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Introduction
As we continue our series on prayer, we want to look at another type of prayer that Jesus taught His disciples about.
Last week, we looked at the type of prayer known as “asking.”
We talked about how that type of prayer is what is commonly thought of when one thinks about prayer.
It is when we bring our requests to God and get an immediate or almost immediate answer.
The type of prayer that we want to look at this morning is the second type of prayer that Jesus mentioned in .
Seeking
When Jesus speaks about seeking in relation to prayer, He is speaking about those times when some searching is involved in the prayers.
It is not a time where the answer is just immediately there.
The answer that God has to these types of prayers comes with a journey involved.
Some have thought that this might be God playing games with us, but that is not the case.
God wants us to know Him and His purposes well.
There are some things about God and His ways that take some effort to learn and understand though.
It will not all be spoon-fed to us.
Jer
While God wants us to know Him as fully as we possibly can, not everyone wants to know God… at least not who and how He truly is.
You can ask 10 people to describe God, and you might get 15 different answers.
Some would say that He is a loving Heavenly Father.
Others would say that He is a harsh dictator.
Still others might say that He is distant and out-of-touch.
How can God be so misunderstood?
The answer to that question is that people come to Him with differing motives of heart.
This is shown clearly in an instance found in the gospel of .
Luke 5:
In this passage, we can see three types of people that approach Jesus for different reasons and come away from this experience with very different views of who He is.
The Skeptics
In verse 17, we see that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were there at this event.
They had come to hear this Jesus guy who was growing in fame in the area.
This group was not so much concerned with having their lives changed by Jesus, but rather they were looking to pick Jesus apart.
They were seeing if Jesus would get in line with their agenda and back what they were already doing.
If not, they would curse Him as someone to be shunned.
If you know much about the New Testament, you know that Jesus and the Pharisees and teachers of the law did not see eye to eye very often.
This group is still present today.
There are those who will come to God with no other intentions than to pick Him apart and try to make God something of their own creation.
When we approach God and try to make Him fit into our little box, it will not work.
We will walk away from Him frustrated, hardened, and miss what He is all about.
This is what happened in this instance.
Instead of rejoicing at the fact that this man was healed, they grumbled (v 21).
They questioned Jesus… They doubted Jesus… this did not fit into their box and so they would not go along with it.
They completely missed the miracle that was before them.
The Socials
There was another group that was present at this event.
They are seen in verse 19 when Luke shares about the crowd.
The crowd was so large that the friends of the paralyzed man had trouble getting their friend to Jesus.
This crowd represents the second group known as the socials.
They were there to see what the deal was.
They saw the Pharisees and teachers of the Law gathered, they saw Jesus… they didn’t want to be left out.
They weren’t really concerned with being changed by this experience, but rather to be able to say that they were there.
We see this group around today, don’t we?
They want the social aspect of what Jesus can bring to them, but as for being changed by Him is another story.
This group will come near to a point but will still hold God at arm’s length.
They might let God come into certain areas of their lives, but to let Him have full control over everything is just not something that this group is willing to do.
We see that this group experienced what Jesus did for the paralyzed man and were astounded and even glorified God.
It would go something like this, “Man, that was awesome!
Can you believe what happened to that guy?
God is good!”
They got a “warm fuzzy feeling” from their experience with Jesus.
This sounds all well and good, but because it was kept at arm’s length, the experience would fade into the sea of forgetfulness along with other “awesome moments” as time went on.
There was no personal change from this experience because these people wanted to keep God at a distance.
The Seekers
There was one final group there though, and this group came away experiencing Jesus in a way like no other had before.
These “seekers” were the four guys that brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus.
As they came to where Jesus was, they were met with an obstacle.
The crowds were preventing them from getting their friend to Jesus.
Instead of just giving up, they pushed on and found a way to get closer to Jesus.
In verses 20-25, we see that because these guys were willing to push further, they experienced Jesus doing something amazing.
They didn’t just walk away from it with a “warm fuzzy feeling.”
They walked away from the experience forever changed.
Application
When you see these three groups, which one would you find yourself in?
Would you be found in the group of skeptics that are here to see what this Jesus stuff is all about but not sure that you’re buying it?
Would you be in the group of the socials that are there to see what Jesus does but not be impacted by it?
Would you be one of those that are truly seeking God’s face and heart in things?
This is where God wants us to be in prayer, and some prayers will only be answered by seeking His face.
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