"Praying Dangerously"
Pastor Bob Hunter
Springwater Church
(A similiar, but not identical message is available at Willowcreek.com by the title, "Dangerous Prayers.")
Objects needed for message: 1 flashlight, 1 suitcase, 1 stretchy cord
I want to talk to you about praying dangerously. Today’s message on prayer is going to separate the men from the boys, the steers from the bulls, and the heifer’s from the cows. I had to throw in a feminine metaphor, if nothing else for shock value… The prayers I’m going to suggest today are not for the faint of heart. You see, prayer is not for whimps. It’s for people that have firm spiritual resolve. It’s for people that dare to go deeper in their walk with God. So if you thought you could get away with simple mealtime, bedtime, business as usual prayers… Surprise! There’s more. Instead of dog paddling through the shallow end of the pool, we’re going to take a plunge in the deep end. I’m going to talk to you in a very challenging way about dangerous and daring prayers. The Bible we have is chock full of them. You see, the Christian life is not about playing it safe, it’s about living life on the edge. It’s about taking a leap of faith even when there’s no safety net in place.
You say, "Pastor Bob, what do you mean by dangerous prayers, does that mean something really bad is going to happen?" The answer to that is NO. It doesn’t mean lightening is going to strike or the sky is going to fall. Dangerous prayers are prayers that reach the heart of God. They are dangerous because they dislodge us from our spiritual safety zone and challenge us to live beyond our comfort. In that sense, dangerous is not bad, but necessary for our growth.
So tis morning we are going to take a little tour through scripture. And examine some of the truly dangerous prayers found in the Bible. Ones prayed by ordinary people just like you and me. You see, prayer is for everybody, not just for a select few or the spiritually elite. As followers of Christ we are called to be people of prayer. You and I have this awesome privilege; we can pray to the Lord anywhere, anytime. It’s a privilege none of us should take for granted. So whether you’re a seasoned expert or just a beginner, take heart God’s anxious to hear from you.
So for each daring prayer we’re going to examine today, I have a physical object to help you remember it. Now, just remember, you may not be the same after today. If you’re really serious about going deeper in your walk with God, then today’s your day. O.K. so here we go…
1. Dangerous prayer number #1 Comes from King David in the O.T. he prayed for some pretty radical things. In Psalm 139 he prayed a long prayer that could be summed up in two words. And the two words are this: SEARCH ME! There are dozens of dangerous prayers in scripture, not the least of which is this one. I’m mean this one really stands out. And it takes guts to pray this prayer and mean it. And I believe David did mean it. Let me read the whole thing for you. ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious and wayward thoughts, See if there are any sinful ways and lead me out of that into the everlasting way." Ps. 139:23-24
The object I have to help you identify with this point is a flashlight. Now this flashlight was a gift to me by my father law. We take it camping, I’ve used here at Church, and at home, sometimes to work on the car. A flashlight is primarily used to help us find things in the dark. We need a flashlight to help expose whatever it is we are looking for. When we camp out in the woods, I keep this thing in tent, so when we get up in the middle of the night, I can click it on and find my shoes. I need the flashlight to light the way to the bathrooms. I’m mean, it gets pretty dark out there in the woods. Without a flashlight I would be stumbling around in the dark. A flashlight is a dear to life necessity.
Now here’s the spiritual application.
When we pray, Lord, SEARCH ME. We’re praying for the God of heaven to flash the light of His brilliant holiness into the inner recesses of our soul and expose whatever’s in there. We’re saying God, "Shine the spotlight of your Grace into my life, and if there’s anything in there that shouldn’t be in there, expose it." If there’s a pocket of resistance, a stubborn way, or a sinful habit. Expose it with your light and get it out in the open.
That’s what David prayed, and you and I can pray that way too. Consider the context of His prayer. At the time, he (David) is struggling with a personal hatred of injustice. (see 139: 19-22) He is contending with God for action to be taken upon the wicked. Was David’s hatred too strong? Did he overstep human boundaries? Ultimately, only God could determine that. What’s even more interesting is the fact that David was really caught up in the wonder and amazement of God. This happened to a time in David’s life when he was unusually close to God. And He starts off the prayer by reflecting on the greatness and granduer of God. He says, " You know everything, when I sit, when I rise, you know my thoughts, my ways, my words, you know everything about me."Vs. 1ff. David was momentarily in awe of God’s omnipresence in His life. A little bit later he begins to praise God for being at all places at all times, he says, "Where can I go from your Spirit, where can I flee from your presence, If I go up to the heavens, you are there, if I do down to the depths you are there, if I rise on the wings or settle on the far side of the sea, you are there…" Vs. 7,8
You see, David was convinced that nothing could be hid from God. He was compelled with the soveriegnty of the Lord. He was very aware that all things are known by the creator. Therefore, he humbles before the Lord in prayer and acknowledges the obvious. Lord, SEARCH ME he prays. What courage, David had! David was willing to risk being called to the carpet for hatred and bitterness. He was not self-conscious about being cornered for doing or saying something he shouldn’t. In this painful moment of truth; he gives God permission to come into his life and take full inventory of what’s going on.
So let me ask you, when was the last time you prayed a ‘search me’ prayer? When was the last time you ask God to expose your life, and know your heart? Now, I’m warning ya, the ‘search me’ prayer is radical. It just might be that God reveals something you might have to deal with. But you can count on it, if God reveals something impure or unholy in your life, then He’s also going to give you the Grace to deal with it. And where there’s Grace, there’s also redemption. The ‘search me’ prayer is not game of ‘gotcha.’ The purpose of ‘search me’ is redemption! So remember the flashlight! And remember the prayer that goes along with it: SEARCH ME!
2. Dangerous prayer #2 is equally challenging. And it’s a STRETCH ME prayer. And you know who the ‘stretch me’ prayer is for? It’s for people that are tired of the status quo. Ones that have just been going through the motions & living in a spiritual rut. The STRETCH ME prayer can help you get out of that. So I brought an object to demonstrate the meaning of this prayer. Here it is: It’s sorta like a bungee cord, actually it’s a physical therapy tool used by physical therapists and fitness experts to strengthen and condition muscles. It stretches way out and applies resistance in order to stimulate muscle activity. I’ve tried to do exercises with it, and I’m telling you right now, I don’t like it, because it puts me through pain. That if you really optimize the potential of this thing, it’s going to hurt. Especially if you let go it and let it slaps you in the face at about 40 mph! Whack, O.K. that hurts!
But can I tell ya, something. If you pray the STRETCH ME prayer, You just find yourself navigating through a painful season of growth. But as with any work out, the end result is worth it. No pain, no gain. The same is true in our spiritual lives, we must be willing to let God stretch our understanding & condition our hearts onto greater things.
A good example of an individual who desired to be stretched was Nicodemus. You find his story in John 3. In the middle of the night, He came to Jesus seeking. You see, Nic wasn’t very happy with Himself spiritually. He wasn’t getting anywhere in the current religious system. Even as one of it’s leaders. So he tried something radical, he came to Jesus seeking enlightenment and understanding. He desired to be stretched. Nicodemus was fed up with the status quo & tired of just doing spiritual laps. Somehow he believed there was more. And perhaps Jesus had the answer. And Jesus did have the answers. Jesus explained to Nicodemus the importance of being born again verses keeping the law. He taught him the value of being born of the spirit, born from above. You see, Jesus has the answer for people caught in a spiritual rut.
And you know what happened to Nicodemus don’t you? He later became a devout follower of Jesus, there was even a time when he defended the ministry of Christ. And when Jesus was crucified, Nicodemus when after him and buried his beaten bloodied body. So he was a changed man after this encounter with Christ. Nicodemus was willing to stretch his understanding with tough questions about the faith. He came to Jesus seeking the truth. And Nicodemus was rewarded with the answers. But he was willing to be stretched. Are you willing to be stretched? If so, where do you need to be stretched? When were stuck in rut, and going nowhere fast, STRETCH ME, LORD Is the needed prayer. For some of us, maybe it’s our marriage that’s stuck in a rut, or a career, or perhaps relationship with someone. So maybe it’s time to step out in faith and pray a ‘STRETCH ME’ prayer to see what God does.
So remember the stretchee cord used to condition a muscle. And if we’re going to flex our spiritual muscles we need to be willing to S-T-R-E-T-C-H.
3. The third and final dangerous prayer we’re going to look at today is one from the prophet Isaiah in the O.T. He prayed a really radical prayer once that changed his whole outlook on life. His occupation, vocation, location the whole thing. The story is found in Isaiah ch. 6 and let me just read it to ya, and make a few comments. (read Isaiah 6: 1-8)
You know what the dangerous, daring prayer is? Isaiah said to God, SEND ME! That’s a really dangerous one! Because you know what? God is in the habit of sending us to a places of great need. God sent Isaiah to people who were spiritually deaf, dumb and blind. I mean really! Look a step further in verse 9,10ff. The people of Isaiah’s day were scandalous. After this tremendous vision of God Isaiah had, he was immediately sent out. Sent to who? Sinfully scandalous people, calloused & hard hearted. And that’s the dangerous part of SEND ME. God sends us to great places of need. Much like Jonah was sent to the wicked Ninevah. And Jeremiah sent to out to the stubborn people of Israel. And the beauty of it is this: God not only sends us out, but He gives us the desire to go.
(Illustration) It was almost two years ago, that I walked through the doors of this Church for the first time, and came here to visit. And as soon as I passed through the double doors God tapped me on the shoulder and said, this is where I’m sending you! And I had been praying a lot about that. Cambria and I had been asking our friends and our leaders to pray with us about new ministry. And when you’re willing to pray the SEND ME prayer, you don’t always get to choose where that’s going to be. You just have to be willing to accept it, and go with God, wherever He leads.
The object I have to help you identify with SEND ME is: A Suitcase. This is a piece of our cheap luggage, by the way. Whenever we are going somewhere overnight, we open the door of the storage unit and when all the stuff quits falling out, we sift through the debris and pull out the old suitcase. And with the suitcase open, we start packing. We throw in all the stuff we think we’re going to need before taking off. A suitcase usually means your going someplace!
And that’s what the SEND ME prayer will do for us, it will take us places with God. Have you ever gone anywhere for God? I really admire people that are willing to pack up everything and go where God wants them to go. I think of all the students I went to Seminary with that ended up on the mission field somewhere. Or even people this Church that packed up for a summer or maybe a couple weeks and went on a work and witness trip. The SEND ME prayer is kinda scary, because we don’t know exactly what it entails or where God might lead us. But it’s always to a place of need. Because we are in affect saying to God, Lord if you can use my time, talent and treasure to help somebody then take it. It’s at your disposal, do whatever you want with it. So that’s a pretty dangerous prayer, SEND ME.
(Illustration) Most of you, know where we live, we live in a large apartment complex with 1 infant and 2 small children. O.K. it’s tight. Anyway, last summer, we had some new neighbors move in across the hall. And they we’re moved in about a month when we started getting complaints coming from the front office about our kids playing on the sidewalks, and running around in the grassy areas. Nobody had complained about us before, never had we been put on the spot like this. What is it about Pastoring that attracts complaints? Anyway, the complaints were ridiculous I thought. Add to that, a general unfriendly, unhappy attitude they demonstrated toward us and what you have is a couple neighbors that don’t see eye to eye, and live right next door. And I’m just thinking to myself, this is going to be miserable, if they keep complaining, we’ll be at war like the Hatfields and McCoys. So we kept the kids at bay as best we could and during the winter months things began to cool down, they didn’t have much to complain about. And when the Spring rolled around the kids started playing outside again, I thought, oh NO, here we go again, we’re going to get complaints. But we tried to be neighborly, and even offer a friendly hello from time to time. And just a couple weeks ago, Cambria was feeling a burden for the wife. So she began to pray about what to do, so were in the van one day, and she has this announcement to make, she says, Bob, I gotta tell ya something, and your going to think I’m nuts, but I’ve been praying about what to do for our neighbors, and I think I need to go over and invite Mrs. Grumpy frumpy, (that’s not her name in real life) to Mother’s day Tea, what do you think of that? At first, I found it a little humorous, because our neighbor lady is a real unlikely match for Cambria to team up with for an event like that. In fact, she looks a little bit goofy, she actually combs her hair straight up, instead of down. She’s sorta looks like a female version of Don King! You know the boxing promoter. So they’re hardly a match, but this is what she felt like she was supposed to do. So she went over there and invited her, and she was gracious. God prepared the way and softened her up, she even invited Cambria into her home with the kids at her side. Yes, the same kids she complained about. Now, I wish I could say that she came to tea, heard the good news and got saved on the way home in the car, but that didn’t happen! But it’s a start. We’re breaking the ice. Sometimes God sends us to people that have high needs. That’s what He did with Isaiah. Isaiah said, I live among Godless scoundrels, but here am I, Lord, SEND ME!
Where is God sending you these days? Do you have an assignment? Where can YOU be used of the Lord? Are you willing to pack a suitcase and go where God wants you to go?
Dangerous prayers, SEARCH ME, STRETCH ME, AND SEND ME.
f you pray this way, you’ll never be the same. And life will no longer be boring and predictable, I promise! That’s what I love about serving God. There’s always something new; a new day, another opportunity, a fresh challenge. Don’t waste your time playing it safe. That’s boring. Pray dangerously… and you’ll find yourself living life to the fullest. And isn’t what Jesus wants for us? He came to give us life, and life more abundantly. Lets take Him up on this offer. Are you ready? Let’s pray….
