The Perfect Prayer

No Matter How Hard I Try

When my quad ran out of gas, how many times did I push the starter button thinking, “This time it will start.”?

When your battery is dead, how many times to you turn the key or push the button?

How many times do you turn a light switch on that you know goes to a burnt out bulb?

No matter how hard we try we can’t make these things happen.

Each of them is dependent upon another factor.

Engines have to have gas and a good battery.

Light fixture has to have a good bulb.

Seems like no-brainers, yet how many times do we try anyway.

Do you remember what it was like high school and no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t get that one person you were madly in love with to love you back.

Maybe you kept trying a little too long.

Do you know what it’s like to desperately want your kids to make the right decisions but you know you can’t make them.

Of course, you and I learned a lot thru our bad decisions but we don’t want them to have to go thru what we went thru to get here, do we!?

Things we can’t control. Things we can’t make happen.

We aren’t strong enough, capable, can’t.

So what do we do when we’re faced with a situation where something has to be done but we can’t do it?

Miracle # 25. Jesus casts a demon out of a boy.

He’s done this many times. But the circumstances here are unique and the disciples, the boy’s father, and we learn valuable lessons that will help us throughout our life.

We are completely dependent upon God and the only way we participate is by

; ; .

Mark, mostly

Context

Preparation

Jesus is preparing the disciples for when He’s gone.

Show & Tell

Fed 5000 and 4000 (17,000 and 14,000)

Walked on water

Taught that He is the bread of life. And, 1 crumb is enough.

Made Himself available to everybody!

Not just a Miracle-Worker

Not just the Jewish Messiah

Everyone’s Savior.

And, He’s going to have to die

He can give you the wisdom, discernment, and abilty to see what’s really going.

And, He can give you ability to find the right words to say in the toughest of situations.

Heaven on Earth

Transfiguration

Takes 3 of the disciples and shows them a little bit of heaven.

Elijah and Moses are there.

But, they are long since dead.

Or, are they?

Every believer who has died is still alive somewhere else.

An important piece of the puzzle.

Jesus said, “I can raise the dead.”

Prove it. Okay. Jairus’ daughter, widow’s son.

To go where? Is there really a place where believers go after they die where they stay alive?

Transfiguration.

Has anyone else who has claimed t/b a savior ever shown us someone he has raised from the dead and kept alive?!

Jesus is the only One!

So, Jesus and the 3 disciples come down the mountain, literally and figuratively, off the high only to discover this.

From high to low in a matter of minutes.

The Confusion of Faithlessness

Mark 9:14–18 NIV

When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

Who?

The other 9 disciples

A large crowd

Jewish teachers

A father and son

What?

It’s chaotic, loud, emotionally charged.

The Jewish teachers would follow Jesus around to try to entrap Him and coax His followers to quit Him.

Jesus had been gone for a while so they saw this opportunity to move in on His followers.

A father had brough his son who was possessed by a demon asking the disciples for help.

The demon kept the boy deaf and mute.

It would try to kill him by throwing him into the fire or into water and would have to be rescued by family.

The pressure was on. The situ was intense.

The disciples needed to do something but they couldn’t.

The Jewish teachers turned up the heat, used the condition of the boy, the desperation of the father and the anticipation of the crowd to put the disciples on the spot.

They’d seen Jesus do this a hundred times. It seemed there was nothing to it, just command the demon out.

They tried, it didn’t work. Tried again, and again, and again.

Maybe this time...

They were helpless, defeated, defensive.

This is the scene the 4 men walked up into.

Jesus asked what was going on and when He was told He was not pleased.

The Conviction of Faithlessness

Mark 9:19 NIV

“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

Jesus called them all out

Unbelieving Generation

Everyone.

The Jewish leadership who did not believe IN Him, had already rejected Him, and now trying to undermine Him.

The disciples. Saved men (except Judas).

They believed IN Jesus but didn’t believe in everything He could do thru them.

Like last week, the faith was correct, just incomplete.

This angers Jesus. When people who have seen enough and heard enough still do not believe He is the only One Who can save them.

This frustrates Him when saved people don’t understand Who it is they believe in nor the power that exists that they have access to.

Like having a big and powerful computer and all we use it for is to play solitaire and watch cat videos.

I love my mother-in-law. She still has an old flip-phone and she has written all of her important phone numbers on a piece of paper and taped it to the back of her phone.

We do the same with Jesus.

Here is a powerful package and all we do is ask for Him to make our lives more comfortable.

Let Jesus do it

Straight and to the point.

Bring the boy to me.

Anger and frustration with the crowd.

Compassion for the boy and his father.

Anyone in that crowd could have done what Jesus is about to do.

First, come to faith in Him. Then, call on Him to work thru you.

No faith at all. A retarded faith. Doubts.

This all showed up in the people but Jesus went to work anyway.

The Confrontation of Faith

Mark 9:20–27 NIV

So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

The problem with power

The disciples had none. They were helpless. Couldn’t do anything.

The demon thought it was powerful

“Watch me control this boy in front of Jesus.”

He is taunting Jesus

The scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in Cairo where Indiana Jones is confronted by a bunch of goons and a scary swordsman brandishes his weapon in what looks like will be an epic duel.

Indiana Jones pulls out his gun and shoots they guy.

That’s what’s going on here. The demon is showing off what it can do expecting an epic duel w/ Jesus for the boy’s life.

A casual conversation

The boy is thrashing around and Jesus calmly looks at the father and initiates a convo w/ him.

Jesus sees the boy and initiates a convo w/ his father.

What’s the demon going to do to the boy that Jesus can’t fix? No worries.

So, just let it go.

The father explains the situ, what they’ve been thru all his life. How hard it’s been and how scary it is.

Just seen the disciples fail. They represent Jesus.

So, if His rep.’s couldn’t, the father wonders if Jesus could.

The perfect prayer

The father questioned Jesus’ ability.

Can you?

What’s he got to go on? Recently, his disciples couldn’t.

But, he had cast many demons out.

How many time do we do this?

Jesus came thru the last 99 times. But, will He this time?

So, we panic.

If you’re going to ask, ask believing.

This isn’t a lesson in “name it and claim it” theology.

“If I have enough faith I can make this happen.”

Then, success, as I define it, is about me, my request and my faith.

Praying “in Jesus’ name” is not a magic formula.

It’s praying what Jesus would do if He were here to do it Himself.

We have to know the character of Jesus to know what to ask that would be consistent.

We have to listen well, as Jesus will tell us what He’s about to do so when we pray it everything lines up.

An arrogant person would think they made it happen by asking Jesus for the right thing and having enough faith to make it happen.

A humble person thinks they didn’t have very much to do w/ it.

I simply asked what I believed Jesus led me to ask for and He did it.

This is the perfect prayer f:

“Yes I believe. Help my unbelief.”

In that moment the father believed in Jesus. He knew He was his Messiah who was capable of the miraculous.

But, until he saw Jesus heal his boy w/ his own eyes he had his doubts.

The struggle is real.

Faith is not the absence of doubt. Faith works where doubt exists.

Doubt isn’t a destroyer of faith. Doubt is a builder of faith.

B/C when God works even though we doubt our faith is strengthened and we understand much more how trustworthy Jesus is.

The father realized his mistake. He no longer doubted the ability of Jesus, that He could. He doubted his ability to believe, that Jesus would.

We should believe in spite of our doubts.

The question isn’t “Can you?”

The question is “Will you?”

Here is where the father did what the discipls failed to do.

And since they failed to do this one thing, they failed to help the boy.

The father asked Jesus, will you help?

Feeding 5000, 4000, walking on water, the boat is sinking.

When they panicked or failed to ask they failed to perform.

All they have to do is calmly ask Jesus for help.

Then, be okay w/ whatever He chooses to do b/c it’s best.

This is the lesson He confirmed to them.

The Correction of Faith

Mark 9:28–29 NIV

After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Why?

Why couldn’t we?

Why can’t I?

“B/C the only way you could do this was by asking me to do it thru you.”

You can’t no matter how many times you try.

Jesus wasn’t there. He wasn’t far away at that time, but the time is coming when He will be a long way away.

What are you going to do then?

There are only 2 reasons why I don’t pray;

I don’t believe I need God, I can do this myself.

I don’t believe God can, or will. So, why bother.

I can make this engine start even though there is no gas in. I’ll just keep pressing the starter!

I can make this light come on even though the bulb is burned out. Just keep flipping the switch.

I can make my kids do what I want.

And other worthless ideas.

Prayer is the recognition that I can’t do this.

Only God can. And, the only question is, will He?

Is it the best thing to do? Is it in keeping w/ His character?

This isn’t name it and claim it.

Also, too often we pray for God to do things He knows we can do outselves.

I can put gas in my quad.

I can change a light bulb.

I don’t need to pray about it.

And for the things I do need to pray about, trust that God will do what’s best for me, not necessarily what I want.

There have been times when I’ve stopped praying b/c I wasn’t getting what I wanted.

God always answers. I’m just looking in the wrong direction.

I’m just looking in the wrong direction.

Sometimes the answer is a change. And, sometimes the answer is the strength to endure the same.

So, when I face situations where I know I can’t do what needs to be done, what do I do?

Pray believing He can, wondering if He will, trusting it will be what’s best.

Applications

Represent well

Remember, we represent more than ourselves here in Munds Park.

Everywhere you go, everybody you encounter, you represent us and God.

When people interact w/ me they are making judgments about you…and vice versa.

For people who don’t go to this church, they will assume everybody here acts like you.

For those who don’t know Jesus, they will make assumptions about Him based on how you act.

Take on the character of Jesus; his grace, mercy, kindness, compassion, accountability, humility, strength, and wisdom.

Use the words He would use.

Never panic. Trust that whatever is happening, He’s in the middle of it and everything will be okay.

Represent well.

Doubt is okay

Pray the perfect prayer: Yes I believe, help my unbelief.”

It’s never a question of if Jesus can.

The question is will He? Is it what’s best?

And, not necessarily best for you, but best to glorify Him.

Doubt is okay.

Doubt is a builder of faith. B/C, when God works even though you doubt, the next time you’ll be stronger and your faith will reach farther.

BTW, notice Jesus performed the miracle even though the father had his doubts.

If the father’s faith was the determining factor in whether or not Jesus would perform the miracle it never would have happened.

Don’t be afraid of your doubts. Ask believing and watch Jesus work.

Pray

Whatever you do, however you do it, pray first.

If you’re not praying what you’re communicating is:

I can do it on my own.

God can’t, or won’t, so why ask anyway.

Self-confidence can be a killer.

Just keep pushing that starter button, flipping that light switch, thinking you’ve made your kids perfect b/c they’re doing exactly what you want.

Even though they’re long gone and haven’t given your wishes a second thought.

Pray. God promises He answers every prayer.

Pray “in Jesus’ name”, what Jesus would pray if He were here to do it Himself.

Listen first, speak second.

Watch Jesus work.

He may bring immediate change. Or, He may bring strength for you to endure the same.

Either way, He’s worked a miracle in you and thru you.

Life is a constant series of situations where we have no idea what to do and no way to do it.

Jesus is a long way away. And yet, He’s right here inside.

We have to stop trying to solve our problems on our own and ask Jesus for help.

The question never is, can he? It’s will He? And, what will He do?

Ask the question then watch Him work.