We need to discover the nearness of God through trusting him and prayer

If I was to ask you what make you joyful, what would you say? If I was to ask you to give me examples of things that made you joyful, what kind of examples would you give me?

I’m guessing that it would mostly include events which make you feel happy as you remember them. Perhaps your wedding, or the births of your children. I very much hope that Matt and Fran will look back on today joyfully as they remember Natalia’s baptism. I feel joyful when I sing Zinger zanger because I associate it with a time when I was very happy, and felt safe and secure in the love of my parents.

I want us to keep those thoughts in our mind as we think about today’s second reading, read by Elaine. Paul encourages the Philippians to be joyful; “Be joyful in the Lord always, again I say it; rejoice!”. It’s so important that he says it twice. I’m not sure that joy is always what people associate with us Christians, and I’m not sure that we always associate it with our faith either. So, what is Paul talking about when he talks about joy? Why aren’t we joyful more often and how can we become more joyful?

Paul isn’t encouraging us to be joyful in general. He’s not saying, “Cheer up, you’re always so glum” He’s encouraging the Philippians, and us, to be joyful in God, to be joyful with God, to see God and our walk with God as a source of joy. For Paul, joy is indistinguishable from God.

Paul says “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice! The Lord is near…the Lord is near”

The source of Paul’s joy is the nearness of God. For Paul God wasn’t remote. God wasn’t far away and distant. He was real, and near and personal.

It’s tempting to think of Paul as special, as having a unique relationship with God, and in one way he did, because we all have a unique relationship with God, just as we have a unique relationship with our human parents and they do with us. But Paul didn’t have a uniquely special relationship with God, which made him uniquely joyful. God wasn’t uniquely near to Paul. Paul expects the Philippians, and us, to be as joyful in God as he is if we listen to what he’s telling us.

It’s important to know where Paul is when he writes this letter. He’s in prison in Rome. He is dependent on the kindness of his Gaolers. In human terms he is powerless, as prisoners are. But despite being in prison he knows the nearness of God. Precisely because he is in prison Paul has to rely on God to be near to him, to be faithful to him, to protect him.

Back at the beginning of the letter Paul tells the Philippians; “It has become clear throughout the whole palace guard, and to everyone else that I’m in chains for Christ. Because of my chains,.. and because of the care God is showing Paul… most of the Christians here have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. () Because Paul has had to trust God, not just in this one thing, but over many years, God has proved himself, time after time, to be near.

This is a really important point, because we often make the mistake of thinking that we need faith before we act. “Give me faith, Lord, then I’ll be able to tell people about you, or give away more of my money, or challenge injustice at work!”

But it’s the other way around. It’s only when we act, trusting God with the tiny seed of faith we’ve already got, that we learn how real God is, how near God is and how faithful God is.

Because Paul goes on; “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanks giving, present your requests to God.”

Many years ago, I worked with a medical colleague who had worked in the developing world. He told me that among the community he worked with there was a general distrust of western medicine. People were much more trusting of traditional remedies and even shaman; witch doctors.

Western medicine was very much an option of last resort, accessed only when all other options had failed, often at a point when it was too late to work anyway, with people dying of conditions which could have easily been treated if caught earlier. Slowly, bit by bit, only as the locals began to trust western medicine and learn have faith in it, did they begin to use it. It wasn’t that western medicine didn’t work, it was that the locals didn’t trust it enough to use it in the first place.

There’s a parallel with what Paul is saying here. Paul says “Don’t be anxious about anything. In every situation pray. He’s not saying; “When you’re really, really anxious you might as well pray. It can’t do any harm.” He says “Don’t be anxious about anything, in every situation pray. How else will we develop the habit of prayer? How else will our faith that God will take care of us grow, if we never actually trust him, we never actually ask him, to take care of us?

Western medicine works just as well in the third world as in Sutton Coldfield, but if people never access it, because they don’t trust it, how will they benefit from it? How will we learn the effectiveness of prayer if we don’t pray in every situation? How will we rejoice in the nearness of God if we keep him at arm’s length?

So, what should we do as individuals and as a church?

I want to suggest three things. Firstly, I want to encourage you to support the winter night shelter here at Wylde Green in January and February next year. The church meeting agreed to host the night shelter here when it met last month. Doing this is an act of faith… It will be fine, and we will grow spiritually as a result. But, maybe, you are sceptical, and can only see the things that could go wrong. Maybe you think it’s a great idea, at least in theory, but you’re wary about doing it yourself, because you fear it’s not for you.

I’d encourage you to get involved anyway. Helping the most vulnerable is part of what we’re called to do both as Christians and as a congregation. How else will we grow as a community of believers if we don’t trust God to equip us to do what he’s asked us to do. How else will we learn to take joy in the nearness of God unless we reach out to him.

Secondly, I’d like to encourage you to support the prayer life of the church. “Don’t be anxious about anything, but in every situation pray”. We’re in vacancy at the moment and every month we meet specifically to pray about the future of our church and community. We meet at 7.30 in the evening, on the fourth Thursday of every month in the vestibule at the back of Church. There’s a faithful band of people who come every month.

Please come too. You don’t have to say anything. You don’t have to pray out loud. God hears the silent prayers of our hearts. You can bring an already written down prayer. It’s not just for the super spiritual; because nobody would be there if it was. It’s for everyone, however weak your faith, however long you’ve been a Christian. How else do we learn to take joy in the nearness of God unless we reach out to him in prayer.

The third suggestion is to commit yourself to developing your own habit of personal prayer. We are often conscious of how poor our prayer life is, and assume that everyone else is much better. As a result, we are reluctant to talk or think about prayer, because we fear we will expose our own inadequacy. That’s how everyone should feel. If you don’t feel that, you should.

Billy Graham, one of the twentieth century’s most successful and faithfull evangelists was asked in his old age what he would do differently if he had his ministry over again. Without pausing for a second he said, “I’d pray more. I’d pray more” Billy Graham. The most prayerful people in this room will be the most aware of the inadequacy of their prayer life.

Paul wanted the Philippians to be joyful in the Lord, and the road to knowing that joy is becoming ever more conscious of the nearness of God, though trusting him and spending time with him in prayer. Without it our faith is shallow and joyless, and we have nothing to share with the world. Let’s listen to Paul. Let’s be joyful in the Lord, for he is near.

In Jesus name, Amen

Prayer.