Yield: Listening to God
Series: Meeting with God in Prayer
May 29, 2020
NOTE: The following message was share during the season of the Covid-19 pandemic...and as such... one will note some references to this being streamed from home and to the challenges such a season of being unable to meet with others included.
Intro
Welcome to our final week of this particular series on meeting with God in prayer. I’m so grateful for you sharing in this time.
I know that this is still a strange time. At some level this more separated season of life is not new...and we may be used to the changes...but if your anything like me.... nothing really feels normal. I still feel like I am living in a surreal state of life.
And my hair is getting wilder every week. And I wasn’t sure where the process of haircut services was at...so yesterday I called Supercuts... it rang and rang and rang...and finally the answering machine came on and said: “Messages full. We cannot take any more messages.” So I may just consider this an opportunity to reclaim my youth.
I suppose it isn’t that simple. The truth is that our hope is not simply about going back...but about going forward. It’s about discovering that God is here.
He is not contained or constrained by anything.
And it’s in that spirit that I want to welcome us to our final week of this particular series on meeting with God in prayer.
By way of a quick review... we noted that this time in which we may be more physically disconnected from other people... provides an opportunity to develop our awareness of God’s presence.
We tend to live as creatures who think we are primarily physical creatures... we tend to relate to the physical world... with perhaps a slight sense that there may be more. We tend to assume that whatever is spiritual is secondary in nature...less real.
But what if ultimate life is not physical but spiritual? What if life is actually most rooted in relationship to what is spiritual and eternal?
That is how Jesus lived. He lived out of a relationship to God the Father who is spirit.
It’s important to be clear that Jesus did not negate the significance of being embodied being. Having a spiritual nature is not a matter of negating or neglecting the physical realm. The Scriptures tell us that God created us as communal creatures... that our existence is rooted in a shared life with other human life. You may recall that God said it is not good that the first man should be alone.
(In fact this Fall we are going to focus on developing healthy live giving relationships)
So our relationship with God is not a substitute for relationship with other people.
But our relationship with other people cannot be a substitute for our relationship with God.
And what we are seeking to grasp in this season is this: God is Spirit...and He is present.
And prayer is simply coming into that presence. Meeting with God is the essence of prayer. [1]
That is what Jesus’ followers began to realize.
And so they asked...”Lord, teach US to pray.”
They see that prayer is not simply a religious ritual...but a relationship.
Prayer is not simply what we do when we are in trouble.
Pray is bringing ourselves into alignment with God which allows Him to have the influence in our lives that He desires and that we deeply need..
And when they asked...”Lord teach US to pray”... we noted that Jesus began by saying...don’t be like the religious leaders who are living like actors...wearing masks...to impress others. Stop being performers...and... “get real.”
It’s been common to assume that we should question whether God is real.
Jesus says we need to face the question of whether we are being real.
Jesus says that we should get away from the performance...and go into a space where we can shut the door...and really come to God.
Then Jesus says...pray like this... and he gives an example...which is commonly referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. It captures the core elements of relationship with God. [2]
From that and all we can gather from prayer through the Scriptures...we have been looking at these elements.
We’ve been using an acrostic of the word PRAY.
We don’t have to structure every prayer this way. But all four elements are central to our life with God.
And I would suggest that we can follow this pattern,
We can begin with
Praise... that is, begin by recognizing the reality of who God is.
Praise refers to every way in which we might acknowledge the truth of God’s goodness and greatness.
Our recognition of Him, and who He is in relationship to our lives allows the flow of our relationship, putting into perspective all that may follow in our prayer. [2b]
And such praise involves our minds and our hearts....our acknowledgement and our affection.
It’s not because God needs our affection...it’s because we need to set our affections right.
The most central source of all our problems lies in having made something else matter more than God. It’s been said that all our problems are problems of adoration. If you adore anything more than God the problems will show up.
It helps to realize that we are creatures of worship... we will make something our greatest worth... and it will become the thing that runs our lives. If you think about losing it, you go to pieces.
As we grasp who God is...and bring ourselves to Him as the true center... here is what we begin to experience...we begin to find freedom from what has controlled us....we begin to find rest from trying control more than we actually control... we begin to find peace. So we begin with praise... with acknowledging in mind and heart who God is.
And the second element is to...
Restore ...that is...to confess whatever is out of alignment with God’s heart and will.
Having recognized God and who He is to be in our lives, it is natural to admit where our relationship is out of alignment. In the light of who He is...we can see what is out of alignment...what is simply not right in the way we are thinking or operating in life. Recognizing who God really is....naturally helps us see what is not right... in the same way that when more light is at hand...the more we see what is often unseen. It’s like the way we see the dust and dirt most when the sun pours through the windows.
Restoring comes with confessing. Confession is an opportunity to come out from the “hiddeness" where shame alienates us from God.
To pray “Forgive us for our sins”… is to realign ourselves with our true accountability which lies in God.
It’s the true answer to the problem of guilt. [3]
...and the third element of prayer is to...
Ask ... that is...to bring our needs to God.
If we have acknowledged who He is… in praise…and faced whatever is out of alignment.... then seeking our needs is not just acceptable…it’s exactly what God desires us to do.
Jesus’ pattern included the request... “Give us this day our daily bread.” This acknowledges that we are fundamentally dependent on God for life…and acknowledging this is a way of honoring Him.
And we should recognize that the nature of dependency is quite different from the nature of demanding.
Demanding something presumes we deserve it.
Dependency presumes only our need.
Now... some may wonder... if God already knows everything ...what difference does it make to tell him anything? Why confess or ask ...if he already knows? What difference does it make?
It’s a good question. And I believe parents and everyone who can imagine a parental relationship...know the difference it makes:
If your child lies and you know it, what difference does it make if they come and tell you? It restores the relationship... the trust...the openness.
If your child is anxious or trying to seek direction or guidance…which you already know they need… what difference does it make when they come to you and ask? Absolutely. It opens the means to your influence.
Prayer is not about informing God...it’s about our relationship with God.
So in meeting with God...in prayer...we can go through a process in which we praise ..we restore...we ask...and then we come to the final element... which is to YIELD...which I want to conclude with today.
Yielding involves listening and responding to God’s leading
In traffic signs, the yellow yield sign means stop and give the right of way to the others.
It is this position of yielding that is central to prayer.
Jesus places this at the center of his model of prayer,
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. – Matthew 6:10
Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. - Matthew 6:13
He is not suggesting that God is the one who tempts us. The Scriptures clearly tell us that God “does not tempt anyone” (James 1:13).
What this prayer recognizes…is that we need God as our true guide.
God wants to lead us.
He wants to speak to us. [4]
God says through the prophet Jeremiah...
'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' - Jeremiah 33:3 ?
Broadly speaking.... he speaks to us by his Word and by His Spirit.
One aspect of our values in the Vineyard movement... is that of being a people of both Word and Spirit.
As a people of the Word... we realize that the Bible is a book...but it’s not simply a book. It is the living testimony of God revealing himself. It unfolds over time and within the culture of that time...but it is embedded with something that is eternal and alive... the revelation of God.
God is not bound within the words of a book.
In fact, he embodies his very nature in the Christ. As the Scriptures describe... Jesus came as the Living Word... the exact representation of God’s nature.
And as his earthly representation came to it’s end... he sends the Holy Spirit... to provide an ongoing relationship. As Jesus said...
"... the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26
So God who is spirit engages our spirit.
So as we seek God’s leading... we recognize that The Word of God in the Scriptures...and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit... when each is understood correctly... will never conflict......because they emanate from the same unchanging source.
It could be thought of as having a training manual for life... and having the author of that manual then come as a personal trainer as well. He comes to personally empower us and enlighten us. He speaks to us.
God speaks to us by His Spirit. This can include...
• A Spirit imparted sense (conviction, peace, compassion, etc)
• A Spirit imparted word or words
• A Spirit imparted image or sensation
I know that there are so many who have felt God doesn’t speak to them. You may feel like you have tried at times to listen....and usually felt nothing but silence or a mind muddled with thoughts you could never distinguish as being God.
And when you hear other people talk about what God spoke to them... you may become doubtful of them...or of yourself... perhaps wondering if you’re just left out...or limited by some fault of your own.
For those who have found that hearing from God has not been that common or clear...as your pastor.... I want to say something you may need to hear... Don’t withdraw in cynicism or doubt. Don’t judge your heart by what your mind is sincerely trying to understand. You are not responsible for hearing...only for listening.
There is more I’d welcome processing with some of you as individuals... but for now I just want to encourage us all to keep listening.
And towards that end, I want to conclude with a few things I have found helpful.
Listen for what transcends your own thoughts.
When your trying to listen to what God may be saying.... it can be helpful to listen for what something that doesn’t sound like yourself... like what you would usually have as a sense or thought.
Now I want to clarify... that the point here isn’t to devalue our own natural wisdom. Our own thoughts about a matter may reflect wisdom we have gained...and wisdom is from God. So we shouldn’t dismiss what we might call the natural maturity and wisdom that God has given us.
However, there are times when God wants to impart discernment and direction that goes beyond wisdom... or speak to our hearts from His own.
And when we are seeking God’s leading....seeking to hear Him... we will have various thoughts run through our mind. What is helpful to listen for...is that which doesn’t reflect our usual thoughts.
At one point my wife and I had a hard decision to make... as one of our kids had ended up in an early elementary school grade that they were very young for...and mid year they let us know that some teachers wondered if we wanted to shift him back. It really was a weighty decision... because if we changed he could feel torn from his friends and perhaps lose some esteem... but if he kept going forward... it looked like he could face years of being behind on every level. As I thought of all those challenges...and spoke with friends... it seemed really clear to me to let him go back a year. As the final decision had to be made...Leah and I had a moment to pray together about it... and as we began to pray ... my own thoughts were running pretty comfortably through my mind....and then I heard these words infused into my spirit: “Let him rise up” where he is. I couldn’t dismiss them. After sharing and discussing the strength of that word....we kept him at that grade level.... and on the last day of that year he won the award for the most improved student...and went on to be a really strong student.
And the point is that there was clarity in the nature of hearing what was outside my own natural thoughts.
So listen for what transcends your own thoughts.
A second point that may be helpful in listening to God is this...
Listen for advice more than just answers...for the “how” more than just the “who, what, and when.”
I have found that I tend to want God to tell about the “WHAT” in life (what I should do)…but God speaks far more into the “why” and “how” of what I am doing.
I’ve told this story before but it still provides the best example. On the morning of the day I planned to ask my wife Leah to marry me…. Prayed… “Lord, is Leah the one I’m to marry?” Immediately I heard God speak in my mind, “You are ready to commit the rest of your life to someone.” I already had total peace about her being a great life partner…so God spoke to something that spoke even more deeply. God spoke as the ultimate Father…not simply declaring a decision…but developing me.
And I’ve come to believe that it shouldn’t surprise us...because like a good father... he doesn’t want to just direct us...but to develop us. A good father doesn’t just tell their child who to marry or what job they should do in life... rather a father helps them become the kind of person who will discern and succeed.
So listen for advice more than just answers.
A third point that can help in hearing God is this...
Listen for what God may want to communicate for the sake of others.
God is a God of compassion. He is compassionate towards each of us. And he wants to speak to us about who we are. But that compassion is part of what he is shaping in us for others. He calls us to love as he loves. So the process of listening to God will naturally come as we pray for others.
That may include times of praying for someone you care about... but not just raising your request...but waiting to hear if God speaks to you about them.
Or it may come by just stepping out to offer prayer to someone...and listening to what God may speak to us in the process. Those familiar with spiritual gifts are familiar with what is usually referred to as a “word of knowledge.” It simply refers to something which God reveals to us for the sake of another person ...something he wants them to know.
God may give you a word which you can share with them...it is often a feeling or image that may seem strange to you....but speaks deeply to that person you are praying for.
That may seem risky... which leads to one more point.
A final point that can help us hear from God is this...
Listen with freedom from certainty... from always needing or claiming certainty of what you hear.
It’s precisely because we can’t always be sure if what we are hearing is from God...that we should feel free not to be sure.
I think the problem we have sometimes...is that we hear some who may speak only with absolute declaration of what God is saying... with “thus sayeth the Lord” certainty ...that we don’t know how to accept uncertainty. I think it can be helpful to have freedom to just say “I think the Lord may be speaking this.” We need freedom to seek more discernment. We need freedom to be wrong. I believe that we will never have the freedom to be right in hearing God if we don’t have the freedom to be wrong. At times I have shared with others what I sensed may be from the Lord... and no one has responded to...and I have shared very specific words from the Lord that proved more true than I could imagine.
So my challenge `...and ask Him about. Or perhaps someone you would like to pray for.
Remember...it’s not your responsibility to hear...but only to listen.
And if you hear something you sense may be from God...share it with someone.
Let me encourage each of us to not become discourage in prayer....but rather to see it as our lifeline.
When Jesus took his disciples to pray in the garden of Gethsemane...and later found them sleeping... he commented that “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41). He was letting them know...and letting us know....that our spirits are seeking this connection with God...but flesh isn’t so in tune... so yea you will fight falling asleep.... but fight through that process ... because it has the power to connect you to the God of all life. And those disciples found that power.... and they grew to be those who were hooked into life... beyond all the forces that tried to contain them. Nothing could sperate them from the love an leading of God. And that can be true for us.
Would you join me as we pray.
Lord... teach US to pray. To get real and show up for meeting with you.
To praise...and confess...and ask...and listen.
Many of us have become more focused on our limits in this time...than our ability to listen to you in this time.
Notes:
1. Some examples of seeing the private life of prayer of Jesus:
• Rising early to pray in a solitary place - Mk 1:35
• Often withdrawing into the wilderness to pray - Lk 5:16
• Praying all night in preparation to selecting His apostles - Lk 6:12-13
• His beautiful prayer recorded in Jn 17
2. As to why “The Lord’s Prayer” is best understood as intended an example in it’s themes rather than as a ritual to recites, Brian Bill (How To Pray The Lord's Way) notes “four reasons why we are not required to recite it today.
1. This prayer is recorded twice in Scripture and the wording is different in each prayer. If Jesus was giving us a prayer to be memorized and recited, He would not have given us different words the two times He gave it.
2. The disciples said, “teach us to pray” not “teach us a prayer.” It’s one thing to read or deliver a prayer; it’s something else to know how to pray.
3. Jesus warns us against repetitive prayers. In fact, in the verse immediately proceeding the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:7, the King James Version says this: “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.”
4. This prayer is repeated nowhere else in the New Testament. We have no record of believers using this prayer in any of the other prayer passages in the Bible.
Clearly, Jesus was not intending to give the disciples some sort of prayer that they could memorize and then just deliver. It’s much deeper than that. Jesus wanted to give His followers a model to follow when addressing God so that we can learn how to pray like Jesus Himself prayed.
2b. Jesus began the pattern of prayer with....”Our Father in heaven...”
This prayer begins with declaring the greatest truth that any human soul can know…that the source of all existence is our ultimate Father… and welcomes us home through his own provision.
Prayer is becoming realigned with God who provides the ultimate in a father’s heart, a father’s love, a father’s strength, a father’s concern for the best interest of his children, and a father’s commitment.
3. Jesus sees that in terms of accountability…we are lost.
Separated from God… the human conscience is seared.
We cannot escape the problems of guilt… but we have no way of truly being free.
We are left only looking to others.
So we try to justify ourselves… comparing ourselves to others… which leaves us in the mire of merely relative rightness.
We externalize our conscience… confusing looking good with being good.
We become afraid of “getting caught”… when the truth is that we are completely seen.
Confession is coming out into the light of truth. It is that which brings us out of the darkness of hiding… out of the bushes… and into God’s presence.
Not always easy. Most of us have some dimensions of life we are more comfortable confessing…. But some areas of life we want to keep in the darkness. The truth is that we begin by deceiving others. In sense, truth is still in you, even though we may not be telling it. Then something very dangerous happens: we begin to believe our own story. Deceiving, blinding yourself.
This is the really tragic part… because our only link to reality is truth. When we deceive ourselves, the truth is not in us, we’ve separated ourselves from what’s real. Because he is the real God, when we lose our link to reality, we’ve lost our link to God. Our deception keeps us out of the light where life is. Confession brings us into the light.
Psalm 51:1-3, 6, 10 (NIV)
Have mercy on me, O God…Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. …Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place… Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
4. Similarly,
Psalm 25:14 (NIV)
The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
Proverbs 2:1-6 (NIV)
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, 3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
