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Billboards

Have any of you seen those billboards with “messages from God?” Yeah, me too, every time I head home, actually.

Show Kearney Billboard

Yeah, I hate them, too. Sure, they’re cute, and more than a bit ironic, but really? God doesn’t think like that, or communicate that way. I mean, let’s look at a few examples:

Show other Billboards

See what I mean?

Again, cute, but not really His style, if you catch my meaning.

God did communicate with us, through this, His Word, and it’s pretty straight forward if you put some effort into actually studying it. And through that, we can see all the things that God is trying to share with us.

But...

But what about us? How do we communicate with Him? I mean, I don’t have access to a physical red hotline that dials the Almighty. So, how do I reach out to Him? Well, as today’s worship service shows, there’s only one answer...

PRAYER

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters. Prayer.

Prayer is defined thusly:

prayer

noun

noun: prayer; plural noun: prayers

a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.

prer/ noun noun: prayer; plural noun: prayers a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.

plural noun: prayers a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.

So, then let’s look at some examples of prayer:

The Sleeping Prayer

The “Position is Key” Prayer

The "Now in Theaters” Prayer

See, this is all, exaggerated as it is, complete nonsense, but we do it all the time! And this isn’t a new problem, by any stretch of the means. It’s the whole reason for this part of Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount.”

Our Scripture reading for today is .

Matthew 6:5–13 ESV

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

There are many reasons I love Jesus, but this is probably one of the reasons I love Him best: He just makes things so…not complicated and so easy.

I mean, let’s break this down:

1) Don’t pray to hear yourself speak or to get recognition

2) Pray in such a way and place as to make sure you can effectively communicate with God without distractions

3) Don’t drone on and on, thinking God’s impressed by the length of your prayer; He’s really not, because He’s already full aware of what you are asking before you even get the words out.

Then, Jesus, as awesome as He is, shows us point blank what He is talking about by giving us the example to follow:

Skit Guys Prayer

It’s pretty easy, isn’t it? It sounds like someone talking to a friend, doesn’t it? Because that’s exactly what prayer is supposed to be about: talking with the best friend you could ever have in your life…Jesus.

We sang the hymn before, but I have got to ask: Do you have a friend in Jesus? Do you carry everything to God in prayer, as you would a friend? The pain and grief we carry is easily taken off, simply by going to God, and giving it over to Him in our prayers. We were never meant to carry such heavy loads. It was never God’s intention. So, go to Him, and give everything over to Him. What’s stopping you today? Sin and self are like an ocean with sharks and a heavy undertow, trying to pull us under and devour us, and we constantly think we can keep afloat with all the kicking, flailing, and struggling we do, but it doesn’t work. We just keep on drowning. If you see how badly you are drowning and realize that you need saving, boy have I got good news for you today! We have the most amazing lifeguard who is on duty 24/7. You know what’s best about our lifeguard? He walks on water. He’s holding out His hand to you, telling you that you don’t need to do all that work, because He already did it all for you. Jesus died and rose for you! Just take His hand, and let Him pull you to shore.

If you haven’t put your faith in Jesus to save you from yourself and to lead you in your life, or maybe, you’ve strayed back into the water, and need saving again, well, He is still there, hand stretched out towards you, calling your name with a smile on His face, telling you that if you just let go of everything else and hold on to Him, you’ll be safe in His arms.

Please bow your heads and close your eyes:

If you feel you are drowning and are struggling just to keep your head above water and you are ready to give your life and your heart into Jesus’ hands, come down here to the altar and pray with me. Maybe you’ve just wandered away for awhile, and want to come back home to Jesus, come to the altar and pray with me. If you have already committed your life to Jesus, but have not been taking advantage of the tremendous gift He gave us in allowing us to take our troubles to Him in prayer, come to the altar and pray with me. If you have someone on your heart, someone who you know is desperately in need of Jesus, come to the altar and pray with me. If you are feeling shy and don’t want to make a spectacle of yourself, don’t let that hold you back! God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of boldness to approach His throne with our earnest and honest petitions and prayers, so come down to the altar and pray with me.

Heads bowed, eyes closed, let us pray…

AMEN