Well… I just wanna welcome everyone here to Embrace…
at all of our campuses…
and wherever you’re joining us from.
My name is Adam… I’m one of the pastors here…
and as always… we are so excited…
that you are with us.
Just so overjoyed that you are here.
And now I just gotta ask… do you ever feel… like your life is crazy?
like completely insane….
I mean… I know for myself…
Sometimes it’s feel… like I live in Crazytown.
I mean… on a weekly basis…
It’s like… how can my life be this crazy?
Again… I just feel like I live in Crazytown. But I even just look back at college….
and back then… Crazytown…. consisted of writing papers…
and eating pizza…
and trying to impress girls…
and playing Mario Kart…
for hours…
And yes… I went to class… every so often as well…
But seriously though… college was 4… of greatest years of my life…
And sometimes... I just wish I could go back to college…
Anyone else feel that way…
Just so I can play more… Mario Kart… Amen?
But even at the time though… life just felt crazy.
And each day… I had more to do… than I could ever fit into a day.
But little did I know….
that my visits to Crazytown… were just beginning.
Like I didn’t have a clue….
And then after college though…. I got married…
Hashtag… Boomshakakla…
No but seriously though…
this meant having to think about… someone other than myself.
And there was laundry.
And dishes. And taking out the trash.
And trying to be somewhat helpful…
so that I could stay married.
And then somehow… our first baby showed up.
And I was now… responsible for another… living, breathing human being,
and there was no instruction manual included.
And there was diapers… and poop.
Spit up. Pee. No sleep. And trying to be a dad.
And then after school… I got a real job… Like a real job.
With more responsibility and deadlines.
And then Facebook was created…
And then Twitter…Then Instagram. And Snapchat.
And if I ever did… have extra second…
it was now completely gone….
And then we bought a house…
And like….without even knowing it…
I had officially moved to Crazytown.
Because the house… it had a lawn that needed to be mowed.
And sidewalks had to be shoveled.
And light bulbs needed to be changed.
And then 3 more kids showed up….
It was like kids were falling from the sky…
And we needed a dog too, right?
And why not get a chicken… and how about 4 chickens….
And again… I had moved to Crazytown...
and honestly…. it’s where I still live…. now today….
And after living here for so long…
It’s all that I know…
And I really can’t imagine…
living anyplace else.
And does any of this… sound familiar?
Now your version of Crazytown…
might look completely different from mine…
which looks completely different… from the next person’s.
But just in general though…
if you’re anything like me…
most days you’re just trying to keep your head above water….
And all your ducks in a row.
And if you’re anything like me… you’re just trying to survive another day.
And between work and deadlines… and kids
And schedules, and homework, Twitter…
And whatever else….
who has time for anything?
In the midst of trying to juggle 16 different things at once…
who has time for God?
And more specifically, in the midst of living in Crazytown…
who has time to pray?
(pause)
Now in the Bible…
At one point… a guy named Paul wrote a letter to a group of Christians…
in a city called Thessalonica.
And near the end of Paul’s letter though…
he told these people what their lives… and what our lives…
should look like as followers of Jesus.
Basically… if you follow Jesus…
You should do these things…
And he started off by saying… to encourage… one another.
and to do good to one another.
And he said…to rejoice always….
And then listen to this…
Paul said… to pray without ceasing.
Like what?
Again… pray without ceasing…
It can also translate as… Continually. Always…. Never stop.
Once more… as followers of Jesus…
We’re told…. to pray… without ceasing.
Okay… so this is wonderful right?
But if you’re anything like me…
It’s wonderful…
But it pretty much seems…impossible.
Like this isn’t even real….
And I don’t have nearly the time.
And I just can’t commit to doing anything more… right now…
And I’m just trying to get better at saying no… to things.
And I mean… I can maybe pray… here and there.
And maybe when I have the time to…
Or on Sundays…
Or when I really need to pray…
But pray without ceasing?
I mean… even if… I truly wanted to pray nonstop…
I just can’t right now.
But maybe… once I finish school…
Or in a couple of years when the kids are older?
Or at best… maybe in a month….
When I finish this one project at work…
Or once things settle down a bit more…
Then I’ll try… to pray more….
But right now… I just can’t…
Because I mean…
my life… it’s just so… crazy.
Now… back in the 1600s…
there was a guy named… Brother Lawrence…
And basically… just picture a dude… wearing a brown robe…
living in a monastery…
But he’s recognized by most…
as the expert on this “pray without ceasing” thing…
and he just explained it… really really well.
And he basically just said…
that instead of…. just thinking about prayer…
as something separate from the rest our day…
Instead of seeing it… as just one more thing…
that we need to cram into the week…
and add on top of our life…
Brother Lawrence explained…
that prayer was meant to be done in the midst of it all.
Like in the midst of our day…
And in the midst of our week…
And in the midst of our life.
Like even while living in Crazytown.
We can pray.
Like Brother Lawrence would say…
Are you washing dishes?...
Well… then just acknowledge and talk with God…
while you’re washing dishes.
And are you running errands?...
Well… then just talk with God while you’re running errands.
And is your day slammed with meetings?
And are you running from one thing to the next… and the next?
And are you cleaning up poop from your kid… or your dog…
or both at the same time?
I mean… do you feel like you’re living in Crazytown?
Well… then just pray…. just pray….
Like pray without ceasing.
Continually. Always. Never stop.
Talk with God… in the midst of it all.
Okay… so again though…
again this is great…
But I just gotta ask… like… is it really possible?
And just being honest… as a new Christian…
when I first heard this… it sure seemed impossible…
But for me… as a freshman in college…
is when I began to get more serious about my relationship with Jesus…
And up until that point…
I loved the Lord… and God was working… within me…
but I was still living 2 different lives.
And I was one Adam with 1 group of friends…
and a different version of myself with the next group.
I mean… with 1 group… we never talked about God…
And none of them would have ever associated me… with God…
and with the other group… God was the center…
and the reason we hung out.
And by the time I got to college though…
I was just tired of trying to live… 2 different lives….
And I I wanted… and I knew… that I needed God….
in every part of my life.
Well… several weeks into my freshman year….
And I just felt God challenging me…
Like Adam, are you willing to follow me… with your whole heart?
And are you willing to follow me… with all that you are?
And so one night… in my dorm room…
I finally just decided that I was…
and that I wanted to fully follow him. Like all in.
And I knew that talking with God more often…
would be a huge part… of doing so.
And so… I just began intentionally speaking with God… more….
throughout my day.
And in the morning….
And before meals.
And while walking to my next class.
And while working out…
And before going to sleep at night…
If something reminded me of God…
I just took a moment… to acknowledge him.
To just sit with him.
And to talk with him.
And often… I would write a short prayer on a notecard…
and I’d carry it in my back pocket…
Or I’d keep it on my nightstand… reminding myself to pray.
Because I just…. needed that constant reminder.
And what started… with having to be… super intentional…
prayer slowly… began to show up…
in more and more… of my day.
And I stress slowly… because it took time.
And I’ll just be honest…
Even now… as a pastor… who’s written a book on prayer…
there are days… and it’s kinda embarrassing….
But sometimes weeks…
when I don’t say a single word to God...
outside of the normal times to pray…
like eating and sleeping….
Because I just let the craziness… and busyness… of my day take over.
And by the end of these days…
I can just tell that I’ve lived… without God…
Because I just feel distant from Him.
And I can’t sense His presence.
And His joy, and His peace, and goodness…
begin to vanish from within me.
And just being candid with us….
truth be told… we will always be able to find reasons…
of why we don’t have time to pray.
I mean… whether we’re a college student…
a stay-at-home parent…
a teacher… a banker… a pastor…
or a busy grandma
each of us can come up with a solid argument….
of why our life is crazy.
And so finding the time to pray….
isn’t easier for some… than it is for others.
That’s a cop-out answer.
And so… instead of making excuses…
we just have to get to the place…
where we so clearly see and realize…
our own desperate need for prayer…
and our own need… to constantly… talk with God
that it becomes a priority.
We have to get to the place… where it’s like… I have to pray.
Like… life is so busy… and so crazy…
that I need to talk with God… like every single day.
And you see… something changes…
When instead of seeing prayer… as a daily chore…
It slowly becomes as natural… and as needed…
as breathing.
When we begin to realize… that prayer… it connects us with God…
And it fills us with life.
And because we’re connected to God…
it gives us the ability to love our coworker…
and not strangle them.
And it allows us to be patient…
instead of being… frustrated with our kids.
And prayer… it makes it possible… for us… to have joy…
Even on the on the crappiest of days.
And it’s crazy…. But with prayer as whole….
we so often… tend to separate it… from the one place
that we need it the most… in the midst… of our Crazytown lives.
And I know in my own life….
I’m beginning to realize…
that unless I’m in constant conversation with God…
On my own… I have very little love…
And on my own… I have very little patience…
And little peace…
And on my own… I’m broken… and I’m jaded…
And too put it lightly…
I’m a complete disaster…
But when prayer… slowly becomes… as natural…. as breathing for us…
And when we begin to pray… without ceasing…
Hear this… it’s what… keeps us centered…
And it keeps us sane.
And it gives us strength.
And it rearranges our priorities.
And it allows us to extend grace… to others.
And again… even better?
It connects us with the One… who treads water for us…
when we’re unable to swim on our own…
And it connects us… with the One who created us…
and the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.
Again… something changes…
when prayer is no longer just one more thing in our day…
but it becomes the most important thing.
And we no longer… have “fit prayer”… into our day…
Why? Because we imagine… living a day without it.
It’s like…. Lord, I have so much going on today… that I need to talk with you.
And when it comes to my kids…
Lord… I so clearly need your patience… because I have none.
And Father… would you help me to work as hard as I can on this project…on this deal
and then… leave the results to you.
And Jesus… today… would you give me perspective on what really matters.
And Jesus…today thank you for simply being with me…
And Father… today…
I just want to be in constant conversation with you.
Once more… we’re told… to pray without ceasing.
Continually. Always. Never stop.
Where? In the midst of our day.
In the midst of our week.
In the midst of our lives.
Now as you came in today… at all of our campuses…..
you should have been given one these cards…
And I just wanna have us… take it our right now…
Amd today… we’re gonna do something different….
and we just wanna encourage you to take it home… with you.
And maybe put it on the mirror… in your bathroom…
Or in your car someplace….
Or maybe put it on your desk at work…
Or ladies… maybe put it in your purse…
Fellas… in your murse….
But we just wanna encourage you…
to put it some place… that you’ll see it daily….
Just as a reminder to pray…
As a reminder to talk with God…
As a simple reminder to speak with Him.
And you can leave it blank… if you’d like…
Or maybe there’s a simple prayer… that you know… you need to pray daily.
And so maybe for you….
You just need to write down:
God, help me to have your joy today.
Or God help me to trust you….
Or Jesus, help me to be patient with the kids…
Or God, help me to find my worth in you…
Again though… we just wanna encourage you…
To put this card somewhere…
where you’ll be reminded daily… to simply…
talk with God.
Now closing things up today….
One of my summers during college…
I came home to work for my dad….
And my dad is retired now…
but for most of his life… he was an electrician.
And some of my favorite memories with my dad…
come from that summer.
And I know it’s hard to believe… that I can do manual labor…
but I can… trust me.
but while wiring… new houses that summer…
We’d drill holes…. And we’d pull wires…
And we’d hang light fixtures…
And we’d put in switches…
And as we worked… even in the midst of a packed day…
we would talk, and talk, and talk some more… the entire day.
And I heard stories about my dad…
that I had never heard before.
Like… at one point… my dad was the youngest electrician…
in all of South Dakota...
and I didn’t know that.
And also my dad… went to college for 1 day…
He literally attended classes for a day… and quit.
And I never knew that…
And my favorite…
as a kid… my dad… was shot twice by his brother…
and he still has a bb in his hip.
How red neck is that?
But again… each day… we just talked…
And we talked about the upcoming school year…
And we talked about things I was worrying about…
And we talked about life….
Like all day… Every day… All summer…
We just pretty much talked about everything.
And because of it…
I came to know my dad in a way… that I hadn’t known him before.
And I came to love my dad… even more… than I already did.
And just being honest though…
Every day was exciting….
That summer there were some days…
that I didn’t feel like doing anything.
and some mornings I just wanted to sleep in.
But once I got to work…
I just couldn’t wait for the conversations I would have with my dad.
And it’s just cool to think about this…
on an infinite level….
when it comes to God… and talking with him.
I mean… if you happen to be an electrician…
you can speak to God even while pulling wires.
And if you’re running at the gym…
or you’re mowing the lawn…
you can speak to him... while doing so.
And we can talk with Him… about anything…
Like… wherever we are… we can talk with Him…
about the things that are weighing on our heart.
And about decisions that we’re trying to make.
And about feeling overwhelmed.
And we can ask for his wisdom and his strength.
And regardless of what our day holds…
we can come to know and understand the heart of God…
on levels we’ve never known before.
In the midst of the craziest of days…
we can fall more in love with God.
Simply by… talking with him.
One last time… we’re told… to pray without ceasing.
Continually. Always. Never stop.
Let’s pray.
