Talking To Walls.

Good morning and welcome to service this morning, I hope that you have been able to worship God throuhout your week and grow in your love for him. Before we dive into our main passage let us bow in a word of prayer (1 min) Amen.

About a month ago I was driving in my care and cherise and I where on our way to warman when all of a sudden we trun on the car and a notification popped up on the screen, Oil change in 200 Kilometers, I don’t know why i’m always suprised when that pops up it’s almost like I epect it to be done once and then never again. Anyways we get oil and I have always been a do it yourself kind of guy, so I decided to change the oil myself, and I alwas have on every vehicle I own I have changed the oil on it, the only issue is every single time I do this it takes me way to long and I get so upset. But this time was going to be different, because this time I had an oil wrench, so I lit the car up and go underneath, I drain the oil plug and now it’s time for the filter, I go to puut the wrench on and it’s to small, infact it’s way to small, this oil filter wrench must have been used for like a boat or motorsycle not a car, so that’s done and I have to try now to twist and turn this filter off with my hands. Now i don’t know about you guys but when I start to get frustrated at an object, in this case my oil filter I start to talk to it, I start saying oh come on just a little bit more, almost got it, why are you so stupid, who tighten you so much last oil change, you know the usual things, but I also start to beg to the things, please please come off just dop it come on what’s the matter with you, ontop of all of that I start to bargan with it, if you don’t come off Im sending you to the dump! Yet throuhout all of my talking the car never answeres back, it can’t it’s no alive, it can’t speak, yet I tallk to it knowing that it does’t here me and it’s like I keep bashing my head against this thing and talking to it like Im talking to a wall hoping it answeres me in some way yet knwoing it never will.

Sometime’s I think that’s how it feels when we talk to Jesus, Kind of like talking to a wall.

We know that we are called to pray and that it is a form of not only worship but also a way for us to have this unique oppuritunty to just go to our father and ask for advice, repent and worship him, it is in it’s whole such an amazing gift that we have, but as I said, it most of the time I think feels like we are just talking to a wall, and it doesn’t really mattter what we lift up in prayer beacause God is going to do what he want’s and it’s almost pointless. Im sure that if we were all being 100 percent honest prayer is probebly the place we lack the most spiritually then any other call from God. Maybe that’s not true for all of you but im asssumong at least 99 percent of us here this mornign feel this way about prayer and that has shaped how we pray. Afterall prayer to most of us is something you do at meals and then before bed, maybe when you wake up but it’s nots omething that we actually use and those prrays we lift up during meals and bedtime are usually just traditional prays, something like “Come more Jesus be our guest lay this food to us be bless this we ask in Jesus name amen’ Or you say “come more Jesus be our gust lay this food to us be blessed all thy hands by we are feed thank you lord for daily bread” Now there is nothing wrong with these prays but I think my point is fairly clear these are just part of our lives, it’s like even if you are having a spiritually off day or just got into a fight with your spouse or child you still say this prayer because we have to. And that turns prayer into something boring, something that we feel like we should do, not necessarly want to do. and like I said I really believer that part of this is because we feel as if prayer is kinda usless or at least feels that way because God rarely responeds to us. At leasst I know I feel like that sometimes.

And I know i’m not the only one who feels this way infact many of the psalms talk about this very things. I hope you brought your bibles with you this monring and if you did turn with me to Psalm 143, “A psalm of David. Lord, hear my prayer. In your faithfulness listen to my plea, and in your righteousness answer me. Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous in your sight. For the enemy has pursued me, crushing me to the ground, making me live in darkness like those long dead. My spirit is weak within me; my heart is overcome with dismay. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all you have done; I reflect on the work of your hands. I spread out my hands to you; I am like parched land before you. Selah Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, or I will be like those going down to the Pit. Let me experience your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in you. Reveal to me the way I should go because I appeal to you. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I come to you for protection. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground. For your name’s sake, Lord, let me live. In your…” In this Pslam we read that David is just wanting God to answer him in anyway and it’s like he is talking to wall there is no response. How often do we feel this way? how often in our own prayer life do we just feel like we are praying to nothing, maybe we are expecting a sign or a maricle or maybe like me sometimes you have litterly just cried out to God just asking for his voice to speak to you in some form or way. Or perhaps you can more closlely associate your pray life with Psalm 10 “Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide in times of trouble? In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims; let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings; the one who is greedy curses and despises the Lord. In all his scheming, the wicked person arrogantly thinks, “There’s no accountability, since there’s no God.” His ways are always secure; your lofty judgments have no effect on him; he scoffs at all his adversaries. He says to himself, “I will never be moved— from generation to generation I will be without calamity.” Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth; trouble and malice are under his tongue. He waits in ambush near settlements; he kills the innocent in secret places. His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless; he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket. He lurks in order to seize a victim; he seizes a victim and drags him in his net. So he is oppressed and beaten down; helpless people fall…” We read passages like this and we can really relate to the emotions that David is expressing, where are you God, why do you hide your face, but unlike David we feel this way and so we stop praying or we care little about it, whereas david understood what prayer was and did’t stop, but he continued to plea to the Father.

This morning we are going to be looking at prayer and what it is, because I can stand up here this morning and tell you that you should pray more and that it is a command from God that we should pray and that its a beatufial form of communication with him and therefore do it, but unless we change our minds as to what prayer is none of that mattters, unless we can get passed this idea that prayer is just talking to a wall we will nevere want to pray, and so my hope this morning for us is that we can want to pray and that we have a better understanding of what it actually means to pray.

To really give it the most basic definition I would say that prayer is a conversation in which we have to try to discern our Father’s will rather than trying to impose our own. It is not a means of having our will done in heaven, but of having God’s will done on earth.

New Dictionary of Theology: Historical and Systematic Prayer, Theology Of

conversation in which we have to try to discern our Father’s will rather than trying to impose our own. It is not a means of having our will done in heaven, but of having God’s will done on earth

Now this is not a very complex defininton and there are others out there that go into a bit more detail then the one I have on screen but I really like this defininton because in very few word’s is sums up everything yet it is not intimidating. Typically a definitnon of prayer has all these rules and say that you must give thanks, you must give adoration, confession, pettetion, and intercessoion, which is not wrong all of those I truly belilive are part of a God prayer life but those things are what makes it traditonal and allows us to get stuck in a route where we do not carea about the prayer itself. So the defininton we have this morning really fouse on the fact that it is not a cheacklist of what you need to say and but that it’s a conversation to where you search out the will of God while lifting up your concerns to him.

Now where do we see this in scripture because none of what Is say matters if scripture does not back it up, well all the way back in the Old Testemant is really where we see prayer happen for the first time and it is in a conversation form, someone talking to another, if you turn to Genesis 15:2–6 we actually see one of the earliest examples of prayer after the fall. “But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.” Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Abraham is talking to God appealing to him to have children, asking how it is going to happen these things and God answers him, another passge where this conversation like prayer happens is found ten chapters later in Genesis 25:22–23 where we read of Rebekah talking with the Father, “But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” All throughout the Old Testemant we see people appealing to God, asking him for things and he usually respondeds, but as we read this morning there are times when he does not responde, well at least not in the way we want him to. One of the big differences between the Old and the New Testemant is that in the Old Testemant Jesus had not yet come to the earth as a man and died on the cross for our sins, he had not raised from the dead yet sending the Holy Spirit to live inside those who believe. And so when we think of prayer in the Old Testemant it is alot easyer for us to get jelouse because God seemed to be alot more vocal back then, but guys understand that’s because they did not have the Holy Spirit to guide them, they didn’t have the Holy Spirit living inside of them to guide them, basically the only way these people knew how to live was either because God spoke to them privately or sent a priophet to speak for him. Prayer then also looked different, and I think this is one of the big deals we face in our time right now, we look back at the old Tesetematn and say man I wish we could bne back then because God actaully spoke, whne you lifted up your prayer it like a 75 percent chance that you where going to here his voice to you, and this honestly hurts our understanding of prayer today, because we want something from the past, somehting that is honestly not as good as what we have today. Because today right now those who believe have God living inside of us by the Holy Spirit. We have God inside of us and that’s why prayer is actaully slightly different now then it was back in the Old testemant. Prayer in the Old testemant like we have looked at is typically conversation based and typically individualitsic, not to mention that it was not reguired in how the people where called to worship as it is in the New Testemant. But also part of one of the things that I think takes away from how much we care about prayer is how we actaully physically prefom it, staying in the old testemant for a few moments here if you turn to Genesis 17:3 “Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him:” and Deuteronomy 9:25 it says this speaking of Moses “I fell down in the presence of the Lord forty days and forty nights because the Lord had threatened to destroy you.” These men and many more would prostrate themselfs before the Lord, literally on there face and kneese, a show of respect right understanding that you are talking to the God of the universe and your eternal Father, this means something. Belive it or not but body position effects how we see prayer. And I know some of us porobebly think this doesn’t really matter, who cares if your sitting or bowing or laying in bed when you pray all that matters is that you are praying, and for the most part I agree, I think that those who are new to Christianity then yes that is totally fine, but if you are a mature christian and have been following Christ for awhile and you feel like your talking to a wall when you pray, i encurage you try it in a different position, try it in a prostrated position if you can. and guess what this is not just the Old Testemant the New also shows us people praying like this. Turn to Luke 5:12 “While he was in one of the towns, a man was there who had leprosy all over him. He saw Jesus, fell facedown, and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Understanding that Jesus deserve respect for being God this man falls face down, and there is more turn to Ephesians 3:14 “For this reason I kneel before the Father” Even in the New Testemant we see those falling to there faces and also those falling to there knees in a prostrated postiaton. Guys I know that it may sound stupid but body position matters in prayer, and not to God but for us. Prayer is a converstation with God and just like how when we talk to someone we try to actually be looking at them we also are to put ourselfs in a ceartin way when we talk to God.

But maybe it’s not the way you stand but it really comes down to how you think, afterall even if you are on your hand’s and knees when you pray if you just believe that it doesn’t matter because whatever is going to happen is going to happen then it would feel like you where talking to wall no mattter what. So why bother praying for anything if God is soverign? well the answer to that is actually fairly simple, because he tells us to. Listen i’m not going to stand up here this morning and try to explain the soverignety of God and prayer, because honestly I do not fully understand it and will never until I am with him when I die, but I know he calls me to pray, and that he want’s me to, really that’s the more iportant thing. usually we just say well it’s expected of us to pray so we will, but it is about the realationship, the Father want’s us to talk to him, to make pleas for change, to talk about our hardships, he want’s to have the oppurtunity to take part of cummmunity with his creatoin, and Jesus shows us this perfecetly you guys, Jesus says in Matthew 11:28–30 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” This is not just about salvation but this is about your daily lives and brining them to the Father because he can give you rest. And then again regarding asking the Father for things Jesus says in Matthew 7:7–11 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.” God want’s to here from you he want’s you to talk to him, and we just so easily forget this becase it’s been told to us that it’s a must on our part, and yes we should do it, but not because that’s what a Christian does, because Our Father want’s to talk to us. Now I don’t know about you guys but that is so cool to me. Now this doesn’t mean that your going to get what you want, right we understand that if we ask for a New mustang or video game we most likely aren’t going to get it, if we ask for something it’s to be in accordence with his will, which we can actuall know and seek because we have the Spirit of God inside of us who is speaking to us and wo works so that when we pray he is there for us making our prayers pure Galatians 4:6 “And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” We have to be ok with talking to our father because he want’s us to, and we have to udnrstand that because he want’s us to, we aren’t talking to a brick wall, he is listening, he is not super far away just looking down at us, he is inside of us through the power of the Holy Spirit, Church do not let your prayer life suffer because you don’t trully understand what it means to pray. it is not work it is not soething that we just do because it is a form of Worship, we do it because our Father want’s us to come to him and talk to him, he is not a wall that doesn’t here us, but he may not answer us in the way we think, infact we knoiw that even Jesus didn’t get an answer from God during one of his prayeres, turn to Luke 22:40–43 “When he reached the place, he told them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.” Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.” Jesus knew the will of the father the Father didn’t come and answer him. Sometimes we have to be ok with a possible negative response to our prays, when we ask God to take something away or to intervine in our lives and nothing happens perahps it’s because the Father knows what is best and understands that his will is what matters not ours. I think about deaths that happen and how much we pray for healing, when nothing happens we can begin to think we are prayingt to a wall that doesn’t care, but our Father does care, but we must understand this his will is better then ours, just like it was witjh Jesus. But lastly we should want to pray because Jesus prayed for us. John 17:20–26 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation. Righteous Father, the world has not known you. However, I have known you, and they have known that you sent me. I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them.”

Churhc I understand that prayer can be like talking to a wall, and that it can feel like it doesn’t matter what we pray because God is soveirn, but this idea that prayer is boring or that it has no point and we can just get away with little traditonal prays is a lie from the devil. Pray is so important, and we have barely even scarched the surfice this morning, but what we see all throughout history all throughut the bible is that prayer is done with great respect to the Father, and that he wan’ts to here from us. We need to be a prayful church, a prayful people, because the Father want’s to here you. This week as you go I want to encourage you and also challenge you, change how you go to the Father during your meals and bedtime routiine, switch it up, and see if it feels any different, but not only that, when you go into prayer, change the postiton if you kneeling or maybe even just bowing your head, meditate on it, and ask the Holy SPirit to interceed and help you discern the fathers will for your life and for the future of your mininstry. and ontop of all of this, pray often, like I said at the beginning prayer is a conversation with the Father, it is not something that you must take specific time out of your day for, God is always listening, ready to here your pleas so go to him and tell him what’s on your mind, through Jesus by the poiwer of the holy spirit.