What if I asked you to stop praying! What if I told you to quit talking at God. What I want to do today is for us to stop praying the way that we are. The way we are praying is not just for the God that has done all that he has for us.
We see throughout Proverbs were Solomon talks about fools. We see many times that he warns us against being foolish. He tells us that fools run there mouths wise people reserve their words.
So I ask you today to not be a fool when you come into the presence of God.
The norm for society is just going through the motions of saying a prayer.
We need to recognize who it is we are talking to.
How many times have you said something to your parents in a well not so well thought out manner and they look at you and say “you better realize who you are talking to before you talk to me like that again.” Well….You better realize who you are talking to before you get down on your knee’s or bow your head and pray again.
Turn with me to Genesis chapter 1. I know you are all thinking…I have read this SO…many times…it is funny because I remember as a child I would set out to read the whole Bible and I would hardly get past Genesis, and then later I would set out to do it again and I would start over and read from the beginning of Genesis again and barely get past it…I don’t even know how many times I have read this first chapter of Genesis. I am sure that I am not alone with this. Today though we need to look at Genesis 1 as this is the first time you have ever read this and look at it as you know nothing about the Bible or God.
Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Oh WOW…God created all this…the heavens and the earth. Is this the God that I am praying to everytime I say a prayer!
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
Hold up! You mean to tell me the God I am talking to everyday when I say my prayers is the God that said let there be light and bam it was there.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
That’s right the God who did all this is the one that you are in the presence of every time that you pray. Now tell me something, when you walk up to someone oh say the president of the United States or the Queen of England or even the Pope…doesn’t really matter who you pick as long as it is someone that you have a great respect for…how is your bearing are you like in awe to be in the presence of that official or you like….hey what’s up….
I don’t think so.
I have seen people faint just by being in the presence of a Movie Star…and they didn’t create anything…
but you usually start out with something like “It is such a great honor to meat you” I am your biggest fan…or You are such a great person..
we are full of excitement and most the time stumbling all over our words.
Well when you come into the presence of God in prayers we need to be the same way every time.
We have gotten so used to being in God’s presence that we don’t even give him the respect he is due.
It is kind of like when you first meet your boss for your company and you are all yes sir no sir or mam, and all respectful
and then you work with them side by side for a while and then you are like hey whats up.
In the military they do not allow this type of fraternization for a reason. They don’t allow it because people loose respect for their leaders when this is allowed.
The wise man comes to God in awe of Him.
Well you say that is hard to do with something I can not see..Look at Romans 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Look around you and you will see the great presence of God around you everywhere you look.
If you have a hard time looking into thin air and being in awe of it think about how you looked at the last beautiful sunset. Or think of Psalms 19:1-4
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
Still need more help seeing him and maybe getting the real vision of what God is. Well lets look at Revelation 4
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’[b]
who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
This is the God you are praying to:
One more look lets look at Isaiah 6
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
This is the God that we are in the presence of when we get down on our knees and say our prayers.
This is the God that Loves you soooo very much. This is the God that desires a relationship with YOU!
This is the God that Loves you SO much that he allowed his only son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for MINE AND YOUR sins.
Not because his Son had done wrong but because we have done wrong.
His Son was sinless and followed his fathers every word, and the God that we pray to allowed Him to die on the cross because he LOVES us so very much.
The creator of all of this is the same God that knew you before you were born and know every hair on your head. He knows everything there is to know about you and he is sitting there with his arms opened waiting for you to turn to Him and say “Oh GREAT HOLY, HOLY, HOLY God I love you dearly and I want you in my life. I will sacrifice everything I have to be in your presence. It is such an honor to be in your presence God. Take me and make me what you want me to be.
You have that opportunity now to do this.
Come and worship with us at North 50th Church of Christ in Fort Smith Arkansas and find the greatness of this God. Find the Love that he has for you and learn that all He wants from you is for you to Love him the same in return.
