1 Beyond 911 Prayers Psalm 18:1-6 (Slide 1) 911 Calls Show this slide before I go to the platform. Play the 911 recording before I go to the platform. The 911 recording you just heard is real. The mother is genuinely concerned about her son. The situation was beyond her abilities, so she called 911 for help. The woman was justified in calling 911. The woman needed help for legitimate reasons. The woman was sincere in her request. The operator answered the call. The operator listened carefully and helped the woman. The call was short and effective. The conversation was honest. The conversation was about intimate matters. The conversation was open and from the heart. The conversation was very real. The woman genuinely called out to the 911 operator for help, and the woman received the help she needed. Despite all the great qualities of the conversation, the woman did not develop a relationship with the operator. The call was heart-felt, but it was too brief to grow a relationship. The call was sincere, but the conversation was too narrow to grow a relationship. The nature of a 911 call does not grow relationships. Life has its 911 moments. How many of you have ever called 911? How many of you developed a relationship with the operator because of the call? Surely, you know the name of the person who helped you. How many of you know the operator s name? The call obtained the help you needed, but a relationship did not result. The nature of a 911 call does not grow a relationship with the operator. I played the recording of the 911 call for two reasons. First, to draw attention to the reality of heartache in our society and even our churches. I hope you will take time to pray for people who live in distress. The second reason that I played the recording is to make a point about the way some people pray. Some people pray only when life goes 911. Do you pray primarily when life goes 911? (Slide 2) 911 Prayers
2 Imagine this. An emergency happens in your life. You think of prayer as a means of help. You don t call to 911 but you call to G O D. Your prayer is a 911 prayer. You are justified in praying to God. You need help for legitimate reasons. You are sincere in your request. God receives the prayer. God listens carefully and sends help to you. The prayer is short and effective. The conversation is honest. The conversation is about intimate matters. The conversation is open and from the heart. The conversation is very real. You genuinely call out to God for help. You receive the help you need. Despite all the great qualities of the prayer, you will not develop a relationship with God. The prayer was heart-felt, but it was too brief to grow a relationship. The prayer was sincere, but the conversation was too narrow to grow a relationship. The nature of a 911 prayer does not grow a relationship with God. Please turn in your Bible to Psalm 18. We re going to look at verses 4-6. Psalm 18 (4) The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. (5) The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. (6) In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. Verses 4 and 5 describe a 911 situation. Feel the intensity Experience the terror. Smell the danger. Know the helplessness. Sense death moving in for the kill. The cords of death entangled me. Imagine being so close to death that it entangled you like a cord around your hands, feet, and throat. The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. Imagine wave after wave of destruction, knocking you down time after time until you are overwhelmed. The cords of the grave coiled around me. Imagine the grave coming for you, coiling around you to take you under and drag you to an abyss of darkness. The snares of death confronted me. Imagine death confronting you with the threat of trapping you and pulling you into lifelessness. If verses 4 and 5 describe your situation, life just went 911. Even an atheist will pray in a situation like this.
3 Verse 6 is a 911 prayer. David, the soon-to-be king of Israel, was the person calling out to God. The present king, Saul, was after David, with murder on his mind. Saul was jealous of David. Saul felt threatened by David s potential. Saul was intent on destroying David. David s distress was very, very real. When life went 911, David called to G O D. David cried for help. God heard David s voice. David s 911 prayer traveled to God s ears in his temple in heaven. From biblical and historical accounts, we know that God answered David s prayer. God came to David s rescue. God delivered David from Saul and his army of blood thirsty bounty hunters. David was justified in praying to God. David needed help for legitimate reasons. David was sincere in his request. God received the prayer. God listened carefully and sent help to David. David s prayer was short and effective. The conversation was honest. The conversation was about intimate matters. The conversation was open and from the heart. The conversation was very real. David genuinely called out to God for help. David received the help he needed. Despite all the great qualities of David s prayer, that prayer alone did not create a relationship with God. The prayer was heart-felt, but it was too brief to grow a relationship. The prayer was sincere, but the conversation was too narrow to grow a relationship. The nature of a 911 prayer does not grow a relationship with God. However, we know that David had a close relationship with God. From verses 1-3, we can tell that David spent time with God, other than when his life went 911. David prayed beyond 911 prayers. (Slide 3) Beyond 911 Prayers Psalm 18 (1) I love you, O LORD, my strength. (2) The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (3) I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
4 David loved God deeply. God was his strength. God was his rock of stability and place of protection. God was his salvation. God was to be praised. God had saved David from his enemies. Verses 1-3 show an intimate relationship. David s intimate relationship with God did not come from 911 prayers. The nature of 911 calls and the nature of 911 prayers does not foster relationships. So, how did David s relationship with God grow? Let s look. In verse 1, David, while praying, told God that he loved him. Do you do that, or are your prayers just lists of what you want from God? In verse 2, David told God who God was to him. God, you are my Lord, my rock, my fortress, my refuge, my shield, my salvation, my stronghold, and so much more. That s the kind of prayer that grows a relationship with God. Do you go beyond 911 prayers and pray like David did, just letting God know who he is to you? In verse 3, David told God that God is worthy of praise and that God was the reason David was protected from his enemies. Do you praise God in prayer? Praise goes beyond 911 praying. Praise grows a relationship with God. David knew that prayer should go beyond 911 moments to grow a relationship with God. We can see that in Psalm 18, which we just read. Let s listen to David pray in another psalm, Psalm 5. (Slide 4) Beyond 911 Prayers Psalm 5 (1) Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. (2) Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. (3) In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. David prayed regularly. His words here are not rushed. There is no tone of emergency in Psalm 5. He asked God to take time to consider his sighing. He spent time with God in the morning. He prayed with God before he got busy with the day s responsibilities. He stopped talking in order to wait with expectation. That s the kind of prayer that goes beyond 911 praying and grows a relationship with God.
5 Do you spend dedicated quiet time with God? Do you ask him to consider your needs? Do you talk to God before you get busy with other things? Do you wait, giving God time to talk to you? That type of praying is needed to grow a relationship with God. Notice the same relationship-building tone as David prayed in Psalm 40. (Slide 5) Beyond 911 Prayers Psalm 40 (1) I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. (2) He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. (3) He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. David spent time with God. He prayed. Then, he waited patiently for the Lord to answer. His prayer was not a 911 prayer. The tone was relaxed and positive. David prayed. David waited. David was patient. God answered. God put a song of praise in David s mouth. David s frequent prayer time with God allowed an intimate relationship to develop. David showed us the importance of going beyond 911 prayers. Jesus went beyond 911 prayers, too. (Slide 6) Beyond 911 Prayers Matthew 14 (23) After Jesus had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. Jesus modeled the process of growing a relationship with God through prayer. In these verses, Jesus was not in crisis. His life was not in 911 mode. In fact, Jesus had just performed several miracles. A crowd of thousands had gathered to see Jesus. First, Jesus healed those who were sick. Evening came and so did dinner time. It was a desolate place. There was no food around, except for five loaves of bread and two fish. How could Jesus feed thousands of people a few scraps of food? Well, Jesus looked up to heaven, prayed, and started handing out food. The food kept multiplying, and multiplying, and multiplying. Everyone ate until satisfied, and there was a lot of food left over. Jesus dismissed the crowd and his disciples, to be alone.
6 This was not a 911 event. Life was going great. The healings and feeding miracle were causes for celebration. This was a time of victory. This was a time to be alone to rest. Look again, at what Jesus did with his down time after huge miracles. (23) After Jesus had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. Jesus healed people. Jesus fed people. Life was great. There was no emergency, but Jesus took time to pray. In the evening, Jesus went to a quiet place. He was alone. He talked to God. That kind of prayer goes beyond 911 prayers. That kind of prayer grows a relationship with God. Let s look at another example of Jesus prayer habits. (Slide 7) Beyond 911 Prayers Mark 1:35 (35) Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. This time, Jesus prayed in the morning rather than evening. The time of day was different, but the model is the same. It s a model you must follow if you want to really know God and have an intimate relationship with him. Here s the model. (Slide 8) Jesus Prayer Model (1) Set the time aside. The Bible often mentions morning as a good time. For some people, another time may be better. (2) Go to a quiet place. Shut out the world for awhile. Quiet the noise of your mind. (3) Get alone with God. Physically separate from other people and your responsibilities. Will you commit to set time aside? Will you commit to go to a quiet place? Will you commit to get alone with God? I pray that you will make time to pray. It s the way to grow a relationship with God. Conclusion David, a person described as a Man after God s own heart, grew his relationship with God by going beyond 911 prayers. Jesus, the Son of God, grew his relationship with God, by going beyond 911 prayers. Both set time aside. Both went to a quiet place. Both got alone with God.
7 Like David and Jesus, you can enjoy a close relationship with God. Don t wait for life to go 911 before you take time to pray. Pray every day. You can choose to go beyond 911 prayers. You can choose to pray regularly and grow a relationship with God. You can do it. Will you? Let's pray.