Sometimes I don’t feel like praying
Prayer has always been a challenge in my life. I know that sounds wrong to many of you but this series is about confessions so I guess I’ve got to be honest.
Prayer is something I’ve always struggled with. Maybe it’s my expectations – or maybe it’s what I think God expects of me in prayers. Maybe its all the stories I’ve heard about the great prayer warriors who get on their knees and pray fervently for 5 hours before they get up to have breakfast.
In my first year of ministry I once got up at 4:00 AM to pray. I settled in at my office desk to pray and promptly fell asleep. I now know why so many of those great prayer warriors prayed on their knees. It was too painful to fall asleep. Well, right in the middle of my early morning nap I heard a rap on the window to my office and looked up to see a cop looking in at me. He had stopped in to make sure that whoever was in the building at 4:30 AM was supposed to be there – and he caught me with my face firmly planted on my desk snoring. I pretended that I had been deep in prayer and assured the officer that everything was fine. He went on his way and I decided that the early morning prayer thing was not happening.
Maybe it’s that I just am not at all sure of what it is that I’m supposed to do or what it is that is supposed to happen in prayer. The fact of the matter is that I don’t know how to pray all that well. I’m not talking about the words. I can say the words. I’m talking about the conversation – the relationship of prayer. And, whenever I don’t do something all that well, I generally don’t do it very much.
When I was a kid my folks signed me up to play on the community softball league one summer. We all got on the bus and they took us out to Log Lake. We were supposed to play ball in the morning and then go swimming in the afternoon. Well, the first time up to bat, I whiffed three times in a row and the other kids laughed at me – so I went swimming. Nuts to the softball thing. The coach talked to my parents and basically said that I had made a good decision. I swam the rest of the summer and never played softball again that year.
Do you do that with things in life? Do you find that prayer and spiritual things are a bit of a mystery so you find it easier to just stay away from it? Sometimes it’s just easier to avoid stuff in life isn’t it? Prayer is something that we often feel as if we don’t do it very well – so we simply avoid it.
Does this describe you? If it does you are in good company. Not only do you and I share the same struggle – so did the disciples of Jesus. They struggled with prayer too. That’s why they asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
Let’s all sit at the feet of Jesus this morning. We’ll be looking at the words of Jesus on prayer in Matthew, chapter 6.
Don’t Pose for People – Talk with God
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Matthew 6:5-7
Hypocrisy – pretending, acting, posing is a real problem in prayer.
Maybe this is why children are such good pray-ers. They don’t have a pretentious bone in their bodies do they?
We on the other hand are ever conscious of how we look to others. Put a camera on us, put a crowd in front of us, sit at a table with our family, be asked to say grace at a Thanksgiving meal, lead prayer in a worship service and we go into instant analysis mode – “How do I look? Do I look pious? How do I sound? Should I toss a few thee’s, thou’s and thy’s or keep it casual. What should I pray for? What would impress the people that I’m really a spiritual guy! Maybe I’ll pray that what ever God wants is fine with me – even if it isn’t. Or, maybe I’ll name it and claim it with great faith and pomposity!
The funniest prayer I ever witnessed was from a preacher at the Northmen gathering up near Graling, MI about 30 years ago. Here are 600-700 guys in the woods under a big top tent when the skies open up and a huge rainstorm begins to pound down on the canvas. We weren’t in danger of getting wet but it was loud. The preacher had a hard time being heard so he said, “Let’s pray for God to stop the rain.” So he bowed his head and prayed. One second after he said “Amen” there was a crack of lightening and almost instantly a huge thunderclap immediately followed by a flood of rain that went on for about five minutes! The preacher just looked at us and shrugged his shoulders! Hilarious! I learned to be careful about praying about the weather!
Do you hear it? Are you catching on to what the problem is? I’m sure you’ve already picked up on it haven’t you. It’s not God – It’s me!
It’s me! Again! The problem is not prayer methods and procedures. The problem is not that God doesn’t care or isn’t able to fix the situation. The problem is not God – it’s me. I’m not praying – I’m posturing, posing, and pretending.
Last week we talked about confessing that sometimes we don’t like people and I had you turn to someone and confess that it wasn’t them – it was me. Well Randy Rhodes turned to his wife and said, “It’s not me, it’s Rick.”
Well when it comes to not feeling like praying it’s not God – it’s me. Now turn to someone and say it’s not God – it’s me! And no cheating!
So if I’m the problem, what’s to be done? Does this mean public prayer is wrong? I hope not! I do a lot of it. So what about public prayer?
Here is the critical question when it comes to prayer in a public setting. Who is the audience?
The audience in all prayer must be God. When I pray publicly my task is to speak out loud your prayers and requests. I speak to God on your behalf, your hopes, dreams, fears, needs, and hurts. God is the audience – not you. That’s one reason when someone else is praying I’ll often participate with a quiet affirmation. There are many times that the person praying will say exactly what I need God to hear from me and I’ll find myself saying, “Yes, Lord, hear my prayer” or sometimes just a simple, “Amen.”
The reality is that in all prayer – public or personal – the audience is always God and never anyone else. Prayer is simply that concentrated and intensely personal time that you have with God – one on one time.
He knows what you need – so why pray. Because we need to learn to go to God for our needs. Prayer is part of the discipline of growing up in Spiritual things.
Don’t Call on an Unfeeling Force – Talk to Your Loving Father
9 This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…”
Matthew 6:9
Understand who it is you are talking with. This isn’t an uncaring, impersonal force that Yoda would have you connect with. “Feel the force, grasshopper” – Oops, I think I mixed my movie metaphor’s.
Listen up; I’ve got a news flash for you. Our God is not an impersonal force – he is our father. You are like him. He made you that way. You are related to him. He created you that way. He loves and made us with a need for his love. We are hardwired to hunger for his presence in the depths of our innermost being.
This is not impersonal. It’s intensely personal.
When Jesus came on the scene he addressed God only as “Father.” All of his prayers addressed God as “Father.” The Gospels record his use of “Father” more than sixty times in reference to God, yet in all of the Old Testament God is referred to as “Father” only fourteen times and then only in relation to the nation of Israel, never as an individual or personal Father. No one in the entire history of Israel had ever prayed like Jesus. Jesus transformed the relationship with God from one of a distant and unapproachable deity to that of a intimate relationship of a Father.
The fact that God is our “dearest father” is to be foundational awareness in prayer. Paul tells us in Galatians 4:6, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (NKJV) Wrapped up in the expression “our father” is a new dimension in intimate communion with God, the same intimacy that exists between a child and their father is to exist between them and God.
“The Aramaic word for father is ABBA. The word passed into Hebrew, where it is used by a child to its father and also as a style of address to rabbis. The term conveyed both a sense of warm intimacy and also filial respect; but in Jewish circles it has never been a form of address to the Almighty.
In the NT the word occurs 3 times, transliterated into Greek; in each instance it is a vocative, addressed to God, and the Greek equivalent is appended (Mk. 14:36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). It appears that the double phrase was common in the Greek–speaking church, where its use may well have been liturgical. (The Lord’s Prayer in its Aramaic form probably began with ’abba.)
It appears that it was Jesus who first applied the term to God, and who gave authority to his disciples to do so. Paul sees in its use a symbol of the Christian’s adoption as a son of God and his possession of the Spirit.”
Let’s talk a little about this. Some of you are going to really struggle with this idea – because your father in this world was not such a good guy. Maybe you had a daddy who was angry, distant, or unapproachable. Some of you have fathers who abused you physically. Some of you have fathers who abused you sexually. For all of you the idea of a loving father is hard to conceive.
In such a case, one way to overcome this is to think of God as being everything you ever wished for in a father, God can become for you the fulfillment of your dream for a honorable and decent father who loves you unconditionally. The beginning of effective prayer is the recognition that God possesses a father’s heart, a father’s love, a father’s strength and a father’s concern for the best interest of his children.
This concept of a loving heavenly father provides us with a profound sense of being loved. Everett Fullam a missionary to a remote tribe in Nigeria relates the salvation experience of one of the local natives, when he revealed the awesomeness of this new experience with God by saying; “Behind this universe stands one God, not a great number of warring spirits, as we had always believed, but one God. And that God loves me!”
[as quoted in Kent Hughes. Abba Father: The Lord’s Pattern for Prayer (Wheaton, Crossway Books, 1986) pp. 22-23.]
It of course needs to be remembered that it is impossible to come to God as our Father except that we are born into his family through faith in Jesus Christ. This prayer is based on a relationship with God through faith in Christ.
When we begin our prayer, “Our Father,” we begin to pray based on an intimate relationship with God – that of a father and child. God is not an angry judge looking for an opportunity to condemn us, nor is aloof and distant, too busy to hear you. He is our Father and can be approached on an intimate basis.
Having the foundational awareness of God as our Father we move on to the first of the petitions, “hallowed be your name.”
Don’t Be Cute – Your Father is the Almighty Creator
9 This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:9-10
When you talk with God - speak with respect. When you pray “hallowed be your name,” you climb to a new level of respect for God and reverence for his person. You are ascending to the very heart of God to recognize who He is and what He has done for us.
Several years ago I had the opportunity to have my daughter, Shannon on staff with me at Beavercreek Christian Church. Now understand that Donna and I had raised her from the time she was a baby. I had carried her on my shoulders so she could see the parade going by. I had run behind her on her first bicycle helping her learn to keep her balance. I had watched over her learning to swim. I had taught her how to parallel park (That was a prayerful experience by itself). I had sent her off to Kentucky to get her education. Then she became part of our ministry staff.
I will never forget the day she came into my office and told me how much it meant to her to be able to work with me. She said that she really saw me differently now. Not just as her father but also as a minister, pastor, and leader of the church family.
When Jesus taught his disciples and us to pray “hallowed be your name,” He was telling them and us to make the presence of God real in our hearts. Understand that he is your father but also remember to see him as the mighty God who created all that there is.
When you pray “hallowed be thy name,” you are placing God on the throne of your heart. It is about putting God on the throne of our lives on earth, as He sits upon His throne in heaven.
How do we “hallow” his name? We hallow his name with our lips, both privately and publicly, and by our actions. To pray that His name is “hallowed” means that first and foremost we desire our lives to reveal to others to the name of Jesus and the character or God.
We’re talking about the worship and honor that we give to God.
You do that by coming into harmony with God’s purposes and priorities. It’s not about you. It’s about God and his kingdom.
If you are in a rowboat and you throw a line to the shore where it is tied off and then try to pull the boat up to the land – how exactly does that work? Do you pull the shore to you and the boat? No, you pull on the rope and pull yourself up to the shore. The land doesn’t move – you do!
So what is his purpose – it is the establishment of his kingdom. His kingdom is the church – here in this world today and eventually with him in heaven for all of eternity.
So what does Jesus teach us by teaching us to pray for God’s Kingdom to come?
Two things. First, It isn’t fully come yet. Second, we are to work to help it come.
Can I say something here. It’s going to sound a little preachy but I simply have to say it. The most important part of life in this world is not sports. Who wins the Super bowl this year is simply not that important. The most important thing in life is not your career choice. I’m sorry, it’s not your community. It’s not the national interests of the United States of America.
The most important part of life – is the church of Jesus Christ. This should be the center of your prayer life, your work life, your life.
When we pray “your Kingdom come” this prayer recognizes that God’s kingdom is not presently ruling on the earth.
The tense of the verb “come” refers to a decisive time in the future when the kingdom will come once and for all – an event that will happen only once. In effect you are asking for the second coming of Jesus to this earth.
You are asking for Jesus to come and established His kingdom on this earth. We are looking forward to the climax of history when God’s will, shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.
If we truly desire God’s rule over all men and women at a future time, then it follows that we desire that He will work His will out in our lives now. When we pray, “your kingdom come,” we are acknowledging God’s right to rule all people, including us. We dare not pray for his rule over others unless we honestly desire His rule over us.
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to pray, “your kingdom come,” unless we fully intend to cooperate with the establishment of his rule in our own lives. Obviously the more fully we submit to God’s reign in our own lives the more effectively God will be able to use us in manifesting His kingdom on the earth.
Don’t ask for Stuff – Focus on Real Needs
11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matthew 6:11-13
Daily Bread
Remember your Dependence on God
What does this request mean?
We miss its importance for the simple fact that when you awoke this morning, none of you had even the slightest doubt that you would be able to eat today. Most of the major concerns for the average American is what will we eat, not whether we will eat. We are told to pray “give us day by day our daily bread,” to remind us of our absolute dependence on God for everything. God made us with needs so that we would have to look to Him to supply them. In this prayer for “daily bread,” bread stands for more than just food. It stands for all the physical things we need for life. To pray this prayer for “our daily bread,” expresses our conviction and belief that God is able to answer our prayer and to meet our needs. It is not that we are praying to overcome God’s unwillingness or overcome his reluctance, seeking to bend His will to ours, but it is rather the taking hold of God’s willingness to give.
In the spiritual realm it is just as true that yesterday’s strength is absolutely useless to fight today’s battles. Sometimes we as Christians rely on our experiences with God in the past. Of course they were good, but we need a fresh touch of God in our lives everyday. God never gives us a reservoir of grace in our lives, but expects to turn to Him everyday for the grace sufficient to meet the challenges of that day.
The phrase, “this day” reminds us as believers that we need daily renewal of our spiritual strength. We often get stressed out with anxiety because we try to face the problems of tomorrow today. Jesus addressed the problem of worry in the Sermon on the Mount were he said, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ (32) For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (34) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matt 6:31-34 NKJV). When we worry about tomorrow we are telling the heavenly father that we are not sure that He can provide for tomorrow’s bread. The invitation to pray “give us day-by-day our daily bread,” is an invitation to come to God with even those things that others might call small. We are not just to bring the big things to God but even our ordinary request – for a coat, for shoes, a vacation, groceries, or even a bicycle.
The ultimate bread is Jesus Christ himself. The only bread the will satisfy completely and forever is the provision of the Lord Jesus Himself. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” John 6:51 (NKJV)
Forgiveness – needed and given
This petition is not only an explicit prayer for forgiveness, “forgive us our sins,” but also for a forgiving spirit, “for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”
Some say but I can’t forgive, is really I can’t or is it I won’t? Jesus did not tell the disciples that they could pray, “Lord, forgive me my trespasses and I will try to forgive those who have wronged me.” He told them that when they had forgiven others they could then claim their own forgiveness.
Ray Stedman tells the story of one man’s explanation for his lack of forgiveness. He said, “A man once said to me, ‘I know I’m a Christian, but someone once did an awful thing to me – something I just can’t forget or forgive.’ I replied, ‘Are you sure you can’t forgive him?’
He maintained that he had really tried to forgive this man, but was unable to do so. As we continued talking, I said, ‘I know, I have found that we often use the word can’t what we really mean is won’t. Isn’t possible that what you are saying is not, “I can’t forgive him,’ but ‘I won’t forgive him?’ If it is really true that you cannot forgive this man, then it indicates that you yourself have never been forgiven and you are only kidding yourself about being a Christian.’
This shook him a bit. He thought it through and then, with a rather sheepish grin, he said, ‘I guess you’re right. I guess I won’t.’ It wasn’t long before he came to me and reported with joy that he had finally forgiven the man who had injured him.”
[Ray Stedman. Talking With My Father. ( Grand Rapids; Discovery House, 1997) p. 73
It is possible that that right here we are touching upon one of the principle causes of unanswered prayer. Is it possible that anyone would truly rather have his own prayers unanswered for the human satisfaction of hating someone and holding on to a grudge against someone who has offended us?
When we do not forgive we set up a roadblock in our prayer life.
Strength and Protection
If we are to win in the battle against temptation we must realize the reality of Spiritual warfare. We cannot be victorious over that which we do not understand. Being ignorant of the fact that there is a great spiritual battle being fought in our world does not erase that fact that it is true.
We also need to acknowledge our inability to handle temptation on our own. We need to remember, everyone is vulnerable to temptation, no one is above falling. No matter how old we are or how mature in the faith we are. Although the strength of certain temptations may diminish somewhat with age, we are never free from temptation as long as we live in this world.
When we pray for God’s protection from temptation we are agreeing with the High priestly prayer of Jesus. He prayed, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15 (NKJV)
The second part of the prayer for God’s protection is found in the request, “Deliver Us From Evil One.”
The King James Version translates this, “deliver us from evil” but The New King James Version, The New International Version and The New English Bible translations rendered it, “deliver us from the evil one” – referring of course to Satan.
When you use the phrase “deliver us from the evil one” you are admitting that this life is a struggle with an enemy that opposes us. Because we do not know what dangers we will face each new day, we need God’s protection to cover us.
When you pray “deliver us from the evil one” you are turning your protection over to God. Although Satan may be the ruler of this present evil world, though he may be the prince of the power of the air, though he may have cohorts of evil spirits at his command, he has no claim over the children of God, nor does he have any power to tempt them except what the Father allows.
A New Prayer
To modernize what Christ said, the prayer might sound like this:
Dad, you are so perfect and pure, bring your ways to this world.
Give me, today, what I need to live. Forgive me when I hurt you as I will forgive others who hurt me.
Help me to do what you want and not to get away from your ways.
Protect me from all spiritual harm.
The emphasis in this prayer is not on us and our wants and our desires. But rather it emphasizes the need to open ourselves to God’s will in this world and in our lives. The prayer that Christ taught his disciples and that we continue to pray today reminds us that life is not really about us. It’s about God. And it’s about our need to be in relationship with God so that we may know and do God’s will.
Would you like to try it? How about it right now? Right where you are at? Use these words up here on the screen as a prompt and guide. Speak to God right now and talk with him about the things in your heart.
Block out everyone else and offer your prayer to God. To help you do this – open your mouth, move your lips and speak softly to God. If we are all doing this together you’ll be aware of a soft murmer – just you focus on your own words and only your conversation with God.
In a few minutes when you and I have had some time to pray, Esther will lead us in song of worship.
Are you ready? – let’s go ahead right now.
