Prayer from God's Perspective

Intro:

Genesis 3:8 NKJV

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Today we begin our Year of Prayer with an extended fast. The title of my message is, [Prayer from God’s Perspective].

Perspective is the way we look at something. Two people can look at the same topic or situation and have two different perspectives. However, perspectives can shift overtime when we learn from others.

I can say my perspectives has shifted in many areas since I moved to Vulcan. To give an example on the perspectives, let’s think of the four seasons.

Summer— before Vulcan, I summarized summer with two words, sweat and sunburns. I loathed summer and thought no one could change my mind.

But my perspective changed, I discovered the river, blackberries, and the value of a garden!

Fall— used to be about three things, cooler weather, changing leaves, and pumpkin everything.

Now, my perspective has shifted, fall means DEER SEASON!

Winter— has always been my favorite, especially because of Christmas and snow.

Now I have added donuts to the list. But I also sympathize more with those who work hard on the farm in freezing temperatures. Especially after George let me help him one day in the middle of February!

Spring— was always about allergies. Now, I think mushroom and turkey season!

For years my perspective was jaded on the various seasons because of how I viewed them. Then, I learned and listened to others, and now my perspective has changed.

As we embark and a year of prayer, I have asked God to change our perspective on prayer. I know we pray, but I feel God wants prayer to take over who we are, what we do, and how we live.

God wants us to pray at church, but He also wants us to pray at home.

He wants husbands and wives to pray together.

He wants parents and children to pray together.

He wants friends and families to pray together.

It is interesting, we will share meals, tell stories, and spend time with people, but people often keep prayer private. While there is a private nature to prayer, there is supernatural power when people pray in unity, seek God together.

So this morning, I want us to discuss prayer, but from God’s perspective. I know what prayer means to me. One author defined prayer:

the primary means of communication that binds together God and humankind in intimate and reciprocal relationship.

In other words, prayer is us talking to God as God listens and then God talking to us and us we listen.

I firmly believe in the power of prayer. It was through prayer I was saved, baptized in the Holy Spirit, called to the ministry, healed many times, recieved direction, and had supernatural encounters with God.

I know I need to pray and I want to pray. That is my perspective. But what about prayer from God’s perspective?

What does it mean to God when we pray?

How does God feel when we skip a time of prayer?

Does God feel used when we only pray if there is a crisis?

How much does He love it when we stop what we’re doing just to spend time with Him?

To understand prayer from God’s perspective, we need to study His original plan and design for society and humanity.

Thousands of years before Jesus declared, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” God revealed His desire for His relationship with His creation.

I pray that by the end of this message, God will shift our perspective on prayer. I trust we will align our views on prayer with those of God!

To discover God’s perspective on prayer, we need to see [What God Had], [What God Lost], and [What God Restored].

Let’s begin

1. What God Had

Genesis 1:1–2 NKJV

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

God does not have a beginning or end. He described Himself as, I Am who I Am. As I Am, He is. He’s always been there. However, the world and humanity has a start date.

In the genius of God, He made a decision, I will create the heavens and the earth. With God the Father present, the Holy Spirit began to hover over the waters.

Over the course of, what I believer were, six LITERAL days, God created everything, and finally, He created His masterpiece. He created US in His image.

Then the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, determined to create Adam. In His deep love for His creation, He gave him everything he needed to live in peace and joy.

God’s vision was not that he would survive, but thrive. He had everything within reach. But God gave one specific instruction:

Genesis 2:15–18 NKJV

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

After telling Adam what to do and what not to do, He created Eve so that Adam would not be alone. Through Eve he had companionship and help.

Before we look at the moment everything changed, notice what God had. He had a perfect paradise, filled with created perfection. But notice one of the characteristics of God: communication.

He did not assign angels to speak to Adam and Eve. He Himself spend time with them. He talked to them, He loved them, He was proud of them.

I have read this story many times. In fact, I once found that Genesis is the most read book of the Bible, because people often start there, even if they do not finish.

Multitudes know of Adam and Eve, whether they believe the story or not. However, I have always looked at this story from MY perspective.

I think, wouldn’t that be great?

I’d like to have everything within in reach.

I’d enjoy working outside if it didn’t feel like work.

I’d love to be in God’s presence, to see Him face to face.

At times I have found myself get frustrated with Adam’s evil choice, because I have never experienced what He did.

But now, I want to look at the story from God’s perspective. He did not have to create the world, He did not have to form Adam and Eve in His likeness.

Yet, He did. And He loved it and them. Everything He did was based on showing His love. He provided for His creation. He nurtured and worked with them.

Sure, Adam and Eve had it all, but God had it all. He had what He wanted. An avenue to communicate and share His love with people.

2. What God Lost

Genesis 3:8–9 NKJV

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

There is so much to unpack in these two verses. With as much as is said, there is much more unsaid. In the evening, when the cool breezes began to blow, Adam and Eve did something peculiar.

They knew God was coming, for they heard Him walking in the Garden and they hid themselves. Before we look at WHY they hid themselves, notice, they KNEW He was coming.

How could they know this?

I believe it was a normal occurrence. But instead of rushing out to meet with God, they sheepishly hid themselves.

I can’t help but read verse nine and hear the sadness in God’s voice: Where are you?

Think about it for a moment. He longed to be with them. And He’s looking around, WHERE ARE YOU? He knew what happened. He knew everything changed. But He gave them an opportunity to be honest.

However, the loss already started.

Genesis 3:10–13 NKJV

10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Now, we have heard this story. I have thought about it many times from MY perspective. But what about God’s perspective?

What did He lose?

He lost a people who were pure. The innocence and perfection in humanity immediately left. Up until this point, Adam and Eve were unclothed and did not notice.

But the moment they sinned, their eyes were opened and they felt shame.

He lost a people who were without shame. From that point forward, the people created in His image would feel shame.

He lost a people who were honest. Notice who Adam blamed for their decision to eat the fruit. He blamed Eve. We read it earlier and I did that on purpose.

Was Eve alive when God instructed Adam DO NOT eat of the tree?

No, it was not until AFTER gave that instruction that God decided to give Adam a helpmate. So Adam was dishonest, shifting the blame so he felt less shame.

God then looked to Eve and asked, what did you do? And she didn’t take responsibility, she shifted blame to the serpent.

Humanity lost a lot that day. But so did God. Some might think, why did God lose anything, couldn’t He have ignored their indiscretion?

God, who is perfect, was incapable of ignoring the willful sin of people. For His purity cannot accept or stand in front of sin. In fact, their sin deserved death.

But God is love, for He always has been love. So God looked at what He had, He saw what He lost, but then, we need to see...

3. What God Restored

Genesis 3:14–15 NKJV

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Upon hearing the unrepentant, blame-shifting, arrogance of the once perfect people who were not marred by sin, God looked at the serpent.

Once again, I have always looked at these verse from MY perspective. I see how I can have victory over Satan because God sent His Son for MY salvation.

But what did it mean to God?

Adam’s evil choice instituted a divine rebuke, a curse. Humanity became estranged from God.

They were forced from the Garden.

Adam had to work, but now it felt like work.

Eve would bear children, but now it would be painful.

And the worst part, one day Adam and Eve would die, which was not part of God’s plan.

We often view this part of the story as God exacting His anger! But try to think of it from God’s perspective. He gave them everything, He loved them, and He walked with them.

They were the ONLY TWO people who knew God before the effects of sin. And they willingly threw it all away. I don’t only see God’s anger, I see HIs hurt.

Yet, God is merciful. Immediately, He began working on behalf of those who sinned against Him.

He cursed Satan. God knew Satan and his sneaky and conniving ways. Satan is deceptive, so much so, he deceived one-third of the angels to join him in a rebellion against God.

Now, God had enough. He had is fill. He looked at the serpent and cursed him. God’s curse against Satan sealed his doom. For God revealed the second part of His mercy toward the now sinful humanity.

He promised redemption. Hostility between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman will continue. Satan remains at war against God and humanity.

Look at our world right now. We’ve witnesses events that we never imagined possible this time last year. Satan contaminated God’s perfect creation with sin.

Now, there is a war that rages. But God promised, though you are planning a hostile takeover, the Seed of the woman will come and strike you.

Who was the Seed of the woman?

Was it Cain, Abel, or Seth?

It is true they were Eve’s seed because she gave birth to them. But in order for the one God promised to come and strike Satan, He would have to come uncontaminated with sin.

Therefore, in the SAME setting where humanity willingly sinned, God prepared the way to redeem and restore what sin corrupted. However, He took time to unfold His plan.

Generation after generation passed, and sin still held its grip on society. Even God’s people struggled with the effects of sin, unable to overcome their ungodly ways.

Yet, when the time was right, the Holy Spirit hovered over a virgin named Mary, and the power of the Most High came upon her, and she conceived a baby.

She was instructed to name Him Jesus, for He will save PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS!

History shows from the time Satan introduced sin, humanity sought to fill the void in their life with something more. The ancient world had many religions and myths.

In some of these ancient fables, the gods would come down and appear human, but they believed the gods couldn't actually become human for they would lose their god power.

However, God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. He sent His Son AS a human. Jesus did not merely appear to be human. He was FULLY God and FULLY Man.

Why is that so important?

For God to restore what sin attempted to destroy, He had to do it in a way where people could believe they too could overcome sin.

Had Jesus merely appeared human, His promises and goals would have been aspirational, but never attainable.

BUT God so LOVED the world that HE GAVE His ONLY begotten SON, so that whoever believes in Him WILL have everlasting life.

Thank God He restores us. But that is MY perspective. What did it mean to God the Father to restore us?

It meant He would have to watch His Son, the second member of the Godhead, who was there at creation, take one sin.

Purity would take impurity

Perfection would take imperfection

God would take the punishment for humanity

And I can guarantee it hurt the Father when the Son died.

Close:

But God knew:

What He had

What He lost

and What He restored

Now, the person who is damaged by sin can have a way to come back to the Father. Sure we are not in a Garden. I know we have not seen Him face to face.

But when we come to God by accepting Jesus as our Savior and the Holy Spirit takes residence in us.

Then, God restored what He lost, and He can have us once again.

Remember what God had in the Garden, COMMUNICATION with Adam and Eve.

What does God want from us? Communication. He wants us to pray.

There is a reason Jesus declared MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER. Remember He was not speaking of a physical building, but His dwelling place on earth, the hearts of man, woman, and child.

So what happens when a child of God, who has been restored to a right relationship with God but does not make prayer a priority in their life?

How does God view prayer?

He values communication with His people through a relationship SO MUCH, He was willing to send Jesus to take our punishment for sin.

Therefore, when we DO NOT PRAY, it is as though we are saying, God I know what it cost you, I know what I mean to you, but I care more about myself!

On Wednesday, I told Bekah, I don’t have my message ready for Sunday, which is not normal. Typically, I have some type of idea of where I want to go, but I did not.

I explained, I am so excited about our year of prayer, I just want to pray. She agreed, then lovingly and wisely asked, but you can get it done right?

I told her, I will work on it tomorrow afternoon. Then we went to bed at 9:00, both of us exhausted. She quickly fell asleep, but I could not. I laid there until 10:45 and finally dozed only to wake up off and on until 1:45 am.

I woke up with a song on my mind and got up and the Lord gave me this message. It was written in 1988, entitled “I Miss My Time With You.” Listen to the words:

There he was just waiting, In our old familiar place An empty spot beside him, Where once i used to wait To be filled with strength and wisdom For the battles of the day I would have passed him by again I clearly heard him say

I miss my time with you Those moments together I need to be with you each day And it hurt's me when you say You're too busy Busy trying to serve me But how can you serve me When your spirit's empty There's a longing in my heart Wanting more than just a part of you It's true I miss my time with you

What do i have to offer How can i truly care My efforts have no meaning When your presence isn, t there But you will provide the power If i take time to pray I'll stay right here beside him And you will never have to say.

I miss my time with you.

What is God’s perspective on prayer?

He loves time with us. And when we ignore prayer or use it as a quick fix for problems, it is as though God cries out to us, I MISS MY TIME WITH YOU!

2021 is a year of prayer at Vulcan Assembly. Not just for us, but for God. He wants time with us. It is so important to Him that He sent Jesus to die in our place, and now we can:

Hebrews 4:16 NKJV

16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

So I invite you to join us in prayer and fasting. Let’s remove the distractions of life and make time with God.

Make time this week to come at LEAST one night at 6:30 pm with your family to pray in the sanctuary.

God wants us to pray, let’s not withhold from Him what He so desperately desires.