Prayer

Prayer

Week of March 2nd

Last Week

Last week we talked about the church. We discussed that the church is a BODY of believers, not just a building, and that being a part of Ozone should never be a substitute for being a part of a church. But if we’re committed to church, and coming to Ozone once a week, is that enough? Have we’ve hit our “Christian quota” for the week? Can our growth in a relationship with Christ be limited to Sunday mornings and Thursday nights only? No way!!

The church is our corporate, community-based opportunity to meet with and grow closer to God, but the bible challenges us to supplement that with our personal pursuit of a relationship with Him. We are going to look at two ways to personally pursue a relationship with God, the first is prayer and the second is reading and studying the bible.

Prayer

Before we even try to tackle HOW to pray or WHAT to pray, I think the most important thing to understand is WHY we pray. If you don’t believe in the why, chances are you won’t be able to motivate yourself to pray consistently. And, to be clear, here at Ozone we’re not looking for temporary behavioral change; we’re looking for heart change that will stick with you for a lifetime.

So WHY do we pray?

Because we believe that it works. Why would you spend your time and energy doing something that you didn’t really, actually believe worked? Sure, we’ve all heard how important prayer is, but do we really think that deep down? If we’re honest with ourselves, do we doubt the power of our prayers? If you’re like most people, than you may sometimes have thoughts like, “If God’s going to do something, He’s going to do it, and nothing I say is going to change that.” That’s a pretty normal response, but the bible tells us very differently. Let’s look at an example of a time that God heard the prayer of a believer and changed his course of action…

Exodus 32: 9-14

“I have seen these people,’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.’ But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God, ‘Oh Lord,’ he said, ‘why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?...Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel… Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.”

Here we see that the Lord had decided to bring disaster on his people (the Israelites who were doing some pretty ridiculous things - golden calf), but because of the faithful prayer of Moses, He listens and He relents. He changes his course of action!

Another example can be found in Job 42: 7-10, where, at the urging of the Lord, Job prays for his friends and the Lord withholds His rightful judgment on them.

2 Chronicles 7:14

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Luke 11: 9-10

“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. For everyone who asks received; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

James 5:16

“… pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

John 15:7

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

We pray because the bible shows us time and time again that prayer WORKS. We are called to pray because God LISTENS and responds.

**Important caveat: notice in John 15:7 (as well as Matthew 21:22, etc) that we get answers to our prayers when, and only when, we ABIDE/delight/remain in God and allow him (and his word!) to abide in us. It is the prayers of the righteous that are effective and powerful. The bible is NOT saying that any human can ask for anything they want in “prayer” and receive it immediately. It’s saying that we, a righteous people, must - while in relationship with Jesus - ask in faith, and then the Lord will answer.

We also pray because, quite simply, Jesus did.  The gospels are littered with examples of times that Jesus - God in the flesh - prays to his Father (Luke 11:1, Matthew 19:13, John 17, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12, Luke 9:28, Matthew 26:36-46, and so many more!). If Jesus, the Son of God, spends that much time praying to God - shouldn’t we also be logging some hours in prayer?

So… Now What?

Some of us may have questions on how to pray or what to pray, and we should be encouraged that even the apostles asked those kinds of questions. In Luke 11 we see that when the apostles asked Jesus how to pray, he led them through the Lord’s prayer. So if all else fails and we come up short, we always have words these words to say…

Matthew 6:9-13

“This, then I how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, you will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

The bottom line is that prayer is your opportunity to TALK to God. Just like you would talk to your best friends and family members, God wants us (his adopted sons and daughters) to TALK to Him. Think about your best friend - could you have become best friends if you never said a word to each other? Never shared secrets and dreams, never talked about your past and your fears? No way!

It’s also important to remember that it’s only because of Christ’s work on the cross that we even have the opportunity, despite our sinful nature, to approach the throne of grace and speak to God in prayer. Prayer is a gift - communication with our God is a gift we’ve been given because of the cross, and we just have to respond.  Prayer isn’t a burden, it’s a blessing.

So PRAY because it works and Jesus did it. Talk to God because he longs to be your very best friend… He made you, sent his son to die for you, and now waits to celebrate in eternity with you… is there any human more deserving of your friendship? I don’t think so!