I'd like you to recite the Lord’s Prayer with me:
Our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
OPEN: I’ve always loved that prayer – it’s so elegant and powerful. But it’s a King James kind of passage, and so little children sometimes have a bit of a problem understanding it.
I read about one little girl who said it this way: "Our Father, who are in heaven, hello! What be Thy name?"
Another five-year-old girl: "Give us this day our daily bread, and liberty and justice for all."
A kindergartner asked God to "give us this day our jelly bread."
Then there was the little boy who prayed, "Forgive us our dentists, as we forgive our dentists."
And one little boy finished his prayer like this: "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen and F.M.”
Children have a very simple view of prayer.
They’re not nearly as somber and “religious” as adults are.
ILLUS: I once read about a woman in Michigan who told of watching an elderly woman standing at church with her eyes closed and her hands raised in prayer and praise. Right in front of her, a 3-year-old stood up in her pew, turned around and gave her a high-five!
(Jennifer Smith, Fort Gratiot, Michigan)
Now what we’re going to talk about this morning is a childlike faith in prayer.
If you will, we’re going to be talking about a prayer life where we are not afraid to give “high fives” when we talk to God in prayer.
Paul described it this way: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
We’re going to come back to that in just a minute …
But first I want to focus on a couple of things Jesus said about children.
In Matthew 8 Jesus said: “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:4
And in Mark we read Him saying: “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:15
Jesus isn’t looking for religious FORM.
He’s looking for childlike FAITH.
That is what impresses Jesus.
And it’s the same with our prayer life.
God is NOT impressed with how fancy our prayers are.
He’s impressed when we TRUST (like a child) WHEN we pray.
When Jesus taught His disciples what we call the “Lord’s Prayer” it was because the disciples were worried about form. They said to Him: “Lord, teach us to pray!” (Luke 11:1)
They were asking Jesus to give them a formula for a successful prayer. They wanted to “do it right!” because they felt if they didn’t do it right then God wouldn’t hear their prayers.
Back when I was a child… folks had a formula they followed in prayer.
It went something like this:
“O God, Thou art a powerful God and we comest before thee and prayest that thou wouldst hear us in our hour of need.”
It was all King Jamesie with lot’s of Thees and Thous.
Now today, there are people who pray more like this:
“Father God in the name of Jesus, oh Father God I just come humbly before you Father God in Jesus’ name Father God, to ask Father God that you would just hear my prayer Father God in the name of Jesus.”
Now, why do people pray like that?
They pray like that because they’ve heard people they respect who pray like that, and they’re convinced that if they want God to hear their prayers – THIS is how they need to pray.
Don’t do that.
Just talk to God.
Talk to Him like a child would talk to their father.
TALK NORMAL.
And talk with faith and expectation.
That’s what impresses God.
Now, this series of sermons on prayer is NOT about a formula on how to make our prayers more likely to be heard by God.
What this series is attempting to do is make it so we can be more child-like in our prayers.
And we believe we can get better at that by following an acronym known as A.C.T.S
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
and Supplication
In the last two sermons Scott (our associate minister) talked about Adoration and Confession.
So let's review:
Adoration:
“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
What’s that all about?
It’s all about realizing WHO it is you’re talking to.
I have heard people praying who aren’t talking to God.
They’re talking to me… or to a group of people.
They use prayer as a teaching tool.
God isn’t being addressed – we are.
And God gets to stand back and listen.
But real prayer is about talking to God - not someone else.
And prayer is not just talking to God… it's talking to my FATHER.
Now, even the best of earthly fathers can fall short, but God is a FATHER the way real fathers ought to be.
Jesus talks about that kind of father when he said:
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.”
Matthew 7:9-11
In other words, when you pray you are NOT talking to an uncaring, uninterested, indifferent deity. He’s not going to give you a stone or a snake when you ask things of Him. You are talking to your Heavenly Father who cares enough about you to give you good things.
You are talking to you Father who loved you so much that He gave His only begotten Son that, when you believed in Him, you would not perish but have everlasting life.
So we pray to our Father.
A Father who loves us and wants to give us good things.
AND we pray to the God of the universe.
The God who created all things by just speaking it into existence.
He has power beyond anything we can even begin to imagine.
One of my favorite verses is Romans 8:32
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all— how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.”
If He'd give His son to die for our sins... what else do you think He'd be willing to do?
The problem with adults is that they tend to DOUBT that God cares.
And they DOUBT God will do anything.
Children don’t have that problem.
You tell them that God hears their prayers… they pray.
You tell them God cares and that God can do anything… they believe it.
ILLUS: Years ago I was the camp Dean at a Christian Camp over in Ohio. I had lined up a young couple in our church to come over and help me with the recreational activities – Gary and Christy. Gary ran the activity while his wife came along for moral support. You see, Christy was “very” pregnant.
The first night they came to run the activity and it was an extremely hot night, but the kids really enjoyed themselves. Later that evening, when they got home (they lived fairly close to the camp) Christy began to bleed. For those of you who don’t know this – pregnant women ought not to bleed. It’s not a good thing.
The next day Christy went to see the Doctor and his news was not good. Apparently the baby had separated from the womb and there was a very good chance she would lose her child. He ordered her not to do anything more than spend time in bed and come see him in a couple of days.
Later that day Gary came to camp to fulfill his obligations, but he was in terrible shape. He told me about Christy’s situation and he was in tears. I said we should pray – but Gary wasn’t the type to want to pray out loud. I told him “Gary, your wife may lose her child. If there’s ever a time to pray out loud – this is it.”
Shortly after that we had a worship time with the kids – all 4th and 5th graders - And I told them about Christy’s situation. And then I asked them pray for Christy all the rest of the day. Now telling 4th and 5th graders to pray for her was like saying “sick em” to a dog. They PRAYED… and they prayed all day.
The next day Christy went to see her doctor again and he told her “I don’t know what to tell you. What happened to you (with the baby separating from the womb) is a very rare occurrence. But what has happened now is even rarer. The child has reattached to your womb. I’ve never seen anything like it. You can do whatever you want now, just be a little careful.”
And so Gary and Christy came to camp later that day and shared what had happened. We had more baptisms that week at camp than any other I’ve ever Deaned.
We need that kind of faith when we pray.
We need the faith of a 4th grader.
That’s why we adults need to start by adoring God - we need to remember our God CARES and that our God CAN do anything He wants to do.
Then there’s CONFESSION.
What would we be confessing?
Our sins, right?
How many of you have sinned? Me too.
Have you ever felt you’ve messed up so bad, or you’ve done, thought or said something that shamed you so much that God wouldn’t listen to you?
Yeah, me too.
That’s why God told us “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Confession solves our guilt.
Confession makes so that our shame is removed.
That’s God’s promise… a promise we can accept with child-like faith.
Now, that brings us to our topic for today: Thanksgiving and Supplication.
Philippians 4:6 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
God has NO problem with us presenting our requests.
He’s NEVER had a problem with that.
It doesn’t offend Him when you ask Him for anything.
Jesus said “ASK and it will be given to you; SEEK and you will find; KNOCK and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
Jesus taught His disciples that “they should always pray and not give up.” Luke 18:1
In James 4:2 we’re told “You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ASK God.”
Just ask!!!
Can God say “no”?
Of course He can.
Would you be any worse off if He said "no" than when you were if you hadn’t asked?
Of course not.
So ask.
Ask big - swing for the wall in your prayers.
If the answer would be too big for you to handle, God won’t give you everything you ask… but He will hear. And He will be honored by your faith. And He MIGHT just give you part - if not all - that you ask.
So ask. You're not going to offend Him.
But when it comes to prayer, a lot of church goers don’t ask.
How come?
Well, I can think of a couple of answers to that.
1st there are people who believe God’s gonna do what God’s gonna do anyway, so why bother.
Jerry Paul (a respected member of our brotherhood) noted that according to one study, 85% of people who pray regularly do NOT expect to have their prayers answered. (Jerry Paul, January 2015)
They don’t have the child like faith it takes to BELIEVE God cares for them to answer their prayers. .
Another problem for many good Christians is that they don’t ask because they don’t want to bother God.
Sure, they're troubled by something in their lives, but it’s not that big a deal.
They can take care things themselves.
They want to save their prayers for the “big stuff”.
But there is nothing you could ask that would “bother God.”
Someone once pointed out - “The Lord's Prayer is as specific as bread and debt”
(Hal Daniell, an Episcopal clergyman quoted by Celestine Sibley in "Day by Day")
You don’t get any more basic than that.
Plus, if it’s big enough to bother you, it’s big enough to pray about.
But, now, the question is: WHY?
Why would people NOT believe God would care… or that God would bother?
Well, they don’t believe… because they missed THE major component of their prayer time.
Remember this series is based on the acronym: ACTS
Adoration
Confession
T…
Supplication
What’s missing?
That’s right - THANKSGIVING
It’s the “high 5ing” part of prayer.
If you miss out on the thanksgiving part of your prayers there will be no JOY in your praying.
Let’s look at it again:
"Do not be ANXIOUS about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God.”
A lot of people – when they come to God in prayer - are anxious.
You know why they’re anxious?
They’re anxious because they can’t see any way out of their problems.
They’ve come to God as their LAST resort.
They can't think of anything else to do so their prayers go up in kind of a "Hail Mary" style.
And they didn't pray to begin with because they weren't quite sure He would or could do anything about their situation.
So there’s no peace in their hearts.
And there’s no power in their prayers.
But Paul writes:
"Do not be ANXIOUS about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God.”
But he doesn't stop there.
Paul goes on to say that when we DO THAT (when we flavor our prayers with thanksgiving)
“the PEACE OF GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Did you catch that?
If you focus on thanksgiving in your prayers you’ll have a peace from God that doesn’t even make sense.
It’s illogical.
It’s irrational.
It goes way beyond anything you’d expect… but it happens anyway.
Why?
Well, think about it for a moment:
When you flavor your prayers with Thanksgiving… what are you thanking God FOR??? (PAUSE)
You are thanking God for what He has already done in your life… right?
You are remembering the times when God DID CARE and the times God DID DO something in your life.
YOU ARE CALLING TO MIND GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.
And Paul says when you do that – you can have God’s peace.
In fact, right after this Paul writes this:
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think about such things.” Philippians 4:8-9a
In other words – crowd your mind with God’s faithfulness.
Crowd you heart with the beauty God has given you.
And you know what will happen when you do that?
Paul writes: “put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9b
In other words: IF you sprinkle your petitions with thanksgiving – THE PEACE OF GOD will guard your hearts and minds. And if you continually focus on the good stuff God has given – the GOD OF PEACE will be with you.
You get BOTH His peace, AND Him... all in one package.
As a result you won’t have to be anxious about anything.
Why? Because you have a God who can give you peace.
All you have to do is remember what’s He’s done in the past and then use that memory as your measuring stick of what can happen in your life in the future as a result of His powerful response to your prayers.
That is why Paul says we should “Rejoice in the Lord always. I’ll say it again – rejoice!” Philippians 4:4
Why should we rejoice like that?
Because we have a Father who is faithful.
We have a Father who cares about us.
We have a Father who can do whatever HE wants to do.
And if someone gives us a hard time in our lives… well, God have MERCY on those folks because they’re not just picking on us. They’re picking on the child of a heavenly Father who loves us so much that He’s got our backs!!!
We can have that kind of faith because
Our Father IS in heaven and hallowed IS His name
His kingdom is right here inside of me and you
And His will WILL be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
CLOSE: As Christians we need to have the faith of a child in a God who WAYYYY bigger than we are. Let me close with this story:
There was a boy who went with his mother to an old time drug store and there was candy on the counter. The mother went about her business of getting items for the home while the boy just stood there in front of the candy, mesmerized.
The owner spotted the boy looking at the candy and when the mother went up to pay the owner said to the boy “you WANT some of this candy?”
The boy nodded, and the manager said well go “ahead and take some”.
But the boy just stood there.
Again the owner said “go ahead and get a handful of candy”.
But the boy still stood there.
Finally the owner reached into the jar and pulled out some candy and gave it to the boy and the boy filled his pockets.
When they got outside the mother said “why didn’t you get a handful of candy the man told you it was O.K.?
The boy smiled and said, “because his hands were bigger than mine”.
We have got to get to the point where we realize our God’s hands are bigger than ours.
We can do some things in our lives, but our hands aren’t nearly as big as His.
That’s why we need prayer.
We need His hands to do what we could never do as well ourselves.
INVITATION.
