Moving ahead on a foundation of prayer
Moving Ahead Together, Part 6
October 10, 2004
NIV Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
You have heard me say that there is no such thing in the Christian life as maintenance only movement - forward or backward. There is no way getting around that reality. It follows that as a church or a community of faith we are not created for maintenance either, we are created for movement. That means change for many of us. Change in our habits and patterns of life. I am going to ask all of us to look at our prayer life today and make changes. The Holy Spirit will begin speaking to men and women about their need to change their prayer life. The Holy Spirit is going to move upon the young people and put a burden of prayer on them. This movement of the Spirit will look different for each one of us. For some, it will mean to start to pray on behalf of our church, for others it will mean to start coming to pre-service prayer, still others it will mean coming a noontime prayer meeting. If we are going to move ahead, it is because God first moved in our hearts to pray. As we pray, he will move. If we will pray God will work; if we don’t we will work.
Let’s read the text together.
I Must Give myself to Prayer
My point today is simple - we must give ourselves to prayer. If you want God to move in your life, pray. If you want God to move in our church, pray. If you want God, pray. If you wonder what God’s will is for you, here it is – be devoted to prayer. The word devoted is used ten times in the NT; six are related to prayer:
ESV Acts 1:14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
ESV Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
ESV Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
ESV Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
NIV Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
NIV Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
What does it mean to be devoted to prayer? If it means anything else it means to be regular and often in prayer. It means to have a lifestyle that prayer is an integral part of your life. When I say that he is a devoted father or she is a devoted student what do we mean? Let’s look at Rom 13:6 to get a better idea what the word means. NIV Romans 13:6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. The government is appointed by God for a task and they are devoted to that task or they give themselves to it. So what is normal for Christians is a life devoted to prayer. It is not limited to prayer but it is devoted to prayer. Is your life devoted to prayer? To say that someone is devoted to their family does not mean that family is all they have but it does mean that their life, their habits, their attitudes, etc gives evidence to a life devoted to their family. It does mean that it affects your life and that you give yourself to that in many different ways. What does prayer life look like to someone who is devoted to prayer? It is not the same for everyone but it will be significant. God knows if your life is devoted to prayer and he will hold you and me accountable to this command. Do you have a pattern or way of life that someone looking at you can describe it as devoted to prayer? It is not praying at mealtime, in the midst of a crisis, praying before an exam, or praying with your kids at bedtime. It will include that but that is not what the New Testament means by being devoted to prayer. If you are not devoted to prayer you need to do something about it, do not leave here today without a plan to be devoted to prayer – it would be foolish and dangerous. Why does the New Testament command us to be devoted?
• Why be devoted to prayer?
God commands it – to be disobedient is foolish and dangerous. If you say David, prayer does not come easy for me, welcome to the human race that is fallen and sinful. I know very few people who say that prayer comes easy to them. What helps me in my prayer life is reading the word because it takes faith to pray and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. The Psalmist tells us that the word refreshes us, revives us, renews us, and preserves life. All verbs describe an awakening of the heart by the Spirit so that the desire, the strength, the appetite to pray is there.
The Needs of your life, family, this church, and other churches in this community world, are huge. Life is war and prayer is a weapon we have at our disposal for the war. We do not view it that way because we are deceived into thinking that life is no big deal because we are lulled into self-deception because life is too easy and smooth.
God acts when we pray – NIV John 16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. God can do more in 5 seconds of prayer than what we can do in 5 years. I.e. plumbing incident. If we will pray God will work; if we don’t we will work.
Your joy hinges on it. The promise is that if we will ask, he will answer so that our joy in God will be complete.
• How Can I be devoted to prayer?
Alone/assembled –Being devoted to prayer will mean that you will regularly pray alone and regularly pray assembled with other Christians. It is crucial that we meet God alone. Without this, your life is hollow, like a shadow and not the real thing. Susana Wesley with 16 children used to pull her apron over her head in the kitchen and all the children had learned that this meant silence in the kitchen. Find the place, plan the time, teach the children discipline, set the example for your roommates.
Alone and assembled. The New Testament is full of corporate prayer gatherings. In fact, most prayer in the New Testament is probably thought of best in terms of gatherings for prayer. NIV Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers - that is typical of what you find. Acts 12:12, When Peter got out of prison "he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying." Prayer meetings were normal and normative in the early church. Being devoted to prayer in the New Testament included praying with God’s people. How are you doing in this? This is not advanced Christianity - this is basic Christianity. We have two opportunities for you to pray with other Christians during the week. One is the pre-service prayer that will start meeting at 9:00 am on Sundays. The other is Thursdays at noon in the Sanctuary with Beth Wythe and Rick Porter leading. If assembling for prayer is not part of your devotion to prayer, make it a priority. Prioritize 30 minutes on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am or one-hour noon on Thursdays (or as much time as you have).
Spontaneous/structured - If we are devoted to prayer we will pray spontaneously through the day - without ceasing as Paul says - a constant spirit of communion with Christ and knowing him as a continual personal presence in your life. It will happen dozens of time throughout the day. This is normal and good. This is being devoted to prayer. I.e. my praying when issue comes up.
Spontaneous and structured. But the true rich fruit of spontaneity grows in the garden that is well tended by the discipline of structure. So I beg you, have your set times of prayer. Plan it or plan to fail. When will you meet Jesus regularly? How long will you set aside? I encourage you to begin every day this way. If you struggle with prayer, simply read your Bible and turn it into prayer. I.e. me this morning. But that does not just happen, it must be planned.
Consistent and constant – Do not leave here inspired without a plan to develop a consistent and constant prayer life. The Spirit may be prodding you but if you leave here without a plan, you will do nothing. Fail to plan, plan to fail. Consistency develops habits, habits develop patterns, patterns develop character, and character develops lifestyles. Consistent and constant. Bring all you needs to God, all your concerns of the day throughout the day. Turn your blessing into prayer of thanksgiving, turn your struggles into prayer, and turn your concerns into prayer. If you do not develop any consistent prayer life, you will not be constant in prayer. It will be sporadic and inconsistent and powerless.
• Ways to be devoted:
Prayer Chain – We have revamped the prayer chain and reissuing it today. If you have a need that the body needs to know about call Diana Jeska and it will be prayed for by this group of people.
Pray Until Something Happens – sign up for a day of the week between now and end of January, three months. Devote yourself for three months to see God break through. I have wristbands as reminders to pray.
Pre-service prayer – I am asking for a 30-minute commitment one month commitment – two hours. If you have kids, bring them. It starts at 9:00. I guarantee you will be in a better frame of mind for the service after prayer. You will be primed and excited to see what God how going to answer our prayers.
Thursdays at Noon – We are opening up the Sanctuary for prayer during the lunch hour on Thursdays. Come and pray.
Ministry time – We have started a ministry time after the service. If you have a need, we will have people available for prayer after the service.
There you have it – God word to us today – give yourself to prayer; be devoted to prayer. We need to because God commands it, God acts on our behalf when we pray; history hinges on our prayers and so does our joy. How can we be devoted – Alone and assemble; spontaneous and structured; consistent and constant. The ways we can express that devotion – PUSH, Pre-service; Thursdays, and ministry time.
