praise life, until you have a great prayer life. (Repeat) Church, your praise of God – even what we did this morning is affected by the prayer you offer. The two are very connected. Your worship is affected by your prayer life throughout the week. The last time I checked no one has ever been thrown out of the church because they couldn’t sing. You must prepare yourself for worship and hearing God’s word. Regardless of what I say or how I say it, your prayer life is deeply connected with how you hear it.
Notice the other question --
Is anyone of you sick? Call the church elders! I stood in line one time, for over an hour to get a flu shot I never received. Is James suggesting that instead of standing in line for preventive medication like a flu shot, we should stand in line at the church? No, probably not.
We must trust:
iv. That God is who he says he is
v. That God will do what he says he will do
vi. That God can accomplish in our lives all he has planned.
James says – “The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well” – Really? If you pray for someone who is suffering from illness and God takes them home – was your prayer answered? Did your prayer succeed or fail? The bigger picture says – “Not my will but yours be done”. If the person spends eternity in heaven with Jesus, I think the prayer worked. Yeah, they aren’t here, but look at the blessed state they are in, without suffering.
Moving closer to the will of God involves something else --
(Advance)
II. Confession (16)
a. Unconfessed sin
i. Brings grief
ii. Anger -- guilt
iii. Heartache
But I guess after awhile, you pile one sin on top of another they all start to look the same. Throw enough dressing on the outside, enough of the right words, or be at all the right places – it just becomes lip service, not heart service. Remember – Jesus said something about the outside looking righteous and the inside rotting away? Unconfessed sins will create the rotting process.
b. Confession
i. Is about the heart.
1. It is being truthful with your actions
2. It is being truthful with the people you have hurt
3. It is a willingness to take whatever response someone gives you
If you have hurt someone – they are going to act hurt, and so your confession of something might require that you build trust, and respect back to where it was. Confession – seems like the end – Listen church, it’s only the beginning. When you confess you are saying “I have fallen short” and I want to be held accountable. We don’t confess to each other because we don’t like to be gossiped about. He’s actually describing the church at its best. An environment of
c. Confession and Prayer – Can’t have one without the other.
Say those four words with me – (Advance) “I NEED TO PRAY”
A willingness to say – I struggle with my language, I struggle with my negative thoughts, I struggle with watching things I shouldn’t on TV, I struggle with gossip, I struggle with holding on to the past, I struggle with my self-centered attitudes. A willingness to say – there are things in my life I know I need to do, but haven’t done them. The church at its best – everyone is equal – we are all sinners in need of a savior.
The church at its best – with everyone equal will see a world without Jesus. Not putting ourselves above those in the world – but putting ourselves beside them. God didn’t demonstrate his love for us through slide shows and email – he demonstrated his love by sending his one and only son – to get on our level. The gospel of John says that he was tired, several times we are given snapshots of Jesus – restricted by the same physical laws we have to follow. He could have floated above the earth – created the catfish dinners for the massive crowds and refused to eat – “because the Son of Man doesn’t have to eat”. The church at its very best will go along side those in the world and do the same as Jesus – bring them here – because you love them, and more importantly God loves them.
How can we help those outside – in our families and our co-workers, and our neighbors unless we are honest with ourselves and our God with what we struggle with? It’s all very much connected.
James says something:
d. The prayer of a righteous man
i. Is powerful
ii. And Effective
For all this talk of prayer and confession – it sounds like you could live the way you want just as long as someone righteous prays for you. Why don’t you ignore God’s will for your life, embrace greed, lust, and sin in general. Deny right and wrong – but in times of trouble or hardship – Ask your preacher to pray for you. He’s not saying – Let someone else be righteous for you he’s suggesting that you must be righteous yourself! He knows everything anyway. David wrote a psalm – I won’t read the whole thing – but it expresses how much God knows about us. (Advance)
Psalm 139:2-14 (NIV)
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. 5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
e. Your prayers
i. If the come from the right motives
ii. If they come from a sincere heart
iii. If they come from a passion for his will in your life
God will answer your prayer! They are powerful and they will be effective. There is no loophole – God loves everyone, but he can only mould and shape those who are connected to the Spirit working in their lives. (Advance)
1 Corinthians 2:11-12 (NIV)
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. Did you catch that? Vs. 12 – we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from GOD. Your spirit and the Spirit of GOD are connected. You can know what to pray for – and satisfied with the answer. It’s not so much about God answering your prayer as it is, you asking for the right things. There is a difference between saying, “Your will be done” and being joyful when it is done.
I was leading a prayer for a lady in the church, and she had cancer. The church prayed for her and several months before this point the cancer disappeared. She went in for surgery, and to make a long story short they didn’t find any. We were circled around again with her family, and another preacher from town and I said, “Lord if it is not your will to heal, we ask for endurance and wisdom over the coming months”. Keep in mind this young lady is going back to the doctor to possibly have another surgery. Her dad cuts in on my prayer – tells me it is always God’s will to heal. Listen, sometimes the will of God is not the same as our will. That’ pretty easy to say when it’s someone else, it’s easy to say when it’s on TV or in another state. It’s also true when it is in our own homes, our own town, and our relationships.
I’m not suggesting that this is easy or even a quick process. Sometimes the wisdom that comes from a situation is 4 and 5 years removed. When you look back and can see – your absolute desire for something to happen – and you see the mighty hand of God when it didn’t happen. Regardless of the situation, God is in control – the same God who loves us gently and completely.
The third way to move yourself closer to the will of God (Advance)
III. Serve (19-20)
Jesus taught the disciples to use prayer as an avenue of service, not as a means of personal power.
I don’t know how else to put it – We are all servants of our heavenly father. A servant is someone who is willing to either lead or follow – but is content with either one. You can be a servant leader – Christian ministry is servant leadership. In 1st kings 18:36 – Elijah offers a simple, straightforward prayer clearly rooted in his relationship with God, “I AM YOUR SERVANT,” while the priests of Baal vainly seek to win the favor of deity through “frantic prophesying” and bloodletting.”
a. Service
i. Will make you see those searching for truth
1. In a different light
It will also make you see yourself differently – as having something to offer. He gives instruction
b. If you should wander from the truth
Wander is not a good word – it’s not a bad translation. The word actually means someone who rejects the revealed will of God. Like – I know what God’s will is for my life – I know I have this gift and talent he wants me to use, I know I have this ability to glorify him with, but – this word “wander” means: “Although I see his will for my life I’m not going to do it.”
Remember the story of Jonah – He didn’t want to go to Nineveh – so he pays 3 pirates who don’t do anything to send him to tarish . A huge storm comes up and for the salvation of those on board he is thrown off the ship. God provides the whale who spits him up. According to the NIV – Jonah was a wanderer – someone who looks and sees clearly the will of God – but they reject it. If this describes you or someone you love – there is hope, and mission (don’t over look the mission)
c. Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him self from death and cover a multitude of sin.
It is the four words that will help you see the need for the verse I just read – Let’s say them again – (Advance) “I NEED TO PRAY”.
i. It could be seeing someone in the grocery store and asking them about their day
ii. It could be a thank you card, or a nice note of encouragement
iii. It could be that you take your time and visit with someone who is hurting
iv. It could be that you take the time and pray with someone
Church – you do WHATEVER it takes to bring those who are out there – in here. The best 4 letter word you will ever say – PRAY! God wants your prayers, because he changes us when we pray, when we offer ourselves to him. Sometimes we believe that prayer will change our situation, or lack of efforts or they do something completely magical. “Biblical faith excludes any attempts to use magic or formula to control or placate God.”
Most of the time in scripture prayer is not about changing the situation, but preparing the person for the situation. One of the hardest prayers recorded in scripture is just before the cross – literally hours before the cross, Jesus prays and asks God to take the cup from him – but what does he say – Not as I will but your will be done. Right? I believe God answered the prayer, not through removing punishment for our sin – no, the Bible clearly says that the one who had no sin became sin. God answered the prayer in this – preparing Jesus for what he would have to endure.
For some of us this morning – the sermon on prayer hits right where it should – because we haven’t prayed. We haven’t focused ourselves on the will of GOD. We have taken the time to communicate with God; the deep desires we have, and then made ourselves open to a response. It’s one thing to pray for the lady down the block who is poor and alone – it’s another – to make yourself open to being the answer to the prayer – spending time and meeting her needs.
I like to cook – By the looks of me, I like eating what I fix. The other day I took a skillet, turned the burner up to high, and waited for a few minutes. I then took drops of water and watched as they hit the hot pan. Do you know what happened? The water, the moisture disappeared. When you live your life without a lifestyle of pray, throwing up whatever, hoping a blessing comes down – it’s like the hot pan and drops of water. What little moisture there is, is swallowed by the heat.
I don’t know about you – but I am no longer going to be satisfied with a life lived without prayer.
Can you say those four words with me – (Advance) “I NEED TO PRAY”
Close in prayer
God’s gift to you is a desire to communicate and the ability to communicate freely with him. This isn’t about sin, this isn’t about the junk that’s in the past – this is simply about prayer. If we are normal people (and I think we are) Our prayer lives need a boost, because it will affect all that you are, and all that you do. So we are going to open this up this morning – if you want to commit to praying more, if you know of something a situation or a person who needs prayer and want to stand in the gap for them. The Bible says that Jesus is our mediator – someone who stands between the guilty and the judge. We have power in our prayers when we offer them in Jesus’ name because of his authority, and because of his absolute love for us. Maybe you are here this morning and you simply need prayer – together a church at its best will surround you with prayer. Our leadership will pray with you and for you. A church that prays together – stays together.
