Prayer Precedes WK-2
Notes
Transcript
Good morning, Living Faith Church! I’m grateful you’re here today. My name is Aaron, if you are a guest in the house today - I want to just say a friendly welcome, and if we have not already, I hope that we get to meet before you take off today.
Whether you came full of faith, carrying questions, or barely made it through the doors—God knew exactly where you would be this morning, and today, we are continuing this journey called Prayer Precedes. This is not simply a teaching series about how to pray more. It is a call to depend upon God more deeply.
Because when prayer precedes, we are declaring, “God, we don’t want to move without You.” When Prayer Precedes - God Prevails
So, before we go any further, let’s welcome His presence and prepare our hearts to hear His Word.
Pray Here
Have you ever decided it was time to clean out the garage?
You walk in with determination. Today is the day. You are going to simplify, organize, and get rid of everything you do not need.
Then you pick up the first item and think, “I might need this someday.”
That happened to me. A couple of years ago I bought some new garage cabinets. While I was cleaning and organizing I came across a piece of equipment that I’ve been carrying around for years, and truth be told, I have never used. It is a 1965 BK Dyna Jet Tube Tester. Stella has asked me multiple times to get rid of it because it just takes up space and I have never used it. So, once again, the conversation surfaced. Now, I’m not about ready to part with my precious - vintage, useless to me, may not even work, smells funny, tube tester. So — I put it in the very back, top shelf of my new garage storage cabinet - next to my skill saw, tile cutter and other tools that Stella never goes near. This is how I keep stuff I don’t want to get rid of — I tuck it out of sight so that It is out of (HER) mind.
In short, I want a clean garage; I just don’t want to surrender anything in it.
That is often how we approach God. We want peace, freedom, purpose, and spiritual life—but we want God to produce those things without touching anything we have decided to keep.
We say, “Lord, change my life—but don’t challenge my priorities. Give me peace—but don’t ask me to release the offense. Use me—but don’t interfere with my comfort. Let Your will be done—as long as it agrees with mine.”
We want resurrection—but resurrection always requires a burial.
Today, as we talk about prayer — I find it critical to realize that there are things in your life, habits, thoughts, passions and musings — in your life that are at war for your prayer life.
Prayer is the most resisted action on planet earth. Nothing that a person does faces more opposition than that of prayer.
1. We are too insecure to pray
2. We are too busy to pray
3. We are too tired to pray
4. We are too uneducated to pray
5. We are too sick to pray
6. We are too hungry to pray
7. We are too angry to pray
8. We are too offended to pray
9. We are too bored to pray
10. We are too un-spiritual to pray
11. We are too spiritual to pray
12. We are too smart to pray
13. We are too proud to pray
14. We are too distracted to pray
15. We are too afraid to pray
There is not a state of mind, maturity, or spiritual development that will render a person void of opposition in prayer. If you right now are facing opposition in prayer, this is a good sign that you are human, you are alive, and that you are ready to pray!
“But”, says one, “sometimes I do not feel that I can pray.” Ah! then indeed you need most to pray; that is the time when you must insist upon it that there is something sadly wrong with you. If, when the time has come for you to draw near to God, you have the opportunity and the leisure for it, you feel no inclination for the holy exercise, depend upon it that there is something radically wrong with you. There is a deadly disease in your system, and you should at once call in the heavenly Physician[1]
— Charles Spurgeon
Jesus faced opposition from within Himself in prayer while in the garden:
43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
We see the agony of Jesus. He was now quite sure that death lay ahead. Its very breath was on him. No one wants to die at thirty-three; and least of all does anyone want to die in the agony of a cross. Here, Jesus had his supreme struggle to submit his will to the will of God. No one can read this story without seeing the intense reality of that struggle. This was no play-acting; it was a struggle in which the outcome swayed in the balance[2]
— William Barclay
Jesus faced opposition from the disciples in prayer while in the garden
40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?
He could no longer look to his friends for help. Although he had asked for their companionship and practical support, they slept as he prayed. In that hour his soul was ‘very sorrowful’ and he could find real comfort only at the throne of his Father. He did not for a moment doubt God’s ability to save him from death. He cast himself upon a God who was able to save him. But he was not saved! Was even the prayer of Jesus unanswered? [3]
— William Barclay
Jesus faced the three primary forms of resistance that we as humans face:
1. Physical and emotional resistance
2. Loneliness of unsupported prayer
3. The apparent unanswered prayer
Yet, in all of this what is uncovered is, in His most intensive prayer moment, Jesus demonstrates that prayer’s purpose is not to get God to do what we want, but to align us with what God wants—not our will, but His be done. And this is why prayer is so vehemently resisted.
Satan is not as intimidated by answered prayers as much as he is intimidated by you becoming aligned with Gods will.
When the answer to prayer means you become the instrument in Gods hand, then resistance increases exponentially.
There is not a more effective form of resistance than for you to believe that you want something else more than you want God’s will. This is why Jesus said:
25 “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
To hate one’s life is to love the life of God more than the life of the flesh. Truly, the one thing that keeps a person from really praying is the love of life.
— An offended person will not pray “Lord let healing begin with me?”
— A greedy person will not pray, “Lord what do you want to do with this money?”
— A person in love with life’s pleasures will not pray, “Lord show me any offensive way in me.”
Interesting how Jesus, In John 12 follows this up just two verses later, showing how he hated the fleshly life and craved the true spiritual life.
27 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
28 “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
It is true, that too many Christians are loving the life of the flesh, living for the life of the flesh, and praying for the life of the flesh, and in essence, praying against the will of God. I think that every Christian I know would pray: “Father, save me from this hour…”
Yes, because we have made the life of the flesh more real that the life of the spirit.
18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
Jesus own words to His audience, and us today say:
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Do we know God enough to know that the Spiritual life is more real than the fleshly life, that this life is but a breath, and that God is far more interested in your eternal life than the temporal? Yes, there are times when the eternal life purpose takes a higher priority over your temporal and physical body.
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Too many Christians want their will to glorify God. We want our idea to be heavens idea. The flesh can never please God, as reflected in Christs prayer and later in Romans 8:8.
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Look again at John 12:27-28. The average Christian would not pray this prayer — we would not even call it biblical. We are so convinced that God wants to give us a good life, a pleasing life, a happy life. We have come to believe that His will is always for our physical body and earthly life to to experience deliverance from the enemies of this world. But Jesus would disagree with your doctrine in this regard.
33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
The “I have overcome the world” does not negate the “You will have tribulation…” Today, our prayer would sound much more like:
“Father, Glorify Your name and save me from this hour…”
Yet, the glory of God was not in the saving, but in the crucifixion. What I am saying is:
At times, the greatest resistance toward your own answered prayers is not from Satan, but from God…
A Holy and righteous God who cannot answer a self-centered, hedonistic and narcissistic prayer .
Do you remember how Jesus taught the disciples to pray?
9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Before there was ever a “Give us this daily bread…” There was a surrender to The Kingdom, it’s Lordship, and a greater hunger for Heavens will .
Three Actions of Surrender
Three Actions of Surrender
If prayer brings us into alignment with God’s will, then the question is not merely, “How can I pray more?” The deeper question is, “What within me is resisting surrender?”
1. Identify What You Are Protecting
1. Identify What You Are Protecting
Ask yourself: “What do I want so badly that I do not want God to challenge it?”
It may be a relationship, an ambition, an offense, your reputation, your comfort, or the outcome you have already chosen.
The flesh does not resist every kind of prayer. It will gladly pray for God to protect what it loves. It resists the prayer that places what it loves upon the altar.
Name what you have been protecting. Richard Baxter, the Puritan theologian, articulates a sobering reality:
Handfuls on Purpose for Christian Workers and Bible Students, Series I–XIII True Self-Denial
“It is a plain contradiction to be saved without self-denial. For as it is self that we must be saved from, so to stick to self is to be lost and miserable, and therefore not to be saved.”
He goes on to say:
Handfuls on Purpose for Christian Workers and Bible Students, Series I–XIII True Self-Denial
“Deny self or you will deny Christ” for self is both an Atheist and an idolater, self is an Antichrist, and glories in self-exaltation.”
2. Pray the Prayer You Have Been Avoiding
2. Pray the Prayer You Have Been Avoiding
There are prayers we avoid because we suspect God may answer them:
“Lord, show me where I am wrong.”
“Lord, let healing begin with me.”
“Lord, whatever it costs, glorify Your name.”
“Lord, not my will, but Yours be done.”
The prayer you are most reluctant to pray may reveal the place where the flesh still has the greatest control. In order to tear down the idol of self, you must pray that prayer.
Just because you realize that Christ is not first in your life does not mean that you cannot pray this prayer. If you will pray the prayer you have been avoiding:
A. This prayer will cause Christ to be first, in plans, life and desires - Matthew 6:3
B. This prayer will cause us to remember Christ, His will and His ways - Proverbs 3:5,6
C. This prayer will cause us to love God - Matthew 22:37-39
3. Obey What God Has Already Revealed
3. Obey What God Has Already Revealed
Surrender eventually becomes action.
If God has told you to forgive, forgive.
If He has told you to apologize, apologize.
If He has told you to release something, release it.
If He has told you to wait, stop forcing the outcome.
We cannot sincerely pray, “Your will be done,” while continually refusing to do what He has already shown us. So:
Identify what you are protecting.
Pray the prayer you have been avoiding.
Obey what God has revealed.
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
You cannot sincerely pray for His kingdom to come while insisting that your kingdom remain untouched.
The death of the flesh begins when we stop asking God to serve our will and place ourselves entirely within His.
Salvation Response
Salvation Response
Maybe you do not have a personal relationship with God. Maybe you are still carrying the anxiety, guilt, and pressure that sin produces in your life. Maybe you are exhausted from trying to navigate life on your own. Can I assure you that today, all of that can change? You can walk out of this room with hope in your heart and new life in Jesus. The Bible tells us:
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Some people hesitate to become Christians because they believe they must clean themselves up before coming to God. Others hesitate because they fear losing control of their lives. But how well has being in control actually worked for us?
Jesus does not ask you to repair yourself before coming to Him. He asks you to trust Him. Salvation begins when we stop trying to save ourselves, confess Jesus as Lord, and place our lives into His hands.
That does involve surrender—but you are not surrendering your life to someone who wants to destroy it. You are surrendering it to the One who loved you enough to give His life for you. You do not change your life to earn His grace. You receive His grace, and then He begins changing your life from the inside out. The Bible also says:
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We know that sin leads to death. You have felt its pain and carried its consequences. But the good news is that God is offering you the free gift of eternal life.
You cannot earn this gift, and you do not have to make yourself worthy of it. You simply receive it by trusting Jesus, surrendering control, and allowing Him to become the Lord and Savior of your life.
If you would say, “I want God’s forgiveness. I want to receive this gift of life. I am ready to stop living only for myself and place my life into the hands of Jesus,” raise your hand so I know whom I am praying for.
KEEP YOUR HANDS RAISED HIGH—I HAVE A PRAYER PARTNER COMING TO PRAY WITH YOU.
“Heavenly Father, I trust You to save me through Your Son, Jesus. Forgive me for all of my sins. Make me brand new. Because You died for me, I want to live for You. Fill me with Your Spirit, so I could follow You. Jesus, You’re now my Lord and the Savior of my life. Take my life. It is Yours. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”
[1]C. H. Spurgeon, “Prayer, the Proof of Godliness,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 41 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1895), 520.
[2]William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 407.
[3]Raymond Brown, The Message of Hebrews: Christ above All, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 99.
