K4: Prayerfulness

Introduction

Illustration: Jan and Dudi

YouVersion: K4: Prayerfulness

In Luke 18:1-8

Remind why we’re looking at this:

Series is DISCIPLined - talking about a job we all have

We are all called to be disicplemakers

Not a gift, not an office, not evangelism or teaching

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The last thing Jesus said was “I have all authority...

With that authority - I’m giving you one job - make disciples...

Don’t worry if it’s hard, I’m with you”

Disciple: a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher.

That word “follower” is interesting

Kyle Idleman wrote a book about the opposite

You have “followers” and you have “fans”

Follower: One that imitates another

Fan: One who is an enthusiastic admirer

We’re not called to just admire Jesus, we’re called to copy Him

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

1 Peter 2:21 (ESV)

21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

Kyle Idleman: “Most of us don’t mind Jesus making some minor change in our lives but Jesus wants to turn our lives upside down… Fans come to Jesus thinking tune-up, but Jesus is thinking overhaul… Fans want Jesus to inspire them, but Jesus wants to interfere with their lives.”

And that’s what we’re talking about in this series

I’m talking about being a different person

Jesus walked with 12 men+ for 3 years - and their lives got messed up!

Fishermen, tax-collectors and prostitutes...

Became miracle-workers, church planters and Scripture writers

But the most important thing was doing what Jesus did

Simply walking with Jesus slowly changed who they were

In ancient Israel, Rabbi’s were men that were to be followed

There were no fans, only followers

Saying, “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi.”

Means you followed so close and so often, as he walked he would kick up dust

After following him, you’d be covered in his dust - he would change you over time

That’s EXACTLY what Jesus did - and so that’s what we will do - but how?

Formula: (TW+K4)xD3

TW is time with - remember discipleship is about spending time together

Not a bible study alone, not a book, not a speaker...

Discipleship IS relationships

K4: - what we’re learning today

Four intentional things we do

Remember, K is for Kavanagh and is an intentional action - a target

Let’s see if you remember: what are they?

Study Scripture to know God

Prayerfulness

Loving Extravagantly

All of Life is Worship (C323 Living)

OR

Scripture, prayer, love and worship

Bury that in your brain...

Then D3 is multiplication

Personal growth is D1

Growing together is D2

Growing together and encouraging to repeat is D3

Basically,

You spend time with people

Intentionally focusing on Scripture, prayer, loving and worshipping

And you encourage to keep on doing it with others

I hope you’ve already started

If not, find that one person to start with

Your friend, your spouse, your kids

If you don’t know who, start praying for it

It’s not hierarchy, it’s not a program, it’s relationship

Let’s talk about prayerfulness!

Luke 18:1 (ESV)

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

There are two lessons here

Always pray, don’t lose heart

That’s the difference between prayer, and prayerfulness

Here’s what you need to know about prayer:

Prayer is meant to be constant

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (ESV)

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Pray without ceasing...

This doesn’t mean you lock yourself in the closet on your with hands permanently folded for eternity...

1. Stay in a spirit of prayer

In 2017, teens stole a red Saturn Vue

Wanted to hide, so they spray-painted it

Cops were looking for a red one, not a black one!

Instead, it drew attention of cops and they were caught

It’s not a good idea for inconsistent paint coverage

Also not a good idea for inconsistent prayer coverage

On the Saturn there are spots where there’s a lot of paint

Even running paint

Areas where it’s sparse, and areas where there’s none

Rather than having some moments of long, elaborate, tearful prayers

Only to be followed with no prayer at all

It’s better to consistently seek God throughout your day

Remember there are two lessons

Always pray, and don’t lose heart

Sometimes we want to stop praying because it’s hard or we get discouraged

That’s why we need to know this:

2. Prayer is work

Remember this is called DISCIPLined

Prayer costs us something - or the things we’re praying about do

If you walk up to a vending machine, put in your money and nothing falls out...

Get mad, pound the machine, things broken!

Maybe put in another dollar and try again

Then you give up and walk away - why?

Dumb thing didn’t give me what I wanted!

God is not our spiritual vending machine

When we ask and don’t receive, it’s not because God is broken!

God isn’t there to just give us what we want - we’ll revisit that in a bit

Prayer is meant to be something we do consistently, and constantly

Let’s look at the parable Jesus used to explain this

Remember, he wants his disciples to learn that same thing

Prayer is consistent and constant

Luke 18:2–8 (ESV)

2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

This woman is persistent!

We often think, “Oh, I don’t want to bother God with my little requests...”

So then don’t seek God, do it yourself, make the problem worse, then go to God?

Sounds like a great plan...

For this woman, she wants the judge to help and keeps pushing

So I’m supposed to keep nagging until God gives in?

No, because you can’t change God!

3. Prayer changes us, not God

That’s why the spiritual vending machine doesn’t work

We don’t talk to God to get Him to do our stuff

We talk to God to make us understand and desire His stuff

Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Jesus is who He is!

That’s why we pray THY kingdom come, not MY kingdom...

THY will be done, not MY will

William McGill: "The value of persistent prayer is not that God will hear us, but that we will finally hear God."

Illustration: Reminds me of when I was 10 years old

Went fishing with dad at Eagle Lake

Went with vendors, and two sons

I wanted to be cool, I was with the grown ups

Get to great cabin, everyones on the deck looking at the view

I go out to see the view and WHAM!

I don’t know how Windexed that sliding door, but they should get a raise!

My view of what was happening was this:

I’m walking through an open door

Reality was this:

I was about to look like a total idiot and gain a huge red mark on my face

You may enter prayer time with an idea of what you want, what’s right, what God is going to do...

Then WHAM! Reality sets in - and you were totally wrong

Prayer is meant to change YOU, not God...

Now, in this story there’s a woman and a judge

The woman takes the place of us, in prayer

The judge takes the place of God, but He doesn’t look like God

There’s a reason for that

In this story, the judge isn’t just, he’s not interested, and he only wants what’s best for him

His only motivation is to get this lady to shut up!

And yet her persistency gains what is right and just, even from an unjust judge

God on the other hand, is perfectly just, cares deeply for you, and wants what’s in your best interest!

How much more will your petitions to Him gain what is right and just!

This woman keeps trying and trying and trying

She could give up, she could take justice into her own hands, but no...

She keeps trying to do the right and honorable thing - why?

4. Prayer is a first resource, not a last resort

When you’re faced with something, do you pray or do you do it yourself?

Illustration: One area in my life this appears is my scheduling

There are times I get close to burnout

Times I’m overextended

Times I get overwhelmed and start dropping the ball

The biggest hep for me is...

“God, please help me to manage my schedule, have people stop bringing me things to do or give me the strength to say “no” and them the understanding to accept my “no.”

It ALWAYS seems to work

The problems return when I stop praying for it!

Think of all the little struggles you face without prayer

Disciplining your kids while praying in the moment

Taking a math test at school

Figuring how who to select for a committee

Millions and millions of things to pray for every day… and we try to shoulder it ourselves

Corrie Ten Boom: “Is prayer your steering wheel, or your spare tire?”

What she’s asking is...

Does prayer control everything you do, or do you keep it around just in case of emergencies?

I wonder, how many flat tires could we avoid if we let Jesus take the wheel?

There’s one more thing I want to point out here: the ending

Jesus asks a question:

“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

A lady who wants justice will pester a judge until something happens

Even though he’s an uncaring, self-absorbent jerk

She trusts that it’ll work out

And Jesus wonders, even with a God who loves and cares

Does anyone on this planet love and trust God enough to ask Him?

Here’s what we need to realize:

Jesus is looking for faithful prayer warriors

If He came back, and walked in this room...

I wonder, would He find what He’s looking for?

Are you one of the faithful that Jesus is looking for?

Maybe you are! That’s awesome! I thank God for you...

The people who are praying for our government instead of complaining about it

The people who are praying for our church leaders instead criticizing them

The people who are surrendering their preferences instead of expecting them

But many of us are not those faithful prayer warriors… at least not yet!

If you are not, today can be the day when prayer begins to make a radical difference in your life!

Before we go, let me give you a few tips on how you can improve your prayer life:

Tips for a better prayer life:

1. Schedule prayer time, but stay in a spirit of prayer always

Tash wakes up before me, and usually has her Bible open and then has quiet time with the Lord

But then I know she prays throughout the day as well

Having a set schedule as a baseline helps to create a habit

It also gives a time for some of these other tips

2. Focus on spiritual needs before the physical

It’s very easy to get wrapped up in prayer stuff

I need money, I need a spouse, I need a new car...

Actually, it’s better to do the spiritual stuff first and more often

Instead of, “Dear Lord, let my boss get hit by a train...”

You may not pray it but I know you’ve thought about it...

How about, “Dear Lord, soften my bosses heart, help me to speak kindly to her today, give them a desire to know You...”

Here’s a way to help with that too:

3. Have a strategy and document prayer

We’ve talked about the ACTS prayer

Admiration - God, You’re awesome, so loving, Your grace is incredible...

Confession - God, I have messed up, I can’t believe I did that, I repent...

Thanksgiving - Thank You Lord for loving me, keeping my family healthy...

Supplication - Now you ask for stuff

See, it transitions

I also recommend keeping a running list

Can you pray for me? Sure!

Two weeks later, God answered my prayer! Thanks for praying!

Eh, yeah… No problem...

I try to pray right then and there, but I also keep a running list

Many of you ask for prayer on Sunday, you’ll see me grab my phone

I used to keep it in Google notes, but I’m transitioning to Evernote

YouVersion has a prayer section too

I lost my whole list when my old phone crashed though...

Maybe they fixed that problem?

You can also keep a prayer journal

Write down where you are in your prayers, the experience

Then, pay attention!

When God answers, write it down

On your list, in your journal, wherever

Too often we miss when God is answering, or we simply forget

It’s important to remember what He does

That brings encouragement the next time we’re in prayer

Remembering that god has followed through before

And you can trust Him to follow through now

4. Pray the Bible

Scripture has many great examples of prayers

Isaiah’s prayer when he sees the Lord in Isaiah 6

Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6

Jeremiah’s plea for help in Jeremiah 14

Or you can take something and turn it into prayer

Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV)

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Lord, thank You that I have nothing to be anxious for. Remind me to be thankful for the abundant list of blessings You have given by your grace. Help me to sense your peace, even as most of it will be over my head. Guard my heart and mind against the enemy and my own flesh, and help me to seek the things that are pleasing to You.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Finally, we get to the one that really applies to what we’re talking about

5. Make time to pray with others

God did not design us to go at this alone

We pray together at church

Many of us pray together before meals

Most of us pray alone

And all those things are great! We should do that!

But we should also pray together

Husbands should be praying with their wives

Mother’s should be praying with their daughters

Sisters should be praying with their brothers

Men should be praying with their friends

Women should be praying with their cousins

Really, believers should be praying with believers

If you seek to have a disciplemaking friendship with someone, prayer should be intentional

Closing

So again, I challenge you to find that person

Who is that person God wants you to pull close for a Jesus-like disciplemaking friendship?

If you don’t know, pray for God to reveal them to you

If you do know, start praying with them together

See what God does with that

I promise it will be better than some grumpy old judge who just wants to shut you up