OPEN: In the backwoods of Kentucky there was a family of wayward “church members.”
One day while brothers Jim, John, and Sam were out in the woods, a large rattlesnake bit Sam and he became violently ill. The doctor was summoned and did what he could, but he told the family that he believed they would need divine help too, if Sam were to recover. So the preacher and the elders of the church were sent for and they came rushing to Sam’s bedside.
The preacher was asked to pray and did so as follows:
“Oh, wise and righteous Father, we thank Thee that in Thy wisdom Thou has sent this rattlesnake to bite Sam, in order to bring him to his senses.
He has not been in the church house now for years, and it is doubtful that he has (in all these years, until now) felt the need for prayer. It seems, therefore, that what our combined efforts could not do, this rattlesnake has done.
We trust, O Father, that Thou wilt send another to bite John and Jim, and a big one to bite their father, for we conclude the only thing that will help this family is rattlesnakes.
So send us, we pray Thee, 3 bigger and better rattlesnakes.”
APPLY: Now, there is a preacher I can appreciate. Not only did he firmly believe in the need for Sam and his family to come to Christ… BUT he ALSO believed in the power of prayer to get it done.
His prayer reflected a belief that God WOULD act in response to his prayers
I. That’s what Paul believed too
Paul told the Christians in Colossi to “pray … that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”
To the Ephesians Paul wrote “Pray… that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” (Ephesians 6:19)
To the church in Thessalonica, he wrote: “…pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1)
And he said something even more dramatic to the church in Rome: “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.” (Romans 15:30)
Paul was a man who believed that prayer had power to change the hearts of men.
He believed that prayer would strengthen him and give him inspiration when he needed it most
AND (I find this part exciting) Paul believed that through our prayers we can literally join with preachers and youth ministers and missionaries to make them more successful and more effective in bringing lost souls to Christ.
ILLUS: One of the most frustrating things for me (as a Christian) is the fact that here are so many good missions and ministries out there that deserve financial support.
BUT I just don’t have enough money to support them all. That frustrates me.
Does that ever frustrate you???
I want missionaries and other ministries to succeed.
I want them to reach more and more people for Christ.
But I can’t possibly help them ALL financially
And occasionally, that puts me on a real guilt trip.
But what Paul is telling us here is this:
As important as money is to keeping missionaries on the field, and supplying for their ministries,
and keeping food on their tables and clothes on their children….
As important as money is there is a more important thing you can do for them
More important than your money are your prayers for those missionaries,
Your prayers for those ministries
Your prayers that God would empower them to spread the message of Christ to every corner of influence that they have.
Because, in that single, simple act you have literally joined them in their struggle.
You may not be able to support every ministry financially as much as you’d like
… BUT you CAN pray for them
II. And what Paul is telling us is that our prayers are even more important than our money
Now… why is that?
Why would our prayers be even more important than our financial support?
Because money can’t save people.
Money can’t make people believe in Jesus
Money can’t bring people to their knees in repentance
Money can’t convince people that they should confess Jesus as their Lord
Money can’t do any of those things…
But… if money can’t… what can?
God can.
It’s the power of God … it’s the hand of God… the Spirit of God… that works in people’s hearts to change their lives. AND it’s through your prayers that God exerts His power and influence
It’s thru your prayers, you create an atmosphere where God can literally fan the flames of faith into life.
ILLUS: (The following physical illustration was taken from “Heno Head’s Simple Science Object Talks”)
1} Take 8 1/2" by 1" strip of paper.
2} Fold paper in half lengthwise.
3} In one glass (glass A) mix a teaspoon of yeast and 1/3 cup of hydrogen peroxide (this will make oxygen gas).
4} In glass B put a tablespoon of baking soda. Ready now. Pour on 1/3 cup of vinegar. The resulting fast reaction produces carbon dioxide gas.
5} Hold the paper strip with the v-shape pointing down. Strike a match, then light one end of the paper strip.
6} Barely lower the burning strip into glass B. The carbon dioxide gas will put out the flame (Here is the key: you want the flame to go out, but you also want a red glow left in the ash part. If you don’t have a bit of red, the demo is done).
7} Move the paper from glass B to glass A. By now, enough oxygen should have been produced to cause the paper to relight.
8} You should be able to move the paper back and forth two or three times.
(A word of caution, experiment with this well in advance of the sermon, it can be a bit tricky. Upon further reflection, if you use this, I’d suggest videotaping a successful experiment and showing that on your overhead, so that you don’t encounter an embarrassing problem on stage)
APPLY: Now, what does this experiment teach us?
It teaches us that there are certain conditions where a fire cannot survive.
And then…there are conditions where even a small spark can be fanned into flames
When confronted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, most of the world responds like the air in this glass (container B). Perhaps it’s indifference, or dislike, or hatred, or fear… but there is often a barrier that you and I cannot effect by the power of our reasoning or friendship. You can sense a wall that you know you can’t tear down.
It takes something special to change the contents of peoples’ hearts so that God’s Word can burst into flames inside of them. That something special is unleashed by our prayers… because God really does respond to our prayers
ILLUS: For me, one of the most impressive stories in the Bible is told in Acts chapters 3 and 4. Peter and John had gone to the Temple to pray and encountered a lame man on the way. In the name of Jesus, they healed the man and a crowd gathered. So they did what any good preacher will do with a crowd… they preached
The Sadducees and Temple guard had them arrested for and thrown in Jail. The next day, they were brought before the Sanhedrin and after some discussion threatened them and warned them that they should never preach about Jesus ever again
So Peter and John return to the church and they held a prayer meeting.
“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Acts 4:31
You see – God acts in accordance with our prayers. Some times He does it over a long period of time (for reasons only He understands)… and sometimes He does it immediately
Paul Thigpen once shared something that happened in his freshman year of college (Evangelism by the Ounce in The Christian Reader July/ Aug. 98 p. 70):
“I had 2 Jewish roommates who knew I was a Christian. One day, I found them sitting dejectedly beside an open window in our dormitory. I asked them what was wrong.
“We want to play basketball,” said one “We’ve looked and looked for a ball and can’t find one”
“Hey Paul,” said the other, with a mischievous look in his eye. “Do you think Jesus has a basketball we could play with?”
“Well, maybe He does!” I replied with a big grin. “I’ll pray that Jesus will send you a basketball right now. But if He does, I expect you to thank Him for it.”
“Okay!” they said. So I bowed my head right then and there and prayed aloud to Jesus for a basketball.
Within 5 seconds after my “Amen,” a basketball fell through the open window into the lap of my roommate, as if it had fallen straight from heaven.
His jaw dropped. Then a 3rd friend shouted from the courtyard, “I found a ball for us. Let’s go!” They claimed it was a coincidence.
I responded: “You know whom to thank.”
You see, I believe in a God like that…
I believe in a God that responds to my prayers
I believe in a God that hears us when we pray
I believe in a God that honors us by allowing us to “join in the struggle” thru our prayers.
THAT’S WHY this morning we’re going to set time aside to pray
(At this point, I had the ushers give handouts to the crowd with names of the missionaries we support and details of their needs. We have 7 missions in our budget, and I had printed the sheets to have a different mission on the top of each sheet. In addition, those missions were highlighted. The audience was challenged to pray for the mission at the top of their sheets… and if they felt led, to fast for a day or so and set aside the money they’d have spent on their food to give to that mission. In addition to the time of prayer we held that day for their mission, I assigned them the task of taking their sheets home and posting them on their refrigerators, or bathroom mirrors, or anywhere they would be sure to see them regularly – and thus be reminded to pray for that mission every day
In addition, the names of our church and its staff was at the bottom of the sheet in bold letters to remind them to pray for their church as well)
CLOSE: Too often, we think that the church… and our missionaries will be successful if the people involved would only work harder. We should work hard. But we must never lose sight of the fact that w/o prayer our works are feeble and lacking in power.
Several years ago, a minister friend of mine named Bryan related how his brother had been a man who would have nothing to with church. He preferred to "enjoy" life, party, drink... and drink... and drink. He was a salesman for "84 Lumber" and not only drank while at meetings, but also had his home well stocked.
One day, as Bryan’s brother was in a fast food restaurant, he was approached by a seedy looking man in a long black trench coat and scraggly hair. He just knew it was a beggar looking for a handout. Instead, it turned out that the stranger asked if he could give him something. Taken back, he said "sure." Out of his trench coat, the stranger took a witness Bible and said "read this."
Quietly, Bryan’s brother took the Bible and later, at home, he began to read it being convicted by what he read as it advised him to turn from one page to another to read the underlined scriptures. The final reference shook him. It was found on page 84 of the Bible - and he himself worked at 84 Lumber. He ended up pouring all of his booze down the drain and never touched another drop.
What mortal men could not do, God did. God created the atmosphere of change for that man. That’s the kind of power we are praying for, for our church, and our missions.
