How should we pray?
Habits of Prayer • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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first week:
Main point: prayer brings strength
1: His Baptism
Prayer Brings power
2: After healing the sick all day he woke up early to pray
Prayer brings vision
3: After healing the Leper caused a ruckus
he frequently would slip away to the wilderness and pray
the tighter the tension, the more time there must be for unhurried prayer
4: prayer all night before choosing the 12 and the sermon on the mount
power flows out of us when we spend time in prayer
week 2
main point: Prayer should be a private habit that isn’t a secret
5. all night after feeding the 5k (johns death) followed by walking on water
6. demonstrating prayer (who do you say that I am?)
7. transfiguration
8. exclamatory prayer after sending the 70
9. lord’s prayer (demonstrating prayer again)
Last Week
Main Point: Prayer-Power is the greatest power entrusted to mankind
10: lazarus (builds faith)
11: god responds from heaven (allows us to hear god’s voice)
12: last supper, prayer for peter (humbly prays for others)
Main Point: God is attracted to weakness
Main Point: God is attracted to weakness
He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him.
Our weakness, in fact, makes room for his power.
Jesus even prays for those who will be left behind after his death
Jesus surrenders to the will of God in the garden
Jesus’ most powerful moment in history is his death. He became sin who knew no sin.
The thirteenth mention (the intercessory or high-priestly prayer)
The thirteenth mention (the intercessory or high-priestly prayer)
is the familiar one in John, chapter seventeen,
and cannot be studied within these narrow limits, but merely fitted into Us order.
The twelfth chapter contains His last words to the world.
In the thirteenth and through to the close of this seventeenth He is alone with His disciples.
If this prayer is read carefully it will be seen that its standpoint is that of one who thinks of His work down in the world as already done
(though the chief scene is yet to come)
and the world left behind,
and now He is about re-entering His Father's presence to be re-instated in glory there.
It is really, therefore, a sort of specimen of the praying for us in which He is now engaged,
and so is commonly called the intercessory or high-priestly prayer.
John 17 (NASB95)
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,
even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
“Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;
for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
“I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;
and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.
“I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
“While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
“But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;
I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Praying implies that you are never alone
For thirty years He lived a perfect life.
For three and a half years He was a prophet speaking to men for God.
For nineteen centuries He has been high priest speaking to God for men.
When He returns it will be as King to reign over men for God.
The fourteenth mention (Garden of Gethsemane)
The fourteenth mention (Garden of Gethsemane)
brings us within the sadly sacred precincts of Gethsemane garden,
one of His favourite prayer-spots,
where He frequently went while in Jerusalem.
The record is found in Matthew twenty-six, Mark fourteen, and Luke twenty-one.
Let us approach with hearts hushed and heads bared and bowed,
for this is indeed hallowed ground.
It is a little later on that same Thursday night,
into which so much has already been pressed
and so much more is yet to come.
After the talk in the upper room,
and the simple wondrous prayer,
He leads the little band out of the city gate on the east across the swift, muddy Kidron
into the inclosed grove of olive trees beyond.
There would be no sleep for Him that night.
Within an hour or two the Roman soldiers and the Jewish mob,
led by the traitor,
will be there searching for Him,
and He meant to spend the intervening time in prayer.
With the longing for sympathy so marked during these latter months,
He takes Peter and James and John
and goes farther into the deeply-shadowed grove.
But now some invisible power tears him away
and plunges Him alone still farther into the moonlit recesses of the garden;
and there a strange, awful struggle of soul ensues.
It seems like a renewal of the same conflict He experienced in John twelve when the Greeks came,
but immeasurably intenser.
He, who in Himself knew no sin, was now beginning to realize in His spirit what
within a few hours ,
that He was in very deed to be made sin for us.
and the awful realization comes in upon Him with such terrific intensity
that it seems as though His physical frame cannot endure the strain of mental agony.
The actual experience of the next day produced such mental agony that His physical strength gave way.
For He died not of His physical suffering,
excruciating as that was,
but literally of a broken heart,
its walls burst asunder by the strain of soul.
It is not possible for a sinning soul to appreciate
what nightmare dread and horror the sinless soul of Jesus must have
approached the coming contact with the sin of a world.
With bated breath and reverent gaze we follow that lonely figure among the trees;
now kneeling,
now falling upon His face,
lying prostrate,
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
One snatch of that prayer reaches our ears:
And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”
How long He remained so in prayer we do not know,
but so great was the tension of spirit that a messenger from heaven appeared and strengthened Him.
Even after that
And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.
Fervently/ Ernestly (literally, more stretched out, more strainedly)
When at length He arises from that season of conflict and prayer,
the victory seems to be won,
and something of the old-time calm reasserts itself.
He goes to the sleeping disciples,
and mindful of their coming temptation,
admonishes them to pray;
and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
then returns to the lonely solitude again for more prayer,
but the change in the form of prayer tells of the triumph of soul,
He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
The victory is complete.
The crisis is past.
He yields Himself to that dreaded experience
through which the Father's loving plan for a dying world can be accomplished.
Again He returns to the poor, weak disciples,
and back again for another bit of strengthening communion,
and then the flickering glare of torches in the distance tells Him that "the hour is come."
With steady step and a marvellous peace lighting His face He goes out to meet His enemies.
He overcame in this greatest crisis of His life by prayer.
We can overcome crisis by prayer
The fifteenth mention (on the cross)
The fifteenth mention (on the cross)
is the final one.
Of the seven sentences which He spake upon the cross, three were prayers.
forgive them
Luke tells us that while the soldiers were driving the nails through His hands and feet
and lifting the cross into place,
He, thinking even then not of self, but of others, said,
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
2. why have you forsaken me
It was as the time of the daily evening sacrifice drew on,
near the close of that strange darkness which overcast all nature,
after a silence of three hours,
that He loudly sobbed out the piercing, heart-rending cry,
"My God, My God, why didst Thou forsake Me?"
At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
And the Land of the Free, and the Home of the _________
Amazing Grace _________
Who lives in a pinapple under the sea? ___________
Deck the halls with boughs of holley… _____________
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.
O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I have no rest.
Yet You are holy,
O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
In You our fathers trusted;
They trusted and You delivered them.
To You they cried out and were delivered;
In You they trusted and were not disappointed.
From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
For the kingdom is the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.
3. into your hands I commit my spirit
A little later the triumphant shout proclaimed His work done,
and then the very last word was a prayer quietly breathed out,
as He yielded up His life,
"Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit."
And so His expiring breath was vocalized into prayer.
And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.
Our Prayers should speak of forgiveness, praise and contentment
forgive them for they know not what they do
even in the midst of my trial, I will worship you
father into your hands I commit my spirit
Main Point: God is attracted to weakness
Main Point: God is attracted to weakness
He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him.
Our weakness, in fact, makes room for his power.
1 Praying implies that you are never alone
2 We can overcome crisis by prayer
3 Our Prayers should speak of forgiveness, praise and contentment
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A Composite Picture.
A Composite Picture.
It may be helpful to make the following summary of these allusions.
1. His times of prayer:
His regular habit seems plainly to have been to devote the early morning hour to communion with His Father,
and to depend upon that for constant guidance and instruction.
In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
In addition to this regular appointment, He sought other opportunities for secret prayer as special need arose;
late at night after others had retired;
three times He remained in prayer all the night;
and at irregular intervals between times.
Note that it was usually a quiet time when the noises of earth were hushed.
He spent special time in prayer before important events and also afterwards.
2. His places of prayer:
He who said,
“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Himself had no fixed inner chamber,
during His public career, to make easier the habitual retirement for prayer.
Homeless for the three and a half years of ceaseless travelling,
His place of prayer was a desert place,
"the deserts,"
"the mountains,"
"a solitary place."
He loved nature.
The hilltop back of Nazareth village,
the slopes of Olivet,
the hillsides overlooking the Galilean lake,
were His favourite places.
Note that it was always a quiet place,
shut away from the discordant sounds of earth.
3. His constant spirit of prayer:
He was never out of the spirit of prayer.
He could be alone with God in a dense crowd.
Rejoice always;
pray without ceasing;
in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
4. He prayed in the great crises of His life:
Five such are mentioned:
Before the awful battle royal with Satan in the wilderness
before choosing the twelve leaders of the new movement;
at the time of the Galilean uprising; (after John’s death, after feeding 5k, before walking on water)
before the final departure from Galilee for Judea and Jerusalem; (transfiguration)
and in Gethsemane, the greatest crisis of all. (See mentions 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14.)
5. He prayed for others by name, and still does. (See mention 13.)
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;
but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
6. He prayed with others:
A habit that might well be more widely copied.
A few minutes spent in quiet prayer
with friends or fellow-workers before parting wonderfully sweetens the spirit,
and cements friendships,
and makes difficulties less difficult,
and hard problems easier of solution.
7. The greatest blessings of His life came during prayer:
Six incidents are noted:
while praying, the Holy Spirit came upon Him;
He was transfigured;
three times a heavenly voice of approval came;
and in His hour of sorest distress in the garden a heavenly messenger came to strengthen Him.
(See mentions 1, 7, 11 and 14.)
Conclusion
Conclusion
How much prayer meant to Jesus!
It was not only His regular habit,
but His resort in every emergency, however slight or serious.
When perplexed He prayed.
When hard pressed by work He prayed.
When hungry for fellowship He found it in prayer.
He chose His associates and received His messages upon His knees.
If tempted, He prayed.
If criticised, He prayed.
If fatigued in body or wearied in spirit,
He had recourse in His one unfailing habit of prayer.
Prayer brought Him unmeasured power at the beginning,
and kept the flow unbroken and undiminished.
There was no emergency,
no difficulty,
no necessity,
no temptation that would not yield to prayer,
as He practiced it.
Shall not we,
who have been tracing these steps in His prayer life,
go back over them again and again until we breathe in His very spirit of prayer?
And shall we not, too, ask Him daily to teach us how to pray,
and then plan to get alone with Him regularly
that He may have opportunity to teach us,
and we the opportunity to practice His teaching?