This is the manuscript of the first sermon in a series on prayer, in preparation of a Holy Spirit directed season of corporate prayer for Christ Church.
Prayer has been an untapped resource, where untold treasure remains to be unearthed. Prayer is talked about more than anything else, in the church, and practiced less than anything else. And yet, for the believer it remains one of the greatest gifts our Lord has given us outside of salvation.
Scripture
Matthew 6:5-8 NIV “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Colossians 4:2-6 NIV Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Introduction
Text
Colossians 4:2 NIV Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
F.B. Meyer, the author of the book, The Secret of Guidance said, "The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer."
Instead of it being something we do every day, like breathing, eating and walking and talking, prayer seems to have become like that glass covered box on the wall that says, "break in case of emergency." It is true that so very often we associate prayer with crises in our life.
I read a story of a man who encountered a bit of trouble while flying his airplane. He called the control tower and said, "Pilot to tower, I'm 300 miles from the airport, six hundred feet above the ground, and I'm out of fuel. I am descending rapidly….Please advise. Over." "Tower to pilot," the dispatcher began, "Repeat after me: "Our Father Who art in heaven...'"
That might have been funny but, prayer is, for the most part, an untapped resource, where untold treasure remains to be unearthed. Prayer is talked about more than anything else, in the church, and practiced less than anything else. And yet, for the believer it remains one of the greatest gifts our Lord has given us outside of salvation.
The Apostle Paul was somebody who understood prayer and its power. Prayer was a part of Paul's life, and he took it for granted that it would be a part of the life of every Christian. You can't really be a good Christian and not pray, just like you can’t have a relationship with somebody unless you communicate, talk to them. Prayer is the line of communication between God and His people, between God and those who love Him.
I want to talk about three things today that must be a part of the prayer life of a Christian
A Christian must pray with persistence
A Christian must pray with passion
A Christian must pray with thankfulness
We must Pray with persistence
Our text, Colossians 4:2 says NIV Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
The same verse in the NKJV says, Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
In the English Standard Version it says, Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
The Greek word "proskartereo" is the word translated to "devote," It can also be translated, "persist in, adhere firmly to, remain devoted to, or to give unremitting care to."
This word "proskartereo" carries with it the idea of dedication. In other words, the scripture is saying, be dedicated to prayer.
Of the ten times "proskartereo" is used in the New Testament four of them have to do with being devoted to prayer. It is a very powerful word and, in this verse,
Colossians 4:2 NIV Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful, "proskartereo", is given as an imperative, or a command. In other words, persistence in prayer is not an option for the Christian it is an order from the Lord Himself.
Two of the most instructive parables Jesus ever told on prayer, one in Luke 18 and the other in Luke 11, both have to do with being persistent and not giving up in prayer.
Luke 18:1-8 NIV Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Be persistent!
Luke 11:9 NIV is a promise and it says “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
But let's read the whole thing
Luke 11:5-13 NIV Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
The verbs in verse 9, ask, seek, and knock are in the present tense, active voice and could be translated, "keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking." Jesus does not want us to give up in prayer, He instructs us to be persistent.
Now there is a difference between a persistent prayer and a long prayer. A person who is persistent in prayer does not necessarily have to pray for a long time.
Persistence means not giving up. Some people give up easily, they quit because they say they don't feel like praying, the joy is gone, the feeling is gone. But we are not to live by our feelings but to live by the commandments of our Lord who tells us to pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
To “pray continually” means to have our minds always on the things of God, to be in constant communication with him, so that every moment may be as fruitful as possible.
George Muller was a Christian Evangelist and the Director of an orphanage in England, and he was known as a great prayer warrior. Here is what he had to say about persistence in prayer"
"It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer. The truth is that, in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray."
We must be persistent in prayer.
We must also pray with passion
If you are persistent in something, you are passionate about it.
Colossians 4:2 NIV Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
This describes passionate prayer.
Jesus, who is our greatest example, was passionate about His prayer life, it was something He was always doing.
S.D. Gordon in his book, Quiet Talks on Prayer, says; “How much prayer meant to Jesus! It was not only his regular habit, but his resort in every emergency… When perplexed he prayed. When hard pressed by work he prayed. When hungry for fellowship he found it in prayer. He chose his associates and received his messages upon his knees. If tempted, he prayed. If criticized, he prayed. If fatigued in body or wearied in spirit, he had recourse to his one unfailing habit of prayer. Prayer brought him unmeasured power at the beginning and kept the flow unbroken and undiminished. There was no emergency, no difficulty, no necessity, no temptation that would not yield to prayer.
Every time we see Jesus praying, He was praying with passion.
At His Baptism - while He was praying heaven was opened.
Luke 3:21-22 NIV When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Passionate prayer opens Heaven.
In Luke 6 before He called His disciples - He spent the whole night in prayer.
Luke 6:12-13 NIV One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:
Passionate prayer gives direction.
In Luke 9 at His transfiguration - while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
Luke 9:28-29 NIV About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
Passionate prayer enables us to experience the glory of the Father.
In John 17 in His high priestly prayer Jesus prayed passionately for his disciples and for us
John 17:6-9 NIV “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
John 17:20-21 NIV “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Passionate prayer impacts the lives of others.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus poured out His heart to God
Matthew 26:39 NIV Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
It is only through passionate prayer that we can pour out our hearts to God.
In Luke 23:34 as He hung on the cross, He prayed
Luke 23:34 NIV…“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
A life that is lived in passionate prayer will enable us to maintain that same kind of spirit, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Jesus always prayed with passion, because He knew Who it was, He was talking to and He knew that prayer to the Father is a powerful thing and not something to take lightly.
Passionate prayer is prayer from the heart and not from the head.
Jesus taught us to pray from the heart and not the head
Matthew 6:7-8 NIV And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
People repeat the Lord’s prayer, and I pray that we are not taking the Lord’s Prayer as we sing or recite it each week, as if it is some kind of magic mantra that will bless us or move God to hear us. If we are doing that then we are doing with the Lord’s Prayer, exactly what Jesus was instructing us not to do with it. The pagans, when they prayed, tried, through their religious repetitions, with their chants repeated over and over, to call forth or impress their Gods. That is not what you do when you are in a relationship.
James 5:16 says, that it is the "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man that can accomplish much.", in other words a passionate prayer can accomplish much.
We must be persistent in prayer, we must be passionate in prayer and we must pray with thankfulness
Philippians 4:4-7 NIV Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 4:4-5 NIV For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
Colossians 3:17 NIV And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Expressing gratitude or thanks does several things:
It articulates dependence
It demonstrates relationship
It generates humility
Let me give you five things that happen when we pray:
Prayer internalizes the burden
It deepens the awareness of our partnership with God. As we pray we begin to become aware of how God might use us to answer the prayer, how He might involve us in ways we had not seen before.
Prayer forces us to wait
Part of prayer is always waiting for God. God has three answers to prayers: Yes, no and wait. Yes and no are no-brainers. But waiting is tough.
Pastor John MacArthur says: "There is a tension between boldness and waiting on God's will. That tension is resolved by being persistent, yet accepting God's answer when it finally comes."
Instead of getting frustrated that God is not on our schedule, prayer forces us to be on God's timetable.
Prayer opens our spiritual eyes
It enables us to get in touch with what God is doing and how He is doing it.
There is a story in 2 Kings about Elisha being surrounded by the army of Israel. Let’s look at
2 Kings 6:15-17 NIV When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my Lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Prayer opens our eyes, enabling us to see what God is doing, to see things we are blind to without prayer. That's because prayer is communication. We speak to God, and God answers us, speaking to us, showing us.
Prayer aligns our heart with God's heart
In prayer our desires become more like God's desires so that we can align our wills with the will of God.
1 John 5:14-15 NIV This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
And finally prayer enables us to move forward
Prayer engages God, enables God's people, and enlarges His kingdom.
Look at
John 15:5-8 NIV “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Once we have prayed, we are ready to do anything; until we have prayed, we can do nothing, but once we have prayed, we can accomplish anything.
What does your prayer life look like today? Are you persistent in prayer? Are your prayers passionate or are they superficial? Are they filled with intensity and fervor or are they weak, timid and lacking faith? What about gratitude? How much time have you spent thanking God for all He has done for you? Is there a burden on your heart to see God's kingdom expand, to see His will done?
Let's pray.
Almighty Father, teach us to pray. May we long to spend time with you and enjoy communicating with you. Empower us to raise up other prayer warriors who help us reach our neighbors and the nations with the gospel. Thank you for your faithfulness in continually calling us to prayer. In Jesus' name Amen
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