Grace-Centered Prayer: Why Pray if God is Sovereign

So in our second week talking about prayer.

Now maybe you are here, and maybe, just maybe, prayer has never really made sense to you.

And perhaps that because for you, God has always been a little bit of the benevolent policeman.

Right?

Maybe like Barney Fai, if you remember Barney Fai from Mayberry, right?

He was, if you remember him, he was kind, he was he was uh a little naive, he was sweet.

Um I don't know if you could say he was in control.

I'm not sure if you would have extreme confidence in him.

So maybe when it comes to the benevolent policeman God, you simply never have really invited God into your real mess or your real issues.

It's also possible prayer has never made sense because you actually do believe God is in complete control.

And if God has a plan, and if God already knows the cares of my heart before I speak them, why should I pray?

Like, why pray if God is sovereign?

So that's the question I want to ask today.

Why pray if God is sovereign?

Meaning God is in control.

So there's a story in Acts 3, Peter and John are headed to the temple to pray.

There's a man there who's been lame his entire life.

He has never walked a day in his life.

And so this man asks Peter and John for some money.

And Peter looks at him and says, Hey, I don't have anything for you.

I have no handout, I have no money, but I don't have any of that.

But I have the power of Jesus for you.

And the man's healed.

So that's pretty wild.

And so the people are astounded, and all the people come together, and people begin to preach about how amazing Jesus is.

And this is why the miracles occur throughout the New Testament.

A miracle creates a path for the proclamation of Jesus.

And so Peter's preaching how amazing Jesus is, and then he tells the religious authorities, he said, By the way, all of you, all of you, you killed them.

You killed Jesus.

Now, when I was a boy, a very long, long time ago, I used to cut grass in my neighborhood.

I'd push my lawnmower to the different, you know, lawns, and I would cut them and get my$25 and go back home.

So one day I was cutting a lady's lawn down the street, and I'm cutting about halfway through the front yard, and I feel a sting on my like my shin, and then I then I felt another sting like up above my knee, and then one up by my tidy-whiteys at the time.

And I realized I had ran over a yellow jacket nest, and they were just swarming.

But I mean I was I was fast.

I was 10 years old.

And I don't, 10-year-olds, you think you're fast?

I would love to give a go at you back when I was 10 years old.

I was, and I just took off.

And I flew all the way back home, and I was tearing off clothes along the way.

I get back home and I get my dad, and my dad and I walk back up there.

He very calmly goes and gets the lawnmower out, and is like, oh, okay, that wasn't that big of a deal.

Okay, so this is what just happened to Peter.

He caused a swarm.

He caused a swarm, and they are after thousands of years of organized rules, a system, strict hierarchy, and the people in charge of that system benefited from that system working smoothly.

And then Jesus disturbs it, Paul disturbs it, and Peter is disturbing it.

So in Acts 4, the swarm is occurring, the religious leaders.

It's a swarm.

And those leaders arrest Peter and his friends.

So all the believers of Jesus at the time, they get together and they pray.

Just when you think they would form a strategy, right?

My question would be like, who can we call?

Who do we know?

How do we get them out?

They pray.

They ask for help.

Acts 4 29.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.

That term Lord, the beginning of the prayer, Lord, that term means sovereign Lord.

So they're saying at the beginning of this prayer, in the middle of a huge difficulty and hardship, they're saying, God, you're in control.

Now listen to God's sovereignty, his control over creation.

Isaiah 46, 9 and 10.

Remember the former things of old, for I am God.

There is no other.

I am God, and there's none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.

God's sovereignty over salvation, Ephesians 1.11.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.

God's sovereignty over suffering, Romans 8.28, and we know that for those who love God all things, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

God's sovereignty over human life.

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Here's how the Westminster Confession of Faith summarizes this idea, this truth of God's sovereignty.

God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and immutably, that is, without possibility of changing it, ordain whatsoever comes to pass.

Now that's difficult considering how we feel quite free and make decisions.

So how do we think about this?

How do we think about sovereignty or how do we even think about like God's will?

Well, we can think about God's will in three ways: God's sovereign will, God's revealed will, and God's permissive will.

God's sovereign will, which ensures that God's purposes are always fulfilled.

He will write his story in this world.

God's revealed will, which is clear in Scripture and calls us to faithful obedience.

How should we live?

That's not even up for a question.

We have it.

It's written for us.

God's permissive will, which reminds us that God uses even failures and sufferings for his glory and our good.

Now, these three aspects of God's will, they begin to help us, begin to help us to understand how God is sovereign while we're having experiences and choices.

These three aspects of God's will work perfectly together.

Now, here's how my mentor, a retired Presbyterian pastor, Presbyterians love God's sovereignty.

Amen, Presbyterians.

Just Presbyterians, you're like, this is my sermon.

I was glad I showed up this morning for this one.

Here's what he taught me.

The further we get along in faith and life, the more we will hold sovereignty and mystery together.

I think that's to say something like somehow our choices are inside of God's sovereignty.

Now, don't ask me to explain that too much.

But just because I can't explain it or you can't resolve it doesn't mean it's not true.

Point number one is this we live in the comfort of God's sovereignty.

God's story is at word.

Do you remember in Lord of the Rings, Frodo, he's carrying that ring?

And at a certain point, Frodo he begins to lament carrying the ring, the burden of it, the situation of it.

And he says, I wish the ring had never come to me.

I wish none of this had happened.

And Gandalf, right, the wise elder, so wisely, he responds.

So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide.

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

So Frodo's upset about life.

I'm uh it's not going how I want it to go.

Anybody anybody else?

Right now or yesterday, right?

Just like at some point, we've been there.

Frodo's limited understanding is our limited understanding, yet we still have decisions.

Yet we still rest and we live faithfully in the unfolding story.

See, for Gandalf, God in control means everything.

They were making decisions, but it was inside of a story that was unfolding.

Which means that whatever's going on today, God's story is still being written for you.

Which is comforting.

So, what does this mean for your prayer life?

Because we're talking about prayer.

What does it mean for prayer?

Point number two, God's sovereignty does not discourage prayer, but creates prayer from a peace-filled heart.

Of course, you're anxious.

I'm anxious.

I mean, God assumes, and the Bible assumes you're anxious.

Cast all your cares, your anxieties on him.

So he's assuming that.

But there's good news here, and here's the good news.

Our hearts don't have to worry about our security as Christians because it's fully based on Jesus' work for us.

So that anxiety is gone if you're a Christian.

And how your life's going to unfold and you needing to control it perfectly to get it where it needs to go, that anxiety can be gone also because you live in God's sovereignty.

And that's good news.

That gives us the beginning of a piece that we have a God that's incredibly personal and who is sovereign and with us.

We are not the author of the story, but rather characters in God's story.

See, in Acts 4, they prayed because God was sovereign.

Because they wanted to connect with their personal God who was with them and who is working something out even in the difficulty.

Point number three is this the profound mystery of God's sovereignty invites our prayers for God to intervene.

Listen to Acts 4.

They've confessed God is sovereign over all events, and yet they're still praying.

Acts 4, 29 and 30.

And now, Lord, look upon their hearts and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal and sign, and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

And God responds to that prayer in Acts 4, 31.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

So somehow, I can't explain it.

Somehow God is sovereign, and inside of that, He uses our prayers.

Prayer actually matters.

God's sovereignty actually welcomes our prayers and uses our prayers.

Is it possible, just possible, that this big chasm between free will and God's sovereignty only exists because we simply don't understand everything about everything?

Could we just begin with a little humility?

That maybe we don't understand everything about everything.

I've accepted this.

I've accepted this because some of the worst things in my life have stayed worse things in my life.

Okay, but some other worst things in my life over time have become amazing things.

Some really, really good things in my life have remained good things.

But then some other good things in my life over time have become horrible things.

It's simply very difficult for us, for any of us, in the present moment with limited understanding to know how the story will unfold.

So we end up back at Proverbs 16, 9.

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

So last thing, three blessings of praying to a sovereign God.

The blessing of presence and welcome.

God is always working in us and for us.

He's welcoming our prayers.

For years I tried to use God's sovereignty to get answers.

Well, if you're in control and you're God and I'm talking to you, you're gonna give me an answer for that heartache and that pain and that disappointment.

It never worked.

Never worked.

I was never at peace.

And then I learned.

I learned this.

God's sovereignty does not give us answers to all things.

God's sovereignty gives us a relationship with God in all things.

Him being sovereign means that he doesn't run away when life gets hard.

That he's with us.

Now, I I can't explain the problem of evil.

I can't explain why every heartache happens.

None of us will be able to explain any of that until we get to the next world.

But I do know God's with you in all things.

And I know that's a blessing of presence and welcome.

He actually cares and moves toward our weakness.

And once we're assured of that, if we're assured that in the gospel our sin really is fully forgiven, full forgiveness, and we're fully righteous, so all that, like my status with God and how am I with God today, if all of that's fully handled in Jesus, that anxiety is put to the side.

And if I don't have to control and pray every right prayer in the right way to make all that goodness happen in that person's life and that person's life, I mean, that is, that would be crazy.

Imagine that.

Just imagine if all the goodness in your children's lives, all the goodness in your friends or your family's life was dependent upon your prayers.

That would be the most anxiety-filled life you could ever imagine.

That's why I'm saying God's sovereign over our loved ones and over us.

And inside of that sovereignty, we pray.

I don't know how it all works itself out, but I do know it's a release of anxiety.

And that God is present with us and for us and welcoming our prayers.

Second, the blessing of gratitude.

Prayer creates hearts of thanksgiving.

2 Corinthians 1.11.

You also must help us by prayer.

Okay, so prayer matters.

So that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Prayer helps us to become aware, come alive to God's blessings.

As we pray, we become aware of the things in our lives to be thankful for.

We become thankful people in this process.

Third, the blessing of growth and nourishment.

Prayer grows and nourishes our relationship with God.

Twenty years ago, Christy and I were married.

Here's a picture of us on our wedding day.

That beautiful skin.

And I show these pictures.

Young men, young men, I show these pictures because look what's possible.

Right?

I mean, if prayer and if you don't believe in prayer and miracles, this picture that a woman like that would marry this.

Right?

I mean, you're just like, that's amazing.

That's amazing that that can happen.

It's like that, maybe that's the whole sermon.

It's just that picture.

So we were fully married that day.

Fully.

Sealed.

Complete.

We couldn't get more married.

We're married.

And yet we had to learn, still learning how to grow together.

We've not always been good at that.

The first couple of years of our marriage, we just lived selfishly.

And we could.

Just live together selfishly.

And then we had a baby, and that changed everything.

But we became a team and we started to take walks together.

We started to talk more.

We started to schedule time.

We started weekly date nights, and we realized we couldn't just live as roommates, that we actually need to live married, sharing life together.

And during all the times we weren't really good at that, we were still completely married.

We couldn't get more married.

But on the walks and the dates, we talked.

What was good today?

What are you thankful for today?

What was stressful today?

What's eating at you?

Who bothered you today?

And the talking, the sharing, the processing over time grows and nourishes a relationship.

So we have the security of the marriage covenant.

We couldn't get any more married, and yet inside of that security, we're growing together.

You see what I'm saying?

We have security in the gospel, we have comfort in God's sovereignty, and inside of that, we can't get more Christian, we can't get more saved, and inside of that security, there's a comfort that we're fully saved and God is sovereign.

And in that, in there, we pray.

We share, we ask for things.

Our prayers change over time.

We grow.

Listen how Pastor Scotty Smith relates this to prayer.

He just published a little prayer book.

He wrote this.

Prayer doesn't close the gap between us and God.

The gospel abolished the gap.

Prayer is where we risk believing there is no gap.

Just grace upon grace.

God doesn't love us to the extent we are like Christ, but to the extent we are in Christ, which is already 100%.

Prayer is the welcome, oxygen, landscape, surgery, feast, playground, ocean, horizon, and sanctuary where we come alive to the God of love and the love of God.

If you have a question about prayer or anything else after the service, there'll be a pastor down front who would love to speak to you.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we're thankful that we don't have to understand everything.

We're thankful for that the entirety of goodness in our lives and our loved ones' lives is not based upon the strength and consistency of our prayers.

That you are writing a story and you are sovereign.

Thank you for your presence with us in the midst of our sin, our lack of faith, our lack of prayer, that you never leave us and you're always for us.

Thank you that we are invited to pray.

We're invited to grow with you.

We're invited to ask you to intervene.

Would you release us even more of the idols of control, of arrogance?

Would you humble us as children before Heavenly Father?

And would you grow us in prayer?

Would you grow us in prayer as we ask you for your action and activity in our lives as we grow in our faith and we grow closer to Jesus?

In His name we pray.

Amen.