Six Marks of a Disciple 4: "Knees for Prayer'' Let's turn together to Luke chapter 11. This week we're returning to our series, "The Six Marks of a Disciple" based in part on Glenn McDonald's book The Disciple-Making Church. We have already covered the first three marks: A Heart for Christ Alone, A Mind Transformed by the Word, and Arms of Love. Today we'll be looking at the fourth mark: Knees for Prayer. So who's ready for some good news? Luke 11 :1 ESV "Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.' 2 And he said to them, 'When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation." 5 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, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 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'? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 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. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." (Prayer) I. The passage we just read together is amazing within the Gospels for a very specific reason. It is the only instance in all four gospels where the disciples asked Jesus for specific guidance for their lives. A. They never asked Him to show them how to perform miracles, cast out devils, teach in parables, confront Pharisees, or even make other disciples! B. But they did ask, "Lord, teach us to pray!" C. As good Jewish men, they were probably well versed in Old Testament accounts of the power of prayer. 1. I imagine that they cut their teeth on the story of how Joshua prayed that the Sun would stand still in the sky, AND IT DID for about 24 additional hours (Joshua 1 O)! 2. They would recall Elijah praying that it wouldn't rain until he prayed again, and it didn't; or how he prayed for fire to fall on his soggy sacrifice, and it did, and the whole thing burned up (1 Kings 17, 18)! D. But being around Jesus gave them an entirely new perspective on prayer.
II. 1. The saints of Old Testament prayed in a cause and effect fashion - They would pray and God would move in a dramatic display! 2. But although that was true with Christ as well, the pattern was often flipped upside down - God would move, then Jesus would isolate himself to pray! a. Mark 1 :34 ESV "And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons... 35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed." b. (After feeding the 5,000) Matthew 14:23 ESV "And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone..." E. It would seem to me that the disciple's question, "Lord, teach us to pray", was motivated not only by the power that Jesus possessed, but by the intimacy with the Father He displayed! 1. Jesus was passionate about being with the father, hearing from the Father and ultimately obeying the Father. 2. This deep connection to the Father wasn't simply accomplished by his status as the Son; it was accomplished just like it is with you and l... by a life of prayer. 3. Knowing God without a life of prayer is impossible, and knowing the Father is the very reason Jesus died to save us! Knowing Him is far more important than any other thing in the Christian life by far (see Philippians 3)... and knowing Him is only accomplished when we pray. 4. We should also note that it was because of knowing the Father by prayer that power flowed so freely from Christ's life. How different this is from the way the modern church conducts itself! A. Christians today fully embrace all kinds of teachings on operating in spiritual gifts, casting out demons, sharing their faith, and building churches, and they turn them into best-selling books and video series, and make the teachers of these things into celebrities. B. Yet prayer meetings in churches rarely happen, and when they do they are scarcely attended! Alan Wright joked with me when He was here. He said, "The best way to kill a church is to call prayer meetings". C. When we do pray, our prayer is usually focused on our momentary needs and desires, as well as our complaints. We rarely find someone who is concerned primarily with knowing Jesus, or seeing His glory. D. If I were to ask you, "WHAT is the work of the church?" what would you say?
Ill. IV. 1. Winning souls? Ministering to hurting people? Influencing the culture? Yes, yes and yes! 2. But HOW do we accomplish our task? Reading more books? Getting better teaching? Putting together more excellent services? All those things are great, but they are meaningless without a life of prayer! 3. But WHY should we pray? The same reason Jesus did! To KNOW the Father; not just accomplish kingdom stuff! 4. Glenn McDonald calls the praying life a "life of sustained spiritual conversation" Prayer is the only indication that we are in relationship with God versus simply practicing mere religion. 5. Without prayer God is merely the distant dead uncle that leaves us the keys to his mansion - we don't really know Him but we are sure glad we get His stuff! 6. Prayer demonstrates better than anything else that we want God and not just the benefits he provides Prayer not only enables us to know the Father, and accomplish His purposes. But it demonstrates our absolute dependence on Him! A. Show me a man or woman that doesn't pray, and I'll show you someone who is still convinced that they are their own best answer! B. A praying man or woman has determined, like David said: Psalms 16:2 ESV "I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."' 1. The praying person knows that not just every miracle and convert, but every breath, every penny, every rescue from pesky sins, and every wise thought comes directly from God! 2. James 1 :16 ESV "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." This brings us to our first "gap" that must be overcome to grow from being a just a spiritual seeker. Where we go from "I don't understand how much God wants me to enjoy knowing Him, so I don't pursue him wholeheartedly" to "I've experienced enough of God to choose to pursue an intimate relationship with him". A. This is where we discover that prayer matters. B. Prayer is the highest honor and privilege bestowed upon us by the cross of Christ. We have unrestricted access because of the blood of Jesus! 1. We have access to the one who created stars, lives eternally, and has all of the answers. 2. We can converse with the one who was present when we were formed in our mother's womb, and will be there at the moment of our death!
3. We can have ongoing conversation with the eternally existing one, who lived in our historical past, and who did what no other living person could have done! He satisfied the wrath of God for us! C. Contrast that with the Levitical law of the Old Testament! 1. No one had access to God! The way to the "holiest place" in the tabernacle and temple, where is presence was found, was blocked by a huge, thick curtain. If you tried to gain entry, certain death awaited you! 2. Only once a year was the high priest allowed to enter to offer the blood of a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people. a. This high priest was warned in the Law that he had better have all of his "i's" dotted and ''t's" crossed before he entered! b. He had to wear bells on his robe and a rope around his leg, so that if he dropped dead, the people would hear it and could drag his carcass out! 3. But when Jesus died he exchanged our filthiness, sin and unrighteousness, and He gave us his perfect righteous. a. The Bible says when he died in our place Matthew 27:51 ESV "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split." b. Notice that it was split from top to bottom, by the will of God, and not bottom to top, by the efforts of mankind! D. This should be our prime motivation to pray! That the God of the universe wants a relationship with us, and with His own blood he made a way for that to be possible! V. So once God's Spirit awakens in us the desire to pray, we come to the next gap, where we go from a seeker to a beginner. This is where we go from, "My prayer life is awkward because I don't know how to talk to God' 1 to "I'm sufficiently experienced at prayer that I increasingly engage God in conversation". A. This is the step, where though we want to pray, we find that there are many barriers working against us. B. First there's the barrier of technique. 1. Do we pray standing? Sitting? Kneeling? Laying face down? 2. What do we do with our hands? Do we raise them? Do we fold them? 3. What about our words? Does God prefer "King James" English, or are more familiar words ok? C. What if you don't feel spiritual? Is it OK to pray? 1. Prayer is often just desperate cries, fueled by passion and despair.
VI. a. The prayers of the prophets and those recorded in the Psalms are filled anger, disillusionment, frustration, lament and expressions of praise and joy. b. In fact, 70% of the psalms are laments! i. So many people try to pray as they aren't (spiritual, happy, in control)... but God wants us to come to him as we are (trust, me He can handle it!)! Don't pray as you can't, pray as you can. Be real and honest with God! ii. iii. God isn't into style and polished prayer! Matthew 6:7 ESV "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." 2. A 911 operator does not need you to say a word to know exactly where you are, and that you have a need! a. How much more do you think the Heavenly father will respond when you simply turn your heart to him and reach out, with or without words? b. God is so much more interested in a reaching heart than an eloquent tongue! D. What are our other barriers to prayer? Distractions? Too many other priorities? A wandering mind? Not enough time? 1. There is no book or method that makes prayer easier (though many have been attempted). 2. Prayer is difficult because you are learning to talk to God! a. It's like a baby learning to communicate his or her wants and needs to their parents, and not having the language to do it! b. The language of prayer comes in stages: crying, goo-goo's, gaa-gaa's, mamas and da-das, baby talk, complete, but sometimes incoherent sentences, and so on until mature conversation occurs more and more frequently. c. But rest assured, the Father never turns a deaf ear to any attempt at communication! E. Romans 8:26 ESV "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." Now we move on from a beginner to an intermediate. This is where we go from "My prayer life tends to be one-dimensional and inconsistent'i to "Through a more consistent prayer life, I am increasingly more open with God about all of my concerns." A. In the early stages of our spiritual lives, many of us treat prayer like a fire escape, and emergency exit, or the emergency room. B. We use it only when we need rescued from a bad situation... fast!
VII. C. "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" - Corrie Ten Boom D. But as we progress, we approach prayer as a more relational activity than a 911 call. 1. We could also return to the analogy of baby talk. When someone is an infant, ALL communication is a 911 call! "I'm wet! I'm dirty! I'm hungry! I'm sleepy! Help! And do it fast!" 2. But as we progress, we grow in ways to not only communicate our hearts to the Father, but hear his heart as well. E. That is not to say that we will ever receive complete relief from the almost unrelenting anxiety that plagues us in this life. (put UR. image of Bat Signall 1. What this means is that when trouble comes, we will face it from the center of our love relationship with the Father, rather than just firing up the Bat-Signal and hoping someone will come to rescue us. 2. Philippians 4:4 ESV "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." a. Notice how Paul does not say, "Rejoice always!" That would be blind optimism that would not be grounded in reality. b. What he says is "Rejoice in the Lord always!" Rejoicing prayer connects us to the reality that no matter what, nothing can "separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus! (Romans 8:39)". c. It's this level of relationship, available only through trusting, rejoicing prayer, that David was describing when he said, Psalms 23:4 ESV "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." To go from an intermediate to a mature disciple of Jesus, we must go from saying, "Through a more consistent prayer life 1 I am increasingly more open with God 11 to "Prayer permeates my life and my soul and God is never outside my awareness. 11 A. Now I must admit that I don't know that I've ever had an experience of completely mature praying. I still wrestle with distractions, lack of motivation, and a 911 mentality, just like you. B. The best picture we have of what perfect praying looks like is found in Jesus final hours before his crucifixion.
C. Mark 14:32 ESV "And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, 'Sit here while I pray.' 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.' 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."' 1. In this perfect prayer, Jesus acknowledged that God was his Father. He used the term "Abba", which is a tender term, like "Daddy" or "Papa". 2. He poured out the agony of His soul, and made His request. "Let there be another way." D. But it was the last step that all of us will spend the rest of our days trying to duplicate, consistently and perfectly. It was when He prayed, "Yet not what I will, but what you will.'' 1. It would be a huge mistake to assume that Jesus prayed this prayer to be a hero, and "take one for the team". 2. No, with that simple 9-word prayer, Christ was declaring that he trusted in the goodness of his daddy, no matter what the outcome. E. All of us (like Jesus) wrestle with two wills. One cries out to be delivered from every sort of pain. One longs to be fully surrendered to the Father. Which one will win? F. As we progress we will learn more and more that prayer is not about fulfilling our wish lists, but about connecting our hearts to the heart of God. 1. As we come into the presence of the Father, he asks us to do exactly what Jesus did. He asks us to die. 2. Unless we release our vise-like grip on our dreams, desires, affections and ambitions, and the way we organize our lives apart from his way of doing things, his perfect will won't ever be accomplished in us. 3. We only really belong to God when He can do whatever He wants with us, no matter the cost to us. G. A man was about to jump out of the plane for his first skydive. As he stood in the door, he asked his instructor, "Are you sure this parachute is going to work?" His instructor replied, "There's only one way to find out!" H. Is God really good in EVERYTHING? There's only one way to find out. Engage him in prayer today, trusting him with everything. I. ENERGY and Prayer Revolution