Introduction
I get many emails in my inbox, as perhaps you do forwards, Viagra advertisements, political jokes.
Sometimes get emails with jokes about certain groups of people- no lack of blonde/pastor/lawyer jokes.
How about charismatic jokes?
How many Charismatic’s does it take to change a light bulb?
Ten- one to change the bulb and nine to pray
against the spirit of darkness.
This joke comes in many varieties …
Three- one to cast it out and
two to catch it when it falls!
Medical profession, doctors- gets their share of jokes.
Practicing Prayer
ILL: When I talk to people about doctors and their personal experiences with doctors, they joke about the fact that doctors are practicing medicine. If I have to have an operation, I do not want someone practicing on me? The implication is that doctors do not always know what is wrong, and they practice w/hope of finding an answer.
Now, spiritually, I would also say that the practice of prayer is at the foundation of all Biblical faith.
As Christian’s we do not always know what we are doing,
we are not always sure how to respond to life,
life is complicated and it is not always clear what path we should travel down.
Since we do not know, we MUST practice the biblical discipline of prayer.
And as we practice it, we improve our effectiveness.
Practice does not sound spiritual, but it is Biblical
Php 4:9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be w/you.
Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. NASU
Practice- to perform repeatedly or habitually.
Ill: Pastor Mario in town, asked me how my Spanish was coming. Not good. If I want to learn Spanish- recommended- I start memorizing words- develop a vocabulary. That takes going over the words repeatedly until I know them- becoming practiced in the use of those words.
If we want to pray effectively- must practice praying- give ourselves repeatedly/habitually to prayer.
Thrive and Survive
We must become people of prayer both to thrive and to survive in the days ahead (Matt Hedrick)
If we are going to survive the persecution that may lay ahead, we must become people of prayer.
However I do not believe we are called just to survive.
God wants us to thrive in what may yet be the greatest move of the Holy Spirit that mankind has ever seen Jonah’s cry from the big fish
Tell the story of Jonah 1:1-17
Jonah must have had some favor in God’s eyes for God to send him on such a significant mission.
God may have selected Jonah because He knew weaknesses He wanted to strengthen in Jonah’s life.
Sometimes God does the same in our lives.
Jonah 1:3- Jonah paid to flee from-God’s presence.
Sometimes we exert energy and resources to do anything but what God is asking us to do.
Who does it say caused the storm? God did.
Jonah could have rebuked the storm all day long and it would never have abated.
Sometimes we rebuke storms that God has caused.
Satan opposes us to keep us from the place of prayer.
God sometimes appears to oppose us as He redirects us, to get us into the place of prayer.
Look at Jonah Jonah 2:1-3
Jonah prayed, called on God, and cried out for help even though he knew he had greatly sinned.
He fell upon the mercies of God, not his own goodness
Prayer is not just for those who are perfect.
Jonah 2:4, 7
Jonah chose
even though the stormed was against him and
now he found himself in the belly of a fish,
he turned his heart again towards God.
Jonah 3:1
God is a God of multiple chances-
he wants us to succeed.
He will respond to our sincere, humble, repentant prayers, even when we have been terribly wrong.
Jonah 4:1-2
The work that God wanted to accomplish in Jonah was not completed in the belly of the big fish (stubborn)
Jonah struggled to find in his own heart, the heart of God for the people of Nineveh.
But Jonah spoke to God openly and honestly about his struggles- as must we.
Jonah 4:3-4
Sometimes we get upset with God about our situations and God would say the same thing to us
“Do you have good reason to be angry?”
We need to humbly go to God in prayer and throw ourselves at His mercy.
Prayer and Proclamation
God is looking for men and women who will engage in prayer and proclamation.
As we pray we will enter into a place of revelation, a place of encounter w/God, and
as we come out of that place of revelation,
we will be able to proclaim truth that releases God’s Holy Spirit power into the earth.
In Ephesians it says that we have been
seated in “heavenly places” w/Christ,
given all spiritual blessings in “heavenly places”
As we practice prayer we will learn how to access those “heavenly places.”
And out of that place of prayer, then we can make proclamation.
Praying Together
Nothing God wills to do on earth will happen w/o prayer, and when believers pray together there are no limits.
Mt 18:19 "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. NASU
There is no power, other than God, that can match the power of the church united together in prayer.
God is calling His church to come together and pray.
Acts 12-Peter-arrested/thrown into prison- King Herod
Herod’s intent- kill Peter like he had done to James.
Suddenly an angel of the Lord appears to Peter and leads him out of the prison and sets him free.
And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying (Act 12:12).
Peter’s deliverance was the result of people gathering together to pray.
Corporate prayer is perhaps our strongest weapon against the spirit of the antichrist.
That is why Satan works hard to distract, divide, and destroy unity in the church.
God moves when His people unite together in prayer.
Spending time together in prayer will not only move heaven, it will change us.
Praying together brings us into unity with one another and brings all of us into alignment with God.
God will come into the presence of a church that comes together in agreement in prayer.
Seek His Face
Psa 105:1-4
To seek His strength, is to seek His ability or capability- God is able!
However, we are not called just to seek His strength, we are called to seek the Lord, to seek His face.
When you seek an audience w/King or President, you are wanting to meet w/him face to face to present your petition before him.
It is a time of personal interaction in which you hope to gain his favor.
1 Ki 10:1
I saw this as a picture of you/I, the Bride of Christ, like the Queen of Sheba standing before- King (God).
The Queen of Sheba had requested an audience with the King.
She came with a doubting heart, asking questions to prove to herself whether Solomon was real.
1 Ki 10:2-3
God gave Solomon wisdom/insight into every area of her life (God has the answers of life for us).
1 Ki 10:4-7
She stood breathless before the King-
“there was no more spirit in her.”
Spirit- wind or breath
She came away breathless, as will we as we seek an audience w/our King through prayer.
We will marvel/wonder at His greatness/wisdom.
We will come away and say as she did,
“it is true the report I heard about you.”
The testimony of God’s Word will be more real to us than it has ever been before.
We can experience that place of revelation/encounter with the Living God.
1 Ki 10:13
God gave to the Queen two fold- out of his royal bounty, and the desires she requested. God, by virtue that we are His children, has given to us a royal bounty and the desires of our heart.
Lastly, the King gave her the desires of her heart- God will do the same for us.
Conclusion
It is time to request an audience w/King and practice the discipline of prayer repeatedly/habitually.
