To Busy To Pray
“Wait on the Lord”
Matthew 6:5-8
Luke 11:1
How do you view prayer? Do you view prayer like a diet? It didn’t seem to work so you gave up.
Do you view prayer like a lottery? When your number comes up you’ll find the answer.
Do you see prayer as an “escape hatch” to get out of trouble in times of emergency or to get gain for your own selfish ends?
Do you pray to “Make a deal with God?” You are in a jam, so you try to carve out an agreement with God. You offer Him some treasured gift, but only if He comes through first.
Do you see God as the Aladdin’s Lamp? If you rub God the right way he will magically be at your service. God is not like some sort of cosmic bellhop running up and down the corridors of heaven trying to meet the selfish needs of humanity.
The best way to learn to pray is to pray. The Psalmist said, Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
On one occasion the disciples came to Jesus and asked: “Lord teach us to pray.” The disciples had observed the prayer life of Jesus and knew they needed additional teaching on how to pray.
I. Pray in Jesus Name
John 14:13-14 – Jesus taught his disciples: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. That you may ask me anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Fill in the blank. When it comes to prayer I __________________.
A study group on prayer was asked this question with several responses:
• “I don’t pray enough.”
• “I don’t know how to pray.”
• “I don’t know if prayer works or does any good.”
We are instructed in pray in the name of Jesus, not Allah, Buddha, Confuses, or Mohammed. We pray in the name of Jesus.
Today in so called Christian America you can curse using the name of Jesus and very few complain, but if you pray in the name of Jesus, people are offended
In the book of Acts the early Christians gave Jesus and His name the blessing on everything they did.
In the name of Jesus there is salvation. Acts 2:21
People are baptized in the name of Jesus. Acts 2:38
Healing is in the name of Jesus. Acts 3:6
Teaching is in the name of Jesus. Acts 4:18
Preaching is in the name of Jesus. Acts 5:40
Suffering is in the name of Jesus. Acts 5:41
Missionary outreach was accomplished in the name of Jesus. Acts 9:15
Boldness was in the name of Jesus. Acts 9:27
Demons were cast out in the name of Jesus.
Acts 16:18
Prayer was in the name of Jesus. Acts 22:16
We pray in the name of Jesus because Jesus provided access to God the Father.
Sin brought about a separation between God and human kind. Jesus by his death on the cross bridged the gulf between God and humanity. The scripture clearly teach that Jesus is the only bridge over which a person can walk to find God and his forgiveness and salvation. I Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men…”
The death of Jesus on the cross was God’s gift of grace to all people who will come to Jesus and accept him as Lord of their life.
We pray in Jesus Name affirming that there is nothing we can humanly do to merit God’s grace Jesus himself said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6
Imagine walking down the road of life and coming to a fork in the road, one leading to a life that is abundant, filled with joy and the blessing of God and the other a life of selfish living far from God’s blessing. You notice that at the fork in the road two men are there, one standing and one lying down on the road. One is living and one is dead. What one would you ask directions? You would ask the living person of course. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
We pray in Jesus’ Name because we are totally dependent on Him. In ourselves we are inadequate to meet our own needs.
Pride keeps us from praying in the name of Jesus. We don’t want to admit that we are not capable of strong enough to meet our own needs.
# The organ in a large church broke down one Sunday morning just before services were to begin. A member of the congregation happened to be an organ repairman and he immediately went to work on the instrument – finding it was a simple electrical problem. When he finally got it fixed it was just about the middle of the sermon. He quietly passed a note to the organist which read: “After closing prayer, the power will be on.”
There is power in praying in Jesus’ name.
II. Prayer is a Spiritual Discipline
Luke 18:1, “Men ought always to pray and not faint.” When you least feel like praying, pray.
When I thought about the topic for this message, “To Busy To Pray.” My first thought was “Get Sick.” When we’re sick we seem to have plenty of time to pray.
In all our activities in life we seem to find time for what we feel is important.
Jesus the Son of God made prayer a priority for his life. Mark 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still ark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
To say we are to busy to pray, we are saying we can’t find time to walk and talk with the Lord. After God created Adam and Eve the first couple listened to Satan and disobeyed God. God came seeking Adam and Eve to see how they were doing. “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:8-9
Today God continues to seek us out to have fellowship with us in prayer.
Prayer is a spiritual discipline. We choose to have a special place, a special time, and plan for prayer. Having a time of prayer is more a matter of the heart than a discipline of our day-timer, or setting a signal on our blackberry reminding us to pray.
Do you who are married remember the days you were dating before you got married? Did you have to be coerced into spending time together? Love motivates our priorities.
Because we love the Lord we want to spend time in prayer listening to God and reading His Word.
There is a sense of power and adrenaline rush that comes from racing faster and faster, but it leaves precious no time for quiet moment with God.
I remember one day years ago when I was in the church study. Tim was five years old and he walked into the church study and sat down in a chair. I asked him want he wanted. He replied, “Nothing, I just want to be with you.” In prayer we just want to talk to the Lord and express our love.
Jesus said, “Men ought always to pray and not faint.” Luke 18:1
Whatever you do don’t give up on praying. A pastor once used the following outline for a message on prayer.
• If the request is wrong, God says, “No.”
• If the timing is wrong, God says, “Slow.”
• If you are wrong, God says, “Grow.”
• But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, “Go!”
When you bring a request to the Lord in prayer ask yourself if God answered the prayer:
• Would it bring glory to him?
• Would it advance his Kingdom?
• Would it help people?
• Would it help me grow spiritually?
Paul Harvey tells the story about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered the grocery store she said to her son: “Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask.”
She put him up 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 stood up in the cart 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 again 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 senses 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 around him 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.
God does answer sincere prayers, but the answer may be “No,” “Wait” or “Yes.” Just because your prayers are not answered immediately does not mean God is not at work. After you plant a seed there is a lot going on under ground that you cannot see. It sometimes takes time for the seed to root and grow strong and bear fruit.
Our goal is to develop spiritual disciplines for prayer; a regular time, place and plan. Your time of Bible reading and prayer don’t have to be long. Just like daily exercise of 20-30 minutes is better than an hour or two each weekend. Ten or fifteen minutes of Bible reading and prayer are better than once a week spending a long time reading and praying.
The “Daily Bread” we hand out takes about 10 -15 minutes to read the scripture and the devotional and have a brief prayer.
You might consider a prayer journal. Take a page a day –
Date __________________
Scripture Passage _____________________
Verse of Interest _____________________
Application __________________________
Prayer ______________________________
I Thess. 5:17 the Apostle Paul said we are to “Pray without ceasing.”
• Learn to pray while on the go.
• Pray about your daily activities. Let God into your daily problem-solving activities.
• Keep reflecting on a Biblical theme for the day.
• Be encouraged
We pray in Jesus’ name.
We develop spiritual disciplines in prayer.
We look to Jesus for the model in prayer.
III. How to Pray
Jesus took it for granted that prayer would be a vital part of the Christian life. He did not say, “If you pray,” He said, “When you pray.” Matthew 6:9
When the disciples came to Jesus they asked him to teach them to pray. They didn’t ask for him to teach them how to invest and become a millionaire, or how to win at tennis, or how to write a best seller, etc. They asked: “Teach us to pray.”
In response to their request Jesus gave the disciples what we now call the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed by your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the
Power and the glory forever. (NLT)
We pray, “Our Father in Heaven.” In prayer we talk to the creator of the universe, our heavenly Father. We pray about God and reverence His name, “Hallowed by your name.” We pray about God’s mission and program, “Your Kingdom come.” And we pray about God’s purpose, “Your will be done.”
We pray for God’s provision for our family, “Give us our daily bread.” We pray for pardon, “And forgive us of our sins.” And we pray for protection, “Lead us not into temptation.” (“Keep us away from temptation. Don’t let Satan ambush us or catch us off guard?”
When John Wesley served as a missionary to the American colonies, he had a difficult time with General James Oglethorpe. The general was known for his pride and harshness. One time Oglethorpe declared, “I never forgive.” Wesley replied, “Then, Sir, I hope you never sin!”
When we pray we pray in Jesus’ Name and we develop disciplines in prayer and we learn to pray by praying. Jesus is our best teacher on prayer.
A man’s daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her father. When the pastor arrived, he found the may lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The pastor assumed that the father had been informed of his visit. “I guess you are expecting me,” he said, “No, who are you?”
“I’m the new pastor at your local church,” the pastor replied. When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up.”
“Oh yes, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?” Puzzled, the pastor shut the door.
“I’ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man. “But all my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the Pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head.”
I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” the father continued, “until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, “Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here’s what I suggest. Sit down on a chair and put an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because he promised, “I’ll be with you always.” Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.”
“So, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do a couple hours every day. I’m careful, through, if my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”
The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the father to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him and returned to the church.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that afternoon. “Did he seem to died in peace,” the pastor asked.
“Yes, when I left the house around two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny joke, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, in fact, beyond strange, kind of weird. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on an empty chair beside his bed.”
I want to close this message by singing a great hymn of prayer and faith. “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” This hymn was written by Joseph Scriven who lived from 1819 to 1886.
Joseph Scriven had wealth, education, a devoted family, and a pleasant life in his native Ireland. Then unexpected tragedy entered. On the night before Scriven’s scheduled wedding, his fiancée drowned. In his deep sorrow, Joseph realized that he could find the solace and support he needed only in his dearest friend, Jesus.
Soon after the tragedy Scriven dramatically changed his lifestyle. He left Ireland for Port Hope, Canada, determined to devote all his extra time in being a friend and helper to others. He often gave away his clothing and possessions to those in need, and he worked without pay, for anyone who needed him. Scriven became known as “the Good Samaritan of Port Hope.”
When Scriven’s mother became ill in Ireland, he wrote a comforting letter to her, enclosing the words of his newly written poem with the prayer that these brief lines would remind her of a never-failing heavenly Friend. Sometime later, when Joseph Scriven himself was ill, a friend who came to call on him happened to see a copy of these words scribbled on a scratch of paper near his bed. The friend read the lines with interest and asked, “Who wrote those beautiful words?” “The Lord and I did it between us,” was Scriven’s reply. “What A Friend We Have in Jesus.” Hymn: #435
Closing Prayer
