Prayer Changes Things

Yeah, Brad, that was great, what you shared earlier. And I just want to say,

just be ready that God's going to give you opportunities to speak the name of

Jesus when people are saying to you what is happening in the world.

And I've already had an opportunity this week to change the conversation and bring it back to truth.

So let's just pray before I start. And I just want to share the primary schools

version of the Lord's Prayer again, because you know how I love it.

So, our Father in heaven, you are awesome.

Show us who you are and how you want us to be.

Make earth more like heaven. Please give us what we need to keep going each day.

Help us when we and clean

us up on the inside help us

to let off other people and move on keep us from bad stuff you're in charge

you're strong and powerful and always there forever amen so i have started with

prayer i haven't changed my mind that's what i'm going to talk about,

and so I have a title, Tim always has a time, Prayer Changes Things.

Have you ever wondered why God, the creator of all things, robed in majesty

and armed with strength, wants us to pray?

I won't go there because that's a whole other sermon, but as we grow as Christians,

we understand it more and more.

I read recently that the first cordless phone was created by God. he called it prayer.

It never loses its signal, never needs recharging, and it works anywhere.

I understand there are nine Greek words used in the Bible for the different

types of prayer, and I can't pronounce any of them, so we just need to know that there are nine.

As I was typing this out, I could hear my youngest grandson's voice saying,

Grandma, it's not a language lesson.

And I was reminded that when he was younger, one of the traditions in our family

is that as my grandchildren are growing up, they come to a stage where they

are taught to make Anzac cookies.

And it was Liam's turn. And part of the way through, we were measuring,

We were working out fractions on the measuring cup, which apparently you don't

do anymore because kids don't learn fractions anymore.

And all of a sudden he says, Grandma, I didn't come for a maths lesson.

So you can understand why I could hear his voice as I was typing this out.

But there are so many aspects to prayer.

And so I waited on the Lord to hear what he wanted me to share about prayer today.

And he gave me this analogy.

Have you ever had a friend and you just love spending time with them?

You share the highs and lows of life together.

A problem shared is a problem halved. You enjoy simple things like a walk to the park,

a wander around the local art gallery, but best of all, just sitting and chatting

over a cuppa, praying together, listening to worship songs.

Sometimes just being still before the Lord.

And you enjoy their company so much that you lose track of time when you are with them.

How blessed you are if you have a friend like that.

And yes, I have a friend exactly like that.

Thank you, Lord, for friends. But even better than that, our Heavenly Father

loves when we spend time with Him, sharing the highs and lows of life,

communing with Him as we walk along or out driving, but just being still before Him at times,

casting all our cares upon Him and telling Him about our concerns for family,

friends, our neighborhood, the country, of the world, the whole lot,

and being thankful in all the circumstances,

enjoying his presence, worshipping him.

And he knows us better than we know ourselves.

So it's easy to lose track of time as we rest in him.

And he especially loves it when we take the time to listen to what he wants

to say to us. This is prayer.

In recent months, the Lord has been taking me on a journey of love.

It's been a stretching experience, taking me places I have not been before.

And this week, the scripture I was prompted to read again was Mark chapter 12,

Mark 12 · chapter mention

where it talks about the greatest commandment.

And from verse 30, it says, love the Lord your God with all your heart and with

all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

And the second is, love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no commandment greater than these.

And those we love are often on our mind and we want to spend time with them,

talk and share life with them, and love grows.

And this is how God wants our relationship to be with Him.

So we can see that the benefit of praying results in us being able to do what

those verses in Mark command us to do, and is not as daunting as it might seem when we first read it.

So let's look at other benefits of praying.

Lately, I've been interested in the results of research into the effects of prayer on the brain.

Neuroscientists have been studying the brain when you pray, particularly studies by Dr.

Andrew Newberg using a SPECT scan.

I hadn't heard of that scan before, and you know me, I had to look it up.

And it's a single photon emission computed tomography scan, a nuclear medicine

imaging test that creates detailed 3D pictures of organs,

tissues and blood flow, showing how well they work, not just what they look like.

But by using a small amount of radioactive tracer, it reveals functional activity

not seen on x-rays or CT scans.

So the research using a SPECT scan indicates that regular prayer acts as a brain

exercise, strengthening neural pathways,

enhancing cognitive function, and reducing stress by lowering cortisol.

Imaging shows prayer activates the prefrontal cortex for focus and executive

function, while calming the amygdala, the fear centre.

Further brain imaging studies have demonstrated that consistent contemplative

prayer can alter the brain's structure and function,

promoting neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to rewire itself.

Studies also show, they've been busy, haven't they?

It shows that when we regularly pray, our blood pressure decreases.

We regulate our emotions more effectively, and our immune response improves.

The studies have also compared Christian praying with Buddhist monks and individuals

committed to meditative lifestyle.

And all results demonstrate that praying to Jesus has the greatest impact. Yay!

So the very thing that God calls us to do is also the very thing that can bring

healing and health to our bodies and minds.

What great benefits. And this research is done, obviously, on an individual

basis, but it had me wondering what the results would be if they did research.

Say, for example, when we pray together on a Wednesday night,

if they could do it as a group, imagine the benefits, and it'd be multiplied

exponentially exponentially.

So I'm very tempted at this point

to finish speaking and spend the rest of the time getting us to pray.

But sorry, I'm not going to do that. But I hope that the research results will

encourage you to pray more.

There are so many verses in the Bible about prayer, and I'm sure you all would have a favourite.

I'll share one of mine later.

The Old Testament gives us many examples of prayer. But think about Jonah in the whale.

It's a strange place to be praying. But chapter 2, verse 1 says,

From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God.

He said, In my distress, I called to the Lord, and he answered me.

From the depths of the grave, I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

So he was inside the whale three days and three nights.

Plenty of time to pray. Also from the Old Testament, we have Job.

We read through 41 chapters, starting with Job's happiness, then his testing,

then the input of three friends. We won't go there.

Job's call for vindication, God's input.

Then eventually, at chapter 42, to Job's repentance and praying for his friends.

And verse 10 says, After Job prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous

again and gave him twice as much as before.

So he lived another 140 years after his trials to 1900 BC.

Isn't it exciting to think about that line of prayer coming from Job all the

way up to now, over 4,000 years?

So in the New Testament, we see that prayer was a big part of Jesus' life.

He was regularly spending time praying to his father.

Just one example was after the feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew chapter 14 in verse 23, where it says,

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

after he had dismissed them, he went

up on a mountainside by himself to pray he encouraged

the disciples to pray for example in Luke 18 verse 1 it says then Jesus told

Luke 18:1

his disciples a parable it was the one about the persistent widow to show them

that they should always pray and not give up.

So all of John chapter 17 is Jesus praying, first of all for himself,

John 17 · chapter mention

then for his disciples, and then for all believers, including us. Awesome.

Then they head off to the Kidron Valley and the rest of the Easter story begins.

There are many times we read of Paul asking fellow believers to pray for him.

And he starts many of his letters to the churches saying how much he prays for them.

So what does the Bible say to us about prayer? Of course, the starting point

is Matthew 6.9, the Lord's Prayer, when Jesus begins by saying,

this then is how you should pray.

1 Thessalonians 5.17 says, Be joyful always, pray continually,

give thanks in all circumstances.

For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 3.12 says, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are attentive to their prayers.

I'll read that one again. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are attentive to their prayers.

Also in 1 Peter 4.3, be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

Romans 12.12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

James 5.16 The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Timothy 2 verses 1 to 6 says, I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,

intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those

in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

This is good and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and

to come to a knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind,

the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

This has now been witnessed at the proper time.

So it's all about Jesus.

Thank you for Jesus, Lord. So one of my favorite scriptures shows us how God

wants us to be praying and the benefits we have as a result.

Philippians 4, verses 6 to 8. And I did share this a bit in my healing testimony,

Philippians 4:6–8

for those who remember that.

And it says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts

and minds in Christ Jesus.

The reason that this is one of my favorite verses is at the end of 1999,

so it's a while ago now, the Lord put these verses on my heart when I was going

through a difficult time after we had flown back from Europe.

We'd been to Singapore and then a week in Vienna for a conference for David's work.

And we were also given the opportunity to have some extra days wherever we chose.

But as David had to be back fairly quickly because of some work commitments

that he couldn't delegate, we chose to fly to Germany for a few days and then we headed home.

By the time we got back, I was experiencing some health issues and the initial

concern was a mild stroke after the flights.

But because of my previous history of MS, an MRI was arranged by a different

neurologist than I'd been to before.

And unfortunately, I had an adverse reaction to the MRI, and I was in hospital

for a week, and it took a long time to recover.

But needless to say, there was no sign of MS on the MRI. And by the way,

there was no sign of a stroke.

And I'm not going to go into the details, only to say that I had thought that

MS was challenging, but this was even worse.

But the Lord put on my heart these verses in Philippians, and they became a

lifesaver for me. It was quite simple, really.

Praying, being thankful, and experiencing God's peace.

And as I waited on the Lord, one day I was prompted to read the earlier verses in the chapter.

In verses 4 to 5 it says, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

A key to any of life's challenges was there.

Rejoice in the Lord always. A key to life's joys and successes also there.

We are to rejoice in the Lord always.

And it's repeated to reinforce the importance of it.

And Paul was in prison in Rome when he wrote these words.

It was part of his final encouragement to his Christian friends in Philippi.

But what an example to them that Paul was rejoicing even when in prison.

So anyone who hangs around me long enough will no doubt have heard me quote

this scripture, and they'd know that I'm praying in their time of need.

I've even got a copy of it on my fridge door for all to see.

And how important it is to rejoice in the Lord in good times and bad,

as well as praying, and not to dwell on the problem, but to focus on the Lord.

This helps to keep things in perspective.

The road ahead may still be rocky and winding. The difficulties may last some time.

But being able to rejoice in the Lord and knowing that He is near and experiencing

His peace through it, it makes all the difference.

But to maintain that peace, we need to take notice of verse 8.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.

And with so much sensationalised news around us and it's been pretty intense just lately, hasn't it?

And of course there's the fake news and temptations.

We need to be careful what we put in our minds.

We're not computers just able to press the delete button and how often we have

to prove these days that we're not computers.

Where are the traffic lights in those pictures?

There are so many verses about prayer, but I will finish this one from James

5.13 where it says, Is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray.

Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over

him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

So actions speak louder than words, so we will move into a time of prayer.

First of all, I want us to spend a couple of minutes praying silently.

I'm not sure if they're hearing us online yet No, they're not Okay,

that's alright I was going to say for them to join in Unless they were driving

And I know Angela was going to be driving Yes.

We don't want anyone. That works out well. Okay. So we're just going to have

some silent prayer first.

You know, maybe the mention of Jonah has reminded you that the Lord's been asking

you to do something that you haven't quite got around to yet.

Mentioning Job may have reminded you that you need to sort out a relationship or forgive someone.

You may have been anxious about something way too long and the Lord has been

waiting for you to draw near, to talk to him about it and to receive his peace.

You may be thinking, I would love a friend like the one I heard about this morning.

And James 4 verse 2 says, you have not because you ask not.

James 4:2

So let's be still and quiet for a time Knowing how much our Heavenly Father

loves it When we draw near to Him Present your request to Him Listen to what He's saying to you,

Tim and Elaine will join me at the front shortly Then if you want to Come to

the front to be anointed with oil for healing of any kind, just when you're ready.

And if you want to continue praying quietly, please do that.

There is no rush this morning.

Thank you, Lord, for your love.

Thank you that you have so much in store for us.

As we think of the chorus from years ago, what a friend we have in Jesus,

all our sins and griefs to bear.

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.

So we do come silently before you now in prayer and thank you for this privilege. Amen.