Approaching God through prayer can be a very intimidating thing. After all, He is the creator of the universe. More powerful than any government or military leader, yet He came to earth as a common man with an uncommon mission.
As Jesus gave a pattern to pray, He began with how to address God. Anytime we have a conversation, how we start it is very important. Many times we will open with small talk or cut right to the chase. Jesus cuts right to the chase when praying. He gets right to the proper way we are to address God, boldly and respectfully.
Matthew 6:9 begins, "This then is how you should pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." As the disciples heard this I can imagine that their response would have been directly opposite from ours. For almost a generation the emphasis in church has been on the personal relationship with God. The message can become so personal, like He is our buddy that we hang out with regularly that we lose not only the "Hallowed be your name" part, but also the importance of the "Our Father" part. The disciples probably would have practiced the reverence toward God in such a way that the personal family address would have seemed very shocking. There is something essential to be taken from both as we explore what Jesus meant through His opener in prayer. He is not simply our "buddy" nor is He so distant that we cannot approach Him at all. Take time befor we continue to examine what your view of God is. How do you approach the God of the universe? Is it formal? Is it casual? Is it personal? And how does He want to be addressed?
...to be continued.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Following Jesus Example in Prayer
Can you hear me now? Good. We all remember the catch phrase from a popular cell campaign a few years back. Over mountains, in a swamp, and through the city it is important to be able to communicate with others, but how about God? Can you hear me now is probably the most common question that both we and God ask of each other.
Prayer is the cell service of the divine, and its coverage beats any digital network on earth. We want God to hear us; we also want to know that God can hear us. He also wants us to listen to Him as He communicates His will for our lives. With these questions on our mind, where do we start?
Let's begin where the disciples began. There is only one thing recorded in the Bible that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to do, pray. Luke 11:1 says, "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.'”
Out of all of the things to ask for, why would the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray? Why not healing? Why not turning water into wine? Why not _____ (you fill in the blank)?
The reason, I believe, is because many of these other things happened as a result of Jesus getting alone and PRAYING. So let's begin learning to pray the way the disciples did, by looking at some of the time Jesus prayed.
One of the first times we see that Jesus went to a solitary place to pray is Mark 1:35-39. When he returned to His disciples they urgently called to Jesus saying, "Everyone is looking for you." Fresh in from prayer Jesus instructed His followers that it was time to go somewhere else to minister. What? You may wonder, as I do, what happened during prayer time that made it more important to go somewhere else even though there seemed to be many people desiring His presence?
Another time Jesus went to pray alone, as a result, He chose who would be His disciples. Luke 6:12-16 says Jesus spent the night in prayer and then chose the twelve. What happened during His overnight prayer vigil that inspired Jesus to choose those guys?
Two chapters prior to the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray was perhaps the most magnificent display during prayer. As Jesus was praying Luke 9:29 recounts that Jesus was transfigured into bright light. What in the world was Jesus praying when His face changed and His clothes started glowing?
We are left with the questions, but I believe these are the clues as to why the disicples wanted to know how to pray. It seems that prayer is the key to unlock some of the most mysterious things that happened to Jesus. I would want to know how to pray too...wait...that is exactly where we are in Luke 11. So join me in this journey through Jesus' teachings on prayer. Let's discover together how to approach the God of the universe and listen to what His will is for our lives. Let's see if we can understand what we can ask Him and if there is any time that He doesn't listen.
I will be preaching this series on prayer entitled, "Can You Hear Me Now?" every Sunday September 18-October 30, 9:30am at Conifer Community Church. If you miss a week of worship you can always listen online at http://www.conifercommunitychurch.org/.
Prayer is the cell service of the divine, and its coverage beats any digital network on earth. We want God to hear us; we also want to know that God can hear us. He also wants us to listen to Him as He communicates His will for our lives. With these questions on our mind, where do we start?
Let's begin where the disciples began. There is only one thing recorded in the Bible that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to do, pray. Luke 11:1 says, "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.'”
Out of all of the things to ask for, why would the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray? Why not healing? Why not turning water into wine? Why not _____ (you fill in the blank)?
The reason, I believe, is because many of these other things happened as a result of Jesus getting alone and PRAYING. So let's begin learning to pray the way the disciples did, by looking at some of the time Jesus prayed.
One of the first times we see that Jesus went to a solitary place to pray is Mark 1:35-39. When he returned to His disciples they urgently called to Jesus saying, "Everyone is looking for you." Fresh in from prayer Jesus instructed His followers that it was time to go somewhere else to minister. What? You may wonder, as I do, what happened during prayer time that made it more important to go somewhere else even though there seemed to be many people desiring His presence?
Another time Jesus went to pray alone, as a result, He chose who would be His disciples. Luke 6:12-16 says Jesus spent the night in prayer and then chose the twelve. What happened during His overnight prayer vigil that inspired Jesus to choose those guys?
Two chapters prior to the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray was perhaps the most magnificent display during prayer. As Jesus was praying Luke 9:29 recounts that Jesus was transfigured into bright light. What in the world was Jesus praying when His face changed and His clothes started glowing?
We are left with the questions, but I believe these are the clues as to why the disicples wanted to know how to pray. It seems that prayer is the key to unlock some of the most mysterious things that happened to Jesus. I would want to know how to pray too...wait...that is exactly where we are in Luke 11. So join me in this journey through Jesus' teachings on prayer. Let's discover together how to approach the God of the universe and listen to what His will is for our lives. Let's see if we can understand what we can ask Him and if there is any time that He doesn't listen.
I will be preaching this series on prayer entitled, "Can You Hear Me Now?" every Sunday September 18-October 30, 9:30am at Conifer Community Church. If you miss a week of worship you can always listen online at http://www.conifercommunitychurch.org/.
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