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Text: Luke 11: 1-4
Introduction:
- When I was a kid, I was taught with the idea that when I am in danger, sick or if I want to ask something I need to pray. But when I grew up, I took notice that not all that I prayed were answered, when I was sick, I was not healed and when I need something it was not given. I begin to doubt about the power of prayer. I also noticed that in my church, the least attended gathering is the scheduled prayer meeting. Then I begun to ask my self with these big questions, why is it that prayer meeting is less attended by the congregation if they believe in the power of prayer or if prayer works? Is it because they simply don’t received answers to their prayers that is why don’t believe in it anymore even if they talked about it, they read about it and they knew about it. Then asked this personal question to myself , why should I pray? How about if I ask the same question to you today? Why should you pray? Why should we pray?Purpose is powerful.
It is better to die yet you know your purpose than living without knowing your purpose in life. Purpose means the reason why something is created. Most of the time if you don’t know exactly the purpose of something you end up misusing it, destroying and abusing it. And this is sad truth that a lot of people today don’t know exactly the purpose why they should pray. And because of that, the prayer becomes an emergency life line to most people, it’s an ATM machine if you need money right away you can just insert your ATM cards and there you have it. And if it will not give anything good to them they want they walk out of it. Instead of giving priority to prayer they end up making prayer just part of their options. Instead of enjoying prayer they end up tired in praying. How about us today? How are we doing in our prayer life?Today we thank God because through His word we can find answers to these questions which will inspire to even pray more.
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:“‘Father, hallowed be your name,your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”Luke 11: 1-4
Suppose you are with Jesus right now face to face. What is that one thing you will ask from Him?
I wonder why that with all the time the disciples were with Jesus in his earthly ministry which they witnessed miracles after miracles, like how Jesus turn the water into wine, feeding the 5,000 with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish, making the lame walk, the blind to see, deaf to hear, Jesus stopping the winds and storms and even Him walking on top the water. Why is it that he never asked Jesus to teach how to these things but they ask something else, and that is, Lord, teach us how pray. And I also asked, Why did they ask Jesus to teach them how to pray? Is there anything that of great importance or value this prayer has compared to the things he could probably ask for.
You will not ask or seek of something that is less valuable to us. We are desperate to seek or ask of something of which we know exactly that is the only way to save the whole thing about us.
When see in here that Jesus taught and modeled a consistent prayer life. In fact one day one of His disciples saw Him praying in a solitary place and I am absolutely sure that this not their first time He/they saw Him doing this. And what is more amazing here is that after Jesus’s prayer time He would ask his disciple to go down to the village and do the ministry and there He started to heal all kind of sickness and demon possessed people and do it again the next day with the same routine. There the disciples were so intrigue to understand the whole thing about the life of master. Probably they’ve asked what is the secret of this man? That He could easily do miracles in that day…That is why One day they watched him closely, and there’re found Jesus praying…And they understood that if you spent a minute with God in day you will only spent a second solving the problem of the day. There they realized that prayer is power. That is why they asked, Lord teach us how to pray. Lord we don’t want just to know the skills of turning this stone into bread. We don’t want just the product of miracles but the essence of why miracles happened. How many times we are guilty of spending so much of our time in solving the problem of the day but we never or forget to spend time a minute with God in a day. We rushed right away to solve the problems of the day without acknowledging Him first. The truth is we cannot solve the problems of the day without Him. We get tired, more frustrated and more disappointed because we own our battles instead that it is the Lord’s battle. Our public strength is determined by our private life. Because the Lord said in Isaiah 40:31:
Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. Isaiah, 40:31
In this verse we see that in prayer He develops in us the character to wait. And for most of us waiting is the hardest. Why because Satan knows exactly that a lot will commit mistakes in rush things, rushed decisions. And for some waiting is a sign of weakness but in God’s operation waiting is strength. Waiting is power! When we pray, we run to the source of strength and power through Him and we will never run out of anything because we have His everything.
Another thing they have learn here, why they’ve asked, Lord teach us to pray…
Prayer is divine.
In our natural world, its operated with natural laws (Gravity) but beyond what our eyes can see is the spiritual law. According to Col. 1:16:For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16
We were also reminded by Paul in Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12
What are the implications of these?
Our battles are not just ordinary battles created by humans. It is spiritual in nature created by our enemy, Satan. When husbands or wives indulge in unfaithfulness it is not them anymore but they are controlled by the spirit of lies and pleasure from Satan. So, our enemy is not them it’s the spirit of the enemy over them. When children rebel against their parents, the enemy is not them but the spirit of rebelliousness of Satan over them. When somebody is corrupt its not them it’s the spirit of greed in them. When pandemic hit us its not just purely virus but the spirit of death from Satan on it who will kill and destroy life.
We need to understand that these battles are spiritual in nature and the only way to defeat this enemy is through Him, who is also a Spirit, God the Holy Spirit.
When we pray we submit to God’s divine to authority, whose authority is final, absolute and powerful that our enemy will not dare to face.
I remember the narrative in Mark 9:14-29:
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer”.
When we pray its not our human nature that is at work it is His Divine nature that is at work. We are most powerful when we are on knees and Satan knows that exactly, so he wants to make sure that this you will not enjoy your prayer life, he will sure that he will tell you lies that prayer is nothing and powerless, that you will get disappointed and discourage of your prayer life, that he make sure that you are paralyzed by overwhelming task and responsibilities of the day so cannot devote yourself to prayer. If only every one knows of who He is when prays a lot of us will get down on our knees and begun praying.
Prayer is Trusting
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt 6:10) says, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heavenA lot of times, people were frustrated of prayer or to their prayer life because they did not receive exactly what they prayed for.
Let us be reminded that the moment we open our mouth to heaven it is not our will that will prevail it God’s will or heaven’s will that prevails. And what is more comforting here is that we are at peace that whatever His answers to our prayers it not just good for us but the best for us. Sometimes our human terms will frustrate us but God’s term will inspire us.
Prayer is Trusting God’s sovereignty over us, family and our future through prayer is the most peaceful thing to do, to the world full of troubles.
Conclusion:
How troubled are yow now?
Photo by: Nathaniel Callanta
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