Pray for One Another

Pastor Jason

One Another • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

James 5:16–18

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Introduction:

When Linden and Hadley were both still in car seats, Amy and the kids were driving through downtown Des Moines. A guy who had just left the dealership with his brand new BMW was going too fast and hit them so hard that it pushed them halfway down the next block.

This was a bad accident, but praise the Lord, no one was seriously hurt. However, We had a serious problem - We were young and poor, and our mini van was completely destroyed and needed to be replaced quickly.

The insurance money came in, but it wasn’t enough for us to just go out and buy whatever they wanted. So, Amy would bundle up the kids and go car shopping, hoping to find a van we could afford.

After a couple of days of looking, Amy was getting discouraged, and Linden, even though he was only 4 years old, could tell his mom was struggling. This caused his own attitude to struggle, and he started to get angry that they couldn’t find a van.

So Amy said, “We need to just stop and pray about it.

We need to pray that God will provide a new van for our family.” From the back seat, Linden piped up and said, “I want to pray that we find a van just like Auntie Jamie’s because I really like her van.”

So he prayed, “God, will you help my mom find a van just like Auntie Jamie’s van? Amen.” The faith of a child, right?

The next day, one of the salesmen called Amy and said, “I have the perfect van for you. It’s exactly what you want.” So she jumped in the car and headed across town to look at this perfect van. And when she got there, guess what? This van was everything Amy had told the salesman she did not like in a van! It was the wrong color, it was the wrong size, it had too many miles, it was too old.

Talk about a disappointment. She left discouraged, but since she was already out, she decided to go down the road to another dealership and see if they had anything that could work.

When she pulled in, the salesman came and talked with her and said, “You know, we just had a van get traded in yesterday. I don’t know if it’s exactly what you are looking for, but it seems like a really nice little van.”

She went and looked at the van, and guess what? It was exactly like Auntie Jamie’s van. It was the same model, the same year, the same color, and it had low miles and looked great. God had answered Linden's prayer.

After We bought it, Amy drove the van home, and when Linden saw the van, he realized what had happened. He said, “God really does answer my prayers. Mom, next time you wreck your van, I’m going to pray that you get a yellow truck like Grandpa’s work truck.” :)

END OF ILLUSTRATION

God tells us throughout scripture that he answers our prayers, and yet many times it still surprises us when he does.

The point is this: even at 4 years old, Linden saw that his momma was hurting. He saw she had a burden in her life and prayed for God to help her in this trial, expecting God to answer his prayer.

And God answered his prayer, this time exactly as he prayed it.

That day, Linden learned about the power of prayer and what it meant to trust in the Lord and give Him all your burdens.

This morning as we continue on in our series looking at the One Another commands, we come to “Pray for One Another”

The Book of Acts is The story of the early church. It gives us a glimpse into how the church was birthed and then grown around the world.

it also gives us an example to follow in our churches today

And let me tell you that Prayer was a vital part of this early church growth,

Acts 1:14 (ESV)

14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Before the church was birthed the disciples of Jesus devoted themselves to praying for one another. They prayed for God to use them to build the church.

Acts 6:4 (ESV)

4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

The Leaders of the church devoted themselves to praying for the church

Acts 12:5 (ESV)

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

The church earnestly prayed for the Leaders.

In Acts 20 Paul is speaking to other Pastors and in verse 36 it says

Acts 20:36 (ESV)

36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

The pastors prayed with and for one another.

The early church was bathed in prayer for one another,

And The church grew because men and Women prayed.

Church family- Church growth cannot happen without Prayer,

If we want to see God do a supernatural work in this church, we must be a church that is bathed in prayer for one another and with one another.

and this is why Paul told the growing church in Ephesians 6:18

Ephesians 6:18 ESV

18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

If we are going to live lives that bring God glory, We need others praying for us, and we need to be praying for one another in the church.

This morning we are going to look at one of Paul’s prayers for the church.

& from This pray I believe we can see Three aspects of Prayer we should follow in our lives as believers today.

-A Right Attitude for Prayer

A Right Purpose for Prayer

A Right Outcome From Answered Prayer

Turn with me in your bibles to.

Ephesians 3:14–21 (ESV)

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Church- We dont pray for one another just to spout out words of encouragement for them to hear, We pray knowing that we are pleading with the Sovereign ruler over all creation to step into their lives and do what Only God can do.

Look with Me at what a Right Attitude of Prayer should look like in our lives.

The Right Attitude for Prayer

Ephesians 3:14–15 (ESV)

Ephesians 3:14–15

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

Praying for One another requires a prayerful attitude.

In the preceding verses, Paul speaks of the blessings of being redeemed in Christ and says “For this reason” because of all that we are, and all that we possess"in Christ”, “I kneel before the Father in Prayer"

Paul approaches God with an attitude of supplication, earnestly begging God to work in and through the church because he knows that only God has the power and authority to do all things.

James Speaking on prayer said it this way...

James 5:16 (ESV)

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

James 5:16

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

If we are asking the God of the universe to do the impossible in our lives then we must approach Him with a humble heart, A heart that is righteous

This means confessing our sins, ready to listen and obey, and willing to recognize that we are pleading with the Almighty God to step into our lives for our good.

James gives us two attitudes we must have when we come to the Father in Prayer

We must have a Humble Heart - A heart ready to confess our won sinfulness. A heart that knows His daily need for Jesus.

We must also have a righteous heart- A heart that seeks to live for Christ no matter the cost.

If we want God to do Immeasurable more than we could ever ask or imagine in our lives than we must approach Him with the right spirit of prayer.

Paul moves on in verses 16- 19 praying for His brothers in Christ

He lays out an example of what a right purpose of our prayer for One another should be,

A RIGHT PURPOSE FOR PRAYER

Prayer 1- Paul’s Prayer for Inner Strength in the Church .

Ephesians 3:16 (ESV)

16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Paul prays for the church to be strengthened with inner power through the Holy Spirit.

He emphasizes the importance of inner strength over physical strength for Christians, because it is the key to living a life that brings glory to God.

Romans 8:9 tells us, that When we become saved through faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit (God Himself), who indwells our hearts and our eternal souls. Its this indwelling of the Holy Spirit that makes us more like Christ in our lives.

However, even though we have the Holy Spirit indwelling our lives, we still struggle with our old sinful nature trying to have control of our heart.

It is only when we surrender our own human strength and allow God to have control of our inner hearts that we learn to lean on His strength in our lives.

Paul understands that believers need the power of the H.S. working in their lives because without it, they could never be who God intends fro them to be,

Think about what the Power of the H.S. Does for you as a believer

- the power of the Holy Spirit is the only thing strong enough to fight against the attacks of Satan in our lives

-The Power of the H.S. is the only thing that convicts our hearts of our sinfulness,

-The Power of the H.S. is the only source powerful enough for us to grow in our knowledge of Jesus.

-The Power of the Holy Spirit is the only source that gives us the courage to proclaim the gospel to the world.

This is why Paul prays that his brothers and sisters would have the Power of the H.s Spirit in their lives - because without it is impossible to live a life that pleases God

Transition: Moving On..

Paul's prayer begins by asking God to give the church the Power of the Holy Spirit, so that they can live a life worthy of the gospel by which they have been saved. And in verse 17, he builds upon this foundation of inner strength, emphasizing the importance of being rooted and grounded in love so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.

look with me at verse 17...

Ephesians 3:16–17 (ESV)

16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Paul’s 2nd Prayer -That Christ would Dwell in the Believer’s Hearts

We already know that Christ indwells the hearts of all believers at the moment of salvation, but what does Paul mean when he prays for Christ to dwell in their hearts in this verse?

The idea here is that Christ doesn’t just live in your heart but that He feels at home in your life.

Illustration:

how many of you have ever moved to a new home?

Moving can be a stressful experience, and when Amy and I left camp, we moved to a new house here in Clear Lake.

We packed up our stuff loaded it on a truck and drove it to our new house in Clear Lake, and unloaded all the boxes and stuff into our new house .

But just because we moved in doesn't make it our home.

In fact, if you had come over to our house on the day we moved in, all you would have seen was a mess - boxes and stuff piled everywhere.

Our stuff was there, but no one would have known that we were the new tenants in the house.

over time we began to unpack our boxes put things in their places.

and The more time we spend in our house, the more the pieces of our lives start to fit together into this new dwelling place,

and the more the pieces fit together, the more the house begins to look like us.

It takes on our personality, our interests, and it shows off what we love and what we care about.

When you walk into someone's home who has lived there for a long time, there should be no question about whose home it is, Because the longer someone dwells in a home, the longer the home looks like the inhabitant.

What Paul is praying for is that the believer will, through faith, let Christ settle down and change their heart to reflect who He is as the new tenant and not who they were when the previous sinful tenant lived there.

Paul simply prayed for God to make the believers lives look more like Jesus.

We should pray for one another in the same way- Pray that we would willingly let Christ get rid of the old sinful wallpaper in our hearts and allow Him to rip out the old dirty shag carpet, And decorate our lives with so that they reflect him as the new tenant in our hearts.

Transition: Paul goes on with his third request in verse 18-19 ----

Ephesians 3:17–19 (ESV)

Eph. 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, 3:18 you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 3:19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

PAUL PRAYS...

Paul’s 3rd Prayer - That the church would Comprehend the Unfathomable Love of God

He begins by reminding believers that their foundation is in Christ, the redeeming gift God gave them in love, and that they are "rooted" and "grounded" in this love of God.

Just like roots provide a foundation for a tree to grow strong and withstand storms, being rooted in God's love provides a foundation for believers to grow and endure life's challenges.

Did you know that an oak trees roots are 3-7 times wider than its branches. most mature oak trees are around 85 feet across that means that its roots run over 500 feet under ground.

Thats what it means to be rooted in Christ. Our foundation is so secure in christ that there is nothing that can take it away or destroy it.

Paul also uses the word "grounded" to describe the foundation of believers' faith in Christ, this is an architectural term.

Buildings need a solid foundation to build upon, Without a solid foundation the entire building even though it may look beautiful will collapse under pressure.

Paul prays that the church would be able to mentally build upon the foundation of their faith so that they could comprehend the vastness of God's love for them.

Paul wants believers to not only be content with the love God showed them in saving them , but He wants them to also experience a deep and intimate love for Christ.

Do you understand what it means to truly Know the immeasurable love of Christ? Do you understand what it means to be in a deep personal relationship with Jesus?

Illustration:

When I think about knowing someone- I know a lot of People

I know Michael Jordan

I know that He was a basketball player for the Chicago Bulls-

I know that He won 6 Championships in his career

I know that He loves to Golf

I know a lot about Michael Jordan but I don’t really have a relationship with him.

In fact, He doesn’t even know I exist,

But if you asked me if I know Him I would says I know who he is,

I also Know Doug Duesenberg- I know a lot more about Doug than I do about Donald.T.

I know his hobbies

I know his spiritual strengths and his weaknesses,

Doug is my friend and I know a-lot about him but I guarantee you there is a lot about Doug that I don’t know.

But do you know Who I really know- I know My wife Amy

I love being with my wife,

i love talking with her

in fact, I spend most of my time with her.

I know what she loves,

I know what She hates,

There is no one in this world that I would choose over her. Why, Because We have an intimate close relationship together.

She’s my best friend

Without her my life wouldn’t feel complete Because we are one.

Paul prays for the believers to have this kind of intimate relationship with Christ, where they constantly learn and grow in their understanding of His unfathomable love for them.

This is what we should pray for one another- that we would each grow in our relationship with Christ- that we would grow more and more in love with Jesus.

And all of this builds up to the climax of Paul's prayer for the church.

Look with me again at our text

Ephesians 3:19 (ESV)

3:19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Paul’s 4th Prayer - That the church would be filled up to all the fullness of God.

To be filled up to ALL the fullness of God means that You are mature in your walk with Him.

it means that there is no room in your life for anything other than the things of God.

Paul is praying for the church to become spiritually mature in Christ.

Church family We need to pray for the spiritual maturity of one another in the church . Why, because that is what God desires from each of our lives- -to become more and more like Christ,

We ought to faithfully pray that God would grow our brothers and sisters in their walks with jesus, that he would continue to mold them and make them more like him.

In our passage today Paul prays for the spiritual good of the church.

Paul prays that they would humble themselves and allow the power of the H.S. to root out the sin in their lives, &teach them the truths of Gods Word.

SO THAT their hearts will look more like the home of Jesus then the selfish sinner that he redeemed,

SO THAT they would be able to comprehend the unfathomable love of Christ even more,

So That they could experience the love of Christ in every part of their lives

SO THAT they could be filled up to Spiritual maturity in Christ.

Church Family, If we want to see God do a mighty work in our church and in the lives of one another- We must go to the throne of the Only one who has the power to accomplish it. WE MUST PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER

Transition: Paul wraps up His prayer by showing us the RIGHT RESPONSE FOR ANSWERED PRAYER

The Right RESPONSE of Answered Prayer

Paul prays expecting his prayers to be answered.

he gives God glory for what He is about to do in response to his prayer.

He is anticipating God to do the impossible in the believer’s lives.

look with me at our final 2 verses for today..

Ephesians 3:20–21 (ESV)

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

The power that changes lives is from God alone, And He alone should receive the glory for what He accomplishes through us.

When we pray for one another, we are praying to a God who wants to blow our minds away with how He answers our prays, All so that He can receive the glory for what He has done.

This should encourage us to pray with boldness for one another- Because the one who hears our prayers has the power to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine.

Lets bring it Home....

III. How do we Practical Pray for One Another

Its simple… We follow the command God gave us in

Philippians 4:6 ESV

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

pray about everything.

Praying for one another should just be who we are as a church. it should be the normal thing not the exception.

We should continually be praying for one another

- Pray for spiritual growth and maturity.

- Pray for strength and courage in the face of trials.

- Pray for healing and restoration in times of sickness and hardship.

- Pray for wisdom and guidance in decision-making.

- Pray for protection and safety from harm.

- Pray for provision and abundance in all areas of life.

- Pray for the unity and harmony in our church family.

- Pray for boldness to share the gospel and make disciples.

The point is this.... if we are going to be a church that makes and equips disciples than we need to be a church that prays for one another.