Prayer

As Chris already said, we are launching into three preacher's choice passages, if you like,

over the next couple of weeks.

And I decided today that we would have a look at prayer.

Prayer is something that I personally need to grow significantly in,

but it is something worth wrestling with for all of us, I thought.

So I'm not speaking today as somebody who is on top of it,

but someone who hopefully, like you, desires to get better at it

and to utilise the gift that God's given us.

So how about we pray and ask that God will help all of us as we work into it.

Father God, we thank and praise you for your incredible love for us.

We thank you for your grace that we were reminded of this morning by Josh,

that you use weak and unworthy vessels like us to achieve your purposes.

And Lord, I ask that you would use me in that way this morning.

I pray for all of us that we would have soft, teachable hearts to hear you speak.

Lord, and ultimately we ask that you would be glorified

as our lives are transformed.

Amen.

We have a unique ability to transform something that is given to us as a gift

into something that we think we are entitled to.

I've noticed this in a whole bunch of different spheres of life,

but in particular, in my previous ministry job,

I was working in a church in Castle Hill.

And we took all of our kids away for a camp in summer.

And it was quite a big camp.

We had over 400 people go away for the week.

And part of the week away was leadership training for our just graduated year 12s.

And we called them Servant Squad.

They referred to themselves as Slave Squad.

But we went for the more biblical word of servant.

And basically their job for the week was we wanted them to know that leadership is hard

and we wanted them to know that it involves doing the jobs that no one else wants to do.

So for them, camp started a day early when they had to drive down to the campsite

and turn an empty gymnasium into an auditorium to facilitate meetings for 400 people.

They had to, you know, abseil up onto the rafters to hang speakers

so that we could have a sound system.

They had to put all the chairs out.

But during the week, they did all of our mealtimes.

They would be the ones in the kitchen.

They would be the ones setting up.

They would be the ones cleaning up.

And whenever they had spare time, we would invent jobs for them to do.

One year, they spent seven days putting bark on the garden.

Even though it already had bark, it needed a bit of a freshen up.

So they were shoveling bark into bins,

walking it to the different parts of the gardens throughout the campsite,

and then spreading it out.

All along the way, opening the Bible to be reminded of what leadership looks like.

But one of the interesting side effects of this Servant Squad program that we had,

which was a really great thing,

was that after a couple of years,

we got to the point where kids on camp didn't want to do anything.

It used to be normal that as a kid, you went on camp,

and somewhere in the week, you would have to help clean up after a meal.

You would be on an orderly's roster.

And we thought, what a great way to bless them by taking that away

and having some people serve them.

And it was amazing how a few years down the track,

when we designed a special dinner for Servant Squad to say thank you,

the one night out of seven where they didn't have to do orderly's,

and the complaints we got from kids,

because one time out of 21 meals,

they had to go into the kitchen for 15 minutes

to just wash their plates off, put them into the dishwasher.

It is incredible how we can take something that is a gift

and suddenly think that it's something we deserve,

something we're entitled to.

I think that is the way that we have kind of taken the gift of prayer.

We have this thing that God has given to us,

this access to himself,

and somewhere in our minds, we have shifted from thinking,

what a privilege that I can speak to the creator of the universe.

And we have thought, why isn't he listening?

Why isn't he answering with what I want,

when I want at this particular time?

Why is he whinging about the way that I pray?

We have this sense that he should listen to me.

I've got important things to say.

There's major things happening in my life.

I mean, what, has he got better things to do?

And we take this gift,

and suddenly we pervert it,

and it becomes something that we think is a right.

But thankfully, God challenges us in his word,

and I want to have a look at the passage that Wendy read out for us,

and hopefully a passage that is fairly familiar for many of us,

because in it, Jesus teaches us how we should pray.

Say that again.

He teaches us how we should pray,

not necessarily what we should pray.

The Lord's Prayer is a good prayer to pray out loud,

but it begins in verse 9.

This is the prayer he used to teach his disciples how to pray,

not what to pray.

So, simple things.

We're going to go...

There's two points.

Because I'm time poor,

and I need to follow Josh's fantastic example of word efficiency,

I'm going to keep it very simple.

First thing we need to remember about prayer

is that, one, it is all about God.

Sounds simple, but have a look.

Verse 9.

This, then, is how you should pray.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

There's two incredible tensions wrapped up in that verse there,

which we need to carry together

when we come before God in prayer.

Firstly,

God is our Father.

We have a free access to Him,

an intimate access to Him,

but that doesn't change the fact

that He is hallowed,

that He is holy,

that He is mighty,

that He is majestic,

that He is creator,

that He is judge,

that He is completely other than us,

that His perfection is so complete

that for us in our sinful state to come near Him

would be for us to burn up and be consumed.

The whole Old Testament reminds us

that there is a necessary distance

between a holy God and sinful people.

All of Israel's worship,

all of their gatherings,

were mediated.

They had priests between them and God

because God was so holy

that He would destroy them.

They had sacrifices

to try and appease their mistakes

and His holiness.

Isaiah, in chapter 6 of Isaiah,

feels that he is ruined

when he lays eyes on God

because he can see that God is perfect

and He is not.

And he knows that it would be good and right

for God to destroy him

simply for having seen

the perfection of God.

We need to remember

and we need to be reminded

that when we come to pray,

when we open our mouth

to speak to God,

we are not just speaking

to our Heavenly Father.

We are,

but He is still

the Holy Creator God.

I remember,

it's quite a few years ago now,

but I remember when President Obama

had just become president.

Now, like him or hate him,

he had just become

one of the most powerful men

in the Western world.

He suddenly was the commander-in-chief

of one of the most significant

military forces in the world.

He had the power

to do a whole bunch of harm

and a whole bunch of good.

But I remember a picture,

it was a news story or something,

and it wasn't him speaking to camera,

it was just footage of him.

And he was chatting

to some other politicians,

but his daughters came up to him.

And at that point,

he stopped talking

to those politicians

and he played with his kids

for just a second.

And I remember looking at it thinking,

wow, those girls are so lucky.

They get free access

to the most powerful man

in the Western world.

They can call him dad,

and I'm pretty sure

no one else gets away with that.

They get to just run up to him

and hug him

when he's in the middle of stuff

because they have

a special relationship with him

and they are entitled

to his access

in a way that no one else is

because they are his children.

But that doesn't change

who he is.

It doesn't change

the power that he has.

It doesn't change

the significance

of him being president.

It's just that they

are in a special relationship

with him

that means they get

to interact with him

in a unique manner.

But he is still

the president

with his finger

on the trigger

of nuclear weapons.

And it is helpful

for us to realize

that when we come

to pray to our heavenly father,

which is a special,

privileged relationship

where we can run

and we can call him dad

and we can hug him

and we can know

that he is willing to listen

and eager to listen,

that doesn't change

who God is.

He is still

the God who made us.

He is still the God

who is perfect

in every way.

He is still the God

who will not let

the guilty go unpunished.

He is still the God

of absolute holiness

and inapproachable light.

He is still God.

Secondly,

in being all about God,

verse 10,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

Don't underestimate

what is said

in those two lines.

That is a scary

prayer to pray.

It's a great prayer

to pray,

but when you say

your kingdom come,

you are saying

Jesus come back

and everything

that goes with that.

You are inviting

Jesus to come back

and subdue his enemies

and inaugurate his kingdom

for those who belong to him.

That is an exciting day,

but that is a terrifying day

for those who do not

know the King of Kings.

That is a scary prayer

to pray,

but it is a great prayer

to pray

because Jesus encourages us to.

But understand

the weight of it.

So often we go

through the motion

of saying the Lord's Prayer

in church

without maybe realizing

the significance

of what we say.

When you pray

for God's will

to be done

on earth

as in heaven,

are you actually prepared

for what that will

might cost you?

When you pray

for God's will

to be done,

are you praying,

God,

do whatever you want

with me,

even if that means

taking everything

away from me

like you did Job

so that you can

be glorified?

Is that a prayer

you want answered?

Because that's what

you're saying

when you say

your will be done.

You're saying,

God,

whatever you want

for your purposes,

your way,

because you're God

and I'm not.

We need to be

very aware

of what we say

when we pray

because prayer

is all about

God's agenda.

It's all about

who He is.

It's all about

what He wants to do

and we're reminded

in those just two lines,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

that prayer

is powerful.

I mean,

it seems almost trivial

to pray for the little things.

We pray for a parking spot.

We pray for good weather

for our picnic.

We pray for all these things

and look,

they're not bad things.

They're good things

but do you ever think

maybe God is sitting up

on His throne

and thinking,

is that all?

That's easy.

Haven't you got something

significant

that you want me to do?

The world is mine.

I made it.

Everything is accountable to me

and I'm encouraging you

to pray for my kingdom.

I'm encouraging you

to pray for everything.

There is a challenge

in this prayer

to lift our eyes

beyond our immediate.

There's nothing wrong

with praying

for your sick auntie

or uncle

or husband

or wife

or grandson.

Those are good prayers

but God has a bigger vision

for the part

that prayer might play

in our life.

He wants us

to be desperate

for His desire.

He wants us

to see nations

that don't know Him yet

and come before Him

and beg Him

to do the miraculous.

He wants us

to look for the completely

unlovable,

unsavable,

for the Catherine Devonies

of the world

and He wants us

to see His desire

that she might come

to know forgiveness

and salvation

and He wants

that to fill

our prayers.

His kingdom,

His will,

prayer is always

about God.

We're encouraged

in Ephesians 3

that God can do

immeasurably more

than we ask

or imagine

and we have

the smallest requests.

We have a catchphrase

that we use

in our youth ministry team

which is

ask big

and expect bigger.

prayer.

Let's lift our eyes

to what God sees

when He looks

at the world

and what His desire is

and know that He can

do immeasurably more

than even that.

We firmly believe

in our youth ministry

that we have

the teenagers

that God can

and will use

to transform

the earth.

Not to transform

our church,

not to transform

our suburb,

to transform

the earth.

That's what we're

asking God to do

and we know

He can do more.

So we're asking

big and we're expecting

bigger because

prayer is about God

it's not about me.

Prayer is about

what He wants

it's not about

what I want.

Prayer is about

what He can do

not what I think

He can do.

God is unlimited

in His power

and we need to

lift our eyes

and remember

that this gift

of prayer

is a connection

to the supreme

being

and utilize

that incredible gift.

First one was

prayer is all

about God.

Second one,

this then

is how

you should pray.

The Lord's Prayer,

verse 9 again,

this then

is how

you should pray.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name,

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

Give us today

our daily bread,

forgive us our debts

as we also have

forgiven our debtors

and lead us

not into temptation

but deliver us

from the evil one.

How should you pray?

Regularly.

Give us today

our daily bread.

Just catch that.

Today,

what I need for today.

It might include bread

but that phrase

is kind of

whatever you need

to be alive today

and to do what God

needs you today,

ask today

for what you need today

which means tomorrow

you're going to need

to ask tomorrow

for what you need tomorrow

and the next day

you're going to have

to ask again.

God is saying

prayer is not a one-off

God can you just

cover me from here on in

and I probably won't need

to sit down

and pray anymore.

Now that's a valid prayer

and God can quite

capably answer that

but that's not

how prayer works.

Prayer is an opportunity

for us to come before God

and admit that we need Him.

It's not even that

in praying

we begin to need Him.

We need Him.

He sustains all things.

Prayer is His gift

to remind us

that we need Him.

It's His gift

for us to be able

to talk to Him

and just sit down

and say

God I actually can't

do anything without you.

I need you for sunshine

for the picnic.

I need you for oxygen

so I can breathe

and be alive.

I need you for energy

to do my job.

I need you to sustain me

for anything

and everything

because all things

come from the hand

of our Creator.

So if you need anything

He is the place

that you can get it.

So you should go to Him

regularly

and ask Him.

This prayer

is so all encompassing.

It includes material things.

It includes spiritual things.

There in verse 11 to 13

you've got daily bread

but then you've also got

the forgiveness

of debts and debtors.

You've got

leading away from temptation.

What should you be praying for?

Everything.

Anything.

Pray for that parking spot.

Pray for Catherine Devaney.

Pray for those

struggling with hunger

and oppression

and suffering.

Pray for sickness.

Pray for money.

Pray for health.

Pray for the unsaved.

Pray for an end to poverty.

Confess your sin.

Pray for wisdom.

Pray for strength

when you're struggling.

Pray that you can

resist temptation.

Pray in thankfulness.

Pray to praise God.

Pray for everything

because when we ask

we exalt God.

We say God

you are the one

who gives me everything.

You are the one

that I need

for my life.

I remember when I was younger

as a teenager

being told

asking is great in prayer

but don't ask too much.

You need to make sure

you balance out

the asking with the thanks

as if God needs to be

kind of placated

if we're going to ask

for things.

There's lots of acronyms

for prayer.

Things like acts,

adoration,

confession,

thanksgiving

and supplication

which no one ever understood

so we called it shopping list.

And it had to come last.

You had to make sure

you'd done your adoration,

your confession,

your thanksgiving

before you gave God

your shopping list.

And look,

I understand the sentiment

and it is good for us

to praise God

and do all those sort of things

but asking

is what this prayer

that Jesus teaches

is full of.

Have a look at it.

Your kingdom come.

He's saying

God,

God,

please bring your kingdom.

That's a request.

Your will be done.

Give us our bread.

Forgive us.

Lead us.

Deliver us.

It's asking.

It's requests.

You do praise God.

You do adore God

when you ask him for things

because what you're saying is

God,

you're the one who provides.

You're the good God

who gives.

You're the heavenly Father

who loves me enough

to want to give me good things.

Asking is good

and right

and appropriate

and it shows

that we are depending

on God.

We need Jesus

for everything.

For breath.

For life.

And of course

for doing God's will.

I firmly believe

after reflecting on this prayer

and reflecting on scripture

that

fundamentally

the beginning of sin

is not praying.

Say that again.

Fundamentally

I believe

that the beginning of sin

is not praying

because the second

you choose not to pray

you reject God

as the one

that you need.

You reject him

as the one

who sustains you.

You reject him

as the one

who holds

all of the earth

in his hands.

You reject him

as the one

to whom you are

accountable

for your whole life

and you become

self-dependent

which is sin.

Prayer could not

be more significant.

It is a gift

from God

to us

for our sake.

He is sovereign.

He knows

what we're going to ask.

This passage even says it.

Don't babble

like the pagans.

They think

they'll be heard

because of their many words.

Verse 8.

Do not be like them

for your father

knows what you need

before you ask.

He doesn't give us

prayer so that we can

remind him of things

that are going on.

He dwells in us

and he knows us

intimately

but he gives us

prayer

so that we might

be reminded

that we need him.

So that we might

verbalize

that we need him.

So that we might

express

that we

need

him.

How do you pray?

Pray regularly

because you need

Jesus

always.

Secondly

pray with

integrity.

It's really easy

to say things

without actually

having any meaning

or weight

behind those words.

I remember

as a teenager

occasionally

I would have

a romantic

relationship

that didn't work

out the way

that I anticipated

that it would

at the start.

As a teenager

for me

a long romantic

relationship

was about

three weeks.

That's not

what I set

out to do

but that's

just the way

it panned

out.

And I remember

the conversation

that you would

have as a

relationship

would break

down.

And it's

amazing

the words

that you

would say

in order

to try

and prevent

tears

on the other

side of

the conversation

when in

reality

it's not

exactly

what you

were thinking.

Phrases

like

I'm just

not ready

for a

relationship

right now.

It's not

you

it's me.

Now

when I say

I'm not

ready for

a relationship

what I mean

is

until I

find somebody

who I

actually

like

I'm not

ready for

a relationship

right now.

And when I

say it's

not you

it's me

I mean

it's you

who makes

me annoyed.

So you

can actually

say the

words

but there's

no integrity

behind them.

You don't

mean it.

It's like

the kid

who says

sorry

when they

get caught

waits for

you to

leave

and starts

doing

exactly

the same

thing.

It matters

that we

pray

with

integrity.

That what

we are

saying

with our

words

reflects

the

posture

of

our

heart.

In

verse 12

we are

encouraged

to pray

forgive us

our debts

as we

also have

forgiven

our debtors.

If we are

going to

approach

God

requesting

and embracing

and rejoicing

in his

grace and

forgiveness

to us

we are

challenged

here

that to

ask for

something

that we

are not

willing to

offer

is

inconsistent.

Prayer is

not a

vending

machine

for us

simply

to gain

things.

Prayer is

a means

of us

growing

closer

to

God

and

part

of

that

is

our

heart

being

shaped

to

reflect

him

as

well.

It's

not

that

us

forgiving

others

earns

our

forgiveness

from

God

in

prayer.

It's

not

like

if

you

have

failed

to

forgive

someone

and

you

come

and

pray

and

ask

God

for

forgiveness

he

will

say

no.

But

there

is

this

sense

that

as

we

are

forgiven

by

God

we

begin

to

lose

the

ability

to

not

show

forgiveness.

Suddenly

we realise

we are

completely

unworthy

selfish

sinful

despicable

human

beings

who

God

loves

anyway

and

it

gets

really

hard

to

look

down

on

other

people.

We

need

to

pray

with

integrity

as

we

come

to

God

and

request

his

goodness

we

need

to

reflect

on

our

own

lives

parts

of our

lives

that

may

not

line

up

with

what

it

means

to

follow

Jesus.

We

need

to

be

willing

to

confess

honestly

and

openly

where

we've

fallen

short

and

we

need

to

cry

out

for

God's

guidance

willing

to

pay

the

cost

when

he

guides

us

maybe

where

we

didn't

want

to

go.

When

you

ask

for

God's

will

to

be

done

do

you

say

those

words

with

integrity

ready

to

follow

wherever

he

might

when

you

ask

him

to

use

your

life

as

he

pleases

do

you

mean

it

and

if

not

confess

it

acknowledge

that

you

are

failing

in

that

and

ask

that

God

would

shape

your

heart

so

you

can

pray

those

words

confidently

lastly

on

integrity

we need

to pray

out of

our

hearts

let me

read

verse

5

to

8

again

when

you

pray

do

not

be

like

the

hypocrites

for

they

love

to

pray

standing

prayer

is not

an

exercise

in

showing

off

prayer

is not

an

exercise

in

practicing

your

communication

skills

prayer

is an

exercise

in

trust

in

Jesus

it

is

an

active

expression

of

faith

God

already

knows

your

words

before

you

open

your

mouth

so

don't

fluff

about

tell

him

what

you

want

I

was

challenged

recently

that

often

we

try

and

do

the

holy

version

of

prayer

dear

God

I

have

a

sick

grandmother

so

if

it's

your

will

make

it

better

if

not

help

me

to be

okay

with

that

now

that's

not

a

wrong

prayer

but

what

do

I

really

want

I

want

my

grandmother

to be

better

I

want

that

sickness

to be

fixed

God

knows

that's

what

I

want

it's

not

like

that

extra

half

sentence

has

tricked

God

into

thinking

I'm

holier

than

I

really

am

be

honest

day

ooh

be

honest

to

trust

him

anyway

to

trust

in

his

goodness

and

rejoice

in

the

fact

that

I

already

prayed

that

he

is

God

and

I

am

not

and

I

need

to

trust

that

his

will

is

been

done

and

not

mine

pray honestly from your heart let the way we pray in public whether it's leading at the front

whether it's in small groups whether it's in our bible studies be an overflow of the way we cry out

to god regularly and honestly in our own day-to-day devotions and finally how do you pray pray intimately

prayer is no longer our phone line to a distant god off in heaven somewhere

we're reminded in ephesians that those of us who were far have been brought near by the blood of

jesus because jesus has died and jesus has risen and he sits on the throne now we are told in the

new testament that we sit in the heavenlies that we are sitting in the throne room of god right now

and we have free access to our heavenly father so you can cry out daddy you can cry out father

you can pray direct jesus our brother

jesus god the son pleads on our behalf and so we pray confident that our loving heavenly father answers

we pray thankful even before he answers because we know from romans 8 that he's always working for our

good

so we can have an honest regular and intimate relationship with the god of heaven

we need jesus for everything especially for our prayer

prayer is a gift in which god gives us free access to our holy god

even with him it's not a right it's a gift

it's a gracious invitation from our heavenly father

prayer is an expression of faith prayer is praise prayer is dependence on god prayer is love for god and

it's love for one another prayer is a gift in which god gives us free access to himself and so we

must pray

we need to

let's do that now

father god we want to acknowledge that so often we misuse good things that you give us

so often we waste opportunities

but lord we ask that you would change us that you would shape our hearts to recognize that we need you

to make us people who rejoice in the fact that we need to fall on our knees and cry out to you for even the most

minuscule task in our lives

because everything that we have comes from you

we want to thank and praise you for jesus

who has died on the cross and risen so that we have clear and free access to you in heaven

god i pray that we would be people

who come before you regularly

and with integrity and desperately and intimately

and cry out to you to have your way in our lives

who plead with you that you would bring your kingdom on the earth

that your will would be done

lord give us eyes to see what it is that you are doing

that we might rejoice thankfully

give us confidence to bring our anxieties and our burdens to you

knowing that you're here

and you promise to answer

father when we open our mouths to speak to you

may we grasp the gravity

of what it is to speak

with the creator

may we grasp

the love that you have shown us

that we call you

father and friend

father thank you for this gift

thank you for all that you give us and all that you do

please glorify yourself in us

amen