prayer

Jesus’ Example & Call to Prayer

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After three years of teaching and ministry, Jesus begins the final preparations for the ultimate stage of his life and ministry: his death on the cross. This week we are looking at two evenings that lead up to cross, for these are significant turns in the story.

The focus here, though, will be on Jesus’ interaction with Peter in Matthew 26:30-46.

In the first six verses of this passage, Jesus once again explains what is about to happen: He is going to die and they are going to scatter for a time. But Peter in all his audacity declares, “I will never fall away.”

Unfortunately, Jesus gives Peter a harsh reality check when he explains that Peter will deny Him three times before the night is over.

Peter would have none of it. He adamantly responds, “I will not deny you!”

Jesus knew differently, but he continued with his disciples to Gethsemane where an important moment happens that gives us great insight into why Peter fell to the pressure of the hour as well.

Jesus invites Peter and two others to pray with him in the garden, but instead, they fall asleep. Jesus exhorts the disciples to “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing; but the flesh is weak.”

Coming on the heels of the previous conversation with Peter, Jesus is clearly pointing to the Peter’s one hope of actually remaining true to Christ through the upcoming trials: prayer.

Jesus recognizes Peters passionate desire to be faithful to his Lord, but He also recognizes the immense power of the flesh. While he knows Peter won’t embrace the gift of prayer at this moment, He offers him this gracious gift anyway and shows him a perfect example of what this kind of prayer looks like. In doing so, He points us all to how we can prepare for sufferings, trials, and persecutions.

We are all going to face many of the same kinds of temptations to abandon our Lord. Whether it’s due to persecution from outside of us or desires from within, we will be faced with the temptation to place Christ aside. Apart from his grace and a constant dependence upon him in prayer, we will fall just as Peter did. Thankfully, just as Peter was joyfully welcomed back, we can be confident that Jesus will do the same for us as well. Though we may let go of Him, He will never let go of us!

May we pursue faithfulness at all times by being a people who rely upon the Spirit of God through prayer.

Three Keys to Spiritual Renewal

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Diving back into the Old Testament storyline this week, we find ourselves listening in on God’s words to Solomon after the dedication of the temple.

God knew his people would rebel and need to experience renewal, so he lays out the path to renewal in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Prayer is the primary vehicle that God provides here for our spiritual renewal, for later he promises to hear our prayers. Yet, God calls us to a particular type of prayer. Prayer that is characterized by:

Reliance–
We are tempted to work ourselves out of problems. Instead, we are called to begin with prayer, thus recognizing that we don’t have the solution in ourselves i.e. humbling ourselves. As a result, God gets the glory, not us. And we experience the renewal that comes from relying upon an all-sufficient God.

Right Relationship–
We are tempted to relate wrongly to God: to feel entitled or to pursue other things as ultimate. But God wants us to commune with him, to seek his face, not because we think we deserve it and not because we want other things but because we long to relate to him. So we’re called to go to him in prayer out of a desire to know and be known by him.

Repentance–
We are tempted to avoid acknowledging our sin, God’s holiness, and our need for him. Prayer brings us face to face with a holy God which brings our brokenness to light, too. Prayer that truly encounters God leads us to grapple with our sinfulness. Yet it doesn’t leave us in a broken state, for it’s in this repentance that God promises to bring renewal.

May these aspects characterize our prayer that we might experience renewal from our God.

***One last thing: don’t make the mistake of thinking this is always an individual pursuit. Sometimes the start of this process doesn’t begin by yourself before God, but by admitting your struggle to others (humbling yourself) so that they can seek God’s face for you when you feel too weak to do so. This is a huge part of why the church is so vital to our spiritual lives.

Stoking the Flames of Persistent Prayer

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George Müller was an incredible pastor in Great Britain during the 19th century. Not only did he passionately preach the gospel, but he also lived out a phenomenal example of sacrificial investment in caring for the needs of the poor and the powerless. He led countless souls to the one who can provide rest and healing both spiritually and physically. Any cursory glance at his life reveals the power behind this man’s ministry was his devotion to prayer.

As we consider devotion to prayer, Müller’s life provides a powerful inspiration toward persistent prayer:

“‘In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without one single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land or on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be.  Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God, and prayed on  for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second one was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day I continued to pray for them and six years more passed before the third was converted. I thanks God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remain unconverted. The man to whom God in the riches of His grace has given tens of thousands of answers to prayer, in the self-same hour or day on which they were offered, has been praying day by day for nearly thirty-six years for the conversion of these two individuals, and yet they remain unconverted; for next November it will be thirty-six years since I began to pray for their conversion. But I hope in God, I pray on, and look yet for the answer.’

*One of these persons was converted before Mr Müller’s death, and the other only gave clear evidence of conversion after Mr Müller had passed away.”

-“The Prayer Hearing God” by George Müller

May we all be devoted to prayer with the persistence of Müller.

Two Annoying Aspects of Prayer

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I’ll admit it. Making a bold shameless ask and being persistent in it makes me highly uncomfortable. I’ve never wanted to be perceived as taking advantage of others, overstaying my welcome, or pursuing my own desires over others’. Most likely, I don’t like these things because I find them highly annoying in other people particularly when accompanied by entitlement.

Yet, shamelessness and persistence are two aspects of prayer that Jesus calls us to in the book of Luke.

First, Jesus shares a story of a friend in need:

And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence [bold shamelessness] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:5-13

Shamelessness flows from childlike faith not entitled pride. The person in the story pursued his friend’s help because he knew his friend’s character: avoiding shame at all costs. As for us, we can boldly and shamelessly ask God for all our needs and desires when we have a childlike faith in His character as our loving, gracious, and merciful heavenly Father. We don’t seek answers because we’ve earned them but because He is gracious.

Prayer is not cashing a paycheck, but trusting in grace.

Second, Jesus shares a story of a persistent widow:

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said,“In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” – Luke 18:1-8

Persistence flows from complete reliance not arrogant manipulation. The widow knew her only hope for justice was to go to the one who had the power to accomplish it. She recognized her powerlessness, embraced it, and relied completely upon the judge. She didn’t persist as some tactic to manipulate him, but out of her need for his grace. The same goes for our prayers to God.

Prayer is not a tool to manipulate God, but an exhibition of faith.

May we come to our heavenly Father as His sons and daughters with bold shamelessness and undying persistence and make our requests known to Him with expectant faith for how He will answer.

Praying More Than a Wish List

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Last week, we considered how to build a habit of prayer, but if we don’t have a good pattern or rhythm to our prayers, then we will tend toward focusing on ourselves. If we aren’t careful, prayer can quickly become a wish list brought to a cosmic Santa Claus rather than a time of conversation with our God and Father. In sports, one practices drills over and over again to hone particular muscles and skills so that unnatural motions become natural and even automatic. Similar to athletics, we need some drills to develop the fundamentals of prayer. Here are a couple of helpful resources that will help you develop a holistic relationship with God through prayer:

A.C.T.S

A simple acronym can go a long way to help guide your prayer time and make sure you focus on more than simply making requests to God. Each time you spend with God in focused prayer. Work through the following aspects of conversation with God:

Adoration – Begin your time with God reflecting upon who He is and praising Him.

Confession – Next, consider who you are-a sinner saved by grace. Be authentic with God, confess your sin to him, and express your need for him.

Thanksgiving – Flow from your need for Him to thanksgiving to God for His provision of grace and salvation in Jesus. Then thank Him for the many other blessings in your life.

Supplication – Wrap up your time of prayer with requests for both yourself and others.

Face to Face by Ken Boa

Another great tool for growing in your relationship with the Lord through prayer is learning to pray the Scriptures. Meditating upon God’s truth can go a long way toward expanding how and what you talk about to God. The best resource I have found and use on a regular basis is Face to Face: Praying the Scriptures for Intimate Worship by Ken Boa. It works through a similar rhythm of prayer as the A.C.T.S. paradigm above, but it also provides Scriptures to guide your thoughts and give voice to your prayers. You can buy it on Amazon by clicking on the image below:

 

Boa Image

A Pattern of Prayer

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Prayer is not a practice that comes naturally. It didn’t for Jesus’ disciples, so why should we expect it to be so for us?

I’ve only been married for a little over a year, but one thing I’ve learned is that communication is going to be a lifelong learning process. I wasn’t born an expert at it and neither was my wife. We are constantly learning more about how to express ourselves fully to one another. One helpful tool for developing relational intimacy in marriage is learning to ask good questions in all areas of life. We did some of this when we went through premarital counseling, and it’s helpful to come back to those questions to make sure we are continuing to get to know each other more and more all the time. These questions don’t dry up our relationship, but instead, they breathe life into often ignored or forgotten areas of our relationship.

The same holds true for our conversations with God i.e. prayer. Reminders and guides aren’t meant to make our prayers rote, but instead, they have the potential to expand our knowledge of and relationship with God. And this expansion won’t happen naturally. We must learn and cultivate it.

This is why Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them to pray, and as a result, Jesus provided us with the ultimate pattern for prayer and growing our conversations with God:

Father, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.

-Luke 11:2-4

Jesus isn’t simply giving us the exact words we should pray over and over again. Rather, Jesus is giving us a pattern. He is providing a guide to remind us to address every aspect of our relationship with God in prayer. He points to at least three different aspects of prayer in this passage:

  1. Adoration – “Father, hallowed be your name.” This phrase is an acknowledgement and praise of God’s holiness.
  2. Confession – “Forgive us our sins.” This phrase is a moment of authenticity before God and a turning toward Him.
  3. Reliance & Request – “Give us each day our daily bread… And lead us not into temptation.” These two phrases highlight our deep reliance upon God and the humble requests for physical and spiritual provision from him.

Don’t expect to grow in your relationship with God apart from developing a holistic rhythm of communication with God. Commit to involving at least these three aspects in your prayer on a daily basis.

Let’s devote ourselves to prayer by modeling our communication on Jesus’ guide for prayer.

Gospel-Centered Prayer for Church-Wide Renewal

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Strategies for church growth and revitalization line the walls of Christian book stores. The methods vary as much as the stories that highlight them. Pragmatism is king in our society, and pastors tend to fall prey to this along with everyone else. Despite this tendency, many of these books are legitimately helpful and provide inspiration and insights for ministry. This post isn’t meant to be a bashing of church growth material, for while the materials can be a mixed bag, much good can be gained when read with discernment. The major problem with church growth material is not the content itself but the reader. Strategies are useful and even needed, but if this is where we begin, we have failed from the outset.

Church revitalization begins on our knees in prayer.

Martin Luther understood this well: “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.”

But we know this not because I say this or Martin Luther claims it, but rather because God promises renewal if we pray.

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves,and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

-2 Chronicles 7:14

When our churches fail, when we stumble–even run–into sin, and when we grow cold in our love for Jesus, God calls us not to get to work but to come to Him. Why is it that we point people to grace for salvation and again as they fail individually, but when we are faced with a dying church that we immediately turn to the work we can do? God promises holistic renewal for our churches if we would devote ourselves to prayer not because our labor in prayer is a worthy work, but because prayer is a return to the Gospel.

2 Chronicles 7:14 clearly portrays God’s call to Gospel-centered prayer for the sake of renewal. Each act in this verse finds its beginning in prayer and gives us the clear shape of what our prayers should look like. Humbling ourselves begins with prayer to God exhibiting reliance upon him. Seeking God’s face begins with prayer that seeks a right relationship with God. Finally, turning from our wicked ways begins with prayer that turns our hearts toward God and away from sin.

Prayer is the most fundamental Gospel practice, and it’s the Gospel that is the power of God for salvation. As seen in this passage, prayer is fundamental because it exhibits three primary responses to the Gospel:

  1. Reliance – we admit and seek total reliance upon God.
  2. Right Relationship – we put idols aside and seek the face of God through the work of Christ.
  3. Repentance – we turn from sin by the grace of God.

So why does God call his people to prayer in order to experience renewal? Because biblical prayer drives us to meditate upon, experience, and practice the gospel in our lives.

Church revitalization begins on our knees in prayer. To begin anywhere else is to trust in something other than the Gospel. Will we devote ourselves to prayer or place our hopes in someone else?

Forming a Prayer Habit

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During my small group this past week, we discussed the idea of forming habits. We reflected upon the general feeling that habits are so often viewed in a negative light. For many in the Church, we have reacted against legalism with a complete avoidance of habits, yet Scripture actually affirms some habits as good (see 1 Timothy 4:7-8; Hebrews 10:24). If any practice in Scripture is affirmed as worthy of developing a habit, it’s prayer. In fact, Paul so wants this habit to be built into our lives that he urges us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

But how do we build such a constant habit of prayer? It seems like an impossible goal.

Think about this, though. A few days ago, my wife and I were on weekend trip to the Poconos, and we did a 25 mile bike ride, which got us thinking about Iron Man races. Basically, we talked about how impossible an Iron Man seems. Just imagine a 2.4 mile swim, 26.2 mile run, and 112 mile bike ride all in the same day! We couldn’t imagine how anyone could accomplish such a feat.

But people do it all the time.

How? Incremental training over a long period of time.

So how do we build toward praying constantly? We start small in two areas: focused planned prayer and triggered spontaneous prayer.

Focused planned prayer –
Start by setting aside five minutes per day for prayer. While you can do this anywhere, I’d suggest finding a place in your home where you can be completely focused on talking to the Lord. Each week increase the amount of time you spend in prayer by 2-3 minutes. Don’t burn yourself out by starting out too long. Just like training for an Iron Man, you’ve got to build habits of prayer that increase over time.

Triggered spontaneous prayer –
Set apart a couple of triggers in your mind to spark spontaneous prayer throughout your day. What are triggers? Specific places, times, events, people, etc. The key is to make your triggers something specific encountered on a daily basis. For instance, many people have a trigger already built in: meals. We sit down for a meal and pray before we eat. Other possibilities could be when you receive a text message, when you get on the subway or in your car, or when you do a specific task that is otherwise brainless. Brainstorm and identify a couple of triggers that will remind you to pray at various points throughout your day beyond your focused planned prayer time.

Commit to these two areas of prayer, and over time, a habit of prayer will be formed that will grow your relationship with the Lord and produce significant fruit in your life and others’.

Gospel-Centered Prayer

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The focus of the next three weeks is prayer. To begin, we need to consider how our identity affects our prayer life.

How we perceive ourselves drastically affects our approach to God. Specifically, our identity is deeply intertwined with our approach to God in prayer. Jesus teaches just this truth in Luke 18:9-14.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The significant difference between the pharisee and the tax collector is their understanding of their identities.

Identity 1: Jesus’ audience viewed their identity as the righteous ones. They were portrayed as the Pharisee in the parable, who labeled other men with identities of “extortioners, unjust, adulterers,” etc., and they took the identity of the holy ones who fast and tithe. They were righteous in their own eyes.

Result 1: Their prayers were arrogant, entitled, and ineffective.

Identity 2: The tax collector viewed his identity as a sinner in need of mercy and grace. He recognized his low and needy place before God.

Result 2: His prayer was humble and heard.

We are all sinners in need of grace. Recognizing and embracing our need before God is essential for effective prayer. When we believe we are entitled to something we are praying for, we are exalting ourselves as the Pharisee in the parable, and God promises to humble that kind of person. Answered prayer is meant to be received as a gift not as a wage. Just as with our salvation, God longs to pour out grace upon upon us, but we must recognize our need, not assume our rights. Our prayers will only be heard and answered when we approach God in humility.

Ultimately, this means our prayer must be Gospel-centered. The Gospel reminds us of our need, specifically, our identity as sinners in need of grace. The Gospel also reminds us of God’s holiness, his goodness, and his merciful love.

Meditating upon those identities through daily considering the Gospel will cultivate prayers that are humble and heard. May we center our prayer life upon the Gospel by recognizing our identity as needy sinners before a holy, loving God.

***Further food for thought: our gospel identity as sons and daughters of God leads us to pray with expectant faith to our loving, gift-giving Father. What other identities do we have as a result of the Gospel that affect our approach to God in prayer?

Sacrificial Investment

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Centuries ago, Christianity spread like wildfire through much of the known world in a relatively short amount of time. Significant physical and spiritual needs began to be met on an enormous scale. The Gospel and the fame of Jesus was made known to millions who had never heard of his name. By the grace of God, the church—though small and seemingly insignificant—made a huge impact. When did this revival occur? It actually came about in the earliest days of the church beginning in Acts 2:42-47. What characterized the church that God was blessing in such a huge way?

Sacrificial Investment

Beginning in Acts 2:42-47 and continuing throughout the book, we see the church invest sacrificially in three ways:

1. Cultivating Worship of God
2. Building up the Church
3. Reaching out to the World

God multiplied this investment numerous times over for his glory and the good of the world. The physical and spiritual needs of the church and the world at large were being met in ways previously unimaginable to the earliest disciples.

We live in a city that has overwhelming physical and spiritual needs, and God wants to use his church to meet those needs by multiplying their sacrificial investment.

At the Gallery Church, our leaders have spent significant time in self-examination to consider where God is calling us to sacrificially invest. So over the coming year, we are going to sacrificially invest through…

1. Passionate Participation
2. Devoted Prayer
3. Intentional Discipleship
4. Strategic Mission

… so that God would multiply it for the fame of Jesus and the good of our city. (Check out our fall goals here)

If you are part of Gallery, join us by investing in these ways. If not, consider how God is calling you and your church to sacrificially invest for the fame of Jesus.

Just imagine what God might do in our cities if we sacrificially invest as the church did in Acts.