Biblical Prayer

While kayaking in southern England off the Isle of Wight, Mark Ashton-Smith, a 33-year-old lecturer at Cambridge University, capsized in treacherous waters. Clinging to his craft and reaching for his cell phone, Ashton-Smith’s first inclination was to call his father. It didn’t matter to the desperate son that his dad, Alan Pimm-Smith, was at work training British troops in Dubai 3,500 miles away. Without delay, the father relayed his son’s mayday to the Coast Guard installation nearest to his son’s location. Ironically, it was less than a mile away. Within 12 minutes, a helicopter retrieved the grateful Ashton-Smith.Like this kayaker, when we are in peril, our first impulse should be to call our Father—the one we trust to help us.

So what is prayer? We saw from our illustration It was this man who called his dad from the Kayak to save him. As you know I have a two year old and you maybe able to hear her. Well we like many parents have a baby monitor and in the morning if she wakes up before us I’ll hear “Dad, Dadddddd.” I know what that means come and get me I’m ready to start my day. Even if Dad is not!

Prayer and the Church. Churches need prayer it is our direct line to the King of Kings. Jesus is the king of our church and so we must be in constant contact with him!

So what is Prayer? Lets define it.

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Fourth Edition) What Is Prayer?

What Is Prayer?

Although many definitions of prayer could be given, I will simply say that prayer is talking to God. This “talking” can be in song or in writing. It can be unspoken thought and, according to Romans 8, it might even at times be something difficult to put into words. But typically in the Bible, prayer is talking

Tyndale Bible Dictionary (Prayer)

A classic definition of Christian prayer is “an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies” (Westminster Shorter Catechism).

This is a definition of what prayer and what it accomplishes.

So prayer is

What Prayer Is not.

Tapping into some mysterious energy in the universe

It’s not talking to some impersonal force like the wind or stars

Not some massive ATM machine

Meditation

Talking to yourself

You may think that this is obvious, but it isn’t! We were recently at Barnes and Noble and I saw several sections on New Age and Religion. A lot of stuff has been written on prayer and some of it is not good!

Also I learned that they carry a lot of stuff on witchcraft so beware. Don’t mess with that stuff, If you want to know more we can speak after service. Long story short we live in a supernatural world. If you want to speak to God go to him in prayer don’t try any of these methods. You already have the perfect access you don’t need anything else.

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Fourth Edition) (What Is Prayer?)

Because God has made us in his very own image, he calls us not only to hear him but to speak back to him. In the very form of our prayer—forming ideas and words that we then speak back to him—we imitate and reflect him. We display his own speaking nature. We engage with him in a relationship. He speaks by his Spirit in his Word. We listen and talk back to him in our prayers. This is far from being merely a “sort of” relationship, in a made-up, religious sense. Our relationship with our Creator is the truest, deepest relationship to which all of our other relationships are meant to point and lead. And prayer is a vital part of that relationship.

So prayer is vital in the life of a church. We as believers are reflecting our father in heaven and responding back to him as we communicate with him. A church that has lost it’s heart to pray will loose it’s love for God and it’s love for people. The DNA of a church must be a desire to pray.

Does Prayer Work?

Let’s look at Luke 18:1-8 Briefly

Luke 18:1–8 (ESV)

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

A Note about Context of LK 18:1-8

As you study this parable, try to see it in its Eastern setting. The “courtroom” was not a fine building but a tent that was moved from place to place as the judge covered his circuit. The judge, not the law, set the agenda; and he sat regally in the tent, surrounded by his assistants. Anybody could watch the proceedings from the outside, but only those who were approved and accepted could have their cases tried. This usually meant bribing one of the assistants so that he would call the judge’s attention to the case.

The widow had three obstacles to overcome. First, being a woman she, therefore, had little standing before the law. In the Palestinian society of our Lord’s day, women did not go to court. Since she was a widow, she had no husband to stand with her in court. Finally, she was poor and could not pay a bribe even if she wanted to. No wonder poor widows did not always get the protection the law was supposed to afford them!1

1 Wiersbe, Warren W. 1996. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

The judge was an unjust and godless man. He didn’t care for God or the people (v2) and Jesus uses this image to contrast the wicked Judge with God our father (v6-8).

Remember Jesus earlier in Luke 11:2-4

Luke 11:2–4 (ESV)

2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

So when we ask the question does prayer work the answer is yes. Jesus when teaching the disciples how to pray the Lord’s prayer would explain. On his commentary on his prayer would say:

Luke 11:5–13 (ESV)

5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

So Prayer does work, you can have confidence in prayer. The issue is the question that Jesus asks his disciples in Luke 18:8

Luke 18:8 (ESV)

8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Will we be faithful to pray without ceasing? Or Will we become a period of church history known for being like the days of Noah were only 8 people were saved?

A note on waiting for answers to prayer or prayers not answered the way you think:

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Fourth Edition) Does Prayer Work?

You may be Jonah on that third day. Keep praying.

You may be that church praying for the twelfth, but final, hour.

You may be Hannah, offering up her last prayer for a child to God.

We have a God who delights in hearing our hearts. It is through praying that we experience much of our relationship with God.

and

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Fourth Edition) Prayers God Doesn’t Hear

The same sovereign God who allowed Job to be tried so incredibly; the same sovereign God who called Abraham to be willing to sacrifice his long-sought son; the same sovereign God who gave his one and only Son for those who hated him: this is the God who called Paul to bear with his thorn, to endure its torments for a season.

Pinpoint Prayers

We recently finished a study on Wednesday nights on prayer called “Pray Big” and one of the concepts shared in the book is the Big Hairy Audacious Prayer. These are prayers so big that they can only be called God sized.

The author Will Davis Jr. calls people to trust God and to make these types of prayers.

Many of our people bought the book and have benefited form it greatly.

So let me ask you what are your God sized prayers?

Pray for the Lost

Pray for those unspeakable prayers

pray for the things that only God can do

pray for those deep hurts (use story of man wanting to reconnect with his son)

4 Fold system application

Let’s look at how prayer in this case is what sets apart a living church from a church in name only.

Individual

When it comes to you, yourself. Pray that you remember and are impacted by what was taught in the sermon this morning. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the things you need to know to walk closer with Jesus, to love your family, to love our church, and to love your neighbor better.

Pray that for your wife, husband, kids, grand-kids, friends in this sanctuary.

If your not sure what to pray look to the verses we covered this morning. Think of the hymns we sang and use them as a jump off for prayer.

Family

Your family. God created the family it is the area in which we grow the most in our faith. It is ground zero for applying the word to yourself and your family. So God wants us to pray for his creation, the family. A church that doesn’t support the God created family is not a church. The family was created in the garden by God. So we must pray for the people in our families

Psalm 18:34 ESV

34 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

A great prayer for your sons, husbands and important men in your life.

Psalm 3:6 ESV

6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

A great prayer for your children who are being bullied, for your fearful spouse. For when the cancelers come for you or you family.

Psalm 56:3 ESV

3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

A prayer for when your child is afraid of the dark at night, or your spouse or family member

Church

Do you believe that God is doing something here? Do you want to hear the sounds of Children and the clapping of hands during worship? Do you want to by part of a legacy that says this church will go on a 100 years from today? It sure doesn’t look like it did when it started, though I would think it be pretty cool for someone to ride up to church on their horse! Are you willing to pray for our church Psalm 1:3

Psalm 1:3 (ESV)

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Will you pray that we prosper? Will you pray that we will see great fruit? Will you pray that we have to one day get a second service because the number of believers is growing, that we would have buy land to build a bigger facility, expand, hire on more staff.

Maybe your heart is more pastoral in the small “p” way. God gave you a heart to pray for those around you. Will you care for those people and pray for each other? Will you pray like the Psalmist Psalm 34:8

Psalm 34:8 (ESV)

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Will you pray that for each of us? That we would know the Lord is good?

Community/State

Pray that our church, your family, yourself can impact and be salt and light for our community.

I know in today’s Sunday school that James is the book that you are working through. And one section was that the royal law is to love your neighbor. Jm 2:8

James 2:8 (ESV)

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

We’re doing a trunk or treat next month. I’m asking for everyone to commit to praying that we are successful in our outreach to the perishing world.

Psalm 2:8 (ESV)

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

God is saying that he will make the nations Christ’s heritage. The legacy of this church can be part of making Sarasota County Jesus’s own possession. Are you willing to pray for our little steps into the community again to build on this 100 year legacy together?

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