Believe - Week 12 - Prayer
January 4, 2015
We have moved into week 12 of our Believe series, for the first 10 weeks we looked at some of our core beliefs, now we are looking at the Actions which come from our beliefs. Before advent, we started looking at the action of Worship, and today we are moving into prayer. There’s no better topic for us to talk about.
Prayer can be a really difficult action to talk about. So many people don’t feel comfortable praying. We’re not comfortable alone with God, and we certainly don’t feel comfortable praying in front of others. Prayer seems too personal. So, we shouldn’t talk about it, right? Wrong! That’s all the more reason to.
Prayer is simply and profoundly a conversation with God. It can be much, much more, but that’s all it really is. Prayer comes in all shapes and sizes. We have our prayer warriors. People who love to pray and can pray for hours and be fully energized when they are done. And we need prayer warriors in the church. I know we have some at FBC. That’s a vital ministry.
But sometimes we become anxious when we hear about prayer warriors. We assume everyone is supposed to be a prayer warrior. Martin Luther, one of the great leaders of the protestant reformation said, “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day.” Wow! That leaves me out in the cold, how about you? But we’re not all Martin Luthers.
Most people pray sporadically. They don’t have a set time or a set method of praying. It’s haphazard, it comes when there’s a problem; they cry out to God and when they don’t hear back in 2-3 minutes, they give up. That may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but I don’t think I’m far off.
Prayer is connecting with God. If we say Jesus is my friend, then wouldn’t you want to connect with your friend? Especially, if Jesus is your best friend? Don’t good friends or best friends talk regularly?
I remember when I graduated from college. I was out on my own. And there was an expectation from my parents. Maybe you’ve said this or heard this. My parents would not call me! I had to call them. I had heard it a 1,000 times, every week they would go see their parents. They would take the streetcar in Chicago, and it would take a long time for them to get there, but they visited their parents weekly. I was supposed to do the same. Drive my car and visit my parents weekly and call them daily. I didn’t always do that. They didn’t like it. But here’s the point when it comes to Joshua and Zachary . . .
As a father, I want my kids to call me, not because I’m making them feel guilty . . . I hope our relationship is better than that. I hope there’s an eagerness to seek my advice and a desire to hear my voice.
I don’t want Joshua and Zachary to feel obligated to call me. Yet at the same time, I want them to call to check in.
In the same way, God doesn’t want us to feel obligated that we have to call and visit Him. I always felt God was mad at me if I didn’t come to Him in prayer.
What I want you to hear today is this . . .
We have a God who loves us so much and wants to help us so much, and wants us to connect with Him . . . that He longs to be in an intimate relationship with us. He wants us to call Him and visit with Him. He wants us to be so excited to be in a relationship with Him, that He is always on our heart, spirit and mind. And we’ll realize just how accessible He is.
I find it interesting that after spending 3 years with Jesus, you would think the disciples would have asked Jesus to teach them how to walk on water, to stop storms, to know where to catch all the fish or to catch a single fish to pay your taxes. Maybe to know how to feed unexpected guests, how to escape from an angry mob, how to heal the blind, the lame, the sick, the possessed, or how to tell stories that get everyone’s attention.
Nope, one disciple asked Jesus how to pray.
When talking about prayer, Jesus explained what prayer is not. In Matthew 6, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
In other words, Jesus said prayer is not show time and prayer is not mindless babbling. You don’t pray so you can be seen and heard. We know people who make short stories long, you don’t get extra credit from God for long prayers.
Inbetween verses 5 and 7, Jesus explained — prayer is a private conversation with God. Jesus said, 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Now, because you pray in private — that doesn’t mean God will give you whatever you want, that’s not your reward. Your reward is your relationship with God. The point of prayer is not show. It’s not using words that make you sound like some great theologian or poet. Pray like you talk. I don’t think you ever hear me use big theological words in my prayers, whether private one to one prayers or public prayers. That’s not how I speak, so, that’s not how I pray.
They don’t have to be long winded prayers, but we should be praying without ceasing. That’s what Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5. It doesn’t mean you are praying 24 / 7; yet it does mean you are praying 24 / 7. It means God is always present in your life, prayer is a second away, God and prayer are in your heart.
One thing we learn from Jesus is the fact He erased His distractions. We live in a world filled with distractions. Consider what Jesus did . . .
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus departed and went out to a desolate place, and He prayed (Mark 1:35).
Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and all night He continued in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12).
45 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray (Mark 6:45-46).
It seems anytime Jesus went missing, He went praying. He prayed when demands got busy. He prayed when decisions were important. He prayed when His energy was depleted. He prayed in the garden.
He didn’t always pray alone, but Jesus would often remove Himself from the crowds and noise, so He would have no distractions.
How about us? What distractions do we allow? Do we turn off the TV? Do we silence our phone? Do we turn off the music? We have so many potential distractions and it’s easy to get distracted even in the middle of our prayer.
Have you ever been praying and without even realizing it, you’re going over your grocery list. Your thinking of all you have to do. You catch yourself and you give up! NO! Don’t give up, give that over to God. Give God your distractions. It’s OK, it’s not the end of the world, God’s not going to beat you up over it. Just relax, get refocused and resume your conversation with God.
Personally, I like the idea of praying out loud. It keeps me remarkably focused on the prayer. It’s hard to get off base when you are speaking out loud. People may think you’re a little different, but who cares.
And you can keep your eyes open or closed. I don’t really think God cares. People will say close your eyes, simply to avoid distractions. There are times when someone is praying in a small group, and I will look at each person and pray for that person while someone else is praying.
I do that in communion. If you look at me during communion, I scan the room looking to see who needs prayer, and I pray for them. Then I close my eyes and give thanks to God for communion. It’s OK to open or close your eyes. Neither is wrong.
Prayer is a conversation between God and us. To hear His voice we have to ruthlessly eliminate distractions and busyness from our lives. That’s why the Psalmist wrote: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
Have you ever tried to talk to someone that didn’t stop moving? Or kept tapping their fingers on the table? Or was always looking around and not at you? It wasn’t much of a conversation, was it?
We have a personal God who wants to spend time with us. And that can’t happen if we are constantly on the move. So, we need to pursue stillness!
We have a personal God who also wants to talk and be with us. Yet, because we aren’t sure how to pray, we often don’t pray. For those who hear others effortlessly talking to God and are intimidated that they can’t pray like they do, I like these words from Thomas Merton. He wrote: “We do not want to be beginners at prayer, but let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything but beginners, all our life.”
There are times when I’m not sure what to pray, maybe I’m struggling with something and the best way for me to get into the prayer is simply to start talking to God, even telling God, “God, I’m not sure what to pray, I’m so frustrated, I’m so angry, I’m so overwhelmed . . . and then I simply talk about what is getting to me, and before I know it, I’m deep into prayer.
Honestly, prayer is not rocket science. It’s as easy as opening your mouth and talking and letting it flow from your heart. And it’s OK to pray for yourself. When I first became a Christian I didn’t think I was supposed to pray for myself, others would do that. But more mature Christians helped me to understand I need to ask God on my behalf. I know my needs, concerns, desires, dreams and hopes better than anyone else . . . so I need to ask God. Paul tells us,
5 The Lord is at hand; 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Do you hear that? Make your requests know to God! Tell God what’s on your heart and mind. And Paul tells us the great gift of peace will come upon us, it’s a peace which will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
I’ve said this before, but let me say it again, the word TO GUARD - - - in Greek it literally means to be protected by a military guard, to prevent hostile invasion.
Isn’t that a great image, God places one of His guards, to guard your heart and mind. I love that image from the God of the Heavenly Armies!
In the end, and we could go on, but prayer is meant to be simple. Jesus didn’t give formulas to the disciples. He doesn’t give them to us.
Jesus set an example for his disciples to pursue stillness but then, when asked to teach them to pray, He trained them to practice simplicity. Instead of giving them a lecture on prayer he gave them of all things…a prayer.
Think about the Lord’s Prayer . . . Jesus said to the disciples,
2 “When you pray, say:
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,
4 and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
It’s not complicated. We honor and thank God! We ask for enough for this day; we ask for forgiveness and to forgive those who have wronged us. We ask to be kept safe from sin, keep us on the right path.
In his book Before Amen, Max Lucado also said, keep it simple. He suggests all prayers of the Bible can fit into this pattern: Father, you are good. I need help. They need help. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
That’s pretty simple and basic.
Finally, if you struggle with prayer, I would offer 2 acronyms which have helped me over the years. They can guide you in prayer.
The first is the acronym ACTS.
ADORATION CONFESSION THANKSGIVING SUPPLICATION
We adore God, confess our sins to God, give thanks and ask for our needs.
The other acronym is actually the word
PRAY. And is similar ~
PRAISE REPENTANCE ASK YIELD
Prayers are heartfelt conversation and cries to our father.
If you are not sure about prayer, there is no better time than now to start to learn to pray. It does not have to be complicated. There is no magic formula, it’s simply talking to God, and then stopping and taking the time to listen to what God is telling you. When you do that, you will be amazed and what can happen with your relationship with God, how the Spirit will work in ways you didn’t realize.
