Video: Prayer
Series: James – Let’s do it!
Thesis of Book: The message of the book is “Let’s do it – live the faith – put it into action! The half-brother of Jesus is speaking to the scattered Jewish Christians across the nations – they were scattered right after Stephen was killed. James tells these Christians and us today “You have to do more than just talk about your faith - you have to put your faith to work for the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.” In other words, what you do with your faith matters in the here and now and in eternity so put it into action! Faith with no deeds is dead!
Key verse of book: James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
Scripture Texts for today from James:
James 4:3-8:
3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 4You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? 6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double–minded.
James 5:13-20:
The Prayer of Faith --- 13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Sermon 5: Pray Smart!
Note: I first titled this message “Pray right” but I changed my topic because it’s about “praying smart” – we need to be using the wisdom of God to pray the smart way which then touches the heart of God and eventually our hearts!
Why do we call something smart – like “smart phones?” - It is called the smartphone generally because of it's capabilities. Previously a cell phone only had text and calling capabilities. The smartphone is capable of running applications, going online, playing MP3 files, word processing, and more. The phone though can really only be as smart as it's owner ( http://www.answers.com/Q/Why_a_smartphone_is_called_smartphone).
So, as I coin the term today “Smart Pivotal Prayer” - I want you to understand when what I mean when I say these three words today:
My definition of this term: “Smart” gives the intent that the item I am using is a tool that can go far beyond my knowledge, abilities and strengths. “Pivotal” means I use this tool in critical situations, crisis situations, to leverage my situation in my favor. I use this tool daily and carry this tool with me at all times. This tool is called “Smart Pivotal Prayer” Prayer is explained simply as talking to God and at times asking for His help!
CS Lewis stated, “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” So smart pivotal tools need to be used each and every day! Our smart pivotal tool is a God given tool called “Prayer” -The most basic definition of prayer is “talking to God.” Prayer is not meditation or passive reflection; it is direct address to God. It is the communication of the human soul with the Lord who created the soul. Prayer is the primary way for the believer in Jesus Christ to communicate his emotions and desires with God and to fellowship with God https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-prayer.html).
Quote: C.S. – Lewis on why he prays:
I pray because I can’t help myself.
I pray because I’m helpless.
I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping.
It doesn’t change God, it changes me.
Thesis: We need to learn to use smart pivotal prayers – WHY? – so we get His smarts (wisdom) downloaded to our small minds in the situations of life, so He leverages things in life which we cannot move with our strength or abilities, so we draw closer to God and He to us in conversation, so God answers our prayers, so God lifts us up, so we see miracles, so we are able to put our faith into action.
Introduction:
Summary of the end of last week’s message: “Get smart by praying to God with right motives” (James 4:2b-6) a few final thoughts continued from last week.
We need to make sure we humble ourselves and ask God for help with the things we face in life. We do not have to do this on our own – our pride keeps us from asking because most of the time we want to do it ourselves! Asking for wisdom – asking for help is a sign of humility. Many get so stressed out and lose it because they think they have to do life all by themselves and this not true- God wants to help. Have you asked for help lately?
Quote: “God answers smart prayer but ignores pride filled prayers!”
Quote: CS Lewis stated, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.”
So, the bottom line is “Asking with wrong motives in prayer does not work with God or in other words using wisdom from below will not get God to listen to you or respond to your selfish prayers.” You need to learn to use smart pivotal prayer!
You have to decide the kind of prayer you will pray:
Are your prayers selfish in nature? Have you listened to them lately?
Are your prayers greedy? Have you listened to your own prayers lately?
James 5:13-15: Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you've sinned, you'll be forgiven—healed inside and out.
We need to just do this and get smart – do you do what is instructed here – do you ask God – do you ask for prayer – do you praise Him or mock him. Are your prayers ultimatums to God? What do your prayers sound like to God even to yourself – have you listened to them lately?
I challenged you to write down all your prayers this next week and see what they look like and sound like! What is their focus – their common request or theme?
Observation quote: “Missionary letters often tell me a lot about a person’s heart and focus.”
T.S. – So the question may be stirring in your heart, soul and mind – so how do I pray smart pivotal prayers? Great question let me seek to answer this question today!
1. So how should we pray?
a. A Practical Plan: From Mike Bickle founder of International House of Prayer!
i. His 3 part plan for doing prayer smart and right!
1. Set a schedule for regular prayer times – A schedule establishes when you pray!
a. He states, “Life is busy, and there are many demands on our time. For this reason we must be intentional about developing consistent prayer lives. If we do not set our schedules ourselves, others will set them for us, and the result will be very little time for prayer… “(Mike Bickle, Growing in Prayer page 38).
i. I have discovered if I don’t set prayer times I miss them because of busyness then my prayers are quick prayers focused on myself or a situation I am in – my prayers then become more self-centered rather than God centered or others centered.
2. Make a prayer list!
a. Mike Bickle says, “A prayer list is a simple tool that can help keep you focused during your prayer times” (page 39).
i. A prayer list helps us focus on the needs of others and not just ourselves – a prayer list is a guide to pray for individuals, family and friends. A guide to pray for other ministries, missionaries, cities, countries, leaders, and even for justice.
ii. Mike Bickle notes that it’s okay to pray for yourself but that is not the primary focus of prayer. He prays for his inner man, his ministry, and his personal circumstances which are in the following categories: physical, financial and relational (page 40).
3. Cultivate a right view of God through prayer by using the Bible in your prayer times.
a. Mike Bickle states, “Cultivating a right view of God…is another essential aspect of growing in prayer. Too many believers have a wrong view of God. For example, many live under the all-too-common and completely wrong assumption that God is either and angry taskmasker who forces us to pray or endure conversation with Him to prove our devotion to Him or a stoic God who has no interest in our lives. Nothing could be further from the truth! (page 41).
i. On our journey to know God as our tender Father and Jesus as the Bridegroom King, we are energized to seek God with all our strength and to experience new delight in our relationship with Him as we grow in prayer” (Page 42).
b. If we become too busy to pray we will soon discover that our prayers – the quick ones – the fox hole prayers will be self-centered and not God centered and paint a wrong view of who God is.
i. Bickle states, “Jesus emphasized the importance of prayer in His teaching and in His personal life both in this age and in the age to come…During His earthly ministry, Jesus often spent long hours in prayer.”
1. Luke 5:16: “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed!”
2. Luke 6:12: “He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
a. Bickle adds, “If prayer on a regular basis was important to Jesus, then how much more important should it be to us?” (page 44).
3. It is through the model of Jesus that we discover a proper view of God -0 He is our Father – Our Creator – Our Provider but He is not our Santa Claus or Jeannie in a bottle!
b. Question: What is your relationship like with God?
i. Seriously how do you view God? Because this will impact your emotions toward God and your prayer life.
1. Are you more friends with the world then God? Do you buy into their belief systems and rather than Gods value system?
a. The problem arises – crisis – so then you go to God and want a favor from Him? Yet, you have ignored him prior?
b. You want God’s blessing but only when you are in jam or need help – otherwise God is an after-thought?
2. Quote from Putman “Discipleshift” page 32-33:
a. “Disciples are not merely converts but also doers, learners, students, Christ followers, or better yet, ‘apprentices of Jesus’…So it is right to say following Christ is nonnegotiable part of the Great Commission. To be clear, the call isn’t to perfection. A disciple of Jesus will be imperfect, even as Peter denied Christ. Thomas doubted Christ, and many other disciples misunderstood Christ. Yet the call of a true disciple is a call to a change in allegiance, from self to Jesus’ leadership in our lives. In a disciple’s life, the Great Commission must be taken at face value. If anyone serves Jesus, he must follow Jesus. There is no wiggle room in a genuine Christian’s life for a faith characterized by compromise.”
c. George Mueller Story: George Mueller was a man of faith and prayer – He knew how to pray smart pivotal prayers. George Mueller was a prayer warrior. His ministry was blessed because he trusted God completely and took “If only” moments of his life to use smart pivotal prayers. He turned these moment of time into “What if possibilities with God.”
a. His 63 year ministry included: missionary support, the establishment of the Scriptural Knowledge Institute in England, teaching Sunday school and day school, distributing Bibles and Christian tracts, and caring for England's orphans. He financially supported missionary operations in 26 different countries. He was directly involved in the Christian instruction of 121,683 pupils. He distributed: 281,652 Bibles: 1,448,662 New Testaments; 21,343 copies of the Book of Psalms; 222,196 other portions of the Holy Scriptures. He distributed 111,489,067 Christian tracts, booklets and pamphlets. He was directly involved in the conversion of 2,813 orphans. He mastered 6 languages: French, German, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, and English.
b. Mr. Muller was a native of Prussia, born in Kroppenstaedt, on September 27, 1805. After his conversion, he saw beyond the present to a greater goal. He realized that God alone was able to supply his every need by faith. He took God at His Word and boldly came before the throne of grace to receive. He prayed smart pivotal prayers to God and God answered!
c. Mr. Mueller never found the throne vacant nor the supplies exhausted. He asked, knowing that God was able. Near the end of his life he admitted to reading the entire Bible about 200 times; 100 times on his knees. He found God's promises, believed them, and acted accordingly. Mr. Mueller mastered the lesson of outlooks: living by the heavenly uplook rather than the earthly outlook. "The Lord pours in, while we seek to pour out." He asked God to pour in the supplies, so that they might be distributed to others.
d. As Mr. Mueller faithfully distributed God's abundance of money and supplies; God poured in more needed materials. Mr. Mueller's testimony includes the specific answers of 50,000 prayers; 5,000 prayers had been answered on the day of asking! He diligently kept records and his prayer request records indicate a 2-page entry format. On one page he wrote the petition and date; on the opposite page he recorded the answer date. He recommended this form to believers who desired specific results to their prayers.
i. "…I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up. And the answers are always coming. Thousands and tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered. When once I am persuaded that a thing is right and for the glory of God, I go on praying for it until the answer comes. George Muller never gives up!"
ii. "Let not Satan deceive you, in making you think you could not have the same faith, but that is only for persons situated as I am. When I lose such a thing as a key, I ask the Lord to direct me to it, and I look for an answer to my prayer; when a person with whom I have an appointment does not come…I ask the Lord to be pleased to hasten him to me, and I look for an answer…Thus in all my temporal and spiritual concerns I pray to the Lord and expect an answer to my request; and may not you do the same dear believing reader?"
e. His Christian advice and rules to strengthen faith and to put it into action were simple:
? Read the Bible and meditate upon it. God has become known to us through prayer and meditation upon His Word. Pray smart pivotal prayers to God!
? Seek to maintain an upright heart and a good conscience with God – this is done through prayer.
? If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried, and therefore, through trial, be strengthened pray pivotal prayers.
? Give God time to work and keep praying pivotal prayers.
• Mr. Mueller believed that nothing was too insignificant to take to the Lord in prayer. He believed the scriptures to be literal.
o Philippians 4:6: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
f. During just the last year of Mr. Mueller's life are recorded these gifts to feed and care for thousands of England's orphans received through smart pivotal praying.
i. 7, 203 loaves of bread
ii. 5,222 buns
iii. 20 boxes of soap
iv. 9 tons of coal
v. 26 haunches of venison
vi. 112 rabbits
vii. 312 pheasants
viii. 5 bags of oatmeal
ix. 26 cases of oranges
x. 5 boxes of dates
xi. 4,013 pounds of meat
xii. ...hundreds of other essentials
xiii. Mr. Muller's faithful prayers brought into the orphan houses $2.5 million.
ii. George Mueller was faithful and knew how to pray pivotal smart prayers.
1. Philippians 4:19: But my God shall supply all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
a. The information above taken from the following sources: Answers to Prayer by George Mueller; Moody Press - George Mueller Delighted in God by Roger Steer; Harold Shaw Publishers - George Mueller, Man of Faith & Miracles by Basil Miller; Dimension Books -The Autobiography of George Mueller by George Muller; Whitaker House
TS: What if you prayed smart pivotal prayer rather than just complained to God or gave up on God? What if you prayed instead of putting on a religious show for God? What if you prayed with right motives to the Lord? We will need to connect with God in times of need this year!
2. Smart Pivotal Prayer – yes smart pivotal prayers are the key to revival – renewal- refreshment- reformation- refocusing- and even repenting!
a. What would happen if we started praying smart pivotal prayers? Seriously think about this thought?
i. What would change if you stopped, dropped and prayed instead of complaining?
ii. What would happen if you stopped dropped and prayed instead of getting drunk, or taking drugs?
iii. What would change if you stopped, dropped and prayed instead of giving up on your marriage?
iv. What would happen if you stopped, dropped and prayed instead of running away from your problems?
v. What would change if you stopped, dropped and prayed instead of keeping so busy you miss a connection with God?
vi. What would happen if you stopped, dropped and prayed instead of working harder?
vii. What could happen if you stopped, dropped and prayed instead of going through the religious motions of a lifeless Christianity?
1. What if with God has limitless possibilities in a heart of faith!
a. What if you prayed a pivotal prayer instead of trying to do it on your own and God answered?
i. Would God’s plan be released in your life?
ii. Would you be encouraged rather than discouraged?
iii. Would your view of prayer change as he answered your prayers?
iv. Would you see God intervene in times of crisis?
v. Would you see God show up at unexpected turns in the road of life to show you were to go?
vi. Would you discover God at the crossroads points of life and make a wise decision with His help rather than a foolish decision?
b. Story of a person who prayed a smart pivotal prayers: Story from Tim Elmore “Pivotal Praying” (Page 1): His life’s dream was to be a missionary, and it looked as though it was finally coming true. As the nervous young man sat in the mission’s agency’s office, he assured the interviewer that he and his new bride were committed to working hard, managing their resources as good stewards, and sharing Christ with as many people as possible. His future looked bright. Then it all seemed to come crashing down. His dream began to fall apart. During their cross-cultural preparation, he and his wife realized she could never endure the rigors of life overseas. He body was fragile and frail. If they went to Africa as planned, she would certainly die. Confused and emotionally crushed, the young man returned home. His tragic tale continued as he failed to find a ministerial position. The first blow had left him devastated. This one left him depressed. One night he awoke from sleep feeling the weight of his failed dream. His hands were clammy and his temperature ran high. He was angry. He was baffled. He began to wrestle with God over his calling. How could God call him to change the world, then close all doors to ministry? It was during this time of prayer that God reminded him of his original commitment-to work hard, to manage his resources, and to share Christ with as many people as possible. Bingo! His entire attitude changed. It suddenly struck him that he could still remain true to his commitment, wherever he worked. So he prayed exactly for this. He decided to work for his dad, a dentist who had a small business on the side that produced juice for Church Communion services. As his father grew older, the young man took over the family business and determined to use it to touch the world for Christ. He would keep his promise by financially supporting others who could go overseas as missionaries. He built the company into a huge enterprise. In fact, you probably have purchased some of his juice. His name was Welch, and his grape juice is sold in supermarkets everywhere. Mr. Welch has not only given huge sums of money to world missions, he has impacted the world for Christ in a far greater way than if he had gone overseas himself (Page 1, 2).
i. This story would not have happened if Mr. Welch had not prayed that smart pivotal prayer at a crisis and crossroads point in his life. He took his “If only moment with God” and made it a “What if” possibility with God and he made a difference on the mission field without being on the mission field!
T.S. - We find many true-life stories from church history and in the pages of Bible of people who had to pray pivotal prayers to God when things did not work out like they should.
3. We can look at many lives in the Bible who prayed smart pivotal prayers in their lives:
a. Jehoshaphat did this before his nation faced an invading army larger than his (2 Chron. 20).
b. Solomon did this just before he was made King of Israel (1 Kings 2-3).
c. Job did this when he lost everything dear to him (Job 1:20).
d. Jesus prayed a pivotal prayer as he faced the final hours of His earthly life (John 12).
e. Another case in point for smart pivotal praying comes from the OT hero David:
i. Psalm 18:1-10 For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1. 1I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. 4The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 5The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 6In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. 7The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 8Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. 10He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind…
ii. Psalm 20: For the director of music. A psalm of David:
1. 1May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 2May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. 3May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. Selah 4May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. 6Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. 7Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. 9O LORD, save the king! Answer us when we call!
a. On these two occasions we see the pivotal prayers of David as he faced turmoil, trials, tests, and even crossroads moments in his life.
T.S. - When you read the Bible you discover smart pivotal prayers being prayed by various authors of these sacred writings! But if you take note of these different scenarios you see a pattern emerging on how to pray smart pivotal prayers.
4. There is a Biblical pattern to praying smart pivotal prayers. Here are some of the concepts of praying smart pivotal prayers from Scripture:
a. Smart pivotal prayers come in pivotal moments of our life when we need to stop, drop and pray!
i. We need to learn to stop what we are doing – usually in our own strength and seek God’s counsel and wisdom!
1. Did you hear the first step – stop trying to do it on your own!
2. Pray a pivotal prayer instead!
a. We need to drop to our knees in humility and pray smart pivotal prayers on our knees to God.
ii. Pray – did you hear this word – the church will not change people’s lives with just preaching – or just music or through written books – Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer” – not a house of preaching, or teaching, or writing, or great worship! And all of these are good but without prayer these have no power – no anointing – no power!
1. Power in a church which transforms lives comes from smart pivotal prayers.
2. Quote: “If you beat the enemy in prayer you win in all areas of life!”
iii. James 1:5: 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
1. We need to ask for His wisdom in our prayers.
2. We need to ask for the right response to the situation at hand.
3. We need to ask to have wise thoughts about the situation.
4. We need to ask to respond with wise words about the situation.
5. We need to ask that God would send us wise counsel for the scenario at hand.
b. Smart Pivotal Praying means we pray consistently from our hearts, not just from our heads.
i. Smart Pivotal Praying means we don’t repeat just memorized prayers we pray from our heart and soul of our inner being.
ii. Like Jeremiah did for the nation of Israel prior to it’s demise because of sin.
1. See the book of Jeremiah!
2. When crisis comes like it did for Jeremiah we need to pray Smart Pivotal Prayer:
a. Cry out to God!
b. Allow Him to speak to us about the crisis.
c. Take heart – whatever the crisis God will always give us the capacity to persevere through.
iii. Bible illustration the Tax Collector and the Pharisee
1. Maxwell states: “Let’s face it. While prayer is simply talking to God-and anyone can do that-some prayers connect with God’s heart and others don’t. Witness the story Jesus told of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14. Both went out to pray one afternoon, but only one connected with God. The Pharisee prayed a far more eloquent prayer, and demonstrated an accurate handle on Scripture. Unfortunately, that’s not what God was looking for. The tax collector -full of humility and reckless trust in God-got the ear of his Father in heaven that day. The Pharisee went home empty.” (Page x, Pivotal Prayer).
c. Smart Pivotal praying means we pray logistical prayers which focus on our personal needs at the moment but we don’t just stop there.
i. It’s okay to pray for our needs but our prayer life does not stop there.
ii. The sad truth today most people in America pray selfish prayers that are only about themselves. We have to guard against this self-centered mindset.
iii. Pivotal praying is being willing to ask God for help in a way that the prayer touches His heart!
iv. We need to pray to God for help but make sure you are not caught in selfish praying.
d. Smart Pivotal praying is also praying tactical prayers which is focused on helping others.
i. Praying to make a difference in someone elses life is unselfish praying. Praying like this for others will cost us something. It’s going to make us uncomfortable and take us to places where we could never go on our own!
ii. Case in point Britain’s William Wilberforce (page 45):
1. Britain’s William Wilberforce, at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries, prayed pivotally to make a difference in the lives of slaves and slave owners. “May God enable me to have a single eye and simple heart, desiring to please God and to do good to my fellow creatures,” he prayed. But outlawing slavery within Britain’s Parliament and among England’s financial power brokers would carry with it great sacrifice and personal discomfort. Nevertheless, for twenty long years Wilberforce pivotally prayed and tenaciously worked with the nation’s leaders to end what he called “a course of wickedness and cruelty as never before disgraced a Christian country.” Wilberforce prayed and made a difference. His courage and Parliament’s eventual vote to abolish slavery served as models for the growing abolitionist movement in the United States in the nineteenth century. It took an American civil war, but eventually slavery in America was also abolished. When we pray to make a difference in the world, we are recognizing that something is already wrong.
2. Quote: “Somewhere there’s injustice. Somewhere there’s a person who needs help with an addiction or an abusive relationship. Somewhere there’s oppression, a wrong that has to be made right. Praying to make a difference also recognizes that change does not come easily. We can expect opposition, be it institutional or personal. Where there is wrong, there is usually some kind of power base—powered by either ignorance or self–interest—that will not go down easily.”
a. Hull, John; Elmore, Tim (2002-09-01). Pivotal Praying: Connecting with God in Times of Great Need (Kindle Locations 769-778). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
e. Smart Pivotal praying is also strategic praying which centers in on God and His ultimate objectives for this world and our community.
i. Nehemiah:
1. Imagine running into an old childhood friend at a local establishment. After the warm embrace, you ask how things are going in the town where you both grew up. Suddenly your friend’s smile turns into a frown. She sadly reports that the town’s water supply has been contaminated. Several of the townspeople are gravely ill. There’s growing concern that many more will become sick. The town, she says, is defenseless, demoralized, and hopeless. Your friend asks you to pray. You leave feeling burdened and perplexed. This is the kind of grave news Nehemiah received when he ran into some of his friends from his hometown, Jerusalem. Nehemiah had been a captive in Babylon for many years. However, he had managed to obtain a steady job serving as the king’s cupbearer, or food taster. This was a position in which the king had to have great confidence. It was in some ways like being one of the king’s security force. Nehemiah’s friends told him that Jerusalem was in ruins. The stone walls that had protected the city for generations were broken down, and the gates of the city were charred embers. The citizens were in trouble and were feeling greatly disgraced. Nehemiah’s heart broken, he immediately sat down and wept and prayed. He asked God to enable him to go back to Jerusalem and help his people. He wanted to make a difference. But he knew that the task was too large to do it by himself. He was going to need the king’s support. So he asked the Lord for help: “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man [the king]” (Neh. 1:11). This was the first of Nehemiah’s many prayers as he sought to make a difference in Jerusalem.
2. In the days that followed, Nehemiah and the king had a conversation. The king asked him why he looked so sad. He responded that his hometown of Jerusalem was in great peril. Then the king did a remarkable thing. He asked, “What do you want?” Nehemiah prayed again, then he answered, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it” (Neh. 2:5). The king granted Nehemiah’s request. Now Nehemiah was on his way to making a difference. Not too long after, he left for Jerusalem with the resources and support of the king. Once he arrived, it took less than two months to reconstruct the city walls. Nehemiah’s prayer was focused on something bigger than himself. Alone, he didn’t have the resources or the influence to accomplish his goal. But he knew that the burden to rebuild Jerusalem was from God and that God would provide. His prayers expressed remarkably strong faith. In chapter 2, verse 20, he proclaims, “The God of heaven will give us success.” Nehemiah’s faith was so great that he believed God could touch the heart of an unbelieving king. His faith was so strong during the construction project that he believed the job could be completed. Nehemiah also recognized that when someone prays to make a difference, that person may have to get off his knees and build relationships with others whom God can use to become agents of change for His glory. That’s the king’s role in this story. Nehemiah had a burden from God. He prayed that God would touch an agent for change—the king in this case—and suddenly all kinds of catalytic reactions began to take place.
a. Hull, John; Elmore, Tim (2002-09-01). Pivotal Praying: Connecting with God in Times of Great Need (Kindle Locations 783-796). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
f. Smart Pivotal Praying is the specific point in the context of a certain circumstance, at which there is a point that we cry out to God to set in motion a leveraging of our crisis, moving the overwhelming weight of the crisis from our shoulders to His.
Conclusion:
We need to pray smart pivotal prayers in our life!
When we do this God hears our prayers and responds to our point of need.
The truth is many don’t pray smart pivotal prayers today because of the following reasons:
• We don’t need pivotal prayer to watch TV.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer to mindlessly play video games.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer to search the web for hours on end.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer to work our jobs over stuck in a route every day.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer when you are doing nothing for the Kingdom of God.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer when we are just existing and not living.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer when there is no risk or faith steps in our life.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer when we don’t give to God.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer when we just go through the motions of religious Christianity.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer if we hide in our homes and never connect with others.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer if we live in our comfort zone of the American dream.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer until we sacrifice for the Kingdom of God.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer until we become living sacrifices for Jesus.
• We don’t need pivotal prayer until everything collapses.
• We don’t need pivotal prayers until you become a witness for Jesus Christ.
• We don’t need prayer if we never serve in the church for the Lord.
But the truth is we all need to be praying smart pivotal prayers in our lives so that we see our “If only’s” become “What if possibilities in God.”
We need to pray smart pivotal prayers when we are serving Jesus with our whole heart mind and soul and watch Him perform miracles, change circumstances, bring mercy, healing and grace.
We need smart pivotal prayers to break out of the apathy of this world and into a deep meaningful relationship with Jesus.
