Background to passages: places of prayer or implied prayer
Luke 1:8–20 ESV
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
Opening illustration: How long do you keep your Christmas decorations up?
Main thought: Jan Month of Prayer and Fasting 2024 is upon us. The Christmas Accounts provide us with some principles of reminder and encouragement as we begin
1) Unbelieving Prayer (Luke 1:8-20)
Luke 1:8–20 ESV
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,
and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
1) Unbelieving Prayer (Luke 1:8-20)
Explanation: Zechariah and Elizabeth had been praying for years that God would give them a child. As they got older, their faith got smaller. Doubt crept in, unbelief began to take over, and by the time the angel came, his faith was found lacking that he didn’t believe an angel!
Mark 9:23–24 ESV
And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Matthew 13:58 ESV
And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
Illustration: Richie Jenkins
Application: Tomorrow we will begin a concerted effort as individuals, as a church to fix our eyes on God, ask God to increase our faith, confess our unbelief, and watch him do mighty works. We ask God for things, but do we really believe He will do them. Nah.
Mark 11:23 ESV
Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
Do we believe he can bring about young families who disciple their children into godly young men and women? Do we believe that God could give us enough laborers to evangelize our part of Troup County (Nah, pastor, our people do the work are overworked)? Do we believe God can provide financial resources for this church not to consider money, but ministry first? Do you believe that there is room for your spiritual condition for surrender - yes…are you willing to pray that God will change it/you…do you believe he will?
Our faith has gotten small! This is why we don’t pray. This is why God doesn’t answer. This is where we need help. This needs to be our first prayer. Look to Jesus. Tomorrow is Jehovah, the great I AM. None like him. One true and living God. Absolute reality. Essence of eternity and self-existence. HE IS, do you believe it?
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2) Obedient Prayer (Luke 1:38, Matt 1:24-25)
Luke 1:38 ESV
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Matthew 1:24–25 ESV
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
2) Obedient Prayer (Luke 1:38, Matt 1:24-25)
Explanation: Both Mary and Joseph answered in obedience in response to messages carried to them by angels. So, in an indirect fashion they told God “yes”. It illustrates the principle that prayer is a two-directional exercise. Speaking AND listening. It also illustrates that we can tell God yes or no.
Argumentation:
Illustration: One of the names you will be meditating on is Adonai which is Lord Almighty. He is the one who gives the orders, we follow. He is the King of Kings, and we are the servants. He is the Potter and we are the clay. He is the Head we are the body. Kirby is the coach of the Dawgs, and we don’t know who the guy is at FSU, but they make the calls. They let the the QB know what to do. The QB lets the offense know what to do. The players don’t just go off on their own way. Other than the fact that they would get benched, the team would lose.
Application: How often do we spend all of our prayer time doing all the talking? Most of us need to develop the discipline of listening. Do we believe that God still leads us and gives our hearts? Part of this dedicated time of church collective and focused prayer is that we may hear from God. Keep a journal, have times of discussion about what God is impressing on your heart as you meditate on the person of God.
Secondly, are we willing to commit to obedience beforehand. Are we willing to say, “let it be as you have said.” What if God asks you to do something really difficult? He said the told the rich young ruler to give it all away. He told the disciples to leave it all and follow him. What if it is to give sacrificially? What if God asks you to stop doing one ministry, and do another? What if God says that you need to join a ministry or begin a ministry? Over the next 30 days, are you willing to do what God says? Decide today.
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3) Rejoicing Prayer (Luke 2:22-32, 36-38)
Luke 2:22–32 ESV
And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)
and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law,
he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
Luke 2:36–38 ESV
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
3) Rejoicing Prayer (Luke 2:22-32, 36-38)
Explanation: Simeon and Anna had been faithfully praying for years for the Lord’s anointed savior. They expected God to do as he promised. Each day they awaited the family or the man who would be the fulfillment of the Davidic promise. So when God brought the answer to prayer, they rejoiced and praised the Lord. The answer came!
John 14:13 ESV
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Illustration:
Application: Does God answer our prayers? Do we give God the glory? One of the things that we don’t do enough of is praising the Lord for specific prayers that we have prayed that he answers. We are better at the big things, deliverance, healings, provisions, but the smaller things, each that God provides, we fail to mention. We give God no glory. We rob him of it. We chalk things up to our own initiative, coincidence, just the way things are, or whatever.
Since the summer we have baptized a half a dozen people, several of those who came to know Christ for the first time, had others saved that we haven’t baptized, had that many more join our church, had three months of making our tithing goals, hosted 140 students and leaders with a three week notice that transformed the community, we have taken in 250 battle weary Methodists on a one week notice and they keep transforming the community, so many unexpected gifts that have come in to preserve our budget (even this week, $2500). All the small things that God has that God has done through you this year. The things that go noticed and unnoticed. We asked, God answered, and we should give him the glory.
We are going to have a new Wed night format that will include answers to prayer. This spring, we will dedicate a service to the glory of God for answered prayer in the first few months of the year.
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Closing illustration: College football controversy about whether or not bowl games “mean anything”
