Prayer
Pastor Don Carpenter
Back to the Basics / Mark 1:35; Ephesians 1:18
Pastor Rick Crandall tells this story:
*The scariest airplane flight I have ever been on was in 1982. I worked for the Air Force back then and was going to Korea for a contract negation with Korean Airlines.
*When we were way out over the Pacific Ocean, we hit some bad weather. And I mean it was very bad. I looked out the window, and I’m not kidding, the wings of that big 747 were flapping like a bird!
*It was so rough that one of the flight attendants couldn’t make it back to her seat. She sat on the floor in the aisle about 15 feet in front of me. And let me tell you, she was terrified.
*My rule of thumb on an airplane is this: If the flight attendant is happy, you are fine. But if your flight attendant is scared, you’ve got a problem!
*Before we hit that storm, you could hear people chattering all over that plane. But when we were in the storm, that plane got so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Nobody was talking, but I guarantee you most of us were praying.
*You didn’t have to ask the people on that plane to pray. We had a great reason to pray! Today we will discover that prayer should not be a last resort, but one of the foundational practices of a born again Christian.
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Today we’re beginning a new 4-week series called, Back to the Basics. And as you may have guessed, it’s a series about the basics…the foundations of our faith. Over the next 4 weeks we’ll cover PRAYER, SCRIPTURE, CONFESSION, and SERVICE.
It’s going to be an awesome journey together as we head back to the feet of Jesus. Back to where the “Church” originally began. Listening and learning as disciples with Jesus leading the way…
Heb 12.2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Speaking of Jesus, have you ever wondered how He was able to accomplish all He did in such a short period of time? What was His secret to ministry?
For those who may not know, Jesus is the only begotten son of God the Father. And God sent Jesus into the world so that He might save the world through Him (John 3:16-17). We know Jesus did in fact accomplish what He was destined to do when He was crucified on the cross and raised again to life after three days. But the question remains, how? How was He able to accomplish it all?
Jesus had the benefit of being the divine Son of God, so there’s that. But there’s another part of Jesus’ life here on earth that cannot be understated. And that’s His prayer life. Jesus was always in conversation and communion with the Father. And from what we know from the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John it appears that Jesus kept a regular rhythm of prayer throughout His life.
And if prayer was a foundational part of Jesus’ life, the only Son of God, then it needs to be a foundational part of our lives as well.
“To believe that God can reach us and bless us in the ordinary junctures of daily life is the stuff of prayer… But when we pray, genuinely pray, the real condition of our heart is revealed. This is as it should be. This is when God truly begins to work with us. The adventure is just beginning.[1]” – Richard Foster
Richard Foster. “Prayer: Finding the heart’s true home.” Harper Collins, San Francisco. P. 11
I love this quote from Foster because he’s absolutely right when he refers to prayer as an adventure. It’s an adventure in faith, vulnerability, hope, sadness, grief, and all the other stuff that life throws at us. It’s holy ground. In fact, there’s much more to prayer than I could ever cover in a week, so today we’re going to take a closer look at just a few of the ways the Bible describes prayer.
The first thing that comes to mind is something that we see in the life of Christ; that He was constantly in communion and prayer with the Father.
Constant Prayer
Constant prayer is a daunting task. I know there are some of you in the room who’ve already tuned me out because you believe I’m going to ask you to do something impossible. But, I don’t believe God would invite us to do something that we could never do… And even if He did, I trust that He sent the Holy Spirit to help us…Which is something we’ll talk more about later
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 KJV
Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
In this passage, Paul talks about several things we should be doing, all the time. Always rejoicing, always praying, always giving thanks… and he goes on to say that this is, “the very will of God in Christ Jesus” for our lives. And here’s the important part… There aren’t many places in the Bible where we are told so explicitly and clearly what the very will of God is for us. In fact, there are many people – maybe even in this room right now – who spend huge chunks of their lives trying to figure out what the will of God is.
Well here it is in 1 Thessalonians. Plain and simple….right?
Of course, the obvious problem is that it’s not so simple. It’s not easy, in the midst of a billion distractions and temptations to remain steadfast in prayer and thanksgiving. And yet, that’s God’s desire for us; It’s a life of constancy with Him.
It’s amazing to think the creator of the universe wants a consistent relationship with us. He wants us to pray, incessantly. Communicating with Him all the time, in every circumstance. So here’s an idea for all of us. Instead of seeing this as an impossible burden, try to think about the blessing of a heavenly Father who wants all of you – all your life – all your thoughts – all of it.
Try talking to him about the simple stuff, the ordinary stuff. It doesn’t always have to be crisis level prayer or desperate prayer. Try thinking of your prayer life as an ever-open line of communication. A phone call that never comes to an end with someone on the other end who never tires of hearing from you.
Sometimes teenagers get into my car as Uber passengers with their phone on speaker. They have their BFF on an open line. They may be chatting actively, or just keeping the line open for communication should the whim hit them. To pray without ceasing is to have God on speakerphone.
Let the Father’s love and desire for you embolden you in your prayers to Him.
Bold Prayer
Bold prayer takes practice. It’s admittedly difficult to reconcile the fact that we must have reverence and awe for God and at the same time be bold in our prayer life. That’s why I love the way the writer of Hebrews frames the concept for us;
Hebrews 4:15–16 KJV
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
We can be bold as we approach the throne of God because of what Christ has already done. Christ was both fully God and fully human and he was tempted just as we are tempted. So when you offer your prayers to God you can trust that He understands and empathizes with your situation.
1 John 5:14 KJV
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
I love the idea of having freedom when we come to God in prayer. People who understand they are free have an easier time being bold. And because Christ has set us free, because He is a great high priest, and because He fully understands what it means to be human… We can boldly bring ALL our prayers to Him.
Intercessory Prayer
Ezekiel 22:29–31 KJV
The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Ephesians 6:18 KJV
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Matthew 5:44 KJV
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
It’s easy to love and to pray for those whom we love and care for. It’s difficult to pray for those who’ve harmed us or wronged us. Those whom we have offense against. And yet those are the people who Jesus says we should be praying for. Those are the people who need our prayers.
Conclusion:
As mentioned earlier, prayer was an integral part of Jesus’ life and ministry. No matter what else was going on, He always made time for prayer. He always sought fellowship with the Father.
Mark 1:35 KJV
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Jesus made space for prayer.
And as we seek to learn from Him, we acknowledge the power of prayer in the life of Christ. As we follow Him, we too must be people of prayer. It’s a fundamental piece of life in Christ.
Constant prayer.
Bold prayer.
Intercessory prayer
These are our challenges for the week. Or said another way;
? What time, every day this coming week, can you stop and pray?
? What big thing, concerning thing, or hard thing do you need to be bold in prayer over this coming week?
? Set up a prayer journal.
? Who do you need to stand in the gap for this week?
• Who are the Saints that you will pray for this week?
• What enemy needs your prayer this week?
Make space for it, just like Jesus did. This is how we get back to the basics… we pray.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:52 AM January 6, 2022.