Recalibrated Prayer
Recalibrated Life • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro:
How many of you enjoy praying?
our efforts determine the outcome
broken propeller vs whole
half effort vs full effort
2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB95)
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.
Prayer is not a static practice. Prayer is something we learn to do and something we continue to grow into.
When Jesus taught on prayer, he didn’t say if you pray or tell us we should pray
He said When you Pray
5 “When you pray...
He phrased other teachings the same way when it comes to those who are His disciples
for those who are citizens of the kingdom of God
2 “So when you give to the poor...
16 “When you fast...
These are expectations of us as believers
as followers of Jesus
as citizens of the Kingdom of God
When we neglect these things, our status in the kingdom begins to falter
When we pray, however, we have access to the very presence of God within us
We enter His throne room because
symbolically-
when we bow our heads to pray,
we are there
Revelation 4:2–6
Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.
And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.
Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.
And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
The narrative in Revelation continues to reveal Jesus come to break the seals and begin the final days
6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
8 Then the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,
12 saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
“To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”
14 And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.
Until that day, Jesus sits at the right hand of God in that very throne room interceeding on our behalf
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
34.. Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
21 baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
55 But, [Stephen] being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;
56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
1 ...And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,
When we pray, however, we have access to the very presence of God within us
We enter His throne room because
symbolically-
when we bow our heads to pray,
we are there
Under the old covenant, the only way to access the presence of God was at an altar
now we symbollically stand before an altar every time we pray
as we bring our sacrifices to God
sacrifices of time, money, thanksgiving, repentance, supplication
Whoever Controls the Altar Controls the Outcome
Whoever Controls the Altar Controls the Outcome
The problem is that we allow the enemy to arrest control of the altar from us
Throughout Scripture, God's leaders built altars where He met them in powerful, miraculous ways.
God still longs to pour out His power at those altars.
But we've been seduced away by worldly wisdom and man-made distractions and plans,
Altars have long been a place created to connect heaven and earth
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Noah’s first impulse after stepping off the ark was to build an altar.
it is the first altar recorded in scripture, but it certainly is not the last
Through sacrifice, altars allow us to bring the things of this world and offer them to God.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
These altars became a common way for God’s people to connect the needs of their life-their prayers and worship- with the throne room of God
Elijah constructed an altar before he prayed to heaven and called down fire as a sign to the pagan prophets and the onlooking crowd of Israelites
Ezra made the reconstructions of Jerusalem’s altar a priority in his work while rebuilding the city and the temple
Abraham built altars to mark places of God’s promise
Some of these altars were just earth, humble places where families gathered.
Others were impressive and central to Israel’s identity.
The altar in the temple courtyard was seven and a half feet wide with a massive ramp that was used by priests to place daily sacrifices.
All these altars served the same basic purpose: they were a place to encounter God, a place to sacrifice, and a place to pray.
They were a place where the things of earth rose to the throne room.
Altars are the intentional places we construct to remind us of the connection between heaven and earth
Altars are the intentional places we construct to remind us of the connection between heaven and earth
They are the places to which we return to pray
So like our ancient brothers and sisters, we still build them
perhaps not of the same design or materials, but we too, find places to pray
We crawl to those places and offer our time, emotions, finances, and plans as a living sacrifice
An altar doesn’t need to be anything more than an open space at the back of your closet, but it does need to be somewhere, it does need to exist
and what matters most is what you do while you’re there,
what matters is your faithfulness to build them and the prayers you pray while at them.
It can be the steering wheel of a car,
the chair in the living room,
the pew at church,
the bedside in your room.
the altar is more about the prayer than the place or setting.
It is anywhere and anytime that we decide to recognize our existence in the throne room of heaven.
it is anytime we stop allowing ourselves to be limited to what we can see, when we bow our heads in faith and humility and say, “our father in heaven...”
Most of us who have followed Jesus for any amount of time know the things we should value.
but knowing something is valuable doesn’t mean we actually value it.
I know I should eat right and exercise. I can tell you the science behind why it is so important. But that doesn’t mean we all do those things.
For instance, I have been doing well these last few months and am getting close to having lost 20 pounds
but that didn’t stop me from eating way too many krispy kremes yesterday at the fellowship event at my house
there is a difference between knowing and doing, between belief and faith
We can know the value of a piece of art, a luxury car, or dinner at a five-star restaurant, but that doesn’t mean we want it or are willing to pay for it.
Knowing that it is valuable does not mean that we personally value it
Prayer is like that. We know prayer is valuable. We know that it is a vital part of any believer’s life, and we know that Jesus valued it.
But does that mean that we do it.
A simple test to see what you value most is to ask the question: What is the first thing you do when there is a need?
Do you go to google, your friend, do you complain on facebook, escape, smoke, watch tv,
When the early Church found themselves facing a need, the first thing they did was pray.
This is the pattern repeated again and again in the book of Acts.
And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
You want a great example from the Bible of the importance of prayer
besides looking at Jesus own prayer life
look at Daniel
Daniel and the dangers of prayer
Daniel and the dangers of prayer
Most people think of lion’s den when I mention Daniel
His story is more than that
Daniel’s story is about the power of prayer and how our prayers on earth move heaven above
-Daniels favor when he was first recognized for his talent and potential-
God blessed Daniel’s faithfulness with wisdom beyond that of any other advisor in Babylon
Externally, things seemed good for Daniel, but Daniel was engaged in something that threatened the demonic powers of that pagan nation.
Daniel not only continued his Jewish lifestyle, but he also continued to pray.
Nothing threatens the work of the enemy more than prayer.
Nothing threatens the work of the enemy more than prayer.
Daniel had to be stopped.
It was his prayers that the devil was concerned about.
It was his praying that put all he thought he had accomplished at risk.
Daily, Daniel had made it his routine to kneel in his window facing Jerusalem and pray for his home, his people, and the future of his people.
People saw that Daniel was praying.
They understood that it was important to him.
Daniel had an altar.
That altar was more important to his life and work than any governmental position or Babylonian favor.
Even though Daniel served with integrity, and maybe because of it, he had enemies.
Motivated by demonic inspiration, pride and insecurity, Daniel’s enemies plotted to silence him.
They confronted Daniel where they knew he had the most effect:
They would attempt to silence his prayers.
They knew that could not tempt Daniel, so they formed a plan to trick the king into silencing Daniel’s prayers.
They convinced the king to issue a decree that for thirty days no one could pray to any god except to the king himself.
This decree made Daniel’s daily prayers an act of treason and punishable by death
They knew Daniel’s faithfulness.
The decree would silence him either by fear or by death.
Notice how Daniel’s enemies didn’t try to trap him in sin or tempt him into compromise
They struck at Daniel’s strength, the thing that most threatened them
They tried to keep him from praying
What did Daniel Do?
He did what he always did.
He went to his altar in the window and prayed.
No law or scheme could keep him from it
Not even threats against his life.
Nothing was more important to Daniel than prayer.
Why is Satan so opposed to prayer?
Why was it Daniel’s prayers that stirred his enemies to action?
We may feel as if our payers go unheard, or we may feel as though our prayers are not answered, but Satan does not share that opinion.
Satan wants to keep us from praying because he knows how much prayer matters
He knows the power of prayer perhaps even more than we do.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
We live in a world of spiritual conflict
Satan fears prayer because prayer moves the unseen
he understands that he is most vulnerable when we pray,
when we take up this struggle against the powers of darkness through prayer
It is no surprise that he will use every tactic at his disposal to keep us from praying
From simple distractions to legal limitations, Satan seeks to silence your prayers, too.
Prayer continues to be under attack just as it was in Daniel’s day
It always has been and always will be
Private, personal prayer may be permitted (though it is often ridiculed and increasingly neglected)
But public prayer is fiercely attacked
The Barna Group has reported that of the Americans who pray, only TWO PERCENT pray audibly with another person or group, and only TWO PERCENT participate in praying with their church
Perhaps Daniel could have prayed privately and no one would have known.
He could have stepped away from his window and prayed somewhere out of sight
He could have avoided the whole conflict by keeping his prayers to himself.
Certainly, Daniel did also pray in private, but what got Daniel in trouble was his refusal to give up public prayer.
He would not hide what he was doing
When prayer gets reduced to only a private and personal matter, we limit it, and we limit the ability of believers to learn how to do it
People are left to figure it out on their own.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He did it by praying with them.
They prayed together
When they faced challenges, they gathered to pray together
When they sought the Spirit, they gathered in an upper room and prayed together
When one of them was in danger, they gathered in a home and prayed together
The New Testament is filled with people praying together and praying in public
God’s people pray.
It is what we do,
Therefore, praying must be at the center of who we are
Everything is shaped by prayer
It is prayer that moves the heavens
It is prayer that energizes us
It is prayer that ushers in revival
It is prayer that pushes back the darkness
It is prayer that threatens the enemy
It is prayer that releases God’s power
Daniel believed that using his authority in the spirit world was more important than using his influence in the physical word
He didn’t just believe it, he did it.
Daniel’s actions proved that he believed more in the effectiveness of prayer than all his other gifts and talents.
Daniel had wisdom and influence
He knew how to lead and administrate
He held a powerful position and had access to critical resources
Daniel knew how to be a great leader
But when he faced challenges, when he really needed things done:
He went to his window
knelt at his altar
and prayed
Before he was anything else, Daniel was a man of prayer.
I want to be like Daniel, a man of prayer.
One of my life verses comes from the book of James:
“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective”
James 5:13–18 (NASB95)
Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.
Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?”
And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.
“But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
