Finding God in Prayer

Transcription

1 1 Finding God in Prayer Purpose to talk about the kind of prayer needed to find deep healing and a connection with God Psalm 42: David was a man who knew how to find God and talk to him God had David write the Psalms so we could share in his experience (Yes the Psalms are part of the inspired word of God) David was a man after God s heart In the Psalms we find Emotion - Anger, frustration, Joy, wonder, worship, respect, praise, David was a man who knew how to Honor God As God First step in making sure we do not fall David knew how to express his feelings openly - but remain submissive to God David knew God as a friend AND as the Creator of the universe David Knew God as a loving father AND as the God of Justice and ultimate righteousness David Knew God was there - even when he seemed distant David trusted God - even when he felt abandoned or alone. On and on Most: David knew how to find his God. He knew where to go and How to get there God gave us his example so that we could find God Why is Finding God so important? Matt 7: I don t know you = You don t know me John 5:39-40 you diligently study the scriptures You refuse to come to me to have life. Matt 11: Come to me - wearied and burden Matt 17:17 - bring the boy here to me. Phil 4:4-7 - prayer and petition,with thanksgiving The Peace of God will Guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus Phil 4:8-9 - Focus on the right things - think about them Imitate what you have learned, heard of seen in Paul/David

2 2 And the God of Peace will be with you James 5 - the prayer of the righteous man is powerful righteousness is about relationship. Being at peace and being with God happen in Prayer My Story In and out of the ministry years - intern/evangelist ( ) Hurt by brothers Sidelined by leaders Taking care of my family Wayne axelson - you need to pray Needed to Walk (for exercise) - used the time to pray Decided to Go find my God Important: God wants to be found Acts 17:27 - God is not far from any of us. He put us where we are that we might seek him and Perhaps reach out for him and find him Psalm 14:2 - God is looking for seekers Do you think God is capable of knowing when someone is earnestly seeking? Things you can do to find God 1) Matt 6:5-8 - Find your closet God is not found on the street corners of prayer - but in the closet of prayer God is not found in many words and babbling - like pagans Interesting Closets do not have cell phones, computers, televisions, microwaves, refrigerators, etc (at least not ones we want to use) What is the closet? Mike Voligny - a literal closet Fred Faller - Burlington Reservoir - early morning. (1)Few places Jesus said the reward was found in this secret prayer not on the street corners

3 3 My conviction is the REWARD is finding God. (my experience) Finding God requires finding a time and a place where you can be there for Him. 2) Be Devoted to Prayer (Acts 2:42) I Chronicles 28:9 - If you seek him, he will be found by you... David s last words to his son Solomon Seek God - you will find him 2 things You need - 1) Wholehearted Devotion Daily prayer When we are devoted to something: Do it as much as we can We would not miss a day of it Mana - before the sun was up - only enough for today! The prayer shelf Only works if you do it every day!! Hall Closet? Matt 6: Each day has enough trouble of its own. Nothing Shows God you are more devoted than doing it every day. Morning Prayer Prayer is about setting up your day Brushing your teeth, combing hair just before going to bed Every book about prayer talks about morning prayer Turn off the TV and go to bed - so you can get up Tell your friends you have an early morning appointment. Gym, Tennis, other activities David - Psalm 5:1-3 Praying to god In the morning Wait in expectation - through the day Protracted Prayer. 15 minutes of rambling and babbling like the pagans Enter the deep prayer state where I find God. This is the place where confession takes on fully

4 4 God is embracing me - emotional healing Throwing all my cares and burdens on him Unload the prayer shelf Experiences - Answers, tears and relief Heart is healed and transformed - rejuvenated. You need - A Willing Mind Willing to have your mind changed Cast off the traditions: Science of Prayer - experiment I keep doing this and it never works Do something different Go to the mountain Sing Shout Dance if you like Lay face down before God Lay out your prayer list before God Prayer lists: Matt 6:8 - God knows what you need before you ask him II kings 18:17ff Sennacharib, King of Assyria - surrounded Jerusalem Taunts Hezekiah - King of Jerusalem Extraordinary: II Kings 19:14-16 Hezekiah spreads out the letter before God. Hezekiah - proof that God can read\ God knew what the letter said Mike Voligny -the prayer list - Prayer takes thought - prayer is a thinking activity Like any real conversation - careful with words Prayer is a conversation - you THINK about important conversations, right? Listen to yourself pray Ever said something and then thought That was dumb I pray out loud - I say some of the most ridiculous things

5 5 WHAT!!? Praying for wisdom(talked about that last time) Wisdom is a mind change - Without a willing mind - I will not get wisdom Am I willing to have your mind changed by God s wisdom? Praying that the spirit will bear His fruit in your life. Practice the fruits of the spirit Being open to God changing you from inside 3) Be Real with God Emotion anger, joy, persuasion, sadness (crying), agony, fear, frustration, questioning God, understanding, motives All of these we find in the Psalms Psalm 73 - frustration, fear, resentment, envy But - we do know the score. Psalm 74:1-17, Where are you God? Psalm 70 Talk out loud - Go somewhere where you can talk out loud. Unique connection between the tongue and the brain Talking out loud reveals the heart Jesus: Out of the heart the mouth speaks Jesus - loud cries and tears Don t be afraid to Argue and persuade Abraham(Lot in Sodom), Moses (Israelite sin), Hezekiah (life), Gideon(fleeces), Submit to his will (in the psalms) Psalms - the prayers of David - David was real with God! (Careful about how to say this)

6 6 Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, the Judges - did not have the psalms Each needed to simply find their God and make the connections Psalms were probably not written by recording David s prayers... They are deliberate, carefully crafted, rhyming, cadenced poems Every emotion or attitude, thought, reflection in the psalms is fair game for prayer But it has to be YOUR prayer. Being real with God is not reciting someone else s prayers David and the pursuit of the philistines You and your brother, mother, co-worked 4) Listen carefully for God to Answer Eccl 5:1-3 Matt 6: Don t be like the pagans, they think they will be heard for their many words. Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 5 - I pray and wait in expectation. Wait and expect and answer - this is part of prayer. Extraordinary answers when we listen. Would it be weird if we talked to our friends the way we talk to God? (Babble example...) If you ask God a question: Stop and listen. The swirling morasse - mind going 90 miles an hour A fragment of a verse... A thought of something you need to do... The inescapable Closing: Some of you are saying to to me silently: You don t know my job You don t know my marriage situation, my wife, my husband, my kids.. You have no idea about my extended family I don t have time for all what you are saying It seems too good to be true... Etc.

7 7 I will say to you: YOU ARE exactly right! I don t have any clue to most of your challenges I don t know your history or your trajectory into the future BUT I DO KNOW THIS Unless something changes, nothing will change This is where faith steps to the fore: BUT: On my personal testimony And the testimony of many handfuls of persons whom I have been graced to help over the years: (Mary Edmunds) If you: Find your closet Devote yourself to God with whole hearted devotion and a willing mind Get down and get real with God Listen carefully to God. 1) Then all the things I do not know about you will no no longer matter. 2) The rewards of the God of the universe will far outweigh any sacrifice you can make to be with him. 3) You will find and understand the peace that surpasses understanding 4) And the God of Peace will be with you.