Mission Possible pt 8
Mission Possible • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 14 viewsPrayer is vital to the Christian Walk. It connects us with God, and He with us. It is our life-line to the Creator. We cannot be effective Christian Witnesses... We cannot be true worshippers... We cannot live Holy lives outside of a strong prayer life. We need to learn to "Pray Abundantly"!
Notes
Transcript
Prayer
Prayer
(Skit Guys video)
Let me start with this question — Who in here thinks they have a really, really good prayer life?!
Who would say “I spend time in prayer everyday?”
(alright… can I pick on you for just a minute?)
What does your prayer time look like?
— When do you pray?
— How do you prayer?
— Where do you pray?
— If I asked you, where you spend the most time in prayer, what would you say? (Church? In the car? While doing household chores?)
— How much time do you spend in solitude and silence… LISTENING for God to answer?
We all struggle with prayer, don’t we?
It is not easy to spent time alone… in silence… listening to the “ringing in our ears”… waiting for God to answer… But it is vital to our walk!
17 pray without ceasing,
Who here can say that you do that — that you do not struggle with prayer — that you have a strong prayer life? (now, keep your hands up…)
Now, Who can say that they are ready and willing to pray whenever asked?
(one last question — keep your hands up)
Prayer also means “listening”… Who can say that they spend a lot of time after bringing their “needs” to God, “waiting” in silence… “listening” for His answer?
Prayer is probably the most difficult, and unbelievably simple… part of the Christian walk!
AND it is indispensable…
Let me tell you — We cannot live the Christian life… We cannot walk with Christ… without an abundant prayer life!
It is mandatory!!!!
5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
WHEN YOU PRAY!
Jesus does not say “If you pray.” He says “WHEN you pray...”
Prayer is not optional for Christians…
We are to be a “praying” people… AND that does not mean that we go to God only when times are tough and we NEED something!
Nor does it mean that we pray our prayers in public…
6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Again, “When you pray” … Jesus tells us to get alone… in silence and solitude… where it is only you and God… nothing else! No distractions! Nothing to draw your attention from God…
How many of us can say that we do that?!
Now… I want you to understand… Jesus is not talking about praying quick prayers in the busyness of our daily life… those are vital to our peace throughout the day…
Nor is He talking about taking time to pray for someone God places in our path as we go about our daily routine…
What Jesus is talking about is specific time spent ALONE with Him — without the TV… without the Radio… without anything to distract our focus from Him…
Who can claim that they do that?!
Who can say that they set aside specific time with God… not listening to the radio, not driving the car, not doing the dishes, not while working our, or walking, or jogging… BUT alone in complete silence … LISTENING only to God’s voice as we pray?
Who can say that they ACTUALLY take the time — after they have barfed up all their “needs” on God’s lap — to listen to what HE has to say to you?
That is what Jesus is telling us to do!!!!!
So many people in our world today say: “God doesn’t talk to me… I never hear Him speak like the pastor, or my Sunday School teacher say He does… I pray, and He seems to just ignore me…”
All the while, they never take the time to actually LISTEN… to give God time to BE the Father and talk to them about their life!!!!
Church… We cannot be this way!
We cannot live the Christian life… We cannot walk the Christian walk… We cannot BE the Christians God called us to be… If we do not spend Intentional… Focused… time in Silence, Solitude, and Prayer!
Why? Because Prayer is that important!
Prayer is our LIFELINE to God!
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Solitude and Prayer is where we ABIDE in Christ… It is our CONNECTION to Him… Jesus knew this… and He set the example for us!
16 But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.
Jesus REGULARLY withdrew in Solitude to Pray.
Why? Because it kept Him connected to the Father — to the Godhead… and to His plan for His Life!
We cannot function within the Power and Purpose of the Kingdom without a connection to the Father!
The movie “Shadowlands” tells the story of C.S. Lewis’s life. In the movie, Lewis had spent time in London with an American woman named Joy Gresham, whom he had fallen in love with while ministering to her in the hospital where she was dying from cancer… On this particular trip, Lewis had married her in a private ceremony in her room at the hospital...
When he returned to Oxford, he was met by his friend — Harry Harrington, an Episcopal priest… who asked what news there was.
Lewis — after giving it some thought — decides not to speak of the cancer, but to speak of the marriage instead says, “Ah, good news, I think, Harry. Yes, good news!”
Harrington, not being aware of the marriage, and thinking of Joy’s cancer, replies, “I know how hard you’ve been praying… Now, God is answering your prayer!”
— Listen to Lewis’s response —
“That’s not why I pray, Harry… I pray because I cannot help it… I pray because I must… Prayer does not change God, it changes me!”
Prayer is not meant to change God… It is not meant to “move the hand of God”… God is not a “genie in a lamp!”
Prayer changes us!!!
Prayer changes us, by allowing us to draw near to God with our needs… and to hear His words… His direction… His provision for our life!
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
When we abide in Him, and His Word ABIDES in us… our petitions become aligned with His Will… and That is where true power in Prayer is found!
That is why we are not supposed to pray like others do…
7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
It’s not about wordy… elaborate prayers, that sound “professional and religious”… it is about drawing near to God… to our Father in Heaven… to the One who loves us more than we can imagine… and finding rest, peace, and provision in the relationship with Him…
So, How do we pray like that?
9 “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
Do you notice anything missing from the prayer here?
(“For thine is the power and the glory and the kingdom....”)
Jesus knew we would struggle with prayer… with How to pray… So, He gave us an example.
This wasn’t meant to be a corporate prayer… this was not meant to be a prayer that was recited as liturgy in the church service… This was meant to be an example of personal prayer!
Think about it… when we “recite” prewritten prayers, they become impersonal… just some meaningless piece of ritual… they fail to inform our lives and draw us near to God…
Jesus was not giving us a prayer to pray…
He was showing us HOW to pray in our private time of solitude with God.
Take a closer look…
9 “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
This is not simply “praising God’s name”… or “giving God the glory”… as some have taught… This is praying for God’s name to become Holy in this world!
How does that happen?
When His people draw near! When God’s children place their position as His Children above the things of this world, and begin to live like His Children!
Because that is what brings glory to God’s name!
Every prayer should include the confession of the desire for His Glory to be revealed! (because, I hope that is our desire!)
Jesus even did this in the Garden when He prayed “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
When we pray, are we praying for our will to be done, or His? Are we seeking our own desires, or His? Do we seek God to receive affirmation of our own attitudes and “wants,” or do we desire to hear His voice on the subject?
If we are not seeking His Will… then we will not listen and hear what He has to say!
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Give us what we need today.... That’s all that matters! We do not need to pray for tomorrow… We need our needs met today!
We are to pray for our needs, but that is our DAILY needs.... We have a tendency to spend our time praying for the future… for needs we think we need tomorrow… next week… next year… but we forget about today!
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?
When we pray for today, a crazy thing happens.... We start to “SEE” God’s provision, and that builds our faith and hope for tomorrow!
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
We should ask for DAILY forgiveness, because that is what keeps us on fellowship with God....
But let me tell you...
This is a dangerous prayer for us to pray....
Look at...
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;
15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
If we pray for forgiveness while we are refusing to extend forgiveness, our prayer will not be answered....
Unforgiveness is the number one cause of destruction in Christians and in this world.
Everyone of us is a sinner.... we have all fallen short… yet God sent Jesus for us…
If we expect forgiveness from God… then we MUST extend forgiveness to others, regardless of what they did!!!!
Finally....
13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
I have searched this book… from one end to the other… from cover to cover… looking for where it tells us that God will make our life perfect… free from worry… trials… temptations… hardships..... I have poured through this Bible searching for the “prosperity gospel”....
Can I tell you — I have not found it!!!!
It does not say anywhere in here that we will not experience troubles… In fact, it says the opposite!
33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”
Think about it — Jesus did not take that criminal off of that cross… yet He walked him into paradise!
God promised deliverance THROUGH temptations, not FROM temptations.... Our prayers should recognize our need of Him, because of our inability to SAVE ourselves!
Do you see what Jesus is saying here?
He is saying that we need to get alone with God EVERYDAY.... And that we need to be praying EVERYDAY that His Glory will be realized....
That His Kingdom will be realized right here right now…
That His salvation will be realized by people all over our community and this world…
That His mercy will be realized in our lives and in the lives of people who desperately need to experience the Love He has for them…
That His deliverance from sin, addiction, depression, … will be realized …
That’s powerful prayer, Amen?
That’s life changing prayer, Amen?
That’s prayer that disrupts the enemies plans… that turns our world upside down… that empowers people’s lives… and brings the Kingdom of God into the HERE and NOW!
We need to learn to pray like this!
We need to learn to DAILY go to the ONE who CAN, HAS, and WILL forgive our sins....
We need to learn to DAILY go to the ONE who CAN, HAS, and WILL deliver us through every trial we face…
We need to learn to DAILY go to the ONE who CAN, HAS, and WILL provide for every need we have…
Because in HIM, there is POWER… there is STRENGTH… and there is HOPE!
BUT… that power is only found in silence and solitude… in prayerful conversation with the GOD who created us…
We need to learn to seek His glory… to bring our needs to Him… and then to LISTEN to His response…
