PRAYER 2015

Last week, Debbie took us in the passage of the Garden of Gethsemane on prayer,

and Jesus was a little cross at his disciples for sleeping while he prayed.

If you're at the working bee yesterday and you happen to sleep while I preach on prayer,

I'm prepared to forgive that.

It was a pretty big day.

Don't forgive me, however, if I happen to sleep while I preach.

I'm feeling pretty smashed today.

It was a huge day.

It was very hot.

A lot was achieved.

And I just want to add my thanks to that of Lindy's for everyone who participated.

It was great.

It was a real encouragement for me to see people from every congregation doing a whole range of things across the church.

And it was wonderful to see all that.

There was people cleaning, which was fantastic to see that happening.

And it's wonderful to be able to go out there this morning and not have a building site as much as what it was.

Painting preparation, as Lindy said.

There was people doing a whole range of things yesterday, and I just appreciate all that.

And Lindy herself, who put in a big day but also provided everyone with a fantastic morning tea.

When I first came to this church, someone said about working bees, they're worth going to for the morning tea itself.

And that hasn't changed.

And so thank you, Lindy, for that and for everyone else who's involved.

Let me pray.

Gracious Father, I pray that you would help us to pray, that you would teach us more about your priorities in prayer.

And I pray, Father, that this year would be a year of prayer for us as a church.

And so, Lord, for that to happen, we need to be humbled.

And so, Father, humble us.

Help us to see our weakness and our dependency upon you.

And we ask it for your glory.

Amen.

It is the will of the Lord Jesus that St. Paul's be a church of prayer.

He wills that you and I be given to daily prevailing prayer for the filling of the Holy Spirit,

for the progress of the gospel, for personal needs, and for the glory of God's name.

A couple of weeks ago, when I preached on the Lord's Prayer,

I reminded us of the incredible privilege of prayer to be able to go to the creator and sustainer of this world,

who's got control of everything in your life and everything in this world,

and to be able to call him Father.

To be able to go to the God of this universe and call him Father.

And yet, with all the privileges that prayer affords us, I think that the hard truth is that for many of us,

we don't pray very much.

You know, we pray at mealtime and we whisper a prayer, you know, before a tough meeting.

We say something brief as we crawl into bed before we close our eyes and sleep.

I suspect that very few of us set aside a time to pray,

and few of us still think it's worth to meet with others to pray.

I would suggest that's one of the reasons why often, not just for us as a church,

but for us in the Western world, our faith is weak, our hope is feeble,

and our passion for Christ is small.

Intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-centered, God-glorifying, joyful prayer

is not just a privilege, but it is in fact the duty of the Christian.

It's a duty in the way that it's the duty of a scuba diver to put his tanks and his mask on

before he goes diving.

It's the duty of a pilot to listen to air traffic control.

Prayer for the Christian is a duty in the same way it's a duty for a soldier in combat

to clean and to make sure that his weapon is loaded.

It's a duty in the way that hungry people need to eat food.

It's a duty in the way that thirsty people need to drink.

It's a duty of, in the same way that I as a diabetic need to inject my insulin.

It's that kind of duty.

It's a necessity duty.

It's a lifeblood duty.

And as we spend the first five weeks of this year on prayer,

my hope is that it will contribute to us seeing that,

not just the privilege of prayer, but the duty of prayer,

and also for our prayer as a church to become more and more effective

as we move into 2015.

And so what I want to do today is I want to turn our attention to Jesus.

We have him praying at the beginning of Luke 11.

So get your Bibles, turn to Luke 11.

It's our text for us this morning.

And there are at least four things that Jesus teaches us here about prayer

and that I want us to turn our attention to.

The first two I'm going to look at very briefly.

The last two I'm going to slow down a bit.

The first two look at briefly because we saw them a couple of weeks ago

when I preached on the Lord's Prayer.

And I want to slow it down a little bit on the last two,

especially because I think these last two things

ought to be the heartbeat of our prayer in 2015.

In fact, not just 2015, but in fact every year.

Firstly, Jesus teaches us to make our praying God center.

That's the first thing.

We saw it a couple of weeks ago.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray in verse 1,

he says to them in verse 2,

when you pray, say,

Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

As I said a couple of weeks ago,

the Lord's Prayer is a prayer that Jesus gave for us as a model of prayer

rather than a prayer that we are to pray with repetition in and of itself

because both the Matthew version and the Luke version

are actually different from one another.

They're not exactly the same.

On a particular note is what Jesus says,

is that our first desire,

our first request in prayer

should be that God's name be hallowed or glorified

and that his kingdom advance and he's come.

That is, the first thing is God.

That is, 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 is foreign to you,

if you never plead for the name of God

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,

don't be content to just be stuck there in prayer.

Make the glory of God the center of your prayers.

Pray again and again

with as many different words as you can think and muster,

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

May your will be done

and in the process of your will be done in my life,

crucify my will and let your kingdom come.

That my life be surrendered,

that this world be surrendered to you.

Secondly, Jesus teaches us to pray

with a sense of security in the Father's love.

You see, 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 two begins simply with Father.

And then in verses 11 to 13,

he unpacks for us some of the security

which is implied in that title, Father.

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

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,

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, the words there,

how much more,

means something utterly crucial for us.

They mean that God is more inclined

to hear me and help me when I pray

than I am willing to hear

or to help my daughters

when they call out for my help.

And that astounds me.

I find that utterly astounding.

Why does Jesus mention this?

I think he wants us to feel

totally, totally secure

in the Father's love

when we come to hear him in prayer.

He doesn't want us to feel insecure.

He doesn't want us to feel precarious

or unsure of our acceptance.

He doesn't want us to feel fearful

that we will find the Father

out of sorts with us

or even that he will be unconcerned for us.

And this sense of security

is utterly crucial

for a life of prayer.

You cannot sustain a life of prayer

if you believe that God is stonewalling you

or that you believe that he's angry with you

or that you believe that he is neutral to you.

Prayer is sustained by the confidence

that God is our Father

and that he is concerned

and that his disposition

towards the disciple of the Lord Jesus

is exactly what he says it is.

He is more inclined to give you

what you need

than the best human fathers.

That's his disposition.

Thirdly, Jesus therefore teaches us

to prevail in prayer

without doubting the Father's love.

I mean here,

hanging in there,

persevering,

persisting,

not giving up in prayer.

Keep on asking and seeking and knocking

until the answer comes

or until God says stop praying.

And to me,

this instruction from Jesus

to prevail in prayer

on the surface

feels inconsistent

with the teaching

to feel secure

in the Father's love.

Feels inconsistent.

I mean,

if God is more caring

than the best earthly father,

then why would he sometimes

be so slow

to respond

to me?

It seems strange

that Jesus put both of these

two things beside each other.

On the surface,

it seems strange.

In verses 5 to 8,

Jesus tells the story

of a man who goes

to his friend's house

in the middle of the night

to say that a guest

has just arrived,

he hasn't got enough food

in his fridge

and he needs some food

to feed him.

And so he asks his friend

for three loaves of bread,

but his friend says,

go away,

the door's locked,

I put the cat out

for the night,

the children are asleep

and frankly,

I can't be bothered

coming downstairs.

Go to the 7-Eleven store

and find something there.

And yet this friend

keeps knocking,

he keeps asking

until his friend

in frustration

gets up.

Notice that he doesn't

get up because he wants

to help his friend,

but because his friend

keeps revailing,

keeps persisting,

keeps knocking

and think,

oh my goodness,

I'm going to have to

open the door

and give him his food

so I can go back

to bed for the night.

It doesn't feel

very attractive.

It's not a very

attractive vision

of prayer

in my mind.

God only answers

because I annoy him

enough to give him

what he wants,

to give us what we want.

I mean,

I'll be frank with you,

when my kids

badger me

for an answer

to a request

of theirs,

it's never attractive.

More often than not,

it's because

the reason why

they badger me

is because

I don't want

to go out of my way

to fulfill the request.

Can we go to the park?

Really?

I mean,

that involves

me packing it,

well,

that involves

not packing everything

in the car.

It means food,

it means water bottles,

it means sunscreen,

it means hat,

it means,

and then when we get there,

it's not like

I'm going to sit back

on the bench

and read the paper

and have a drink.

It means I've got

to do all the pushing,

I've got to,

can we go to the park?

Maybe tomorrow.

See,

it's never attractive

and that's the sort of vision

that we have here

of prayer

or a vision of God,

in fact,

but immediately

Jesus says

that there's a lesson.

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.

Three things here

stress the importance

of not giving up

in prayer.

One is the present tense

of the verbs

that what they say

is continuous action.

Keep asking,

keep seeking,

keep knocking.

The second is

that Jesus commands it.

He commands

the continuous actions

and repeats it again

in verse 10.

And the third thing

that stress is prevailing

is that the three words

used get increasingly

closer to the answer

as we press upon God.

asking

is the simplest

thing

and requires

no movement.

Seeking

turns asking

into an activity

of pursuit.

Knocking on and on

on the door

again and again

signifies

an utter earnestness

and perhaps

even a sense

of desperation

and a sense

of weakness

that I'm totally

dependent

that God,

you need to

answer this.

And so Jesus,

he clearly wants us

to be like this friend

who kept knocking.

He wants us to prevail

in prayer

and prevailing

in God-centered prayer

particularly.

The point of these verses

is to show us

that prevailing prayer

that is persisting

and persevering in prayer

is utterly

crucial

for us.

Jesus stamps

this truth

on our memories

with this

terrible image

of this friend

who won't help

unless he's being

bothered to help.

But notice

he makes this

sudden turn

in verse 11

and he shifts

from the image

of the grumpy friend

to the image

of the caring

father again.

He qualifies

his point

in verses 11

to 13

and saying

that God

is not like

that friend.

He's not like

the owner

of the house

who can't be bothered.

God is

the caring,

loving,

approachable father

and so yes,

sometimes

he gives us

what we need

only after

a long

season

of prevailing

and persisting

in prayer

but no,

it's not

because he's

like the grumpy

friend.

There's another

reason.

What makes

it

difficult

for us

is that

Jesus

doesn't

directly

tell us

the other

reason

but he

does

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.

That is

the only

answer

that Jesus

gives us

as to

why

he wants

us to

prevail

in prayer.

When the

father in

heaven gives

us a slow

answer,

when he

wills that

we persevere

for a

season in

prayer without

an apparent

answer,

it's because

he's giving

us a fish

and not a

snake.

That's the

only reason.

He is

giving us

what is

good for

us.

There is

something in

the persevering,

the asking,

the seeking,

and knocking

that we

need and

that he's

giving to

us.

The prevailing

prayer is

part of his

gift to

us.

It is

good for

us.

The power

of prayer

never means

that God

stops being

God.

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

his way.

The

Christian is

to live

by faith

in his

goodness and

in his

sovereignty and

we'll talk

more about

that next

week.

And the

promise that

will encourage

us in

prevailing in

prayer is

simply verse

10,

everyone who

asks receives,

he who

seeks finds,

and to him

who knocks the

door be

opened.

God is

not

unresponsive to

our prevailing

prayer.

We do

not pray

in vain.

He is

our father

and when

he hears

his children

he responds.

He is

not deaf

or indifferent

or powerless.

He hears

and he

acts.

And

specifically

what does

he hear

and what

does he

act for?

And so

the final

thing that

Jesus,

final direction

if you like,

that Jesus

gives us

in prayer

is in

a sense

of circling

back to

the very

first point

of God

centredness.

And if I

understand Jesus

here correctly,

he means

for it to

be the

prevailing

heartbeat

of our

prayer life

here at

St. Paul's

this year.

And in fact,

I want to

suggest every

year,

but let's

just focus

on 2015.

The prevailing

heartbeat

of our

prayer life

for 2015.

Jesus

teaches

in verse

13

that our

prevailing

in prayer,

our pleading

and knocking

and seeking

and asking

should be

prevailing

upon God

for the

filling of

the Holy

Spirit.

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 you

a fish?

What's the

fish?

The good

thing that

we need?

The Holy

Spirit to

those who

ask him.

That's the

fish that

he delights

to give

us.

Luke tells

us in

chapter 3

that while

Jesus was

praying,

the Holy

Spirit descended

on him

like a

dove.

The

outspouring

of the

Spirit at

Pentecost

came at

the climax

of a

10-day

prayer vigil.

And in

Acts 4

Acts 4:31

verse 31,

when the

church had

prayed the

place they

were gathered

were shaken

and they

were filled

with the

Holy Spirit,

prevailing

prayer is

the pathway

to the

outpouring

of the

Holy Spirit.

This is a

constant need

for the

church,

ongoing and

continual

spiritual

renewal.

It's

interesting that

as you go

through the

New Testament

that even

under the

leadership of

the apostles,

it is

evident that

there is

still a

need for

continual

renewal in

the church.

Just as

Israel's

election as

God's people

was demonstrated

at Mount

Sinai, so

the church

is constituted

by the

descending and

the filling

of the

Holy Spirit

in Acts

2.

But just

as Israel

is continually

called upon

to Sinai-like

covenant

renewals,

so the

church,

even when

it doesn't

seem to

be in

any form

of major

decline,

receives

fresh and

ongoing

fillings of

the Holy

Spirit

throughout the

New Testament.

Many

Pentecosts

happen right

throughout Acts,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

chapter 7,

chapter 8,

chapter 10,

chapter 13.

There is a

continual need

to renew

the fullness

of the Spirit

amongst the

church.

And we see

in the Old

Testament that

the fullness

of the Spirit

in general

is connected

to the

prevailing

prayers of

the church,

especially

in the face

of challenge.

And I

don't know

about you,

but I can

see a

significant

number of

challenges

before us

as a

church

right now.

Why would

we want to

prevail in

prayer for

the filling

of the

Holy Spirit

in us

as a

church?

I can

think it's

because of

our mission

statement that's

written on our

walls that we

as a church

exist to know

Jesus, treasure

Jesus, and

represent Jesus.

Why do we

want to do

that?

For God's

glory and

the joy of

all people.

St. Paul's

wants to see

God's name

hallowed

amongst us.

God's name

is a

God's name

and

when it is,

we and

all people

connected with

that will

experience

maximum joy.

And so

we ought to

prevail in

prayer for the

Holy Spirit

to come,

that our

mission statement

might be

fulfilled.

As Tim

Keller has

written,

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.

He goes on

to suggest

that historically

there is an

outpouring,

where there is

an outpouring of

the Spirit on

and within the

congregation,

the presence

of God

amongst

people,

amongst God's

people,

becomes evident

and palpable.

He said,

when that

happens,

when spiritual

renewal happens,

sleepy or

stagnant Christians

wake up.

He said,

there is a

new and

deeper conviction

of sin and

repentance,

not for major

behavioural sins

but for

attitudes of

the heart.

But with

that they

experience at

the same time

a far more

powerful assurance

and the

nearness of

the love of

God with

the end result

is that Christians

become both

humbler and

bolder at the

same time.

The more

deeply one

feels our

sin,

our debt,

the more

intensely we

will feel the

wonder of the

payment of that

debt for us

by the Lord

Jesus.

Nominal

Christians or

Christians by

name only

begin to

realise that

they don't

actually have a

living relationship

with the Lord

Jesus by grace,

they get

converted.

And when this

begins to

happen, it

electrifies people.

this is

spiritual renewal

in the church.

It electrifies

people.

Long-time

members start

getting up and

talking about

being converted

and speaking of

Christ in

radiant terms and

expressing repentance

in new ways.

And the early

stages of renewal

shake up everyone

else in the church

as nominals,

other sleepers

start to get

renewed by the

Spirit as well.

Corporately,

there's a sense

of more passion

and freedom

and presence

of God

in corporate

worship.

And as a result

of his outpouring

of the Spirit,

new people are

brought in the

church and

begins to

grow.

On the one

hand, the

renewed believers

create a far

more attractive

community as

they share and

care and they

love for one

another and

corporate worship

becomes something

that they aspire

to be part of

and desire to be

part of week by

week.

There is a

beautifying of

the community

of the King

that attracts

people from

the outside.

And on the

other hand,

Christians who

begin to

experience God's

beauty and his

power and his

love, put their

relationship with

Christ and the

church first in

their lives.

They become

radiant and

attractive witnesses,

more willing and

confident in fact to

speak about the

Lord Jesus, their

faith in him.

They become more

winsome in the way

they speak and less

judgmental when they

do so and more

confident in their

own church and so

they start bringing

people along.

That's renewal of

the Spirit.

people get

converted, potentially

even in significant

numbers.

And so there is an

impact of the

community surrounding

the church and even

the broader

culture.

So spiritual

renewal produces

people who become

involved in works of

social concern and

social justice.

The reason for this

is that real,

genuine relationship

with Jesus results in

real, genuine

holiness and it

changes not just

your private life but

your public life as

well.

That's spiritual

renewal.

True religion is not

merely a private

matter providing some

sort of internal

peace and

fulfillment.

It transforms our

behavior and our

relationships and that

is public.

life.

Let me make one point of

clarification.

I'm not saying that

spiritual renewal equals

church growth.

That's not what I'm

saying.

The fact is that many

churches do grow

rapidly but there are

telltale symptoms of

lifelessness.

Much growth can be

transferred growth rather

than conversion growth.

life.

There is no, not

necessarily a deep

conviction of sin and

repentance and

therefore few people

attest to any sort of

dramatic change in

lives.

When this sort of

growth happens in a

church, the church

makes no impact on the

local social order

whatsoever because

people do not carry the

Christian faith out

into the use of their

wealth and into their

work and into their

public lives.

With our deep renewal of

the gospel in our

hearts, our external

lives will be sealed

off from what we

believe and our

beliefs will never

result in concrete

change in our lives.

So when I talk about

spiritual renewal, I

mean deep renewal of

the gospel in our

hearts, which is the

work of the Holy

Spirit through the

word of God and it's

often throughout the

New Testament and

throughout history

connected to the

prevailing prayers of

God's people for an

outpouring of the

Spirit upon his

people.

Now there is much

that can be said

about spiritual renewal

of the church, but we

will concentrate on just

that last point.

Biblically and

historically, the

non-negotiable universal

ingredient in times of

spiritual renewal is

corporate, prevailing,

intensive, kingdom

centred prayer.

Not whether the

prayer is local or

global.

Let me make that

point.

Not whether prayer is

local or global.

Kingdom centred prayer.

Kingdom centred prayer is

focused on God's

presence and his

kingdom.

It's a sort of prayer

that is modelled for us

in the Lord's prayer.

It is a prayer for

grace, for us, the

people of God, to

confess sins, to

humble ourselves, a

compassion and zeal for

the flourishing of the

church, a yearning to

want to know God, to

see his face, to see his

glory.

Such prayer need not, in

fact, usually does not

begin as an organised

church program.

It most often begins with

people who spend time in

personal, prayerful,

self-examination.

With confidence in the

gospel of grace, they

examine themselves for

idols and they set those

idols aside.

Kingdom centred prayer is

prevailing prayer.

By this I simply mean that

prayer should be

constant, not sporadic,

and not brief.

Not because, as I've

already said, that Jesus

wants us to grovel or

that he doesn't care, but

sporadic, brief prayer

shows a lack of

dependence on God and

unhealthy self-sufficiency.

And so we must pray

without ceasing to pray

long and to pray hard for

spiritual renewal.

When we do, we will find

that the very process in

praying itself is

bringing about that which

we are asking for.

Get that?

The very process of

prevailing in prayer is

bringing about the thing

that we're actually asking

for.

To have our hard hearts

melted, to tear down

barriers, and to have the

glory of God break

through.

And so as we begin

another year together, I

want to urge you to take

time to pray for

yourselves.

That you would enter a

season of self-examination.

That we would enter a

season of self-examination.

And that you, that I,

may be with full gospel

assurance hard on

ourselves.

ask that God would show

you ways in which you don't

represent Christ as you

should, in your

relationships, in your

work, in your family life,

in your habits, in your

attitudes, in your

relationships within your

church.

Take time to pray for

yourselves that God will

make things you know about

the gospel so real in your

head and in your heart that

it will change everything in

your life.

love.

So I'm going to lead us in

prayer now.

I'm going to pray,

starting off with confession,

and then having prayed with

confession, I'm going to move us

into a time of the assurance of

our relationship with God in the

Lord's Supper together.

Father.

So if you'd like to bow your

heads, we'll pray.

O Lord God of heaven,

the great and awesome God,

you have most

magnificently revealed your

power and goodness to us in the

person and work of your Son,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you that in him, by

grace and mercy, you have

brought us to know and to love

you and to delight in your

commands.

And yet, our gracious Father,

we confess that our love for you

is flawed.

We love ourselves and our

concerns ahead of you and your

people and your kingdom.

We think little about some sins.

We think big about some sins, but

little about others.

We think often of sins in terms

of

issues, mistakes, flaws, rather

than attitudes of independence

from you.

Father, we gossip and we malign and

we harm our relationships.

We are greedy for gain.

We'll be dishonest if we think we're

not seen and we can get away with

it.

We are drawn to the works of

darkness.

And yet, even times we delight in

hidden wickedness.

Turn our hearts from such wickedness

and help us to delight in your

goodness.

Please forgive us, Lord Jesus.

Help us to live knowing your eyes,

see everything, and wanting to

please you, our King.

We ask that you would pour out upon

us your Holy Spirit.

Give us the patience and the

endurance to keep prevailing for

that request.

Revive us with a passion for you and

your purposes.

May we be a true light to your

goodness in this dark world.

Keep us from hypocrisy and pretense.

Please bless your church family at

St. Paul's.

May our work and our witness be

blessed because your name is

great.

May our unity be testimony to love

that we have for one another in

Christ.

Grant us your favour as we minister

in your name to the communities in

which we live and we work and carry

the name of the Lord Jesus.

Revive us, Lord Jesus, we pray.

Our magnificent King.

We thank you, our Father, that in

your love and mercy you gave your

Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the

cross for our salvation.

By this offering of himself once and

for all time, the Lord Jesus made a

full and perfect, total, sufficient

sacrifice for the sins of the whole

world.

And he commanded us to continue

remembrance of his precious death

until he's coming again.

And so hear us, merciful Father, and

grant that we who receive these

gifts of your creation, this bread and

this wine, according to our Saviour's

command, in remembrance of his

suffering and his death, may be

partakers of his body and blood.

Amen.