Title: The Tipping Point
Text: Daniel 6:10
Truth: Prayer is necessary to grow toward Christian maturity.
Aim: To be encouraged to develop five habits of prayer.
Life: What habits of prayer will assist me in growing in Christian maturity?
INTRODUCTION
Are you familiar with the brush-suede shoe called Hush Puppies? It was popular when I was a kid. The brand was all but dead until late 1994. Sales were down to 30,000 pairs a year, mostly sold in backwoods outlets and small-town family stores. Wolverine, the company that makes Hush Puppies, was thinking of phasing out the shoes that made them famous. But then something strange happened.
Two Hush Puppies executives, at a fashion shoot, ran into a stylist from New York who told them the classic Hush Puppies had suddenly become stylish in the hip clubs and bars of downtown Manhattan. They were selling out in resale shops. People were going to the Ma and Pa stores and buying them up.
In the fall of 1995 things began to happen in a hurry. One fashion designer used the shoe in his spring collection. Another designer used the shoes in her show. A third designer in Los Angeles put a twenty-five-foot inflatable basset hound on the roof of his Hollywood store, gutted a gallery next door, and turned it into a Hush Puppies boutique.
In 1995, the company sold 430,000 pairs of the classic Hush Puppies; the next year they sold four times that, and the year after that still more, until Hush Puppies were once again the main shoe of the young American male. How do you explain this kind of explosive growth? It has been called “the tipping point.”
The tipping point is when an idea or social behavior crosses a threshold, and begins to spread like wildfire. It is when a small, but targeted, effort can cause an explosion, or decline, in an idea or behavior. Spiritually, prayer is that small, but targeted, effort that can cause an explosion in spiritual growth, or a dramatic decline in sinful behavior.
I cannot overestimate the importance of prayer in spiritual growth. Prayer is the difference between Christianity being a form or a force in your life or your church and your community. As you read your Bible, you will notice that every great servant of God was a person of prayer.
It makes sense that prayer would be this significant in the Christian life. The Christian life is a life of dependence on God. Spiritual growth is a work of God. Spiritual growth is not “Operation Bootstrap.” Spiritual growth is not a matter of believing Jesus and doing the best we can. At this church, we give new members a Bible study called “Survival Kit,” not a “do-it-yourself” kit. To become like Christ, which is the main goal of every Christian, requires constant fellowship and dependence upon God. Prayer is your connection with God, and an expression of your dependence on God.
Someone has said, “God had only one Son who lived without sin, but He has had no sons who have lived without prayer.” Jesus was constantly in prayer. He prayed before He ate, before great decisions, and in the Garden of Gethsemane before He went to the cross. Sometimes He prayed all night. Jesus lived the most beautiful life that was ever lived by a human being, and He did this by saturating His life with prayer.
One explanation for the anemic, ineffectiveness of the church in America is the modern disciple is trying to live without prayer. Pastors are strolling into their pulpits without having been before God with their message. Sunday school teachers are showing up in class with a quarterly in one hand and a quarter in the other, but those hands have not been folded in prayer over that lesson or those class members. Choirs sing artistically and timely, but have not spent time in prayer. We are relying too heavily upon human ability to the neglect of divine empowerment. We should not be surprised that members show no real change of heart toward Christ-likeness. To become like Jesus, we must have a strong prayer life. Prayer and Bible study provide the tipping point to reaching Christian maturity.
Daniel had a strong prayer life. The Babylonians conquered his nation of Judah, and he was forced to go to Babylon as a captive. Because of his intelligence and outstanding character, he was trained to serve in the king’s court. God blessed his good and humble life, and he rose to a place of prominence and favor. Smaller men became jealous of him and plotted his downfall. After a thorough investigation that could find nothing in the life of this government official to discredit him except his religion, the investigators persuaded the king to put to death anyone who prayed to any god except the king. Daniel heard about this, but he had prayed to Jehovah all his life. He would not change that now. The Bible says in Daniel 6:10, “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”
Since prayer is essential for Christian growth, you must ask yourself, “What habits of prayer will assist me in growing in Christian maturity?”
I. ESTABLISH THE HABIT OF PRAYER.
Notice the last phrase in v. 10: “…just as he had done before.” Daniel’s prayer life was not reserved for emergencies. He did not do this when the problems became bigger than he could handle; this was the habit of his life. He was simply doing what he always did. How did this extremely busy government leader deal with the pressures of leadership and life? He prayed regularly. Prayer is nothing more than conversing with God. Daniel had regular times to talk to God. It was those times in God’s presence that made him the man he was.
The emphasis for AWANA this past Wednesday was to dress up as what you want to be when you grow up. Not a single child came dressed as a preacher! But there was a veterinarian, a schoolteacher, and a Sheriff. (And those were just the adults!) No one would say to those children, “If you want to be a vet, just start giving shots and treating animals with aspirin.” No one would tell my grandson Bradley, who wanted to be a Sheriff, “Get a gun and start arresting bad guys.” What we do say is, “If you want to be something, you must submit to a certain lifestyle, you must associate with a certain group of people, and you must discipline your mind and body to a course of training so that, one day, you can perform that job.”
It is just as ridiculous to say to Christians that they are to go the second mile, to love their enemies, or to win the lost to Christ while living their lives the same old way. To live like Christ, we must adopt the lifestyle and habits of Jesus. As we practice the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, worship, and others, God changes our character. Then, going the second mile, loving our enemies, and having a burden for the lost, becomes the natural outflow of our lives.
Do not lose sight of the goal: we want our character, our heart, to be like Jesus. As our mind and heart become more like Christ, and as we habitually meet Him through prayer, we will start to respond to life like Jesus. Christ-like Christians are the result of Christ-like habits. Jesus repeatedly made time to communicate with the Father. Suppose, for the next twelve months, your spiritual goal was to develop a regular habit of prayer at a specific time; it would be impossible to imagine what God would do in your life in the next ten years.
Prayer is necessary to grow toward Christian maturity. Therefore establish the habit of prayer. Secondly, establish a place of prayer.
II. ESTABLISH A PLACE OF PRAYER.
Daniel had a place where he prayed. He prayed in an upstairs room where the windows opened in the direction of Jerusalem. The roofs of that day were flat. Oftentimes, they would build a room in one corner with small windows. The elevation and the windows allowed them to catch the breeze and it would be cooler. This was Daniel’s place of prayer.
2 Chronicles 6:36-39 says if the Jews found themselves in captivity, and if they would pray toward the Promised Land, toward the city of Jerusalem, and toward the temple, acknowledging their sins, then God would hear His people and restore them from captivity. This was a practice of the Jews that began after Solomon built the first temple.
Do not mistake this for the same thing the Muslims do when they pray toward Mecca; they believe this is necessary for their prayers to be answered. Daniel was immersed in Babylonian life. But three times a day he turned his thoughts toward the city and land that spoke about the one true God. He prayed for the day when all the earth would bow before Jerusalem’s God. This blessing would not occur until the city in ruin was rebuilt. Praying toward the Promised Land was a testimony of faith. Daniel’s practice said that he believed God was in control of history. In the heart of mighty Babylon, three times a day, this Jew went to his place of prayer and confessed that his God was in charge of history.
Prayer can never be assigned to a particular place. Jonah prayed in the belly of a great fish. Hezekiah prayed on a bed of affliction. Hagar prayed in the desert. Peter prayed from a rooftop. Paul prayed in jail. Jesus prayed on the mountaintop. The thief prayed from the cross. That is to say, you can pray anytime and anywhere. Some of you pray while driving your car. Others of you pray while shaving. I assure you students do pray in school! Any place a Christian finds himself can be a place of prayer. However, it will help our prayer life if we will have a place of prayer. When Jesus talked about entering our prayer closet he was not emphasizing the location of prayer, but the attitude of prayer. Prayer is not for showing off, but for communicating with God.
Two of the major problems we face in prayer are distractions and a wandering mind. There are many things we can do to help solve this problem. We can pray out loud. I, personally, like to write my prayers. When the end of that pen hits the paper it seems to focus my mind on what I want to pray to the Lord.
Use a prayer list to keep your mind on track. If something pops into your mind, write a brief note on a notepad and go back to your prayerlist. You might need to shower, or do some exercises, or brew some coffee to wake up, but one of the most helpful acts to concentrate in praying is to find a quiet place to pray.
I have found taking a walk can be a quiet place that eliminates many distractions. You may have to resist the temptation of listening to music, but a walk around the block just might be your quiet place where it is just you, your thoughts, and your prayers to the Lord. I have found it to be a good time to pray and mediate on a passage of scripture.
I am sure some will think this is an exaggeration, but I do not believe it is: the most important business of this world does not take place in the Oval Office of the White House or the Kremlin in Moscow. The most important business of this generation is not taking place on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The most important business of our day takes place when God’s people go to their place to meet with Him. If it is true that prayer changes things, then prayer can do things no army, Congress, or President can do. In every region of this world where Christians regularly go to their place of prayer, there is a great outpouring of God’s Spirit, and people, and societies, are being changed.
When my children were sick, we went to the doctor’s office. When my children needed education, we sent them to the classroom. When they were hungry, we had a dining table where we gathered to eat. There are gymnasiums for people who believe exercise is important. There are universities and trade schools for people who believe education is important. Since we believe God is the most important being in the universe, and prayer changes things that others cannot, I recommend you have a place where you meet with God.
Prayer is necessary to grow toward Christian maturity. Therefore establish the habit of prayer. Establish a place of prayer. Third, establish a time of prayer.
III. ESTABLISH A TIME OF PRAYER.
Daniel prayed three times a day. According to Psalm 119:164, the Psalmist prayed seven times a day. That is not as difficult as it sounds: if you offered a prayer to the Lord when you got up in the morning and went to bed at night, that is twice; if you prayed over three meals, that is a total of five; if you took a moment to talk to God at your midmorning and midafternoon break, that would be seven times you had prayed that day.
When I want to particularly remember to pray about a concern, I will use a signal dot on my cell phone. Every time I check the phone for the time, or to make a call, I am reminded to pray for that concern. I pray a one-sentence prayer, or more, if the occasion permits.
Linette Martin writes this about establishing a time of prayer:
“The way to begin is slowly. I advise five minutes a day. This may feel impossibly short, but it is better to get a short time established than to begin with a longer one that you give up later as being impractical. It should not be longer on one day because it feels nice and shorter on another as the mood takes you. Even if you feel great enthusiasm and want to go longer on one day, please restrict yourself to only five minutes. Set aside the same small block of time day after day. It can be done.”
Linette Martin is saying that it is not the amount of time that is most important; it is the discipline to keep your appointment to talk with God. The amount of time will take care of itself. You concentrate on keeping the appointment with God on a regular basis. You will soon be spending as much time as you need to in prayer.
When is the best time to pray? I think the morning is the best time to pray, but I am a morning person. Jesus prayed a great while before day. David said in Psalm 5:3 that he prayed in the morning. But that is discouraging to those who are night owls. Pray when you are at your best. For some of you, the morning is your worst. You may be the kind of person that even Jesus does not want to talk to in the morning! Whether you are an early bird, or a night owl, remember Samuel Chadwick’s words, “Hurry is the death of prayer.” Find a time when you can be unhurried, and keep that regular appointment with God.
The great evangelist Billy Sunday tells of a minister who was making house calls. He came to a certain home and asked for the mother, but the child opening the door answered, “You cannot see Mother, for she prays from nine to ten.” He waited forty minutes to see that mother, and when she came out of her prayer closet the light of glory was on her face, and he knew why that home was so bright; he knew why her two sons were in the ministry and her daughter was a missionary. “All hell cannot tear a boy or girl away from a praying mother,” commented Billy Sunday. I would suggest to you, the explanation for the blessing of God resting on that home, was that home had a mother who regularly kept her appointment to talk to God.
Prayer is necessary to grow toward Christian maturity. Therefore establish the habit of prayer. Establish a place of prayer. Establish a time of prayer. Next, establish a posture of prayer.
IV. ESTABLISH A POSTURE OF PRAYER
The Bible says Daniel “…got down on his knees and prayed.” William Cowper said, “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.” When David prayed for the healing of the son that was born of his adulterous sin with Bathsheba, he got on his face before God. Paul said in I Timothy 2:8, “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.” It is the posture of a child in need reaching out for his father. This posture conveys you expect a blessing. In the first century, when people came before an Oriental potentate, they came on their knees. It suggested the idea of humility.
The poet Sam Walter Foss wrote:
“The proper way for a man to pray,”
Said Deacon Lemuel Keyes,
“And the only proper attitude
Is down upon his knees.”
“No, I should say the way to pray,”
Said the Rev. Doctor Wise,
“Is standing straight with outstretched arms,
And rapt and upturned eyes.”
“Oh, no, no, no,” said Elder Snow,
“Such posture is too proud;
A man should pray with eyes fast closed,
And head contritely bowed.”
“It seems to me his hands should be
Austerly clasped in front,
With both thumbs pointed toward the ground,”
Said Rev. Doctor Blunt.
“Last year I fell in Hidgins’ well
Head first,” said Cyrus Brown.
“With both my heels a stickin’ up,
My head a-pointin’ down;
An’ I made a prayer right then an’ there--
Best prayer I ever said,
The prayingest prayer I ever prayed,
Was a-standing on my head!”
What I am really driving at in this point, is to approach God with humility and gratitude when you pray. It cost God the life of His Son to grant us access to the throne of God. One advantage of the posture of kneeling when we pray is it reminds us that prayer is not finding ways for God to serve us, but prayer is about us finding ways to serve God. Let the starting point of your prayers be God. This is what Jesus taught us when He gave the Model Prayer in Matthew 6:9 and Luke 11:12: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.”
Prayer is an opportunity to get in touch with reality. Prayer is a reminder we are not God. We should have learned from Adam and Eve that life becomes really fouled up when we occupy the throne of control. Pray with humility.
Not only humility, pray also with gratitude. When Jesus was asked to name the most important commandment in life to obey, He quickly answered it is to love God wholeheartedly. When I get a glimpse of the infinite size of God, I am amazed that the thing He most treasures from us is our love.
After the resurrection, when Jesus appeared to Peter, who had betrayed him three times, Jesus asks him the same question three times: “Do you love Me?” Somehow, our love means everything to God. Physically, we may all take a different posture to pray, but more importantly we need to come before God mentally and attitudinally in the posture of humility and grateful love.
Prayer is necessary to grow toward Christian maturity. Therefore establish the habit of prayer. Establish a place of prayer. Establish a time of prayer. Establish a posture of prayer, of humility, and of gratitude. Finally, establish a pattern of prayer.
V. ESTABLISH A PATTERN OF PRAYER
It says that Daniel gave thanks to God. Do not forget the context. There are political rivalries who want him dead. Their strategies have just sealed his fate. He goes to his knees and prays and gives thanks to God!
Prayer is more than just presenting a shopping list of things we want from God. We are strongly encouraged to ask for things from God. James 4:2 says, “You have not because you ask not.” Repeatedly Jesus commanded us to ask. But prayer is much more than asking.
When I became a Christian, I learned the ACTS pattern of praying. I use it to this day: “A” stands for “adoration,” “C” for “confession,” “T” for “thanksgiving,” and “S” stands for “supplication.”
Adore God for Who He is. C.S. Lewis, before his conversion to Christianity, viewed the Bible’s admonition to praise God, like that of an old woman seeking compliments. After he met God in Christ he had a change of heart. He saw that praise is the spontaneous overflow of something we enjoy. He said that the expression of praise not only expresses our enjoyment but also completes our delight.
You enjoyed this wonderful music, but you could not sit silent; you had to express your enjoyment: you praised by applauding. Lovers cannot help but praise their loved one. Grandparents cannot keep from glorying in their grandchildren; showing others pictures and videos helps complete their joy. Take a moment to praise the Lover of your soul.
Confess your sin to God. Psalm 66:8 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” If prayer is talking with God, sin breaks the conversation. Confession restores the communication by sweeping away the guilt, fear, and rebellion.
I do not know of anything more healing to the human soul than confession in prayer. God invites you to tell Him what He knows already. Alcoholics Anonymous has taught us that giving voice to the secrets somehow mysteriously breaks the power they have over us. You know what you discover when you are honest in your confessions with God? You discover He loves the real you and forgives you.
Thanksgiving is a vital part of prayer. I read about a medical doctor, who, every day, prayed and thanked God for the various parts of the body: heart, lungs, brain, etc. He knew that all day he would be hearing from people whose bodies were hurting and failing. He did not want to lose the wonder of the gift of life and God’s miraculous creation.
Medical research is discovering that gratitude is the one emotional trait most likely to benefit physical health and recovery. The difference between people who enjoy life and receive it as a gift, and those who are negative and dissatisfied, is not their circumstances; it is thankfulness. I read that Orthodox Jews composed a list of one hundred things they were thankful for, and recited it every day. If we did this, it would change our lives.
Supplication involves asking God for others’ needs and your own needs. Do you know someone who you just cannot get away from when you are talking with them? You have already said, several times in different ways, you have to leave, but they just keep talking. They are like a salesman with his foot in the door. They just will not go away until they are through. That is the most frequent image Jesus uses in teaching us about supplication.
In Matthew 7 He tells us to ask, and keep on asking; seek, and keep on seeking; knock, and keep on knocking until you receive an answer, you find what you are looking for, or the door is opened. God wants you to ask. Do not give too much thought to whether your request is too small or unimportant. Can you think of anything that is too big a request to the Creator of the universe?
There are many ways to pray. It helps to establish a pattern of prayer.
Prayer is necessary to grow toward Christian maturity. Therefore establish the habit of prayer, a place of prayer, a time of prayer, a posture of prayer, and, finally, a plan of prayer.
CONCLUSION
Do you remember the story of Jesus cleansing the temple and turning over the tables of the moneychangers? He was violent, and created mayhem. It seems to be shocking behavior on the part of our Lord. Do you remember why He did it?
He said in Mark 11:17, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.’” It was not the commercialization of religion, or the power plays that caused Him to bring a whip down on the backs of the moneychangers. They had taken over an area of the temple that was to be used by the Gentiles to worship God. The most important thing for a worshiper is to communicate with God. This is why prayer is necessary for a Christian.
I wonder if the scourge of declining morals and lukewarm Christianity that we are suffering with today, is because Jesus wants to call us back to this primary discipline of talking to God. If the Lord Jesus were to visit your life today, what would He drive out so you would have the time, place, and plan to establish the habit of prayer?
INVITATION
I appeal to you to come to Christ. Every person who repented of their sin and trusted in Jesus alone for their salvation went away rich. Blind men went away seeing, lepers went away healed, prostitutes went away to live lives of purity. But everyone who turned away from Jesus went away destitute. The Rich Young Ruler kept his money and his morals, but he lost it all on the day he died.
Meet at the front. I will help you talk to Jesus about wanting to be saved. He promises that all who come to Him He will not cast away.
1. (The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell, Introduction)
2. I don’t recall nor have I found where I found this outline. My apologies.
3. (Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted, p. 97)
4. An Informal Prayer -- The Prayer of Cyrus Brown
