The Rhythm of Prayer
Life in Rhythm • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
What is the best way to get your kids to eat healthy? Salt their candy or sweeten their vegetables?
salt their candy will at best leave them hungry and at worst they will look for other candy
to sweeten their vegetables will leave them satisfied and have them search for the healthy things.
The Expulsive Power of a New Affection by Thomas Chalmers
“The love of the world cannot be expunged by a mere demonstration of the world’s worthlessness. But may it not be supplanted by the love of that which is more worthy than itself?”
“The heart cannot be prevailed upon to part with the world by a simple act of resignation.”
Chalmers, Thomas. The Expulsive Power of a New Affection (Crossway Short Classics) . Crossway. Kindle Edition.
“To estimate the magnitude and the difficulty of such a surrender, let us only think that it were just as arduous to prevail on him not to love wealth, which is but one of the things in the world, as to prevail on him to set willful fire to his own property. This he might do with sore and painful reluctance if he saw that the salvation of his life hung upon it. But this he would do willingly if he saw that a new property of tenfold value was instantly to emerge from the wreck of the old one.”
If one were to offer to destroy a man’s house and offer little more than a substitute address, he may well refuse if he does not know the size and glory of the new address. Pursuit of the disciplines is then a drive by and tour of the place a man may dwell, and the more explored, the more readily a man will tear down the old for the new.
When we understand the new man that Christ offers, it renders us more willing to crucify the old man.
David understood this:
Psalm 119:103 (ESV)
103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
ILLUST - Vacuum out air or fill with water?
To many, church is understood as a school of obedience or a stage of entertainment (working to either strip the heart of its worldly desires leaving a vacuum behind or tickle the senses as a similar alternative to the world’s goods). The church, rather, is meant to be a window through which the heart views the glories and goodness of Christ to a degree that it dislodges and displaces all worldly loves and outpaces even the pleasures of this world. This is done as we enter into the story of redemption through the preaching of the Word, as we retune our hearts through singing and worship, and remember Christ’s love through the communion and service of the saints.
What is the simplest rhythm to do yet the most difficult rhythm to do consistently?
The biggest questions we generally have about prayer are why should we pray, when should we pray, how should we pray?
Scale of 1-10:
How much time have you spent in prayer this past week? (length)
How broad have your prayers been? (breadth)
How weighty have those prayers been? (depth)
We generally pray out of:
duty
desperation
delight
“Prayer is an expression of humility. Prayerlessness is evidence of pride.”
— David Platt
Gospel of Luke / Acts have more references to prayer than any other NT book.
More important than the teaching on prayer is the practice of prayer, so we will practice prayer today
Luke 11:1-13
Jesus gave his disciples a pattern for prayer and modeled a rhythm of prayer.
11:1
Jesus praying as our example
Why did Jesus pray?
“Teach us to pray”
Oh, that we would have the same Teacher!
We do!
When you feel disinclined to pray, let it be a sign to you that prayer is doubly necessary! Pray for prayer!
The Sealed Hand-A Winter Sermon, Volume 58, Sermon #3289 - Job 37:7
Charles Spurgeon
Rhythms of Prayer:
Rhythms of Prayer:
The habit of prayer is good, but the spirit of prayer is better.
Charles Spurgeon
The first question is: do we REALLY want to pray? Do we REALLY see the importance of prayer?
Do we REALLY see this as our priority in ministry?
“Churches can run without prayer. Whole denominations can run without prayer. The question is: Is what they’re doing worth doing if they can do it without prayer?”
Ben Patterson
Let’s begin with ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’
*Pray - corporate prayer*
*Recite The Lord’s Prayer
Matthew 6:9–13 (ESV)
9 . . . “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Devotional / Worship
Devotional / Worship
ILLUST - Did you ever notice that the way a person approaches you can oftentimes be a clue as to what they may want from you?
Honey, you look so handsome
Hey Friend, you remember that time when I ______ for you?
Dad, guess what? I didn’t punch my brother!
Explanation - 3 min
What is it you are WANTING from prayer? - a product or a Person?
Jesus starts out reminding us the focus of our prayer begins with OUR FATHER
Luke 11:2 (ESV)
2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
Matthew 6:9–10 (ESV)
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
This would have been surprising to Jews of the First Century.
They understood and approached God as “Holy Other” but not as Father!
We can never lose the idea that our Father is in heaven - the Sovereign God of all Creation!
He is, however, also our Father!
The Father loves you, knows you, and chose you.
Ephesians - God knows everything about you and chose you before the world began. This means there is nothing you did, could do, can do to affect Gods’ choosing you.
Adoption does not happen without baggage.
The gospel says, “I know your sin, your pain, your struggles - and I choose you.”
“We have already affirmed how impossible it were for the heart, by any innate elasticity of its own, to cast the world away from it and thus reduce itself to a wilderness. The heart is not so constituted, and the only way to dispossess it of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new one.”
The things of the world are not replaced by other things of the world, but by the One who made the world!:
“Beside the world, it places before the eye of the mind him who made the world, and with this peculiarity, which is all its own—that in the gospel do we so behold God as that we may love God.”
Practice - 5 min
Practice - 5 min
*PRAY* - turn to your neighbor next to / in front of / behind you, introduce yourself, and pray!
Pray one of the names of God
Thank God for who He is - not that He needs a reminder - we do!
Verses for Devotional Prayer:
2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
10 Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
6 “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
21 Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city.
5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. 7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah 20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
Confessional Prayer / Repentance
Confessional Prayer / Repentance
3 min explanation
Luke 11:4 (ESV)
4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
If you are like many you tend to pray the first part of verse four and whisper the second part - “for we ourselves forgive . . .”
Isn’t it interesting how Jesus ties together being forgiven with forgiving others.
There is an assumption that we can only ask for forgiveness AS we are also forgiving others?
Understanding what Christ has done for us, what right would we have to NOT forgive others?
‘You don’t know!’ How bad it was!
It would be foolish to forgive someone who is clearly at fault
We would also need to say that God is ‘foolish’ for sending Jesus and (‘while we were still sinners’) to begin the process of forgiving us
Reality is, if we do not forgive we need forgiving!
3 min practice
Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
*PRAY* - personal time of prayer - confess and repent
Verses for Confession:
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,
10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Thanksgiving Prayer Celebration / Testimony
Thanksgiving Prayer Celebration / Testimony
3 min explanation
Luke 11:3 (ESV)
3 Give us each day our daily bread,
How many of you have had enough to eat yesterday?
Praise God! He provided!
How many of our prayers are asking for God to provide something compared to number of prayers thanking God for His provision?
I’d venture to guess our requests outweigh our thanksgiving.
ILLUST - George Muller
“The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat,” the housemother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. “Mr. Mueller,” he said, “last night I could not sleep. Somehow I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in.” Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children."
“Mueller had over fifty thousand specific recorded answers to prayers in his journals, thirty thousand of which he said were answered the same day or the same hour that he prayed them.
Think of it: that’s five hundred definite answers to prayer each year—more than one per day—every single day for sixty years! God funneled over half a billion dollars (in today’s dollars) through his hands in answer to prayer.”
- Doesn’t this encourage you to pray?
Psalm 145:4–7 (ESV)
4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
How many of you have witnessed God answer prayer?
How many of you, if you would hear of how God has answered someone’s prayer, would be encouraged to pray?
Practice Prayer - 7 min
*Share Testimonies*
Briefly share a time when God has answered your prayer.
Request Prayer / Intercessory
Request Prayer / Intercessory
3 min explanation
Luke 11:4 (ESV)
4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Matthew 6:13 (ESV)
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
can add to this “Give us this day our daily bread”
“daily” has caused interpretive problems - could be translated as “needed”
Point is still the same - Jesus never taught us to pray to take care of our needs for next week, next month, next year. But how often do we pray for these things?
Jesus didn’t teach us to pray for overflowing bank accounts. He taught us to pray for provision for TODAY.
ILLUST - We were trained as foster parents to expect children to come into our home and hoard. They grew up with a lack of trust in the authority figures in their lives so we, as new authority figures, would likely be no more trustworthy. It takes time to trust that their daily needs would be met.
“Sometimes people say, “All we can do now is pray.” It’s tempting to treat prayer like it’s a last line of defense. In actuality, though, prayer is our first line of offense.”
- Jim Nywening
7 min practice
“Some brethren pray by the yard; but true prayer is measured by weight, and not by length.”
— Charles Spurgeon
True prayer is measured by weight, not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length.
The Secret Of Power In Prayer, Volume 34, Sermon #2002 - John 15:7
Charles Spurgeon
Doubtful prayer is no prayer at all.
John Calvin
*PRAY* - Raise your hand if you need prayer
Gather around someone with their hand up and pray for them
Come forward
We will pray then worship but keep praying.
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Mark 11:24 (ESV)
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Conclusion:
AFTER THE FALL OF THE SOVIET UNION I was privileged to lecture in Riga for the Latvian Lutheran Church. Most of the participants in the seminar were between the ages of 25–35. This meant that all of their education had been in the communist state system, which was determined to indoctrinate them in atheism. I asked one of the young women about how she came to faith.
“Was there a church in your village?” I asked.
“No, the communists closed all of them,” she replied.
“Did some saintly grandmother instruct you in the ways of God?”
“No. All the members of my family were atheists.”
“Did you have secret home Bible studies, or was there an underground church in your area?”
“No, none of that” came the answer.
“So, what happened?”
She told me the following story:
At funerals we were allowed to recite the Lord’s Prayer. As a young child I heard those strange words and had no idea who we were talking to, what the words meant, where they came from or why we were reciting them. When freedom came at last, I had the opportunity to search for their meaning. When you are in total darkness, the tiniest point of light is very bright. For me the Lord’s Prayer was that point of light. By the time I found its meaning I was a Christian.
Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Chapter 7: The Lord’s Prayer: God Our Father (Matthew 6:5–9))
*Challenge: Say this prayer with your family at the dinner table each night this week.
*Challenge: This week pray one or all of the themes of prayer that we prayed today. Ask Jesus to teach you to pray.