Can You Hear Me Now?
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 9/16/2012
There was a pastor who had a pet parrot. All the parrot would say was, “Let’s kiss. Let’s kiss.” The pastor tried to teach him to say other things but to no avail. He learned that one of his deacons had a parrot. The parrot would only say, “Let’s pray, let’s pray.” So the pastor decided to invite the deacon and his parrot over to his house. When the deacon arrived they put the parrots into the same cage to see what would happen. The pastor’s parrot says, “Let’s kiss, let’s kiss.” And suddenly the deacon’s parrot shouts, “Thank you, Lord. My prayers have been answered.”
Prayer works, doesn’t it?
Politicians come and go, fashions evolve and the culture shifts with alarming frequency. One thing remains constant in this country, though.
Americans pray. A lot.
According to a study released in 2008 by Brandeis University, ninety percent of us have a spiritual interlude with God every day. Half pray several times a day, in fact. Another study found that even among atheists and agnostics, nearly one in five still pray daily. Isn’t that interesting?
With all these millions of prayers going up on a daily basis, have you ever wondered how it works, what God says about it, and how you can know for sure that your prayers are heard? If you’ve got questions about prayer, you’re in the right place. And, you’re not alone. The Bible tells us flat out: “we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how to pray as we should…” (Romans 8:26 TLB). Even Jesus’ closest followers had to ask him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). But if you’ve got questions, the Bible’s got answers.
Last week, we talked about what to do when it feels like God isn’t listening. Hannah’s example taught us to pray persistently and passionately and to take comfort in the promises of Scripture—especially in the promise that all things work together for the good of those who love God.
But what else—other than helping me get through a bad day—is prayer good for? What should we be praying for? And how should we be praying? The Apostle Paul helps answer some of those questions in his letter to the church in Ephesus. In Ephesians 1, Paul gives us some keys to a meaningful and effective prayer life. The first key has to do with the people for whom Paul prays.
• THE PEOPLE
The first thing I want to draw your attention to in Ephesians 1 is the simple fact that Paul prayed for people other than himself! Here’s what Paul says: “Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:15 NIV).
When I started preparing this message and I came across that verse, I was more than a little convicted. I don’t know about you, but the majority of my prayers are all about me: “Lord, help me. Lord, forgive me. Lord, give me. Lord, why me?” We have a tendency to think about ourselves and our own problems, far more than we do other people. But Paul wasn’t like that.
When Paul wrote this letter, he was sitting in a Roman prison. His circumstances were incredibly difficult. He had no money, no freedom, and was facing the possibility of execution, but he was still thinking and praying about other people. Like I said last week, as long as we are still breathing air, we will have good days and bad days. You may lose your keys in the morning, forget all about your 1:00 meeting, get caught speeding on your way home, but we mustn’t get so caught up in our own trials and troubles that we forget to pray about other people.
There will always be other people who need our prayers. We ought to be like little eight-year-old Diane, who prayed: “Dear God; I am saying my prayers for me and my brother, Billy, because Billy is only six months old and he can’t do anything but sleep and wet his diapers.”
The other day I visited a young man, Nathan, in jail. Nathan’s a good kid. He just made a bad decision that landed him big trouble. But as he sat on the other side of a glass window, wearing an orange jumpsuit with the phone held to his ear so we could talk, Nate asked me how Dale Tosh was recovering from his stroke and if he could walk yet. Even while sitting in jail, he was thinking about other people.
Let’s resolve to be more like that. Life will surely throw some unpleasant circumstances toward us, but let’s resolve to pray for other people even in the midst of our own struggles. The second key Paul gives us is the purpose of prayer.
• THE PURPOSE
As Paul goes on, he underscores two purposes to prayer. The first one is mentioned in the verse we already looked at: “I have not stopped giving thanks for you” (vs. 15). Again, even in these terrible circumstances, Paul was giving thanks.
He kind of reminds me of the little girl who had been acting up during dinner one night. Her parents sent her to the corner of the dining room as punishment and told her that she had to eat her dinner away from the rest of the family. They didn’t pay her much attention until they heard her praying: “I thank Thee, Lord, for preparing a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” Sounds like something my daughter would do!
But it highlights the truth that one of the main purposes of prayer is expressing thankfulness to God—even in unpleasant situations. We occasionally sing the song Count Your Blessings, but how often do you actually do that?
Now, I don’t have a running tally of all the things I’m thankful for, but I never let a day go by where I don’t thank God for wife and my children. I am so thankful for them and for so many other people that have blessed my life. The next time you bow your head to pray, make sure to count some of your blessings—thank God for all the people that he’s put in your life.
The second purpose of prayer that Paul underscores is in the next verse: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:16 NIV).
This goes right back to what Jesus said when he told his disciples to keep asking, seeking and knocking and God would give them the Holy Spirit. Regardless of whether we’re praying for someone else or for ourselves, the primary purpose of prayer is to draw close to God, to know him better, and to be filled with his Spirit. As we do, we experience his presence, his peace, his power and so much more. As I’ve said before, when our heart’s desire is no longer the things of God or a favor from God, but God himself, we cross a threshold.
So when we pray—whether for ourselves or for others—it’s good to pray for healing or pray that God might change our circumstances; but it’s even more important that we pray for God’s Spirit and that we might know him better through life’s ups and downs. The third and final key Paul gives us concerning prayer is the power of prayer!
• THE POWER
I have tried to stress the fact that prayer is not about getting things from God; rather it’s about getting God himself. But don’t be mistaken; God does hear our prayers and he has the power to answer those prayers in miraculous ways. Paul wanted the Ephesians to trust in God’s mighty power, too. Which is why he says: “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:19 NLT).
God is powerful! And He answers prayers!
In the summer of 1876, grasshoppers nearly destroyed the crops in Minnesota. So in the spring of 1877, farmers were worried. They were afraid that the dreadful plague would once again visit them and again destroy the rich wheat crop, bringing ruin to thousands of farmers. The situation was so serious that Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed April 26 as a day of prayer and fasting. He urged every man, woman and child to ask God to prevent the terrible scourge. On that April day all schools, shops, stores and offices were closed. There was a reverent, quite hush over all the state.
But, the next day dawned bright and clear and temperatures soared to what they ordinarily were in midsummer, which was very unusual for April. Minnesotans were devastated as they discovered billions of grasshopper larvae wiggling to life. For 3 days the unusual heat persisted, and the larvae hatched. It wouldn’t be long before they started feeding and destroying the wheat crop again.
On the fourth day, however, the temperature suddenly dropped and, that night, frost covered the entire state. The result? It killed every one of those creeping, crawling pests as surely as if poison or fire had been used. It went down in the history of Minnesota as the day God answered the prayers of the people.
That is an awesome story! But understand, it was NOT the first and certainly was NOT the last time that Almighty God answered the prayers of his people. He’s done it time, and time again.
We have a God of unimaginable power and might and majesty and there is nothing that he cannot do. In fact, the Bible says just that: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV).
Conclusion:
A few years ago, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had an idea! He was eager to get in touch with the people of his country so he gave out his personal cell phone number during a speech and urged Indonesian people to contact him directly with any complaints about the government’s administration.
The Indonesian people took him at his word.
Over the next four days, his phone line crashed repeatedly as constituents had sent over 15,000 text messages and thousands of phone calls. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to answer their pleas… it was simply that he couldn’t; he didn’t have the power.
Every day, millions or perhaps billions of people look heavenward as if to say, “Can you hear me now?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes!”
Invitation:
I don’t know what your prayer life has been like lately, but God has given you the power to connect. His network will never crash. He offers unlimited anytime, anywhere minutes. And if you will keep on seeking him in prayer, you’ll find more than the just answers you were looking for—you’ll find God himself. If you’d like someone to pray with you or the church to pray for you, come forward while we stand and sing.
