Prayer

Good morning. My name's Chris. For those of you who don't know me, I help oversee the community groups here in Watermark.

And we're going through a series on what it looks like to be a healthy church.

And last week, Eric introduced really well what it means for us to be a community together, brought together by Jesus' death,

which reconciles us, even though we're from so many different backgrounds, and brings us to be one family together,

sitting here this morning at this time in October. I think it still is. And it's because Jesus has done that.

And today we're going to look at what does it mean to be a healthy church in praying together.

And this is just kind of one of those topics where if I was going to ask you, how's your prayer life?

Most people start shuffling rather nervously and then kind of change the topic of conversation.

Because it's one of those things as Christians we know we should do, but we kind of seem to have problems doing.

And part of the problem is that we live in a society which tells us that only material things matter.

You know, the grades you get, the food you eat, the achievements you get.

Everything in society tells us, just get stuff.

And you know, our whole lives are like this hamster wheel, you know, in Hong Kong,

where we're just crazily busy, frenetically trying to produce, trying to be productive, trying to be efficient,

trying to do all the things that we think will make a good, satisfying life.

And it may be getting your kids into the right school.

It may be just getting to the place where you want into society.

But we're so busy, we're like on this treadmill.

And you know when you're on the treadmill and you're going along,

but the problem is you look over next to you.

And even though you might want to think, I want to get off the treadmill,

the person next to you is already going faster than you.

And you've got to compete with them.

So you've got to keep running faster and faster.

And then the problem is, even once you get to the point you're exhausted

and you're just trying to slow down and you just press the slow down button,

and then you look over at the other side and you see there's a three-year-old there

who's already going far faster than you.

They're doing somersaults on the treadmill and you feel like,

I can't slow down because there's so much more that I've got to do.

And the problem is the whole of our life in Hong Kong is exhausting

and sometimes it's lonely and sometimes it's empty

because we think material things are what matters.

And the problem is with this is that we try and then fill this kind of vacuum,

this kind of void inside of us with yoga, with meditation,

with charity work, with sex, with vacations,

a million things that we think will fill this void which is inside of us.

And it's a void that was only meant to be fulfilled by prayer.

Prayer, intimacy, belonging, approval.

That's where we were meant to find all of those things.

The book of Jeremiah in chapter 2 says this.

It's an extraordinary picture.

It says,

My people have committed two evils.

They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters,

and they have dug out wells for themselves,

broken wells that can't hold water.

And what he's saying in this passage,

he's saying we do two things.

One is when we turn away from God

and we stop running to God in prayer,

what happens is we're like this thirsty, dry people.

We've left behind this beautiful well

and we've turned to this dry, dusty ditch water.

And there's heavenly periate on offer

and we're just going to the ditch to drink.

And if the church is to be the church in this society

which is to be different, not on the treadmill,

then we've got to rediscover what it means to pray

because otherwise we'll be as thirsty

and as parched as everybody else.

So let's think about prayer

because your prayer life,

and here's a very powerful thing,

your prayer life will tell you more about

your spiritual health than anything else.

You can be full of so much activity,

you could be serving in a million ways,

but your prayer life,

nobody will see that.

It will tell you where your spiritual health is.

Someone once said,

a man is what he is on his knees before God

and nothing more.

That's a painful thing to say.

So we're just going to scratch the surface

on this topic today.

There's so much we could say,

but we're just going to look in three things.

We're going to look at what is Christian prayer,

why don't we pray,

and how does prayer change us?

Okay?

What is Christian prayer,

why don't we pray,

and how does prayer change us?

Because the thing is,

prayer is not uniquely Christian.

Buddhists do it,

Muslims do it,

Hindus do it,

in fact,

even those who don't believe in God,

atheists,

at least 20% of them from studies

say that at some time in their life,

they pray.

But Jesus,

in the passage we're looking at today,

says there are right ways to pray

and there are wrong ways to pray.

He says this,

verse 7,

he says,

when you pray,

not if you pray,

when you pray,

do not heap up words like the Gentiles do,

like the pagans do,

that's the word,

for they think they will be heard

because of their many words,

do not be like them.

Jesus is saying,

there's two main ways you can pray.

You can pray like a pagan,

or you can pray like a Christian.

And the difference between them

is you pray based,

is the basis on which you pray.

Pagans pray on the basis of their performance.

Christians pray on the basis

of their status before God.

Pagans pray on the basis of their performance.

They think they'll be heard

because of their many words.

Christians pray on the basis of their status.

Now let's think about it.

Probably most of you don't think you're pagan.

But pagans are extremely religious people.

Okay?

They're not irreligious,

they're religious.

They talk religious talk,

they serve,

they go to community groups,

they even pray regularly.

But they're still pagans.

Because pagans are users.

Okay?

If you were a pagan in Jesus' day,

you were always anxious

because you didn't know

if your God was in a good mood or not.

A bit like your boss.

You know,

is it a grumpy day?

Is it a good day?

You're never quite sure.

And so the pagan,

if they wanted to get something out of God,

they would have to make sure

they did everything right in their prayers.

And so they would list off

all the names,

the possible names that God might have,

just in case they missed one

and the pagan God would not be happy with them.

And so they would heap up empty phrases

by listing every name they could think of.

And here is a prayer

slightly adapted

from the first century.

Okay?

So say,

Dear Apollos,

son of wise and thundering Zeus,

big guy in the sky,

spirit up above,

oh powerful and mighty God,

whatever name you like to be called by,

please,

I've been a good boy,

I've given you offerings

these last few weeks,

and you're an amazingly awesome,

great, powerful, wonderful God.

And if it doesn't trouble you,

greatly,

I ask humbly

you to provide me

with the names of all the horses

that are going to win

this Wednesday at Happy Valley.

For your glory,

amen.

That's how a pagan would pray.

You check it out online,

check it out on Google,

you'll see.

And you could substitute

horses for kids' education,

for health,

for money,

for career,

any of those things,

that's what a pagan would pray like.

And why did they do that?

They did that

because their relationship with God,

they saw it a bit like,

you know,

a relationship manager at a bank.

You know,

one UK politician,

he was arrested,

actually,

for fraud.

And he was a church-going guy,

but when he got arrested,

he became a Christian,

and he realized,

this is what he said

about his relationship with God,

he said,

God for me was like my bank manager.

I spoke to him politely,

visited his premises intermittently,

occasionally asked him

for a small favor or overdraft,

death to get myself out of difficulty,

thanked him condescendingly

for his assistance,

kept up the appearance

of being one of his reasonably

reliable customers,

and maintained superficial contact

with him on the grounds

that one of these days

he might come in useful.

You see,

it's a user system.

God is just your bank manager.

Your relationship manager.

Your account manager.

And the reason pagans do it like this

is because most of our interactions

in society work like this.

You know,

it's about trade and performance.

You know,

even as kids,

you grow up thinking,

okay,

if I get good grades,

my parents will be pleased with me

and they will love me.

If I fail,

they will shout at me.

So I will work hard

so they will love me.

It's a trade,

right?

I do this,

you do that.

We do the same

in relationships,

in dating.

You know,

you assess somebody

based on whether

they're going to fill

that social,

emotional,

spiritual kind of

grand canyon

that's in your soul.

And if you think

they're going to fill that,

they're going to satisfy,

they're going to make you feel good,

then you'll go into

the relationship with them.

Then you'll perform.

Then you'll love them.

Then you'll serve them.

As long

as they're doing their part.

But if your spiritual

or social ATM machine,

as these people become,

malfunctions,

if your spouse

or your friend

or your colleague,

whoever you've come

into this interaction with,

is disrespectful,

they're out of order,

they don't give you

what you want,

then you get angry.

Then you get bitter.

Then you get critical.

It's no more

Mr. Nice Guy.

Look at what you've done

to me.

Because you've performed

your side of the deal,

but they haven't done theirs.

Your bank has not been

a very good bank.

And it works the other way too.

If you feel like

your performance

hasn't been very good,

you haven't paid off

all your debts

to the other person,

you failed in some way

in your relationship,

you don't perform

up to the standard

they're expecting.

Then you feel guilty,

you feel lacking

in confidence,

and maybe you blame yourself,

you blame others,

you justify yourself.

And you know,

as I go around Hong Kong

and I listen to the conversations

on the streets,

I think pretty much

most of our relationships

are based on this trade.

We're users,

we're performers,

and as long as we perform okay,

then we feel good.

If we don't,

then we feel terrible.

And it's a little wonder

that,

actually could I get

a drink of water?

It's a little wonder

that we actually feel,

we kind of transfer this

onto God

because this is how

all our other relationships work.

Because we expect God

to be that trader too.

And so as long as

we come into God

and we fulfill our part

of the bargain,

you know,

we're like an account holder

in his bank.

And we expect him

to give us a good service

because we've been loyal

and we're trusting him

as our bank provider.

But you know,

if you suddenly realize

your account is very low,

you've got an exam,

your kids are sick,

something like that,

you come to your manager then

for the blessing,

for the loan,

the spiritual loan

that you want from him.

And if you think

you've been a good,

loyal Christian

and he doesn't answer

your prayer,

then you get angry.

If you've asked him

to help you with the exam

but you fail your exam,

then it's like,

God,

what were you doing?

I can't believe

you let me down

in this one

and we're angry,

critical,

and we're bitter.

Or if you realize

you actually haven't been

a very good customer

of God's recently,

then you think

if he doesn't answer

your prayer,

then maybe it's because

I wasn't good enough.

Maybe he's punishing me

because I didn't kind of

give enough to him.

I haven't been loyal enough.

Maybe he won't listen to me

because of what I've done.

And we're not confident

in prayer.

And Jesus says

that's how pagans think.

And he says,

don't be like them.

And the reason,

it sounds nice,

but you know,

every single one of us

in this room,

I can guarantee

at some point or other

you're a pagan.

How do I know?

Because I am one.

Because I am one.

Because we're hardwired

and the whole of society

is telling us like this.

And Jesus is trying

to come to us

and say there's

a different way

you don't come to God

based on your performance.

performance.

Because think about it,

frankly,

your performance

has been shocking.

Your spiritual performance

before God

is so bad

that no bank

would ever have you.

Because mine is too.

And if you were listed

on the heavenly stock market,

nobody would invest in you.

Because it's a bad investment.

But the thing is,

we are the ones

who make up the church.

And as a church,

we don't come

because of our great performance.

Don't be like the pagans.

He says this,

don't you know

your father knows

what you need

before you ask him?

Pray then like this,

our father in heaven.

Christian prayer comes

not on the basis

of your performance,

but it comes on the basis

of your status

as a child

of a living God.

He is your father,

not your bank manager,

your account.

You're not an account holder.

And this is so radical

because he could have said,

our king,

our creator,

and he is.

And every other religion

would be very happy

with you doing that.

But if he's your king,

then he can punish you

for your poor performance.

He can throw you

out of his kingdom.

But a father,

a good father,

is not going to throw you

out of his family.

And he says this.

This is not,

as Alfie was saying,

this is not some distant father.

It's a relationship

with someone who knows you.

He knows you.

He knows,

I don't know what's gone on

with you this week.

He does.

I don't know what your fears are.

He does.

I don't know what your darkest,

deepest secrets are.

He does.

He knows what's happened,

what your complaints are,

what your hopes are,

what your dreams are.

He knows them.

He knows them.

He knows them.

And many of us

have grown up in families

with fathers

that we wanted to be,

to have known us,

but they were more like

our relationship manager

at the bank

because all they would do,

they would dispense cash to us.

They would give us gifts.

They would give us

the good education.

And we wanted relationship.

We wanted them to know us.

And they never did.

And this is aching

in our heart to be known.

And those of you

who have had good fathers

will know

what an amazing thing it is

to have somebody

who knows you,

who knows what you need,

and who cares for you.

Because we want relationship.

God doesn't,

when you come to God in prayer,

God doesn't kind of

go through his records

and say,

oh yes,

I remember what your issues are.

You can,

if you're an account holder

and you go to your finance manager

or whatever

and you say,

listen,

I've got some real issues

with my sex life at the moment,

they're going to freak out.

But,

when you go to your father

who knows everything

that's going on with you,

he's not going to freak out.

It's amazing.

So,

we don't come to God

as an ATM machine.

We don't come to God

as someone

who is just there

to distribute some blessings

to make our life easier.

You come as a child

who always has the ear

of his father.

Think about it.

Who could

go to the president

of the United States

at three o'clock

in the morning

and ask him

to take you

to the bathroom?

Can any of you do that?

I suggest

you might get arrested.

But his child could.

Only his child could.

Because a child

has an intimate relationship

and the father knows them.

In John chapter one,

it says,

those who received Jesus,

he gave them the right

to become

children of God.

Gave them the right

to become children of God.

How do you become

a child of God?

You don't become a child

based on your performance.

You become a child

based on Christ's performance.

Christ died

on the cross

so that you might be

adopted into his family

and be,

know that status

that you don't have

to perform anymore.

You are his child.

You are in the royal family.

You are in his family.

And you know

with adopted children,

have you noticed,

some of you have got

adopted children,

but you know

with adopted children,

I don't see the parents

treating adopted children

and biological children

differently.

I see them

treating them

with equal value,

with listening to them

with equal concern

and love.

Now think about this.

Jesus is God's son,

his true son.

We are adopted sons

and daughters.

So the way Jesus,

God the Father

looks at Jesus

is the way that he looks

at you and me.

And that means

he's delighted.

He's pleased.

And so Matthew 7 says,

if you who are evil

know how to give good gifts,

if you're a mother or father,

don't you want to give

your children the best?

If you're evil

and you know how to do that,

then how much more

will your Father in heaven

give good gifts

to those who ask him?

How much more will God,

is he longing

to give you good gifts?

And the thing is this,

if your Father

doesn't give you

what you want,

if he doesn't give you

what you want,

if you're an account holder,

you'll be angry.

But if you know

that your Father is good,

then you can trust him.

You can trust him.

And in the Bible,

it says this.

It says,

in Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

it says,

if God,

who gave his only son

for you,

if he was willing

to give his only son

for you,

he wouldn't spare him,

he paid the ultimate cost

for you,

then how much more

will he give you

everything

that you need?

Graciously pouring out

all the things

that you need.

If he's already given

everything,

the most precious thing

to him,

he's not going to hand back.

And you know,

sometimes,

I didn't get,

when I was a kid,

I wanted to watch TV

in my room.

But my parents

wouldn't allow me

to have a TV

in my room.

I'm so glad,

looking back,

that they didn't allow me

to have a TV

in my room.

Because I did so many

other things,

and I would have been

probably seriously

messed up.

Some of you may think

I already am,

but...

But my father

knew what I needed.

Sometimes he knows

more than I know

what I need,

because he can see

the big picture.

If you know he's your father,

you can trust him

when he doesn't answer

as well.

So that's Christian prayer.

Christian prayer starts

with knowing God

as your father.

It starts with God.

It doesn't...

You see the Lord's Prayer.

You see the first half

of the Lord's Prayer.

There's nothing

to do with you.

Did you notice that?

Nothing to do with you.

First half,

you've got to go

halfway through

before you start

asking for your daily bread.

Why?

Because it's all about

him as a father.

So when you come in prayer,

if you realize

who he is,

that changes everything

about the way you pray.

But if you're just

based on your performance,

you'll be like

a manipulative teenager

who's asking for money

from their parents,

and you know the ways

to try and get them

to do that.

So do you come to God

on what basis?

Are you a pagan?

Are you an account holder?

Or are you a child

of a God who loves you?

That's Christian prayer.

Now let's think about it.

Sounds great.

Why don't we pray then?

Why don't we pray?

I mean,

if God's so good,

why don't we pray?

And you know,

normally the first reason

I give is

because I'm too busy.

But that's blatantly not true.

We're busy.

Hong Kong is busy.

But you know,

I find it extraordinary

in Hong Kong

that extremely busy people

can find time

to watch a rugby match

at incredibly early hours

in the morning.

It's extraordinary.

They have time

to go on Facebook.

I don't know how they do it.

They have time

to go to the toilet.

They have time to eat.

Okay?

Sometimes you might skip a meal.

Sometimes you might

hold your pee.

But you know,

later on,

you will find time.

Why?

Because you know

you need to.

And maybe because

you want to.

But prayer,

when you say,

our Father,

that says,

I'm a child.

But my problem is,

I think I'm an adult.

Okay?

I can manage life

by myself.

I have a driving license.

And prayer is for those moments

in life

when you're driving along.

You've taken your eye

off the road.

You're heading towards

the granny

who's just crossing

the pedestrian crossing.

And you're out of control.

And you cry,

Help!

God puts his hand

on the steering wheel.

Swerves the wheel

so you miss the granny.

And then afterwards,

you breathe a sigh of relief.

And then you say,

Thanks God.

Now leave it to me.

I can cope with the rest.

That's the way we do prayer

because we think we're adults.

We're self-sufficient.

We can do it.

And if you've ever driven

in a car with a man

who's got lost,

you know he could be

on his way to Honolulu

but he won't admit

that he's lost

until he's stuck

in some field somewhere.

And then maybe finally

he'll say,

Okay, I need help.

Right?

But that's what we're like

in prayer.

What stops me

from asking?

It's pride.

It's self-sufficiency

and it's actually childish.

Not childlike.

It's childish.

Because I'm so adult

and grown up

that I think

I can sort out the world.

And because you know

when you become an adult

you have responsibilities.

You have got to take care

of your kids.

You've got to take care

of those deadlines,

of those targets

you've got to meet.

You've got exams.

You've got a whole host

of pressures on you

and you think,

I'm doing well.

I can cope with it.

I can manage it.

And so we're driving along.

We're doing fine.

But you know,

sometimes

I just feel like

I mess up.

I don't always cope

with my responsibilities.

I let my family down sometimes.

I say things.

I do things.

And I feel the pressure

on my shoulders

and the burden

which is weighing me down.

And then maybe

I come to church

and hope that

God can just kind of

swerve me back

onto the path

so that I can just get back

on that treadmill again

of life.

So I can get back

and stay in the driving seat

in life.

And that's how

I view prayer.

You see,

you know what I do?

The way I do this

kind of self-sufficiency,

see, the other day

I needed a book

for an assignment

I was doing.

I ordered it

and then I discovered

it's not going to arrive

until after I need it.

So what do I do?

I stress.

And then I plan.

Okay?

Then I research

all the other options

and ways I can get the book.

And I found nothing.

I couldn't get

this book anywhere.

So I talk to some other people

about how I can get the book.

And then still nothing.

So I stress a little more.

And then I take some time out

just to de-stress a little bit

before I go back

to stressing again.

Okay?

And finally,

when I'm getting

absolutely nowhere,

then I say,

God, help me.

And that's the way

most of us do prayer.

Right?

How much stress

could I have avoided

if right at the beginning

of the process

I knew that I was a child,

I'd been less childish

and I'd said,

I'd taken it to my father

in prayer,

and I'd said,

Father,

you know my need.

Help!

But I know

that you are my father,

you're my good father,

you've got this one

in your control,

I can trust you,

so I just lay this before you.

Now I can go about

all the rest of the things,

ringing around,

trying to find things,

but with a totally

different attitude

because I know

my father's in control.

But,

I don't do that

because I'm an adult.

But I'm childish.

not childlike.

The hymn says,

Oh, what peace

we often forfeit.

Oh, what needless pain

we bear.

All because

we will not carry

everything

to God

in prayer.

that is so true.

as I look around

your lives

and my lives,

I can tell you

that is true.

You can tell

when I am prayerless

because I am stressed.

You can tell

when I'm prayerless

because I'm critical.

You can tell

when I'm prayerless

because I'm complaining.

The reason we don't pray

is we're more childish

than childlike.

You know,

you don't see

your three-year-old

saying,

I've checked off

my grocery list

and I've just been

around five supermarkets

and I couldn't find

anything for lunch.

And so,

finally,

after I got a bit stressed

for a while,

I thought,

well,

maybe mom's got

something for lunch.

Does your three-year-old

do that?

Isn't that insane?

But you think

you're an adult.

But that's an account holder.

That's how an account holder,

that's how a pagan prays,

not a child.

Paul Miller,

in an excellent book,

I think there's a copy outside,

he says this.

He says,

less mature Christians

have little need to pray.

When they look at their hearts,

which they rarely do,

they seldom see jealousy.

They are barely aware

of their impatience.

Instead,

they're frustrated

by all the slow people

they keep running into.

He's watching me

going into Central,

you know.

Less mature Christians

are quick to give advice.

There's no complexity

in their worlds

because the answers are simple.

Just do what I say

and life will be easy.

Surprisingly,

mature Christians

feel less mature

on the inside.

When they hear Jesus say,

apart from me,

you can do nothing,

they nod in agreement.

Mature Christians

are keenly aware

they can't raise their kids.

It's a no-brainer.

Even if they're perfect parents,

they still can't get

inside their kids' hearts.

That's why strong Christians

pray more.

Husbands,

wives,

do you think

you can really

change your spouse?

Do you think

you can really

be the spouse

you want to be

without prayer?

Students,

do you think

you can really

honour God

with your studies

and yet not pray?

Church,

do you think

we can really

be the church

God wants us to do,

to be

and to just

have a hive

of activity

but not pray?

It's insane

because it's like

adults trying

to control the world

but actually

the world

is not in our control,

it's in our

Father's control.

And if we're

to be anything

different than

the rest of the world

around us,

if we're to not

be on this treadmill

and we can be

on a Christian treadmill

of doing a thousand

activities

but your activity

is meaningless

if you're not

coming to God

in prayer

and saying,

Father,

we need you.

If you would

spend ten

unproductive

minutes every day

in prayer,

you'd see the

long-term effects

produced far more

than you could

ever do

in those ten minutes.

I guarantee it.

That's why we

don't pray.

Because we're

self-sufficient.

We don't think

we need to.

Prayer is talking

to our Father.

It's not our

performance.

It doesn't matter

what you've done

this week.

You can come to Him.

Thirdly,

prayer changes us.

How does prayer

change us?

At the heart

of every

spiritual revival

that has ever

taken place

in the history

of the world

has been prayer.

Just check it out

in the history books.

everyone.

Because prayer

changes your

perspective on life.

You see,

what I tend to do

is I shrink

my world down

to my needs,

my desires,

my wants.

And the world

becomes this very

narrow focus.

But did you see

in that prayer,

it says,

Jesus says,

our Father.

Did you see that?

He didn't say,

my Father.

He said,

our Father.

Our,

that is plural.

That means

the world,

the God

who you are

speaking to

is a God

who has brought

us together

in a family.

We are part

of His family

together.

That means

the world

is not revolving

just around you.

It's not you,

just you and God.

It's us

together

with our Father.

But what we do

is we think

actually the whole

of church

is centered

down around me.

My relationship

with God

is just centered

down around me.

Did you ever

see that movie,

Honey,

I Shrunk the Kids?

Anybody see that movie?

Okay,

if you didn't see it,

it's basically

a movie about

this kind of

inventor father

that invents

a shrink ray

and it kind of

accidentally goes off

and his kids

and his neighbor's kids

get shrunk down

to a quarter of an inch.

And what happens

is suddenly

they're now

a quarter of an inch

and the ants

are now like elephants

and the bees

are now like airplanes

and the grass

is now like a rainforest.

And suddenly

all these things

have become huge

in their eyes.

That's what we do

with our worlds

because when you

shrink it down

to just you,

your world

has just narrowed down

to this tiny little thing

and everything

seems massive.

But what prayer does,

prayer opens you up

to see our father

in heaven.

He's got this

bigger perspective,

this heavenly perspective

and it's one

which is not just

about you

but it's about

all of us here.

And prayer helps you

to see people

when you would only

ever see your issues

before.

I was walking

to work last week

and in front of me

there was a woman

sweeping the stairs

at the top

and just kind of

coming up to her

there was another woman

kind of dragging

her kid behind her

and as she saw

the woman sweeping

in front of her

she started shouting

at her to get out

of the way

and she just abused her

and demeaned her

completely

and then just dragged

her child on,

ran past

and walked on.

And I walked up

the stairs afterwards,

I looked at this

cleaner lady

and she was just

crushed.

You could just see it

written over her face.

Devastated.

And I said something

comforting to her

and I walked on

but I was furious

at that other woman

and for ten minutes

my mind was thinking

what a,

well I won't say

what I was thinking.

This is being recorded.

You can pray

but pray for me afterwards.

But as I walked along

then suddenly

I remembered

I'm supposed to be

speaking on prayer

and this little voice

came into my mind

which said

have you prayed for her?

And my instant reaction

was

for her?

And then I thought

well because I'm preaching

I guess I better try

and practice

what I'm preaching.

So,

so I prayed for her

and suddenly

and I prayed

our father,

father just

and then suddenly

I realized

that woman

doesn't know

her heavenly father.

Her whole life

is based on performance.

Her performance

and other people's performance.

if she knew

her father

just how much

would that transform

that angry

critical

bitter person.

And I stood

and I changed

from seeing

just with anger

to seeing her

with compassion.

She needs to know

our father.

And just think

how many of the things

would you change

if suddenly

you began to start

praying

for this church?

You began

to start praying

for the people

in your community group?

You began

to start praying

for the people

around you?

Our father,

would they know you

as father?

And the people

who just irritate you,

the things

which have just

driven you mad,

suddenly you go

from being a quarter

of an inch

to suddenly seeing

above

the,

the,

the,

the,

the,

just the normal

stuff of life.

You begin

to get perspective

and it changes

you.

And you begin

to change

with having

more compassion.

You begin

to see people

as you never

saw them before.

But you see,

prayerless people

complain all the time.

How do I know

because I do it?

Prayerless people

are critical all the time.

How do I know

because I am?

Prayerless people

only see

the problems.

And when they pray,

they only ever pray

for their issues.

But the thing is,

let's imagine

you go into

your community group

and you have a problem

and you say,

or somebody has a problem

and they say,

oh,

my little Johnny,

he's been struggling

at school,

I need you to pray

for him.

What do we normally do?

We say,

okay,

Lord,

please make his problems

better,

amen.

But what if you began

to pray our father

so you began to see

they need to know

God as father

in this.

So Lord,

you know their problems,

you know their needs,

you know their fears,

you know their struggles,

you're a good father

and I pray for that situation,

I pray that they would

know you in that,

but even more than that,

with their stress,

would they know

that you are their father

who cares for them

because that's what they need

in this situation.

We pray that you would answer,

we pray that you would

give them that situation,

but even if you don't,

would they know

that you are good

in this situation?

Because when you pray

like that,

do you see,

the world is not just

about your problems,

it's about knowing him,

it's about knowing

the God

who loves you.

What this church needs

more than anything else

is not more programs.

What this church needs

is not greater leaders,

greater sermons,

it's not greater kids program,

it's not all those other things,

great though those are.

The thing which this church needs

more than anything else

is that we would know God

as our father.

And the only way

that we will know God

as our father

is if we come to him in prayer.

And if you see

that we need each other

to come to God

for each other

in prayer.

So let me ask you,

this week,

what have you complained about?

What have you been critical of?

What have you been stressed about?

Have you narrowed

your world down?

And have you prayed?

Have you prayed?

Have you not just prayed

for a solution,

but have you prayed

that you would know

and that other people

would know your father?

The only way

that you can stop

being a pagan

is to know the father.

The only way

that we can know our father

is to pray.

We keep forgetting

that.

We keep needing

other people

to remind us.

So how are you going

to change?

I want you to think

for a minute

because it's nice

to talk about prayer,

but you know,

in the practical things

of life,

all the best intentions

to pray come to nothing.

You've got a plan

to pray.

You've got to put it

in your calendar.

You've got to put it

in your diary.

You've got to make time

like you do

with your family.

We have spaces

before the service.

We have people

who come to pray.

Do you see how much

this church needs us

to pray?

Your community group.

Do you just go

to your community group

and just turn up,

or have you actually

been praying

for the people there?

Will you set aside

time to pray?

For the leadership.

For all the things

which are going to happen

in our lives,

and happen in our life

as a church,

will you pray?

Will you put it

in your diary?

Will you make time?

Or are you too productive?

Are you too adult?

Are you too self-sufficient

to do that?

We have a couple

of great books outside.

There's some great books

on prayer.

There's one here

by Tim Keller.

Really thorough,

just understanding

what prayer is.

There's another one

here outside.

You can go outside

on the bookstore.

The problem with

recommending books

to pray,

about learning to pray,

is that you read the book

and then you don't pray.

Done that?

The problem is

when we start

coming to community group

and say,

let's have a time of prayer,

is we spend

35 minutes

talking about

what we're going

to pray about

and then 3 minutes

praying.

You done that?

Why?

Because we're

self-sufficient.

Because we don't

really think we need it.

But our Father

is longing

to hear us

and He wants

you and us

and as a church

to say,

our Father.

And that's

a spiritually

healthy church.

not a church

which has

great activities,

great sermons,

all those other things.

It's a church

which can say,

we need you.

We need you.

And God

will place us

in positions

where we have

to cry

like a child,

Father,

we need you.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Maybe you just want to stop for a minute.

And I want you to think,

do I treat God,

am I just an account holder with Him?

Am I just an account holder with Him?

Do I treat Him

as like some spiritual ATM

that I can just cash in on occasionally?

I want you to be real.

And if you think,

oh, my prayer life sucks,

I've been terrible,

just know the amazing thing is

we don't come to our Father

on the basis of our performance.

We come to Him

on the basis of His goodness.

That's why we start with Him in prayer,

not start with ourselves.

So stop for a moment.

What are you going to do?

What's your next step

this week?

How are you going to be too busy to pray?

How are you going to change?

Do you want to change?

Father, this spiritual vacuum inside of us

that we fill with so many other things

is meant to be filled by you.

It's meant to be filled by you.

I pray that we

would constantly remember,

remind each other,

remind ourselves

that in the midst of life

when we forget

who you are,

we try and be

self-sufficient.

We remember that we need you.

And that we turn to you,

not just when we have to,

but we turn to you

because we want to have

that relationship with you.

Change us, Lord.

Change us, Lord,

as a church.

Help us not be pagans,

but to become

people who live

as children of yours.

In your name.

Amen.