Prayer & Fasting
Closer: Pressing into Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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· 57 viewsIt is not that you have to wear out God to get him to move on your behalf. (Luke 18:1-8) It is not that God is unaware of your needs. It is not about demonstrating faithfulness to get what you need. A contrast is being made: If shameless boldness is able to turn someone to meet your need when they are disposed to not help, then how much more will God move on our behalf when he cares about his children and delights in meeting their needs.
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Today, we start a brand new message series entitled “Closer: Pressing into Christ”. I don’t know about you, but there are times in my life where I feel close to God. I feel his presence. I know what he wants me to do. I have a confidence that I am following in the footsteps of Jesus. Then, there are other times. There are times when I don’t have the same feeling of closeness. For some reason, I don’t sense his presence as acutely. I may even be unsure about what he wants me to do.
These are the times we are going to be talking about. These are the times when we need to press into Christ. These are the times we need to draw closer to God, wait on the Lord, and listen carefully for his voice.
Here is our new theme verse for the series:
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Open your Bibles to Luke 11.
<cell phone rings>
Say: “I am sorry. I know this is awkward, but I need to take this.”
<answer the phone>
Say: “Dude, I can’t believe you are calling me right now. I am giving the sermon, right now. Look, you have texted me like 50 times this morning, my voicemail is full from your messages, and now you are calling me again. Come on, man. I can’t do this right now.”
<hang up phone>
Say: “I am really sorry about that. This guy has been bothering me incessantly. I can’t seem to get him to understand that I can’t help him right now.”
<cell phone rings, again>
Say: “I can’t believe this. He is calling me again. It is like he don’t have any shame. Sorry, hang on a minute.”
<answer phone>
Say: “Man, you have either be the biggest moron or the boldness person I know. Maybe both, who knows. Look, fine, I’ll help you out. Just stop pestering me, okay?! Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
Now, before you think I am the world’s biggest jerk, what you have just seen is basically a modern rendition of Jesus’ illustration in . Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them to pray. He gave them what many people term “The Lord’s prayer”, but mainly it is a model or a template for prayer. Jesus continued his teachings on prayer by giving them an illustration. Look at verse five.
5 He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’
7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’
8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
Luke
<start by painting the mental picture in a modern setting using a cellphone conversation>
5 He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’
7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’
8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Before, we go farther in this message, I realize for some of you, the principles I am going to talk about are going to be different that what you have heard before. This message may be a paradigm shift for many of you concerning the nature of prayer. The first thing you need to realize about the illustration Jesus is giving, is that the story is not a comparison; it is a contrast. The idea is not to compare the reluctant friend and God; it is a contrast. The idea is “can you imagine going to a neighbor, asking for help to entertain a friend, and getting this response?” Jesus isn’t teaching that you have to wear God out to get him to move on your behalf. It is not that God is unaware of your needs. Prayer is not about demonstrating your dedication to get what you need. You don’t have to persuade God to answer your prayers. This illustration is a contrast. What Jesus is saying is that if shameless boldness is able to turn someone to meet your need when they are disposed not to help, then how much more will God move on your behalf when he cares about his children and delights in meeting their needs.
Did you notice the “how much more?” Before, we go further in this message, I realize for some of you, the principles I am going to talk about are going to be different that what you have heard before. This message may be a paradigm shift for many of you concerning the nature of prayer. The first thing you need to realize about the illustration Jesus is giving, is that the story is not a comparison; it is a contrast. The idea is not to compare the reluctant friend and God; it is a contrast. The idea is “can you imagine going to a neighbor, asking for help to entertain a friend, and getting this response?” Jesus isn’t teaching that you have to wear God out to get him to move on your behalf. It is not that God is unaware of your needs. Prayer is not about demonstrating your dedication to get what you need. You don’t have to persuade God to answer your prayers. This illustration is a contrast. What Jesus is saying is that if shameless boldness is able to turn someone to meet your need when they are disposed not to help, then how much more will God move on your behalf when he cares about his children and delights in meeting their needs.
1. Pray because God generously answers the prayers of his children. ()
1. Pray because God generously answers the prayers of his children. ()
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
We pray because God generously answers the prayers of his children. With all due respect to the great theologian Garth Brooks, do you realize that there is no such thing as unanswered prayer? The answer may not be the answer we desired or expected. Sometimes, God answers prayer with a “yes”. Sometimes, he says “no”. Sometimes, he says “wait”. God always answers the prayers of his children.
Verse 9 is the key verse for this passage. It is tempting to think of verse 9 as a progression of activity. If you are asking, but don’t get an answer, start seeking. If you are seeking, but don’t get an answer, start knocking. God might have fallen asleep or maybe he is on vacation. Maybe he doesn’t want to act on your behalf today and tomorrow is not looking good either. This is not it at all. This type of thinking treats God like a false idol, like the prophets of Baal’s activities in . is not referring to a rise in intensity, so much as different activities for different seasons of life. Sometimes, we ask God for things.
- We ask when we think we know what we need. God will give us what we need. ()
- We ask when we think we know what we need. God will give us what we need. ()
Ask - when we think we know what we need. God will give us what we need.
30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith?
31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
- We seek when we don’t know what to do. God will show us the way to go. ()
- We seek when we don’t know what to do. God will show us the way to go. ()
13 You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.
- We knock when we aren’t sure if it is the right move to make. God will open the right door for us to walk through. ()
- We knock when we aren’t sure if it is the right move to make. God will open the right door for us to walk through. ()
8 I know your works. Look, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close because you have but little power; yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Pay careful attention to the words of Jesus in .
10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
He did not say the persistent receive answers to their prayers. He said everyone. Everyone who is a child of God receives answers to their prayers. We pray because God generously answers the prayers of his children.
Now for the game changer. I am telling you if we really understood this and claimed the power available to us, everything changes. I think that so many Christians fail to understand what God has given to them. God doesn’t have to be convinced to help you. God doesn’t have to be manipulated to help you. God doesn’t have to be persuaded to help you. You don’t have to bargain with God to answer you or move on your behalf. God is good and he delights in giving good things to his children. Do you know what the good gift is that he has given to you? This will change your life. This will change your prayer life.
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Did you catch what the good gift is that has been given to us as God’s children? The good gift God give us is the Holy Spirit!
2. The good gift God gives us is the Holy Spirit. ()
2. The good gift God gives us is the Holy Spirit. ()
The good that God gives to us isn’t a general goodness. The good is the Holy Spirit. We don’t try to wear God out with our prayers until he finally answers us. God has already answered your prayer by giving you the Holy Spirit. The answer to your prayer is found in the person and work of the Holy Spirit. This is how you pray without ceasing. Praying without ceasing isn’t praying down through a list of people and things. Praying to the Father isn’t about reciting empty words. Prayer is about being in tune with the Holy Spirit and responding to his promptings. I want you to hear this. If prayer has become a box to check off on your to-do list, then you are doing it wrong. If prayer is simply a list or a journal entry, then you are doing it wrong. Richard Foster wrote, “Our prayer is to be like a reflex action to God’s prior initiative upon the heart. The ideas, the pictures, the words are of no avail unless they proceed from the Holy Spirit who, as you know, is interceding for us.” (Celebration of Discipline, p. 42)
Praying without ceasing isn’t praying down through a list of people and things. Praying to the Father isn’t about reciting empty words. It is about being in tune with the Holy Spirit and responding to his promptings.
26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.
God doesn’t have to be convinced to help you. God doesn’t have to be manipulated to help you. God doesn’t have to be persuaded to help you. You don’t have to bargain with God to answer you or move on your behalf. God is good and he delights in giving good things to his children.
Think about the amazing gift that God has given to us in the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If you are trusting in Jesus as your Savior, then you have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is working on your behalf right now. When you don’t know what to ask, where to seek, or which door to knock on, the Holy Spirit is working on your behalf to bring you what you need when you need it.
I hope you hear this and hang onto it. As I was writing and studying for this message, I was really griped by this idea. When Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them to pray, Jesus pointed them to the Holy Spirit. You might say it this way, if you want to learn to pray, you have to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit. <REPEAT>
How do I learn to listen to the Holy Spirit?
How do I learn to listen to the Holy Spirit?
I am sure that we could talk about many things in relation to growing more sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit; however, I want to bring to you one way that has really fallen out of vogue, especially in the United States. Are you ready?
33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples fast often and say prayers, and those of the Pharisees do the same, but yours eat and drink.”
34 Jesus said to them, “You can’t make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you?
35 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them—then they will fast in those days.”
Luke 5:
We are living in the days when the groom, Jesus, is not physically present with us. He sent the Holy Spirit as a promise that he would return; however, Jesus is not with us right now. Do you know what we should be doing regularly? It is not taught in the health and wealth gospel churches, I can tell you that. It is not taught in many churches these days. Do you know one of the things we can do to grow more sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit; to grow closer, to press into Christ, and learn to pray? We practice self-denial and self-discipline through fasting.
Normally, when you think about fasting, you think about not having food or water for a particular period of time, but I want to expand your understanding of fasting. Fasting is when you deny yourself something. Fasting is about self-denial which is a major marker of a follower of Jesus Christ.
23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Fasting = self-denial
Fasting = self-denial
Praying without ceasing isn’t praying down through a list of people and things. Praying to the Father isn’t about reciting empty words. It is about being in tune with the Holy Spirit and responding to his promptings.
You are not going to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit while you are doing whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it. You are not going to learn to be sustained by the Word of God while you are feasting on the pleasures of this world. Prayer and fasting go hand in hand. Some 92 times the Scriptures talk about fasting. Jesus taught and modeled fasting. He gave instructions in fasting. Fasting is done for the purpose of drawing near to God. When we say “no” to some desire, we develop the self-discipline and self-denial to say “no” to other desires of our heart.
27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
You can fast things other than food. You can fast social media. Whenever you feel the urge to check or update your status, pray instead. You could fast screen time. Use the time you would spend watching Netflix or playing video games in prayer instead. The list could go on, but you get the idea. The point is to quiet yourself before the Lord and deny yourself. Change the prompting to eat to a prompting to prayer.
In the After the Message video this week, I will talk some more about this concept of fasting. Brothers and sisters, if you want to learn to pray powerfully through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, begin practicing the discipline of fasting. Pick something. Pick a time. Then, deny yourself. While you are fasting, quiet yourself before the Lord. Be still and know that he is God. Turn down the noise in your life and learn to pray.
Pray.
Father God, Jesus said that we ought always to pray. Recently, people have publically ridiculed prayer, saying that prayer was not enough; however, we know that prayer is where the power is. Prayer is the action, yet, in our hurried lives, praying to you has become a duty, rather than a time of communion. Forgive us for not quieting ourselves before you and for not denying ourselves. Thank you for the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Father, allow us to hear his voice in our lives. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
As we continue in the quiet of meditation and prayer before God with our heads bowed, let me ask you a question. When is the last time you heard from God? When is the last time your knew God was speaking to you? When is the last time you felt the promptings of the Holy Spirit to pray for someone or encourage someone? When is the last time God laid something or someone on your mind? Has it been a long time? Have you just gotten too busy to be still before the Lord? When is the last time you fasted and denied yourself? Have you ever? Brothers and sisters, I want you to hear from God and I really think that fasting is a key to hearing from God. Consider introducing the spiritual discipline of fasting into your life. It doesn’t have to be food. It could be something else, but pick something, pick a time, and deny yourself. How many of you will consider learning to pray through fasting? Would you raise you hands as a commitment to consider learning to pray through fasting.
Also, as we continuing in an attitude of prayer, I believe there are people here today and you know what the problem is in your life. You are not in a relationship with God. Let me tell you about who God is and the problem that we have. Our problem is our sin nature. We sin. We rebel against God’s ways. We do wrong things. Our sin separates us from God. This is amazing. God loved the world and he didn’t want us to remain dead in our sins. Sin leads to death. God doesn’t want anyone to die because he wants to be with us. The good news is that Jesus, who is God, came to earth and took on flesh. The Bible says that Jesus’ name would be Emmanuel, meaning God with us. Jesus, who is perfect in every way became the sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus died in our place and rose from the grave proving that everything he claimed is true. The Bible says that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The Lord is Jesus. Anyone who calls on Jesus’ name will be saved. You will be forgiven of your sins and you will be transformed.
I believe there are people here today and you know what the problem is in your life. You are not in a relationship with God. Let me tell you about who God is and the problem that we have. Our problem is our sin nature. We sin. We rebel against God’s ways. We do wrong things. Our sin separates us from God. This is amazing. God loved the world and he didn’t want us to remain dead in our sins. Sin leads to death. God doesn’t want anyone to die because he wants to be with us. The good news is that Jesus, who is God, came to earth and took on flesh. The Bible says that Jesus’ name would be Emmanuel, meaning God with us. Jesus who is perfect in every way because the sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus died in our place and rose from the grave to prove that everything he claimed is true. The Bible says that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The Lord is Jesus. Anyone who calls on Jesus’ name will be saved. You will be forgiven of your sins and you will be transformed.
I believe there are people here today who need Jesus. You can’t work your way to him. You can’t be religious enough for him. You receive the free gift of eternal life through the grace of Jesus Christ. You call on his name and when you do, he will hear your prayer, forgive your sin, and make you brand new. Your old life will be gone and you new life will begin. Come to Jesus this morning.
Pray with me, “Heavenly Father, forgive me for my sins, make me new. I ask Jesus to be my Savior and to be the Lord of my life, first in every way. My life is not my own, I give it to you. Thank you for new life. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”
If you prayed that prayer, we are so happy that you have become a part of the family of God. Your life has just been transformed. We would like to ask you to do this one thing for us. We want to walk with you in this new journey. Take out your Connection Card and check the box that says you want more information about becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. One of the leaders here at the church will get in contact with you this week and talk to you more about what it means to follow Jesus. Take that Connection Card and put it in the offering plate when it is passed at the end of worship. We want to celebrate the new life you have in Christ.
Also, in just a moment, we are going to stand to sing. Some of the deacons are going to be in the the back of the worship center. If you prayed to receive Christ and want to talk with someone today about what it means to follow Christ, I want you to slip out of your row and come and go talk to them. We want to meet you and pray for you. Also, we have some information that will help you understand more about your new life in Christ.
Close.