Sermon Tone Analysis

Have you ever been desperate?

Desperate for anything?

Occasionally when I get hungry, I experience what I describe as a sugar crash.

It’s what the snicker commercials call Hangry.

When I start to feel it coming on, it’s not that I get angry, just I get really focused on food.

NOW

I’ve found that in that moment, I’ll do and say things I wouldn’t normally do.

It’s like my body has been taken over.

I’m desperate.

In my desperation, nothing else matters.

In a similar fashion, the author of the book The Circle Maker, tells the story of a Jewish man living just before the time of Jesus who became desperate.

in the first century BC and a devastating drought threatened to destroy the generation before Jesus.

The last of the Jewish prophets had died off nearly 400 yrs before.

Miracles were such a distant memory that they seemed impossible.

God was nowhere to be heard.

But there was a priest who lived outside the walls of Jerusalem who continued to pray for the miraculous anyway.

And even if the people could no longer hear God, he believed that God could still hear them.

This Priest’s name was Honi.

When rain is plentiful, it’s an afterthought.

During a drought, it’s the only thought.

And Honi continued to pray for rain, it was on this day—the day—that Honi would earn his nick-name.

With a six-foot staff in his hand, Honi began to turn - slowly, steadily, methodically, all the way around, in a circle.

He never looked up as the crowd looked on.

After what seemed like hours, but had only been seconds, Honi stood inside the circle he had drawn.

Then he dropped to his knees and raised his hands to heaven, and called down rain.

“Lord of the Universe, I swear before your great name that I will not move from this circle until you have shown mercy upon your children.”

All who were within earshot that day felt the chill.

It wasn’t his volume, but his authority.

Not a hint of doubt.

This prayer didn’t originate in his mouth, this prayer seemed to come from deep in his soul.

His prayer was tenacious but humble; assertive but meek; expectant but unassuming.

Then it happened.

Raindrops began to fall.

A united gasp was shared by the crowd.

Every head turned heavenward as the first raindrops fell from the sky, but Honi’s head remained bowed.

The people rejoiced over each drop, but Honi wasn’t satisfied with a sprinkle.

Still kneeling within the circle, Honi lifted his voice over the sounds of celebration.

“Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain that will fill cisterns, pits, and caverns.”

The sprinkle turned into a torrential downpour.

Described by eyewitnesses as raindrops the size of eggs.

It rained so heavily and so steadily that the people fled to the Temple Mount to escape the flash floods.

Honi stayed and prayed inside his circle.

Once more he refined his bold request.

“Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain of Thy favor, blessing, and graciousness.”

At that moment, as though turning back the faucet, it began to rain calmly, peacefully.

Each raindrop was a token of God’s grace.

And they didn’t just soak the skin; they soaked the spirit with faith.

It would be forever remembered as the day.

The day thunder applauded the handiwork of God.

The day splashes of children in the mud became worship.

The day the legend of the circle maker was born.

The day before the day, everyone hoped, but no one imagined tomorrow would be the day.

The day after the day, it was impossible not to believe.

Honi was celebrated like a hometown hero by the people whose lives he had saved.

But some within the Sanhedrin called the Circle Maker into question.

A group believed that his fervent prayer for rain - demanding it - dishonored God.

They threatened Honi with excommunication, but they couldn’t deny the miracle, so Honi’s honor was held intact.

The Power of Prayer

The prayer that saved a generation was deemed one of the most significant prayers in the history of Israel.

The circle he drew in the sand became a sacred symbol.

And the legend of Honi the circle maker stands forever as a testament to the power of a single prayer to change the course of history.

It’s been 2000 years since Honi prayed, but God is still looking to answer prayers.

He’s still looking for persistent prayer warriors.

The fact on display in Honi, and countless others, is this:

Bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers.

A lot of time I don’t want to offend God by asking too much.

I guess I get that from my parents who taught us to work things out on our own.

My parents meant well… wanting me to be responsible, independent and all…

But God has a different desire for my life and character.

God wants me to be DEPENDENT… not independent.

God isn’t offended by our asking big and bold prayers.

Just the opposite, I think God is honored by our asking things that that are within his promises and still beyond human limits.

Remember we are praying to a God who has parted the sea and made the sun stand still.

When we pray, respecting God’s power, honoring his promises, we are asking for divine involvement… we need him to move.

It’s a declaration of our dependence.

That’s the way Jesus prayed.

He was passionate, he was confident, yet he asked God to move.

His disciples heard him pray and were inspired to ask Jesus, teach us to pray… The Lords Prayer… then he describes the work of prayer:

Luke 11:5-13

Luke 11:5-13 “5 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; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’

7 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.’

8 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.

9 “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. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?

12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

13 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!

Shameless Audacity

God is for you - and God is in the promise keeping, prayer answering, miracle performing, and dream fulfilling business.

That is who He is.

That is what He does.

And the more desperate we are for divine involvement, when we come to him with Shameless Audacity… praying bold prayers… the better, because God gets more glory.

That’s what Jesus told his disciples… ask and He’ll answer, not just because of your asking, but because it reveals who He really is… the God of the Impossible… God who answers prayer… the God who Can.

The greatest blessings in life are revealed beyond our ability, because beyond you is the beginning of God’s ability.

Praying with Shameless audacity is keeping our prayers OUT THERE.

I can promise you this: God is ready and waiting to move in your life.

So while I have no idea what circumstances you find yourself in, I’m confident that you are only prayer away from it.

So, as we begin, this 4 week series on prayer, we need to get one thing straight.

Do you believe God is for you?