Can You Hear Me Now?
40 Days on God, Prayer, and Cell Phones
1. The Advertisement: Why You Need It
October 8/9, 2005
Don Jaques
BIG IDEA:
All believers should experience an intimate and powerful relationship with God through prayer because of the following 4 benefits.
1. Increased intimacy with God.
2. Wisdom and understanding.
3. Power to experience miracles.
4. Peace and joy amidst the ups and downs of life.
INTRO:
Show some full page ads for cell phone service. Highlight the “Amazing Features” being advertised to lure customers to their service.
Cell phones are great because they allow us to be in contact with others anywhere, any time. And more and more of us have come to depend on that ability.
But did you know that for many hundreds of years people didn’t have cell phones, but they have had the ability to contact someone anywhere, any time. And not just anyone, but the most powerful, loving, amazing One in the universe. It doesn’t take a cell phone – it takes prayer.
Prayer is that amazing gift that God has given us to communicate with him – but how few of us really use it to its full capacity. Just like these cell-phones, it comes with all sorts of “bells and whistles” – benefits that God wants to give us, but we have to learn how to use them, just like you have to learn how to use that cell phone to get all the features that are yours.
Speaking about prayer, author Oswald Sanders wrote:
Prayer is the most ancient, most universal, and most intensive expression of the religious instinct. It includes the simplest speech of infant lips and the sublime entreaties of older age…. Prayer is indeed the Christian’s vital breath and native air.
But, strange paradox, most of us find it hard to pray. We do not naturally delight in drawing near to God. We sometimes pay lip service to the delight and power of prayer. We call it indispensable, we know the Scriptures call for it. Yet we often fail to pray. (Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, Chapter 11, p. 85)
I know this can be true in my life. It is far easier to actually say “God bless you” than to actually pray for God to do that. It is simple to say “I’ll be praying for you.” It is work to actually do it.
Perhaps part of the reason why we shy away from prayer is that we don’t fully comprehend the benefits that will come to those of us who pray as a lifestyle. Perhaps we’ve used an old “cell phone” for so long that we find it hard to believe that there are more “features” to our communication with God than we’ve yet experienced.
If you want to trade in your old way of communicating with God for one that is better, let me first share with you “the advertisement”— that is, what you’ll get if you do!
1. Increased intimacy with God.
If you want to get to know someone, you do something very important. You converse with them.
Try this sometime – spend 7 days without speaking to the person closest to you. (OK don’t really try this!) What would happen if you did? Would your relationship get closer or more distant?
Now think of the opposite. What if you were to double the amount of time spent in communication with that person over the next 7 days. What would the natural result of that be? You’d have a closer relationship. You would know more about that other person. They would know more about you. You’d be more likely to think of that person throughout the day. They would be more likely to be thinking of you!
In Philippians 3:8, the Apostle Paul shares with us one of the secrets to his incredibly powerful and fruitful relationship with the Lord.
Phil. 3:8 (Amplified Bible) Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly].
This type of relationship with Christ IS possible through prayer!
2. Wisdom and understanding.
Prov. 2:6 (NIV) For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
We all could use more knowledge and understanding about how to live our lives and what to do. How do we get this knowledge and understanding?
A. Through the Holy Spirit.
Speaking prophetically of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah wrote:
Is. 11:2 (NIV) The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD —
What we know from scripture is the same “Spirit of the Lord” that RESTED upon Jesus comes to DWELL within those who repent of their sins and make Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives. So everyone who does this is given the deposit of this Spirit for wisdom, understanding, & knowledge.
B. By asking for it.
James 1:5 (NLT) If you need wisdom--if you want to know what God wants you to do--ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.
APPLICATION: It is our job to ask for wisdom. It is the promise of God that he will supply the wisdom. He does not, however, promise to use “supernatural” means. He may or he may not give you a supernatural revelation. Sometimes he will use another person, or a book, or a radio message, or even (dare I admit it?) a televangelist. Sometimes he will allow you to make the decision and he will bless it either way – he is simply waiting for you to make a decision and get moving.
The truth is – if we can learn to SEEK his advice before we act (in the big decisions and the small ones) we will have a much higher success rate in the decisions we make, and we will grow in our wisdom and understanding.
3. Power to experience miracles.
Acts 12:3-16 (NLT) When Herod saw how much this [killing James, one of the leaders of the church] pleased the Jewish leaders, he arrested Peter during the Passover celebration 4and imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod’s intention was to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. 5But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
6The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, chained between two soldiers, with others standing guard at the prison gate. 7Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel tapped him on the side to awaken him and said, "Quick! Get up!" And the chains fell off his wrists. 8Then the angel told him, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." And he did. "Now put on your coat and follow me," the angel ordered.
9So Peter left the cell, following the angel…
12 …he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. 13He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. 14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, "Peter is standing at the door!"
15"You’re out of your mind," they said. When she insisted, they decided, "It must be his angel."
16Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally went out and opened the door, they were amazed.
When God’s people pray – miraculous things can happen.
ILLUS:
• My friend Tim – miraculous healing of facial tumor.
• Our provision for two adoptions.
• Ken – healing a woman’s blindness years ago in Haiti.
• People being delivered from demonic bondage.
• Friend Andy – inoperable brain tumor miraculously healed.
Eph. 3:20-21 (NIV) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
When we pray – we unlock the mysterious power of God to do things that are quite simply impossible in any other way.
4. Peace and joy amidst the ups and downs of life.
Phil. 4:6-7 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Acts 16:22-25 (NIV) The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
ILLUS: When we arrived in Dakar, Senegal and realized our clothes and our music was missing – Ann’s first response was prayer – and a confidence that everything would be OK. I tried but was so fatigued all I could do was get in the taxi and try to sing praise to the Lord. I croaked it out and slowly God helped me get my perspective back. By the time I got back to the hotel, Ann and the kids were in such good spirits they played a practical joke on me.
CONCLUSION: What’s the cost?
In any advertisement there is that part that says “This is what it’s going to cost.” You don’t get this fancy phone with all these great features for free. It costs such and such per month, you’ll need to sign a 2-year contract, etc.
What’s the cost to you if you want to receive the benefits of prayer in your life?
Simple. Time and energy.
God wants nothing more than to have an intimate relationship with you, to give you wisdom and understanding in your life, to do miraculous things in and through your life, and to give you peace and joy amidst the ups and downs of life. But it doesn’t come for free.
Jer. 29:13 (NIV) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Such a relationship comes to the person who is willing to work at it. It comes to the person who is willing to say NO to other things in life in order to say YES to communicating with God. It comes to the person who is willing to expend that extra bit of energy to concentrate and develop mental discipline. It comes to the person who is hungry and thirsty for it.
As we now set out on this 40 day journey of prayer, I want you to consider whether the offers God has extended are worth the price, and whether you’re willing to pay it. I believe God wants to bring us to a new level of spiritual maturity as individuals and a church – and he will do what he promises, when we are willing to do our part and seek after him.
40 DAYS OF PRAYER COMMITMENT CARD
__ I will make it a point to attend weekend worship during the duration of this series.
__ I will work through the “40 DAYS OF PRAYER” daily devotional materials.
__ I will commit to attending a small group these 7 weeks to help me cement and apply what I’ll be learning about prayer.
__ I will spend ___ days fasting and praying for God to do miraculous things in our midst during the 40 days of prayer. I will do this on ________________________________________________.
__ I would like to join CTK’s email prayer team, asking God to intercede for others I may never meet.
__ I am interested in praying for others during or after worship services.
Name: _______________________ Phone: ______________
Email: _____________________________________________
