HOW TO PRAY FOR LOVED ONES
Sermon Objective:
1. Teach God’s people to remove their automatic responses against the kingdom of God by trying to control others (loved ones) when we want them to do or be someone we think they should be. When we manipulate, coerce, or compel others to do what we want, we become the problem for these loved ones. Ephesians 6 – parents are commanded not to exasperate their children; not to provoke them. The parable of the prodigal son, demonstrates a horrifying sight – the father let go of the son who wanted to leave. I would not do that. Perhaps not anymore. When children are bent on doing what they want, they will do it anyway, in secret, or in open rebellion against us, damaging the relationship.
2. I also want to teach God’s people to not settle for short cuts – let our loved one learn their lessons in life.
3. Teach God’s people to learn the way of Jesus when wanting to rescue loved ones, friends, and people close to them: PRAY FOR WHAT IS NEEDFUL TO ACCOMPLISH GOD’S PLAN. A DISCIPLE PRAYS.
Introduction: Carpenters build homes. Farmers plant crops. Engineers and architects draw. Doctors treat patients. Teachers teach. Sailors sail. Drivers drive. What about Christians? Christians pray. What about Pentecostal Christians? Pentecostals pray intensely and effectively.
I love how Pentecostals pray. The most vivid memories I have with COG as a young man was how you prayed. I love how dad Cortez prayed. I love even more how mom Cortez prays. I also love it when Pastor Diego, prayed for me when she visited me in school. I love how Pastor Barboza prayed for our Summer team whenever we ministered in Marbel. I love how Minda prays, and how Mely prays. There is something about Pentecostal praying.
Most of all I have been deeply touched by the prayer of my dad. My dad was not a pastor or a preacher, or a teacher, but he prayed. He prayed everywhere. He prayed long, passionate prayers. I have fun memories of family dinners. We volunteered to pray because he often got lost in prayer. He would start praying for others, and then he would travel far in prayer.
Today, I want to teach you how you can pray like Jesus for for loved ones - people who are close to us. How can we become more effective in praying for our loved ones? Our text today is Luke 22, but will focus on the 31st-33rd verses.
Let me present first what I pray God will accomplish today:
1. I want us to unlearn some of the things that we have learned since we were young: get what we want by manipulating, coercing, threatening, forcing, lecturing, bribing, demanding. We learn this early: we learn that we get what we want when we cry; we get what we want when we manipulate; even our precious George has learned that he gets a few crumbs more when he barks.
2. Instead of manipulation we go to God and pray for what we want to see happen.
Read Luke 22:
1. Prayer as WARFARE. Jesus thwarts Satan’s plans through his intercession. Luke 22 is wonderfully structured to show the role of prayer in thwarting the enemy plans.
Luke 22:1-6 – A Plan of Destruction (Plan to destroy Jesus and everyone with Him
1. The enemy has set the time to attack – Passover
2. Found someone inside Jesus’ band of followers. Someone who will engineer the arrest of Jesus. Someone to betray Jesus.
3. Sponsors of the plot were the Pharisees and the religious leaders of the Jewish people;
4. Behind all these plot is Satan – the brain. Satan uses his army of demons; the religious establishment; the crowd; the political powers; the worldly system to destroy Jesus and everyone with Him – people that He loves. 22:3,31, 53; Eph 6:11-13
T.S. Now watch out what Luke does. Is Jesus powerless against such odds? Is Jesus a helpless victim of these diabolic schemes? Is Jesus a sitting duck whom the enemy attacks at will?
Luke tells us that the opposite is true. He writes that Jesus also is pursuing a plan which keeps pace step by step with Satan.
Luke 22:7-38 – A Plan of Salvation
1. Jesus redefines the Passover (vv.10-20). Notice how he sent Peter and John to prepare a place for the Passover. While the enemy is preparing to attack during the PassOver, Jesus was also preparing to celebrate and to FULFILL ITS full meaning.
The Passover, now being twisted and distorted – gross misuse of this important event – it was a celebration meant to remember the deliverance of Israel from four centuries of Egyptian captivity. But now Jesus is saying that henceforth, Passover is going to be filled with its full meaning. It is going to be a celebration of the profoundest kind of deliverance – DELIVERANCE FROM SIN AND DEATH INTO ETERNAL LIFE; DELIVERANCE FROM SATANIC BONDAGE INTO TRUE FREEDOM. Moses’ exodus will be fulfilled in Jesus’ exodus (Luke 9:31-32).
2. Judas – he was part of Satan’s plan, but now Luke shows that he too was part of God’s counter-plan. Already his betrayal of Jesus was already determined/decreed. The use of "decreed" (horismenon, v. 22) emphasizes divine sovereignty, a theme dominant in Luke, though this particular word occurs rarely in the NT (cf. Acts 2:23; 10:42; 17:31; cf. also Rom 1:4). Instead of "decreed," Matthew (26:24) and Mark (14:21) have "it is written" (gegraptai). Divine sovereignty is balanced by human responsibility; so Jesus pronounces a "woe" on the betrayer. The same balance occurs in Acts 2:23. Luke alone among the Gospels has v. 23.
His betrayal is known; his future is known, and allowed for; and woven into the divine scheme. His betrayal of a friend was used to further God’s plan. What a sovereign God! The evil that men do; are sovereignly used to further the purposes of God. God’s plan cannot be defeated indeed!
3. And what about the Religious Leaders of Israel. 22:24-30. They thought they had everything in place; they had the political leaders; the religious leaders; and now they had an insider from Jesus’ band of followers. Jesus looked at his disciples, who at this time were still clueless – at their destiny. Luke shows how ignorant/unfit they are still fighting. They were still fighting as to who will be the greatest; (cf. Luke 9:___). But then Jesus looking at his disciples Jesus said:
28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
You will share in my rule; not that they will have their own independent kingdoms, but that will share in the rule of Jesus.
“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17 (NIV)
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:6,7 (NIV)
4. And the Disciples (22:31-33) (This passage is only in Luke (explain the sources of the Synoptics). Jesus said something that must have made the disciples really scared. Jesus words must have reminded them of Job’s trial – your OT classic horror movie.
LK 22:31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
LK 22:33 But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."
LK 22:34 Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." (NIV)
Here are a few important truths expressed by this passage:
1. Satan needs God’s permission. He does not work independently of God. Look at the diabolical intent: exetesato – claim you (Satan has claimed all of you; and when you remember that one has given in, then those words could cause goose bumps on these disciples!) His intent: to prove you are not real – that you lack integrity in your devotion to God. The most scary of course is like in Job, God says yes!!!!
2. Satan wants to crush/destroy all of the disciples! He wants them all to be “sifted”. Amos 9:9; Job 1”1-2, 7, 2:1)
3. Jesus prayed for Peter! The most amazing truth of this passage is what Jesus says he did to defend his disciples against a full Satanic onslaught – all Satanic powers and principalities directed against his disciples. Some of us reading this passage would be disappointed because we think Jesus did not do enough. He only prayed! Did Jesus not know what will happen? Did he not have more resources than prayer? What was Jesus thinking? For most of us who are raised in a “self-help life”; “we need more than God worldview”; “God is not enough mentality”; we would be offended by this lack of help. PETER NEEDED MORE THAN PRAYER! Or did he?
Did you notice what Luke shows Jesus did not do?
JESUS DID NOT “FIX PETER”
We need to remember a biblical principle here: Jesus knew Peter would deny him. And yet he did not just “fix him” so that he wouldn’t do the terrible thing. Surely he could have done that. But it would not have advanced Peter toward being the person he needed to become. So Jesus said to Peter, with sadness perhaps, but with great confidence in the Father, “I have requested, concerning you, that your faith might not die. And when you have straightened up, uphold your brothers” (Luke 22:32).
I think there is perhaps no other scene in Scripture that so forcefully illustrate the community of prayerful love as this response to Peter. How earnestly Jesus longed for Peter to come out right in his time of testing! But he left him free to succeed or fail before God and man – and, as it turned out, before all of subsequent human history. He used no condemnation, no shame, no “pearls of wisdom” on him. And he did not use supernatural power to rewire his soul or his brain. It was just this: “I have requested, concerning you, that your faith might not die.” This is a beautiful pattern for us to practice in our relationships to those close to us.
No sermons for Peter;
JESUS’/GOD’S STRATEGY IS TWO-FOLD
(a) TO PRAY THAT PETER’S FAITH WILL NOT RAN OUT – (ekleipein – used in 16:9 to refer to the running out of money). That his faith will not be drained away by the trial – the Satanic attack;
(b) and to direct Peter to help the others once he is restored. Jesus expected Peter to go be restored.
APPLICATION: This passage provides truths for us to apply when we pray for loved ones – people that are close to us:
1. REMEMBER YOU ARE AT WAR. We need to pray because we are at war. We have been enlisted in God’s army and we are at war. Along with preaching the Gospel; sharing His compassion on people; doing good works – we are at war!
EPH 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
EPH 6:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
2. KINGDOM PRAYERS
The example of Jesus shows how important that we know what to pray for our children. Our prayers reflect what we value – our values; what we consider important.
Jesus did not pray that Peter would be spared from the trial. He prayed that his faith will be sustained during the trial, which included defeat, failure, humiliation.
What do you pray for your children? Loved Ones? How do you know what to pray for?
1. We are not Jesus, but we also have provisions that were known by Jesus:
The W ord of God
The Holy Spirit Romans 8:26,27
Don’t give up – Elijah already knew what God wants, but he still prayed 7X
“Pray until you pray” (A Puritan advise
