“Growing
Our Relationship with God Through Prayer”
Mike Barnett,
Today’s Focus: “Prayer Is Talking and Listening to
God”
Food for Thought: “Prayer Is the Breath of Life in
Our Relationship with God”
Introduction: For most married couples, it’s
important to communicate to keep our marriages fresh and prevent them from
falling apart.
ILLUSTRATION: I heard a story about a 60-year-old
couple who was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. During
their party, a fairy appeared to congratulate them and to grant each one a
wish. The wife said she would like to see the world, so the fairy waved her
wand and—poof—the lady held tickets for a European cruise. Then, the fairy
asked the husband what he would wish for. He replied, “I wish my wife were 30
years younger than me.” The fairy again waved her wand and—poof—the man was 90
years old.
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Marriage
counselors tell us one of the major reasons marriages fail is a lack of
communication.
·
Couples don’t
spend enough time together.
·
Or they don’t
talk about things that really matter.
·
They only
discuss the secondary stuff. They don’t truly take time to learn what makes one
another tick.
·
IF YOU WANT A
GOOD MARRIAGE ASK A
·
IF YOU WANT A
STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD ASK A
James 1:5-7 says:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who
gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he
who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the
Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he
does.
·
A good
relationship with people and God depends on strong lines of communication.
·
We live in a
day when time is our most precious commodity.
·
We hear
preachers and teachers tell us we need to pray, but we think we can somehow get
by without it.
Moving Forward in Prayer
·
For weeks
now, we as a congregation have focused on moving Forward in Faith. This
campaign is not about raising money as much as it is about us—as a congregation
and individuals—growing closer to God—growing in our faith—learning to know Him
better and follow His leadership.
Forward in
. . .
F ocusing
on the needs of others
A
cknowledging the gifts of God’s people
I nvesting
in Kingdom building
T eaching
the Word of Life
H onoring
God through passionate worship
·
I have been
thinking about how prayer is vital to our relationship with God, just as
communication is vital in a marriage relationship.
·
Today, I’d
like us to think about what it takes to build a strong relationship through
positive communication with a spouse and God.
·
I need to communicate with someone who knows me (Isaiah
49:16)
1. God
knows each one of us personally.
Isaiah
49:16 says:
“See, I
have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”
·
God says your
name and my name are written squarely in the palm of His hand and it won’t be
covered over.
·
His hand is
so great it has room for all of our names. That’s because He knows each one of
us personally.
2. He
knows the number of hairs on our heads.
Matthew
“And even
the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
ILLUSTRATION
Most of us feel small enough without being told by
scientists that there is evidence to prove that there are over 300 million Galaxies
out there, each with their own planets and possibly each with their own earth
that people like us inhabit. If that is true then God is even more amazing than
first thought! The Bible says that God knows how many hairs are on each person’s
head. If there are 6 billion people on earth and another 300 million earths out
there then that is mind blowing! But I would not put that task beyond God, for
nothing is grander than Him and He can handle anything. The next time you feel
small and that your problems are bigger than you, remember God knows every hair
on your head and the other 6 billion people who live in our world. And perhaps
God has a lot more heads to count in other galaxies. The point I am trying to
make is” Nothing is too big for God”. Give Him your worries and your problems –
trust that He will do something good with it because He can and He will in His
perfect timing!
Matthew
26Jesus looked at them and said,
"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Mark 9:22-24 says:
22But
if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
23" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is
possible for him who believes."
24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe;
help me overcome my unbelief!"
Mark
27Jesus looked at them and said,
"With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible
with God."
·
It makes sense
for me to talk to God in prayer because He knows me, and I want to share my
interests with Him because He’s my best Friend.
·
·
I need to
communicate with someone who will encourage me.
Psalm 23:4
says:
“Even
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Do you ever get discouraged?
·
We all do.
Things happen to us or to those we love that hurts us and makes us sad or even
angry.
ILLUSTRATION:
·
Years ago
there was a college student and she needed to drive to a meeting downtown. Her
trip took her to an area with which she was unfamiliar—with many one-way
streets and traffic signals. Unfortunately, she didn’t see a stop sign and
pulled into the path of another car. She had just wrecked the family’s new
sedan. She didn’t have a phone—there weren’t any cells in those days. But she
finally found a pay phone and called her dad. She was afraid of what he would
say. She sobbed, “I’ve wrecked the new car.” Her dad didn’t yell; he didn’t
even lose his temper. He asked: “Are you all right?” His second response was,
“Where are you? I’ll come and get you.” Such is the love of a parent for a
child. The father’s focus was on his daughter and her welfare.
WHEN LIFE IS DIFFICULT REALIZE GOD’S LOVE WILL NEVER
LEAVE YOU BECAUSE…
1. God is inside of us at all times through the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Luke
17:20-21 says:
20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of
God would come, Jesus replied, "The
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God is not
out there somewhere – he lives inside of you!
·
If God lives
in you then he cannot physically leave you.
Hebrews
13:5 says:
5Keep your lives free from the
love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."[a]
John 16:12-15
says:
12"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now
bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will
guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what
he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He
will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said
the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
23In that day you will
no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not
asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be
complete.
·
God is here
for us in our hurt, our pain, and our anger—even our sin.
·
Satan comes
to discourage us and convince us otherwise.
2 Kings
19:3-4 says:
“They told
him, ‘This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and
disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength
to deliver them. It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of
the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule
the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has
heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.’”
Illustration: Remember when Elijah had just defeated
the prophets of Baal on
·
Talk about
discouraged. Elijah was downright depressed. But God didn’t take his life. He
sent food, encouragement, and protection.
·
Satan tries
to make us think we are all alone.
·
But it’s in
those very moments we need to be lifted up and encouraged.
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What a joy to
know we can enter God’s presence when we are at the end of our rope, and He
will wrap His loving arms around us and say, “Are you all right?”
·
Jesus says he
will never leave us or forsake us because – He is not separate from us.
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YOU ARE NOT
SEPARATED FROM GOD EVER BECAUSE AS A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN THE SPIRIT LIVES IN
YOU AND YOU LIVE IN CHRIST!
·
GOD LIVES IN
YOU AND YOU LIVE IN GOD.
Luke 17:20-21 says the
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NOTHING CAN
SEPARATE YOU FROM GOD’S LOVE!
Romans 8:28-39 says:
28And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to
his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he
predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he
justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for
us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his
own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him,
graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any
charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than
that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also
interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness
or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered."[c] 37No,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons,[d] neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
·
I not only
need to be encouraged by God but…
·
I need to communicate with someone who will correct me.
2 Timothy 4:2 says:
“Preach
the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”
Illustration: We joke a lot about marriage and of how
spouses correct one another. I read somewhere there’s a difference between
intelligence and wisdom. For example, intelligence is when you spot the flaw in
your spouse’s reasoning. Wisdom is when you refrain from pointing it out.
·
I don’t know
a single person who likes being corrected.
·
Pastors are
expected to do their share of correction.
·
Paul exhorted
young Timothy some 2,000 years ago to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season
and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and
careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).
·
When you
think of how people have responded to prophets and pastors through the ages,
it’s a scary thing to realize God calls us to “correct, rebuke and encourage.”
·
Look at the
lives (or deaths) of Stephen, Paul, Jesus’ own disciples, and the thousands of
Christian martyrs who have died for proclaiming God’s truth.
·
I recall that
Jesus himself would not mince words with the religious leaders of His day, and
it cost Him His life.
·
Correcting
others can be very intimidating.
·
The key is
found in the last part of the verse. We should correct “with great patience and
careful instruction.”
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Too many of
us are too quick to correct, and we do it not in a sense of love or with a
genuine desire to see change, but rather to be hurtful because the other person
has offended us in some way.
1. God is in the business of correcting His
children because he loves them so much.
2
Chronicles
“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.”
·
Personally, I
would rather have God correct me than anyone else, because He knows exactly how
to get my attention, and He has my best interest in mind.
But…
·
God can’t
correct me if I don’t take time to listen to Him.
2. God
can’t correct us if we don’t take time to pray.
1
Thessalonians
·
So many times
we think of prayer as asking God for things—trying to get Him to do or change
some situation or circumstance.
·
Some
Christians have told me over the years that they do not want to read the Bible
and pray because they are afraid of what God will say.
·
The Bible tells
us that God’s truth sets us free.
John 8:32
says: 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free."
·
Lies keep us
in bondage, but the truth sets us free.
·
Whatever God
tells you in your quiet time is for your good - whatever God is asking me to
change in my life is for my benefit and for the benefit of others!
·
Only good can
come out of praying to God.
3. God
uses prayer to change me.
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If prayer is
communication with God, then prayer is more than speaking – the other half of
prayer involves listening to God.
·
Prayer is more
than begging God for what I want – real prayer is listening to God and obeying
his voice.
Psalm
46:10 says:
10 "Be still, and know that
I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
·
Listening to
God sets the captive free!
John
32Then you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free."
·
As I draw
close to God in simple communion with Him, I see that He wants me to change—to
conform more and more to His likeness, to be more like Him—with His sense of
love, peace, and graciousness.
·
I want to communicate with someone who loves me.
John 15:12-13 says:
“My
command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one
than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
ILLUSTRATION:
Silence reigned in the little shop until it was
broken by a woman, who said, “He took his vows seriously.”
What love this young man must have had for his wife!
His devoted affection saw past her frail, broken condition because she was the
love of his life. And that’s who we are—we are the apple of God’s eye—His
beloved!
1. Love is
willing to sacrifice.
John
15:12-13 says:
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved
you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends.”
·
That’s what
Jesus did for you and me. It’s what He did for everyone who has ever lived.
·
He freely
gave himself—a sacrifice—that you and I might not have to die for our
sinfulness.
·
That’s love
in a nutshell. We can talk about loving someone, but until we are willing to
sacrifice for that person (kind of like our young farmer), we don’t fully
understand love as God defines it.
·
Look at the
Greek myths, and you see crafty gods doing all kinds of mischief to mortals.
·
But when you
look at the God of the Bible, you see God giving His very life for His
creation.
·
The miracle and mystery of Christianity is
that God himself freely died for His own creation out of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says:
4Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It
is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always
trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love
never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are
tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
2. Christ
understands our humanity.
Romans
“In the
same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to
pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words
cannot express.”
·
We can pray
to God because He knows what it’s like to be a human being.
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He knows what it’s like to be born, to laugh,
to cry, and to be betrayed.
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And He knows what it’s like to die. Praise
God, He also knows what it’s like to be resurrected!
·
The last
words attributed to Jesus before He ascended into heaven are found in Matthew
28:20. He has just given His disciples the Great Commission to “go and make
disciples of all nations” (v. 19). But then he adds, “Surely I am with you
always.”
·
I want to
talk to God because nothing can happen to me that He hasn’t already
encountered—and overcome.
3. There
is no limit to what Christ can do – with God in my life all things are possible!
John
14:12-14 says:
12I tell you the truth, anyone
who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater
things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the
Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I
will do it.
Matthew
26Jesus looked at them and said,
"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
·
We only limit
what God can do through us by our fear and unbelief.
·
Jesus
continually told his followers – “Let it be done according to your faith.
·
The Bible
tells us that in his home town, Jesus could not do many miracles because of the
lack of faith of the people around him.
Matthew
13:57-58 says:
57And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown
and in his own house is a prophet without honor."
58And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack
of faith.
·
Today I’ve
talked about why we should pray, but what I’ve said won’t make any difference
unless we’re willing to pray.
·
I believe
there’s no limit to what God can do through us if we will seek His will in
prayer and be obedient to Him.
·
But it won’t happen by talking about it. We’ve
got to make time in our schedule to talk to God.
·
You don’t
have to get down on your knees, but you can if you want to. I know an
evangelist who prays as he paces back and forth across his bedroom.
·
Some people
do it while they walk or jog. I know one man who prays on his commute to work
(hopefully he doesn’t close his eyes).
·
Prayer is
simple conversation with God. Just talk to Him as you would your best friend
sitting across the table in a coffee shop.
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You can tell
Him your fears, joys, and frustrations, and you can ask Him for help in any
situation.
·
Also, it’s
good to thank Him for His love and patience with you and to praise Him as Lord
and the Giver of all we have in life.
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If you don’t
know how to pray, come and talk to me, or find someone in our congregation whom
you respect, and ask them to help you in this area.
·
There are
many in our church who would be honored to help you develop an active prayer
life.
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We as a
church will move Forward in Faith to the extent we are willing to humble
ourselves before God, seek His will—and pursue it.
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Because there
is no limit to what God can do through the believer, worry and fear are unnecessary.