Desiring Prayer

The movie Avatar came out, how amazing it was when it first came out.

And I remember talking to one person, and I was waxing lyrical about how great it was.

But they said that they didn't think it was that good.

And sure, it was a bit of a rehash of Pocahontas with aliens, but it looked amazing.

They disagreed again, they didn't think it was anything special.

I said, I can't believe it, it was cutting edge.

The 3D was phenomenal.

Ah, I saw it in 2D.

I didn't want to pay the extra for 3D.

Ah, that's why you missed out.

You missed out on seeing the movie as it was supposed to be seen.

It was so vibrant.

The animals, the aliens, the plants, they were jumping off the screen.

It was like you could touch it.

You really missed out.

Today we're starting a new series on prayer as we seek awe and intimacy with God.

And prayer is a delight.

It's a privilege that we can pray to a God who listens to us.

Prayer is where we come before our Heavenly Father and we talk to Him.

We bring our requests and our pains and our griefs.

But the reality is that prayer is also hard.

I'm sure all of us know the temptation not to pray.

Whether we're tired or we're busy or maybe we don't know how.

Maybe we occasionally throw up an emergency prayer, like a flare to God.

God, help me out with the job I've got coming up.

Help me find this job.

Help me with the interview.

Help me with money.

It's a bit tight at the moment.

But I'm sure that many of us don't really pray unless we're desperate.

Because our human hearts don't naturally desire to pray.

It means we need to admit our weakness.

And that God is in control and that we're not.

Has the Christian God that many of us have put our faith in,

has the relationship with Him been as good as we expected?

I wonder, is it possible that we have a 2D relationship with God?

You know, all the pieces are there.

You can still see the same thing.

You know, you've still got Jesus on the cross.

We can still read the Bible.

But the relationship is just fine.

It's just okay.

Can you imagine having a 3D relationship with God?

Where you could say that it is just so vibrant.

It is delightful.

It's delightful.

It's like you could touch Him.

And it's life-changing.

Can you imagine having a closer relationship with God?

One that is rich and satisfying and nourishes the soul.

Is it possible that there is something amazing that we've missed out on?

Is it possible that we've missed a trick on prayer out of a laziness or busyness

or just misunderstanding?

And it's meant we've actually missed out on an intimate relationship with God Himself?

Is it possible that the extra D to make it 3D is actually the D of devotion to prayer?

One of our core values.

Today we're going to begin to see the joy and delight of prayer.

It's going to be a wake-up call.

We're going to spend five weeks on prayer.

We're not going to hear everything about prayer tonight.

This is just the start.

But I hope it's going to be like placing those 3D glasses over our eyes

so that we can see the joy of talking to our Heavenly Father.

And so today as we seek to desire prayer,

we're going to want to go from a dry to a nourishing relationship with God.

We're going to hope to go from duty to delight in prayer.

And I'm going to hope for us that we pray instead of wanting to get things from God

so that we actually get God Himself.

And so let me pray as we look at God's Word.

Heavenly Father, we want to know You better

and we want to be in relationship with You.

We want to be in a close relationship with You, Lord.

Father, in particular today we ask that You would give us a desire to pray.

Not just to read Your Word, but to talk to You.

Amen.

We're going to start in that passage that Nick read for us

as we seek to go from a dry relationship to a nourishing relationship.

So please have your Bibles open at Ephesians 1.

From verse 15.

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus

and your love for all God's people,

I have not stopped giving thanks for You,

remembering You in my prayers.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the glorious Father,

may give You the spirit of wisdom and revelation

so that You may know Him better.

I pray that the eyes of Your heart may be enlightened

in order that You may know the hope to which He has called you,

the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people.

This is Paul's prayer for the people of Ephesus.

And what stands out is what he keeps asking God for.

Verse 17.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the glorious Father,

may give You the spirit of wisdom and revelation

so that You may know Him better.

He keeps asking God that they would know God better.

It is the heart of this prayer.

He's not asking that they would have new spiritual blessings,

that they would have a better condition in life,

that they would avoid suffering.

Although in this church, like many of the early churches,

it would have been great for them to avoid suffering,

but he is praying that they would know God better.

This is a really important thing to be praying.

In the midst of whatever is going on for the Ephesians,

whatever is going on for us,

to pray that we would know God better,

to know the God that has blessed us very richly.

You only have to glance over the first 14 verses of Ephesians

to see how God has blessed them.

He's a God who has blessed them with every spiritual blessing.

He's chosen and adopted them.

They're redeemed through His blood.

They're forgiven.

They're marked with the Holy Spirit.

And so this is who the God that they worship is,

that we worship.

We see Him through His actions.

He is a generous and loving God,

and Paul prays that they would know Him better.

And Paul uses an expression.

He prays that they would have the eyes of their hearts enlightened.

Now, our hearts don't have eyes,

but the eyes is an expression used to describe a doorway.

So we would still use the saying,

the eyes are a doorway to the soul.

But here, the eyes are a doorway to the heart,

which in the biblical sense,

it's the seat of the body, the spirit,

and even the mind.

The mind isn't in the head,

it's in the heart.

It's in here.

We would still use a similar expression.

What is the way to a man's heart?

It is through his stomach.

That's right.

And I can't wait for food next week.

But the heart here is the affections.

It's the desires.

And so knowing God better

is not just about knowing things about God.

It is about the whole being,

the whole physical life,

the emotions and the inner life.

Paul is praying that the way to their entire life,

to their heart,

might be opened to know this God better.

And so when we come to God in prayer,

it is so important that we know

the God that we're talking to.

That's why we said the creed before.

We're not just talking about some kind of vague God.

No, we have a description of who our God is.

And so the better we know him,

the better our prayer will be,

the better our relationship with God will be.

We can know things about God.

We can know things about him.

But when we know who his character is,

when it has gotten into our heart,

it can turn a dry and formal relationship

into one that nourishes the soul.

Now, I've used that word nourish a couple of times now.

There are just some relationships that we have,

some friendships that just,

they're just really nourishing.

Maybe you know people that, you know,

drain you and make you feel exhausted.

But there are just some people,

some friendships that we have

that just leave you feeling vibrant and excited

and just pumped up.

Do you have those kinds of friends?

Yes?

Some of you are nodding.

That's good.

One of those people to me is my good wife, Alyssa.

But as parents of a busy family,

it's not always nourishing.

Often it's task-focused.

Deal with this child, feed them, clean that.

We talk about money.

We talk about calendars.

I don't get excited about calendars.

It's not always nourishing.

But date day, date lunches,

that's usually a Monday lunch for us,

my day off.

I could take Alyssa out,

maybe eat some dumplings anywhere in Chatswood.

It doesn't bother me.

And I could sit and stare into Alyssa's eyes.

And we don't even need to talk.

And it is just nourishing for the soul.

But we don't need to talk

because of our long, shared history.

We can just spend time,

and I can spend time with Alyssa

because of our history together.

And it's nourishing.

But imagine if I did that on the first date.

I don't know if you've dated a person

for the first time recently.

Imagine on the first date,

they're just sitting there,

staring at you.

I don't think you'd get to a second date,

do you?

Thanks, Nick.

Obviously, it's not what Sam did.

I'm glad for you.

Knowing God, like Paul prayed,

for this church is so important.

Dwelling on what he has done,

on how he has blessed us,

on who our God is,

it nourishes the soul.

It takes us from talking to God,

like a servant to a master,

to a child talking to a God,

who is a father.

This is one of the real distinctives

about Christianity.

We don't have a master-servant relationship,

but it's a child to a father.

And yet, so often,

prayer can feel like we're trying

to twist God's arm into giving us things.

You know, getting the parking spot,

getting the job,

getting the grades at school,

getting mum and dad off your back,

whatever it is.

And God is a generous father,

and he loves to give us things.

But if we only pray to God

to get things,

it's like that 2D movie picture.

We can miss out on the 3D picture.

That prayer is not just about

getting things from God.

It's about getting more of God.

Romans 8, verse 15.

Romans 8:15

The Spirit you receive

does not make you slaves,

so that you live in fear again.

Rather, the Spirit you received

brought about your adoption to sonship.

And by Him we cry,

Abba, Father.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit

that we are God's children.

Now, if we are children,

then we are heirs,

heirs of God,

and co-heirs with Christ.

Paul, again here in Romans,

he's encouraging people,

they're not slaves,

but they're made children

adopted into this family

who can cry out,

Father.

But to be able to cry out,

Father,

means that we have to be

sitting under His roof.

Imagine the picture of,

from many movies,

of an unruly teenager

adopted into a new family.

For that family to work,

He's going to have to

sit under that roof

and under that authority.

And so for us,

as children before our Father,

we need to submit to Him.

To draw near to God

is to acknowledge that

God is God with a big capital G,

and that we are the child.

And so it looks like

not rebelling against

our Heavenly Father,

but choosing obedience,

choosing to follow,

to come before God

in a posture of trust,

like the chick

under the chicken's wing,

the hen's wing.

Because God is the one

who is in control

of all situations.

And it's that posture

we come to Him

when we pray.

And so when we know

who God is,

and dwell on that,

it leads to trusting in God.

And when we trust in Him,

we can draw close,

submitting to Him,

and it leads to intimacy.

And to be God's child,

like Romans 8 says,

means that we are His heirs,

and the heir has an inheritance

from the Father.

So we don't just come to God

to get things from God.

We come to God in prayer

because we trust Him to be God.

And that way we get more

of God Himself

by submitting and drawing near.

We pray to get God.

We pray to be close to Him,

to be intimate,

and in relationship with Him.

And God loves to give us

the things that we need.

As I've gotten older,

the more my preference

for birthday presents

and Christmas presents

has changed.

They used to be about

getting the things I want,

but the best presents,

it turns out,

aren't things,

although things are good,

it's the people giving them.

It's the reason my kids' craft

is so special and meaningful.

And, you know,

if you're a leader of my kids,

thank you for doing craft

with them this morning.

If you go into my,

into the church office

and go to my desk,

you will see my kids' art

all around my desk.

Not because it's particularly good,

but because my children

are special

and because they're important to me.

When we just expect God

to be a prayer-answering piñata,

when we use prayer as a stick

to get things from Him,

we miss out on an intimate relationship

with a Father who loves us.

Prayer isn't just about

getting things from God,

it is about drawing near to Him

in submission to His will,

knowing that He is in control.

Maybe you're thinking at this point,

okay, okay,

you've convinced me, sure,

I need to pray more,

that sounds good,

drawing near to God through prayer,

but I just don't want to.

Prayer is hard

when it's not intimate,

when it's not nourishing.

It can just feel like a duty

that we just have to do.

Maybe even today,

at the prayers

that have been said up the front,

you've just said amen at the end.

Maybe we just go through the motions

at church,

at me,

even at home.

How can prayer go from duty

to delight?

Jesus has a warning for us

when it comes to prayer

from Matthew 6.

When you pray,

do not be like the hypocrites,

for they love to pray

standing in the synagogues

and on the street corners

to be seen by others.

Truly, I tell you,

they have received their reward in full.

But when you pray,

go into your room,

close the door,

and pray to your Father

who is unseen.

Then your Father,

who sees what He's done in secret,

will reward you.

And when you pray,

do not keep on babbling

like pagans,

for they think

they will be heard

because of their many words.

Do not be like them

if your Father knows

what you need

before you ask Him.

The hypocrites,

most likely the Pharisees,

they saw it

as something they had to do

to pray to God.

And so they would do it

so that they could get a reward.

They would do it out in public.

And people would see them

and go,

oh, these are Pharisees.

They're praying for us.

Aren't they so pious and wonderful?

And they would get their reward.

They weren't praying

out of relationship.

They were praying out of duty.

The pagans,

well,

they prayed for long periods of time

to try to get their God to hear them.

Maybe God will hear me

if I pray for long periods of time.

But that's not an intimate relationship.

Jesus says something radically different.

Go and pray in secret.

Don't babble.

Your Father sees you.

He hears you.

He knows what you're going to pray for.

And so Jesus shows

that the test

of a person's spiritual life

is not what we do in public.

It's not how we go

and how we look on a Sunday,

whether we can say amen

or whether we sing in church,

but it is about

whether we are praying in private.

It's in those hidden moments

that will show

whether we have a

nourishing,

intimate relationship

with God

or not.

You might be feeling guilty

right now.

That's not my intention.

And over the five weeks

of this series,

we hope to grow

in prayer together.

But right now,

I just want to show

that we can delight

in prayer

in all seasons.

In the Old Testament

prophetic book,

Habakkuk,

they were under

a lot of stress.

There was

a lot of

heartache going on.

Let me read from Habakkuk 3.

Though the fig tree

should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail,

and the fields

yield no food,

the flock be cut off

from the fold,

and there be no herd

in the stalls.

That paints a terrible

picture of famine

and starvation.

Yet,

I will rejoice

in the Lord.

I will take joy

in the God

of my salvation.

Because Habakkuk

knows who his God is,

that he is a God

of salvation,

even though

everything around him

looks terrible,

he can still

rejoice

in his God

and delight in him.

And so when we know

every blessing

that we have received,

because God loves us,

we can rejoice.

We can come to God

as his child

because we know

that he has saved us

through his son's death

and resurrection.

It means our prayers

can go from duty

to delight.

We don't have to pray

to twist God's arm.

We don't have to pray

long prayers

just so he'll hear us.

Take something

like the Lord's Prayer

from Matthew 6.

Has anybody ever

prayed this prayer

before the Lord's Prayer?

How many times

do you think

he would have

prayed this prayer?

A lot?

I wonder

how many times

it's been

prayed in the church.

Did anybody

that was here this morning

try and crunch

those numbers

for how many times

we've prayed

the Lord's Prayer

in this church?

Steve's just doing

some quick calculations

in his mind.

I wonder

how many times

has the Lord's Prayer

been prayed here?

How many times

has it just been done

by a rote

by the people

in the church?

When we have

a dry relationship

with God

when we don't

have his blessings

in Christ

in front of our eyes

saying the Lord's Prayer

can just be something

we do from memory

something we just

read off the screen

and it can have

no meaning

no joy

and no delight

in God.

But when you're

holding on to

God's promises

it means this

simple prayer

that Jesus

taught his disciples

to pray

can be a delight.

Knowing how much

God loves us

and his graciousness

to us

even though we sin

makes his forgiveness

so much more delightful.

And so it can take

some simple words

forgive us our sins

have so much more

meaning and significance

when we know

how depraved we are.

Even when I'm well fed

and I'm physically

nourished

I can rejoice

and delight

in the God

who provides

not just my food

but all things for me.

And so I can pray

give us today

our daily bread

and these words

can have so much

more meaning

and delight.

Again

I'm talking a lot

about my wife tonight

that's okay.

In my relationship

with Alyssa

I can walk out the door

and just say

I love you

goodbye

and it can just be

something I say.

I've said that

a thousand times before

and it can just be

something I say.

I can even say it

in the midst of conflict

you know

if we

if we went to bed

fighting

you know

just say those words.

I can say it

half-heartedly

but I can also say

those three little words

with all of the weight

of our nearly 12 years

of marriage

behind them.

Our prayer

can be something

we just do

out of duty

or it can be

a delight

to rejoice

with a God

who delights in us

that despite our sin

despite our depravity

he has showed us

grace and love.

I wonder

how differently

we would be

as a church

if we prayed

like this.

If we were people

who delighted

to pray

not just to get

things from God

but because we've

already got him

because we've got

every blessing

and we are his children

and we want to

draw near to him.

What would we be like

as a church

if we had that third D

the devotion

to prayer?

Would we delight

in the people

that God places

around us

because of us

delighting in God?

Would we extend

the hand of friendship

to others

because we have

an intimate friendship

with God?

Would we just

pray prayers

appreciating the things

around us

and not always

thinking about

how much better

life could be?

Would we pray prayers

appreciating who God

is

instead of to

get things from God?

You may not feel

particularly equipped

for prayer

at this point

but my desire

is that we would

just want

to talk to God.

And so

I've just recently

started reading

through the Psalms

and I've been

summarizing them

and praying them

every night.

I think I've done

five days in a row

and they have been

wonderful.

I'm not sure

if you've ever

tried to read

the Bible at night.

I've always failed

at reading the Bible

at night.

I don't know why.

I get into bed

and I fall asleep.

I go to bed

regardless of the time

and I go,

great!

Time to read the Psalms

and pray.

It has been wonderful.

And so I'm going

to be doing something

for the next four weeks,

the next four Wednesdays.

I'm going to be down

at a cafe

that looks like this.

It's called Pichon.

Does anybody know

where Pichon is?

Yes?

Where is it?

Near the station.

Just down that way,

near the train station,

next to Woolworths.

You've got the train station,

you go up the escalator,

you turn left,

you kind of go around

a little bit

and it's right there.

I don't know

if it's the best coffee.

It's got a good cafe,

a good coffee machine,

a Lamazocca,

so it's good.

But I like it

because there's space inside.

And so I'm going

to be there

every Wednesday

for the next four weeks

from 7am

till 8am.

I'm going to probably

go to the gym after that,

you can join me

for that too.

Please come and pray with me.

If you don't feel

particularly equipped

to pray,

come and let's figure

it out together.

I'm going to be

reading my Bible,

praying every Wednesday

for the next four weeks

at this cafe.

If you don't have

anything to do

because uni hasn't started,

you can get up early

and come and pray

and then go home

and go back to sleep.

That's okay.

And so what we're

going to do now

is Sarah is going

to click through

the Lord's Prayer

slowly for us.

And what I want

to do as a church

is just to spend

some time

praying through

the Lord's Prayer

individually.

And so as these

different slides come up,

instead of just

praying it,

spend a moment

delighting in the truth

that this has for us.

We'll spend

a couple of minutes

doing this

and then I'm going

to pray through

the Lord's Prayer

for us together.

So please take

a couple of moments

to pray

and I'll pray

for us in a couple of minutes.

to pray

in calcs.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Lord, help us to not miss out on the privilege of being able to come to the foot of your throne and to talk to you.

Help us to delight in you, Lord.

Hallowed be your name.

Father, we ask that we would praise and glorify you.

That we would treasure Jesus above all other things in our lives.

And that all the glory would go to you, Lord.

Your kingdom come.

Heavenly Father, we ask that we would see your kingdom come into our lives.

That we personally would seek to see the gospel expressed in our lives so that people around us would see it.

So that it would spread forth from this church into Chatswood and all across Sydney.

So that your kingdom would spread here and across the world, Lord.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Heavenly Father, we ask that you would help us to come before you in submission.

That we would choose to do your will so that we could draw close to you, Lord.

Father, we thank you that we call you Father.

Help us to come before you and not to flee and run away.

Give us today our daily bread.

God, I thank you again so much for how you have richly provided for us.

Physically, spiritually, emotionally, through our Lord Jesus.

Father, but it is easy to take the things we have for granted.

To take the food for granted that we have.

And to take our financial wealth for granted.

Father, again I ask that we would not treasure anything above Jesus.

But help us to come before you daily in dependence upon you, Lord.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lord, that you would forgive even people like us.

Just speaks to your graciousness to us, Lord.

Father, help us to be like you.

To forgive others, Lord.

And we ask that we would not be led into temptation.

Deliver us from evil, Lord.

Deliver us from the world and from the devil.

Help us not make you sad or grieved by the things we do.

But we ask that you would help us to bring honor and glory to you.

Lord, the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours.

Now and forever.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.