Prayer Series Sermon Six - "Participating in Public Prayer" (Psalm 133)

1. The Need for Public Prayer

Personal prayer is very important, in fact, it is vital for the growing Christian. But as we are called together into the one body, represented in the form of the local church, we should also get involved in corporate collective prayer.

If we are shy or in any way resistant to this, then we need to seriously ask ourselves why. We should spend some time with God in an attempt to discover what it is that would be holding us back from praying in public.

The very fact of placing prayer at the top of our church goals becomes confronting for us all. We are going to have to measure how we responded to this goal this year, and how broad the participation levels were.

Our public prayer times, whether in the church worship service setting, or in a small group setting, should be like praying with loving, caring family members (who are all playing on the same team). Our public prayer is still a simple conversation with God, just with others listening in and supporting the process.

It is liberating when normally quiet introverts take hold of the opportunities public prayer brings. I can certainly testify to this in my life. Sessions of public prayer can bring “Nike” moments … “Just Do It”!

Yet, where resistance persists, we might have to ask ourselves whether our faith is far too personal (or self-inclined) rather than engaging and community-minded? When Jesus says to us, to pick up our cross and follow him, he is calling us to join a movement – a band of like-minded disciples on a collective journey of mission. Anything that excludes this is a distortion of the gospel message.

If some think that they just couldn’t come up with the right words, or that they would be judged by others for the sort of prayers they prayed, then we would need to do some more work together on building trust and social cohesion to break down such barriers. For each of us should feel equally able to access God, pray for others, and hear God’s voice, and also feel wholly supported in so doing.

It could be that some just don’t believe there will be any results – in other words there is perhaps an abiding lack of faith. And obviously a lack of faith or unbelief is a real problem for our prayer life (individually and collectively). In Matthew (chapter 13) we read that Jesus could not do any mighty works in Nazareth because of the unbelief there.

Yet opportunities of public prayer, if we take them, can build our individual and collective faith, because we will be likely praying with people whose faith has grown through many challenges and know for sure that God is wholly faithful and responsive. Such as these pray with great expectancy and watch for what God will do. Faith like this can be infectious.

Each and every Jesus follower has the power of the Holy Spirit available to them, yet we need to actively seek this effective assistance in our lives. Those whose prayers we admire, usually weren’t able to pray like that overnight – they have developed their praying over many years, having starting by dipping their toe trustingly in the water, asking for the Holy Spirit to build their the faith, give them the confidence, and help them with the words.

2. Text and Context – Psalm 133

One of the reasons that the Hebrew Scriptures are so relevant to us, is that in some ways the church resembles the ancient people of Israel – as they saw themselves collectively as the people of God. Their well-being and future were collectively tied together as they related to Yahweh God.

We see this beautifully expressed by an ancient song-writer in Psalm 133. In just three verses, we see expressed how beautiful it can be when people are united together in a common purpose. No doubt the psalmist would have in mind here the experience of collective worship and a corporate prayerful connectedness to God, in which the people were wholly unified and acted in complete harmony.

This of course is not to say that such people would always agree. After all that’s not how human beings are made. With such different backgrounds and personalities we will always see things from different angles and with varying opinions. The various interests and gifts we have been given bias each of us to the importance of some things over others.

The unity of believers referred to in the Bible is not about sameness, for this would be way too bland (and non-creative) to be of much help in such a complex and varied world. Rather such unity takes form as all the diversity amongst us melds together through a common purpose. And of course this common purpose is … following Jesus wherever he leads us … “to be the hub of the community for God, being innovative, proactive, engaging and welcoming to all people”.

Such unity becomes a reality through a growing and spreading faith in who God is – the creator of the universe, our loving parent, our personal redeemer, and our daily guide. And unity would be not so much an achievement, but a gift to be received from above (as we shall come to see from Psalm 133). We experience unity not so much because we work for it, but more so because we make ourselves available to receive it. Unity is one of God’s blessings to a community.

So it will be through bringing all of who and what we are, all of the individual parts of the local church body, every single part together, that we will fully discover what God requires of us (in as much detail as is necessary). As God is present binding us together, we listen to one another as we pray, start to hear new perspectives on things, and ultimately hear God’s voice speaking to the challenges around us.

This is a very large vision of the potential of public prayer, but one that needs to be embraced, for our community and the world in general desperately need the hope that should spring forth from this. Might it be that people who live around us, who suffer daily in a dog-eat-dog rush-rush-rush environment, be able to look at us, or hear about us, and say, How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! What if this could be said about us?

In this psalm, two analogies are given concerning the beauty and blessing of interactive unity. The first is a picture of the consecration or dedication of the priest Aaron, where with the anointing of oil customary on these occasions, we see the wonderfully fragrant oil running extravagantly through his hair, over his beard, and then all over his priestly robes, symbolically removing all stain, whereby he is thoroughly prepared for his tasks of ministry (on behalf of the people).

This might be like the effect of your first shower after a week long camping trip … thoroughly satisfying, not just for yourself, but also for all those who have to live with you! The point here is that the oil, representing God’s blessing, flows lavishly, with the benefit reaching to all.

The second analogy gives the picture of the prevalent dew that forms on top of the highest mountain – Mt Hermon, and then flows down through the whole mountain range, draining through the streams and rivers, bringing renewal and refreshment as it goes to all the lands and peoples; and thereby bringing the possibility of life to everyone (whether they live high up or low down). These analogies speak of God’s abundant blessing sent from above to below to all of his children; and it is in such blessing that the unified people of God live. And boy does it show!!

3. How can we move towards this interactive prayerful unity?

It is in the worshipping and prayerful life of the church that many will experience a sense of light shining in the darkness, and life in the face of hopelessness. One wonders why sometimes we take all this so lightly!!

On what basis do we make the decision as to whether we engage with corporate worship and prayer or not? What is uppermost in our mind – what we can get out of our church’s worship and prayer, or conversely … what we can add into it? [Just like the human body when some part isn’t working properly, the local church body is weaker when members are missing or not contributing.]

When we pray together, whether it is during Sunday worship, or at our small home group, or at a prayer group, we should not see ourselves so much as separate individuals, but rather as a collective representative of the ‘Body of Christ’ together seeking God’s will.

Sometimes we may be in the same room, but we’re not really praying together. We are not standing in line waiting for our turn to see Santa at the shopping centre with our personal wish-list, but rather gathering together addressing the collective need of God’s world.

Sometimes our own desire for comfort overrides our concern for the big issues. For instance we would all pray for rain (because of the great need of our land) except maybe when it might interrupt our particular plans. The “Christmas by the Lake” committee asks me to pray for a fine day each year, but I have to explain that that’s a bit difficult when we have placed such a high priority on praying for rain. If we pray for rain except when it’s inconvenient, I don’t think we should expect either prayer to be answered. So I pray that the event can proceed well whatever weather comes.

The question remains … how can we move towards this interactive prayerful unity?

(a) To truly and deliberately tune together into God’s heart. Our prayers should always have a sense of dependence and surrender, acknowledging that God has the answer for every situation, and that is what we are searching for. Our initial thoughts may be part of the answer (and contribute to the prayer of another), but we should always be seeking God’s ultimate answer, not be irreversibly locked into our own solution.

(b) For our prayers for one another and others to have integrity we need to develop a sincere concern and a caring attitude. This would be about understanding our common connection to a loving re-creative God. This would also involve understanding our common need as human beings. This would be combined where necessary with a willingness to offer practical help to those in particular need from time to time. This would cover the spectrum of our neighbour’s need for a cup of sugar to the most pressing international crisis.

There is a direct relationship between our level of caring and the potential of our prayers being heard and answered. We could listen here to the prophet Isaiah (58:6-12):

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

This caring attitude would include forming positive and encouraging thoughts toward each other, like Paul exhibited in his mission and his letter-writing, for instance in Philippians (1:4):

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.

(c) When we are coming to gather, we should be prepared for, not only meeting with others, but also meeting with God; and at the same time we should be expectant that God is going to do something or say something or move somebody – that something good is going to happen. Sometimes we gain a greater sense of the presence of God than at other times. But, as God is always there when two or three sincerely gather in Jesus’ name, then this must be more about our level of preparation, receptivity and expectancy.

(d) When we are in prayer, we should fully engage in each others’ prayers. Often when someone else is praying, this is taken as an opportunity to prepare one’s own prayer. Whereas this is somewhat understandable, especially for the one who is a bit nervous, it does tend to break down the relational connectedness between each of the pray-ers and our collective approach to God. Also, we shouldn’t just be about ticking off the prayer requests, but really listening to what others are praying. American pastor Ben Patterson writes:

The method is to listen, really listen to a person’s prayer, and to let it sink into my mind and heart before I move onto my particular concerns. For instance, someone may pray for a family member’s health. As I mull over that prayer, I will add a kind of amen to it, verbally or silently, thus entering more deeply into the concern. Sometimes when I do that, I may find myself moved to add my own prayer, a nuance, to the prayer I heard. Others may do the same … building on the original prayer.

This all occurs before we too quickly move on.

(e) We should treat silence as a gift, and an opportunity of listening for God’s voice. This is especially so, because our lives tend to normally be so noisy. If you are uncomfortable in times of silence in group prayer, or find yourself thinking about what should go on the shopping list, then start to reflect on some scriptures or the words of some good worship songs, to keep you on the prayer journey.

(f) We should be ready to receive insight that others have received from God, listen to what others think of this; then test it according to the sort of criteria we talked about on week four of this series: is it consistent with scripture, does it work for good, is it connected to our areas of giftedness, will it lead to growth … then later … has it got continual green lights.

We should not be frightened to ask a question like: “Has anyone received specific leading about how to pray for this person, or how God is moving in this matter, or how we should act in cooperation with God”? If this matter of prayer was about church decision-making, we could see how this new idea weighs up against the vision and goals of the church previously prayed about and agreed to.

4. Practical Outcomes of this Prayer Series

(a) Take time to open conversations with God
(b) Be more involved in public prayer – worship services, small group, prayer group
(c) Prayer triplets
(d) Host a prayer gathering
(e) Help plan a creative prayer service
(f) Form a prayer walking group

Prayer Series Sermon Five - "The Power of Prayer" (Acts 12:1-19)

1. What are some of the benefits of prayer?

· Getting to know God and better appreciating God’s mission in the world
· Getting to know ourselves better by opening ourselves to God and sharing what’s happening for us
· Expressing our love for God and commitment to God’s purposes in life
· To confess our wrongdoing, receive forgiveness, and to have the forum through which we can come to forgive others
· Allowing God to shape our character and change us where needed
· Being able to cope better with our circumstances and various challenges
· Seeking the necessary resources to grow and progress in life
· Being able to express our concern for others
· Gaining a deeper understanding of God’s Word – the Bible
· Gaining a vision of the Kingdom of God and our part in its ‘coming’ on earth
· Gaining guidance in our decision-making
· To claim God’s protection for ourself and our family, and God’s undertaking for us in all the issues of life, work and church
· To help us focus on the most important things in life.

If prayer truly can bring all these benefits, and I am here to argue that prayer indeed can, then already prayer is powerful, and we haven’t even talked yet about those results which might be termed remarkable or even miraculous!

Through prayer, where it aligns with God’s will, physical healings and amazing ‘turn-arounds’ in life situations can take place. We see these occurrences in the pages of the Bible, and especially in the ministry of Jesus. The Gospels give us a wonderful vision of the change God can make in the lives of people.

In this day and age, God chooses to use us, as we give ourselves over to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to participate in such remarkable change. Prayer for others combined with a positive witness to Jesus, in such cases where the people themselves are willing, can lead to complete spiritual transformations.

Many of us have prayed for certain people for a long long time, seemingly without an answer. Yet, having given all people to be born freewill to decide for themselves, God cannot undermine or counteract that freewill. It remains everybody’s individual responsibility to open their lives to God.

Having said this, we should not underestimate the effectiveness of our prayers, and therefore never stop praying – as the compassion and understanding and witness that builds as we pray (both privately and publicly) adds to the light that shines in that other person’s direction. Any small sense of a positive openness should be gratefully celebrated. Any sense of growing reticence or negativity in that other person should be compassionately endured in the encouraging company of God.

2. The example of the early church

I have already said that God chooses to have us participate with him in bringing the Kingdom of God to earth. We can see many examples of this in the book of the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ – the record of the expansion of the Jesus-following church in its first generation. This is the book in which we read of how the formerly defeated disciples like Peter receive the Holy Spirit and begin to speak and act with positive power and effectiveness, and where a former opponent named Saul becomes Paul the greatest missionary in history.

In one generation the Gospel of Jesus spreads from Palestine all the way to Rome. How important was prayer in all of this? I would say vital, as prayer was the vehicle through which the early believers gained their insight and confidence and guidance and purpose, grew their faith, and sensed that partnership they had with God to bring forward God’s kingdom on earth. It was prayer that opened previously closed doors, and even though many of these disciples tragically died because of concerted opposition to their mission, they were able to face such possible trials confident in God’s presence going with them.

We have read of one such example today from Acts chapter 12.

(a) The Need

The disciple James, the son of Zebedee, brother of John had already been beheaded. Now Peter had been arrested by King Herod and faced likely execution. Herod thought that if he could get rid of such an important figure, this might bring an end to this annoying Jesus movement. Herod could have been planning to make a ‘big show’ of Peter’s trial and execution to serve as a warning and threat to others. Peter himself had really just hit his straps as far as his mission was concerned, having just come to the understanding that God’s intentions was to bring salvation, not just to the Jews but, to all the peoples of the world. As well as losing a friend, the church felt that they would be losing their leader. The situation was grim … Peter was in chains and being closely secured by double the normal number of guards, escape would be impossible!

(b) The Response

The church met together in prayer for Peter. It is reported in verse 5 that the church prayed to God “fervently” for Peter. This would be earnest, committed, faithful, intense, heartfelt, united, ongoing prayer. It is then reported in verse 12 that “many had gathered” in a particular home (the home of Mary … the mother of John Mark - the author of the Gospel of Mark) and were praying there. The fact that this is where Peter headed after his escape would suggest that this was Peter’s own house church community. It is interesting to note that when Peter remarkably came a-knocking at this home, the people within were still in prayer for him, indicating that God had acted while the people were fervently in prayer.

(c) The Outcome

The chains securing Peter to the guards fell off his wrists, and he was able to slip by the other guards, walking through a previously locked gate (that opened of “its own accord”) to freedom. This turn of events was so remarkable that Peter initially thought that he must be in the midst of a dream. When Peter realised that he was wide awake, he understood that only God could have brought this escape about. How confidence-building and encouraging would this be! When they heard about this escape, those who had been praying and the leaders of the wider church would also find this to be faith-enriching.

[It’s worth noting that Herod, in his state of spiritual blindness, could find no other explanation for Peter’s escape than the slackness of his guards! Those who have their eyes closed to the light will always seek other explanations (rather than the possibility of God being active). Again, from our position of advantage, we should not judge or condemn them, but rather pray that they might open their eyes. Herod’s blindness cost his guards their lives.]

What is the central dynamic of this incident?

Was it the Church at Prayer or God in Action?

Both actually, for these things go hand in hand.

3. What were the people praying for?

Have you wondered what these gathered people were actually praying for … how there prayers were shaped, what words they used? All we are told is that they were simply praying for Peter.

It would seem that the people were not necessarily praying for such an outcome as this, given their amazement when Peter turned up so unannounced. It is reported that they questioned the sanity of Rhoda, the maid who had answered the knocking at the door, and that they were “amazed” when they realised that it was actually Peter. One might argue that, despite their diligence in prayer, they still harboured doubts about whether God could or would respond. But probably the amazement could be more as a result of how quickly and decisively God acted … that there was no warning, no protracted need to picket the prison with placards claiming injustice, no long process of Herod having to change his mind – all indicating to the reader that God had acted way above and beyond their prayerful expectations.

These were faithful people engaging in continuing fervent prayer. Perhaps there were some with lingering doubts, yet they courageously gathered to pray anyway. There may have been those who had no idea how to actually pray in this situation, but they came as well. These uncertain ones came and joined with the more mature believers, and together they raised a united chorus of concern.

They might have prayed that Peter would sense God’s presence and peace in his difficult situation. Some might have prayed that common sense would prevail, and that Herod would release Peter in due course. They might have simply prayed that Peter would be sparred execution. Some might have even prayed that they themselves would be able to cope in Peter’s absence. It seems to me that what they prayed for was less important in this case, it was the fact that they had committed to pray that counted (and that they were open to God’s answer whatever that was)!!

Such a commitment to pray, together with the positive and remarkable outcome, would suggest to me that they were actually seeking God’s will in this matter (even if they were not wholly ready for how this would specifically pan out). The pray-ers focus was on God much more so than on the mountain that stood before them.

When faced with preaching to a crowd of over 20,000 people in India with the use of a translator, Bill Hybels, in the face of all his doubts, fears and anxiety concerning the size of the crowd and the cultural and linguistic differences, prayed the following prayer:

"I’m praying to the Creator of the world, the King of the universe, the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-faithful God. I’m praying to the God who made the mountains and who can move them if necessary. I’m praying to the God who has always been faithful to me, who has never let me down no matter how frightened I was or how difficult the situation looked. I’m praying to a God who wants to bear fruit through me, and I am going to trust that [God] is going to use me tonight. Not because of who I am, but because of who [God] is. [God] is faithful."

This was how this preacher changed his focus off the mountain (that in this case was all of his insecurities) and on to God. Many of our problems seem to be the size of a mountain, whether these problems are relational, vocational, financial, spiritual or physical, or whether they involve habits or addictions of various kinds. And sometimes we allow the size of the problem to block our view of the magnitude of God. But we can learn to pray as the early church did, and as Bill Hybels did here, focussed wholly on God and God’s purposes in the world (over and above the mountains that seem to stand in the way of us personally and collectively).

4. Faithfulness is the key

We often don’t know what to pray in difficult circumstances – the words won’t easily come and how this situation might resolve is far from clear. If we were responsible for dictating or directing the outcome this would be a problem. But because we can enter prayer expressing our dependence upon God, stating our willingness to partner with God’s own concern about the state of affairs – this is the very act of faithfulness that facilitates miraculous change. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, famously prayed, “Lord, may my heart be broken by what breaks your heart”. We don’t have to have ideas before we come to pray; indeed it is our lack of ideas that should draw us to prayer. God will then speak, lead and act. When we pray, God often does more than we could imagine.

The prayer “hero” in this particular story from Acts 12 is actually … Rhoda – the maid who went to the gate when Peter was knocking! Whatever they were faithfully praying together for, Rhoda was the one who was highly expectant for what God might do. Just a few words from Peter outside the door were enough for Rhoda to recognise that their prayers had been answered in a remarkable way … probably beyond all their petitions. And when her sanity was called into question, Rhoda didn’t buckle in the slightest, but continued to insist that “it was so” (v.15). No one was going to dent her enthusiasm! Rhoda may have been considered a lowly hired servant, but here exhibited wonderful characteristics of leadership.

Yet all the other members of this Jesus-following community had exhibited faithfulness too in the face of a really difficult situation. They were praying, partnering with God toward a solution … thus truly experiencing the unleashing of God’s power to bring about God’s own Kingdom purposes. Here a normal everyday group of faithful people cooperated in foiling a plot to destroy the future of the Gospel. We read just a few verses later (12:24) ... “But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents”.

In these matters we may ask why some prayers seem so thoroughly answered and others don’t. For instance, Peter survived at this time of persecution, whereas James did not. Well, part of our faithfulness in prayer will involve continuing to trust God through our confusion and even our disappointment. Sometimes it will be the resolute refusal of other parties to cooperate that blocks God’s answer. At other times, unbeknown to us, the timing is just not right. We don’t see the big picture of God’s plans, so we just have to trust that God knows best – for this is the only path we can tread if we want to grow.

Sometimes there is just the plain reality that we are part of planet Earth which is so subject to instability and where tragedy is never far away, and that we live in a world that is marred by violence and the spread of disease.

Sometimes we may miss God’s answer because we are already locked into what we want the result to be before we pray. Also, while we focus on the lack of results in regard to our prayers for someone else, we might miss what God wants to teach us about ourself. Is it that we need to learn patience, compassion, gentleness or trust? Even while we wait for a satisfying answer in someone else’s situation, God is seeking our roots to grow deeper and deeper into him. At the same time, we may be really surprised one day to see how our prayers were answered in ways we have not yet recognised.

As I just said, even while we wait for a satisfying answer in someone else’s situation, God is seeking our roots to grow deeper and deeper into him. Philip Yancey shares the story of someone who lived through the long civil war in Lebanon in the 1980s. There were many prayers for peace that seemed to go by unanswered and the constant danger in which they lived remained. Yet they persisted and were able to say, “We were pressed to God every day”.

Prayer Series Sermon Four - "Following where God is leading" (Jeremiah 33:1-11)

1. Hearing God’s Voice – could there be barriers?

How can we hear God’s voice?
How can we recognise God’s guidance?
How can we know where God is leading?

These are really tough questions!

We know that God has spoken in a variety of ways to characters in the Bible: to Adam and Eve in the garden, guiding and making promises to Abraham, to Moses through the burning bush and on Mt Sinai, giving leadership advice to Joshua and all sorts of help to David. God spoke to Saul (who became Paul) on the Damascus road which brought a complete turnaround in his life. And when Peter was stuck in a wrong mindset concerning the Gentiles, God corrected him in a vision. In fact the whole book of Acts is full of evidence of God’s guidance (which allowed for the ongoing establishment of church communities).

We know that prayer is a two-way conversation with God where we should have the expectation of God speaking to us. If we don’t get any sense of God’s voice to us, might there be certain things that have got in the way or become barriers in our communication with God? What would they be?

(a) Not being quiet enough and still enough for long enough.

(b) Having an unrepentant attitude – not being willing to ‘fess up to clear the slate, or being too satisfied with the way things are – not really looking for personal growth or not willing to be stretched in any way.

(c) Being close-minded – not really being open for the answer – an unwillingness to accept an answer that differs from our desire or that involves (significant) change, having a preference for the easy and convenient answer.

(d) Placing conditions on God’s answer, eg. I am prepared to do that … if you do this, or I will go there … as long as this doesn’t happen.

(e) Not being willing to embrace God’s will as the highest agenda. If this is the case, then why would God speak to us! We might also prove to be a little deaf, if we don’t like what we begin to hear.

(f) Wanting to remain passive from a safe praying distance and wanting God to do everything else and make it all happen – we don’t plan to do anything about what we hear.

(g) Looking too far ahead or for something too big. God’s next step with someone may be just a small character adjustment. Until this happens, nothing else can.

In preparation to receive God’s guidance, such barriers would need to be replaced by: an ability to be silent, a commitment to confess wrongdoing, a willingness to receive answers very different from where you started, undertaking a motive inventory – moving beyond self-centred agendas toward the magnitude of God’s will, a readiness to get involved as appropriate, and a trust that God will never lead you astray.

2. Jeremiah 33:3 – text and context

Jeremiah, who lived 25 odd centuries ago, was one of God’s true prophets, who certainly sought God’s guidance, listened to God’s voice, took God’s guidance fully on board, and was able to communicate such leading to the people of Israel.

Because the people were, generally speaking, nowhere near as in tune with God as Jeremiah was, this meant that Jeremiah was often unpopular, especially given the challenge of his messages. [In fact at this time he was even imprisoned because he had so got up the establishment’s nose.] God’s true prophets, like Jeremiah, brought serious and significant challenges and calls for change. On the other hand, the popular (yet false) prophets brought easy, convenient and popular answers, which always in the long-run let the people down and ultimately caused national ruin.

God said to Jeremiah, one who had already proven to be ready to hear God’s voice, the words, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (33:3). Then God gave Jeremiah a vision of a very different and far more positive future than seemed currently possible. This was an unimaginable, yet glorious, vision! Despite the people’s “wickedness” that had got them in so much hot water with the Babylonians, and brought so much destruction to Jerusalem and ruin throughout Judah and Israel, there will come a time where recovery and healing would be possible – a new sense of well-being and security would arrive.

It is so difficult for God to look down on a world full of selfishness, injustice and violence, and often the evil deeds of human beings upon one another will bring their own destructive outcomes (as we see in verses 4 & 5). Yet when the dust settles, God is still the same loving God that he has always been, and offers a partnership in a way forward. This will all come out of God’s heart of mercy and forgiveness, and a compassion for humanity that can even move beyond such distrust and rebellion. This all might take a couple of generations to work itself through, but the promise of God is sure nonetheless.

This was a vision that despite the current state of affairs, and the shocking behaviour and decision-making that had led to the nation being in their current state, God had not forgotten the people and would indeed open the possibility of a wonderful new future. Such an occurrence and such a renewal will provide a fine testimony to the restorative power of God (even in the face of prevalent evil), such that people will again experience joy and sing thankfulness to God. This would all allow Jeremiah to paint a positive picture for the people of Israel, yet at the same time challenging them to return to their first allegiance to their Creator God – the Lord who had graciously made the earth, calling his created peoples to love it and nurture it and be peacemakers within it.

Jeremiah called for God’s voice, heard it clearly, and put what he heard into action. Jeremiah was being asked to put aside any doubts and fears about his and the nation’s current circumstances, and open his eyes to the new possibilities God was seeking to bring (on the basis of God’s own very good track record stated in verse 2). Jeremiah was to believe and trust in what God was saying so much so that others would be likewise convinced.

The movement of God in history is always “great”, but here we read that things were also “hidden” (v.3). Such things would be “hidden” only because the human community had not yet been ready to know them. If they had come to know them before they were ready, then it would be very likely that their lack of proper preparation would have completely compromised the outcome, twisting it and turning it towards their own agenda.

3. Prayer as a partnership

Why is it that we generally have no idea what the future holds, and that indeed Jesus teaches us not to worry about the future (and the dates and times of things)? It’s because we need to base our faith not on known outcomes, but rather on a trust in God’s wisdom in whatever circumstances might prevail. Otherwise our relationship with God will never develop beyond the superficial. We have to be ready to fully embrace the future on God’s terms.

So looking for guidance in prayer is first and foremost about learning and understanding more about who God is and what God is trying to achieve on earth.

American pastor Wayne Jacobsen in his article entitled “Beyond Prayer Requests” writes:

"Prayer enables us to discover what God is doing, to trace his hand in the circumstances of our lives. Through the vital communication of prayer, God transforms us in the process. Prayer, therefore, is not so much a means of manipulating the master plan, but of being shaped by the master’s hand."

Prayer is not so much about changing God’s mind, but gaining understanding of God’s will, and committing ourselves to participate in it. At the same time we are being fashioned and formed into the type of people who can partner with God in bringing about good outcomes.

Henri Nouwen wrote:

"To pray is to unite ourselves with Jesus and lift up the whole world through him to God in a cry for forgiveness, reconciliation, healing and mercy …

But most of all, prayer is the way to become and remain a part of Jesus’ mission to draw all people to the intimacy of God’s love."

We do not have to convince or remind God to be concerned about hurting countries of the world [like Haiti], for God is already involved with the suffering people there. Rather, prayer enables us to enter into God’s pre-existing love and see how we might also convey that love to the world.

Philip Yancey writes:

"When I pray for another person, I am praying for God to open my eyes so that I can see that person as God does, and then enter into the stream of love that God already directs towards that person."

God sees people with different eyes than us, for God can see how each person would be if Jesus held full sway in their lives. Through praying in this way, we can find ourselves loving people who many others cannot, and who we previously may have found it very hard to love.

4. Steps to gaining guidance – the ultimate search

Having dealt with the possible barriers to hearing God’s voice (above), how might we begin to experience God’s leading? [Some of this harks back to the ‘model prayer’ discussed last week.]

(a) By calming down our racing mind. We need to ‘chill out’ in God’s presence. This then allows God to bring an encouraging bible verse to our mind, and to helpfully interact with our thoughts and feelings.

(b) By expressing our appreciation for our current relationship with God, and our home in heaven with the ‘Divine Community’; bringing our thankfulness for all the blessings we have enjoyed, and spending time in worship and praise of God.

(c) By consciously and deliberately aligning ourselves with God’s will. This will be the way we can come closest to making the best decisions possible. I shouldn’t want what God doesn’t want for me! As we grow in our Jesus-following walk, we better understand the parameters in which we live that help us first attend to God’s will. Are there certain activities that tend to take us off track? These should be re-evaluated! We will always need to be seeking and praying for greater knowledge of God. Ultimately prayer is a means through which God’s will is done on earth, not ours.

(d) By directly asking God to reveal some helpful new understandings and offer some clear direction concerning the decisions we need to make. We would then need to pause long enough to let God answer. Listen to the testimony of Philip Yancey here:

Most of the time the Counsellor [God] communicates subtly: feeding ideas into my mind, bringing to awareness a caustic comment I just made, inspiring me to choose better than I would have done otherwise, shedding light on the hidden dangers of temptation, sensitising me to another’s needs. {God’s Spirit whispers rather than shouts, and brings peace not turmoil.}

(e) By being completely open to new ideas and possibilities, wanting and expecting new insight and understanding – not simply seeking God’s agreement to what we had already decided we wanted. We can verbalise what we think might be the way forward according to the best wisdom available to us, but do this looking for greater detail or subtle change or something totally different.

(f) Through our study of the Bible – READ, IMAGINE, QUESTION, RESPOND, REST. For an explanation of this process see the first sermon in this series. Speaking though of questions we should ask ourselves when studying Scripture, Bill Hybels suggests regularly putting this question: “What’s the next step in developing my character”?

(g) When others are aware of our situation and are involved in prayer about it with us, then the way that they pray could start to bring some answers. Also as we involve ourselves in public prayer meetings that cover a variety of issues, as we concentrate and listen to the public prayers of others, there might also be some new insight to be gained that relates to our particular situation, that may not have even been intended by the pray-er. Prayer is a dynamic medium! This prayer may have been in reference to something else, but God’s Spirit is using this to speak to us nonetheless. As we ask the question, the answer may come from God through a very human voice.

(h) Through dialogue with trusted friends. Just creatively and prayerfully brainstorming options can help gain some good guidance. We can also ask others whether they might have quietly gained special insight about how to pray for our specific situations.

(i) Through being observant, watching out for what God might already be doing within the situation we are in the midst of praying about. When you go prayer-walking, because of particular concerns about your neighbourhood, you would naturally keep your eyes open, so that you don’t trip over something; but you would keep your eyes open more so to allow God to speak to you through your eyes.

(j) By not giving up too easily, nor allowing ourselves to become discouraged. While the prayer has always been heard, sometimes it takes us a while to notice how God is answering; sometimes God is trying to do something deep within us to prepare us to receive the answer; sometimes the time is just not quite right yet; sometimes the freewill of other people simply restrains positive outcomes! Soren Kierkegaard wrote:

The true relation in prayer is not when God hears what is prayed for, but when the person praying continues to pray until he [or she] is the one who hears, who hears what God wills.

(k) Through gaining peace in the knowledge that God has heard, is with us in our struggle, can be thoroughly trusted, is already active in the area we have prayed about, and God’s answer will be evident in due course. The matter may still be pressing and important, but through bringing it to God it has less power to cause us to worry. God’s Spirit can keep us calm in these times, such that we are more clear-headed to hear and observe what God is doing.

(l) Through knocking on doors of opportunity – through showing a willingness to act. We should pray as God’s co-workers (not as passive recipients). We are to pray anticipating that we will collaborate in the outcome. Just as the conversation that is prayer is a partnership between God and us, the positive and effective outcomes of our prayers will likely also require a continuing partnership. Yancey describes this prayer partnership as a “subtle interplay of human and divine that accomplishes God’s work on earth”.

5. Testing God’s leading

We would need to give some attention to some criteria by which we could ascertain whether it is truly God’s voice speaking to us, rather than competing and counterfeit voices.

For in 1 John 4:1 we read: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world”.

(a) It does not contradict scripture, and that it seems to truly be in line with God’s will in bringing about his kingdom on earth.

(b) It, like God, works for good – it will not cause harm, and indeed there is a real chance that it will bring broad blessing and encouragement across our family, church and community.

(c) It will connect with your revealed giftedness and be based on humble servant-hood (rather than self-promotion).

(d) That it isn’t an easy or comfortable option, but brings with it personal challenges, the need to take steps of faith, and has opportunities for spiritual growth.

In Acts chapter 4, when Peter and John were threatened with severe punishment if they kept proclaiming the name of Jesus, they didn’t pray that the religious leaders who were seeking to silence them would be wiped off the face of the earth (the easy option), and they didn’t pray for an escape clause from their mission (another easy option). Rather Peter and John prayed that they would be bold enough to continue to speak about Jesus and that their faith would stand up against any attack against them.

(e) That, having pursued a particular course of action, the door remains open and doesn’t close. Where we are on the right track, the way should become clearer, the green lights more prevalent and brighter, as the rightness of the endeavour becomes more apparent.

We can so easily though push against obviously closed doors while we miss others that are ajar. F.B Meyer suggests that we should be praying for all false doors to close, and for us to recognise that, even though it was reasonable (maybe even beneficial) to go down such tracks for a time, these were false leadings.

In following this check-list we will hopefully be delivered from the evil one, from wrong motives, from counterfeit guidance and from poor decision-making.

6. Personal testimonies

Would anyone like to give a testimony about how they have felt guided by God in the past!

Prayer Series Sermon Three - "Model Prayer" (Matthew 6:9-15)

Introduction

What have you found important or helpful about the “Lord’s Prayer”?

“Pray then in this way…” –

Well certainly this prayer has become famous … being possibly the best known part of scripture. Within the first century after Jesus’ death, this prayer was a basic feature of the Christian service (with the well-known ending added). It is often recited in all sorts of settings, sometimes memorised, also framed and mounted on walls. However, this prayer is not only a good prayer to recite, but should also be seen as a good pattern for all prayer. For it includes:
· an acknowledgement of relationship (Creator / loved creation)
· an expression of praise and worship
· a statement of faith and commitment
· intercession for heartfelt needs
· an experience of repentance and freedom
· words of trust and confidence.

1. Acknowledgement of relationship (v.9b)

“Our Father in heaven…” –

This collective pronoun serves to remind us that the person praying does not live in a vacuum nor exist in isolation, but rather is part of a community of people. Right from the beginning this reminds us to shape our prayers properly, knowing that my personal needs are not the only needs, and that God is in no way my personal possession (to the exclusion of others). When the Church prays together, we should step into God’s presence with a collective mind.

“Our Father in heaven…” –

This speaks of intimate relationship with a Divine parent figure, one who has created us in God’s own image and given us life, and one who has restored us into the desired close relationship through grace and the gift of Jesus. This is a caring relationship (where we come to express our respectful dependence).

In 1st Century Jewish Palestine, children were powerless social dependents, and fathers were viewed as strong providers, and examples in whom their children could depend. However we know that the “Father” image is not one everybody can resonate with … many children have actually suffered neglect, abandonment and even abuse from their fathers. Yet despite how tarnished a person’s experience and concept of “father” can be, God remains the perfect example of fatherhood, and more particularly … loving, caring parenthood as a whole. We shouldn’t project the failures of very human fathers onto God (if this is a problem for us), but rather get to know God afresh in his own right (through a careful study of the life of Jesus and hopefully a growing personal relationship with the one who brings us salvation).

We don’t of course pray “Our father in heaven” in anyway in fear or trepidation, but rather in simple trust, knowing that we are thoroughly loved. We have come as children to discuss family matters. We have come to the One who can re-create the broken-hearted, and move the mountains that stand in our way.

“Our Father in heaven…” –

Whereas God is everywhere, heaven is God’s ultimate home, because everything there is how it’s meant to be; and so, in a way, our thoughts must rise to that place. Whereas our current life and mission is on earth, our ultimate home is heaven as well. So this is where we join with God in conversation over the state of affairs on earth. We need to be heavenly-minded if we are to be any earthly-good!

2. Expression of praise and worship (v.9c)

“…hallowed be Your Name” –

This is a deep statement of appreciation for who God is. This is a simple yet profound act of worship. “Your Name” (ie. God’s Name) represents everything God is, the essence of God’s heart, God’s very character as displayed in Jesus. To “hallow” who God is, is to honour God as holy, to revere God as awesome.

This is what we want to do – worship God, but this is also a statement concerning how we wish that others would feel the same way – like saying, ‘may all people come to honour You and appreciate all that You are’; or as William Barclay puts it: “Let God’s Name be given a position which is absolutely unique”.

It should pain us that many people, by their words profane God’s name; and by their deeds ignore, ridicule and despise God’s name (yet many have not had the chance to know who God really is yet for various reasons). Also, those ‘Christians’ who live in a way contrary to the teachings of Jesus (eg. speak peace but seek power), could hardly be said to be honouring God’s character, rather they are somewhat making a mockery of God’s Name.

“Hallowing” God’s name was the most characteristic feature of Jewish ethics. In highlighting the broad consistency required in the worship of God, later rabbis said, that a Bible teacher who does not pay their bills on time profanes God’s name.

3. Statement of faith and commitment (v.10)

“Your Kingdom Come…” –

This statement (together with the rest of verse 10) is the central and controlling agenda of this prayer. To think first and foremost on God’s Kingdom puts the focus of prayer toward God, God’s will, and God’s big picture. It will be giving attention to the big picture that will allow the smaller (more personal) picture to fall into place. The Kingdom of God is active where people align themselves with God’s purposes, and commit themselves to the causes close to God’s heart.

The Kingdom of God can be seen in the gathered Jesus-following community (the Church), as we generously and enthusiastically share our resources and the gifts of the Spirit with one another, within a harmonious expression of ministry for the sake of all the community and world. God’s Kingdom is the place where God has the upper-hand, where people are loving and serving God, following Jesus, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit. God’s will is perfectly carried through in heaven – Jesus’ desire is for that same will of God to be evident on earth!

So this could read, ‘May God’s attitudes, priorities and character be manifested in all the relationships, situations and decision-making in human communities. We desire God’s Kingdom to be more evident and more dynamic within our neighbourhoods, country and world (and we desire this now)! We see each new day as a fresh opportunity for this to come about, and for us to be influences of good.

The Kingdom of God has an alternative cultural basis to what often is evident in the world. Where the world offers a diet of greed, aggression, injustice and division, the Kingdom of God is based around humility, self-control, compassion and kindness. The hope for all humankind is centred in this 3-word phrase.

Possible Exercise: After recalling what you love about your local area, think about what you don’t like and what doesn’t fit with God’s Kingdom. Then pray about these things around the statement “Your Kingdom Come”.

Another Exercise: We ask ourselves the question: ‘Am I a participant in bringing about God’s grand design’? Have you seen the British TV show “Grand Designs”? Well God has a design for our individual lives (and our collective lives in the church). Where there might be some doubt expressed as we witness the work in progress, eventually we will see how the life truly dedicated to God flourishes.

4. Intercession for heartfelt needs (v.11)

“Give us this day our daily bread” –

This could easily be translated “Give us today our bread for tomorrow”, reflecting the Palestinian practice of baking tomorrow’s bread today. This would mean that tomorrow is as far ahead as we need to concern ourselves about, and we trust in God for what happens any further ahead than that! This also suggests that we learn to depend on God on a day-to-day basis, and not to worry! We should thus develop a healthy balance between wise planning and trusting God.

“Bread” itself represents basic needs (not wants, nor luxuries). “Bread” as the staple food of the time is illustrative of pure survival! And so our major and reasonable concerns would be about having adequate food, shelter, clothing and access to health-care, and probably also about the means by which we gain such necessities – such as education and employment (or other financial support). Friendship would be another of life’s necessities. Other essentials for prayer would include: our spiritual well-being and that of others, any relational difficulties, our witness to Jesus, and the work of our church.

Where we read “…our daily bread”, this would be yet another reminder that we live in community, and this should broaden our praying to the ends of the earth. Resources are short in many places, together with scandalous poverty. God is often blamed for the starving masses, however the problem is not supply, but rather fair and equitable distribution – for which we can be praying and also advocating!

5. Experience of repentance and freedom (v.12, 14-15)

“And forgive us our debts…” –

The word translated here as “debts” refers to those things we have done in error (normally thought of as sins) that have offended God, that have been contrary to God’s ways, that have worked against the interests of God’s Kingdom, that have brought about a loss for another person. Such a “debt” would indicate that we owed something for what we have done or taken away from another person’s life or from God’s credibility (God’s name). We would need forgiveness to cover what we owe, the debt we have accrued, so that this would no longer be held as owing, or held against us.

These “debts” or “sins” could be defined as moral or ethical errors of judgement that offend God, hurt others and damage ourselves. As well, there are those things that we should have done that have remained undone, for which there is a cost in the lives of others, and thereby a debt to be repaid, which needs forgiveness if relational life is to move forward. This prayer firstly addresses God concerning our sins that have put up a fence between us and God; but as we shall see there is a broader picture being drawn here concerning all interpersonal relationships – a dynamic process of mutual forgiveness.

“…Forgive us…” –

As we pray “forgive us…” we are seeking to restore our (harmonious) relationship with God through expressing our regret and willingness to change, allowing God to deal with these barriers to relationship with Him. Indeed Jesus has already willingly repaid the debt for such misdeeds, and made forgiveness available to us, if we are just willing to ask for it with sincerity.

Unconfessed sin is one the biggest barriers to a healthy prayer life. Not coming to terms with our own sin or debts, negative behaviour and persistent shortcomings, disrupts our open communication with God and disturbs our experience of God’s closeness. Thus we should take every opportunity to bring these incidents regretfully to God, and allow God’s grace and mercy to wipe them away. The very good news is (from 1 John 1:9): “If we confess our sins, the One who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.

There is another condition though, apart from sincerity, upon whether we receive forgiveness or not!!! It is available as long as … ??? … we don’t hold back on others! Holding bitterness toward other people is another major barrier to a healthy and beneficial prayer life.

It is true that things have been done to us, destructive, hurtful things; people have also forgotten about us and our needs when we have needed them the most; and, in some cases, they don’t seem to be even the least bit sorry. However, for our own good, and for the good of the Kingdom (which is the central agenda of this model prayer), we have to think and work towards being forgiving. IF WE HOLD BACK ON FORGIVENESS OF OTHERS, THEN WE ARE PUTTING UP BARRIERS TO OUR OWN FORGIVENESS! Forming and hanging on to bitterness, is probably the most destructive thing we can (deliberately) do to ourselves!

If we find ourselves reluctant to forgive others, we would need to meditate on the fact that God has not held back anything in terms of mercy from us, and remember the great cost of our forgiveness on the cross. At the same time, we should recall that Jesus forgave from the cross those who put him there.

Relationships cannot function properly without forgiveness operating. Forgiving others for what they have done, whether they have sought forgiveness or not, not only liberates us, but also opens up the opportunity of a reconciliation. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt.5:9). Athol Gill wrote: “Our forgiveness of others is the outstretched hand by which we are able to grasp the forgiveness of God”.

6. Words of trust and confidence (v.13)

“And do not bring us to the time of trial” –

The old translation “Lead me not into temptation” was misleading because God never actually tempts us … although God may test us, or perhaps, God allows life to test us in a variety of uncomfortable ways. So, what does this mean?

This is a prayer that we might rise above all of life’s challenges and not ultimately fall flat on our face. Life is inevitably full of difficult times and testing periods, thus this statement is about how we respond to such times; and a call to God for help, guidance and protection. Many of life’s challenges can bring opportunities for significant growth, or on the other hand if not handled well, can lead to destruction! This is a prayer that we might stay on the Kingdom side of the ledger! So, here we are praying:

§ Help me to have victory over temptation
§ Allow me to rise above any persecution
§ Guide me in not repeating my mistakes
§ Prepare me for the tough situations ahead
§ Spare me from unnecessary suffering
§ Help me to maintain my faith
§ Be the light on my path wherever I go.

Ultimately fear will be the death of our prayers. It is trust, not fear, that should fuel our prayer. We shouldn't pray for a change in our circumstances so that we can trust God more, but rather start praying from a position of trust.

“… but rescue us from the evil one” –

This is taken further in respect to any evil we encounter in our journey. “The evil one” here represents all that is evil and anti-God in the world, from wherever or whoever it comes. So here we would be praying:

§ Protect me from all sources of corruption
§ Keep me safe from all the violence happening around us
§ Save me from falling under destructive influences
§ Deliver me from any abusive powers I am under
§ May Your guardian angels go with me
§ And may Your Kingdom truly come!

Shouldn’t we indeed be praying this, not only for ourselves, but for our children, our church, our workplace, our local schools, and our community! And wouldn’t we want to be praying this together for each other in the midst of all the human challenges we share!! We wouldn’t bother of course to pray this if we didn’t believe that God couldn’t deliver. Which returns us to where we started, acknowledging the caring relationship in which we live … “Our Father in heaven…”!

Conclusion

We would do well to use this prayer as a model for our praying. It would help us to centre ourselves on God, prioritise ourselves towards God’s Kingdom agenda, and offer thanksgiving for all that God has done for us (and will undoubtedly continue to do). Using this prayer as a model for our praying will also help us to bring our confession and our commitment to change to the seat of mercy and renewal, have our needs heard and responded to according to God’s will and purposes, and to firmly place our trust in God for the future. May God’s Kingdom come! Amen!