The Art of Seeking, Part 10
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Colossians 3:1.
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
In this sermon, we will learn the art of seeking the heavenly by praying.
Colossians 4:2-4.
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—
4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
Paul is calling us to prayer.
He addresses four aspects of prayer in this passage.
The first is our commitment to prayer - “continue steadfastly in prayer”.
The second and third are our attitudes in prayer - “being watchful” and “with thanksgiving”.
The fourth is the content of our prayer - “pray also for us” to preach the gospel.
What is prayer?
Prayer, in its simplest definition, is communicating with the Trinity.
Let's not forget that this communication takes place in the middle of a war zone (Ephesians 6:10- 20).
Prayer, then, is our connection with God. He communicates to us through the Spirit in his revealed word. We respond through the communication of prayer.
Without prayer, there is no effective connection with Yahweh.
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Ben Patterson and David Goetz wrote: “Pray is central because it stands at the hub, the heart of our struggle. It’s not all we are to be about, for there are many other wonderful and critical things to do in this spiritual warfare, such as preach the gospel, cast out demons, feed the hungry, care for the poor. But these great things are to prayer what the spokes of a wheel are to the hub. When the hub weakens, the rest of the wheel collapses.”
Since prayer is our connection with Yahweh, the hub for all that we do with him, we need to assess our practice of prayer by asking ourselves the following questions.
First, do we pray?
Second, what do we pray?
Third, when do we pray?
Fourth, where do we pray?
Fifth, why do we pray?
Do we pray?
Most of us, if not all, would answer this in the affirmative. Yes, we pray. I am glad that we pray as a church and that you guys pray as individuals. We are being obedient to God when we pray and are being equipped for the spiritual battle we engage in every day.
If you do not pray then there is no time like present to start connecting with our Creator. May your first prayer be confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
This prayer results in your salvation setting, you on a journey of prayer that connects you to Yahweh, giving you victory in the spiritual battle for your soul.
What do we pray?
The majority of our prayers are petitions. They are asking God to act on our behalf or on the behalf of others. It is good to petition God. Paul commands us to do so in Ephesians 6:18. He requests it in our passage today.
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,
Is it healthy for the content of our prayers to be only petitions?
It is not healthy for prayer to be supplication alone.
When prayer is only petition, we quickly lose motivation to pray, because often our requests are not answered in the way we wanted them to be.
We think, “Why pray? God knows. God is going to do what he wants to do.” Yet prayer is not about informing God or getting God to do anything. Prayer is about connecting with him and partnering in the work he is doing. Do you want to connect with and partner with God?
Our prayers need to have the diversity of communication built into them.
We need to have prayers of praise, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of lament, prayers of intercession, prayers of petition, and prayers of the mundane.
Jesus wants to connect with us in every aspect of life. It is through prayer that we make this connection with him.
Therefore, we must have diversity in prayer. And this diversity helps us not lose heart in praying. It helps us to be steadfast in prayer as Paul has commanded us today.
We need to diversify our prayer lives.
When do we pray?
For some, it is when we eat a meal, when we go to church, when we get up in the morning, or when we commute to work.
There is no wrong time to pray. Paul, in Ephesians 6:18, makes it clear that we are to pray at all times. We are to be aware of the Spirit’s presence with us and communicate with him about all aspects of our lives all the time.
It is good to have times of focused prayer and to have a mindset of prayer when we are not in those focused times, keeping the communication line open.
Church, always communicate with God.
Where do we pray?
Traditionally, we pray in the church. Yahweh even said that the Temple should be a house of prayer for all people (Isaiah 56:7). What a privilege it is to gather together and pray.
The reality is we can pray anywhere. We are his temple and he is with us everywhere, ready and waiting to communicate with us in all circumstances (1 Corinthians 3:16).
No matter where you are, you can come boldly before the throne of grace to receive the mercy and grace to help in your time of need. This is the connection of prayer to God (Hebrews 4:16).
Church, let's pray everywhere.
Why do we pray?
Personal reasons for why we pray are a multitude. Some are good, some are bad. It is important to identify why you pray.
The reasons why you pray will affect your commitment to prayer, your alertness in prayer, your attitude in prayer, and the content of your prayers.
The foundational reason to pray is that it is our connection with Yahweh. David illustrates longing for the connection in Psalm 63:1
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
All other reasons come secondary to that reason.
Do you want to connect with Jesus?
Then pray in all its diversity. Choose to communicate with God to partner in all aspects of your life.
Church, let’s follow Paul’s command and be steadfast in prayer, always alert to the schemes of the enemy, praying with thanksgiving for what God has done and is doing, praying for one another to further the mystery of the gospel, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Go forth, connected to the Trinity through prayer, to advance the kingdom of God.
