Praying for Ourselves
Notes
Transcript
Many people ask me to help them get comfortable with prayer. Our insecurities rear their ugly head when it comes to prayer. We have many different narratives that we have to overcome.
Narrative #1-I am not worthy of speaking to God, why would He listen to me?
Narrative #2- I sound like an idiot when I pray, I don’t sound like any of those really spiritual people.
Narrative #3- I don’t know what to say or how to say it.
There are many different ways to overcome these narratives. We can pray God’s Word, allow it to lead us as we cry out to God. We can mimic someone else’s liturgical prayer and let the saints of old do the talking for us. Or we can simply not pray. Most people opt for the latter. This is exactly where the enemy wants us. He knows that the prayers of God’s people are powerful, even if they are uttered on quivering lips. D.L. Moody said, “Every great movement of God can be traced back to a kneeling figure.” This of course goes hand in hand with James 5:16, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
In the Biblical narrative we get to eves drop on many different “kneeling figures.” Not all are physically kneeling of course, but they are in conversation with God. Just like any other relationship, we have to learn to communicate with God. The greatest advice I was ever given was when I was feeling ill-equipped to pray (especially aloud) and a pastor simply said, think of it as conversation. It took all the pressure off of my performance and realigned my heart to relationship.
Because of Jesus we have the gift of being in relationship with the Father. The God of the universe calls us His children and He never ignores our prayers. As we grow in intimacy with God we begin to feel safe with God. The safer we feel with God, the more willing we are to be transparent and honest with Him in prayer. And the more we pray and converse with Him, the more He reveals His heart to us. What a beautiful cyclical pattern of relational growth.
A very fascinating story in scripture is a conversation found in the Old Testament. In Judges 6 we read about a bleak time in Israel’s history. They were continually doing evil in the eyes of God, so God handed them over to the nation of Midian, their enemies. Midian oppressed them in every way so the Israelites created shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Anytime the Israelites tried to grow crops, the Midianites destroyed them. They were truly being ruined by their enemies. This is when God raises up a Judge for His people that will bring them freedom from their oppressors. Gideon, a man from the most unimportant family in the most unimportant trip of Israel, was threshing wheat in a winepress one day. Judges 6:11-12, “The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” At this point Gideon doesn’t know that it’s an angel speaking to him so he responds, “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
The angel was sent as a representative of God to get Gideon’s attention. What God was assigning Gideon to do was so beyond anything he could have ever dreamt of doing God needed Gideon to hear it from an actually being, not just an audible voice or a voice in his head. God placed a title on Gideon, Mighty Warrior, then gave him a task, save Israel.
This exchange is interesting because Gideon doesn’t recognize the angel until later in the conversation. Then the angel is taken out of the equation and Gideon begins to speak directly to God. After Gideon brought an offering of meat and unleavened bread to God, the angel touched it with the tip of his staff and fire flared from the rock and consumed it. At this moment Gideon realized that it had been an angel of God and now God has his attention.
We can find ourselves in Gideon’s story. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. God looks upon us and sees us through His eyes. He calls us by name. He gives us our new identity in Him. This new identity doesn’t usually mirror the worldly identities we have been given. Gideon was cowering in a wine press threshing wheat, the lowest of the lowest tribe. But he was given the identity mighty warrior.
Gideon fights with the angel on this. The reality was he was anything but a mighty warrior. He could have stopped the conversation at that point, but he didn’t. The angel could have flung up his wings and left him sitting there but he didn’t. They kept engaging in conversation until God revealed Himself in the whole thing. And God kept the conversation going. He gave Gideon instructions on the steps he was to take, the steps in becoming a warrior. God wanted Gideon to clear out his father’s idols and tear down the altars his father had built to other gods.
Clearing out our own lives from idols and altars happens when we are in conversation with God.
Gideon’s obedience did not make him popular. In fact, the people were ready to kill him. His father stepped in and rescued him but they tried to curse him with another name. When we are in conversation with God about our own lives He will be faithful to reveal to us the idols and altars we have built. He will guide us in cleaning out our own hearts and making it a sacred dwelling for Him. This will lead to persecution and cutting soul ties with friends and loved ones.
Giving up the idol of gossip, cutting down the altar of drunkenness, destroying the god of laziness. All of these things can cause relational turmoil because God is ultimately changing you.
Once Gideon’s household is cleared out he is ready to take another step into his God given identity. The Spirit came on Gideon and he blew his trumpet and called all of the tribes to follow him into battle. But the conversation between God and Gideon continued. Even though Gideon had called an army together, he still doubted that he could actually accomplish the task of defeating the Midianites. We’re given a front row seat on this conversation.
Judges 6:36-40, “Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.”
Gideon needs a little more convincing. He feels safe enough to speak with God about it and even test God on the matter. Over the years many have condemned Gideon for doubting,
We’d like to all have blind trust and take steps of faith without confirmation, but how often does that actually happen?