Pt. 6 Spiritual Formation

Prayer

6 - Spiritual Formation - Prayer

It is important to reiterate that the spiritual disciplines are not an end in themselves. The disciplines put us in a place of the presence of God to know Him and for Him to change us and develop the character of Christ in us to live Him out in the world.

Colossians 3:10 “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.”

We must think rightly of God. Theology. It’s of most importance. Our lives will reflect what we think about God.

To know the unknowable, to approach the unapproachable, and grasp the incomprehensible is to tread on holy ground along the rivers of the garden of eden in the presence of God. God is so other, so distinct from His creation, He cannot be known fully but He can be known accurately as He has revealed Himself through His Spirit and the Holy Scriptures. God is so other than his Creation, distinct from it, so different from us, He must come to our level to reveal himself in a “likeness” so that we can have a picture of him as Paul says yet through a reflection as in a mirror but then we will see face to face.

He is Self-existent, having no origin, no beginning, uncreated and needing nothing for sustenance.

He is Self-sufficient, needing no one or anything from anyone, He is the I Am and we respond with Thou Art.

He is eternal, who lives outside of time, sees the end from the beginning, is not moved by length of days but is as young as he is old, time exists in Him.

He is infinite, lacks nothing, has no bounds. We live in a world of limitations, a world of lack and limits. God has none. His love has no bounds, His grace has no end, His mercy is unending, His power unceasing - it is who He is.

He is All-Knowing with perfect knowledge, He has never learned a thing, never been informed but has perfect knowledge of everything and everything. From the depths of hell to the heights of heaven, from the greatest men to the depths of their heart, all is known. And He loves still.

He is Wisdom, every act is perfect and fully wise, every act and every plan there is no better option. There is no better plan and purpose for your life, therefore Trust in God and lean not unto your own limited and minute understanding.

He is the Almighty powerful One, All power belongs to him and there is no power outside of him. There is no expense or loss of power, there is nothing difficult for him, there is no epxense of energy that he must recover from, There is no task or work that is of any difficulty.

He is Immanuel, God with us, ever present and sustaining all creation.

He is the Faithful One who cannot ever be unfaithful to His Word of promises. To be unfaithful is to have a potential of change, God says, “I the Lord do not change”

These descriptions of the character of God are not parts of God but are all a single whole, He is always wise in every act of power and always full of love in every act of judgment.

We echo Paul’s doxology, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

And we ponder the words of the poet, “Only to sit and think of God, Oh what a joy it is! To think the thought, to breathe the Name Earth has no higher bliss.”

And join in with famous monk Anselm of Canterbury’s challenge, “Up now, slight man! Flee for a little while thy occupations; hide thyself for a time from thy disturbing thoughts. Cast aside now thy burdensome cares, and put away thy toilsome business. Yield room for some little time to God, and rest for a little time in Him. Enter the inner chamber of thy mind; shut out all thoughts save that of God and such as can aid thee in seeking Him. Speak now, my whole heart! Speak now to God, saying, I seek thy face; thy face, Lord, will I seek.”

And as we know our Creator we will be made like Him: We are new creations, we have a new identity, a new spiritual DNA - the old man crucified with Christ, the new man alive to God in Christ.

And we are called to Live out what God is working in

Philippians 2:12-13 “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

Our desires, loves, will be what we seek in life and determine the direction of my life. That which I love and desire in my heart will determine the course of my life without me even realizing it.

The only worthy #1 love and desire of my heart in light of the self-revealing Holy God is love for Him. That will produce a continual pursuit of His presence a continual pursuit of knowing Him better. I want love for God to be the greatest of all loves and desires in my heart.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

“With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack? Surely we are the most favored of all creatures.” A.W. Tozer

These disciplines will help me love God more.

The #1 ingredient to spiritual formation - Christ being formed within us is prayer.

Prayer

God is a praying God because He is a relational God, prayer does not require extravagant knowledge but rather a humble heart that is dependent on Him. It’s simply a dialogue.

A life of prayer says, I am dependent on God - the source of all life and good. There is nothing we have that has not been given. Not praying says I don’t need God.

Disciplined prayer leads to a life of prayer.

Structured prayer makes your growth in Christ intentional. Prayer provides God a posture to change me.

Note - If I only pray about my problems in life, I will have missed it.

When Jesus taught us to pray, He didn’t deny our problems but He did put them in their proper place and perspective.

It’s not the external problems that are the problem - it’s me. I need changing.

If the book of Acts and throughout church history teaches us anything it is that nothing outside of me can take away my joy, my peace, the character of the living God within me. Though I am chained (Paul says) the Word of God is not chained! Though there may be tears and sorrow, “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.” And as in Esther, “Sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.”

Remember this with disciplined prayer - What begins as a discipline will end as a delight.

Prayer is the gasoline that drives the engine of the spiritual life.

You will never find a man that has been greatly used by God who did not have a deep prayer life.

Are you burnt out, tired of serving, tired of another week of church, another week of giving my time and energy… I can easily conclude, your prayer life is lacking.

Pastor Tom told me about the number one reason for burn out is discouragement.

Discouragement is a normal part of life, everyday, there are countless things that discourage us.

Discouragement is real but one thing that is more real - is that (see below) Isaiah 40:28 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”

Discouragement and burn out has no chance at all with a man or woman with a strong prayer life.

Luke 18:1 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

The key to a disciplined prayer life is: You don’t adjust your prayer life to the things in your life, you adjust your life to your prayer life.

Jesus had a disciplined prayer life, and if He had it, how much more us?

Luke 5:16 “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” - Jesus prayed often

Luke 6:12 “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” - Leadership begins with prayer

Luke 9:28 “About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.” - Prayer alters who I am

You may be a good sinner, but Jesus is an even greater savior - hope in Him, He will change you.

Luke 11:1 - Prayer can be taught. Our public prayers are a result of our private prayers (We get a glimpse into His private and often times of prayer).

Prayer and fasting in private will lead to power in public.

Luke 4:1 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,”

Luke 4:14 “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.”

What if we all prayed?

James 5:13–18 “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.

The word has the basic sense of “experience difficulty”

A broad application covering all kinds of trials.

The prayer here is for spiritual strength to endure the trial with a godly spirit, not just for it to be removed.

Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

A reminder to turn to God is needed even more in times of cheer than in times of suffering, so sing songs of praise.

Giving praise to God, like our petitions for sustenance in times of trouble should be a regular part of our lifestyle.

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

Sick can refer to (as many scholars suggest) spiritual weakness, however, the usual view of physical sickness is overwhelmingly likely based on:

James’ vocabulary and theology from the Gospels - refers to physical sickness.

Anointing (physical action with symbolic significance - they being set apart for God’s special attention and care) with oil - Mark 6:13

The verb sozo often refers to physical healing in the Gospels

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”

Prayer, James wants to make clear, is a powerful weapon in the hands of the humblest believer, it does not require a super saint to wield it effectively.

“It is powerful to a great degree… being effective”

It is not Elijah’s special prophetic endowment or unique history that interest James, but the fact that he was a man just like us. James emphasizes that every believer has access to the kind of effectiveness in prayer that he is illustrating here.

One explanation for the unusual choice might be that James intends us to see an analogy between the sickness of a believer restored to health and the deadness of the land brought back to life and fruitfulness. But the parallels are not very obvious, and James does nothing to drawn attention to what similarities do exist. Probably, then, James at least partly relies on Jewish tradition, where there is evidence for an association between the drought and Elijah’s praying

And we note the intent of the prayer: not merely to demonstrate the power and truth of God but most of all to fulfill his purpose of converting Israel back to faithfulness

The message is clear: prayer works, and when God’s people refuse to depend on self and love, desire and live for the things of the world, turning to God in prayer - the God of wisdom, power, faithfulness - great things happen.