Archive for March, 2007

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

No Faith?

Sunday, March 11th, 2007

Podcast: Download

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series When God doesn't answer Prayer

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

INTRODUCTION

I began a series last week in which I’m reading and studying the Bible to seek the answer to the question – Why do some prayers go unanswered? I asked you folks last week to shout yes if you believe God answered prayer and the majority of you certainly indicated so – but you also agreed that there are times when you have prayed that what you prayed for didn’t happen. It’s the paradox which we live in tension with as Christians – believing that God answers prayer, and certainly seeing examples of that in our lives – but then there are also many examples of it seeming like our prayers are bouncing off some sort of impenetrable force field around heaven.I believe that God has revealed through His written word clear teaching about the prayers that don’t reach Him, that He chooses not to hear, or that He simply says no to. Today we’re going to look at one of them.

There was a young girl who once wrote a missionary, to let him know that she was keeping him in her prayers. She had been told not to request a response to her letter because the missionary was very busy so she began her letter with these words; “Dear Mr. Missionary, I am praying for you, but don’t worry, I am not expecting an answer.” (quoted in “5 Attitudes of Effective Prayer” by Bruce Ball)

The sad thing about this story, is that it summarizes how too many Christians pray. We bring issues before the throne of God, but we don’t really expect any answers. We pray for help, and then immediately look for some way that we can fix the problem we are praying about. We ask God to help us, and at the same time we are asking for his help, we are also planning on what ?we’ are going to do to solve the problem. Frankly, because we simply don’t trust that our prayers are going to cut it and that God will work a miracle!

James, the half-brother of Jesus writes in the beginning of His letter to the church -

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
James 1:5-7 (NIV)

James is talking about asking God, praying to God for wisdom and that asking of course, is a key to receiving. But in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, James further clarifies by saying that the person asking must believe and not doubt. He warns that those who doubt when they ask shouldn’t expect anything in response from God. I believe that through James inspired words we are getting insight into something that hinders prayer. And it is connected to the words believe and doubt.

I believe that one of the greatest things that hinders our prayers and keeps them from being answered is that we don’t really believe that God will answer what we are praying for. In other words there is a lack of faith.

Today, we’re going to focus in on three different accounts found in the gospel – two that are stories of what Jesus did with His disciples and one is a parable that Jesus shared. These historical stories certainly gave me insight into how lack of faith is detrimental to prayer and I hope they challenge you in the same way they challenged me.

The first story we’re going to look at was read this morning from Matthew 21, but I want read the parallel account recorded in Mark 11:12-25. It’s the same event but from a different perspective.

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. 15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. 19 When evening came, they went out of the city. 20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” 22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Mark 11:12-25 (NIV)

If you like to highlight in your Bible and mark up important words you can get ready because I’m going to point out a couple to you this morning.

There are many observations that can be made in this story – and believe me, I’ve got quite a list in my study notes. But I want to focus in on what Jesus has to point out about prayer. When the disciples exclaimed in astonishment their surprise at the obvious decay of the fig tree. Jesus responded with a teaching of faith in prayer.

In verse 24 Jesus basically says that if you believe that you have received whatever you ask for in prayer, it will be yours. Underline verse 24. In verse 23, he gave a obviously tremendous picture of the power of prayer in saying that such prayer can even move mountains. But there’s a clarification here, “…if anyone says to this mountain, ?Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen. It will be done for him.’” (vs 23) Underline “does not doubt” and “but believes”. Three emphases: faith, no doubt, and belief.

Here’s some questions that come out of this:

Why is faith so important?

In other words, “Why does God not answer prayer with no faith?”

our faith must be in God, not in what we are praying for.
I think we have to back up a little bit before we answer that. When we pray, what is our faith to be in? In other words, are we to have faith in what is being prayed for or faith in God? Notice, how Jesus began his response to the disciples. What did he say? “Have faith in God!” When we pray, our faith shouldn’t be in what we are praying for but instead in the one we are praying to. Our faith must be in God, not in what we are praying for! There must be the correct understanding then that the solution to whatever we are praying for is determined and provided by God. Why is this important? I’ll expand on this further in the series but let me just give one answer.

Our motives. Take finances for example. How many of you have prayed for God to help you get out of debt? I don’t about you, but I know that my prayers often take of shape of something like this, “Lord, please bring some money our way that we can use to pay off our debt.” Or “God, it’d be so nice to win the Tim Hortons roll-up-the-rim to win car, so I can cash it in for the money…to pay off our debt.”. Come on, there’s gotta be someone in here who’s prayed that? Or at least thought it? Here’s the problem. What we put our trust in is revealed in what we pray for. Think about that for a moment. When you pray for money to pay off your debt – is your faith in what the money will do, or what God will do?
So, faith in God is important.

Now back to why faith is important when it comes to prayer.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

Did you catch that? Without faith it is impossible to please God. Anyone who comes to him must what? Believe that he exists AND that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Faith, or to clarify, faith in God is important when we pray because it’s the only way God will listen! Put simply, he will not respond to a faithless prayer.

Is it even possible to pray without faith? I think it is.

Is faith believing that God can do it? ?I believe God can do it!’ That is not faith. When you believe God can, that’s just a fact. God can do it whether you believe it or not. ?I believe God might do it’. That’s not faith either. That’s hope. You hope He might. ?I believe God will do it.’ That’s faith. Not believing God can do it, not believing God might do it, but believing God will do it. Faith! (“From Five Conditions of Answered Prayer” by Jeff Seaman)

Lack of faith hinders God from answering your prayer! Mark records about how people’s unbelief even hindered Christ from doing great miracles in his hometown.

5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
Mark 6:5-6 (NIV)

What produces “lack of faith”?

So what is it that produces lack of faith? Doubt! Jesus clarified to His disciples… “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt” (Matthew 21:21 NIV). Faith is affirming that yes God will do something PLUS believing that there is nothing preventing that from happening (i.e. no doubt). How many of us can say that we pray with that assurance?

This brings me to the next story I want to share with you. It is recorded by these same two gospel writers, Matthew and Mark. I’m going to read from Mark’s account,

14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” 19 “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. 28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
Mark 9:14-29 (NIV)

Notice Jesus bemoans the lack of faith around him (“O unbelieving generation”). Jesus again highlighted the importance of faith in answered prayer when he said, “Everything is possible for him who believes”. Notice the father’s response, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Such a contradictory statement on the surface. The father is essentially saying to Jesus, “I believe, but I don’t believe, help me to believe” This a good example of our own approach to praying in “faith”. The problem is – the father already displayed the reality of his “belief” in his earlier statement to Jesus when he said, “But if you can do anything” (vs 22) In other words, he was still riddled with doubts! The Message Bible translation puts it this way,

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!” Mark 9:24 (MSG)

Doubt can come from many sources (some valid, some not so valid).

  • There may be doubt that it’s not God’s will. This can be valid doubt as we’ll see in a later message in this series. If we aren’t sure something is God’s will – then more than likely, the prayer is not going be answered. And as we’ll see, if something isn’t God’s will of course it won’t be answered! But correspondingly, if there is no doubt that something is God’s will – the resulting believing faith produces powerful prayer!

“Every promise of scripture is a writing of God, which may be pleaded before Him with this reasonable request, ?Do as thou has said’” (Spurgeon)

“We must turn God’s promises into prayer, and then they shall be turned into performances” (Matthew Henry)

“…though the Bible be crowded with golden promises from board to board, yet will they be inoperative until we turn them into prayer…God’s promises are given, not to restrain, but to incite to prayer.” (F.B. Meyer)

“Promises show direction in which we may ask, and the extent to which we may expect an answer” (Ted Sutherland in “Are Your Prayers Answered”)

Where this doubt becomes invalid is when there is a clear promise of God in scripture that highlights His will. We have license to believe that it will happen! Don’t doubt it!

  • “I don’t deserve this to happen” (the idea that there’s something wrong in my life/or in the life of the beneficiary). Again, this can be a valid doubt. If there is unconfessed sin, or harbored unforgiveness in your life then the doubt that is produced will render your prayer powerless.
  • “It’s un-natural (scientifically) for it to happen” “It’s impossible”. This is the hangup for those who don’t believe in God and correspondingly don’t believe in miracles. In other words, what they believe is that everything has a natural explanation. Is this a valid doubt for Christians? Of course not. But really, believers don’t doubt that God can do something -rather our doubts fall into the first two categories I talked about.

The important thing to remember is that where there is lack of faith, there is an abundance of doubt. Sometimes that doubt is there for valid reasons. But many times it isn’t. With doubt you will not see answers to your prayer.

Is “quantity” of faith important?

In the particular story with Jesus healing the demon possessed boy there’s something that Matthew records Jesus saying, that is often referred to in any discussions on faith and I think it’s important I address it as well.

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20 (NIV)

Jesus is responding to the disciples questions about how come they couldn’t drive out the demon from the boy. Jesus answers, that it is because they have so little faith – which hopefully we get by now. But then Jesus says something that sparks another question, “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed…”. Why does Jesus use the mustard seed in this illustration? (show people a mustard seed and they’ll see how small it is). Can faith be measured by quantity? Is there a certain degree of faith that one has that flips the switch to powerful prayer? Do we “work up” faith?

I believe really what’s happening here is that Jesus is using the mustard seed as a hyperbole. That is, a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement to make a point. In other words, Jesus is really saying, “any amount of faith is sufficient…the measure of your faith isn’t of greatest importance – whether your faith is the size of a mustard seed or a mountain, it doesn’t matter because you either have faith, or you don’t.”

For example: If I put a drop of water in a cup and then I take a different cup and fill it to the brim with water. What cup has water in it? The answer is – “they both do”. Just because one cup has only a drop in it doesn’t’ mean it doesn’t have water in it.

Likewise with faith. Although we can’t see faith like we can see the water in a cup, the principle is the same – it doesn’t matter how much “faith” is in the cup, because any faith is enough. The question isn’t, how much faith you have – it’s do you have any doubt? Because if you doubt, you don’t believe! That’s what Jesus is teaching here.

Okay, so that’s fine and dandy – hopefully you’ve grasped the importance of faith in prayer and how lack of faith will result in unanswered prayer. But that leaves a question. Assuming that a person prays in faith, without any doubts brought on by unconfessed sin, or uncertainty that it’s God’s will, are there cases where their prayer still does not get answered and if so, why?

The truth is, the Bible does record instances where Godly people have prayed with faith and God hasn’t answered…at least right away. That’s the key – sometimes unanswered prayer is just a matter of our wanting things right away getting in the way of God’s perfect timing. God’s perfect timing does not always happen right now. Remember this phrase:

God is not always on time, but He is always in time. (Doug Henry in “What do we do with Unanswered Prayer”)

You see, lack of faith will result in unanswered prayer. However, faith filled praying must be persistent because sometimes God’s answer isn’t what we expect! Even though faith can’t be directly measured in quantity, it can be measured by persistence.

Sometimes when we pray we give up too soon! In Daniel 10 we learn that he had been given a vision and persisted in prayer for three weeks, seeking understanding for the vision. On the 24th day a heavenly visitor came and delivered the interpretation of Daniel’s vision. Before doing so the being indicated that he had been dispatched from the moment Daniel set out to understand what God was showing him but had been detained by the demonic “Prince of Persia”. What would have happened if Daniel gave up?

Luke tells us (Luke 2:36-38) about when Jesus was taken as a small child to be dedicated at the temple in Jerusalem there was a very old widow eighty four years of age who had worshiped night and day, fasting and praying in the temple. We aren’t told what she fasted and prayed about but attention is drawn to the fact that she was among those blessed to know who the child was that Mary and Joseph brought that day. Would she have experienced that if she gave up on praying?

This brings me to the third and final story we’ll look at this morning. This is actually a parable that Jesus told his disciples. Luke begins his account of this parable with the words, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up… Watch on the screen a modern retelling of this parable.

{show Sermon Spice Video – “The Persistent Widow“}

1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)

Now, I think it’s important to clarify the difference between persistence and empty repetitiveness. In Matthew 6, Jesus is giving instructions to his disciples on prayer and there are a number of things he said (I’ll be coming back to many of them in the next two messages) but I want to focus on verse 7…

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Matthew 6:7 (NIV)

We must be careful when we pray persistently for something that it doesn’t become habitual and mere repetition. Not giving up in prayer does not mean simply saying the same thing over and over again like a mantra. “Not giving up” has more to do with praying faithfully than with praying repetitively. Having habits can sometimes be good but in the case of prayer habits can be destructive. Ensure that when you are praying persistently for something that it is not from habit but is genuine, sincere and with the same emphasis and faith as when you first prayed it.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, today you’ve gained some insight into one of the reasons for why prayers go unanswered.

William Penn, the founder of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was well liked by the Indians. Once they told him he could have as much of their land as he could encompass on foot in a single day. So, early the next morning he started out and walked until late that night. When he finally went to claim his land, the Indians were greatly surprised, for they really didn’t think he would take them seriously. But they kept their promise and gave him a large area which today is part of the city of Philadelphia. William Penn simply believed what they said. Should we do less with God? (quoted in “Are Your Prayers Answered” by Ted Sutherland)

As Jesus said to his disciples, so I say to you – Have faith in God! Remember the words of Paul,

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Podcast, Sermons, Sunday Morning Service | 7 Comments »

he just wants to steal the seed…

Friday, March 9th, 2007

“Satan is not concerned with how many people gather in a service if all they do is sit and listen and leave. Satan does not care how much seed is sown as long as he can steal it away.” - W. Oscar Thompson Jr., Concentric Circles of Concern (Broadman, 1981)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Illustrations, Quotes | No Comments »

When satan tries to Discourage the Preacher…

Thursday, March 8th, 2007

I came across this great encouragement for the preacher at a site I follow (goodmanson.com) – here’s the text:

At our monthly pastors meeting a story was shared that I thought helpful. This occurred prior to the pastor going up to preach in their head.

Satan – You know you were sick this week. You shouldn’t set yourself up by expecting too much this week. Lower your expectations.

Pastor – That is true, I was sick and didn’t quite have the time and energy I wanted.

Satan – Also, you weren’t quite faithful with your devotions this week. Do you really think God will bless you?

Pastor – That is true too. My devotions seemed to lack connection with God. How can He bless me EXCEPT while all that you say is true, you are leaving out one part of this, the GOSPEL. Through Jesus, God is strong in my weakness, I will trust in that rather than focus on my illness. Secondly, I don’t earn approval through working for a righteousness on my own. Through Christ I am already approved, loved and accepted by God.

Preachers, don’t believe the partial truths of the great deceiver.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Announcements, Preaching, Userm Blog | No Comments »

How time at church rates to other stuff with kids

Wednesday, March 7th, 2007

By the time the average American child reaches 17, they will have spent more than 60,000 hours with the mass media of entertainment, only 11,000 hours at school, 2,000 hours with their parents and only 900 hours of church if they attend every week!
Christian Film & Television Commission 1/07

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Illustrations, Statistics | No Comments »

Yes, not yet and No

Sunday, March 4th, 2007

Podcast: Download

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series When God doesn't answer Prayer

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

INTRODUCTION

A woman invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?” “I don’t’ know what to say,” the little girl replied.”Just say what you hear Mommy say,” her mother instructed. The daughter bowed her head and prayed, “Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?” (quoted in “Prayer that Gets Results”, by Mike Turner)

How many of you believe God answers prayer? Shout yes if you do. Sounds like most of us believe that God answers prayer. Now, how many of you have ever prayed for something that didn’t happen? Shout yes again. So, what do you make of that? If God answers prayers, why do some of our prayers go unanswered?

One of the questions I often wrestle with when I study about prayer, and when I pray, is the reality that sometimes when we pray our prayers don’t get answered. I’m in the same boat as you are. I have prayed many times for things to happen that never happened. I have prayed for people to get well and they didn’t. I have prayed for marriages to be saved and they weren’t. I have prayed for success of church ministry that were flops. I have prayed for people to change their lives and they didn’t. I have prayed for people to live and they died. I have prayed for many things over the years that never happened. Now before you make that mental note to not ask me to pray for you…let me say that in spite of the time it seems like there is an invisible wall between earth and heaven, I believe with all my heart that God answers prayers – and there have been plenty of wonderful examples in my life when I have prayed for something and God has answered! I’m sure many of you have experienced the same things with prayer as I have.

But what about those times when prayer goes unanswered? It makes you want to ask, “What’s the problem? Why didn’t God respond to that prayer? Didn’t Jesus say, ?Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock, and the door will be open to you?’ Didn’t Jesus say, ?Whatever you ask for in my name, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’ Didn’t Jesus say, ?You can ask me anything in my name and I will do it’?” To many of us, that sounds like an unlimited credit line! Doesn’t it?
So what’s the problem? Is it false advertising? Is God just teasing us: “Ask me anything but I really don’t intend to do it?” or is there some sort of cosmic wheel of fortune that is spun every time we pray and whatever that wheel stops on, that’s our answer? Is God playing a game?

The answer is no. It isn’t a game, and there is not heavenly wheel of fortune. The Bible helps us to get some insight into what seems to be unanswered prayer. God never said, “I will answer your prayers in the exact way you want me to answer them.” He has not made that promise. In fact, the Bible says that God answers our prayers in one of three ways.

Sometimes, God says ?yes’. I like it when that happens. I love it when God answers prayer in miraculous and often supernatural ways. I love hearing about someone praying for something and it coming to pass – I love it even more when I seek God’s favor upon something and He does it! Not only because I’m seeing something happen that I desire to occur – but also because what I desire is apparently what He desires! When God says yes to my prayer, it means that God and I are on the same page! Praise God, that he does many times say yes to our prayers!

Sometimes, God say, “not yet”. When God answers, “not yet”, he isn’t necessarily saying no but instead that either the timing isn’t his timing or the way isn’t His way. Today’s society is a ?right now’ society. We want instant everything. All too often, when we pray for God’s help, we have the attitude of ?hurry it up, God!’ However, we’ve either forgotten, or never understood properly, that God knows the perfect time and the perfect way in which He should answer our prayers, and we don’t. It is so important that we have patience to allow God do His perfect work in His perfect time and stop trying to rush Him to fit into our imperfect schedules.

Sometimes, God says, “no”. The Bible is full of examples of God saying “No.” Moses prayed, “God, I want to go into the Promised Land.” And God said, “No.” Abraham prayed, “Lord, let my son Ishmael receive the blessings of the nations,” and God said, “No, it’s for Isaac.” In 2 Samuel 11, David had an affair with Bathsheba and they had a little baby boy and that boy got very sick. David fell on his face and for days prayed and fasted saying, “God, I’ll do anything if you’ll just save my boy’s life,” and God said “No”.

So if God said no at times to Moses and Abraham and David, I figure there’s a chance He might say “no” to us. Actually, the Bible is pretty clear that there are certain instances where God will definitely say no. In the next three weeks I’m going to be talking about what those definite instances are:

  • Lack of Faith
  • Unconfessed Sin
  • Wrong Motives

I believe that it is important we understand the reasons the Bible gives for God saying no to our prayers and I believe once we do understand it will have a dramatic effect on the power and impact of our prayer life and our relationship with God. We’re going to start looking at those reasons next week but today I want to begin by focusing in on some obstacles to a life of prayer. Obviously, as I shared two weeks ago – a big reason why we don’t see the power of prayer in our lives is because we don’t pray. And so, as we begin this series, I want to talk about the stuff that gets in the way of our pursuing prayer as a lifestyle.

There are a great number of heavyweights who have written on prayer – Thomas Merton, E.M. Bounds, J.I. Packer, Emilie Griffin, Henri Nouwen, Anthony Bloom… I could go to the amazing writings and messages shared by these people and harvest for you great insights on connecting with God – and every week you could walk out of here knowing more about prayer than you knew the week before – but not really find yourself praying more. God help us avoid the sin of hearing but not doing. Help me avoid the sin of preaching but not practicing, of imparting to others what I am not instilling in myself.

So it’s important that to avoid those sins that we commit to setting aside time in our schedules, clear away distractions, and making time for prayer. Will you realize that your intentions will not be good enough – we can earnestly intend to pray all our lives and never really do it. It is so important to understand that it is only the activity of prayer that counts, not wishing or wanting to pray, but only doing it. How many of you took me up on the challenge of praying 15 minutes a day that I gave you at the beginning of the year? It is possible folks! Recently, Kerryanne and I have started our mornings by joining hands while still in bed and praying together before we get out of bed and step into the whirlwind of an Ethier household morning. Let me tell you it has made a tremendous difference in the flow of our day and the focus of our lives.

Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) says,

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Let’s take a look at the obstacles to a life of seeking after God in prayer.

Learning about Prayer

The first thing I want to teach you this morning is that the constant temptation when it comes to the subject of prayer is to talk about it, read about it, learn about it, study it, perhaps write about it, and somehow never actually do it! This is the first obstacle and somewhat of a paradox because it is also a benefit – learning about prayer. Your attendance at church while I preach on prayer is of little value if you are not actually praying during the week, learning to implement what you learn into your practice of prayer both privately and corporately with the rest of the church body. A commitment to actually pray is the first order of business and as I often say, commitment is follow-through.

Henri Nouwen wrote in The Genesee Diary:

Writing about prayer is often very painful since it makes you aware of how far away you are from the ideal you write about. People who read your ideas tend to think that your writings reflect your life…This week all I am reading and writing about is prayer. I am so busy with it and often so excited about it that I have no time left to pray, and when I pray I feel more drawn to my ideas on prayer than to praying. While it is true that in order to pray you have to empty your heart and mind for God, you also have to empty your heart and mind of your feelings and ideas on prayer. Otherwise, prayer gets in the way of praying.”

Willingness to be a STUDENT of prayer

This is the second obstacle to a life of prayer. We are sometimes willing to learn something, assuming that means we hear a fact, store it away in our minds, and then claim that we know it. But there is a difference between learning something and knowing it – a great chasm between storing away knowledge of something and being a STUDENT of it.

When you have learned something, you are finished with it. You can tuck it away into that category of things you KNOW. When you are a student of something, you are engaged in a process of learning it continually, allowing it to embrace you, to shape you, to define you, to mold you. Learners seek to master their subject matter, students seek to be shaped by it. This probably sounds kind of philosophical and out of reach so let me bring it home to you. I think many marriages are in trouble today because spouses are not students of one another. In a sense, I must be a student of Kerryanne. I must devote myself to the never-ending search for what makes her…her! I must learn more every day to appreciate the intricacies of her personality. I must continually try to find out what makes her tick. I must realize it is a quest. As soon as I cease being a student of my wife and think I have LEARNED her, — or that she cannot ever be learned, — I take her for granted and miss much of what is special about her. More marriages would be healthy today if spouses understood one aspect of a healthy relationship is to be students of each other. But most of us don’t, do we?

Why is that? It’s because many of us have a perception of ourselves that we are not “student material”. We don’t see ourselves as students, as studiers, as those who are continually learning new things. Even now, I’m sure there are some of you who have tuned me out because you are thinking “I’m not really a student kind of person”. But you’re wrong. Every single one of you is a student of something.

Think of your favorite hobby. For those of us with a hobby I can almost guarantee you that you are a student of that hobby, at least to some extent. You find that you are always learning more about it, always seeking to get better at it or learn how to enjoy it more, or at least how to save money at it! For many of you, you have continued to learn more and more just through years of constant exposure. That’s what it means to be a student of something – to expose ourselves to it again and again until it begins to shape us.

Anyone here know virtually nothing about music? Raise your hand. Let’s say that today you began piano lessons. At first it would be this difficult, deliberate attempt for you to master certain basic skills. You don’t consider yourself a musician and for you to learn piano, at first you would kind of feel like you are stepping into unknown territory, my world, or Fred’s world, or the world of some other musician you know. But at a certain point you’d realize that you consider yourself a musician and are at home in that world. At first you work constantly to capture and understand music, but at some point you find yourself captured by it. It has begun to form you, so that even as you continue to learn more, it continues shaping who you are, from the inside out. You’re not all musicians but almost all of you can relate to what I’m saying if you simply think about what it is that you love – the hobby or activity that has captured your heart. Chances are you are a student of that thing – whether it be fishing, sewing, video-games, reading, athletics, music, golf, horses, working with wood.

We do not move forward in prayer until we are willing to be a student of prayer. The resistance to this is a normal human tendency that shows up in many areas of our lives. There are some of you in this room today who say you want to make a bigger impact on the lives of your friends and family, but you will not prioritize your schedules in order to learn how to do it – will not make yourself a student of it. There are some who say they want to learn how to manage their household, their money, their economic lives better to live free of the burdens of debt and bad credit – but you have not been willing so far to make yourself a student of it – -to learn not the new technique, but the new lifestyle that will enable you. We can learn techniques, but we must be students of lifestyles.

So let me ask you: are you willing to think of prayer that way? Are you wiling to become a student of prayer? It is important that I talk about prayer and teach about prayer but I need to tell you that all you are going to learn is just the beginning – it is important that you dedicate yourself to a lifetime of learning the lifestyle of prayer, that you become a student of prayer. That is what I want to urge you towards in all these messages on prayer – a lifestyle of learning of prayer that we can embrace together.

EXPECTATIONS of prayer

Another obstacle to a lifestyle of prayer is our expectations of prayer. In ministry there are times where I will receive the call to visit someone who is facing tragic circumstances and is in a really tough spot. Whenever I got these calls, there is a feeling I always get, a feeling of complete uselessness – the embarrassing sense that I have nothing to offer in the face of such tragedy. On the way to the hospital, or the person’s home I’ll usually pray a quick prayer that God would give me the words to say. Of course, at the back of my mind I’m hoping that God will show up through the words I share so that I won’t have to feel useless – and so that I’m making a difference in those peoples lives. The problem is, my expectations were wrong. I’ve come to understand that the only time I’m of any use to God is when I realize how useless I am – how it’s in times like these that I need to let go more of myself and cling more to God. The more I cling to Him the more it will be God I’m bringing to those hurting people and not me. They don’t really need me, they need Jesus!

It’s hasn’t been easy but I’m learning that God wants me to be ineffective (in my understanding of effectiveness). He wants me to not know what to say. Often times that’s God’s way of pushing me towards silence, towards holding the hand or putting my arm around the shoulder of the person in crisis and just offering them my presence and in turn welcoming the presence of God.

We pray with wrong expectations anytime we think that the actual words of our prayers will somehow overrule the whole orientation of our lives toward or away from God. In other words, prayer forms us gradually, and helps us become containers who are capable of carrying the presence of God in us. Prayer is not a magical force or formula that calls upon God “the genie” – it is not an incantation. So when I pray and ask God to help me know the right things to say in a hospital, the far more important issue is not whether I am praying at that exact moment, but whether I am “prayed up” – -the extent to which prayer has already oriented me toward the power of God, and made me sensitive to spiritual things.

Too many people want to live however they want to live, and then expect prayer to work like some kind of magic potion to change the consequences of our ungodly actions and decisions. Prayer does not work that way. Prayer orients us toward God. The more we pray, the more we are oriented toward God and God’s point of view.

The Apostle Paul writes of a time when he begged God to take away this thing in his life that was afflicting him and driving him nuts – the Bible never says what it is but merely refers to it as a thorn in the flesh. Paul says he prayed three times, “God, please get rid of this thing in my life.” Let’s read further in 2 Corinthians,

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)

That’s a powerful passage because it’s the story of how Paul came to abandon his own point of view concerning his weakness, and embrace God’s point of view.

If this passage is true, and indeed I believe it is, (that the weaker we are the stronger we become) then the final obstacle we have to an obstacle of prayer (or rather the final one I’ll talk about this morning) is our need to feel competent at it – our need to feel like we’re good pray-ers.

Need to feel competent at praying
This feeling of insufficiency I believe is nearly essential in approaching God in prayer.

Have you ever felt insufficient in prayer? The answer is yes if you’ve ever found youself saying any of the following things.

? I don’t know how to pray.
? I don’t know what to pray for.
? I am uncomfortable praying out loud.
? It’s not like MY prayers ever get answered!
? Why would God listen to me?

I want to encourage you to consider this morning that that very feeling of insufficiency is the starting point of true prayer – it begins with a sense of smallness before God, a sense of our own non-importance, the sense that if God doesn’t show up we’ve wasted our time.

10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:10-14 (NIV)

I will most likely be referring to this passage again later in the series, but for now it’s sufficient to note that the prayer of the Pharisee was all about his own goodness – the prayer of the tax collector was all about God’s goodness.

CONCLUSION

Today we have looked at four obstacles to a lifestyle of prayer.

1. First is learning about prayer but not actually praying.
2. Unwillingness to become a student of prayer – wanting just to be prayer-dabblers.
3. Wrong expectations of prayer
4. Need to feel like we are good at prayer.

So all this brings us back to the first point. Because we are unwilling to be students of prayer, because we have wrong expectations of prayer, because we fear we will never be good at it, we are often content to simply learn ABOUT it and not do it – and we become perpetual prayer-dabblers.

So friends, I invite you to a lifestyle of prayer, I re-extend the challenge to pray 15 minutes a day and to welcome the opportunities to pray corporately with your church family on Thursday nights and/or Sunday morning before service – or at the conclusion of the service around the front here. Don’t give in to the temptation to just hear a sermon about it and think you’re growing. You won’t grow in prayer unless you pray, so make it a priority!

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Podcast, Sermons, Sunday Morning Service | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »