A Pastor once asked his church to pray that God would shut down a neighbourhood bar. The whole church gathered for an evening prayer meeting, pleading with God to rid the neighbourhood of the evils of this bar. A few weeks later, lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground.
Having heard about the church’s prayer crusade, the bar owner promptly sued the church. When the court date finally arrived, the bar owner passionately argued that God struck his bar with lightning because of the church members’ prayers. The pastor backtracked, brushing off the accusations. He admitted the church prayed, but he also affirmed that no one in his congregation really expected anything to happen, and if so, not that quickly.
The judge leaned back in his chair, a mix of amusement and perplexity on his face. Finally he spoke: “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Right in front of me is a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer and a pastor who doesn’t.”
Last week I mentioned the term Christian Atheist, a term coined by Craig Groeschel – someone who believes in God but lives as if God doesn’t exist.
And when it comes to prayer, many of us might say, yes I believe in the power of prayer, but our actions often tend to say otherwise.
Some of us rarely pray, and when we do, we don’t really expect anything to happen.
And I confess, that is me as well. I don’t pray anywhere near enough, and when I do, often I’m reluctant to petition God for things because I don’t want to get my hopes up, maybe, or because I doubt whether God is willing or able to do anything about the situation.
What did Jesus say about prayer in Mark 11? “You can pray for anything, and if you believe it, you will have it.”
Now doesn’t that open up a can of worms?
Do you believe it? 100%, not a shadow of doubt believe it? You can pray for anything, and if you believe it, you will have it?
Did Jesus really mean anything, as in anything?
I confess, it’s hard for me to swallow. Why? Because there are times I have prayed for things and seemed to get no response, no matter how much I felt I believed.
Yet Jesus said it, and Jesus was no liar, and he didn’t purposely try and mislead his followers.
So let’s unpack this whole prayer thing just a bit…
A few questions first – to begin with, why pray?
(a) because Jesus did
(b) because Jesus told us to
(c) because wants to hear from us and communicate with us
(d) because prayer changes us, our heart or perspective
(e) because answered prayer is one of the most exciting, earth shattering experiences
What is prayer? – (a) communication with God – talking, listening, feeling for nudges & ideas and thoughts
(b) can be corporate, although Jesus never seemed to, so more a personal thing (eg – Africa)
(c) audible or silent
(d) eyes open or closed, sitting, standing, kneeling, lying
(e) not a wish list. Need thanks, praise, confession – ACTS acronym
How often should we pray? – constantly, a best friend. 1 Thess 5: 17-18 ‘pray continually’ – how? Quick prayers throughout the day. Being conscious of God’s presence. Amanda Smith tells a story of attending a church that used incense for the first time – smoke billowing from a huge censer, she says she was reminded of the use of incense in the Scripture to symbolise the prayers of the saints. It wasn’t until she left the church that she really understood. The perfume of that incense had soaked into her hair and clothes. The prayer didn’t finish with the service; its sweetness lingered with her all day. It reminded her that she had been in God’s presence and that she was with him still. When you make God a part of everything you, God will naturally rub off on you. Soon your whole life will be filled with his aroma.
Throughout the day - Use reminders – phone alerts
How do we explain unanswered prayer – (a) Not a magic formula.
(b) God knows what’s best for us – Illustratyion: little girl finger in the fan.
(c) motives – James 4: 3 ‘And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure
(d) relationship with God, the way we live James 5:16 ‘The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results
(e) relationships with others as per Mark 11.
(f) God’s the boss – 1 John 5: 14: ‘And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will.
(g) who says God doesn’t answer every prayer anyway? Illustration - praying for kids with pneumonia. ‘Who says I didn’t answer your prayers – they could have died’
So we return to Jesus’s claim. You can pray for anything? Yes you can. You can pray for anything. And if you believe it you will have it. Yes you will, providing that it is with the right motives, it’s in your best interests and it’s in line with God’s will. Yes, providing you’ve forgiven others just as you have been forgiven, yes, providing you are striving to be in close relationship with God though prayer and obeying His law. And some times, even if you’re not doing all these things, God answers anyway.
Craig Groeschel says: "Many Christian Athiests believe in God but don’t practice regular prayer, believing that they don’t know how to pray properly or that God won’t answer their prayers. Yet the truth is this: the God of the universe is ready to hear from you. Perhaps it’s time to call on him, and to listen to his answer".
God will answer some prayers the way you want, and others he won’t. That’s the mystery of prayer. But God will always answer, one way or another. Even though we can’t reduce prayer to a formula, we are instructed to pray honestly, openly and continually. Part of our prayer lives will be not only talking to God but listening for his voice. We communicate with our God who is always present, always listening, and always caring. That’s the beauty of prayer.
We are not talking to some fictitious man in the sky – we are connecting to a God who is Spirit and power and love.
Why not start praying now? Talk to God about whatever is on your heart. Cry to him if you need to. If you’re hurting, unload on him. If you’re angry, let it rip. If you feel alone, ask him to comfort you with his presence.
If you’re a Christian Atheist who rarely prays, why not join me at the beginning of a new year in vowing to pray more often, more sincerely, in different ways, at different times, and with more faith and greater expectations than we’ve had in the path.
There is power in prayer. There is extra power in prayers prayed with great faith.
May we each become people of faith-filled prayers.
Last Modified on 22/01/2013 10:36