Prayer • Colossians 4:2–4

You can open up to Colossians chapter 4.

This summer we're looking at spiritual rhythms, and we've looked at work and rest. We spent an entire month looking at those two ideas. And the reason we're talking about spiritual rhythms rhythms, Define Our Lives. How many do you have a morning routine? Yeah, everybody something that consistently takes place how many you even have an evening routine. I have evening routine to Wine Down rhythms are incredibly important. We adopt these habits and repeat these forms in our daily existence and they direct our decisions. They feed our motivation knowing that rhythms are part of the human existence here at redeemers were exploring these different ideas on rhythms. And as we talked about spiritual rhythms spiritual discipline or spiritual formation is really a great word that we should recapture and Cat. Actually be gravitating towards we see that these are all fueled by God's grace. Not for God's grace. What we do as followers of Jesus is because of the grace of God is captivated our heart captured. Our attention wooed us brought us into him. Therefore because of that our souls are now being spiritually formed and conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and this morning we're going to talk about this rhythm of prayer. Now when you come to church and you hear the words, we're going to talk about prayer. There's a couple of feelings that begin to come over. The first one for me is typically guilt. Because I don't pray enough, right and we feel this that yeah, I know I should be praying but in my own energy and effort, it feels far more productive to get things done actually seek God and His Direction when you hear that, we're going to talk about prayer some of us come in here going. I should probably just leave now because I didn't come in here with a very good week when it comes to this idea of prayer and I'm going to feel it. Keep upon me. I know I should pray more you're preaching to the choir or when I say the word prayer. It comes kind of with this skeptical look on our faces this last week. If you know, my dad Lauren Anderson, he is a fantastic listener. Just a great guy. You can talk his ear off and we were actually in the car my wife and I and the kids and driving and she experienced this with me as I'm talking with him there on the speakerphone. Don't worry me over here today talking to him on the speakerphone after about 5-6 minutes. I finally went dad dad dad.

You there it was quiet and I thought about this this week and I thought that's how a lot of us think of prayer with God, isn't it? Dad father father? Do you hear me do You Hear My Cries? Do you know how long I've been crying out to you. I've been speaking to you. Are you listening to me or really in today's culture if you're someone who happens to be on some type of social media and we see some Mass tragedy happen when people begin to say sending prayers and there's this immediate response send blood not prayers and there's the skepticism that has crept into culture that says train is pathetic train is of no value train won't add an ounce of anything to the situation and we're seeing this bombardment of discouragement when it's around the topic of prayer Yes Christians followers of Jesus. We know that we should do it. You read throughout the Old Testament. You read the life of Jesus. You read the Pastoral Epistles. You read the letters to the church from John are from James and you realize that Christians are to pray and see what happens if this tension and this battle of something. I know I should be doing but I really struggle against it and with all the discouragement it can lead us into complacency in an area that were called to be on guard in it can lead us into apathy where we should be rigorous when it comes to you prayer this morning. We're going to look at prayer through Colossians chapter 4 verses 2 through 4 understand the way that has written all the Glorious riches we have in Jesus Christ that he and he alone is our savior our King the preeminent the firstborn get this just incredibly unimaginable. What is Christ came into the world and died for our sins Paul is going to Great Lengths to describe who he is what he has done and how he has redeemed us thinning Colossians 2 right around verse sick as you receive Christ Jesus walk in him and in chapter 4 We're beginning to get this exhortation of how we walk in Jesus how rhythms form following after Jesus Christ and we see that as followers of Jesus. We have a responsibility and privileges as Believers. Paul says in chapter 4 verse to continue steadfastly in Traer being watchful in it with Thanksgiving at the same time. We also for us that God may open to us a door for the words to clear the mysteries of Christ on the account of which I'm in prison, but I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak and so Call is giving this Rhythm this idea that you are to be a group of people who are watchful in prayer dedicated to prayer consisted in prayer. And he also touches on this idea of evangelism. We're not going to go there at all today on that second put on the first as you received Christ, Jesus walk in him. Why prayer? Why do we pray? Is this realization that we aren't God and we have need Paul Miller wrote a book called A Praying life other than e m bounds, which if you never heard of a short little books on prayer and the written and some old English, but they're phenomenal but this book Paul Miller wrote. It's much more contemporary and modern might be one of the better books on prayer I've ever read. He said this about prayer at the center of self-will is me carving a world in my image at the center of prayer is God carving me in his son's image. I mean I can probably just closed the book pray and walk out of here at this point. This this is why prayer because at the center of me and myself will ignoring God and pushing got out. I'm carving an image-based after me and who I am but into freyr God is carving me in his son image. What is prayer the Westminster catechism of the Shorter Catechism talks about this trailer is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to his will in the Name of Christ with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies or I liked with John Piper talk about when he talked about prayer prayer is intentionally conveying a message to God. Every human being in every second of every moment of their lives are communicating some sort. They're convinced some sort of message to God In Prayer or intentionally conveying a message to God and what did he even begins to say in Romans is sometimes in our own Spirit when we don't know what to pray for we grunts is my favorite analogy early on in marriage my wife a goat. Hey, do you want to go grocery shopping? Tide poke and she knew in my grunts that I was not interested in grocery shopping. I've learned to control my grunt. I mean I've picked up on however Paul talks about this even in prayer this intentionality. I'm just going

I feel like that would God.

I don't even know what to pray for. I don't even know how to bring this to your attention. God prayer is intentionally bringing a message to God. It shows his complete sufficient C in my helplessness as a human being it shows that were in desperate need of God and prayer actually brings joy and Delight to God Proverbs 15:8 says the prayer of the upright is his Delight Revelation 5:8 not only defeat the light in our prayers, but they're a sweet incense to him when we pray. God hears and it's sweet to his ears when we pray God is not frustrated over us looking down on us with that typical look we have of God in our minds just its approval as we come and we pray he's invited us to enter into his throne room of Grace. And for some of us is can be hard to grasp because God is so generous and kind and he saying come to me and Isaiah 65:24. It says it will also come to pass that before they call. I will answer and they are still speaking. I will here today redeemers. God is ready to hear your prayers. His ear is bent low and bent down and he's listening to the cries of you. What does it means rest in his prayers? Not a checklist that we keep coming to God with it. We are persistently making this thing known to him, but that this is this the life that we have conversation and we tell God what is going on in our lives. We're giving him. Thanks and praise God is not tired of hearing from you this morning. Come to him after him but also means there are no bad prayers. No lot of teachers and always tell their students there are no bad questions. And in those teachers will talk about all the bad questions that were asked of them when I say there are no bad prayers. I sincerely truly mean that God is beckoning you to come and to pray and to spend time with him here in Colossians to pray consistent consistently honest this morning is this city hinge and all of us and maybe it's even bigger than that a whole bucketful that we're going to say. We're not very good at praying. Where do I even start? How do I pray what do I pray? How do I begin to develop these rhythms of prayer this morning is what I want to look at is this idea of consistently praying to God that here's what happens in life more often than not when people talk about prayer they have two approaches to it and you probably going to fall into one of these buckets the first bucket is that person who gets up maybe early in the morning or maybe 9 a.m. Cuz they're Millennial and that is early in the morning for Millennials are awake and they go I'm just going to devote this chunk of time and I'm going to check in with God. I'm going to read scripture and I'm going to pray and I'm going to get my list out and I'm going to spend an hour, but then you know what I do. I close the book and I'm done for the day I clocked in with you god, and I hope that was good enough and I hope that carries me throughout the day, but trust me I did it and I checked in and I spent that deep time with him. In fact, I even was still. I knew that he was God in that moment. And that is one type of person who says I want deep Long prayer in the morning. And then you have another person will say, you know, I don't really have time for that slowing down. I'm just rushing out the door with a yogurt and banana in my hand and trying to get to work. I pray throughout the day. I just sort of when things come up for the text message comes in or something happens in life. I just am really good at stopping and praying right then and there and I know these two types of people because I get to spend time with a lot of people in this body and there are people who I sincerely believe when they say I'm going to go home and pray about that and pray for you about that that they're going to go home and log that time away in the morning is also people in this church you go. I'm not letting you off the phone off the street out of the restaurant before I pray for you because I'm an in-the-moment kind of people Not one is better than the other but we need to fuse those two things together.

A lifestyle of Rhythm a prayer before God and really still our hearts to really look deep within sometimes it'll only and always be surface e shallow. And that's not the kind of relationship God has called us into but yet to just check in once a day. I mean I couldn't imagine a relationship with my spouse with my friends with my children where it's just this one hour check off and that just gets me through the rest of the year are the rest of the month for the rest of the week There's constant communication. I mean, my phone is blowing up all the time and 90% of it is from My Wife and it's wonderful because we're communicating throughout the day. God has called us into this kind of relationship that consist of both and desires both and so what Paul is writing is To Be watchful, you know, why nobody stumbles into a life of Prayer? Nobody stumbled into a life of godliness. Nobody accidentally drifts into godliness. Nobody accidentally drifts into prayer. It doesn't work that way but what happens if it's a great driven effort, if not, a self-driven efforts for them prayer will feel very lonely and I'll be checking in with God and making sure you did enough. It's Grace driven because God has saved you God has changed when he's driving you into him and his presence but there is this discipline elements that are forming and each and every one of us and when I say nobody dristan to Godliness if you were to peel back the layers of their life, I guarantee you there is time spent studying scripture submitting their life to God learning how to pray learning what to pray. Still learning and studying scripture in relationship and friendship with others and Paul says Be watchful because there's obstacles in prayer. Timothy Keller said prayers a lot like falling in love and getting married. It's easy at first and then it gets complicated. He went on if you want to turn this Crush into something wonderful lasting and deep. It's going to take a lot of reflection can take a lot of patience is going to take a lot of emotional elbow grease. It's going to take a lot of work and by no means is he simply putting some kind of law rules and regulation but he's saying because of the grace of God you're going to be driven into prayer and why don't we pray we are easily distracted right? We are incredibly distracted the second I sit down to pray I can email. My emails are right there on the counter. I get a text I get a phone call and yes, I still have some poopy diapers. I change a three year olds things happen. We set aside time and all of a sudden destruction pops up in my mind and there's things that need to get done and prayers getting way of what is more important in my life or so, I think Because I have everything at our fingertips and we don't want to forget a thing and we don't want to let a single person down. We're so distracted at the even sit before the presence of God becomes incredibly difficult and hard task and what happens in that as we forget who were actually coming before when you sit before God on that couch with your coffee or with your kombucha or your tea or whatever it is. You drink in the morning in the afternoon in the evening. We forget that we're coming before the very presence of the God who created and made us there for anything else can become more pressing urgent and important because God you become secondary even though I've carved out in the opportunity for this. That is a serious problem. We're so distracted. Try to focus on knowing god for 30 minutes and you'll find out how weak you are. Listen to a 30 minute teaching you're going to drift in and out, but you're going to hear some things sit still before God for 30 minutes after 5 your checking your watch. John Newton said he's a great hymn writer. When he's trying to pray just trying as hard as he can to concentrate and pray he feels so weak. He says sometimes the buzzing of a fly in the room isn't over match for my strength. Have you ever experienced that I'm going to pray? I'm going to seek you. I got out to the woods this last weekend was camping with some friends and had some quiet time and honestly, it's the mosquito. It's the bird chirping and I'm just like Josh nature is noisy here for quiet. And so then I get up and shoot things off. It's so difficult. We are easily distracted throwing up to figure out some ways to get rid of those distractions cynicism sets in to be cynical is to be distance. It's a false intimacy of being in the know that kind of Citizen destroys intimacy. It says you can't get close to God. You can trust God what kind of cynicism seats in prayer. Don't listen God doesn't hear God doesn't care. God is not going to step in in our lives and the cynicism is creeping in through the megaphone of the world looking in a Christianity and saying that God does not listen if you did things would look differently. Look at your own unanswered prayers what happens in our hearts and our lives we go. Can I trust you God? Has anybody ever uttered those words? Can I trust you God? Tennis God really the one that we know and we're known by and we trust him. You know the story of Jesus, you know that early on he goes there to be baptized by John the Baptist and they're just dub to spend the sins on with the spirit of God, you know that on the Mount of transfiguration. The father's booming voice says this is my beloved Son in whom I have chosen are some translations my beloved yet in the darkest moment of the life of Jesus in great despair sweating blood drops from his forehead. He comes before God the Father and Jesus is praying and he says father if it is all possible take this cup from me, but nevertheless not my will but your will be done. no booming voice The clouds did not parks. Presence of God that we re there like a dub does not descend. Get Jesus knows already been spoken over him. Redeemers, it's so important to know how God thinks and perceives you and loves you because there are going to be dark moments of your soul review. Wonder if God is listening and you have to come back to the depths in the richness of the scripture that declare just like God spoke over Jesus. He didn't in the Epistles cause of his beloved shows and a royal priesthood. He has given his identity. And if you let this slip from your thought process they're going to be moments in your life when you're crying out to God. Where are you? Are you going to answer? Here's the reality if you knew what God knows about what would happen if he answered there be rejoicing in your soul that he didn't answer in the way that you wanted him to do. You understand that we are so fine and we only have this present View and we can't get past what's going to happen 15-20 years from now, and so we're asking pleading and begging God to move in certain ways. If you had my wisdom my knowledge of what's going to happen that you would be rejoicing and praising for all the times that I said. No. And I know that doesn't heart help when you're in hurtful painful times when you're questioning why God didn't you just chew your why didn't you just move? Why didn't you just do this? But at some point we have to see we're going to let the god of the universe do what is just and I'm going to entrust my heart my soul my mind unto you. Otherwise we're going to be running around in a panic and we're not going to get rest like we talked about last week. We're going to try to control every situation every single person and we're going to have to make our point of view known and that is exhausting. So he says come and pray and trust me. It's so hard to do that, isn't it? It is so difficult, but that's what he's calling us to do number 3 by the enemy is lurking Ephesians 6, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities of Darkness 1st Peter 5 the adversary the devil is walking around seeking whom he may devour and I don't believe the demon ever under every Bush scenario. As I shared multiple times. The flat tire is not the devil throwing Nails out. You went through a construction zone. That's probably what happened. I would check their first, but but but in Western culture release stemming from you know, the enlightenment's we've pushed out all spiritual explanation to any problem and then go to the scientific method and rationalism and so in our Western thinking we thought there is no realm with the spirits that are bad are causing harm and pain and if we knew that demons the devil that whole world was seeking to devour our families when we pray more to devour our marriages wouldn't we pray more to whisper in your ear that say you don't love me? God doesn't care about you. Look at your situation. It's horrible. Look at their situation. It's Greek god obviously doesn't care about you over here and the devil whispered much of the devil has whole evil world that is encompassing Whispering is Leiden to our ears and that should cause us to pray Piper says we are not at peace, but we are at this is a time of war and we enter and through prayer. We don't pray before because of our pride I got this God I can handle this one when I get a little out of my control. Maybe I would then we'll begin to call on you. What things make a worse turn then I will come before you. Church understand there are things keeping us from prayer and there's a God who's willing and calling us to prayer know that God Delights over you. So what can we do? How do we engage in this? How do we enter into this? What are some things that we can practically begin to think through this morning? And there's something that I'd love for you if you're taking notes or if you're writing things down just to think through if you want to become somebody who has rhythms of prayer. Think about your time. Why don't we pray? There's not enough time in the day, right every single person at the same 24 hours is the person sitting next to you. And so when we think there's not enough time, I think the bigger factor is that there's things infringing on our time or there's things that we think are more important. Therefore we're willing to sacrifice prayer for these things that are more important. That's what a sacrifice is giving something of value for something of greater value that you didn't will partake in and so we need to understand begin to look at our life and the time that we've been granted in the time we have been given you really beneficial for some of us to begin to develop healthy rhythms of getting up in the morning and whether that's 9 a.m. Or 5:30 a.m. And saying before my feet hit the ground or when my feet hit the ground in my mug is filled then I will begin to pray. I'm going to sit before you God. I'm going to spend that time with you. There is no holier-than-thou time to pray by the way Jesus at one point stayed up all night and prayer Daniel Prayed 3 times a day early church was going to Temple Daily to pray the psalmist declared early in the morning will I seek your face? There's no magic time but his creatures of habit. Finding that time that you can set aside to enter into the very presence of God as you set aside all your other thoughts. To put away your phone when you're not going to be bothered and to sit still before you is incredibly important and to make that habitual in your life. It is 6:30 a.m. For me. It is 10:30 a.m. It is my lunch break and that's when I spend that time number to place. This is an issue probably for a lot of us. We don't know where to pray. Jesus talks about prayer in the closet is prayer in the House of Prayer in the temple as some of us think prayer is like arms folded had bowed like this. I've heard this many times with you all my favorite place to pray is the trail is to get out for 45 minutes turn it all off and you just walk and pray in as I'm walking and thanking God for his creation for the mountains for everything that we get to partake and then thinking through list of people and Nev because I'm able to get away from the distraction of that leaky faucet the projects that need to be done finding a place to pray is so important. Some of us can find that to be very difficult, but we just stay at home. It's hard to love you at stay-at-home parents. It might be locking yourself in the closet for good 15 minutes or the pantry where you stash the good food up high, but I know how that works. Grab some food sit down and spend time before God. How do I how do I even try if I've got time and I've got a place where do I start life is so busy. There's no noise everywhere mod into just slow down the wonder. What do I even say to God give a Bible flip over to Matthew chapter 6. We're going to close out with this.

The disciples come to Jesus and they say how do we pray? Do you know you can read through the prayers in the Bible and they take like a minute 30 seconds. You don't ever see a prayer that's super long. But these prayers all tend to be incredibly geocentric centered on God who he is his character and nature. And so when he begins to talk to them about prayer, he says pray then like this Our Father in heaven. Father God Abba revolutionary to pray to God as Dad that changes the nature of the relationship. It's much different than coming to God as boss. Will you check in with to get something from him and to get the agenda to figure out what to do if I do it, right and I'll come back I'll give moral be compensated for it. But you come to my father for my kids cry out daddy. We want to just sit and talk. It is so precious. It says Our Father in Heaven. How low it holy set apart Sanctified righteous. That's your name. That's who you are. I'm going to sit down and really think through what it looks like to pray Jesus Ain start with this idea that God as father meaning of access to him and you can come unto him and begin to give this great amazing. God praise for his glorious name because of everything he's made. Everything is created in the very work of Salvation that he has provided We Could Sing of his praise forever. Its endless how often and how much we can make him for praise your holy set apart name. That's who you are God. All the good and perfect gifts that he has given us. Father. Holy is your name your kingdom come your will be done in earth as it is in heaven when you have Sovereign control and rain or my heart my life my family my church. Would you have control over this city and what you're doing in this ministry? And so there's this submission as we're coming before God and Berg Knology you have called us to come unto you you've called us. We're going to pin trust that your will be done. We're going to pray that your will be done in our lives in our hearts. I love the structure God. You're good. You're great. We also trust that what you're doing is what is right and good and just

May your will be done and whatever situations happening. Sometimes when the will of God is done. It's not what the will of man is it. The nights we think we know what is best. Truly it is God. Who knows what is best your will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. physical needs You have them I have them God created us with the need for them. And so what God is saying is come to me and ask me. physical needs know what we want and how we want. It may not necessarily be how he's going to go about it, but working knowledge in our own deficiencies and saying Phyllis God we have need for the Daily Bread. We have need for the substance that comes from you and you alone you're The Giver sustainer of all life. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, we have spiritual needs and honestly these needs revolve around the idea of forgiveness why you need forgiveness because there's been a breakdown of relationship for asking God. All sin is Cosmic treason before God and what that is it simply missing. The mark of God here is his lofty standard of a perfect infinite bean and we have fallen short of it had to come into His presence within truly wreck us kill us. But listen, forgive us our debts forgive us God he made the way of Salvation forgiveness possible. It's spiritual need. Last time you just stop before God. Poor your soul to him. Poor and needy the song is do this all the time. You want to learn to pray read the Psalms. They will teach you to pray better than any Pastor will ever teach you to read how they go from highs to lows. Deep understanding of the justice and fairness of God areas. When is confusion a misunderstanding but they focus on this Theo Center view of who God is imperfect man being brought into relationship with God because of God, we have spiritual deficiencies and needs and he meets those needs. Give us our debts as we forgive those who have wronged us. Praying for others around us praying for those of whom we maybe have hurts and need to seek out reconciliation training is essential to become before God lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil. Lord this world is difficult and hard help me to face it help me to stand firm and to be strong The Lord's Prayer. Formula for how to pray later Paul say I wish that all men would pray everywhere lifting up. Holy hands before that. He's saying pray for those in government and Leadership later on in Hebrew is the author says pray for your own church leadership and 1st Corinthians pray for the needs of the Saints lose all sorts of different places where you can get a pile list of things that we ought to be praying and asking God for what we see so often if they fall under the structure that Jesus gave us when I say structure. You don't just pray the Lord's Prayer. Peace God. I'm out good thing. I recognize that today. I'm good, but it begins to form and shape or mind on who you are God and what you've done and that you are holy and the things that I need a physical things that I need our spiritual the things that I need a relational things that I need our strength to face the Temptations that come before me every single day. What's my current minutes week if you struggle with prayer, where do I begin? How do I begin spend three minutes? Just three minutes tomorrow morning read this and that its structure your prayer life. I meant moving these concentric circles that begin with the glory of God and move out wider to each different layer as you pray to God because of who God is for his will to happen for your own needs for family needs for Community needs and it just gets wider and wider and watch how your prayer life defense. What what obstacles do you have in prayer? What's the most difficult reason of the biggest thing preventing you from praying is a time or the place? Is it really just knowing what to pray for? How about that time find that place and pray this week spend time in the Lord's Prayer not to clock in for really to let the cat out of the scriptures Captivate your heart so we can sit before him and spend time with him was Bram father. Thank you for the opportunity to pray and that you hear us. That you've called us and changed us and made us your own you've given us identity and there's hope and freedom in Jesus Christ. And today we ask and we pray that you would work and we would desire to draw near to you that you are so faithful. That you are closed with us to be glorified be honored as we worship your name. Amen. And then this morning if