My Special Room
Establishing a Relationship With God ThroughPrayer • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsPrayer is not only one of the most important connections we have with God, but for many, it can also be among the most frustrating. What happens when the results of prayer are not what we were expecting or hoping. And that's IF we are comfortable to do it in the first place. Jesus shares one of the most important components of prayer in today's passage.
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
A friend of mine took his small son with him to town one day to run some errands. When lunch time arrived, the two of them went to a familiar diner for a sandwich. The father sat down on one of the stools at the counter and lifted the boy up to the seat beside him. They ordered lunch, and when the waiter brought the food, the father said, "Son, we'll just have a silent prayer." Dad got through praying first and waited for the boy to finish his prayer, but he just sat with his head bowed for an unusually long time. When he finally looked up, his father asked him, "What in the world were you praying about all that time?" With the innocence and honesty of a child, he replied, "How do I know? It was a silent prayer."
Our Daily Bread, December 12
WHAT PRAYER IS NOT
WHAT PRAYER IS NOT
Prayer is not about looking good.
Listen how Jesus says it in verse 5:
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
A good Christian prays, right?
And we don’t want people to wonder if we are a good Christian, do we?
And of course the competitive nature some people might kick in at this point. Well, I can pray better than most, so I must be a better Christian than most.
And on the other side of the coin, so many people - for this reason and the next that we’re going to talk about in a second, feel inadequate in their prayers.
Because I can’t pray like some of those TV preachers or evangelists, I can’t pray good enough, and God probably won’t listen to me as much as He might that “professional pray-er.”
Has anyone here ever felt like that? (P)
I happen to know that many of you do because I’ve heard comments to that affect, and I’m saddened when people don’t think they pray well because they don’t look and sound the part - and of course this all goes hand in hand with the second misconception some people have of prayer.
Prayer is not about looking good, and:
2. Prayer is not about sounding good.
Not only do we not put out a visible show out of our prayers, Jesus also says it isn’t about how eloquent we are, either.
Verse 7:
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Both the King James and New King James versions of Scripture tell us that we should not use vain repetitions. That might strike a chord when we keep saying the same prayers over and over in such a way that they have just become words, and we no longer mean what they say?
Has the Lord’s Prayer become that for anyone? It’s ok - you can be honest - because it did for me. Saying the Lord’s Prayer doesn’t do much for you if you don’t know, mean, or even think about what your saying. It isn’t supposed to be a ritual.
We’re going to talk about how to view and use the Lord’s Prayer
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
3. Prayer is not about gaining goods.
So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Mr. and Mrs. Moody often had guests in their Chicago home. One evening, fter a very demanding day, Moody asked a visiting Christian to lead in family devotions. The man waxed eloquent as he expounded the symbolism in a difficult chapter of the Bible. Then he prayed at great length. When the worship was over, Mrs. Moody and the guest got up from their knees, but Moody remained bowed in prayer. The guest thought that he was praying, but Mrs. Moody soon detected that her husband was--asleep!
W. Wiersbe, The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, p. 206.
WHAT PRAYER IS
WHAT PRAYER IS
Prayer is not about your good; it’s about God’s good in you.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
[REFER TO 1 KINGS19:9-13]
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.
In a letter to his friends, hymn writer Wendell P. Loveless related this story: One evening a speaker who was visiting the United States wanted to make a telephone call. He entered a phone booth, but found it to be different from those in his own country. It was beginning to get dark, so he had difficulty finding the number in the directory. He noticed that there was a light in the ceiling, but he didn't know how to turn it on. As he tried again to find the number in the fading twilight, a passerby noted his plight and said, "Sir, if you want to turn the light on, you have to shut the door." To the visitor's amazement and satisfaction, when he closed the door, the booth was filled with light. He soon located the number and completed the call.
In a similar way, when we draw aside in a quiet place to pray, we must block out our busy world and open our hearts to the Father. Our darkened world of disappointments and trials will then be illuminated. We will enter into communion with God, we will sense His presence, and we will be assured of His provision for us. Our Lord often went to be alone with the Heavenly Father. Sometimes it was after a busy day of preaching and healing, as in today's Scripture reading. At other times, it was before making a major decision (Luke 6:12).
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.
C.S. Lewis
