The Kind of Prayer that Changes Things
Grant van Boeschoten
February 10, 2007
One of my favorite topics to talk about in life is prayer. One of my favorite things to do is to pray. Some people don’t see what all the commotion and fuss is about though. They don’t think that prayer is anything special, they don’t see it as something wonderful.
You might be one of those people this morning. You might be wondering what the big deal is about prayer anyways. People who aren’t excited about prayer usually fall into one of two categories, and maybe you will find a place that you can identify with.
The first category is of the person who has never experienced the power of prayer. You have never been part of a miracle. You have never been in the room when God healed somebody right before your eyes. You have never seen a person’s soul transform from death to life by prayer.
If you are a part of this group then you might be a part of the people who say that “Seeing is believing” and “Until I see it I won’t believe it.”
The second group of people who don’t get excited about prayer are those who have forgotten the power of prayer. In general terms, these are the people who have a history where God has done some powerful things in their life through prayer, but that was then and this is now.
This second group has become disconnected from the kind of prayer that changes things. When they pray, and if they pray, it is an empty feeling that comes. They feel as if they are speaking to the ceiling, and as if their prayers don’t really make a difference.
If you can identify with this second group of people you might be able to say that you have “Lost your first love.” You used to have a great relationship with God, but now it doesn’t feel like much of a relationship at all.
This morning, whether you are a person who believes in the power of prayer or not, I want to encourage you. I want to let you know that God uses prayer to do miracles. I want to remind you that God uses prayer to transform lives and to transform cities.
That’s why I like to preach about prayer, it’s because;
• When you can grab a hold of the significance of prayer, you begin to significantly pray.
• When you experience the power of prayer, you begin to pray with conviction and faith.
• When you learn about the authority that you can take in prayer, you can regain control in your life.
• When you are touched by God, when you talk and then God responds, there is just nothing like it. You begin to communicate with the creator of the Universe, and you find out that you are special and that you are loved and that God is interested in you.
• When you get a taste of God, then you just keep on wanting more. He is like the addiction that actually has the power to satisfy you. You just fall deeper and deeper in love with God.
And so I love to preach about prayer. I love to see peoples’ lives transformed through prayer. And the truth is that we are living in a day and an age where we really need the kind of prayer that changes things.
Who would have ever thought that abortion would gain the public’s approval? Who would have ever imagined that babies can be terminated before they even get to see their mother’s face and before their father ever had a chance to hold them in his arms.
Our friends to the South of us have some very strong laws protecting the life of an unborn baby. Unfortunately those laws are put in place to guard the lives of their endangered species and not human lives.
In Arizona an Iguana is considered an endangered species and there is a $500 fine for destroying an Iguana egg? In Florida you can go to the beach and be fined $20,000 and be put in prison for a year for taking one Sea Turtle egg from the nest? It is a $5000 fine and a possible year in prison for breaking an eagle’s egg.
Why are these fines in place? It is because as a culture and in the legal systems, we recognize that life begins before the egg is hatched. But we have violated our conscience and choose to believe that human life begins at birth and not conception.
And as a Church, how long can we endure the murder that happens. How long can we put up with our country legalizing and applauding this practice. How long can we allow for our very own tax dollars to fund this horror?
Something has to give. Something has to start. We need the kind of prayer that changes things.
Slide 3 (Eye)
Of Course, if the baby is able to survive the nine months in the womb, he or she will be very fortunate to grow up in a home with a father. The disease of “Fatherlessness” is sweeping North America. In his book Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem, David Blankenhorn discusses the reality that is upon us.
“Tonight, 40% of all American children will go to sleep in a house in which their fathers do not live.
Before the age of eighteen, more than 50% of our children will spend a significant portion of their childhood living apart from their fathers.
A generation ago, an American child could reasonably expect to grow up with a dad. Today, an American child can reasonably expect not to. Fatherlessness is the most harmful demographic trend in this generation.”
The problem seems almost too big to solve. Fatherlessness runs rampant, with a generation that has lost its resolve to stay committed. What do we do as a Church, how can we even start to make a difference. I’ll tell you what we need, We need the kind of prayer that Changes Things.
What about the issues that confront us in our own lives? What about the things that have been pulling you away from God. What about the huge task and responsibility of raising Godly children. What about the difficulties that come up against you in marriage. What about your friends and your family who if they died today, would go to hell.
What are we going to do about it? We need the kind of prayer that changes things.
The kind of prayer that we need is a honest prayer, it is a fervent prayer, it is a prayer that is willing to rise to actions and it is a prayer that has the transforming power of Jesus Christ working through it.
Slide 4
The Kind of Prayer that Changes things is HONEST
Our God is not the kind of God who is overly impressed with appearances. He doesn’t particularly exalt a person because of the clothes that he or she is wearing. Our God is a God who looks at your heart, and it is the heart of man that will form the opinion of God.
Jesus and his disciples were hanging out near the temple and the people were bringing their offerings and putting them into the collection basket.
It must have been obvious to everyone watching how much each person was putting into the collection basket. It was no secret the amount of money that you were giving to God. Everyone around could see how little or how much you were putting in.
Of course, the people around you weren’t the only people watching you give to God, God himself was also watching. And where people can only see the gold and the silver being collected, God is taking notice of people’s hearts.
He is listening to what there souls are saying as they put the money into the plate. There are some people who are giving huge amounts of money, and their appearance is telling everybody how generous they are. And God sees there souls and he knows the truth. He knows authentic and he knows what it looks like for someone to give him an offering with an evil heart.
Many people are putting in large amounts, but Jesus points out the one widow who is giving a very small and little amount. Jesus and everybody else watch as this widow puts in two small coins. But Jesus, having the nature of God, sees the ladies’ heart, and Jesus knows of the sacrifice that she is making.
He points her out to his disciples and says, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.
For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” Mark 12:43-44 (NLT)
God sees the heart. You can’t fake him out, you can’t operate on the basis of good looks, because God sees your heart, God sees your motives, God won’t be fooled or mocked by clever schemes to manipulate him.
Have you ever wonder what God might be thinking as you pray. Have you ever considered that he might be listening in as you give thanks for supper. I can remember growing up that we basically had little catch phrases that I over time I became comfortable with.
I would start every prayer with the words “Dear Jesus” and I could be thinking about something entirely different other than the love and friendship of Jesus. But God will not be mocked and God will not be fooled by the words that you say.
God looks at your heart. And what he is looking for is for your honesty. Say what mean and mean what you say. Pray as if God is actually listening to you.
I was once in a relationship with a young lady, and for the entire course of our relationship we never had a single argument. At first it sounds like a dream. Everything is smooth sailing, no one’s feelings seem to be getting hurt and life is good.
But then as time wore on I began to discover that friction is healthy in a relationship. The reason why we weren’t arguing is because no one had the guts to actually say something that was on there mind. We avoided confrontation and over the course of time our relationship deteriorated to the lowest common denominator. It wasn’t fun, it wasn’t life giving, it began to feel like a prison because it is very constricting when you are not allowed to be honest.
Maybe that is how you would define your relationship with God this morning. You don’t feel as though you are allowed to be honest with him. You avoid confrontation and over the course of time your relationship with God has deteriorated to the lowest common denominator. You don’t want to make him angry, you want to live up to the high standard that Jesus modeled in the Bible, but in the process you are leaving your honesty on a shelf.
God wants for you to be honest with him. Tell him when you love him. Tell him when you are disappointed. Tell him when you just don’t understand what is going on. Tell him when life seems to have you by the tail and it is mercilessly shaking you. Tell God the truth, he knows what you’re thinking anyways. When you can start being honest with God, you pull down a wall that was blocking your communication, and you begin to develop a relationship.
An honest, truthful, from the heart prayer is the kind of prayer that changes things.
The words you say and the actions that you take begin to make a difference when you become honest before God. Jesus was moved because of the widows offering, because it came from an honest heart. He will do the same with you.
Revival came to north China in 1932 in answer to several years of prayer. At one point, Norwegian missionary Maria Monsen wondered what good her praying could do. She longed to see God’s river of life flood spiritually dry China. Then she realized that the mighty Yangtze River began when the tiny drops of rain came together in the top of the mountains. Maria sought a prayer partner who would join her in claiming the promise "that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven" (Mt. 18:19).
When she finally found someone she exclaimed, "The awakening has begun Two of us have agreed" The rain drops of revival prayer were coming together. In November of 1930 Maria announced, "A great revival is coming soon and it will begin in the North China Mission." She was convinced that the missionaries had fulfilled the conditions for revival found in 2 Chron 7:14.
In 1932 about forty Christians were meeting in a town in North China for prayer four times a day beginning at 5:00 a.m. Believers were convicted of sin. Two men repented of hating each other. Love was strong and deep. Joy abounded. When revival came more people were born again than in any previous year in North China. One missionary estimated that 3,000 people came to Christ in his town. Pastors, missionaries, and Bible women experienced a deeper Christian life than they had ever known before. A spirit of prayer was poured out on the church. People loved to pray.
slide 5
James 5:16 (NLT)
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
The kind of prayer being described here is:
• a passionate prayer.
• a kind of prayer that claims the promise of God, fully expecting for God to honor his word.
• prayer that is from a righteous person, that means that you have confessed your sins to God and he has forgiven you.
• fervent
James 5:16 (KJV)
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
slide 6
The kind of Prayer that Changes things is FERVENT
The word fervent means to have or show great emotion or zeal. A fervent prayer is characterized by passion, it is prayer that you can feel all throughout your whole body. When you have this kind of prayer coming out of your heart, it is very difficult to stand still, it is very difficult to control your voice, it is very hard to control your emotions, because you are just pouring everything that you have in you out to God.
When your prayer is fervent you find that God’s heart has become your heart and it affects you emotionally. You begin to care about the things that God cares about, you see people the way that God sees people, you understand the world from the perspective of eternity.
And the Bible says that this kind of prayer is effective, it produces wonderful results.
What kind of results do you need in your life today? What kind of results do we need in the church today? We’re not looking for token answers from God. We’re not waiting for a small, little piece of hope.
No, it is wonderful results that we are praying for. We are expecting God to honor his word. We are expecting are prayers to be effective, for our prayers to be the kind of prayer that changes things.
But you know, if we are going to have these kinds of prayers coming out of our hearts and out of our mouths, then we are going to have to be willing to take action as well.
The Power of Love Newspaper columnist and Minister George Crane tell of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. “I do not only want to get rid of him; I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me.” Dr Crane suggested an ingenious plan. “Go home and act as if you really loved your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him.” “Make him believe you love him. After you’ve convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, and then drop the bomb. Tell him that you’re getting a divorce. That will really hurt him.”
With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, “Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised?” And she did it with enthusiasm. Acting as she was told. For two months she showed love, kindness, listening, giving, and sharing. Two months passed. She didn’t return. Dr Crane called. “Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?” “Divorce?” she exclaimed. “Never I discovered I really do love him.” Her actions had changed her feelings. Motion resulted in emotion. The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as by often-repeated deeds.
You see many times in life we want to pray with emotion and we want to pray with zeal and passion, but we can’t find that passion in our hearts. We try to cry out to God, but it comes out as an empty sound.
Why does this happen?
• How do you find passion and emotion for the things that should inspire you.
• How do you find the energy to pray for the lost?
• How do you find the conviction to pray for the sick?
• How do you get the zeal to pray for transformation when you’ve been praying for years and you have yet to see the results.
• How do you regain your fervent prayers.
The answer is simple. You start getting involved in the work of God. You start to talk to the people you meet about God. You start to look for ways that you can be a part of the transformation. You start to become the change that you are praying for.
The kind of prayer that changes things is rises up to take action
And soon these things will begin to consume your heart. You will find yourself emotionally invested when you begin to take action.
Your heart for youth will grow when you get involved with the youth.
You will pray for our kids like never before when you start to talk with them, and teach them, and give your time to love them. Because they will get into your heart as you give your heart to them.
You see, it is very difficult to pray for something that you are disconnected from. But the opposite is true as well. When you are taking action as well you can’t help but let these passions flow out of your heart to God. No one can stop the energy inside you.
You see, we need the kind of prayer that changes things. And we need to be the kind of people who don’t just pray, but we allow our lives to be used by God. And the one things fuels the other.
You start to pray for something and your realize your responsibility to take. And then once you begin to take the action the passion begins to grow in you, and you can’t help but to pray.
Maybe you said that you were a part of the group of people that has lost their first love for God. You used to have an awesome relationship, but now you can’t find the passion. It’s time to get your life going for God again. Start to take action. Find some lives to invest in. Let God lead you to people that need your love and that need your time. And your passion will return to you. Your love will be reunited. This is a practical word to the passionless this morning. When you start taking action you rediscover your passion.
And then there were the people who said that they don’t understand the commotion about prayer because they have never experienced it’s power before.
Psalm 34:6 (NLT)
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
God says that when you pray he will listen. He is able to save you from all your troubles. But the first thing that you need to do is confess of your sins. The first thing that you need to do is to cry out for salvation.
Maybe you can identify with the nation of Israel. They were living in darkness. They could see, but they couldn’t see God. They couldn’t see the truth. Their sins had piled up between them and God and there sins had to be repented of.
Isaiah 59:9-12 (TLB)
9 It is because of all this evil that you aren’t finding God’s blessings; that’s why he doesn’t punish those who injure you. No wonder you are in darkness when you expected light. No wonder you are walking in the gloom. 10 No wonder you grope like blind men and stumble along in broad daylight, yes, even at brightest noontime, as though it were the darkest night! No wonder you are like corpses when compared with vigorous young men! 11 You roar like hungry bears; you moan with mournful cries like doves. You look for God to keep you, but he doesn’t. He has turned away. 12 For your sins keep piling up before the righteous God and testify against you.
Your sins are piling up in the courts of heaven and they are making a case against you. They are condemning you to a life apart from God, and eternity of punishment.
You need to come up with a way to silence their cry. You need to fabricate a plan to get them out of God’s sight so that they will no longer condemn you. But you can’t. You can’t work your way out of sin and you can’t pay your way through the trial.
But Jesus can. I said Jesus can. Jesus can save you. He died on the cross because someone had to take the punishment for these wrongs. Somebody had to pay the price, and his death on the cross was for you. Now if you will call on him as Lord, if you will devote your life to God, if you will ask Jesus for salvation you will be forgiven of those sins. And God says that he will remove your sins from the courts of heaven. As far as the east is from the west, that’s how far he’ll move them. He will move them so that they are no longer in his memory, no longer in his line of sight.
And you will be forgiven. God will call you righteous, he will call you holy, he will call you his child, he will call you saved, he will give you a new beginning in life. And you will know the miracle that we in the Church call salvation.
1 John 1:9 (NLT)
9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
That’s the kind of prayer that changes things. It is honest, it is fervent, it is not afraid to take action and it bows the knee before God in humble repentance. Amen.
