Man of Prayer
Notes
Transcript
Good Evening,
So we are using the Men of Grace and Granite curriculum for our studies, and if you want the whole thing it is available to download, but I will not follow the curriculum exactly. Like currently we are starting on their second series and the title of this is the Man of God. If you are here I am going to assume that you are listening to the sermon on Sundays and (if everyone is there) you are attending Sunday school so we are talking about hermeneutics then we will be looking at Worldview. So between all of that, we are building a foundation. I played football for many years and one of the things that good football teams do is drill in on the foundational principles. They go over them again and again and I am kind of the same way in part because of that, but also because if you have a solid foundation you are not as rocked when things happen. Turn with me to Matthew 7 and I will be reading verses 24-27.
Matthew 7:24–27 “24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.””
If you look at this passage, this foundation is built on the words of Jesus, but it is through action. I was talking with a friend of mine a while back and he is being trained to be a pastor, but he said to me I won’t just teach doctrine or theology. I asked why not and he said that he didn’t see teaching theology producing change in people it didn’t have an effect on the way people lived their lives. My response to this was then these people were not learning theology then. They were learning facts. Good theology is more than facts about God. Every person approaches the world with a theological view, the atheist’s theology says there is no God and they live according to that belief. If a person who claims to be Christian, lives in a way that is no different than the atheist, it simply shows that they do not believe in a God that is involved in their life.
Good theology affects the way a person lives, if the bible is in fact true, which I believe it is, it has an affect on every part of our lives. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 “16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” If I believe this then the bible speaks to every aspect of my life and the way I can be trained for righteousness, that I may be Complete, equipped for every good work.
But the word used in this passage right before Paul says, in righteousness, is training. This implies discipline. I want you to think of Leonardo da Vinci, he was a brilliant artist, but this ability didn’t come without discipline. On one occasion, he drew over 1000 hands. He was insanely meticulous in the practice of his work.
Look what Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:7 “7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;” and again in 1 Corinthians 9:25–27 “25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
So the Man of God is a man of discipline. This might not be a popular opinion, but it is a biblical one. We see it in the two passages I just read, but we see it in 1 John as well.
Turn to 1 John 2:1–6 “1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
I wanted to include the first 2 verses, so we remember this is not a legalistic keeping of the Law, but we see a call to walk in the same way Jesus walked. This is a call to become more like Christ and that takes discipline, it takes a conscious choice to walk by the Spirit. God knows we won’t do this perfectly, but we should be continually training ourselves for godliness. Training takes work and that is what our first series will be about. It is about spiritual disciplines that all men should be training themselves in. Many of these will come from the Grace and Granite curriculum, but I will add a couple they don’t touch on.
The first discipline I want to look at is the discipline of Prayer. Prayer is the discipline that is most easy for all of us to access. Prayer on it’s own requires no tools or skills, it doesn’t require we be able to read well or speak well. Now there are tools that can help us in our prayer lives to be more guided but at the time the bible was written many of these things were not accessible to the average person and we can say they are not a requirement by any means. If prayer is so accessible, we should think that it is the easiest to do right? I don’t know about you all, but I know for me often prayer is one of the most difficult to be consistent with though. Why is that? If prayer is so easily accessed why does it tend to be one of the most neglected?
In one study, Americans who did pray averaged 18 minutes a day. In another study done by Pew Research, in a sample of 35,071 people, of those who did pray daily 41 percent where men. However of those who prayed seldom/never 64 percent were men. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
We are told to pray without ceasing but of Americans who did pray we are only averaging 18 minutes a day and of those who do pray daily only 41 percent of them are men. What is the disconnect? Back to the question I asked just a minute ago, why do you think it tend to be the most neglected?
Possible Answers:
We are not dependent on God; We lack belief, We don’t have time, We are in sin
Prayer is an act of Dependence on God. We should be submitting ourselves to him in our prayer. Turn with me to Matthew 6 starting in verse 5.
Matthew 6:5–8 “5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “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.”
Before we get to the Lord’s prayer, what do we notice about prayer? What is the first thing we see about prayer? It is not about public adoration, it isn’t about a show. There is a time and place for public prayer this is displayed all throughout scripture, but there are a couple things in verse 5 that tell us about our hearts when we come to prayer, especially when it comes to public prayer. First is you must not be like the hypocrites, the word hypocrites in the Greek is linked with the idea of being an actor. The actor does everything for the applause of the crowd, and we read this verse these people love to stand and pray. Their stage is in the synagogues and street corners. They want to be seen and when they are seen they receive their reward. The reward they are seeking isn’t the answer to their prayers but rather the applause and recognition by man. Public and communal prayer is not bad, it is the heart of the person who is doing it. Who’s glory is the prayer for?
But most prayer, is private. We also see that prayer doesn’t need to be complicated or lofty, we don’t need to use a lot of words. We have to remember that God already knows everything we need before we ask. He also knows what is best for us long before we do. We are not informing Him of anything, nor are we trying to please Him through our prayers to get Him to answer. Again we are submitting ourselves to him and admitting our dependence on Him.
Jesus goes on in verses 9-13.
Matthew 6:9–13 “9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
As we are going through this, please don’t try to turn this into a formula to follow, but it does give us some guidelines to help us in our prayers. We see adoration in this prayer. We see confession, asking for forgiveness. We see supplication, or prayer for our needs. He asks for daily bread, deliverance from evil. We also see submission of ourselves, your kingdom come, and you will be done, and the requirement for us to forgive others.
Throughout the Lord’s prayer we see God lifted up and ourselves lowered, we see our dependence on him for our daily needs, for the forgiveness of our sins and to deliver us from temptation. The only other type of prayer that we don’t see in the Lord’s prayer is thanksgiving. Jesus gives us this great prayer that we can pray, but I want us to see something else about our dependence on God.
To be a man of prayer we must first
Be Ready
Be Ready
Ephesians 6:10–17 “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”
Ephesians 6:18–19 “18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,”
In his book, disciplines of a Godly Man, Rev. Kent Hughes writes, “The Scriptural setting for the classic text on petitionary prayer could scarcely be more dramatic- it is a soldier preparing for battle. His hear pounds ka-thump, ka-thump under his metal breastplate. As he steadies himself, he hitches up his armor belt and scuffs at the earth like a football player with his studded boots, testing his traction, He repeatedly draws his great shield across his body in anticipation of the fiery barrages to come. Reflexively he reaches up and repositions his helmet. He gingerly tests the edge of his sword and slips it back into his scabbard.
The enemy approaches. Swords pulled from their scabbards ring in chilling symphony. The warriors stand motionless, breathing in dreadful spasms.
And then the believing soldier does the most astounding thing. He falls to his knees in deep, profound, petitionary prayer- for he has obeyed his divine instructions to take up what John Bunyan referred to as “All-Prayer.””
We must remember what this armor is, and be convicted of the power it has. This is the armor of God. Very often we separate this verse from the rest of the passage, but verse 10 tells us what the Whole armor of God is. It is the Lord and the the strength of his Might. We are told in Ephesians 4:24 “24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” We then go through all of these instruction on how to live this new life in unity then Put on the Whole armor of God. Both of these are based on God and who he is.
Wearing your armour implies readiness, constantly prepared for battle at any time. We see how to do this in verses 18 and 19. We are to be praying at all times in the Spirit for both ourselves and for others. We again see submission and dependence here. We are told to pray in the spirit and we see in Romans 8:26 that we cannot even pray without the Holy Spirit’s help
Romans 8:26–27 “26 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. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Along with the readiness we must develop submissiveness and surrender. As we spend our time in prayer we cannot be in prayer with a selfish or proud attitude. Turn to James 4.
James 4 “1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let…”
We see a couple of things in this passage. We see that when we come to prayer with a selfish attitude, God will not give what we ask for. God is not interested in our worldly passions and desires, rather he wants us to be made more into his image and for us to seek the kingdom of God. The next thing we see is that we cannot come to prayer with an attitude of Pride and expect God to be with us. Have we ever been guilty of the pharisee’s prayer.
Jesus tells a parable in Luke 18 about two men who come to the Lord in Prayer. Luke 18:9–14 “9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 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. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 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!’ 14 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.””
Look at the difference in the attitudes of the two men. As we pray, we should come to God with a desire to yield to Him and his will.
We should come to prayer with a spiritual concern for both ourselves and for others. We often pray for relief from suffering and trials, and that isn’t necessarily bad, but we should be praying for ways to grow in trials. Can I get some one to read Romans 5:3-5 and another person to read James 1:2-4?
Romans 5:3–5 “3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
James 1:2–4 “2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
We see in these two verses that suffering is not without purpose. Suffering is to be producing in us endurance or steadfastness, but through that we see that it is so that we may be perfect and complete, that our character can be developed and we can grow in our hope. Trust me this is very easy to say, when we are not in times of trial, but it is something that we must remember to pray for in these.
Romans 8:28–29 “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
We must remember this as we pray. If our faith is in God everything we are going through has a purpose, to conform us to the image of his Son. We often try to pray our way out of trial rather than pray for the growth God would like to see in us. We should be praying this way for others as well.
Colossians 4:12–13 “12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.”
Here we see the example of Epaphras, a servant of Christ, struggling in prayer that the people of the church in colossi, would stand mature and fully assured in the will of God. As we pray are we praying for the spiritual maturity of our brothers and sisters in Christ? Is this a burden we have or are we hoping just for relief from trials. And we see that this is something that he wrestled with it wasn’t just a light prayer. We see this same intensity in Paul
Colossians 2:1–10 “1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells …”