Examining Prayer

Preface - I highly recommend Richard Foster's book, Prayer, as a resource as you study prayer.  Foster's book has been a valuable resource to me as I've developed this series on prayer and in my own efforts to deepen my prayer life.

Introduction

During Advent, I want to take a closer look at prayer.  Prayer is so much more than what we usually think of.  There are so many different kinds of prayer.  Often, we in the church only think of prayer as what the preacher does on Sunday mornings in worship.  However, public prayer is only one type of prayer—and it is not really a good model for what we do in private prayer.  

Many of us struggle with our private prayer life.  Many do not pray at all.  Others who do pray regularly may feel like their prayers are dull and lifeless, because they’re just repeating the same prayers day after day, week after week—just asking God for the same things over and over.

Pray doesn’t have to be that way.  Prayer can be expressed in so many colorful ways; we never need become bored with it.  We can never exhaust the deep well of true prayer if we understand that prayer is so much more than what we thought it was.  We need a faithful prayer life.  We also need a deep prayer life.  During Advent, I will explore some of the diverse forms of prayer. 

I highly recommend the book Prayer, Finding the Hearts True Home by Richard Foster.  It is a classic and I wish I had read it much earlier in my spiritual journey.  It would have helped my prayer life a lot.  It has helped me a lot his year.  Foster shares 21 different kinds of prayer.  I will share some of them with you over the next few weeks on Wednesday nights & Sunday mornings.

Today, I want to explore what I call, examining prayer and encourage you to practice it.

Psalm 139:1-6, 23-24
O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
² You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
³ You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
⁴ You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
⁵ You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Examining Prayer

Examining prayer is just what it says—it is a prayerful act of examination.  It is prayer that first invites us to consider how God has been present in our day and second invites God to search our heart and cleanse us.

First, examine how God has been present in your day.

Usually, when we think of prayer, we think of closing our eyes and folding our hands, and saying things like: “Dear God, please forgive me for eating that extra piece of pecan pie and help me not to gain too much weight from all I ate at Thanksgiving this year. Amen.”  But prayer can also be quietly reflecting on our day, intentionally thinking about all the ways God was present with us.

How many times does God show Himself to us—in the beautiful fall colors, in a song on the radio, in the hug or encouragement of a friend, in an idea that pops into our head—but we, in our hurried pace, don’t recognize it as God’s divine presence.  How many times do we feel our conscious tell us, “You should send a card to so and so” or “I wonder why Jeff hasn’t been at church lately” or something else.  But the life rushes on and so do we and we forget these little nudges from the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever found yourself at the end of the day thinking, “Now, I know I was supposed to do something or I had an idea and now I can’t remember it”?  What if we reflected this way intentionally as an act of prayer?  What if we were trusting God to help us remember those things He wanted us to recall?

In examining prayer, we make time to prayerfully go back over our day and trust God to help us remember what’s important—especially the ways He revealed Himself to us or spoke to us or put something on our heart to do.  How helpful could it be for you to grab a piece of paper and a pen and prayerfully examine the events of your day and jot down a few notes about how God spoke to you or something He might want you to do?

Second, invite God to examine you—to search your heart and cleanse you.

Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”  We are broken, sinful people.  Because of our brokenness, we don’t even know all the ways we are broken.  Maybe we are puffed up with pride, thinking we are pretty good people.  Humans are experts at rationalizing our own bad behavior.  We are quick to point an accusing finger at others, naming all the ways they fall short, but we will make excuses for own bad behavior so we can continue to live a self-righteous fantacy.  This is a dangerous handicap for anyone who wants to follow Christ.  We need God’s help to be honest with ourselves and know the ways we fall short.  How can we ask God to forgive our sins and heal us if we don’t even know what they are?  We need God’s help.  We need Him to search us and clean us.

I hope you will not be too intimidated to invite God to examine your life.  It’s not like you could ever hide from Him anyway.  He made you and He knows everything about you already.  He knows you better than you know yourself.  What is missing is a conversation where God lovingly reveals what He knows to you.  I say lovingly reveals, because God is not mean-spirtited when He searches us.  He is gentle and kind.  He is honest.  He does not justify or rationalize our actions the way we would.  But God is also not as hard on us as we might be on ourselves.  We often view our bad behavior, bad attitudes, and mistakes in such a discouraging light, we berate ourselves and fall into despair.  But God knows the truth that it is neither as good nor as bad as we think.  God shows us the truth—which usually lies somewhere in the middle—and then He graciously helps us heal.

An unexamined life is not worth giving.

Romans 12:1 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”  Christians are to give themselves to God, completely.  In order to really give yourself to God, you’ve got to know who you really are.  Prayer, where we ask God to search us and reveal ourselves to ourselves is the only way we can then turn our true selves over to God.  Therefore, we need God to help us through examining prayer.

How do you do it?

Examining prayer doesn’t have to be complicated.  It includes two things:  1) considering how God was been present in your day and 2) inviting God to search your heart and cleanse you. 

As I mentioned already, you can simply sit down at your dinner table (or someplace quiet) with a pen and a piece of paper and just ask God to help you reflect on your day.  What did you do?  What details do you remember?  Who did you meet?  What were your thoughts?  What did you notice about the world around you?  Did you have any ideas come to you?  Did you feel there was something you should do?  There’s no need to put too much pressure on yourself or to be anxious that you won’t remember it all.  You see, it’s not all up to you.  You are asking God to help you remember what He wants you to remember.  Don’t you think He is able to do that?  Do you trust Him to help you remember what He wants you to remember and pass over those things He wants you to forget?  As you reflect, jot down some notes on paper so you can look back over your list later and always remember.  Some people find it helpful to use a journal to be more organized.  If that works for you, good; but it’s not necessary.  A simple piece of paper or a notepad will suffice.

Now, also ask God to search your heart and reveal anything that He wants you to know about your life.  Are there sins for which you need to repent?  Is there ungodly behavior or attitudes hiding in your heart?  Do you need to forgive someone?  Do you need to apologize to someone?  Do you need to forgive yourself?  What might be at the root of those thoughts and behaviors?  Ask God to show you.  Again, write down whatever He reveals so you can refer back to it later. 

Writing works well for me.  I truly envy people who remember names, people, details, events, etc. with remarkable clarity.  That amazes me, but that’s not me.  I have a terrible memory, so a written record is not only helpful, it is almost a necessity for me.  So, I like to-do lists and written spiritual journals.  That works well for me.  But these are not the only ways to participate in examining prayer.

Physical activity can be very helpful too.  God can reveal so much to you while you prayerfully reflect while you go for a walk, cut the grass or rake leaves, wash the dishes or vacuum.  So often, we just think of these activities as chores; but done in the right way, they can become prayer that shows us how God is with us all the time and helps us see who we really are.  And if your memory is such that you don’t need to write anything down to remember it, then pen and paper are not really necessary.  The point is to examine your life and let God examine you.

"Lord, Teach Us to Pray"

Introduction
It's time to get ready for Christmas.  In the Christian Church, we call this pre-Christmas season of preparation Advent.  We get ready to celebrate the birth of Christ, when the Son of God came to earth as an infant born in a manger.  We also remember that Jesus promised he would come again as the King of Glory returning in the clouds.  So as we prepare for Christmas, we also prepare for the second coming of Christ.  Are you ready for Jesus to return?

If you could ask Jesus to teach you one thing during Advent, what would it be?  We you ask: "LORD, teach me to raise my kids" or "manage my money" or "find someone to marry," "get along with my spouse," or teach me to trust You."  There are many things we might ask Jesus to teach us.  The Disciples asked Jesus to teach them something in the Gospel of Luke. 

Luke 11:1
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

Of All the Things…
Jesus did a lot of amazing things in his life. He healed people who was deaf, blind, lame.  He drove demons out of people.  One time, he drove a whole group of demons out of a man.  The demons begged Jesus to let them go into a heard of pigs and he did.  Then the herd of pigs ran off a cliff and plunge to their death in the sea!  Amazingly, Jesus once walked on water!  Jesus could do things no one else could do.

Of all the things the Disciples could have asked Jesus to teach them, they asked him to teach them to pray.  Jesus’ prayer life must been amazingly powerful to impress them more than all the others things he did.  Jesus’ prayers were special.

You know, when you find something you love to do, you're always trying to find time to sneak off and do it.  Some people sneak off to play golf.  Others sneak off to go fishing or hunting.  Some sneak off to see a football game or to be with their family.  Jesus loved to pray. He was always sneaking off to pray.  Matthew 14:23, " After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone."  Mark 1:35, "Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray."  Mark 6:46, "After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray."  Luke 5:16, "But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer." Jesus loved to sneak off and pray, because he loved to spend time with His Heavenly Father.  No one loved prayer or needed prayer or knew how to pray as powerfully as Jesus.  If you need to know how to pray, Jesus is the one to ask.

We Need to Learn How to Pray
The Disciples needed to know how to pray.  They lived in a tumultuous time. People often didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. Sickness, poverty, oppression, depression, and demon possession were rampant. The world was a dark, dark place. The Disciples desperately needed to know how to pray just so they could survive. So they asked Jesus to teach them.

I don't know about you, but when I look around, and I see a lot of darkness in our world today too.  It is said our country is more divided now than it has ever been.  (It is certainly more divided than I have ever known in my lifetime.)  There is a great darkness over our land – mass shootings, lawlessness, evil.  The Word of God is scorned by those outside the Church and forgotten by so many inside the Church.  I read a story this week about the United Church of Canada, where Canada’s second largest denomination decided to let a self-proclaimed atheist continue ministering in their church. Even though the minister doesn’t believe in God, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit, the United Church of Canada has decided not to remove her from ministry.[i]  That just makes no sense!  Sometimes, it just seems like the world is going crazy!  However, I’m not discouraged.  I am in God’s royal family.  I am a king in God's kingdom.  And when we feel like the world is too full of darkness, we can run to God in prayer.  So, we need say, "Jesus, teach us to pray."

It’s not just in dark times that we should run to God in prayer. It’s in all times. We need to learn how to pray—in good times, bad times, times of need, times of thanksgiving. We ought to go to God in prayer continually, as we would go talk to our wife, our husband, our parents, our best friend.

Christmas shows Jesus coming from Heaven to be with us. Prayer is our answer. Pray is us choosing to spend time with God through prayer in Jesus name. We can go confidently into God's presence in prayer. God loves for us to come. The great preacher and missionary Paul Washer said, “Just a glance of our eyes upward makes [God’s] heart beat faster.” 

Prayer is the avenue through which we involve God in every detail of our lives.
I am convinced, now more than ever, that prayer is the life blood of the Christian.  Prayer is not just something Christians do.  Prayer is everything!  Prayer is the life of a Christian.  Prayer is the answer to all our problems.  Prayer is the questions we need to ask.  Prayer is searching and prayer is the finding.  Prayer is the solution to all the personal troubles we face.  Prayer is the solutions to the darkness we see in our world.  Prayer is knowing the actual problems.  Prayer is the way to save a church that is shrinking and dying.  Prayer is the way to bring people to Christ.  Prayer is the way to turn our families back to the Lord.  Prayer is the way to find our way into the future—to know God’s vision for our lives, what career we should pursue, how to raised our family, who to vote for, how to exercise, what to eat for dinner, what to read, what to avoid, who to talk to, who to date, how fast to drive, what route to take home.  Prayer shows what programs our church needs to invest in and which ones we need to say goodbye to.  Prayer is how we find a way through sickness and depression, how we find true healing from the Lord.

Have you ever driven through a thick fog at night?  It so hard to see!  Your headlights only go out so far, so you have to be careful.  Pray is like our headlights that shine out through the foggy darkness to show the way.  Unfortunately, the prayer life of many is so weak, the light barely shines a foot or two out front.  You can't tell what you might run into in the darkness.  Others have no prayer life at all.  It's like their running down the highway at night and have switched off their headlights.  their in complete and total darkness, lost and about to run off the road into a tree!

We've got to pray, folks!  And prayer is not what you think it is.  It’s not just folding your hands and closing your eyes and saying a few words to God.  We’ve got to start thinking of prayer as more than we have before.  It's not just going through a prayer list and praying for people who are sick.  Prayer is not just us sitting around naming all the people we need to pray for and then saying, “We lift up Bobby and Suzy.”  That is one part of prayer, but it’s not enough by itself.  Prayer is so much more.  Prayer is communion with God, our Creator.  Prayer is what Adam and Eve did when they would walk and talk with God in Garden of Eden (before they so foolishly chose to listen to the serpent Satan and eat the forbidden fruit and fell into sin).  Prayer is what the prophet Elijah was doing when he was caught up in a whirlwind and taken to be with the Lord.  Prayer is what Jesus did constantly—sneaking away from the crowds to pray in a quiet place.  He loved to spend time with His Heavenly Father.  It is also what Jesus did to constantly conform His will to the Father’s.  It is how Jesus knew what to do and what not to do and when, so that He was always and everywhere “Lead by the Spirit.”  So the Scripture always says, “He was lead by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted…”  “He was lead by the Spirit to the Jordan river to be baptized…”  “He was lead by the Spirit to Galillee to teach the Gentiles…”  “He was lead by the Spirit to Jerusalem to die on the cross…” 

Invitation

I invite you to join me each week as we ask Jesus to teach how to pray for the next month.  "Lord, teach us to pray.”  I am asking the Lord to show me what He wants us to know about prayer.  I am praying about it daily and studying.  I will share what the Lord gives me every chance I get on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings at my church.  I invite you to come.  I will also share some of what I learn hear on my blog and on my church's Facebook page.  Will you come and hear what the Lord might say to you?  Will you also ask the Lord to teach you to pray?

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[i] https://www.wnd.com/2018/11/surprise-christian-church-lets-atheist-keep-pastoring/

Sound Different

Introduction
            I will never forget the first time I said "I love you" to Kelly.  She was only 16 and I was 18.  We'd only been dating for a short time.  I walked her to her door after on of our date and said good night and then it just came out, "I love you."  I said ti as much out of habit as anything (that's the what we said when we told each other good night in my childhood family).  There was an awkward pause... and Kelly did not reciprocate.
            Back in the car on the drive home, I was kicking myself.  Why did I say that?  It wasn't appropriate because we hadn't been dating long enough and I didn't really mean it; it just slipped out.  When I got to my house, the phone rang and it was Kelly.  She said, "I think I should explain why I didn't say I love you back.  Those are very important words to me and I don't use them lightly.  I think you should really know that you love someone before you tell them "I love you.""
            Now that sounded different--so much more mature and honest than most 16-year-old girls I knew at the time.  And it impressed me that Kelly had a deeper understanding of love and was willing to stand up for what she believed in and to call me and explain.
            Well, we are supposed to sound different than the world.  You see, long ago, God chose you to be holy different--to think different, to act different, to look different, and to sound different.  How You Sound--what you say--is serious business.  Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."  Proverbs 15:4 says, "Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."  And Proverbs 12:18 says, "Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing."  And listen to what Jesus said about the power of what holy people say. 

Mark 11:22-25

²² Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. ²³ I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. ²⁴ I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. ²⁵ But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

In the Passage, Jesus Implies 3 Ways Holy People Will Sound Different.

            First, holy people have faith to speak and move mountains. Holy people use their words to change lives and change the world. In the 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. looked around and found a world full of racial discrimination and segregation. It seemed like an impossible mountain to move, but King knew it was not right and he was a Christian leader, a holy man. So King began to speak and what he said sounded different from everyone else. He urged non-violent protest. He spoke about how segregation and racial bigotry was hurtful not just black people, but also to white people and oppressors. King preached that we all need healing--even those who are mistreating others.

            Holy people don't just sound different when they speak out on momentous social justice issues.  Mountains are moved in small ways every day.  David Crawford is the music minister of our church.  Not only is he talented, but he also has a Christ-like attitude that blesses so many people in so many ways.  David started attending my church decades ago when Tom Dickson invited him to come.  Tom's invitation was just a small thing, but it has made a world of difference for everyone David blesses at my church is linked to Tom's invitation.

            Holy people pray.  Philippians 4:6 says, "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."  When others get made, get sad, get worried, get discouraged, holy people pray.  Negative emotions produce more negative emotions.  Worry and stress produce more worry and stress.  Everyone gets to talking and dwelling on their worries and stress and all the negative emotions just get worse and more intense.  But holy people sound different.  Holy people pray and God gives them peace.  And peace gives birth to more peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers…”

            Holy People forgive.  When Jesus was hanging on the cross, he looked down at the soldier gambling for his clothes and said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)  Holy people sound different because they forgive.
            On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof gunned down 9 Christians in a church in Charleston, SC.  The relatives of the slain had a chance to speak directly to the gunman at his first court appearance. One by one, those who chose to speak did not turn to anger. Somehow—by the grace and power of God—they were able to speak life even in the presence of the man who brought death to their loved ones.  [i]Nadine Collier, the daughter of 70-year-old Ethel Lance, said at the hearing, her voice breaking with emotion. “I forgive you,” she told him. “You took something very precious away from me. I will never get to talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you, and have mercy on your soul. … You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. If God forgives you, I forgive you.”
            Forgiveness sounds different. It brings healing—first of all to you. Bitterness will poison you from the inside out. Holding a grudge will tear you apart and damage all your other relationships.   Forgiveness helps you heal and move on to the brighter future God want to give you.


Are You Ready to Sound Different?
            Thankfully, most of us will never experience the tragedy of our loved ones being gunned down in a church prayer meeting.  But there are still some practical things that everyone can do to sound different than the world.  First of all, get in the Word f God.  Your conversations are not scripted.  They are spontaneous.  It's not practically to measure every word you're going to say and how you say it.  Most of what you say just comes from your heart.  Jesus said, "What you say flows from what is in your heart." (Luke 6:45).  So fill your heart with God's Word.  Dig into the Bible so that you are more and more like Christ in your heart.  Then everything you say will flow from your Christ-like heart and you will sound different and holy.
            Second, refuse to use abusive or vulgar language.  Don't try to tear people down in order to make yourself feel better or right.  There is already too much of that going on in our world.  Holy people should sound different.  Refrain from cutting remarks or trolling on Facebook.  Refuse to gossip or talk about people behind their backs.  Instead of texting or emailing, call or visit and talk to people directly. 
            Third, encourage people with love and grace.  Be kind.  Be positive.  The world has enough negativity and darkness.  Sound different.  Speak light, not darkness.  Speak life, not death.
            Fourth, use your words to invite people to church.  People need to be in the church.  We need Jesus and we need each other.  The Church is the place Jesus chose for his holy people to gather.  Let us gather as many here as we can. 
            Some will say, "But I've already asked everyone I know."  Jesus told a parable about that--the parable of the great banquet.  A master sent his servants to invite people to a great banquet.  One by one, all the guests made excuses why they couldn't come.  So the master sent his servants out saying, "Go out into the highways and byways and compel everyone you can so that my banquet may be full.”  It may be that the people you are asking just don't feel they need to be in church.  But there are many others out there who realize they're in desperate need.  So go.  Invite them!  They may be different from you, but different is OK.  Jesus loves different.  In fact, God chose us all to be different and holy.  So build some relationships with different people.  Invite them to lunch.  Get to know them.  And invite them to church.
            Are you Ready to Sound Different?  Good!  Because God wants you to be holy different--to think different, to act different, to look different, to sound different, to be different.  You are His holy people, a royal priesthood set apart for His special purposes to go into all the world and make disciples of Jesus Christ to build His Kingdom.  Amen.

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[i] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/06/17/forgiving-dylann-roof-is-taking-a-heavy-toll-on-those-left-behind-but-theyre-not-giving-up/?utm_term=.411ff81dd2f0

Ask Pastor Chris: Can Satan Hear Our Prayers?

Dear Pastor Chris,

            Can Satan hear our prayers?  I ask this because I actually pray silently, in hopes that the Devil can't, or maybe won't, be able to know what I am praying.

Your Inquisitive Friend,

Prayer Warrior

Dear Prayer Warrior,

James 4:7 says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  Humble obedience to God should be our main concern.  If we keep our focus on God, Satan has no chance.  It’s only when we take our focus off God and his Kingdom that we are in danger.

            Sometimes it feels like Satan is taunting me as I pray, trying to discourage me, but I just tell him to get lost.  I’ve even told him, “Say what you want, Devil, but you already know you lose in the end.”  I think that really drives Satan nuts and it ends my concerns on the matter.

            For me, I think the Devil’s presence (or perceived presence) during my prayer times has more to do with my own insecurities.  When I dwell on my sin or failures or shortcomings, it opens the door for Satan to come taunt me.  Thankfully, my faith in God’s goodness, forgiveness, and love reminds me to kick the Devil back out the door and to lock it tight.  I know God loves me no matter what, in spite of all my flaws.  I believe with my whole heart—“…nothing can ever separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:38).  So the Enemy’s hateful, hurtful words are just his futile attempt to scare me or depress me or distract me, and I’m just not going to let him.

Can the Devil hear our prayers?  Maybe sometimes, but I think this would be true whether we say them out loud or silently in our heart.  I think Satan is a spiritual being and if and when he overhears our prayers, he can overhear our inner prayers too.  Don’t let that unsettle you though.  Satan has no power over God and he cannot intercept, disrupt, or stop our prayers from reaching God.  I suppose some might be concerned Satan will get a little inside information he could use against us.  I just don’t think God would allow it.  God is too powerful.  Actually, it must be incredibly frustrating to Satan to hear you pray about something, to see beforehand how God is going to answer your prayer, and how God’s answer is going to defeat Satan, and Satan can’t do a thing in the world to stop it.

However, if you still have a concern Satan might be eavesdropping on your prayers, I would just start my prayer by asking God to keep the conversation private.  Pray “Lord, stop up Satan’s ears so he can’t hear what I’m about to tell you.”  Done.  God will answer that prayer and Satan won’t be able to hear a thing you pray—whether you pray in your heart or screaming out loud.  (It’s sort of comical to think about really—everyone within ten blocks being able to hear your prayers because you’re screaming; and Satan is totally oblivious.)

Remember, God love you and so do I!

Pastor Chris

Jesus in the Wilderness

Introduction
             I am encouraging everyone at my church to focus on three things during the 40 days of Lent--prayer, study, and service.  Today, I want to talk about prayer. 
            Prayer is communicating with God. You don’t have to use fancy language or try to impress God (or anyone else) with your eloquent speech. The best prayer is simply you talking to God like you would talk to a trusted friend.
            However, we often forget prayer is also listening. Many times, our prayers are just us talking, but never listening. There’s a cliché that says God gave us two ears and only one mouth so we ought to listen twice as much as we speak. That’s even truer when we come into the presence of God. Do you presume to teach God something He doesn’t already know or impress Him with your clever speech? We should tell God about our day and our struggles and our joys and present Him with our petitions. And we should thank Him and praise Him and glorify His holy name. Yet it is even better and far more beneficial to just be still and quiet and know that He is God and to listen for His holy voice that we might know His thoughts and His purposes for our life. That would be a worthy practice for the 40 days of Lent.
            I want to share a story takes place right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus goes into the wilderness on a pilgrimage to fast. And fasting always goes with prayer. Jesus is listening for the voice of God to prepare him for the next 3 years of his life—a ministry that will be powerful but face many challenges, require great spiritual fortitude, wisdom, and grace, and that will culminate in his arrest, torture, and crucifixion. Ultimately, there will be the final victory of the resurrection and defeat of death, but only if Jesus is completely faithful to God’s plan. So Jesus begins his ministry with an intense period of fasting and prayer.

Slides – Luke 4:1-13

¹Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ² where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

³ Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. ⁷ I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

⁸ Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’”

⁹ Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! ¹⁰ For the Scriptures say,

He will order his angels to protect and guard you.

¹¹ And they will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

¹² Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

¹³ When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.


The Voice of God vs. the Voice of Satan            In this passage, Jesus communes with God as he fasts in the wilderness, but he also encounters Satan. It is often the case that we encounter Satan when we are looking for God. Why? I will tell you. Satan does not want us to commune with God. His ultimate purpose is to disrupt just such encounters. People may think of Satan’s wants to scare us, or hurt us, or deceive us, or make bad things happen to us. In part, all of these are true. Satan hates us and wants only bad to befall us. However, the greatest and darkest goal Satan has is to keep us from a true relationship with God. For if he accomplishes this, he will ultimately achieve the greatest evil of all which will also include all the other lesser evils.
            If all Satan wants to do is scare us or cause us pain, he could simply show his ugly face and shred our bodies with his evil hands. However, doing so would be the surest way to make us turn to God. (If you saw Satan face to face, you would cry out to God—and He would come running to save you. You would never forget it; you would cling to God forever lest you fall back into the hands of the Devil.) It is much better for Satan that we never know he is the one who torments us. 
           Satan’s goal is to turn our hearts away from God, to make us forget about God. Then Satan will have our souls and can make sport of us forever, torturing us and causing pain, having already accomplish the greatest wound of all—eternal separation from our Creator.
            So when we go looking for God—as Jesus did while fasting in the wilderness—Satan comes along to tempt, to disrupt, to deceive, and destroy.  Satan doesn’t usually come and tell you “I am Satan.” We would never listen to him if he did. Nor does Satan look as you would expect—with red skin, horns on his head, and a pointy tale. Who would take advice from a monster? Satan’s usually comes to us in the same way God does—as a voice in our head as we contemplate the world around us, as we think about our life, as we meditate on the worries we have, as we ponder how we should react and what we should do.
            So you must learn to know the difference between Satan's whispers and the voice of God. And I want to give you some clues to how you tell which is which.

God’s voice stills you; Satan rushes you.

            Satan will push you to always do more and more and more.  He will keep you so busy you don’t have time to look for God or consider if all you’re doing has any real meaning.  But God calls us to slow down.  He gave us a whole day to rest—the Sabbath—so that we can be still and know that He is God.  For when we are still, we become calm.  And when we are calm, we listen with our heart.  And when we listen with our heart, we hear God’s voice.  And when we hear God’s voice, we know Him. 

God’s voice leads you; Satan pushes you.             Jesus said, “Come and follow me and I will make you fishers of me.”  He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heaven burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Satan pushes us to do more and more and more.  He literally told Jesus to go jump off the highest point of the temple.  What do you think Satan would do to you?

Sometimes Jesus asks does ask us to do difficult things.  He said his followers must take up a cross and follow him.  But he has already lead the way.  Jesus also carried a cross—a heavier one than you will ever bear.  Jesus is our leader.  Satan is a pusher who has never done anything for us or anyone else.  Listen to Jesus, not Satan.

God’s voice reassures you; Satan frightens you.

We all have doubts.  We all have worries.  We fret over our relationships.  “What did so-and-so mean by that?”  “Can I really trust her?”   “Why is he staring at me all the time?”  “Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.”  “Maybe I should have done more.”  We worry about our children growing up and making good decisions.  We fear we have messed the whole thing up.

Satan loves our inner turmoil.  He directs to the unholy choir of voices singing our perceived failures.  If you listen to Satan, he will rip you apart with fear.  Don’t listen to Satan.  Listen to God.  God reassures you.  He says, “You have done much better than you give yourself credit for.  You are a loved; you are good; you are special; you are doing well.”  He says, “Even your failure are not as bad as you think.”  He says, “We can fix this together.”  He says, “Don’t give up.  Keep on the path.  We will get there together.”  Listen to God not Satan. 

 

God’s voice enlightens you; Satan confuses you.

Do you realize, you don’t have to know everything about everything?  You only need to know what God teaches you to be truly wise.  Wisdom is more about trusting God than knowing information. 

Satan will try to confuse you.  He will cloud your mind to the obvious truths and lead you chasing after knowledge that is irrelevant.  Listen to his dark voice and you will know a bucnhc of stuff about nothing.  But if you listen to God, you will be clear about what really matters and you won’t care about things that mean nothing.  You will be truly enlightened.

 

Slide – God voice encourages you; Satan discourages you.

            God is our Father.  He encourages he children to do their very best.  Satan makes us want to give up and settle for less than our best.

            A while back, I had a daddy/daughter date night with my youngest child, Abigail.  We decided to go out eat dinner.  As we drove to her Red Lobster and passed our church, she asked, "What's up inside that steeple?"  I told her how I had been up in the steeple once to help fix a broken window.  As we ate dinner, I asked her what she wanted to do afterwards.  She replied, "I want to go up in that steeple!"

            I thought that was pretty cool; my daughter wanted to go on an adventure.  And since I'm the pastor and have access and permission to do such things, I could make it happen.  To get to the steeple, you have to go into the attic above the sanctuary.  It's a lot like most attics--dark, dusty, and full of insulation.  You have to be careful to step on the studs, but as long as you are careful it is safe.  It made my young daughter a little nervous, but I was there to make sure she stayed safe and to reassure her.  We climbed the ladder inside the steeple and she completed the challenge--safely under the supervision of her protective father.

            That story reminds me of our relationship with God.  God helps us overcome great challenges and accomplish great things.  We may be nervous or even a afraid of the things we must face.  However, God is there with us to guide us and keep us safe and encourage us so that we can do anything He leads us to do.  Satan discourages us, but God encourages us.

God’s voice comforts you; Satan worries you.

Worry is thinking about the same problem over and over again.  It’s like spinning your tires—it makes a screeching and a lot of smoke and it ruins your tires, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.  Satan loves it when you worry.  It makes you restless.  It fixates your mind on a useless thoughts.  Worry doesn’t leads to anything productive and it keeps you from resting in God’s loving arms.

            God’s voice comforts you, letting you know it’s all going to be OK.  It allows you to rest your mind until your thoughts are clear.  Then you will see the answer is probably so simple or that God has already worked it out for you.  Let God comfort you and don't listen to Satan.

 

God voice convicts you; Satan condemns you.

            God loves us.  And love is more than a sentimental feeling.  Love is far deeper than that.  Love, true love, warns us when we have gone astray.  Jesus’ core message was: Repent of your sins for the Kingdom of God is near! (Mark 1:15).  In Luke 13:3, he warned, “…you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.” 

            We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard.  We are guilty and God convicts us.  But he does not condemn us.  Satan condemns us.  Satan tells us our sins are unforgiveable.  Satan lies and says, “There is no hope for you.  God does not love you anymore.  You might as well give up.  You are not worthy.  You will spend eternity in my hell!”  Do not listen to Satan.  Listen to God.  God says, “You have sinned, but you can be forgiven.”  The Bible says:

·       If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (1 John 1:9)

·       For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 3:23)

·       For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans10:13)

·       God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵ that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (Ephesians 2:4)

·       Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18)

·       Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

·       He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. (Ephesians 1:7)

·       This is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.  (Matthew 26:28)

·       Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. (Acts 3:19)

Conclusion

            If you want to know how much God loves you, look at the cross.  He loved you enough to die on the cross to forgive you of your sins.  The cross is clearest statement about the depth of God's love and the forgiveness He offers.  Listen to God's voice in prayer and ignore Satan.

Wrestling with God, Part 3

Introduction 

            Jesus Christ changed Sara's life at Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church. Sara was deeply depressed, addicted to heroine, and on the verge of suicide. Jesus welcomed her with open arms through the people of our church and led her down the road to recovery. (Watch a video of Sara's testimony here.)

            I think about Sara’s story and how she wrestled—wrestled with depression, wrestled with addiction. It was a life or death struggle, but Sara did not wrestle alone. There were so many people who helped her wrestle or who wrestled on her behalf.  For the sake of time, I had to cut the footage of her testimony down to just over 4 minutes. There’s no way we could tell all the people who helped Sara—family members who stepped in and took care of Sara, rehab programs that intervened with professional help, people from other churches who were the hands of Christ to Sara, and so many others. All of these wrestled with God on her behalf. Who knows how many prayers were lifted up for Sara?

            Prayer is essential to the Christian life. It is not just part of the Christian life. It is the Christian life. Martin Luther said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Prayer is powerful. It changes situations. It changes us. Most importantly, it draws us into God’s embrace.

            Today, we will finish our study of the fascinating Bible story of Jacob wrestling with God. We will consider how we wrestle with God in prayer and the effect it has. 

            As a young man, Jacob was incredibly deceitful and cheated his twin brother, Esau, out of his claim to the family blessing and inheritance. Esau was furious with Jacob and vowed to kill him. Jacob fled into exile where he lived for about 20 years. During that time, God blessed Jacob with wives and children and servants and wealth. And as Jacob matured, he realized he must face his brother Esau. He decided to return home—not knowing if Esau would offer mercy or retribution.

Genesis 32:22-32

²² During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. ²³ After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.

²⁴ This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. ²⁵ When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ “What is your name?” the man asked.

He replied, “Jacob.”

²⁸ “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”

²⁹ “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.

“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.

³⁰ Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” ³¹ The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. ³² (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.)

Review

            Jacob wrestled with God all night long. He was battered and bruised; his hip was torn out of socket and yet Jacob managed to hold onto God until God gave Jacob a blessing. The story reminds me of how we wrestle with God in prayer and the way it changes us, our circumstances, and—most importantly—how it draws us into God’s embrace.

Prayer Changes Us.

            Most people think of prayer as a way for us to ask God to change something. We ask Him to heal people who are sick. We ask Him to comfort those who’ve lost loved ones.  We ask Him to help us through difficult circumstance or for wisdom for tough decisions. This is called intercessory prayer and it is an important part of prayer, but it is not the whole of prayer or even the most important part of prayer.
            Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, once said, “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.” 

            If we think of prayer in a spiritual sense as wrestling with God the way Jacob wrestled with God, what do we find? We find we are changed through prayer.  In the Bible story, Jacob was forever changed. His hip was torn out of socket. The Bible tells us he limped away from the scene. The encounter with God changed Jacob’s body.

            We also see that Jacob got a new name. He was no longer the “heel grabber” (which is what the name Jacob means); now he is Israel (the man who fights with God and men and overcomes). The encounter with God changed the core of who Jacob was.

            We also see Jacob received a blessing. We don’t know what the blessing was, but perhaps it was the encounter itself. From this day forward, Jacob need fear no man. He has wrestled with God, face to face, and won. Furthermore, the very holiness of God had rubbed off on Jacob.

            Prayer changes us. It changes our attitudes. It changes our thinking. It changes our spirit. It changes our mind. Sometimes, it even changes us physically. (Your knees might get a lot stronger if you are constantly kneeling in prayer!)

            William Law, a noted Anglican priest, once said, “There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him.”  You see, when you pray for someone, they may not change at all, but how you see them will definitely change. You will change and sometimes that is all that is needed.
 

Prayer Changes Our Circumstance
            Prayer definitely can change us, but sometimes God change our situation when we pray.  Sometimes, God heals people who are sick because we pray.  Sometimes, God provides wisdom to make a tough decision because we pray.  Sometimes, God makes a problem go away because we pray.

            Back at the beginning of August, I realized I needed to delegate some important ministry responsibilities at the church to other capable people. I had been doing these tasks out of necessity, but now it was time to give the responsibilities to others.  Two responsibilities in particular were taking up time that I needed to devote in other areas—leading the praise band and coordinating the sack lunch program. I began to pray that God would provide the right people to lead these ministries; and I prayed they would say yes as soon as I asked them. Within two weeks God answered my prayers for both and changed my situation.

            One day, God nudged me and said, “You know, Susan Cooksey would be the perfect person to coordinate that sack lunch program. She loves kids, loves teachers, and has been really committed to packing sack lunches over the last year. And she’s smart! She knows how to do this and could do a much better job than you’ve been able to do.” So I asked Susan and she didn’t even hesitate. She said, “Yes,” and jumped right in. It’s been going so well. She’s even figured out a few ways we can encourage the teachers with special gifts throughout the year.

            The other answered prayer, was that David Crawford agreed to lead the praise band and he’s been doing a great job! You might not realize how much work goes into the praise band. We rehearse about 5 hours for every one-hour service we lead. But David probably puts in several more hours than that picking out music, coordinating rehearsals, and handling technical stuff. He does a fine job and he was an answer to my prayers in August!

            John Wesley said, “God does nothing but in answer to prayer.” A shocking statistic was shared at the OneCry Revival in September. It was said that the average American Christian spends less than two minutes per day in prayer. Two minutes. Does that sound off?  How much do you pray?
            I do know this: in just about any given church, the prayer meeting is the least attended service. You may find 150 people in worship, but only 4 or 5 will come to prayer meeting.  (By the way, we have a prayer meeting at at Pleasant Grove UMC at 9:00 AM every Sunday. I would like you to join us. And I have a special introductory offer for you. Try it for one month, free!)  I wonder how many blessings we miss out on, how much trouble we have to face, how much more difficult life is simply because we do not pray for God to change our circumstances?  So pray!

Prayer Draws Us Into God’s Embrace
            Wrestling is an intimate sport. It’s very real, very humbling, very personal.  It’s honest. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have, what rank you are, what championship titles you’ve won. When you are grappling with another person, all that stuff goes out the window. All that matters is what works, what doesn’t, and who submits their opponent.  And it is very humbling when someone with less experience or who is smaller or weaker beats you—as sometimes will happen.

            Wrestling is very humbling. It’s hard to be dignified when you are straining with all your might to grapple another human being. Your legs and arms are all tangled up; your bodies are pressed together; you sweat all over each other. You know how that person smells, whether they took a bath or washed their clothes—and they know it all about you too.

            And I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Pastors get gas just like everybody else. And sometimes, when your wife cooked tacos for dinner, and then you go to jiu-jitsu and start fighting for your life with another person who is grabbing you and pressing down on top of you with all their weight. And you are straining with all your might not to get choked or arm-barred or crushed to death… Let’s just say, things slip out… And you can’t always control when it happens or the volume at which it happens… So you just have to let go of your dignity.
            Now, when we come to church, we try real hard to maintain our dignity. We dress up nice; we watch what we say, how we act, what kind of “image” we present. Maybe we should be less concerned about all those things. Maybe we should take off our masks and just be who we are.
            In prayer, it’s much like Jacob wrestling with God. It’s not about being dignified. It’s about letting it all hang out in a no holds barred grappling match with God. Pour your heart out to God in prayer. Don’t worry about “keeping up appearances;” God already knows everything about you anyway. Just concentrate on going after God with all you’ve got!
            Do you realize the privilege of prayer? Of wrestling with God in an embrace so intimate you can smell Him, taste Him, feel Him embracing you?  Do you realize how that encounter can change you? To have the sacredness of our Holy God rubbing off on you as your arms and legs and body entangle with the Divine and God struggles to wrestle sinful behaviors, attitudes, and ideas from your soul? When we pray to God, really pray, it draws us into His most intimate embrace.
 

Invitation

Prayer is your way to wrestle with God like Jacob wrestled with God.  Through prayer, God changes us, changes our circumstances, and draws closer to Him.  I hope you will make prayer a top priority of your life.  What do you need to pray about?  Who do you need pray for?
I would like to invite you to write a prayer to God now.  Would you share a prayer in the comment section below?  Simply write a prayer about whatever is on your heart.  Pray for your family, your community, your church, your pastor, your children, whatever.  God will hear you and change you, maybe even change your situation, but He will definitely draw you into a closer relationship with Him when you pray.