Why don't we pray?

Well, we all know that prayer is essential

and we all equally know that prayer is tough.

Now, I'm not talking this morning about prayers

that are the prayers of God bless this person

or the prayers of quick, I need, you know, sort of a car park

or the prayers of please let it be fine

because I have a very important picnic tomorrow.

I'm not talking about those sorts of prayers

because I know that we've all prayed those prayers.

I'm talking about the prayers that we persist in praying,

the prayers that are heartfelt prayers

that keep us looking towards God and looking for an answer.

Now, surely it should be easy for each of us

to share our hearts with the God of love

who wants to hear from his children.

After all, isn't he interested in all things about us?

He even knows the number of hairs on our heads.

Surely, if we are able to chatter to our friends,

some of us, without taking breath,

surely we would find it easy to talk to God.

Surely, if God is the one who we are most devoted to,

wouldn't that mean we would turn to him first

in times of need, in confusion,

in sadness, in disappointment, in joy?

Surely, if we believe that our great God

is the God of the impossible,

the God who can make the barren fall pregnant,

the God who can split the Red Sea

for the Israelites to walk across,

the God who made it possible for a virgin to give birth,

the God who saw our brokenness

and made a way for us to be in relationship with him,

the God who gave his son to death

so that we might live.

Surely, our heart's desire

would be to take that gift of prayer

seriously, daily,

with earnestness

and with confidence.

And yet we don't.

Is it because we are distracted

to know what are the correct words to say in prayer?

So we say nothing.

Well, maybe.

Many would argue over time

that set prayers are the only acceptable prayers to pray.

And Steve mentioned last week

that there are many repetitive prayers

that some feel are necessary to pray.

Or is it because we don't know

how we should be or act

when we are praying?

So we say nothing.

There have been many

who have argued over the years

that we should stand

with our eyes upward to heaven

and pray to this great God.

Others feel that we should

bend our heads in reverence.

Some might feel

that they need to lie prostrate on the floor

to show a sense of humility

and respect.

Well, it's simply foolishness

if we get caught up

with the issue of posture

or set words

to think that prayer then would be effective.

The point is,

correct and acceptable prayer

isn't about posture or set words.

that would wrongly make it

that for God to be pleased to hear our prayers

and to answer our prayers

has something to do with who we are

and what we have done

or what we have said

instead of it being about this great God

that we are praying to.

So why don't we pray?

Well, basically,

there's a number of reasons.

I'm sure you will think of some more.

But I think that we can,

but we believe that we can fix things.

We can fix most things by ourselves.

And so if something is broken,

we try to fix it.

And there's a sense of satisfaction

when we can fix things.

And there may even well be

a greater sense of satisfaction

if we perceive that others

can't fix the things that we can fix.

We generally are self-centred,

self-reliant, proud individuals.

Of course, some of us might show

a little more finesse

when sharing our pride,

so that isn't seen as the sin

that it truly is.

And while others,

while others' pride oozes out of them,

and it's very easily seen.

But proud, we all are to some extent.

And it causes us to trust

our own capabilities

rather than trusting God first.

We also need to ask ourselves,

what do I spend the bulk of my time

thinking about when no one is looking?

When nothing is forcing us

to think about anything in particular?

At these moments,

do your thoughts,

or do my thoughts,

turn toward God?

Archbishop William Temple,

back in 1942,

in a message said,

your religion is what you do

with your solitude.

That is a really challenging quote.

Steve last week mentioned

that prayer is shaped

by the being to whom we pray.

What we pray is dependent

on what we believe we are praying,

on what we believe the being

we pray to is capable of fulfilling.

And if we do not have a correct picture

of who God is

and what Jesus has achieved on our behalf,

then our prayers will either be

totally absent

or they will be shallow at best.

I loved our commitment series

that we did at the end of last year.

For me to look at our core values

gave me a new and fresh revelation

of how our core values

fit like hand and glove together,

especially being a Christ-centered,

Bible-saturated church

that is devoted to prayer

and who love treasuring Jesus together.

How can one truly be devoted to prayer

if they do not know the one

that they pray to?

How do you know the one to pray to?

By being in the word of God

is the answer.

Becoming a Christ-centered,

Bible-saturated follower of Jesus Christ

and meeting together

for instruction and fellowship

in treasuring Jesus together.

You cannot have one without the other

if you want to be an effective,

have an effective relationship with God.

Prayer is essential

and knowing Jesus the Saviour

is as essential.

So why don't we pray?

We need to ask ourselves,

do we truly know Jesus

and the His gospel deeply?

Well, I'd encourage you to open up the passage

that we've just had read to us in Mark 14

and we'll see if that might teach us something.

The passage where we're up to,

if we're in the Garden of Gethsemane,

it's an olive grove.

It's still an olive grove to this day.

And even some of the original trees,

even though they were chopped down

for the Roman siege in 70 AD,

after carbon testing of the roots,

some of them still date back

2,300 years back.

Now, I have been in this Garden of Gethsemane.

It is not huge.

It is tranquil

and it is conducive to prayer.

Now, it's a short time before Jesus is arrested

and He'll be taken to His death the following day.

Jesus has celebrated the Passover with His disciples

and He has once again told them

of His impending death and His resurrection.

And He goes with His disciples

and He leaves all bar three of His disciples

at most probably is the entrance to the Garden.

And then He moves on a little forward

with three disciples,

Peter, James and John,

His closest disciples,

closest friends,

a little further on.

Look at verse 34 with me.

My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow

to the point of death,

He said to them.

Stay here and keep watch.

He's saying this to the three.

Remarkably,

Jesus shows that it is okay

to share your deepest burdens

with those that you trust.

And apart from the Father,

who we see He is going to pray earnestly to,

Peter, James and John

were His closest disciples and friends.

Jesus shares His heart with the three.

Jesus knows what is lying ahead of Him.

He could have been stoic,

shown that even in His complete humanness,

He was in control.

He was in control.

Not let those close to Him

know that He was burdened and struggling.

Isn't that what most of us would like to do

when we're faced with something tough?

No.

Jesus is truly human

and He is showing truly human,

honest struggles

and with good reason,

for He knows better

and more fully

than the disciples

of what the next day is going to bring.

And what does this sorrow do for Jesus?

It drives Him to prayer.

Then He moves a little way away from them

and He shows His dependence

on His heavenly Father.

Verse 35,

Going a little farther,

He fell to the ground

and prayed that if possible,

the Lord might pass...

The Lord might pass...

Sorry.

He fell to the ground

and prayed that if possible,

the hour might pass from Him.

Abba, Father, He said,

everything is possible for you.

Take this cup from me,

yet not my will,

but your will.

Jesus understands

that this cup

is no ordinary cup,

but it is the wrathful judgment,

the awful consequences

of God's judgment

on sinful humanity.

There's a number of references

to the cup of wrath in the Bible.

Isaiah 51 says,

Awake, awake,

rise up, O Jerusalem,

you who have drunk

from the hand of the Lord

the cup of His wrath,

you who have drained its dregs,

the goblet that makes men stagger.

Revelation 14,

a third angel followed them

and said in a loud voice,

If anyone worships the beast

and his image

and receives his mark

on the forehead

or on the hand,

he too will drink

the wine of God's fury,

which has been poured

full strength

into the cup of His wrath.

He will be tormented

with burning sulfur

in the presence

of the holy angels

and the Lamb.

Revelation 16, 19,

God remembered Babylon the great

and gave her the cup

filled with the wine

of the fury of His wrath.

This cup is God's wrath

that would be poured out

on you and me

if we were not followers

of Jesus Christ.

It is Jesus' perfect death,

a perfect life,

perfect death

in taking the wrath we deserve

and His perfect resurrection

that we can have confidence

in this gospel that saves us.

Without this,

we are all lost

for all eternity.

We see the intimacy

with the Father

as well as His confidence

in His nearness

and loving care.

We see it by

the simple address

of calling God the Father

Abba,

which is similar

to us saying

Daddy.

It shows Jesus

trusts God

completely

as His Father

and is completely

obedient.

His prayer

isn't trying to run

counter

to God's purposes,

but explores

is there another way here?

Can He escape

the horrifying cup?

It isn't insubordination,

but complete trust

that God listens

and grants

prayer requests

that are aligned

with God's

overall providence.

The answer we know

is no.

There is no other way.

Jesus will in fact

die the horrendous death,

taking the wrath of God

that you and I

deserve

so that we

can live,

so that we don't

have to take

the wrath of God,

so that we can have

our prayers answered,

so that we

can be assured

of God's love,

His mercy,

His sovereignty

in all things.

If you do not believe

in the wrath of God

that has been

poured out

on Jesus

on our behalf,

then you will

not appreciate

how valuable

you are

to God.

You have no idea

of your value

if you don't know

the wrath of God

and believe in it.

You see,

we can be confident

that God will hear

and answer our prayers

because in the garden,

God chose

to not

answer

Jesus' prayer

of taking

the cup

from Him.

It was essential

that the wrath of God

is taken

by someone

so that we

would be free

to have a relationship

with God the Father.

That someone

was Jesus

and it was for you

and it was for me.

Turn to verse 37

with me

and a little

further on.

We know

that Jesus

has said

to His disciples,

stay here a while

and keep watch.

Then He returned

to His disciples

and found them sleeping.

Simon,

He said to Peter,

are you asleep?

Could you not

keep watch

for one hour?

Watch and pray

so that you will

not fall into temptation.

The spirit

is willing

but the body

is weak.

Once more,

He went away

and He prayed

the same thing.

When He came back,

He again found them

sleeping

because their eyes

were heavy.

They did not know

what to say to Him.

Returning the third time,

He said to them,

are you still sleeping

and resting?

Enough!

The hour has come.

Look,

the Son of Man

is betrayed

into the hands

of sinners.

Rise,

let us go.

Here comes my betrayer.

Three times,

Jesus discovers

them sleeping

after bidding them

to keep watch.

Interestingly,

you will recall

that there was a time

when they were

in crisis,

the disciples,

and Jesus was

the one sleeping

in the back of the boat

when there was a storm.

But here,

they are the ones sleeping

when Jesus

is the one

in real crisis.

And their drowsiness

reflects

their failure

to realise

how crucial

this moment

really is.

But is Jesus

stern,

judgemental,

accusatory?

I'm not so sure.

Some of the commentators

say yes.

But there is

a sense of

understanding

from Jesus.

His comment

that the spirit

is willing

but the body

is weak

sounds more

like a comment

that he

understands.

But he's firm

and he alone

knows what

lies ahead.

Jesus has prepared

himself in prayer

for what is

ahead of him.

He has cried out

to God

to change the plan

if possible

but once he knows

that he will be

delivered into

the hands

of the enemy,

he freely

has accepted

God's will

for himself

and through

prayer

has steeled

himself

for what lies

ahead

and he goes

in obedience.

By contrast,

the disciples

have squandered

the opportunity

for prayer

by sleeping.

Consequently,

they fold

under the pressure.

we see this

in six

very sad

verses

in verse 50.

Just after

Jesus is

arrested

and we read,

then everyone

deserted him

and fled.

So how

often

do we

squander

the opportunity

to pray?

Do we

come to

God

and acknowledge

God

for his

majesty

and his

awe

and we

hallow him

as Steve

preached last

week?

Do we

ask God

to examine

our hearts

as the

psalmist

prays in

Psalm 139?

He says,

search me,

O God,

know my

heart,

test

me,

know my

anxious

thoughts,

see if

there is

any

offensive

way in

me and

lead me

in the

way

everlasting.

How

often do

you pray

that

prayer?

How

often do

you pray

and repent

of your

sins?

How

often do

I do

that?

How

often do

we hand

all of our

concerns over

to the

Lord,

the things

that are

making us

anxious?

Tim

Keller

has a

sermon

online

and he

refers to

on prayer

and he

refers to

Eugene

Peterson

and his

thoughts

on prayer.

Eugene

Peterson

says that

prayer needs

to have a

rhythm,

a spiritual

discipline,

if you want

a different

word.

prayer.

Peterson

says that

Psalm

4 is

an evening

prayer and

Psalm 5

is a

morning

prayer.

It's

worth

either

listening to

Tim Keller's

sermon

online or

maybe buying

his new

book on

prayer if

you want

to actually

understand

this more.

But simply

put in

brief,

from

Psalm 4

the

psalmist

speaks,

God

speaks,

the

psalmist

speaks.

So the

psalmist

says,

answer me

when I

call to

you,

O my

righteous

God,

give me

relief

from my

distress,

be merciful

to me

and hear

my prayer.

Then God

speaks,

in your

anger

do not

sin,

when you

are on

your beds

search your

hearts

and be

silent.

Then the

psalmist

speaks again,

let the

light of

your face

shine upon

us,

O Lord,

you have

filled my

heart with

greater joy

than when

the grain

and the

new wine

abound.

I will

lie down

and sleep

in peace

for you

alone,

O Lord,

make me

dwell in

safety.

Meaning,

hand every

anxious thought

over to

God at

night and

sleep well.

It's about

praying to

put your

soul at

rest by

giving over

to God.

Peterson

says that

if you're

still anxious,

you haven't

trusted God

fully with

all your

concerns or

you haven't

truly handed

them all

over to

God and

you need

to continue

praying.

God

but the

idea is

that you

hand at

night those

things that

are making

you anxious

over to

the Lord

so that

you can

rest.

Different

with Psalm

5,

in the

morning,

you are

awake and

you're ready

to tackle

all that

the Lord

gives you

in the

new day

and you

do it

in prayer.

Give

ear to

my words,

O Lord,

consider my

sighing,

listen to

my cry

for help,

my King

and my

God,

for to

you I

pray.

In the

morning,

O Lord,

you hear

my voice.

In the

morning,

I lay

my requests

before you

and I

wait in

expectation.

This is

the time

to cry

out to

God,

acknowledging

who he

is and

trusting

him with

all those

prayers for

his world

and his

creation.

Note there's

a sense

of expectation

that God

is going

to act.

So you

look for

the answers

and you

give God

thanks when

you see

them.

If you

don't see

them,

you continue

to cry

out to

God and

you keep

looking because

it is a

very active

thing that

we are

doing.

This has

been

tremendously

helpful to

me,

to understand

that prayer

is a gift

gift, but

that so

is rest.

And God

has given

us both.

To hand

over my

concerns and

my worries

at night

time when

I am

tired, I'm

not at my

best, but

I am needing

rest, that

is a great

discipline.

To then

actively pray

in the morning

when I am

fresh and I'm

focused, it

works for me.

And I

encourage you

to try it

yourself because

it very well

may work for

you.

Now we

started by

acknowledging that

prayer is

essential, but

it's also

tough.

We've seen in

the garden that

Jesus prayed for

the cup to be

taken from

him, but

that it

wasn't and

he still

surrendered to

God's will.

and we

know that

because of

that prayer

of Jesus

was not

answered in

the way that

he may have

wanted, because

of his death

and his

resurrection, we

now can be

confident that

God answers

our prayers.

For Jesus

made it

possible for

us to be in

a relationship

with the

Father.

How privileged

we are and

how often we

all forget

this.

Let me

leave you

with three

points that

come from a

sermon that

Jonathan Edwards

when he was

18 years of

age gave that

might help us

with our

prayers.

It certainly

helps with

living the

Christian life

as well, but

if we focus

it on the

prayers for

this morning.

First thing,

our bad

things will

always turn

out for

good.

Romans 8

28.

Our good

things can

never be

taken away

from us.

Psalm 4.

Things like

the light of

his countenance,

the insurance

of grace,

forgiveness,

heaven, love,

adoption, none

of them can be

taken away from

us despite

whatever is

going on in

our day-to-day

living.

And the

third thing,

the best is

yet to come.

1 Corinthians

2.9,

no eye has

seen, no

ear has

heard, no

mind has

conceived what

God has

prepared for

those who

love him.

Our bad

things will

turn out for

good, our

good things will

never be taken

away and the

best is yet

to come.

Let's pray.

O great and

glorious God,

we are in

awe of you

and your

unfailing love

for sinners

such as

ourselves.

We thank you

from the bottom

of our hearts

that you hear

us and

delight in

us.

Thank you

that Jesus'

cry for the

cup of your

wrath to be

taken was

answered with

no.

Transform us

into your

servants who

long to be in

your presence

for all

eternity.

In Jesus'

name we pray.

Amen.