WHY PRAY?
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: THE PASTOR’S PRAYER.
1. A Sunday School teacher was struggling to open the combination lock on the supply cabinet. He couldn't quite remember the combination. Finally, he went to the pastor and asked for help. The pastor came and began to turn the dial.
2. After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment. Finally, he looked serenely heavenward and his lips moved silently. Then he looked back at the lock, and quickly turned to the final number.
3. The teacher was amazed. "I'm in awe at your faith, pastor," he said. "It's really nothing," he answered. "The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling.”
B. POWER OF PRAYER
1. It’s interesting that the disciples of Jesus never asked the Lord how to preach, but they DID ask Him how to pray.
2. Why is prayer so important? Because it “couples the powers of heaven to our helplessness – the powers that can turn water into wine, and remove mountains in our lives; that can awaken those sleeping in sin and raise the dead; the powers that can capture strongholds and make the impossible possible.” (O. Hallesby, Prayer, p. 80)
C. THESIS
1. Whether we pray or not will make all the difference in how worldly we are, the impact of our life in this world, and maybe our position in Heaven.
2. Today we’re looking at what prayer is, different aspects of prayer, and how prayer should be our highest priority. The title of this message is “Why Pray?”
I. WHAT IS PRAYER?
A. POSTURES OF PRAYER. You can pray...
1. Bowing Ps. 95:6
2. Kneeling Ps. 95:6; Dan. 6:10.
3. Standing Ps. 135:1-3
4. Laying prostrate, Lk. 17:16
5. Laying down in bed, Ps. 63:6
6. Silently, Ps. 46:10; Hab. 2:20;
7. Speaking Ps. 71:8; 98:1;
8. Shouting Ps. 89:15; 98:6; Ezra 3:11;
9. Lifting up Hands Ps. 63:3-5; 141:2; 1 Tim. 2:8;
10. Walking & Leaping 2 Sam. 6:16; Acts 3:7-8.
B. HUMOR: FOUR TYPES OF PRAYER
1. Mark Gellman, a rabbi who often appears on the Today Show and writes periodically for Newsweek says there are four kinds of prayer: Gimme, Thanks, Oops, and Wow! Thanks is obvious. Oops means confessing our sins. Wow is when we overflow in praise for who God is, not just for what he’s done for us lately.
2. We have a tendency to overemphasize the first element of prayer. We can turn asking into “Gimmie.” James says, “You do not have, because you don’t ask God. When you ask, you don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” James 4:2-3.
C. DEFINITION
1. Prayer is defined as “the act or practice of speaking and listening to God.” Prayer should form a connection between us and God, through which flows the life of God into our spiritual beings.
2. In the analogy of the Vine & Branches (John 15:4-6) Jesus told us that if we want to be like Him, we must spend time with Him. As we look to Him we’re transformed into His likeness! (2 Cor. 3:18)
3. ILLUS. There was a king’s son who was born with a bent back, hunched-over. His father, the king, hired a sculptor to make a statue of his son walking erectly, as if he were well. The king placed the statue where his son would see it all day. As the boy grew up, he saw himself walking erect & straight. With this vision, the boy kept fighting his tendency until he was conformed to the image in the statue!
4. As we, like Mary, sit at Jesus’ feet & hear His words, we’re transformed into His image! Hallelujah!
II. ASPECTS OF PRAYER
A. WHAT PRAYER IS, FROM ITS ROOT MEANINGS
1. Ge. 20:7 “palal,” Abram was told to pray for Abimelech. This word involved the sense of “judging” as part of the prayer.
2. 2 Chron. 6:32 “chanah.” Solomon’s prayer that God would hear the prayer of the scattered Israelites if they turned back to Him. It means “to bend or to stoop.” (humbling)
3. Ezra 6:10 “tsela,” Chaldean, from “tsame”--“to thirst.”
4. Job 21:15 “paga” means to “impinge” or to ‘drive something in,’ like a wedge. To Intercede is to drive in the wedge of the supernatural.
5. Job 33:26 “athar.” Elihu tells of the restoration of a righteous man. His prayer is to God like one who “burns incense.”
6. Ps. 55:17 “siyach,” “to ponder or converse with.” Prayer is a conversation, not a one-sided monologue.
7. Ps. 122:6 “shael,” “to inquire.” It is translated as “consult.” This points to our seeking wisdom/direction from God.
8. Isa. 26:16 “lachash,” to “whisper, private prayer.” God hears our whispered prayer, as he did Hannah’s.
9. Zech. 7:2 “chalah,” which means “to be rubbed.” In Dan. 9:13 (NIV) it’s translated as “sought the favor” of God.
B. THE DANGER OF NOT SEEKING GOD
1. “And he [Rehoboam] did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord” 2 Chr. 12:14. Our hearts don’t automatically gravitate to prayer; we have to structure our lives so that we’ll be people of prayer.
2. You see, TO FAIL TO PLAN (a relationship with God), IS TO PLAN TO FAIL! Being in connection with the King of Kings is the most important thing you can do.
3. If you were to going to visit the Queen of England, you would prepare carefully, and learn the correct conduct when entering Her Majesty’s presence. How much more is this necessary to properly seek the King of Kings & Lord of Lords!
4. Every “holy” duty ought to be thought over carefully. Our prayers, our giving, etc. should be done in the right manner, at the right time, and in the right spirit.
5. Make sure you stay humble. Don’t let material things or entertainments overpower the whispers of God’s Spirit calling us to pray!
6. We must be PROACTIVE to develop our relationship with God.
III. THE GREAT BENEFITS OF SEEKING THE LORD:
A. YOU WILL HAVE A VISION OF GOD
1. PRAYER CHANGES OUR VIEW OF GOD. Vision is important. Our lives can never be greater than our vision of God!
a. Elijah was discouraged and decided to give up until he got a new vision of God at Mt. Sinai; then he saw things differently.
b. Moses believed in the God of slaves until he heard the voice from the burning bush on Mt. Horeb; there he met the mighty Creator of the Universe.
c. Isaiah, struggling with his sinfulness, prayed and saw a vision of Angels, who told him of God’s atonement.
2. PRAYER CHANGES OUR CIRCUMSTANCES. After prayer, Paul said that “our present sufferings aren’t worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us” Rom. 8:18. Persecution flipped to victory!
3. IT CHANGES OUR VIEW OF OURSELVES & OTHERS
We’ll see ourselves as God sees us and be changed. And we see the Lost as God sees them.
B. PRAYER RECHARGES YOUR SPIRIT
1. The Bible says, as Jesus was praying, He was transfigured (Mt. 17:2; Lk. 9:29) from a earthly state to a heavenly. Us too!
2. Just like rechargeable batteries must be recharged, we must be spiritually recharged.
3. The Early Church was not only filled on the Day of Pentecost, but were refilled over and over again. That’s why they had power to change the world!
4. It’s only as we get into prayer and allow ourselves to be refilled with the Holy Spirit that we’re going to be people who’re transformed! Without it, we’re not transformed.
C. FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD
We sometimes sing the song, “I am a Friend of God.” True. Abraham was called “the friend of God.” God wants friends, not lip service. Are we a friend or just religious? Is God our “rabbit’s foot” or a Person we love? (1 Jn 1:3)
D. YOU’LL HAVE AUTHORITY & BLESSING
1. The Centurion with a sick servant who sent for Jesus knew that he was in the line of authority all the way back to Rome. All the power of Rome would back him up, because he was part of that structure.
2. When you’re in fellowship with God, and obedient, you’re in the line of authority and blessing.
3. IMPORTANT THINGS HAPPENED AT THE FEET OF JESUS…
a. THE SICK WERE HEALED (The 10th leper fell at His feet to give thanks for his healing, Luke 17:16),
b. THE DEAD WERE RAISED (Jairus fell at His feet & got his daughter raised from the dead, Mk. 5:22),
c. THE DEMONS CRINGED AND SCREAMED! [The Syrophoenician woman’s daughter was delivered,( Mk. 7:25); The Gadarene Demoniac was found clothed and in his right mind (Luke 8:35)],
d. THE APOSTLE JOHN GOT HIS REVELATION of the End Times (Revelation 1:17),
e. EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW & EVERY TONGUE CONFESS!
f. & THE DEVIL IS UNDER HIS FEET! PRAISE GOD!
g. At the feet of Jesus is where the miracles happen, so get to the feet of Jesus!
4. “The steps of a good man/ woman are ordered by the Lord” Ps. 37:23. God works out the details as we go along. We’re in the stream of blessings!
E. YOU’LL KNOW WHAT GOD IS DOING
1. “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” Amos 3:7. “But if they had stood in My counsel…” Jer. 23:22.
2. One of the great benefits of walking with God is to be spiritually aware of what’s happening. Such persons aren’t blindsided by the unexpected and are prepared to take the correct action.
3. William Temple replied to his critics who didn’t believe in prayer, “When I pray, coincidences happen; when I don’t, they don’t.”
IV. HOW ARE YOU TO SEEK GOD?
A. TIME ALONE WITH GOD - REGULARLY
1. “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Ps. 46:10.
2. There’s no substitute for one-on-one time between you and God. You REALLY only get to know God intimately when you’re alone with Him. Soul-joining intimacy never happens in a group setting.
B. LET GOD BE YOUR GUIDE EACH DAY
1. Some laugh at the idea that we should look to God for direction. One lady said, “I only take the big things to God!” The Pastor said, “Lady, anything YOU take to God is small!”
2. My God is big enough that He knows the number of hairs on your head and so big that He guides the trillions of stars in their courses at the same time. He knows if even one sparrow falls to the ground.
3. Dare to let God be your compass; give Him the driver’s seat of your life and you’ll go places no human could go alone.
C. SPEND MUCH TIME IN THE WORD
Alexander Duff, missionary - carried 800 books to India, but was ship-wrecked. He sat mournfully on the shore gazing out into the ocean, and one volume washed ashore – his Bible! He took that as a sign and concentrated his entire ministry on teaching the Word alone – and raised up 1,000 Bible scholars!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: “GOD! STOP THE WIND!”
1. During the Depression years, the chicken house of a young couple caught on fire and a gusting wind drove the flames against their nearby farmhouse.
2. The young husband stood in the front yard with two empty buckets hanging from his limp hands. His shoulders sagged and sweat soaked his clothing. Exhausted, his breathed, "It's no use, Louise. I can't fight it."
3. His wife, in her early twenties, stood near him, two small children crying and clutching the hem of her skirt. She watched as her house began to smoke.
4. "You'd better get the baby," the discouraged man said. "The house is going to burn."
5. What would they do without their home? There was no money; they had nowhere to go. "If only the wind would stop," her husband said. "Maybe, then I'd have a chance." The wind only got stronger.
6. Suddenly, Frank heard his wife yell with a commanding voice, "Stop the wind, God!". He looked up, startled.
7. There she stood, the baby tucked under one arm and her other arm held out straight toward the burning chicken house. The fire of faith burned in her, believing God would answer.
8. Frank wondered, "Do we really serve a God who can do that?" He didn't wonder long. No sooner had the words left his wife's lips than the wind ceased, changed directions and blew the flames opposite across the yard.
9. The wind didn't let up until the chicken house was in ashes BUT THE HOUSE WAS SAVED! The question today is, “Do YOU have a God who can do that?” [Nancy Merical, who recorded this, was that baby tucked under her mother's arms.]
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you need God to intervene for you? Come to the front. Call for Salvation.
2. Prayer for dedication to daily prayer and relationship to God.
