The Ministries of Prayer

Intro (Does this draw in?)

Today I want to speak with you about something very precious. A gift that we as Christians have been given.

This gift can bring you into the most calming of presences. This gift leads you to God’s ear, where He is desiring to hear anything you say. This gift allows you to place your heavy burdens and anxieties onto another, at least for a little bit. This gift allows you to bring your greatest desires to the one who can truly answer them. This gift can sooth guilt, clear heavy consciences, and get you through dark nights.

The ministry of Prayer.

I have to confess at the start that this is something I feel I’ve done quite poorly in the last few months of my life. I don’t know what your relationship with prayer is this morning. Perhaps you’ve in your past had good seasons of a prayerful life but now you are in a slump. If this is where you are, my goal is not to lump guilt on you because guilt is a terrible motivator. But you know what is a good motivator?

The knowledge of what is gained from it. So that’s my goal, to show you what is gained from the prayer. One aspect.

This isn’t a call to shame and guilt and condemn “hey you all stink and you need to pray more!” no, this is a “look how beautiful this is, the gift and ministry of prayer, let’s aim for it.”

Maybe you are in a great place with your prayer life. Then I ask for you to pray for me as I teach.

Pray.

God Ministers To Us Through Prayer

We often think of prayer as a way of ministering to others, which is certainly a great truth. But I want to look at prayer from a different angle today, how God ministers to us through prayer.

1st Peter 5:6-7 says: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

Prayer is a gift for us because it is one way we are ministered to by God. If you find yourself frail, broken, shallow in your faith, it could be you are failing to place yourself in a space where God would minister to you. Do you put yourself in places?

***When do we not need to be ministered to? How do we place ourselves in spaces for that ministering to be done?

Let’s look at the text, it has a progressive nature about it that leads us.

1- Humble yourself

First, we must humble ourselves. No one can be ministered to if they are proud. It is often the most prideful amongst us that feel alone. Why? Because in their pride they isolate themselves. They never risk vulnerability because they don’t want to admit they are having a hard time. Do you risk being vulnerable about your struggles, anxieties, burdens with others and God?

Do you see that you will never be helped if you are never vulnerable? If you never get over your pride to go to the doctor you will never be healed. And things will only get worse. When it comes to us and God, we are proud people. We like to present our best selves to God. Like we have it all figured out and we are the perfection Christian. But if you don’t approach God as you truly are, which for all of us, is needy… you will never be ministered to. And that’s hard for our southern Christian culture, always being put together. He’s the one place you can be totally honest with.

We often think we can tough something out. With enough will power or strength we can fix something. What your soul may need today is to be ministered to by God and the only pathway through which that can happen, the only way God allows us to approach His throne… is through humility.

Humble yourself...

2- Under the mighty hand of God

Now why would the text say this? Well, let’s do some study: what are mighty things God has done in the scriptures?

Ok, so the text is saying if we want to benefit from the ministry of God in this text, we must humble ourselves and place ourselves under His mighty hand. The same God who did those things is at work in our lives, our situations, our hearts. And because of this we can in humility submit ourselves to His ways.

In understanding the mighty hand of God, how powerful, able, and willing He is can we place our trust on Him in humility.

We trust strong things. Everytime you get in your car you trust the strength of your breaks. That they will work and that they will be able to stop your 4,000 lbs car.

God is saying here, remember who I am, what I’ve done in the past. You can humble yourself and trust me because of that.

Now, at this point you should be saying “this is all theoretical, big brain type of stuff. Framework level, Christianity isn’t lived in the head, but the heart… what do I do with this truth?” I’m glad you asked, this next portion of the text shows us. Peter isn’t done, he is showing what it looks like when we humble ourselves under His might hand:

3- Casting

Casting, That’s an active verb.

It means to take something that is in my possession and offload it to another. In that time period to travel long distances would not have been easy. To roll off myself a heavy weight and cast it onto the donkey or mule would be the imagery they would sense in this verse.

So practically, what does this look like to cast/pray?

q: What are some some obstacles that get in our way from praying/casting?

We must create spaces where we can fellowship with God in prayer. This can anywhere, but it should include, when possible, places of solitude and quiet. Where we can deal most honestly with God. Places without distraction. Rushed prayer is not peaceful prayer.

4- “all your anxieties onto Him”

What do we cast? Our anxieties. What is anxiety?

Our worries. What burdens us. What disrupts us from “free living”.

Vulnerability and prayer

One of the ways we grow in our fellowship with God is by learning to speak our hearts to Him. If our prayers never elevate beyond simple asking Him for things (which isn’t bad, just not the only praying we should do) we will never experience intimacy with God.

The same is true with you and your relationships. If your way of relating to someone is simply what they do for you and what you do for them, it’s shallow, transactional, lacking depth and meaning. But don’t we know the grace and the rest and the peace that comes from having a meaningful conversation with someone about what is hard or difficult in our life? Sharing our burden?

Do you have a category in your understanding of prayer for one of you placing your burdens onto God in an vulnerable way? Or do you always present your best self to Him? He already knows you, doesn’t He? The real you. Not the pretense you. He sees the depths of your heart. This is the one you can risk the most in being most honest with.

What Is Your Burden?

What is making you anxious causing you worry? Would anyone want to share? You can keep it real general.

I’ll start: I feel a bit anxious because I really want to be a pastor but God hasn’t opened up that door just yet. It’s hard to trust his timing sometimes...

*lean in*

Lonliness:

COVID has isolated us.

Family issues:

Families are messy

World Events:

unstable world

Health:

these are challenging, esp when they might lead to death.

“As I thought about you… I’m here if you ever need anything. I don’t have any advice, I probably need advice from you. But I can offer you my ear.”

Private burdens

Not only do we face common anxieties and worries, but we face private ones. There are burdens some carry that cannot be spoken of. They may be too deep, too personal, too shameful.

I was asked recently in an email “I hear you that God cares about my tears, but what if my tears are because of my own sinful choice? Does He still care?” Some of you may be carrying burdens too private to disclose. From sin. From very private family situations. From secret grief. Is there a type of burden or anxiety that is off limits to cast onto God?

Notice in the text “cast all* your anxieties* - this text has no qualification for what can or cannot be cast off from you onto God. It doesn’t matter if the burden is on you because of someone else or because of your own decision! The call remains the same… cast all.

When you are worried, anxious, stressed. A place at the foot of throne above all things is open to you. To come and be reminded He is in control. That he is trustworthy. He invites you into that. Don’t neglect it. Don’t let your initial turn from worry be entertainment, let it be prayer. Why? Why is this so sweet?

5- “because he cares for you”

What does it mean for God to care about you?

q: what does it mean to care for someone?

Well, what would it mean if I said “Pastor Doug” cares about you? Or you care for your wife? It would mean he thinks about you. He desires your good. He wants you safe. He wants you to feel loved.

Peter uses this very human language to describe God’s heart towards you. He cares for you. He wants you to trust Him, not your doubts. He wants you to know he is aware of your situation and that it’s hard. He longs for you to know you are not alone. When you feel objections to His love, he will reassure you. He does not grow weary in caring for you.

This is a sweet promise for us my friends. He cares for you. Do you need to hear that today? Whatever is the burden in your life. He cares about it. There is no issue too small or problem too big. He cares. When no one else cares, He cares. When no one else will listen, He will listen at any hour.

He loves you. You are not alone in your suffering.

When I was in seminary there was a season of that time where it was incredibly hard for me, dark. I don’t know why, I had great friends around me and a good family. But for some reason there was a span of a few months that just felt so dark. Like a cloud over my head.

You know what saved me from quitting seminary and turning bitter towards God? The reality of this text. I remember I would read a psalm and then go take walks at night around the campus and just pour out my heart to Him. And meditate on those psalms. Those were difficult times but I learned a valuable lesson.

He cares.

It’s one thing for me to describe that truth to you. It’s quite another for you to experience it in your own prayer time with God.

Does He care if I am sinful?

And you might say “well, does he care for me? Because I’ve done some meessed up stuff in my life. Or maybe you’re a new Christian with a past. Or maybe your a Christian with a past. It might be helpful for us to remember we are all on the same level before God, remember the initial part of the verse “humble yourself”.

Humbling ourselves helps us not think too highly of ourselves when we approach God.

Humbling ourselves helps us not think too lowly of ourselves when we approach God.

Believe the text, not your feelings. This wasn’t written to perfect Christians, but imperect Christians. So if you feel He does not care for you, for whatever reason, that is percisely one of the anxieities He is asking you to cast onto Him!

Closing:

My friends, we can choose to attempt to control our lives and our difficult circumstances by carrying our anxieties. Or, we can in humility offer our lives and our difficult circumstances to God, casting them onto Him.

Carry or cast?

So when you find yourself in a hospital bed, alone, confused, not sure what is going to happen to you. Cast your cares onto Him, becaues He cares for you.

When you find yourself in family strife and you don’t see a way forward. Cast your cares onto Him, because He cares for you.

When your kids have drifted away from the faith and they won’t listen to you. Cast your cares onto Him, because He cares for you.

When you feel as if your sin outweighs His Grace. Cast your cares onto Him, because He cares for you.

When a national pandemic has made you more lonely and isolated. Cast your cares onto Him, because He cares for you.

So I challenge you today. If you are carrying a weight plan a bit of time before you sleep to cast your cares onto Him.

Lives of prayer are not born, they are cultivated.

Let’s pray.

If you’d let me come again another time I can share with you part two,

Prayer As A Ministry For Others