Opening Remarks and Introduction
Tonight, we start a new sermon series called Thoughts and Prayers. For the next few weeks, we’re going to look at different aspects of prayer, and examine how it can impact our lives.
Here at Concordia, We use prayer regularly in our worship services. We pray when we start our services. We pray to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. We pray in petitions asking for healing, and in thanksgiving for blessings received. Prayer is an integral part of our worship experience. But, for many of us, it is much more and may be part of our meals, part of our bed times and even part of our drive around town. Prayer is something that many of us enjoy on a regular basis. But, have you ever considered how special this communication with God really is? Let’s start looking at this amazing gift that God has given us, beginning with one small aspect of prayer, and looking at a few definitions. Look at these for a moment. What word do you think of with these definitions?
“an opportunity to do something special or enjoyable”
“Something regarded as a special honor”
“A special benefit given to a particular person”
Does any word come to mind when you read these? The word that fits these definitions is… PRIVILEGE and we’re going to start this series with a focus on the privilege of prayer, and how wonderful and amazing that blessing truly is.
Tonight, we’re going to look at three special privileges we are given with prayer.
- Its’s a privilege to come to God in prayer
- It’s a privilege to know that God hears us
- It’s a privilege to receive God’s answer
Privilege to Come to God in Prayer
The first point I’d like to talk about is the privilege to come to God in prayer. But, I need to start with the blunt, and honest, truth. Prayer is a privilege offered to us, but
not because of what we do, and not because who we are. There is NOTHING that we can do to make ourselves worthy to be in the presence of God Almighty.
Instead, of making ourselves worthy, we’ve often found ways to break the commandments, disregard the needs of our fellow men, put idols in money and power, and we’ve chosen to put God second to so many activities in our lives. For each of us, it’s something different that we’ve struggled with and found a way to sin. Each of us, in our own way, is a sinful being and in need of forgiveness on a regular basis. In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he explained it this way. “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23, NIV 84). That’s the blunt truth. We are ALL unworthy to be in God’s holy presence. So, if we haven’t earned it, how do we get this privilege anyway?
It’s not because of us. Consider who God is. When we pray, who is it that we’re trying to talk to anyway?
God, the creator of the heavens and the ruler of the universe, He has been gracious to us in untold and fantastic ways. He is a perfect being who chose to create imperfect people. As the creator of all the universe, He has so many things that He could be doing. The all-powerful could do literally anything else, but he’s chosen to give us some of His time, and allow us into his presence. Although we are sinful and fallen, He reaches out to us, and invites us to talk with Him.
You see it’s not about us. It’s about Him. Our relationship with God is not dependent on who we are. If it depended on how good we are, how sinless we are, how holy we are… none of us would have the privilege to talk to God. Instead, our relationship with God is dependent on who He is, and the grace that He so freely offers, even in our sinful state. In chapter 9 of the book of Daniel, this is said so very well. It reads, “We do not make requests of God because we are righteous, but because of God’s great mercy. (Daniel 9:18b)”
It is the mercy of God that gives us the opportunity to talk to Him directly about so many things. It’s a chance to share our wants and desires, our thanks and praise, and our confession of our shortcomings. It gives us an opportunity to share out needs with God Himself. But, it also gives us the opportunity to pray for the needs of others as well.
Now, with an all-powerful and all-knowing God, there is nothing beyond his knowledge or comprehension. In fact, He knows what we need before we even ask Him for it (Matt 6:8). Prayer give us the privilege to allow God to work n our lives, connect ourselves to His will, and experience the peace that only He can provide. Paul wrote in his letter to Philemon:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Phil 4:6, NIV 84)
But, prayer is more than just a conversation with God. It’s a means of including God in our daily life, and strengthening our relationship with Him. Much like talking with a loved one or close friend, it’s a way to reach out to discuss our daily challenges, share our successes, and offer thanksgiving when things are going well. Prayer strengthens our reliance on God and offers us peace by placing our cares at His feet. It draws us closer to God as we look to communicate our concerns with Him, even though He already knows what we need before we even ask. Prayer is a means to strengthen our relationship with God by placing ourselves in His presence and looking forward to the answers that only He can provide.
Privilege to Know that God Hears Us
Knowing that God is allowing us to come to Him is one thing, but having Him actually listen and pay attention to what we have to say is yet another. This brings us to the second privilege of prayer. It is truly our privilege for God to hear our prayers. God is aware of everything that is going on. In fact, our lesson today says that “all things are naked and exposed to… Him (Heb 4:13, CSB).” Naked and exposed. Think about that for a moment. That’s what God tells us. God knows all of our secrets. Even those secrets that we’re not proud of, those secrets we don’t want to share with anyone, those secrets we certainly don’t want to talk about. As the sovereign Lord of all, there is nothing hidden from God, including our deepest and darkest sin. God knows it all.
He doesn’t need our prayers to understand what’s going on in our life or what we need today. But what’s really amazing is that God is tuned-in to our prayers anyway. David wrote it this way in Psalm 34 “God’s ears are attentive to (His People’s) cry” (Psalm 34:15b). The Psalmist was talking about prayer and how God listens to what we have to say. Similarly, the prophet Jeremiah wrote 12 Then you will call upon God and come and pray to Him, and He will listen to you. (Jeremiah 29:12). But, God didn’t confine his conversation about prayer to the Old Testament. Jesus had something to say about prayer too. He said “whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24, NIV 84)” God really is listening to what we have to pray about. He is tuned-in to the concerns of our heart and is ready for us to talk to Him.
But, more than just listening, God has empathy for our situation as well. He understands what we’re going through, even if we might think no-one else truly can. Even in the most difficult of situations, when we might think that no one can REALLY understand the situation that we’re going through, God truly understands.
Jesus didn’t just walk on the face of the Earth, He lived a life here along side us! He walked with men, He built friendships and faced the pains of being human. He experienced sadness, thirst and hunger. He felt grief at the death of a loved one, and He suffered the real pain of both insults and injury. Jesus knows what it’s like to be human. He understands what it’s like to walk in our shoes because He’s been there too. He has empathy for our plight as He truly comprehends what our pain feels like. Verse 15 of our lesson today says that Jesus is able to sympathize with our weakness (Heb 4:15) because He lived how we live and was tempted just like us.
Privilege to Receive God’s Answers
So, when we pray, what do we get out of it anyway? God already knows what we need, so why bother? The truth is, that prayer does a lot more than remind God of the situations going on in our life. This brings us to the third point. We have the privilege to receive God’s answer to our prayers. Prayer gives us the privilege to receive comfort and peace, in a way nothing else can. It gives us the opportunity to leave the busy world around us, while we take a moment to talk with Almighty God. It grows us closer to God as we seek His assistance, His will, His power, to get us through another challenge in life. And in the process, burdens are lifted from us as we find peace that only God can provide. We may be able to thank Him for a wonderful day and feel the warmth of God’s grace upon us. We may lift a burden off of our shoulders as we confess our short-comings, and pray for the strength to walk the right path. Prayer blesses us with peace and comfort in a way that nothing else can.
There’s a wonderful poem that was turned into a hymn that captures this so very well. The author, Joseph Scriven, was experiencing grief due to the death of his fiancé and wrote to help him heal from the pain of his loss. Sometimes, when we’re at the low points in our life, we rely more heavily on God and his grace. This hymn was but one example of a grief-stricken man looking for comfort and strength from God. But, the song has found ways to strengthen many people throughout the world who also struggle. Maybe you’ve heard of this. The hymn is called What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Is anyone familiar with this? In part of that song, Joseph wrote “oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, (everyone join me with this last part) everything to God in prayer.”
Throughout the hymn is a message of relying on prayer to seek God’s comfort, and find the peace which only He can provide.
This popular hymn captures beautifully what blessings come to us through prayer. It captures the idea that grace and mercy are all part of His plan, and that God always answers prayer, but the timing may not always be what we expect. The answers may not be what we think we need. But God’s grace and mercy are present in each and every answer.
God didn’t’ always say the answer to our prayers would be ‘Yes’. In fact, sometimes that’s not in our best interests because we don’t understand the plan God has prepared for us. God always answers prayers, but not always how we expect. Sometimes the answer is a simple yes, or a simple no. But other times, the answers aren’t as simple as we thought. Sometimes the answer is yes, but not yet.
This reminds me of a part of my life when God waited to answer prayer. For seven years, my wife Lina and I prayed daily to have a family. We prayed that we might have a child to call our own. The answer was yes, but not in time we expected. Seven years, four miscarriages, and a still birth, but eventually the answer was yes. Our daughter Tiffany was born in Wilford Hall and was the answer to our prayer. God’s answer was yes… but on His time. Not ours.
We may have an answer that requires us to wait for a while. Other-times, the answer may be yes, but not in the way we were expecting things to turn out, or perhaps the answer is yes, but there’s more to that answer than we anticipated.
I had a second prayer that was answered as well. But, I didn’t have to wait seven years for this to answered…. I had to wait 11 years. Tyler joined us when we saw no way that we could have any more kids. God answered yes, but not in the way we expected. Today, we have two miracle kids.
There’s one other way God can answer and that’s for us to do things differently and do it God’s way instead, instead of the plan we had on our own. Sometimes the answer is to line up with God’s will, instead of our own idea.
But God does encourage us to ask. He implores us to seek after things. God doesn’t ignore our prayers, He doesn’t neglect our prayers. Instead, He always answers our prayers and reflects His grace and mercy in each and every answer He provides.
God is gracious in granting mercy to relieve the misery and distress of those in need. He answers prayer to grant relief, provide peace, and share his love.
Grace and mercy, that’s what the privilege of prayer is all about. It’s about sharing in God’s love, that He has so freely given.
Summary
I’d like to close with a story that might help drive home the privilege of prayer. In June 2013, news broadcasts across the country featured a little boy named Grayson Clamp doing something he had never done before. The three-year-old was born without the nerves that carry sound to the brain. Attempts to restore his hearing with a cochlear implant were unsuccessful, so doctors at the University of North Carolina tried an experimental procedure to implant a nerve directly into Grayson’s brain. This procedure proved successful, and millions of people watched the look of wonder and joy on the little boy’s face when he heard his father’s voice for the very first time.
With the technology available today, communication is nearly instantaneous. But even then, it’s wonderful to hear from a friend or family member who’s so far away. Just as we appreciate familiar voices, God delights in hearing from His children as well.
Why do we pray? Certainly, it’s not to tell God of what we need. He already knows everything about our situation, and He knows it far better than we could ever explain it. He knows the answers to our problems, and the path in life that will be best for us. Prayer is meant to remind us just how dependent on God we truly are. But prayer is not just for our benefit. God enjoys hearing us pray! When we come to Him in faith and make our petitions before His throne of grace, His heart rejoices. He likes hearing our voices, our thoughts and yes, even our prayers. That makes prayer a privilege… it’s a privilege to come to God’s presence, a privilege to know that He hears us and is tuned-in to our prayers, and a privilege to receive His grace and mercy in the answers to each and every prayer we bring to His feet. The privilege of prayer. It’s a true blessing that we can share each and every day.
Amen.
