But more than any method or mode of prayer, I was moved by answered prayer. I didn’t know how it all worked, and despite all the information and knowledge, verses and quotes regarding prayer that I could spout out to you now, the fact is, when I’m completely honest with myself, despite years and years, hour upon hour of prayer that I have now banked in my life, I still can’t tell you exactly how it works. Just that in some wild and amazing ways, it did, and it does.
I remember sitting in church one Sunday. I didn’t dislike going to church, as I believed in God and believed in Jesus as His son, my savior. But to be honest, I didn’t particularly like going to church. We sang old hymns that didn’t sound like anything I listened to outside of one hour Sunday morning. I usually didn’t mind the prayers, except there were a few people, who when they got up to lead a “congregational prayer,” I knew it was gonna be a while. What I didn’t mind was the message.
Pastor Streets always made us laugh, always made us feel welcomed. And no matter what the bible story he was talking about, every Sunday, one way or another, it was going to come around to singing “Just as I Am” and an invitation to come forward, to make a public profession of faith for the first time, or a chance to re-commit your life to Jesus.
I remember one Sunday a man sat in our families pew who I had never seen before. Apparently he didn’t get the memo about wearing a suit and tie. I could only assume that for this reason, he was a horrible man, probably a murderer and drug dealer, deeply in need of Jesus. Actually, he really did look like he needed Jesus. He seemed disheveled, and sad. He sat alone, he didn’t say a word. And when Pastor Streets started preaching, I have no idea what he was talking about, but I knew where it was going to end. So I started praying.
I prayed for that next 30 minutes, “God, make that man step forward. Make him a Christian. Make him accept you.” That’s what I prayed. That’s what I was taught to believe, it’s what I had done myself, and in truth, it’s what I still believe- all of us, everyone, needs Jesus. All of us need to step forward, to step up to Jesus, and give our lives to him. The best thing we can do with our lives, and the way to eternity with God, is giving our lives to Jesus.
So I prayed and prayed and prayed. And when they sang the first verse of Just as I am, he sat. And I prayed harder. We sang the second verse, and he sat. So I prayed harder. We always skipped the third verse, apparently we didn’t like third verses. Then Pastor Streets said we’re gonna sing the last verse. He said don’t wait if God is speaking to your heart today. So prayed as hard as a little boy could pray. And that man walked forward and gave his life to Jesus.
I remember a few year later my Grandmother, who passed away this year, was diagnosed with a large lump in her breast. I remember seeing the fear in my mothers eyes. I remember her telling us, not asking us, telling us to pray for Gram. I don’t know if it was childish naiveté, or if I still just had some child-like faith left in me, but I was not a bit worried.
Then day came for her surgery. They took her into the emergency room. She was prepped and prepared and anesthetized. And my mom came home in tears. She told us that the doctor came out, and said the lump was gone. He didn’t remove it- the lump was gone. What was there before, what the x-ray showed, was gone. And I remember then, in a feeling that I wasn’t expecting to feel- I shuttered, and a wave of fear ran through me. And I realized in a way I had never seen before, that God answers prayer, but that God was also bigger, and more powerful, and more mysterious, than I had yet to grasp.
I also remember, and live with, stories of prayer that didn’t turn out the way I had hoped or asked, which are every bit as significant in my life. When my sister-in-law’s brother, only 3 years younger than me at the time, 18 years old, was diagnosed with liver cancer, and died within a year. Prayers for friends who have walked away from faith, and have yet to return. Prayers for things that I thought surely were the will of God, which apparently, were in fact, not a part of His plan. Prayers that I won’t say were not answered, but were not answered in the way or in the time that I hoped.
And I have remembered your prayers, your hopes for a story of answered prayer, this week. Together we have prayed for a friend who nearly took his own life.
We have prayed for a son who likewise tried to end his life.
We have prayed for a young girl who in critical condition, with burns and bruises too suspicious not to ignore.
We have prayed for a child that awaits a diagnosis of a disability that no parent wants to hear. We have prayed for neighbors wrapped up in an affair that might tears at least two families to shreds.
We have prayed for a new job.
We have prayed as someone stepped out in faith to quit a job.
We have prayed for physical healing for pain that has persisted now for months.
We have prayed for children who have strayed far from the faith.
This week, with all these prayers and more, is really not unlike any week.
We have prayed for God to step in, to intercede on our behalf, to fix things, to change lives, to save lives. But we have also prayed that God would step ahead. There have been many prayers for God to do great things for our church, and for his glory.
We’ve all prayed. And it may seem counter-intuitive to you, it may seem like it makes it less spiritual, but we can get better at prayer. We can learn to pray and improve in prayer as we grow and mature as followers of Jesus. That’s what we’re talking about today. Last week we started our discussion of prayer. We learned about the two biggest prayer mistakes that people make, that we all make. Praying like hypocrites and praying like pagans. Hypocrites pray like it’s a show, a performance. They are not really seeking communion with God, they are seeking the praise of people. The cure for hypocritical prayers- get real. Start to get real. Don’t dumb it down, don’t be irreverent or disrespectful. Humble yourself. Engage your mind. But get real with God. The cure for pagan prayers- get to the point. Cut to the chase. God know all your needs, better than you do. So get real and get into it. You’ll find a growing sense of peace about your prayers, hey, I’m really starting to sense that God and i have something going on here. Or you’ll say, hey, I’m a praying like a hypocrite, I’m praying like a pagan.
Once you say that, you are teachable. You are ready to learn how to pray like the disciples were ready to learn, like Jesus was ready to teach. Here what he says- let me say the whole prayer with you, then we’ll break it down... Matthew 6:9-13
This, then, is how you should pray:
Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
This is how you should pray. This means two things. First, because Jesus says this is how you can pray, it is entirely appropriate to pray this exact prayer, word for word. It is never a bad thing to memorize scripture, to store it up in your heart, to be able to recite it word for word. So please, let’s take Jesus at his word here. He is not telling a story. He's not using hyperbole. He’s not illustrating a point. He simple and clearly said, this is how you should pray, and he gives them an example of prayer.
I find myself praying this prayer just about every time I pray, every day. More often than not this is how I begin my times of prayer. I just quiet myself for a moment, then I pray, My father in heaven... More than anything else I think of this as my centering prayer. It pulls me away from other thoughts and distractions, it centers my heart and mind on Christ. And it serves as a reminder for what all my prayers should encompass.
But the second thing is that this an example of prayer. What I’m about to tell you is nothing new. This has been around for ages. It is a profitable way of understanding the prayer that all Christ-followers should know. Five verses. Five movements. For the sake of alliteration we can make them all start with the letter P. (Have you ever notice how many 3-5 point sermons use P-words?)
Seek God’s Presence
...Purpose
...Provision
...Pardon
...Power
First, we seek Gods presence in our lives when we enter into prayer. Look at the words- our Father. This has both a communal and a personal connotation. Our father means we are in this together. We are a spiritual family. God is doing something bigger than me. God is up to something in the world. This is our father, this is our faith. We must stand in solidarity together with everyone who calls upon God as father- we are family- men and women, rich and poor, upper class, lower class, no class, young and old, red and yellow black and white (I’m not even sure if that’s politically correct anymore), people from every tribe and nation. There is something very communal about prayer that is to be acknowledge right from the beginning. Those that call upon God the father through Jesus the Son are family, and family there ain’t no denying your family.
God is our father, but he’s also my father. It’s that communal- God has a relationship with all who call upon him; it’s that personal- I have a relationship with God as my father. And while the father is unchanging, eternal, almighty and all that, his relationship with me us one in a billion upon billion upon billion. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating often- God’s relationship with us is a unique and any of our relationships. I’m the same father to all of my children (Think about that one)- but each is unique. Justin can’t sleep until I read him a book. Karis just wants to snuggle. Eden is needing more and more to be her own person. I relate to each of them in unique, wonderful ways. God invites us into that same relationship with him as our heavenly father.
Now let me just add that I know many of us have had great fathers, but many of us have had real dead beat dads, distant dads, or even just lost our dads too early in life. But you know, I’ve never found I need to shy away from this revelation of God as our heavenly father because one, it’s the bible, but also, for those that have not had that great earthly-father relationship that many of us enjoy, the promise and relationship of God as our heavenly father means all the more.
Seek God’s Presence in the most personal of relationships- your heavenly father. Give him praise. Another P word, a sub-point to seeking his presence. Every time you go to him, praise his hallowed, his holy name. Giving praise, giving thanks, must be learned. And I can’t say strongly enough how this needs to be fostered in our lives. I’ve learned the importance of thanking God the father, not surprising, through becoming a father. First, I’ve learned that I really have no choice or option but to love my kids with all my heart- that’s just the way it is. But as my kids have grown I’ve learned how meaningful their praise and thankfulness means to me. When they thank me for treating them to something, when they thank me for showing them something. From the simple- thanks for dinner dad (or usually mom), to the big things- thanks for taking us on this trip, thanks for the new bike. As they grow and mature, so their ability to show thanks and praise, and so our relationship deepens and grows.
Second, seek God’s Purpose. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Please don’t miss this- in the presence of God the first thing you do after praising him, you get past yourself. It’s all about god now. It’s all about HIM. His kingdom, his will. Remember, the whole message of Jesus is wrapped up in the kingdom of God. That is Jesus’ message. That is the good news. The kingdom of heaven in near- come and be a part of it in Jesus Christ.
Since God is so praise worthy, it begins to make more and more sense to us that we want to be about his purpose and plan and will in the world. In fact, as we really get deeper into prayer, we begin to realize that great God’s purpose is, and how much we need to be a part of it. We know that God’s purpose is for you. He created the world for men and women, his image bearers. He is for a relationship with you. He is for redeeming you. He is for renewing you. He is for restoring you. His purpose if for you, not against you.
Third, seek God’s provision. The first thing we can come to God with is the most daily, practical, necessary things, things as simple, but as important, as a loaf of bread. We are so out of touch with this until we seek way to get back in touch with this. God taught this to his people early on with a lesson that lasted some 40 years. For an entire generation God provided the Israelites with bread from heaven, manna. They were never allowed to store it up. But everyday when they woke up it was there. That would be such a hard lesson for me to learn, as it is a hard lesson for me to learn- the daily provision of God.
I am wired to horde. I’m a hoarder. You’d think I lived through the great depression or was born in abject poverty they way I feel I have to stock pile supplies. Now there’s nothing wrong with planning for the future, for even God was preparing them for a future time even as he was providing them daily bread. But this kind of prayer for provision bring us back to the daily bread of God’s love, God’s grace, God’s goodness in our lives. the great thing about Gdo is that daily we come into his presence, daily we praise him, daily we seek his purpose, daily he provides for us. Daily he encounters our lives. We don;t have to wait until Sunday morning. We don;t have to wait until Christmas or Easter. daily he is our provider.
Fourth, seek God’s pardon. His forgiveness. There is a story of a man whose friends brought him to Jesus. He was crippled. Jesus said your sins are forgiven. Then he said, that you know that i have the power to forgive sins, which is really the most important thing, get up and walk. Jesus knows we are very fleshly creatures. very incarnate. And it’s hard for us to trust Him in the big stuff, if we don't trust him in the little stuff. So i love that Jesus says first pray and trust me in what is really the little stuff- food and daily provision. then you’ll trust me better in the big stuff- that I can forgive your sins and give your eternal life.
But he doesn’t let us off the hook. No, there is a catch my friends. Don’t let anyone offer you cheap gospel and cheap grace- as you forgive. God forgives us, and we must be forgiving, reconciling, redeeming people as well.
Finally, seek God’s power. Power to overcome temptation. Jesus actually personifies temptation and evil here and refers to the evil one. I’m not sure what you all make ot that just yet, but Jesus says there really is an evil one, the devil, Satan, the deceiver, the one disguised as and angel of light who is really the agent of dead. The evil one. Give us power over his temptations.
Last week I challenged everyone to start working out an "Answer to Prayer" story. I want to tel you that there is an answer to prayer story that all of us can tell, but it's a prayer that is always answered by God- the prayer of offering your life to God. I told a story about answered prayer to start this morning- a prayer answered when a man gave his life to Jesus. Today, right now, I want to give you the chance to say that prayer. A prayer that simple says today Jesus, I believe. I believe in you. I believe you are the son of God, you show us God. I believe I need you. I believe I need your forgiveness for my sins. I believe I need you to have eternal life. I believe I need to to live the way life was meant to be lived here and now. Jesus, my prayer is that you take my life and save me. You take my life and make me new again.
I want to give you the opportunity have this prayer answered in your life...
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