Praying During the Good Times

On June 12, 1979, a young man made aviation history when he flew a pedal-powered plane across the English Channel.

Taking off from England, he flew for three hours, rarely more than fifteen feet above the water.

Finally, after covering twenty-two miles, he landed exhausted on the coast of France.

As dramatic as this was, man-powered flight will never be practical.

A man simply cannot maintain the necessary energy output for extended flights.

In the same way, no one can live the Christian life pedalling on her or his own power.

It is only through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit that we can consistently live the Christian life.

You see it is easy to pray when we are absolutely desperate!

After all there is often no other option.

It is at times like this when we have tried absolutely everything that we reach out for God.

But when things are going well we tend to become self-reliant.

It is at times like these that people forget to pray.

Or their prayers are very self-focussed, just simple lists of what we want God to do.

There can be no real dialogue.

No real progress in our Christian maturity.

Few if any people would say that they have it all together with God.

But when things are going OK our prayer life may be an indication that we actually have a long way to go.

Unless there is a solid section of prayer that says, “Lord change me, make me more like you, help me to love that person more, help me to put others first, etc.”

Then it is highly likely that we are just cruising along in our own strength.

The result is usually disaster.

It can be a bit like a recently married man who loved his young bride intensely.

He wanted to provide her with the best home, nicest clothes, and everything else she might want.

So he worked hard, put all of his time into his small business always chasing the extra job, the extra few hundred doallars.

He gave his wife a nice flasher car, designer clothes, jewlery.

A modern house with all the best appliences.

Yet, as so often happens, within a few years his wife left him, not for more money or material things, but for a man who would spend time with her.

We often serve God and obey him, expending much time and energy in doing things that we believe will please him.

But this is not enough, in fact it is actually the wrong approach.

God wants us to know him intimately, to develop a relationship through the time we spend with him.

He wants this first and foremost, everythign else should flow from this relationship.

112 (illustrations for Biblical preaching)

For this to happen we need to do more than just “believe” in prayer.

We need to really “own our belief”, we need to act upon it and spend real time with God.

Time to listen, to actually allow God to speak to us.

Time to wrestle with him and let him mould us so that we can be conformed to his image.

God is willing to hear and act upon our prayers.

Many people have trouble really accepting this deep down.

They feel God is like the judge in Luke chapter 18 verses 2 to 5.

Luke 18:2–5 NLT

2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’ ”

People think God is unkind and not really interested in their needs.

They think they have to bother him.

To ask and ask and ask and maybe just maybe if they make enough noise God will listen.

Many people who say they believe in a loving God probably have this fear deep down in side.

A fear that God has to be pushed into helping them.

But Jesus did not tell this parable to show what God is like.

He told it to show what God isn’t like.

Luke 18:6–8 NLT

6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

It is a contrast.

Psalm 34 verse 8 says; Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

God wants to bless us, but we must cooperate!

The principle of Leviticus chapter 26 verses 3 to 6 is as true for God’s children today as it was when it was written.

Leviticus 26:3–6 NLT

3 “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land. 6 “I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land.

It is a conditional promise.

If you cooperate, I will bless you says the Lord!

Deuteronomy 28: 2-6 say a similar thing

Deuteronomy 28:2–6 NLT

2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: 3 Your towns and your fields will be blessed. 4 Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed. 5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. 6 Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed.

It is not that God just wants to give us things.

It is far more than that.

He wants us to inherit everything.

Everything of God’s is our inheritance if we will just follow him as our Lord.

Ephesians 1:3–5 NLT

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

Galatians 4: 7 backs up this point

Galatians 4:7 NLT

7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

This inheritance is far beyond our wildest dreams.

But it is of no use to us if we don’t take it up.

Many Christians are a bit like the man who had been a drunkard on Skid Row for many years.

Think of a scene from an old movie where one night this derilict person comes into a mission. He heard the message, ate the meal, and went to bed. That was his last night on earth. He died poverty stricken and friendless, never to see another day. What he did not know was that he had an inheritance of over four million dollars waiting for him in England. The authorities had searched for him but were unable to find him because he had no address. Here was a man who had all the material wealth he could want, but he lived and died in poverty. In this sense he was just like many Christians who live in spiritual poverty because they are not fully aware of their wealth in Christ. 1559

God is waiting, anxious to give us our inheritance.

Now don’t make the mistake of thinking that I am talking about physical riches.

Saying that God wants to bless us and then thinking that is about material riches is prosperity doctrine and is wrong.

Most Christians throughout the world don’t have a great deal of prosperity, but they are rich beyond measure because they have understood that their inheritance is a relationship with Christ.

This may not bring them material wealth in this life.

But it guarantees eternal life and joy in the next!

Security and peace now even in the face of great trials.

Matthew 7: 9 -11 shows us that the inheritance we have is guaranteed

Matthew 7:9–11 NLT

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

All we have to do is ask!

Romans 8: 16 -17 reinforces the point that everything God has is ours.

Romans 8:16–17 NLT

16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Now you may be thinking that all that is very well and good.

But deep down you may have never resolved doubts about God’s ability to deliver on his promises.

I believe there are 2 things that in reality are one and the same.

Our belief and our action!

We do not really believe so we do not act.

Quite simply we do not take God at his word, because we do not spend the time with him to really know that he will deliver.

And because we do not know him, as we should, we miss the opportunity to be moulded and changed by the work of his Spirit.

And because we don’t experience his power in our own lives.

We don’t have an expectation that he will act.

It becomes a vicious cycle!

Can I encourage you to break that cycle?

Can I encourage you to take to heart this verse from Philippians chapter 4 verse 6,

Phil 4:6 which says;

Philippians 4:6 NLT

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

God is willing to hear us.

God wants to bless us.

God wants to give us our inheritance.

He has the power to do it.

All we have to do is take the time to ask him!

Will you do that?