The Spirit-Filled Follower of Jesus (Week Two)
Design for Discipleship • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 39:26
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· 51 viewsPastor Chase continues on in our series titled "The Spirit-Filled Follower of Christ". Today's subtitle is "Conversing with God" and it's all about prayer!
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Intro
Intro
The Holy Spirit guides, Jesus intercedes, God listens and answers.
This is how prayer is carried out from a heavenly perspective.
It’s like this illustration:
A POWER of attorney is a legal right to sign on someone else’s behalf. That’s exactly what happens when you pray.
When Christians pray “Our Father …” the Holy Spirit delivers our prayer to the Father. But before God responds, He looks over to Jesus and asks Him if He is signing the note. Jesus is our power of attorney. He is the one who signs off on prayers.701
And there are two sides whether Jesus signs off on them.
One, is it the will of the individual or
Two, is it the will of the Father.
As C.S. Lewis points out in his book titled “How to Pray”, on the subject of how he views prayers are answered:
“…to grant one man’s prayer involves refusing another’s. There is much here which it is hard for our will to accept but nothing that is hard for our intellect to understand. The real problem is different; not why refusal is so frequent, but why the opposite result is so lavishly promised.”
He is referring to the verses in the Bible that say,
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
and we could go on with a few others...
C.S. Lewis goes on to explain that when teaching children or pagans, or others about the Christian faith, these verses and promises are the worst place to start and he tells this story...
“You remember when the Widow started Huck Finn off with the idea he could get what he wanted by praying for it. He tried the experiment and then, not unnaturally, never gave Christianity a second thought; we had better not talk about the view of prayer embodied in Mark 11:24 as elementary (teachings.) If that passage contains a truth, it is a truth for very advanced pupils indeed… It is a coping -stone, not a foundation. For most of us the prayer in Gethsemane is the only model. Removing mountains can wait.”
C.S. Lewis goes on to express that the types of prayers where you try and will away requests and approach prayer with that kind of faith are answered prayers that most believers never experience.
James even says in James 4...
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
The issue is that most of our prayers of faith involve selfishness.
There is a difference in praying for things that we don’t need, or couldn’t handle at the time, verses praying for things needed in doing the work of God on this earth.
So today, rather than teaching you how to get what you want from prayer- since I haven’t perfected that myself and plus I’m not qualified enough for that- we will be looking at why we pray, the benefits of prayer, conditions of prayer and the perfect model of prayer that Jesus lays out in the Sermon on the Mount.
LET’S PRAY
In a book titled, “Faith that Works”, John Chrysostom writes this about prayer:
“Prayer has subdued the strength of fire. It has bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, burst the chains of death, expanded the fates of heaven, (wiped) diseases, dispelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, staid the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. In this communion with God, there is an all-sufficient (display of things), a treasure undiminished, a mine that is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings!”
Prayer is powerful!
What is the one most important thing in a relationship?
Communication.
It is essential for any growing relationship, including our relationship with God.
Prayer is our means as Christians to speak to God and listening as He speaks to us.
As Christians we should take great joy in the fact that God loves us, that he understands and shows grace to us.
That he is full of mercy and peace as we come to Him in prayer.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
A few weeks back we dicussed how Jesus is our great high priest and intercedes on our behalf.
We approach God’s throne of grace though His son, Jesus Christ as we pray.
Why else do we pray as believers?
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
As Christians we are called to rejoice, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances.
That is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.
Often when we come to God in prayer with a mutter or a groan, not really knowing what or who to pray for and that’s ok too.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
As we approach God in prayer Psalm 27:8 says that we should seek God, Psalm 46:10 says that we should be still before God and Psalm 63:1 says that we should thirst for God.
When we are under water in life’s circumstances our attitude should always aim for seeking, stillness and thirsting for God.
Sometimes words are needed and sometimes they aren’t.
A lot of us have that friend that we can just be around and not say anything at all, and know without a doubt they support us and are encouraging us by their presence.
God is that friend that never leaves and is always beside us.
Prayer is that communication that keeps that relationship going wether words are used or not.
The benefits of prayer are endless aside from the most important which is sending time with God.
BENEFITS OF PRAYER
I will give you just three:
Prayer releases anxiety
We live in a world that is fat paced and nerve racking.
People are on edge in almost every area in life, just read the news for a minute, or don’t!
But Jesus called the weak and weary to come to Him and He would offer them rest.
The prophet Jeremiah felt overwhelmed by the task he had been give but turned to the Lord for renewal and comfort.
In the same way prayer allows us to offer our anxieties and stress on to the Lord for refreshment and peace.
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Through prayer God offers us a peace that the world can not fulfill.
Prayer orients our path.
James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
When we have come to the point in our life where we need to redirect ourselves, prayer should be the first stop.
When I was a BoyScout we learned about orienting a map.
Orienting is certainly a lost art and GPS has made it much easier but at the same time it’s a good skill to learn.
When you don’t have a map you can orient with the stars at night as to which direction to go.
If you’re in the day time without a map there are a few different ways to find the direction to get your bearings.
Orienting is a good skill to learn and practice because well... with these CA blackouts your GPS might eventually fail, and then you’ll never find our house in the middle of Cottonwood for the next potluck!
Prayer is that avenue that orients our path as we seek the Lord for guidance and direction in life he will guide us.
Prayer leads to forgiveness.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
No matter which way we go in life we are always in need of forgiveness and cleansing from the Lord.
The Bible tells us that when we bring our sins before the Lord and repent, we will be forgiven.
This leads to peace with God which gives us peace of mind, which in a practical standpoint offers us physical rest.
There is so much physical tension and stress when we hold sin in and don’t deal with it before God, honestly.
We could go on with the benefits of prayer but lets look at once other aspect of prayer.