Deeper in Prayer - Part 2

Thank you for joining us for this broadcast from The Ninth Avenue Church of Christ in Haleyville Alabama. We hope that you will subscribe and we'll share our broadcast with others. Now we take you to the pope head of the 9th Avenue Church of Christ and then we're going to get into our lesson together. God. We thank you so much for a chance, just to be in your presence today. We thank you for the opportunity to sing songs to you to a commune together around this table. And remember the sacrifice of your son. We are grateful for the opportunity to pray together and into just worship together and so many different ways today. God, I pray. Now that as we come to this time that we're going to open up your word and study that you will soften our hearts. That you will open our hearts to your spirit guy that you will allow us to listen to hear to act God. We pray that we will be motivated and convicted to make changes in her life and it really more than anything for the day's lesson that we will be encouraged by your presence. That's in your son's name we pray. Amen. Help your Bibles to Psalms 139, Psalms 139, as we continue with our thoughts, on deeper and prayer together, this particular series of going to take us through the remainder of the month together. Psalms 139 I was thinking this week, as I was putting some thoughts together beginning to put some thoughts together. I've had a guy have had outside of vacation bible school. I have had a very busy week of a lot of study Prayer by a couple of extra classes. I got to go to Faulkner this weekend and teach at a youth conference is going on down there. So I've had a lot of lessons going this week and as I was kind of working on all these different things, something came to my mind, cuz some of the things, you know, if you're working in a lot and a lot of different things at least in my life, as I work on my lessons are going to eventually overlap. Those trains of thoughts are all going to kind of end up in the same direction and then they kind of did a lot of ways 12 questions I ask myself. As I was studying this week and looked up some different thoughts that I do not have is what is the goal of our prayer life? What is the goal of our prayer life? And I think that there's a lot of ways that we can answer that question. I think there's a lot of a lot of different directions that answer could go. We could talk about, you know, it's our way to express our needs to God. But, but I thought about that and I thought, well, you know, it is a way, it could be a gold express, my needs to God, but if I truly believe what scripture says this, God not know, my needs already. Absolutely. So so prayer is not necessarily Maybe the informative conversation with god that we like to think about, okay? I know that when we talked about confession sometimes we talked about in the way as letting God know that we've done wrong and tell you what God already knows that we've done wrong if we've done it. Right. So we're not really informing God of anything. Maybe we're we're accepting that God knows this and we're accepting that what we've done is wrong. So, so prayer is not information for sake. The goal of prayer is not a golden parachute, some people kind of think of prayer and its purpose, is kind of a golden parachute, right? I'm in trouble. I need something. So what am I going to do? I'm going to pray about it, I've tried everything else and that has it work. So I'm going to take this time now and I'm going to pray to God and maybe that will solve my problem solved my situation. I'm not sure if I put this in my slides, we'll see though it is what is the goal of prayer? But this is kind of where where I came to The goal of prayer is for me to have an intimate relationship with God. That's the goal of prayer is intimacy is to have this deep meaningful conversation and I got to thinking about it, in this way. I've got some good friends, I do, I have some good friends in my life and I'm very blessed with those friends and so, so you but you know, that cut the conversations that you have with acquaintances. It's different than the conversations you have with your best friends, right? I mean, you can talk about the same thing, but that conversation going to be different because from acquaintances to friend or best friend, the intimacy level goes up, right? And then I go from my best friend's to my spouse. I go for my best friend to Blair, and even though I had may have great conversations with my friends, the conversations that I have with my wife or even more intimate, they're even more personal there. There's a deeper connection. And then, as we think about taking our prayer life, our conversation, I've been really. That's what prayer is Prayer makes it sound real form, when I think there are times as appropriate to be respectful and formal before God, but ultimately prayer is a conversation. Prayer. Is your conversation with your God, with your father, with your Creator and that conversation should be the most intimate relationship that you have. If for no other reason than God, already knows got enough of that. It's not about the information. Already knows what you're sharing. So you should be as open and is transparent with him as possible. And when we do that, some very important things happened, I believe there's some things that we're all searching for some things that we're all seeking for. I think in our life we're all searching and seeking for things to bring us joy. We're all searching and see seeking things to bring peace into our life. And I believe a lot of us go through phases, we all go through phases. When we try to figure out our purpose. Why am I here? What am I trying to accomplish? And threw an intimate conversation life, an intimate prayer life with God. I find the joy that I'm searching for. I find the piece that I need. And I'll find the purpose that ultimately satisfies me greater than anything in this world would say, is my purpose. So, how do I get to that point? How do I get to that point? That's the whole purpose if you will, of this idea of deeper in prayer, is getting to the point that we have this intimate relationship with God. But if you open your Bibles and keep them there to Psalm 139, we're going to learn something. Some of you already know this, we're going to learn something about God today that I think is so vitally important for us to remember and that is this That prayer puts us in the presence of God. I saw the stuff that back just a moment. Yes. Prayer puts us in the presence of God. But as we read through parts of Psalm 139, what I want you to understand this morning is, you are always in the presence of God. You're always in the presence of God. How many of you had parrots? That just seem to know everything about you, if you did something wrong, you got in trouble for it. So I've got a boy that was in our youth group growing up more. When he was growing up, he was in our youth group in McMinnville and he moved into the preachers with, with his uncle who was the preacher and gray had problems. Grey had a lot of problems. Greyhound, a lot of stuff stacked up against them to begin with the gray had a lot of problems and he had sixteen, he had snuck out of Tim's house, one not to smoke a cigarette and we live three houses down from him and Dana and gray and his sister. They moved in and we're pulling through and I seen standing outside in the front yard, smoking this cigarette. So what does the youth Minister do? The youth Minister pulls right up to in front of him and that boy put that cigarette in his back pocket.

And the whole time we were standing there Grey's, doing this right here.

Yeah, man. Yeah, and I just, we just sit there and talk and that thing burned a hole in the back of his britches. And Burnham pretty bad. So, when I got home, I text him. I said, hey, this is what just happened, and the next day, grey comes and sets in the office and he says, man, I'm just, I'm just going to tell you when you pulled in last night. I just played dumb. When you pulled in last night. This is why I was doing. I thought that cigarette my back pocket, he doesn't burn me, burn me bad. He goes to hear something. I can't figure out and goes Tim knew about it because everything that I do, Tim knows, he goes, it's like Tim's everywhere that I go, and what he doesn't realize, it's Kim's. Got a lot of eyes, you know, he's got a lot of people looking out, my parents still got a lot of people looking out, but I want you to know something this morning. God is that way with you, not and not in a bad way, like with grey with pimps, but everywhere you go, no matter what you're doing, no matter what's going on in your life, you are in the presence of God or maybe it helps you to think this way. That's fine too. God is in your presence guys. Sitting beside you had breakfast. God's the walking alongside with you at Walmart, God's riding in the car with you As you go wherever you might go, God sitting in the Pew with you this morning as you're worshipping, you are always in the presence of God and what I want you to get today. If nothing else is that should bring you the greatest comfort. That should bring you the greatest comfort. So let's begin and talk about prayer, not in, but with the presence of God, is David begins to walk through this? This idea what just happened on the back screen to go today, but as we read these things, I want you to understand these thoughts together. Let's let's back up to where we begin here. Okay. So the first thing I want you to understand here is God is already here wherever you are? That doesn't sound like correct English. What is the best way to make me say it? God is already here wherever you are. So beginning, verses 1 through 3 you have searched me Lord and you know me, you know, when I see it. And when I arrive as you perceive my thoughts from afar you, discern my going out, am I lying down? You are familiar with all my ways. Now in Hebrew culture in, in Jewish, Culture, the idea of life was found in Rhythm and K was found in rhythm, you're going and comings and your ups and your downs and you're sleeping in your Awakening and you see a lot of that in David's riding. And what that what that is is is is it kind of poetic terms for The rhythms in the ROMs of life? Now, let me just, let me just ask you this morning. How many of you love summer? You love summer. I think we all love summer to some degree for a lot of different reasons. But let me ask you, this parents of school-age kids, how many of you are looking forward to getting back into the routine of the school year? I am, I'm looking forward to my kids, being back in a routine, we function better in that way in our house having having those things go on those things that we know about in our kids are just in a lot of different directions right now. We didn't have any kids know. We just had one kid last week. Maybe then they all came back for like, 3 days and now they've all disappeared. Again, we've got two of them today, and I'm kind of having a hard time keeping up with, who's where? And when, and how long they're going to be gone. And so I enjoy having the rhythm of the school year. So so we know what's going on and what's happening in the schedule. And I think many of us we function better in routine when we just do. We we function better and routine but what I hear from what David saying here at the very beginning is that God knows our Rhythm of Life. God knows our rhythms not life. He knows what gets us up. He knows what gets us down. He knows, he knows when we're struggling in case, he knows when we're happy, he knows when we're joyful, he knows we have peace. We also knows when those rhythms are upset and and there's difficult things going on, we can know that. God knows those things that he is there with us and that he is already here regardless of where here, maybe for each and everyone of us. The next thing he says here and just maybe one of my favorite to talk about. God is already in front of me and still behind me. Let that sink in for just a moment. God is already in front of me and still behind me. Just look at what he says here. He says, before a word is on my tongue. You Lord know it completely. You hem me in behind and before and you lay your hands upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me to lofty for me to attain so God is already in front of me and is still behind me and what I think about this and it's so let's just take vacation bible school for just a moment. Let's take that moment and think about it Vacation Bible School. Is it in front of us? Or is it behind us now? It's behind us. But you know there were some conversations that took place at vacation bible school. There were some Faith sharing moments that took place at Vacation Bible School and even though God I'm sorry, you've been on vacation bible school in our mindset. In an hour, time frame is behind us. God is still working in the moments. That happened then. Those conversations that we had those prayers, that we prayed for those opportunities, God is still in that moment. Working in those moments but he's also in front of us preparing us for what might be the answer to those prayers and that's kind of hard for us to comprehend a little bit because our mindset and train of thought and understanding of time is very present, isn't it? Very what's happening here and also kissing on what is coming ahead?

But this passage tells us that God is already in front of me. But he's also behind me still working in those moments that I have left. I see that played out in the Book of Daniel as Daniel is praying. And an angel comes to him and says, hey, I'm sorry, it's taking me so long to get here. I had this spiritual battle that I had to go through, he goes, but when you pray, this prayer event, God went ahead and sent me to now. To tell you, the prayer was going to be answered then. Again we have a very structured idea of time but God does not. So God's always where we were and he is always where we're going into me. That is such a comfortable and powerful thing. The next thing I think we understand this because we talked about it a bit, God is everywhere that I go God is everywhere. I go 7 through 10. Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens you are there. If I make my bed in the depths you are there. If I Rise Up on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, Even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast like the way he ends this, and in the picture, he paints with all of these words, Doesn't matter where I go doesn't matter what I'm going through doesn't matter what's happening around me. God's presence is there and no matter how good or bad it might be His hand guides us and his hand holds ice and that's just a beautiful image that we get. God is light, even in darkness, he brings light. We're going to hit some of these verses and they were fixing to make some application. So I know we're moving fast. If I say, surely the darkness will hide me and the light become nine around me. Even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like day for darkness, is a light to you. Scripture tells us that Jesus tells us, that we're to be the water, the world. The light God is light in him. There is no darkness and no matter where you go, or what you do in a negative sense. As we've already mentioned, no matter where you go to watch, you doing a negative sis. Do you have to inform God of that if you repent of that? No, you don't have to inform him of that. He already knows he's there, but on the flip side of that, I think it's also a beautiful idea. That. when your light shines, God sees that and God is there. There are some of you that serve and, and do things may be in a more public way, not to gain recognition, but your your service in your talents and your abilities are more of a public nature. But then there are a lot of you who your service to God is very private. Your card Riders your Mill, prepares your your very private in the way that you serve and I want you to know this morning but even though your your private about it God knows God knows when you let your light shine and it brings honor and glory to him and he appreciates that God is there when I'm formed God, is there? When I'm formed for you, created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb, I praise you. Because I am fearfully and wonderfully. Made your works, are wonderful. I know that full well, my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw, my unformed body, all the day. All the days ordained for me, were written in your book before one of them came to be what a beautiful passage about life. Life before life, if you will life at conception, That why are our politicians and everything argue about it and fuss about when it comes to abortion rights and different things. God tells us this David tells us this from God, he's there. he's there with us for us from the very beginning and he's they're making us and creating us Isn't that just a beautiful thought that you were knit together by the hands of your creator? It's like he rolled his hands up and he formed you to be exactly what he wanted you to be. He was there and then maybe not maybe a point that we don't have, but that he knows our days. He knows what we're going to do. He knows the life that we're going to live, he has written that in his book into that we can find some comfort. So so God is always there. Alright, God is always there. God is. God is present with us, no matter where we are, no matter what is going on, no matter what is happening. So what can we pull from that? What can we learn from that? How can we connect that? In the first thing is, this, we need we need prayer for the mindfulness of his presence. All right, we need prayer for the mindfulness of his presence. And what I mean by that is we need to pray and Such a way that we learn to acknowledge the fact that he is there, we need to pray in the direction in the understanding that he's right there with us, but we're not praying to some God whose far off, we're not praying to some God, who is disconnected. We're praying to a God who is presents. We don't have too long for intimacy. Intimacy is right here with us and God. It is a conversation with him. Go back and look at verse 1. Go back and look at verse 1. As you have to me, Lord, ain't you want? You know me? I love that idea. I love that idea. That David says, you are hear you, you search me and, you know me you got already has that intimacy with you because he is present with you and there is a piece that comes from a. There's a piece that comes from knowing that God is sitting there right there with you, he's sitting right there with you, and once you realize that it should change not just your prayer life, but it should change your life. In every way, we should change your life and every way. one of the things that we have to start doing, Cuz we have to start looking for God to understand that we are always in the presence of God. We must always look for God. So let me just ask you to do something kind of quietly for just a moment. Just quietly for just a moment, look around the room. Look around the room. Let me ask you this question.

Where do you see God in this room this morning?

Where do you see God in this room this morning?

Did you walk in here this morning to worship? The God in heaven. Or did you walk in here this morning to worship The God, Who is already in the room?

Like I said, sometimes I think we get this idea that there's this disconnect from God, that he's there and we're here. But we have to begin to train our mind and look deeper into that relationship and every moment of our life look around us and say okay where is God? In This Moment. One of my favorite ways to teach class if you ever if you ever get this question in a class for me. And that's what we talked about the whole time cuz I haven't had time to actually prepare anything for class and we do this to a small degree every just about every time, our young adult group gets together, We have to stop a question. How have you been blessed this week or where have you seen God? I'm convinced you get a group of women together and you ask the question, where have you seen God this week and you get them talkin, it'll be a 3-hour class. Women's 10. You tend to have a little better connection of seeing God in the Monday. And sometimes me, and sometimes we're so focused on the task, we're so focused on the direction. For the leadership, were trying to provide. We're so focused on what we're trying to get done that. We we miss what God is doing around us. Ladies you 10 to maybe be a little more connected to that. So me and maybe this question is more for us as you look around this room today. Where do you see guide? Cuz he's here. He's in the room with us. He's searching us, he knows us and we need to become aware that he is here. And when we do that, it changes, our view, it changes, our Outlook sits even can change the direction of our life in so many powerful ways, and then we realize that it brings this last idea if God is everywhere, then he can be found in the most ordinary places, right? If God is everywhere, he can be found in the most ordinary places. Do any of you and I know you do, how many of you have a place that when you're there you really feel connected to God. Like when I go to this place, man, I got that. That's when I feel some people. It's, it's outdoors. Some people, it's with family, some people at the beach, some people, it's in the woods, some people, it's in their Garden, you know, for me, one of the places that I think, but I connect with God, the most is on my lawn mower hadn't connected with him a lot this summer. It's been too hot and gas is too expensive but And it may be because there's no one bothering me in that moment. It was easy for us to say, okay? I'm going to be connected to God, when I get to this point when I have this time when I have this experience, okay? When I go on this trip and I'm at this Retreat, when I meant this church service, but if we really understand that God is everywhere, then we can have those moments even in the most ordinary places.

even sitting in your living room at home, you can have some of the greatest intimacy with God than anywhere else, because you understand that God is there And we understand God is there in the presence of God. You will discover praise you discover gratitude Wonder All and a whole lot more. Look at how he finishes that he's understanding that God is here. He's understanding that God is present, is everywhere. So this is how he is. This particular train of thoughts, how precious to me, are your thoughts, God's. How fast is the? Some of them where I could count them? They would outnumber the grains of sand. When I Wake, I am still with you. So we must practice being in the presence of God. He says, when I get up in the morning I understand God is where God is here, God is there, God is right there with me. And when I go to sleep at night, when that Rhythm, when that routine of the day and I know that God is still there where I am that is where my God Is. So, as we think about that, we must now be living our life and practice being in God's presence. We must listen for God. We must look for God. We must pay attention to those things so that when he nudges us, when he encourages us, when he blesses us, We're aware. We are in God's presence. And when we realize that God is with us, our prayer life, our conversation with God, will take a step in a deeper direction to Greater intimacy. And I hope that those thoughts bring you hope and encouragement this morning, because that's how David Wright's then. Let's go to God In Prayer as we close our time. God. We thank you so much for the chance to just be here. To be with you.

Help us understand. Oh God that, when we leave, here you go with us and that you're already where we're going. you're already working things in our life in the future to bring us blessings to bring us opportunities to bring us ways to serve You're even bringing challenges to help us grow. Those are things. We don't want to think about God. Those are things that we don't appreciate in the moment but help us to understand. Now the power of that in our life, God, we thank you for being here and being with us. We pray that we will.

Really start looking for you. I will wake up everyday and ask the question. Where is God? Where do I see him today?

Going to just pray for our church family today. There are so many that are hurting. better struggling, God, that are grieving In the greatest way. Possible be with them. Be their strength. be there light and if they're like my field them, Either energy. Is their energy mountfield depleted, God. Be there. Love. Help us to just be their family above everything else. To help carry their burdens. So that their life won't seem so heavy at this time.

God, we thank you for Jesus. We thank you for the moment that he was here and he lived and he died. So he could be the perfect sacrifice to break us all out of the bondage of sin. Help us to not be controlled by sin, God but to be controlled by your spirit every single day of us to live in the shadow of the cross. Thank you for blessing us. Thank you for being the Great. I Am is in your son's name we pray. Amen. Is this program has been beneficial to you. Please consider subscribing on YouTube. Apple podcast or your favorite podcast. Provider also would love for you to leave us a 5-star review which will greatly assist us in getting the message of God's love and salvation to others. Would love even more for you to join us in person, we are located at 2309 9th Avenue, in Haleyville, Alabama. You can also check us out on Facebook, Instagram.

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