The Prisoner’s Prayer

Read at beginning of service:

John 1:1-11 (NIV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

INTRODUCTION

Philippians 1:1-11 (NIV)

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.

Helen Hayes was a great actress, but she wasn?t much of a cook at all. However, one Thanksgiving she decided to fix the dinner herself. She told her husband & son, “You know that this is my first time ever to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. So when I bring in the food, if it?s no good, I don?t want anybody to say a word. We?ll just quietly get up from the table, without any negative comments, & go to a restaurant to eat.”

Then she went into the kitchen to get the food. And she said that when she cam out with the food, her husband & son were at the table with their hats & coats already on.

I love Thanksgiving. It?s a good time, a time to express thanks, a time to relax & enjoy good food, family and friendship. It?s a time to enjoy the beautiful colors of the season. But in the midst of everything that takes place around this holiday I believe there is something we ought to consider.

Bobby Jones, champion golfer, once said, “Have you ever noticed how much golfers practice? Smart businessmen have been quick to take advantage of that, developing public driving ranges where we can practice driving the ball, & putting greens where we can practice our putting.”

“But why hasn?t someone developed public sand traps? Sand traps are an inevitable part of the game of golf, & every golfer ought to practice ahead of time how to get out of trouble.”

I think that?s good advice for all of us. For even as we talk about being thankful for the blessings that come our way, we must admit that problems & troubles also come our way.

It was Norman Vincent Peale who said, “Problems are a part of life. All of us are going to have problems right up to the moment we die. And some of you are going to have problems after you die.”

So it only makes sense, if we?re going to find ourselves in sand traps, that we learn how to get out of them. And the letter to the Philippians, written by the apostle Paul, can help us to just that.

He writes this letter while imprisoned in Rome under what we would call “house arrest.” Today, courts enforce “house arrest” by attaching electronic monitors on the wrist or ankle of prisoners. But back then, they simply chained the prisoner to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day. Now that was usually better than being in a dungeon, but Roman soldiers could be cruel & sadistic, & “house arrest” was not something to desire. Yet, Paul?s letter is filled with thanksgiving. And in it, Paul tells us he always prays with joy.

So let?s look at the first 11 verses of Philippians 1, and see what they teach us about praying with thanksgiving and joy.

prayer must be a first response rather than a last resort

Paul begins by teaching that prayer must be a first response rather than a last resort. Listen to vs. 3, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy?”

Then in chapter 4, verse 6, he says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Do you realize what Paul is saying? He is saying that whenever anything happens to him, whether positive or negative, he prays. That?s his first response. He prays, “God, thank you for the blessings that you give me. God, I even thank you for the troubles that come my way. Now teach me the lessons that I need to learn from them.” Paul always started with prayer.

But for many of us, prayer is a last resort. We wait until we?re knee-deep in the sand traps of life and there seems to be no way out of our problems. Then we call upon God and cry, “Help me. I?m in deep trouble.” We turn to prayer almost as a last resort.

A number of years ago a US AIR airplane crashed near Pittsburgh. The cause of that crash was a mystery, because the plane just seemed to fall from the sky. So it was with great interest that the investigators listened to the information recorded in the plane?s black box.

CNN played a portion of that recording on the air, revealing that there were just a few seconds from the time the pilot detected trouble until the plane crashed. The black box revealed these sounds from the cockpit: First, there was an “Oh!” followed by a profanity and a string of curse words, then came the crash, & silence.

If you suddenly discovered that you had just a few seconds left to live what would you do? Would you curse or would you pray? I?ll tell you what you would do. You would respond instinctively. You wouldn?t even think about it. You would just respond in the way that is most natural for you to respond.

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act. It is a habit.”

So what kind of habits have you developed in your life?

Richard Dehaan tells of a soldier who was doing sentry duty on the front-line in WW1. After being relieved of duty, as a Christian, he wanted to pray, to thank God for protecting him, and to ask for His continuing protection. But the enemy lines were very close, and he couldn?t go far, so he just walked a little ways away from where he had been standing guard, and began to pray aloud.

The sentry who replaced him heard his voice and thought he was speaking to someone in the enemy lines. So he reported him. The officer in charge said, “You?ve been accused of revealing secrets to the enemy. How do you respond?”

The soldier said, “It?s not true. I wasn?t doing that.”

The officer replied, “Then what were you doing when you were standing out there facing the enemy and talking?”

He said, “I was praying.”

“You were praying out loud?”

“Yes, I was.”

The officer said, “Show me. Pray right now.” So the young man got down on his knees and prayed. And when he finished the officer dismissed the charges. “Because,” he said, “nobody can pray like that unless he has been practicing.”

So what do you do naturally when troubles come your way? Paul says that prayer must be a first response and not a last resort.

prayer should be offered in an attitude of gratitude

Prayer should be offered in an attitude of gratitude rather than complaints. Now listen, because this is important. Nothing inhibits prayer more than a grumbling, complaining spirit.

Notice vs. 3. Paul writes, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” Now that?s an amazing statement because if you go back and read in the book of Acts about Paul?s first visit to Philippi you?ll find that there were some very bad things that happened to him while he was there.

He could have said, “I remember Philippi and that demon-possessed slave girl who followed us around and harassed us. I remember how they arrested us, put us into chains, beat us, and then tossed us into that dark and dirty dungeon. Oh yes, I remember the terrible experiences we had in Philippi.”

“But no,” he said, “I remember Lydia and how she and all her household became Christians. I remember casting a demon out of that slave girl and seeing her set free. I remember the Philippian jailor and his family and all those other people who are now followers of Jesus. And when I remember, I thank my God for you.”

Like Paul, we have a choice. Positive and negative things happen every day. You can focus on the negative and become an unhappy grumbler if you want. But if you?ll focus on gratitude, wonderful things can happen in your life.

The second thing we see is that Paul was confident that they would allow God to continue working through them. Listen to verse 6, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God has a plan for your life, and for mine. There is a task that He has called us to do, a place that He wants us to fill. And He?s not finished with us yet.

Did you hear the story about the 300lb man who went to his preacher and said, “Preacher, I?m so depressed. I?ve tried to lose weight and I can?t. I can?t even get a date. I feel like an outcast in society. Can you help me??

The preacher said, “Well, I think I can. Go home and be ready at 8 o?clock tomorrow morning.”

So at exactly 8:00 the next morning his doorbell rang & the man opened the door expecting the preacher to be there. But instead, there stood a beautiful girl dressed in a sleek jogging outfit who purred, “The preacher says that if you can catch me I?m yours.” Then she took off running. Well, this guy took off after her, huffing & puffing. Of course, he couldn?t catch her.

Well, this went on for 6 months. Every morning she was there. He chased her for 6 months and lost 125 pounds, and then next to the last morning, he almost caught her. Well, he could hardly wait for the next day to come because he knew that he would catch her that morning for sure.

The next morning the doorbell rang. He opened it eagerly, and there stood a 300lb woman. She said, “The preacher said that if I can catch you, you?re mine.”

Now that is utilizing the potential in people! Paul looks at the people in Philippi and he says, “I see great potential there. I see God working in you, and He is ready to complete his work.”

Thirdly, Paul had developed some deep relationships with the people in Philippi. When you read his letter you sense that Paul really loves them.

In verse five he thanks them for their “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” And in verses 7 and 8 he says, “It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God?s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.” In other words, “I love you as Jesus loves you.”

Now listen, when you?re in trouble it is important to have friends who will stand beside you, friends who will be there through thick and thin, and you can always count on them. You know they?ll never leave you nor forsake you.

But if you?re always grumbling and discontented and self-centered, you may get attention for a while, but it won?t last very long. People soon get tired of listening to complaints.

Cleve McClary is an ex-marine who fought in Vietnam where he was badly wounded. He lost one eye & all of his teeth. He lost one arm and most of the fingers on his other hand. He lost hearing in one of his ears. And yet Cleve McClary stands proudly at attention in his marine uniform.

When you look at him he?ll look back at you with that one eye and you know you have his undivided attention. He has a magnetic personality that just draws people to him. And he?ll reach out with what?s left of his one good hand and grip yours tightly as he exchanges greetings with you.

Cleve McClary has an optimistic spirit, even though life has been so tough for him. He has a special license plate on his car with the word “FIDO” on it ? F I D O. When asked what it means he says it means this, “Forget It & Drive On.”

There are times when we need to let go of our burdens and just drive on in life. There are times when we need to pray with an attitude of gratitude rather than grumbling.

we are to pray for God?s glory rather than our own.

Paul continues in verse 9 and 11 by saying, “This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ ? to the glory and praise of God.”

Paul is pointing out to the Philippians that through the work of Jesus Christ in and through their lives, God is glorified. Paul?s prayer, then, is for the glory of God ? that he would be lifted up ? not only in their blessings but also in their sufferings. There is a short story I?d like to read to you that Elaine (my secretary) passed on to me this week that I found to be very moving:

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease.

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren’t enough, her husband’s company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What’s worse, Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.

“She has no idea what I’m feeling,” thought Sandra with a shudder.

Thanksgiving? Thankful for what? She wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an air bag that saved her life but took that of her child?

“Good afternoon, may I help you?” The shop clerk’s approach startled her.

“I….I need an arrangement,” stammered Sandra.

“For Thanksgiving? Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving “Special?” asked the shop clerk. “I’m convinced that flowers tell stories,” she continued. “Are you looking for something that conveys ‘gratitude’ this Thanksgiving?”

“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted out. “In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.”

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.”

Then the door’s small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, “Hi, Barbara…let me get your order.”

She politely excused herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses; Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

“Want this in a box?” asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer’s response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.

“Yes, please,” Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. “You’d think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn’t be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again,” she said as she gently tapped her chest.

“Uh,” stammered Sandra, “that lady just left with, uh….she just left with no flowers!”

“Right, said the clerk, “I cut off the flowers. That’s the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t tell me someone is willing to pay for that!” exclaimed Sandra.

“Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling much like you feel today,” explained the clerk. “She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery.”

“That same year I had lost my husband,” continued the clerk, “and for the first time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel.”

“So what did you do?” asked Sandra.

“I learned to be thankful for thorns,” answered the clerk quietly. “I’ve always thanked God for good things in life and never to ask Him why those good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I have always enjoyed the ‘flowers’ of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God’s comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we’re afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.”

Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. “I guess the truth is I don’t want comfort. I’ve lost a baby and I’m angry with God.”

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

“Hey, Phil!” shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man.

“My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement…twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems,” laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

“Those are for your wife?” asked Sandra incredulously. “Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?”

“No…I’m glad you asked,” Phil replied. “Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord’s grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from “thorny” times, and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific “problem” and give thanks for what that problem taught us.”

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, “I highly recommend the Special.”

I don’t know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life,” Sandra said to the clerk. “It’s all too…fresh.”

“Well,” the clerk replied carefully, “my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God’s providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don’t resent the thorns.”

Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment.

“I’ll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please,” she managed to choke out.

“I hoped you would,” said the clerk gently. “I’ll have them ready in a minute.”

“Thank you. What do I owe you?” Sarah asked.

“Nothing; nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year’s arrangement is always on me.” The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. “I’ll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first.”

It read:

“My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the life I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant.”

Praise Him for your roses, thank him for your thorns. (quoted on the website, Motivating Stories)

CONCLUSION

The old hymn says, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer. Have you trials & temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? You should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer.”

If you?re here this morning and don?t know Jesus Christ, Thanksgiving is not going to be very fulfilling for you because you don?t have anybody to thank. But you can change that. You can make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life.

As we enter into this time of Thanksgiving together, remember the prayer of a prisoner. The prayer of a man in chains for his faith. And let his attitude of gratitude, praying to God as a first response rather than a last resort, and giving the glory to God be the motivation for your heart of thanks today. For whatever circumstance you are in there is something that you can be grateful for, God wants you to talk to Him, and God can be glorified.