The calendar has turned the page to August and the stores are stocked with back-to-school supplies. Even though my girls are no longer in school, there is still that in me that pauses and acknowledges this passage of time. The summer season is almost gone, vacations are sweet memories, and it’s time once again to get back into our daily routines. (Whatever that looks like).
For those going back to school or who have school-age kids, that means packing lunch boxes, helping with homework, and playing taxi drive to/from school activities.
For those in the workforce, that may mean more projects, refocusing on goals and planning out the remainder of the year.
In all the hustle and bustle of daily life, we may find that our spiritual health suffers a bit from neglect. For the next few weeks, I want to re-focus on some of the principles that Jesus taught the disciples. These are things that were important to him, so they should in turn be important to us.
The first one is Prayer.
Don’t go away – don’t stop reading. This is something that we all need to hear and be challenged with.
Corrie Ten Boom (a holocaust survivor) was quoted as saying:
“When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy.”
Prayer is important. Even Satan know it.
Prayer must go beyond sharing our wish-list with God. Prayer must be real communication. We talk he listens. He talks, we listen.
Prayer can happen in a variety of ways and be completed wherever you are.
Hannah wept bitterly and prayed for a son. She was so distraught, that the priest thought she was drunk. Abraham went to God on behalf of his nephew Lot in order to save Sodom and Gomorrah. Daniel prayed from captivity in Babylon three times a day facing Jerusalem.
Jonah prayed from the belly of a fish. Elijah prayed for rain. David prayed for God’s forgiveness during one of the darkest times in his life. Moses prayed for the Israelite people more times than he could count.
The Bible is full of examples where people called out to God to change their circumstances. It didn’t matter where they were or what they were doing, they prayed.
If I asked people why they don’t pray more, I’m sure I would hear several reasons and many would probably give similar reasons. They may include:
· We have too many distractions
· We are not sure God is listening
· We can only count on ourselves
· We simply don’t know what to say
· We don’t think we have time
· We don’t think it’s important
What can we do to change this? How can the church – us – take possession of one of the most powerful weapons that God has given us and use it for His glory and our benefit? Clearly something needs to change.
While I can’t change your schedule or stop the distractions, I can provide some teaching and pointers that may help you. I love the simplicity of the disciples’ request in Luke 11 when they ask Jesus “teach us to pray.”
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Matthew, chapter 6 also touches on Jesus’ teaching about prayer.
"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. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
The Lord’s prayer provides us with a perfect template for prayer. It can be divided into two main sections.
The first section is focused on aligning our lives with God.
"Our Father, Who is in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
As we pray to our Father in heaven we are not only recognizing his authority in our lives we are also acknowledging our relationship with him. He’s our Father. He loves us. While Heaven is his home, God is not limited to a place and time. His omni-present power means he can be working in my life in America and someone else’s life in Greece, Africa, Russia, Australia or anywhere else in the world. His name is holy and as such we should approach him with reverence. Finally, we should approach him with open hands; willing to allow him to work out his will in our lives, even when he walks us through difficult times.
The second section is us asking for God’s help. We need his help daily, even hourly and sometimes minute by minute.
In this model of prayer, Jesus recognizes our daily needs. The need for food, the need for forgiveness, the need to forgive others, the need to be strong in the face of temptation, and finally the need for protection from evil.
God doesn't want us to simply memorize the Lord's Prayer and repeat it to him each day. He want to have a one on one conversation with us. He wants to spend time with us and he's given us this prayer that we can use as a guideline for our own prayers.
Come to him in honesty and humility, reverently recognizing who he is to you and then simply tell him what you need and as for his help in areas of forgiveness and things that tempt you. It really doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to happen.
The bottom line? We all need to be praying more. If we have time to watch TV for 3-4 hours a night, we have time to pray. It's time to get back to the basics. It’s time turn off the TV, put down the book, and make time for prayer. It is only through the power of prayer that we will see lives changed and God’s Spirit move in us. Please accept this challenge to pray. Together, let’s see what God will do when His people pray.
This is a portion of my message Back to the Basics: The Necessity of Prayer. To view the full message, visit our website / video library at: https://www.hendersonhope.org/video-library
Comments