Prevailing Prayer

And before he knew it, this guy was pinned to the ground.

The bear had its paw on his chest and its other paw up ready to strike him.

And in that moment, this atheist just screamed out,

Oh, God, help me!

And then the bear was momentarily startled,

and the atheist sort of realized the inconsistency of calling out to God for help

after living a life that acknowledging God doesn't exist

and then calling him, he needs help.

And then so he throws out an ultimatum instead to God and says,

Well, in fact, I don't believe you exist, buddy.

In fact, I don't care if you do.

But if you do, then prove yourself that you're good and that you're powerful,

as people say you are, and make this bear a Christian.

He figured that that's a pretty smart move.

He can then, the bear won't kill him because the bear has to, you know,

turn the other cheek and look and not kill him.

And he'd be able to go on living on like he always has for the rest of his life,

not acknowledging God.

So he figured that was a bit of a stroke of brilliance there in just that moment.

And to his great surprise, in that very moment,

the bear pulled back and knelt down beside him,

took his paw off his chest and put his paws together

and bowed his head and started to pray.

And he prayed, Dear Father, for what I'm about to receive,

may the Lord make me truly thankful.

I don't think it's a true story.

I'm pretty convinced prayers don't pray,

but it's pretty much universal that people on our planet pray.

It doesn't matter who the person is.

You see them on the television.

I've even seen declared atheists in a moment of tragedy get on the TV

being interviewed about something, about some tragedy that's happened,

and they've said our thoughts and our prayers are with the family.

I mean, you hear that again, you hear it again and again and again.

Even devout atheists have said our thoughts and our prayers.

I'm not sure exactly what they mean by prayers at that point,

but that is the thing, is that prayer is virtually universal activity.

But what we mean by it, what the atheist means by it on that moment of the TV,

is very different than what I would mean by it.

Individual to individual, what we actually mean by prayer is very different.

And what is significant is that the difference between our prayers

is the difference between what we think about the being to whom we're praying to is,

what sort of being that is, what sort of God they are,

what we think about that God, and also what our relationship with that God

or that supreme being is.

You see, when the Buddhist spins his prayer wheel,

or when the Hindu sits in mystic silence,

or when the Muslim gets his prayer mat and faces Mecca five times a day and prays,

they are all reflecting in their own different ways

the character of the God or the gods to whom they're praying to,

and also the relationship and how they think the relationship works with that God.

So our prayer is shaped and defined by the being to whom we pray,

and that's no different for the Christian.

There are many Bible passages that shape the Christian prayer life.

For instance, Jeremiah 32, 17,

That verse shapes the way you pray.

It's talking about God being the creator of all things,

and nothing is too hard for Him.

That's a shaping prayer.

That's a verse that shapes our prayer, view of God.

Or our relationship with God.

For instance, the stunning picture of the Christian life

that's laid out before us in Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

where it says,

We once were slaves to sin and death and fear.

We were hostile to God, unable to please Him at all.

We are now free sons of the Father,

co-heirs of His kingdom in Christ.

Through being united with Jesus,

who died to free us,

we now have this new life in which God Himself dwells with us,

in us, by His Spirit.

It's because of the saving work of Jesus

that we are raised up from our low position,

which is the position of being cut off from access to God,

and have been granted free access

to the almighty, true, living God,

creator and sustainer of all that is.

And so what that means for the Christian

is that prayer is not an appendix.

It's not an addition to the Christian life.

It's the heart of who we are as His children

and how we relate to Him and His Father.

In fact, I would go one step further.

I didn't say this this morning,

but I think you can think about it today.

I would suggest that prayer is one of the barometers,

if not the key barometer,

to indicate what your spiritual state is.

Prayer is the outworking of your relationship with God

in the same way that if I've got no communication

with my wife, Natalie,

that would be an indication of the state of our relationship.

Don't care whatever,

don't care how much money I spend on holidays

or whether I buy a clothes or anything like that.

It's how do I communicate with her

as a fair indication of what my relationship status is with her

in the same way it is with God.

And what we see as a Christian

is that prayer is a privilege.

To be able to go to the creator and sustainer of the universe

and to call Him Father.

And yet with all the privileges that prayer affords us,

I think the hard truth is that many of us

don't pray very much.

We pray at meals, possibly.

We whisper prayers before tough meetings.

We say something brief as we crawl into bed.

And I suspect that very few set aside times to pray alone

and even fewer think that it's worthy to meet with others to pray.

I would suggest that our lack of prayerlessness

is one of the reasons,

one of the chief reasons why our faith is weak,

our hope is feeble,

and our passion for Christ is small.

And so what I want to do today

is I want to turn our attention to Jesus

to be enthused by prayer from Him.

We see Jesus at the beginning of Luke 11.

He is praying.

And there are at least four things

that Jesus teaches us here

about prayer in these verses.

And I want these things to shape the way we're thinking

as we begin a new ministry year here at St. Paul's,

that for these things to shape our prayer life at St. Paul's.

So firstly, Jesus teaches us

to make our praying God-centered.

You see, when the disciples come to Jesus

to ask Jesus to teach them how to pray,

as they do in verse 1 of chapter 11,

He says in verse 2,

Now the Lord's Prayer is a prayer

for us to model our prayer on

rather than a prayer

that we are to pray with repetition.

I think it's somewhat ironic

that Jesus, in the same context

of giving us the Lord's Prayer,

He says don't keep babbling on as the pagans do.

That's what He does in Matthew.

And yet ever since He's given us the Lord's Prayer,

we've babbled it on consistently ever since then.

It's not a prayer

that we're meant to pray with repetition.

It's meant to be a model for prayer.

That's what the disciples are asking of Jesus here.

And of particular note is that Jesus says,

our first desire, our first request

should be that God's name be hallowed or glorified,

that His kingdom be advanced and come.

And that's what I mean by God-centered prayer.

The glory of God's name,

the advancement of God's kingdom

are the primary concerns of prayer.

And if that's foreign to you,

if you never plead for the name of God

to be holy in the way that you live,

for Him to be seen as holy in the way that you live,

or the kingdom of God to come in such a way

that you want to totally surrender to Him,

then don't be content.

Let me say, as you look forward into this year,

do not be content to stay stuck at that level of praying.

Make the glory of God the center of your prayers.

That's why we exist as a church.

We exist to know Jesus, treasure Jesus,

represent Jesus for God's glory

and the joy of all people.

So pray again and again

in as many different words as you can possibly think of

and phrases you can come up with.

Father, let your name be seen as holy in my life.

Your will be done.

Your kingdom come.

Your rule be established over my life.

In all things, that's what you're praying.

So secondly, Jesus teaches us to pray with a sense of security

in the Father's love.

Jesus doesn't want us to feel precarious or insecure in our prayers.

And He shows this mainly by teaching us to call God Father

when we pray to Him.

The prayer in verse 2 begins simply,

Father.

And then in verses 11 to 13,

He unpacks for us some of the security

which is implied by the word Father.

This is a great promise to encourage us in our praying.

It says,

Which of you fathers,

if your son asks for a fish,

will give him a snake instead?

Or if he asks for an egg,

will give him a scorpion?

If you then, though you are evil,

there's Jesus' assessment of me as a father,

if you then, though you are evil,

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father in heaven

give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

The words,

how much more there,

mean something utterly, utterly important for us.

They mean that God is much more inclined

to hear me

and help me

when I pray that I am willing to hear

and help my girls

when they ask for my help.

I find that

so, so astonishing.

So, so astonishing.

You know,

if my girls are asking for help,

they're in need,

I will do whatever I can

to assist them at that point.

You know,

one of them got dumped in the beach,

you know,

we're on holidays,

came up,

as you do,

and I,

I didn't sit there going,

yeah,

they'll be right.

They'll work it out.

I've got other things to do.

And,

and,

and,

and what it's saying here is that

the God is much more inclined

to hear and help me

than I am to take those extra steps

to help my daughter

who's gasping for breath.

Why does Jesus mention this?

I think He wants us to feel

secure in the Father's love

when we come to Him in prayer.

He doesn't want us to feel precarious.

He doesn't want us to feel unsure

of our acceptance.

He doesn't want us to feel fearful

that we will find Him

out of sorts with us

or that He will find us,

that we'll find Him

unconcerned about us.

This sense of security

is utterly crucial

in the life of prayer.

You,

I don't think you can sustain

a life of prayer

if you believe God

is stonewalling you

or that He's angry with you

or even neutral to you.

And that is why

a life of perseverance in prayer

has its absolute

foundation,

security and assurance

in the gospel.

They're not disconnected.

Prayer is sustained

by the confidence

that God is our Father,

that He is concerned

and that His disposition

towards us

is as Jesus says it is,

He is more inclined

to give you what you need

than the best human father

is inclined to give their children

what they need.

Thirdly,

Jesus teaches us

to prevail in prayer.

without doubting

the Father's love

and I mean

hanging in there,

I mean persevering,

persisting,

not giving up

in a life of prayer,

keep on asking

and seeking

and knocking

until the answer comes

or until God says,

frankly,

stop praying about that issue.

To me,

this instruction

from Jesus though

to prevail in prayer,

it feels

a little inconsistent

with His teaching

to feel secure

in the Father's love.

I mean,

if God is more caring

than the best earthly father,

then why would He

sometimes be so slow

to respond to our prayers?

There seems to be

a little bit of inconsistency

there for me.

It seems strange

that Jesus would put

both of these things

together,

side by side.

In verses 5 to 8,

Jesus tells the story

of a man who goes

to his mate's house

in the middle of the night

because a mate of his

has turned up

to his place

and he hasn't had enough food

and he needs to feed him

in the middle of the night

and he's obviously diabetic,

his sugars are running low

or something like that,

he needs to eat now

and he can't wait for breakfast.

And so he goes

to his mate's place

and he says,

give me three loaves of bread.

He's obviously pretty hungry.

Give me three loaves of bread.

But his friend,

you know,

from upstairs goes,

oh my goodness,

you know,

leans out the window.

The door's locked,

the cats are out,

I put my teeth out,

you know,

and the children are asleep,

you know,

go down to 7-Eleven

and grab some loaves

of bread from down there.

But his mate

just keeps knocking

and asking

until his friend

finally,

you know,

jams on his boxer shorts

and wanders downstairs.

But he doesn't get up

because he wants to.

It's not because

he wants to help his friend,

it's because his friend

has been prevailing,

persisting,

persevering

in knocking

and knocking

and knocking.

It's like a car alarm

that's gone off

in the car park

and won't shut up.

It feels like

an unattractive image

of prayer,

doesn't it?

God only answers

because we annoy him

enough for him to answer.

You see,

when my kids

badger me

for an answer

to a request of theirs,

it's never attractive.

Neither is my response either,

but it's never attractive.

More often than not,

it's because frankly,

I don't want to go out

of my way

to fulfill the request.

It's going to cost me something,

either dollars

or energy or...

Just like this man

in this house,

go away,

it's the middle of the night.

It's not an attractive

image of prayer

and frankly,

it's not really

an attractive image

of God,

is it?

But immediately,

Jesus says,

there's a lesson

to learn here.

He says,

See,

three times,

there are three things here,

sorry,

that stress

the importance

of not giving up

in prayer.

Firstly,

it's the present tense

of the verbs

that signifies

a continuous action.

Keep asking,

keep seeking,

keep knocking.

The second is that

Jesus actually commands

this continuous action

three times.

And then he repeats

the three words,

again in verse 10.

And the third thing

that stress is prevailing

is the three words

used here

get increasingly

close to the answer

and if you like,

show a pressing in on God.

You know,

asking,

it's the simplest thing,

it's basically

where we mostly give up.

Asking,

it requires no movement at all,

just ask God

and see what happens.

Seeking

turns the asking

into

an activity

of pursuit

and then the knocking

on again

and again

and again

signifies

an utter earnestness,

perhaps even

a desperation

that this prayer

must be answered.

Jesus clearly

wants us

to be like

the friend

who just

was out there

and just kept knocking,

just kept knocking.

He wants us

to prevail

in prayer,

to prevail

in God-centered

prayer.

Not prayers

for your Ferrari

and stuff like that,

in God-centered

prayer.

The point of these verses

is to show us

that prevailing prayer,

persisting,

persevering in prayer

is utterly important

for us.

You see,

and what Jesus does

is he stamps

this truth

into our memories

with this terrible image

of this

mate

gone to bed

who just cannot be bothered

to get up and help

without being bothered

enough to help.

But then notice

what Jesus does,

is he makes this sudden turn

in verse 11.

And he shifts

from the grumpy mate

to the image

of the caring father

again.

Jesus qualifies

his point

in verses 11

to 13

by saying

that God

is not

like your friend

in the house.

God is the caring,

loving,

approachable father.

So yes,

sometimes

God gives us

what we need

only after a long,

long season

of prevailing

and persisting

in prayer.

But no,

it's not because

he's uncaring,

it's not because

he's insensitive,

it's not because

he's unable.

What makes it

difficult for us

is that Jesus

does not tell us

directly

why the answers

to our prayers

are postponed.

That's what makes

this passage so difficult.

He doesn't give us

an answer why.

But he does

tell us

indirectly.

He says in verse 11

that a good father

will not give

his son

a serpent

if he asks

for a fish.

In other words,

a good father

will only give

his children

what is good

for them.

And that's the

only answer

to the question

in this text.

When the father

in heaven

gives us

a slow response,

when he wills

that we

persevere

for a season

in prayer

without an

apparent answer

whatsoever,

when he wills

that we keep

knocking,

knocking,

knocking,

knocking,

it's because

he's giving us

a fish

and not a snake.

That's the only

answer we get

from the text.

He is giving us

what is good

for us.

There is something

in the persevering,

in the asking,

in the seeking,

in the knocking

that we

need.

You see,

the power of

prayer

never means

that God

stopped being

God

and that we

start being

God.

That is,

we start

telling God

what he

needs to do.

That's not

what power of

prayer is.

We do not

have the

wisdom or the

grace to run

the universe.

God is God.

He will continue

to decide how

to run the

universe the

ultimate,

the best way.

The Christian

lives by faith

in God's

goodness and

his sovereignty.

And the

promise that

will encourage

us in

prevailing

prayer is

simply verse

10,

everyone who

asks receives,

he who

seeks finds,

and to him

who knocks,

the door will

be opened.

He's not

unresponsive to

our prayer.

We do not

pray in vain.

He is our

father.

When he hears

his children,

he responds.

He's not deaf,

he's not indifferent,

he's not powerless,

he acts and he

hears.

The final

direction that

Jesus gives us

here in prayer,

and it's really

important for us

to understand about

this concept of

prevailing prayer,

just keep knocking

and knocking and

knocking and

knocking until we

get the answer.

Because the final

direction, if you

like, is a

circling back to

the first point

of God-centered

prayer.

And if I

understand Jesus

here, he means

for this to be

the prevailing

heartbeat of our

prayer life here

at St. Paul's,

and the heartbeat

for your prayer

life for 2017,

Jesus teaches

in verse 13

that our

prevailing for

prayer, our

prevailing prayer,

our consistent

persistence, our

knocking and

knocking and

knocking and

seeking and

seeking and

seeking, should

be a prayer for

the seeking of

the Holy Spirit.

If you then,

verse 13,

if you then,

though you are

evil, there it

is again, know

how to give good

gifts to your

children.

How much more

will your Father

in heaven give

the Holy Spirit

to those who

ask him?

You see, that's

the fish that he

delights to give

us.

That's the fish

right there.

Luke tells us

in chapter 3 that

Jesus, that while

Jesus was praying,

the Holy Spirit

descended on him

like a dove.

The outpouring of

the Spirit of

Pentecost in Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 came at

the climax of a

10-day prayer vigil

and in Acts

4.31 where the

church had prayed,

the place where

they gathered was

shaken and they

were all filled

with the Holy

Spirit.

I would suggest

that prevailing

prayer is the

pathway to the

outpouring of the

Holy Spirit and

this is a constant

need for the

church.

It's a constant

need for us here

at St. Paul's

for ongoing

and continual

renewal.

Even under the

leadership of the

apostles in the

New Testament,

it is evident that

there is still

and there was

still a need

for continual

renewal in the

early church.

Just as Israel's

election as God's

people was

demonstrated at

Mount Sinai,

so the church is

constituted by the

descending and

filling of the

Holy Spirit in

Acts 2,

but just as Israel

was continually

called right

throughout the

Old Testament to

Sinai-like

covenant renewals

with God,

likewise the

church,

even when it

doesn't seem to

be in any form

of major decline,

receives fresh

feelings of the

Holy Spirit.

If you look at

the book of Acts,

there are many

pentecosts in

Acts 4,

31,

755,

817,

1044,

and 139.

That is,

there's a

continual need to

renew,

continual need for

fullness of the

Holy Spirit for the

church.

I had a conference

church,

a few years ago,

I heard American

Pastor Tim Keller

conduct a seminar

on the history of

revival,

which is basically

what I mean and

what he means when

we're talking about

spiritual renewal.

And he gave you a

glimpse of what the

outpouring of God's

spirit looks like in

the local church.

And let me tell you,

it was compelling for

someone like me,

it just set my heart on

fire when I listened to

him say this.

He said,

spiritual renewal,

he's also written

about it,

which is what I'm

quoting here.

He said,

spiritual renewal is a

work of God in which

the church is beautified

and empowered because

the normal operations of

the Holy Spirit are

intensified.

When there is an

outpouring of the

Spirit on and within

the congregation,

the presence of God

among his people

becomes evident and

palpable.

When spiritual renewal

happens, sleepy or

stagnant Christians

wake up.

There is a new and a

deeper conviction of

sin and repentance

not just for the

major behavioural

sins but for

attitudes, deep

attitudes in the

heart.

But with that,

they experience,

the same people

experience the far

more powerful

assurance of the

nearness of God

and his love for

them.

And with the end

result, the

Christians become

both humble and

bold at exactly the

same time.

The more deeply one

feels his or her

debt of sin, the

more intensely he or

she feels the

wonder of the

payment on their

behalf.

He goes on and

says,

nominal Christians

or Christians by

name only begin to

realise they don't

actually have a living

relationship with

Jesus, with Christ by

grace and they get

converted.

And he said it

electrifies people.

Long-term members are

getting up and talking

about being converted

or speaking of Christ

in radiant terms and

expressing repentance

in brand new ways.

The early stage of

renewal shake up other

nominals and sleepers

into renewal.

And corporately,

there's a sense of

more passion and

more freedom and the

presence of God in

corporate worship is

just palpable.

As a result of this

outpouring of the

Spirit, new people are

brought into the church

and the church begins

to grow.

On the one hand, the

renewed believers create

a far more attractive

community of sharing and

caring and often great

worship.

This is the beautified

community of the King.

This can attract people

from the outside.

On the other hand,

Christians who begin to

experience God's beauty

and His power and love

put their relationship

with Christ and His

church as first in

their lives.

They become radiant and

attractive witnesses,

more willing and

confident to talk to

others about their

faith, more winsome and

less judgmental when they

do so, and more confident

in their own church and

thus more willing to

invite people to visit

their own church.

And as a result, there

are numerous conversions,

significant, even at

times astounding, church

growth occurs.

And so there is an

impact on the community

surrounding the church

and even the broader

culture.

Spiritual renewal

produces people who

become involved in

works of social concern

and social justice.

The reason for this is

that real holiness

changes the private and

the public lives of

Christians.

True religion is not

merely a matter, a

private matter, providing

internal peace and

fulfillment.

Rather, it transforms

our behavior and our

relationships.

man, that just,

bring it on.

You know, that's what

spiritual renewal,

pray for that for

St. Paul's.

Pray for that across

the church.

That just sets my

heart on fire.

You see, when

Callie is talking about

spiritual renewal, as

I believe the Bible

does, he means a deep

renewal of the gospel

in our hearts, which is

the work of the Holy

Spirit through the word

of God.

It's not some random

thing that happens

without the word of

God.

It is something where

the Spirit of God does

a deep work in our

hearts through his word

and brings us alive.

Let me just stand over

here just for a moment

and put my community

group hat on and say,

get in a community

group in 2007-8.

This sort of stuff

happens in community.

Get into a community

group for your joy, for

your maturity, for

your growth, and for

your transformation as

a Christian.

And if your community

group is not praying for

this kind of renewal,

then work for this kind

of renewal in your

community group.

Okay, that's my plug.

This is the sort of

stuff I want to see

happen here at St.

Paul's this year.

Will you pray for it?

Pray for this kind of

renewal in your heart

for you and for us

corporately in this

coming week.

This is prayer week.

Make it a focus this

coming week.

There is so much to

say about spiritual

renewal of a church,

but we will, let me

just focus on what is

biblically and

historically the one

non-negotiable

universal ingredient in

times of spiritual

renewal.

Corporate, prevailing,

intensive, kingdom-centered

prayer.

A pleading for God, for

the fullness of the

Spirit.

Kingdom-centered prayer

is focused on God's

presence and His

kingdom.

It's the sort of

prayer that is

modeled for us in the

Lord's prayer.

It is a prayer for

grace to confess our

sins, to humble

ourselves, prayer for

compassion and zeal for

the flourishing of the

church and for a

yearning to know God,

to see His face, to see

His glory.

Such prayer need not,

in fact, I would say,

usually does not begin as

an organized church

program.

All right, first way to

begin is let's organize a

church prayer program.

Let's have some prayer

meetings.

That's not normally how

it starts.

It often begins with

people like you, people

like me, who spend time in

prayerful self-examination.

That's where it begins.

So this is prayer week, and

if you do nothing else

this week, spend this

prayer this week in

prayerful self-examination

with confidence.

And on one hand, total

confidence in the gospel

and what you have in

Jesus.

Be hard on yourself at the

same time and search out,

examine your heart for

idols that that displace

Jesus as the supreme

treasure and Lord of your

life.

kingdom-centered prayer is

prevailing.

By this, I simply mean that

prayer should be constant,

not sporadic.

It shouldn't be brief.

Not because, as we've already

seen, that God wants us to

grovel or that he doesn't

care, but sporadic, brief

prayer shows a lack of

dependence on God.

It's a healthy self-sufficiency,

an unhealthy self-sufficiency.

We must pray without ceasing,

we must pray long, we must

pray hard for spiritual

renewal.

And when we do, we will find

that the very process itself

is bringing about the very

thing that we're asking for,

to have our hard hearts

melted, to tear down barriers,

barriers, and to have the

glory of God break through

that we might see his face.

So as we kick off a new year

of ministry, we are doing

what we have done for a

number of years, beginning

the ministry year in a week

of prayer.

And we do this, I think,

for a number of reasons.

One is we make a statement

as a church.

It's a statement to God,

it's a statement to the world,

it's a statement to our own

consciences, that we exist

as a church to do things

that we cannot do without

the supernatural grace of God.

I believe that God has given

us a vision for the future

for us as a church.

We launched it back in

November last year.

But he's given us a vision

which is just so hard

and so difficult

that we ought to consistently

be going back to him to ask

him for the ability to

fulfill the vision he's given

us because we cannot do it

ourselves.

Everything good,

everything worthwhile,

everything eternal,

and God glorifying that we

want to do as a church,

we cannot do without the

supernatural grace of God.

And so as we begin this year

together, I would urge you to

take time to pray for

yourselves, that you would

enter into a brand new season

of self-examination.

If you're not used to praying,

maybe the first prayer is,

Lord, help me to pray.

Teach me to pray.

Ask that you may be with full

assurance in Christ,

nonetheless hard on yourself.

Self-examination.

Lord, expose the idols of my

heart.

Ask that God would show you

ways in which you don't

represent Christ as you should

in your relationships, in your

work life, in your family life,

in your habits, in your

attitudes, in your

relationships here, even with

church.

Take time to pray for

yourself.

That God will make things you

know about the gospel, things

that you've heard over and

over and over again, make

their way to your heart so that

it explodes your affections for

Christ.

Amen.