Today is the first Sunday of the year 2002. It’s also the beginning of our third year worshipping together as a church. And for the benefit of those who haven’t been keeping careful track, this is also the 100th sermon I’ve preached from this pulpit (or music stand, or whatever it is). So in several respects, this is an auspicious occasion. And it’s traditional on anniversaries like this for people to take stock of their lives. Often, that kind of reflection leads to a resolution for some kind of change. Read the Bible. Be more organized. Control my tongue. Be more patient with the children. Work on my bad habits, like procrastination, or excessive television watching, or rooting for the Steelers.
And I’m all for that. It’s a good thing periodically to give ourselves a check-up, to evaluate whether we could benefit from a course correction. Of course, it’s possible to go overboard, to spend so much time in self-centered navel-gazing that we never accomplish anything. However, for most people, the problem is that they don’t give enough thought to such matters, but instead just keep on mindlessly doing what they’ve always done, stuck in their safe, familiar, predictable rut. So if you haven’t recently spent some time in self-evaluation, I encourage you to do so. It’s a healthy practice
Self-examination is good for us as individuals; it’s also a beneficial practice for groups of people, including families and churches. And as I consider where God is leading us as a church, it’s my conviction that what we need most in the coming year is a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a new experience of His power. We can work, and give, and sing, and fellowship all we want, but unless God is pleased to empower us by His Spirit, nothing of eternal value is going to happen. Only through Him will we see hearts changed, lives transformed, relationships healed, addictions broken. Only by His power will we see these chairs filled with people seeking Christ. Only by the Spirit of Christ will we enjoy all the love, and joy, and peace that God desires for us. And therefore, our greatest need is not for a new outreach strategy, or a new youth ministry; not even for a new building or more money. Our deepest, most fundamental need is for the Spirit of God to fill us, for us to experience his power and love working in and through us as never before, so that we may see Him accomplishing the kind of great and mighty things in our midst that only God can do. Because that’s what the gospel is all about. God’s power. Again, as Paul writes,
"[T]he kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." -- 1 Corinthians 4:20
"[O]ur gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. -- 1 Thessalonians 1:5
And for these things to happen, we have to pray. We have to become a praying people, a praying church. We have to pray with confidence that God will hear us, but we must also pray as the needy, dependent, helpless people we are. We need to pray as if our lives depended on it. Because they do! The life of this church depends on it. The health of our spiritual lives depends on it. As the Christian writer E.M. Bounds put it, "What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men [and women] whom the Holy Ghost can use--men of prayer, men mighty in prayer." Therefore, I’d like to begin the year 2002 by considering this morning what place prayer should have in our lives as Christians.
Now, when you or I join a new group of people – first day on a new job, first meeting of the PTA, first visit to a new church – one of the things we instinctively do right away is try to understand the group norms, the unspoken standards of behavior. For instance, when we start a new job, we observe things like how long people take for a lunch break, and when people go home at night. In the same way, when a person begins attending a church, she looks around to see how these Christians act. What kind of clothing do they wear to church? What Bible translation do they use? What are the expectations in terms of participation? Are they going to ask me to teach Sunday School? Do I have to join a small group? And one of the basic norms that we absorb from those around us is their general attitude toward the devotional life. What spiritual disciplines do Christians practice? Bible reading? Prayer? Fasting? And how do they practice them?
I bring this up because I want to challenge your idea of the "normal" Christian life. Specifically, I want you to consider whether your view of prayer has been influenced primarily by the Scriptures, or by other people. We need to make sure we’re obeying our Lord, that we’re following his teaching and his example, even if that’s dramatically out of step with the Christian culture around us. Because in my opinion, a great many Christians view prayer as an optional activity. At least, that’s what they say by their actual behavior, if not their words. They regard it as something beneficial, something helpful to one’s spiritual life, but not absolutely necessary. So, a pastor, or someone who aspires to an unusual degree of holiness; they should give serious time and attention to prayer. Otherwise, it’s something that we can just as well do without – for days, weeks, or even months at a time. If you neglect it, you may feel a bit guilty, but you can still be good, faithful Christian, whether or not prayer is a significant part of your life.
And that, brothers and sisters, is a lie. It’s absolutely false. By no means is prayer optional. Listen to these quotes from two godly men. The first is from the pen of Robert Murray McCheyne, a 19th century pastor: "What a man is alone on his knees before God, that he is, and no more." And the second is from J.I. Packer, a well-known theologian and author. He writes: "I believe that prayer is the measure of the man, spiritually, in a way that nothing else is, so that how we pray is as important a question as we can ever face." Prayer is not incidental to the Christian life. It is central to our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ. Listen to His words:
"[W]hen you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." -- Matthew 6:5-7
"One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ’Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, "When you pray, say . . . " -- Luke 11:1-2
"When you pray," "When you pray", "When you pray", "When you pray". You can search the New Testament and you will find not one example of our Lord, or his disciples, or the apostle Paul, or anyone else, trying to persuade Christians that they should pray. There is instruction on how to pray, but almost nothing on the importance of prayer. Why not? Because it’s unimportant? No, on the contrary, because it is so vital, so essential. It’s simply assumed that those who worship God will pray. The idea that someone would consider themselves a follower of Christ, and yet altogether neglect the practice of private prayer, is completely foreign to the New Testament. The Bible has no category for a "prayerless Christian". "Prayerless Christian" is a nonsense phrase, a contradiction in terms, like "freezing hot". It’s a mythical beast. No such creature exists, or ever has existed. The tragedy for the church today is that we not only accept prayerless Christianity as a valid category, but regard it as acceptable, and even normal. And in this I fear that we are greatly deceived.
Consider also the example of Jesus. He prayed constantly:
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." -- Mark 1:35
"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." -- Luke 5:16
"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." -- Luke 6:12
Why is this significant? Because Jesus is our example, or Lord and Master. If we claim to follow Him, we must do what he did.
"Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him … and said: ’If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.’" -- Mark 8:34-35
Jesus and the disciples prayed. Peter and Paul prayed. The churches in the book of Acts prayed. Listen: The Bible talks much more about praying than attending church services. And we would certainly be concerned if someone we knew claimed to be a Christian and almost never attended church. Yet if someone we know (or even we ourselves), is living a life which is largely devoid of prayer, it concerns us very little. It’s regrettable, of course; it’s a shame; we wish they were more interested in spiritual things, but it never occurs to us to warn them that their soul is in grave danger, that prayerlessness is the mark of a hypocrite, and not a genuine believer. We don’t think to urge them to repent and seek God before it’s too late.
Prayer is vitally important, because it goes to the heart of the Christian faith. Christianity isn’t about morality, or good works. It’s not about how much you know, or how often you go to church, or whether you teach Sunday School. Christianity is about a relationship; a love relationship between us and God through His Son Jesus Christ. And prayer is both the expression of that relationship and the means by which we maintain and deepen that relationship. If there’s no prayer, then there is very likely no relationship. If there is very little prayer, then at best there is very little relationship.
Think about it for a moment: why does God desire our prayers? He already knows what we need. If He wants to bless us, He can certainly do it. No one’s stopping Him. He knows perfectly well what’s in our hearts. He doesn’t need to hear us tell him. He knows what we’re going to ask before we ask it; He knows the words before they form in our minds. Nor does he need our thanksgiving, or our praise, or our worship. He can get along just fine without them. As Paul tells us,
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." -- Acts 17:24-25
Then why this seeming charade? What’s the purpose of it all? It’s relationship. Our God is a personal God, and He interacts with us on a personal level, through prayer. If God simply acted in our lives without prayer, there would be no relationship. But instead, as we pray and He responds, as we ask and He answers, it builds our trust and deepens our faith. There’s a personal interaction taking place. That process helps us to grasp His love for us; it helps us to know in our hearts that He is the source of all the good things in our lives. He wants to bless us, he takes great pleasure in doing good to us, but he chooses to do it through a personal process, so that by that process we might come to love Him and trust Him. That’s why prayer is important: it builds our relationship with God. And that is what the Christian faith is all about: a relationship. As Jesus said in his prayer to the Father,
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." -- John 17:3
God wants us to pray because He wants our hearts. He loves us, more than we can imagine, and He longs for us to experience His love. He’s our Father, and He wants us to rest and rejoice in His love. He wants a relationship with us, and that relationship is built through prayer.
But still, we have difficulty in prayer. One reason is "busyness". We’d like to pray, we say, but we don’t have time. There’s a story in the gospels which is familiar to most of us, but in our time its lessons need to be learned and re-learned. It’s the story of Mary and Martha:
"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ’Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’
’Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ’you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’" -- Luke 10:38-42
There are many worthwhile activities we can be engaged in. Some of them are even good Christian activities. But here’s the point of the passage: it is possible to busy about many things -- building a career, exercising regularly, balancing the checkbook, repairing the roof, getting the tires rotated, making supper, taking the kids to their soccer games, reading good books, attending church -- and yet miss the one absolutely essential thing -- fellowship with Christ through prayer. In truth, there’s not one person in this room who’s too busy to pray. People say that, and yet every day they find time to eat two or three meals. They find time to read the newspaper, or watch television, or surf the internet. They find time to sleep for seven or eight hours. They find time to do a hundred other things, and still claim that they have no time for the one necessary thing. Friends, it’s not true that you have no time to pray. It’s just a matter of what you consider to be most important. Because that you will make time for. And if you love Christ, you will find a way to meet with him. Period.
In conclusion, prayer is absolutely essential. It is the expression of our love for God, the evidence of true spiritual life. Prayer is also the means by which our relationship with God is strengthened, and the means by which we come to experience His power working in and through us. As Christ taught:
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." -- John 15:4-6
There is no life, and no power, apart from a continual, vital connection with Christ. And prayer is the most important means of maintaining that connection.
So what do we do now? How shall we respond? By feeling guilty, and then forgetting this sermon as soon as possible? I hope not. Instead, if you have not been in the habit of prayer, I urge you to do what Paul says, and "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves." (2 Corinthians 13:5) Don’t assume that just because you attend church you’re necessarily saved. Are you really in the faith? Do you truly have a love for God in your heart? Do you genuinely even desire a relationship with Christ? If not, then cry out to God that he would grant you faith and repentance, make haste to seek forgiveness of sins by trusting in Christ.
And if you are convinced that you’re a Christian, then I urge you also to examine your life. Are you giving the proper attention to that "one thing" that is most necessary? Are you arranging your schedule with that in view, are you disciplining yourself to diligently seek Christ in prayer, even when it’s inconvenient or costly? Don’t be discouraged, don’t give up. Remember the promises of God, and persevere.
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." -- Hebrews 11:6
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. -- Jeremiah 29:13
Let’s make it our resolution this year, by the grace and power of God, to become a people who are faithful and mighty in prayer. If we will do that, then I guarantee that 2002 will be a fantastic adventure, both for our church and for each one of us as a disciple of Christ.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
