Sermon 4 - Why Pray?
Series on prayer – No.1. Why Pray?
Do you remember a sermon on prayer in May centred on the phrase ‘release the river’? You liked it. It was based on the truth that in order to change we need more than exhortation, or even instruction – we need a vision. Here is today’s vision – put your roots into the river.
Read Jeremiah 17:5-8. Use your imagination. Picture two shrubs – a brown, scrawny, parched bush standing alone in a desert wasteland; a green, living, flourishing, fruitbearing tree by a riverbank. Two people; two lives – one cursed and withering; one blessed and vibrant. The difference? Spelt out in vs5 and 7.
Right now at this point in your life which one are you most like? How can I know? Well here is where we start – v5 is a description of a prayerless life; v7 describes what prayer does. Can you tell me how anyone would trust God, depend on God apart from prayer? Prayer is the measure of my faith; if I do not pray then in practice I depend on flesh for my strength and my confidence is not in God. The fruitful shrub reminds me of these words in John 15:4-7.
Here is a more important question – which one of these do you really want to be? So do I! I want my roots to be in the river. This will take action on my part – conscious decision, disciplined practice giving expression to my heart’s desire. The tree sends out its roots to the river – they move, they are drawn, they reach out toward that source of life. That’s what we need to do.
Here is step one – be honest about where you are with prayer but decide you are not going to stay there. Acknowledge your feelings about prayer - Yes, I have failed; I feel guilty; I may be confused; acknowledge your questions – why pray if God knows everything, is all-powerful? Why pray when I have seen so few answers, when it seems to have made so little difference? But then realise that the future does not have to be like the past – things can change, by God’s grace things will change. I am going to send out my roots toward the river. I will act upon my heart’s desire to live a life like that tree – life of trust, dependence, and fruitfulness; v8 – a life that does not fear in time of heat/drought ie trial.
Do you want to come with me? Step two – let’s strengthen that desire by getting clarity about the purpose of prayer. The common view of prayer is that it is the last resort for obtaining what you want when all other means have been exhausted; a means of facing otherwise impossible difficulties and situations. Jesus told us why we need to pray when he said “Without me you can do nothing.” Take that in – nothing! Ie the impossible situation is living the Christian life; life in its entirety is impossible without him if we would glorify God. Here is another picture – the diver swimming in the underwater world but connected to his oxygen source above the surface by a lifeline. What happens if his lifeline is cut off? Christians are people who live on earth but breathe the air of heaven and prayer is the lifeline. When it gets cut off we stop living the life of heaven and live just like other people who don’t know Jesus.
Let ,me share the points from the opening chapter of Winward “Teach Yourself To Pray”. Read the four summary points on p.15. 1-dealt with. 2 next week.
3 - Prayer is receiving from God – another picture. Recently I read the story of the battle of Stalingrad. Why was the German 6th army defeated by the Russians? Because they were encircled? No. Because they could not receive adequate supplies to keep fighting – they ran out of food, adequate clothing, ammunition and medicine and were forced to surrender. Prayer brings the resources we need to fight the good fight of faith.
4 - Prayer is co-operating with God – God works among men, not apart from men but through men. Consider Abraham praying for Sodom and Gommorah; Moses praying for Israel; Elijah praying for rain; Daniel interceding for the return of the exiles; Peter receiving a vision in prayer on the rooftop and then receiving the command to go to Cornelius’s house and preach the gospel. He has chosen to involve us in his activity in the world and to grant to his children the privilege and the joy of being his partners and co-workers. What an honour to be granted such responsibility! Let us not be so beset by philosophical and theological questions that we fail to seize the opportunities and potential this places before us. Who among us refuses to use electricity because we do not understand its mysteries? Just as God entrusted Adam and Eve with stewardship and management of the earth, so God wants to draw us into such a deep intimacy with himself that he can use our prayers and actions to bring about his kingdom and redemption. Cf John 15:7,16
Conclusion – where are you with prayer? Where would you like to be – sending out your roots to the river – a life of fellowship, of giving, receiving, co-operating with God. A life governed by faith, not fear, and bearing much fruit. Where is the other verse where the picture of a tree by a river is used to describe the one who trusts in God? Psalm 1:2-3 – meditating on Scripture and prayer are the two sides of the coin. To close let me share a prayer of response to Jeremiah 17, incorporating the elements of adoration, thanksgiving, confession and petition.
PRACTICAL HELPS IN PRAYER
Begin with John White, The Fight p.21. This sermon is for anyone who has ever experienced something like that. It is some practical tips gained from experience, mine and others I have learned of, which may guide you in your devotional life.
I will consider those times we set aside specially to meet with the Lord – what we call our devotions, or our ‘quiet time’.
As people we are not all the same – our temperaments differ and this affects our spiritual life. Some like a fixed routine and will never change; others like variety; our prayer life will express our temperament; but I would encourage a place both for good habits, for occasional changes, and also of course freedom to respond to the needs of life.
It is almost impossible for anything to be done in life that does not have some kind of structure to it. The person who simply gets down on their knees and starts talking will soon run out of things to say like John White, and will tend to say the same thing everyday. All endeavours in life have a method, an approach which produces growth and greater freedom as time goes by.
Let us start with the easiest element of prayer – petition. Let us not be afraid to ask, for we are encouraged again and again to do so.
Cf Phil 4:6 – bring all our requests to God. Two observations.
1. I would be inclined to keep a little notebook with the most significant requests – this way you can keep track as situations develop, note answers and maybe change direction.
2. Ask God how you should pray – Psalm 37:4 – God is not bound by our requests for none of them flow from truly pure or wise hearts but at least we can seek to know his will as we live closely with him.
Confession – those who have received Jesus as Saviour are justified for ever; but daily confession is needed to keep our communion with God open. Again we may be very conscious of how we have sinned; but there may be value in using Scripture eg the passage we have read, or a passage like I Corinthians 13; or using a written prayer.
Sometimes if we are at a very significant moment there can be great depth in actually composing a prayer which carefully expresses in words what we want to say to God. Or the more creative and artistic types may want to draw a picture like the one we have already seen.
Adoration – the highest form of prayer and perhaps the most difficult – praising and worshiping God simply for who and what he is – this is the experience where we see and grasp something of God’s greatness, glory and grace and simply express our admiration, appreciation and awe of that – it may be with words, it may be adoring silence, it may be with our bodies as kneel, raise our hands or lie upon the ground. It may be as we sing, read the words of a hymn and some who have the gift of tongues will use it as a form of worship.
I encourage the use of hymnbooks, reading the words slowly, adding to them or reading the hymn right through and then praying in our own words.
I do not know of many who use praise music in their set quiet times but I certainly encourage the use of it as we travel around – in the car, or your mp3 player. It undoubtedly helps to keep us aware of God at all times in see him in all things. The tape ‘Purify’ can be used as an act of devotion in itself.
Thanksgiving – thanksgiving is really central in the Christian life: it is commanded over and over in Scripture and is prominent in the Psalms and in all prayers. It honours God as the giver – cf Romans 1:21 – in gratitude is the very beginning of turning away from God; it sanctifies each gift (I Timothy 4:3-5) and it is the principle element in the cure for a depressed or gloomy spirit. It is not hard to think of things to thank God for and again there is a place here for the use of general prayers of thanksgiving to prime the pump.
Before moving to praying for others note 2 helps mentioned so far.
1. Praying as a response to Scripture esp. the Lord’s Prayer. We can use other prayers of Scripture. Sometimes in the prayer meeting we take a Psalm and each can use just one verse or statement to utter a word of thanks or praise.
2. Using devotional material such as hymns, books of prayers, CD’s etc.
How long should I pray for? As long as you can; as long as you need and as long as your other duties allow.
Intercession – here we can be very definite about the need for being systematic and ordered because this is part of being faithful and dependable. To promise to pray for someone and leave it to memory or impulse alone is simply to reveal that you do not know the weakness of your own heart.
Make out a prayer diary and stick to it – people are depending on you and it is a sign of the importance you attach to them and your commitment.
• The world needs prayer and thank God so much material is available – here is my prayer folder with lots of prayer letters in it. (Show them)
• Here is the PCI Points For Prayer.
• Rosie and I pray briefly each night and arrange it as follows - go through the little sheet.
Finally here are 3 other areas to consider.
1. Does bodily posture matter? Yes it does. The key thing is what is happening in your heart or inner being – that is where you commune with God, and you can do that in any bodily position. Many have done it for the first time lying in a hospital bed or hanging from a branch of a tree. But bodily posture can help or hinder the attitude of the heart and you should feel free to adopt the posture which most encourages you. Kneel, lie or stand with hands outstretched or upraised. Sitting is fine and let us use commonsense here – if sitting is most comfortable then that is the position to take most of the time. I agree with others who have said that slouching back in a chair with legs crossed is hardly a reverent approach to the almighty.
2. Public prayer – our life of prayer is not only about private prayer but prayer gatherings and public worship. Joining with others is encouraging as we can learn from them; also the level of faith grows as we pray together.
As regards church, the quality of the church’s prayer life and its reality depends as much on you and your preparation as it does on the person leading; you see the person in the pulpit is leading but the people in the pews must follow and if your hearts are dead and cold and there is no response the leader can feel that. There is a spiritual echo which can be loud or silent. Come in time, why not use the pre-church period for a short time of prayer.
Learning by doing is the only way – generally we need something to prime the pump and I doubt this ever changes; but we will discover the methods and helps which work for us only if we actually embark upon an active life of prayer and discover these wonderful lessons for ourselves.
Now let me send you out with hope and expectation. Who wants you to pray the most – you or God? God. Who knows you best, your potential, your needs and your weaknesses? God! So get going knowing he is with you to lead and to guide and to draw you into a deeper life of prayer and fellowship with him.
SOME PRACTICAL GUIDELINES FOR TIMES OF PRAYER.
Choose a time and place where you will be uninterrupted and stick to it. Spontaneity and freedom are built on the foundation of discipline and structure.
There are 4 main elements in our praying remembered by the word ACTS.
Adoration – worshipping & praising God for who he is. Hint – consider the use of hymns, choruses or praise and worship tapes and CD’s.
Confession – be completely honest. Hint – consider using general prayers of confession.
Thanksgiving – honours God; sanctifies each gift; a thankful heart is a happy heart. Count your blessings, name them one by one.
Supplication – this includes prayer for yourself and others.
Hints. 1. Organise your requests by the use of a notebook, a prayer diary where different matters are covered each day.
If you desire to pray in earnest for the mission of God in the world then obtain prayer guidelines from missionaries, Christian organisations or your church.
Other points to consider.
1. Consider at times giving expression to something definite in your heart either by writing out a prayer or drawing a picture which expresses it.
2. Bodily posture may help or hinder; the most important thing is to be comfortable so you can concentrate.
3. Using written devotional material is helpful at all times but especially when our hearts are downcast or dry.
4. The greatest variety and freshness comes into prayer when we pray in response to what God says to us in Scripture. No portion is more helpful than the Lord’s Prayer.
5. Start with modest aims and let your prayer times grow naturally. Pray for as long as you can, as you need, and as other duties allow.
6. Public prayer – be encouraged by joining with others and help the church’s public worship by preparing your own heart in prayer before the service.
Most important; we learn from personal experience. Do not give up; you and other people need your prayers. If you are floundering seek wise counsel.
DISTRACTIONS IN PRAYER
Anyone who has ever attempted to pray knows all about distractions. They begin as soon as you think about praying and a host of them appear to keep you from the place of prayer. Getting to a place of real prayer is like trying to walk up a descending escalator. Then if you manage to overcome them, a second wave of distractions will attack you as you pray. Why is this the case? Where do they come from? What can we do about them? This is our topic today. It is urgent because there is no substitute for time alone with God. It is essential.
Obstacles to prayer
Supernatural opposition - At a spiritual level Satan throws everything at us because he trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees - - your prayers are futile, weak, you’ll make no difference plus all the old chestnuts etc
Spiritual unease - Our relationship with God may be out of sorts and we are afraid to come before him; when something comes between us and God we want to avoid him.
Unbelief - The ultimate root cause of our prayerlessness – as of everything else – is unbelief – the notion that we can do without prayer ie live life successfully without God. But Proverbs 3:5-6 remind us that only he can make our paths straight. Ie lead them to a successful end.
Attention deficit disorder. We live in a society where we are in a state of constant distraction at a very deep level – it is the result of several things – the loss of a socially agreed worldview so that our entire society exists in a state of confusion, information overload, far, far too many decisions to be made, far too many experiences, far too much noise, far too many diversions – the greatest culprits being TV and music everywhere, e-mails and junk mail etc etc The end result is that as people our lives become totally fragmented – our ability to concentrate has diminished and our attention is constantly pulled in a multitude of different directions. This is not just a cultural thing – it is a cultural reality with profound spiritual results. The results are that we are not centred on God and find it difficult when we do draw aside to pay attention to God. We may find that when we actually try to settle to pray that our inner life is a whirl of movement, noise and confusion and we simply cannot concentrate. We feel a restlessness inside of us. We are like someone suffering from the dizziness after they come off the rollercoaster.
Fear of solitude and silence
Sloth, laziness
Weeks, months, years of neglect so that we don’t know how to get started
Inexperience
Busyness and possibly a disorganisation that means our minds are going so fast it takes a long time to unwind, to slow down.
Naivety about the Christian life. Some will say ‘can I not pray at any time and anywhere or whenever I feel like it – yes of course you can – you are naive if you think that such an approach will build a long-term relationship with God. Nothing in life is achieved with that as its basis. Indeed the very desire to pray as you walk or cycle or jog or drive, and the attitude of heart that sends up arrow prayers in times of crisis will not be there unless you have a disciplined devotional life. This was true in Nehemiah’s case; he sent up arrow prayers but he also fasted for long periods. Soldiers react properly in times of crisis because of long hours of training; your split-second reactions reveal the person you have become by all your life choices up to that moment. Designated time underlines the centrality of God in your life.
We need intention. The first and crucial thing is not to throw in the towel. We must all surely ask ourselves if we say that prayer is so important why do we neglect it and admit that this is unacceptable and something must be done before life runs out.
We need a proper place. At more mundane levels we may find it difficult to find a place of uninterrupted peace and quiet. Jesus explicitly tells us in Matthew 6 that in order to pray we must shut out distractions. Clearly he did this too – Luke 5:16.
We need decisions. The answer is that we must see what we can do to change our lifestyles to make them less fragmented and filled with diversions – make hard choice – ie reduce the distractions, see them as temptations, see them for what they are.
We need a rhythm or routine. Ie we need to order our time for our spiritual health. Many evangelicals are turning today to the rules of monastic life. The point of these rules was that the day had a rhythm of prayer and work. These writers see this as the answer to distractedness and there is truth in it; the problem is how to implement something like this in our lives; This can have many different parts eg Sunday worship is an essential part of it; ; prayer partners or prayer triplets; prayer gatherings such as are offered by the church; but most of all you must put in place a rule of life for your own personal prayer and as you persevere with this the stillness in your own soul will grow and it will begin to dictate your life – you will begin to experience the true Christian life where instead of being ruled by the endless pressures of circumstances and demands you live life out of a still centre which is an awareness of God and a life of listening to his Word – your life will become a true witness and fountain of blessing.
We need discipline. We are a generation who tend to value emotion and spontaneity and downplay discipline . We are so concerned about legalism we have thrown the baby out with the bathwater; yet we admire the discipline and training of the Olympic athletes. Why do we not think training and discipline will be needed to achieve spiritual goals? Are we not all meant to be going for gold in the spiritual Olympics? Paul says he beats his body to make it his servant ie he overcomes the cry of the body to treat it easily, so that he may make spiritual progress. cf 1 Corinthians 9:27f Put in place a rule of life that you will endeavour to maintain with all the discipline of an Olympic athlete
We need extended times with God.
Daily routines and weekly routines are most important; but there are other options to advance deeper – fasting and longer periods of prayer , retreats.
Quote Eyre .p53.
We need flexibility. Be creative – even the frantically busy housewife can find a way round this if she wants to – an open Bible that you can focus on one verse as you pass by and keep it in your mind.
Helpers- it is harder to break a commitment to others so there are great benefits in introducing the element of accountability by being part of some small group – either as part of the church or of your own bat.
We need a method.
A settling down time; a warming up time; reading and then prayer is a good structure. Keep a note book with you as you pray to write things down that may come to mind that need your attention afterwards.
We need patience.
Improvement and growth takes time. The longer you persevere the deeper your inner stillness becomes and the easier it becomes to deal with internal distractions, in fact they decrease in number; you get into an upward spiral. The more you spend in quiet the less distracted your life becomes and the less distracted your life and inner life becomes the easier it becomes to spend time in quiet. You become a quiet person. If you live like this long enough your life can become whole, integrated and truly centred on God; the various parts of your life become like the instruments in an orchestra playing a harmonious tune under the guidance of the divine conductor; the alternative is that your life inside and outside is more like a school playground or classroom when the teacher is not present. A Christlike life is built upon the foundation of spending time with the Lord so that he can get our hearts into a proper condition because we live our outward life from our hearts. The good news is that the Spirit is there to help us in our weakness; and to teach us through Scripture and the wisdom of the saints of the ages.
Concluding exhortation.
Stop drifting; stop slouching in front of TV; stop procrastinating and letting your life slip away. Set out the challenges; get spiritual direction if you need it; make decisions; make yourself accountable if you want to; put a rule of life in place; practice it faithfully and let no disappointment cause you to give up; seek God with all your heart and in due course you will find the distractions external and internal, will be overcome and you will find the place of a prayer a delight and a place of deliverance and of deep down communion and transformation.
The crucial thing is to do one thing as a result of this sermon and do it quickly.
We pause now to consider before the Lord what that step might be.
DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS IN PRAYER
Obstacles to prayer
1. Supernatural opposition - Satan throws everything at us
2. Spiritual unease - we are afraid to come before
3. Unbelief – we think we can live life successfully without God.
4. Attention deficit disorder and inner fragmentation as a result of cultural influences and media/information saturation
5. Fear of solitude and silence
6. Sloth, laziness
7. Weeks, months, years of neglect so that we don’t know how to get started
8. Inexperience
9. Busyness and disorganisation that means we find it hard to slow down
10. Naivety about the Christian life. Ie thinking regular quiet times are unnecessary
What do we need?
1. We need intention.
2. We need a proper place. Luke 5:16.
3. We need decisions to change our lifestyles and reduce the distractions.
4. We need a rhythm or routine. Ie we need to order our time for our spiritual health. Designated time underlines the centrality of God in your life.
5. We need discipline. cf 1 Corinthians 9:27f
6. We need extended times with God. Eg fasting and retreats
7. We need flexibility. Eg prayer partners
8. We need a method. A settling down time; a warming up time; reading and then prayer is a good structure. A note book to write down things to attend to later.
9. We need patience. Improvement and growth takes time.
The crucial thing is to do one thing as a result of this sermon and do it quickly.
Pause now to consider before the Lord what that step might be. Write it down on this sheet before Sunday is over.
PRAYER ANSWERED AND UNANSWERED
Disappointment with God in prayer – one aspect of a very broad issue – too big for this morning –when you set out on the Christian life you will sooner or later find God is not the person you thought he was and that some of your expectations are unfulfilled and have to be revised in the light of your growing knowledge of learning what God is like
Sharpest form is in prayer eg seeking for God earnestly but no sense of his presence; requests unanswered
Obvious reasons?
Ask for the wrong things – God only gives good things – he has a greater purpose to be achieved by not granting – have to learn that – live with it – be thankful God is not bound by our requests. We cannot unravel the whole mystery of prayer or unanswered prayer but the basis for living with it is the right view of God as the completely loving, wise and good sovereign God who always does what is best for us. Without this we can only grow frustrated and bitter. Ruth Graham says if God had answered every prayer of hers she would have married the wrong man 7 times.
We are preoccupied with earthly things, want all to be OK, rather than seeking the will of God cf example from Nicky Gumbel and James 4 – wrong motives.
See prayer as co-operating with God – effective prayer will flow from a deeper knowledge of God – John 15 – abiding leads to fruitfulness – his mind becomes our heart, his passion, his vision is imparted – see earth through heavens eyes – our prayers align themselves with God’s will – we think like him
Delay – wrong concept of prayer – slot machine/money in – answer out – God may see the situation as more complex and requiring growth. Ask for x to happen – but a,b,and c may need to happen first to unblock the path eg an illness may lead to conversion. Zacharias got a long delayed answer to prayer
We want to get to somewhere and to get to the right road we have to go back a U-turn before we can proceed – God may need to work in us first. Cf Hannah and her prayer for a child – but did the process lead Hannah to dedicate her son to the temple and thus he became one of Israel’s greatest ever leaders. God may wait until we are desperate and then really ready to receive.
God takes a very long view – he uses the material for the building – you may plant the acorn but never see the oak
We tend to work in a way that relates our individual prayers to individual results
I ask for X and God grants it – God’s ways are other than that – eg sowing and reaping – harvest metaphor – times and seasons eg John Woodside in 1984 rode the wave of 50 years of prayer
Accept that prayer just doesn’t work the way you think it does – God may take the prayer and use it in some other way – you invest in a failing fund but he places it in a growing one. Child may ask and dad said no but gives something else instead. When we accept the mystery we will stop thinking of prayer as a means to use God like a power.
God may allow things to get worse so we pray harder, or so that when he acts the glory he gets may all the greater. Things getting worse may be a sign of spiritual conflict heating up.
Persevere Luke 18:1 – we must endure, not give up. Daniel fasted and prayed for 3 weeks. God acted in response immediately but it was 3 weeks before Daniel received the answer.
Warfare – can we quantify prayer ie 3 people achieve what 1 person can’t – is there some truth in it? cf D Watson and J Wimber – millions of prayers turned down – clearly not the will of God. If not God’s will, it will not happen.
But if it is the will of God, perhaps God wants large numbers of people to ask before he acts – Elijah’s prayers stood alone because he was a prophet and prayed with authority – generally we would think that the more people ask for something the sooner it will happen – if our PM was 105 rather than 5 do you not think more would happen? Why are you absent if you think numbers matter? Battles are won by numbers as well as strategic deployment of troops.
So let us pray with others. Matt18:20-21 – meaning? It is not mechanical, formulaic, superstitious – let is deepen. When the partnership has a heart unity God will answer.
Sin in my life – God refuses to talk about other things if there is a problem in the relationship. Cf Jeremiah 7:16, 14:11, 15:1 – where he was forbidden to pray for the people – their opportunity had past.
Our relationship with others need to be right. Mark 11:25. Any bitterness tends to dim and darken our spiritual vision. You must keep right with others if you want to keep right with God. Unforgiveness is not just a problem between you and another person but between you and God. .
Insufficient faith – according to your faith be it unto you – the measure of faith matters – eg the king who shot too few arrows – too little faith and vision. We may not ask for enough. Pray with the faith you have and it will grow.
Mark 11:20-25 This word was addressed to people living the life of discipleship. It does not stand alone. One assumption behind v23 is that the disciple is centred on the purposes of God. Though Jesus was looking at Mt Olivet and the Dead Sea. Figuratively he was saying that nothing would be impossible. Ie. nothing that God intended them to do. Zech 4:7 et alia show that mountains are metaphors for obstacles in the way of God’s plans. The power is not to move everything in our way but everything in the way of God’s purposes for us.
What does the reference to doubt mean in v 24? Cf James 1:6. Do we really think that moving God has something to do with getting ourselves into some mental state of certainty? Why should us convincing ourselves have any influence on God. This assurance comes from God as we await in his presence. Nothing in the Christian life is ever worked up, nothing comes by exertion nor is it forced; it grows when we focus on God.
I believe the certainty Jesus speaks of consists of 4 things.
• A clarity about what we need and want which comes from our walk with God.
• A conviction about this that leads to persistence and endurance in the asking.
• A conviction about the place of prayer in the work and mission of God.
• A conviction about the goodness of God. His willingness to answer.
Prayer is not the whole of the work of God but it is a chief part. It is not all we need in the church but it is an essential. If it has the potential to play such a big part in conveying to us the grace God wants to give we can understand why Satan keeps us from it. Let us overcome all disappointments however and keep on praying until we see even after many years the fruit of our prayers.
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