Title: Just Ask
Date: 2008-08-10
Reference: Matthew 7: 7-12
A couple of Sundays ago, an out of state visitor, introduced himself to me after our worship service. He said: “You must be doing something right here to have such a full church on a Summer Sunday Morning.” I thanked him and asked him to pray for our congregation. Later I received an e-mail telling me we were on his prayer group’s list for the month. I was so envious when he described his prayer group.forty men who regularly meet to pray with their pastor before worship and during the worship service. They also pray over the offering plates as they are brought forward. Each member of the prayer group has a day each month when he prays intensely for his church.
Our congregation is also being prayed for regularly by friends in Romania and by persons in the Korean Worshiping Community. It’s not enough to know we are being prayed for. We must also become a community of prayer.
I am very encouraged by the interest in prayer here in our congregation. We just finished a Summer Bible Study on Prayer. Each week we studied a great prayer from the Bible and considered it’s application for us today. Next Sunday Evening is our annual Back to School Prayer Service. We will gather here in the sanctuary to pray for our children, parents, families, and teachers as we begin another school year. Many of our members are strong in their prayer life. I delivered Communion to several of our shut in members this week, and prayed with each of them. One of the men I prayed for took my hands in his, and prayed for me. He said: “I want you to know I pray for you and your family every day.” These are all good signs we are becoming a people of prayer.
This Summer I have spent much time in prayer for our church family. I have been very anxious about our church finances, growing pains, changes, my purpose for being here, our ministry together. All of this must be lifted to God in prayer. I agree with Billy Graham who said: “The three secrets to effective ministry are: prayer, prayer, and more prayer.”
When I was in Korea last year, I was so impressed with the early morning prayer services. In one church alone, 1500 people gather every morning, seven days a week at 5:00a.m. for prayer. The Senior Pastor at this church averages three hours of prayer a day. Before he preaches he prays five hours. When asked how the church in Korea differs from the American Church he said: “While Americans are sleeping, many in Korea have been up for several hours praying.”
It’s strange how we neglect the one resource that promises to yield the greatest return. God is always the best place to start no matter what issue or opportunity we may be facing. God needs to be our first resort and not our last. Oswalt Chambers once wrote: “We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but Jesus wants us to pray before we do anything at all.”
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us, praying for our needs. Paul writes: “Every word we speak in prayer was taught to us by God’s Spirit and not by human wisdom. And this same Spirit helps us pray and to teach spiritual things to spiritual people. Through the Spirit we are able to understand what Christ is thinking.” (I Cor. 2: 13)
People who know the Holy Spirit are people of prayer. Jesus said about prayer: “Keep on.” “Keep on praying, keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. Don’t ever stop, just keep on. Praying.” Jesus assures us God answers big prayers and little prayers are important and get answered too. Last Sunday Morning my key chain broke and I lost half my keys including all my church keys. I didn’t notice it until I got all the way home. We immediately came back to search for the rest of my keys. Believe me I prayed all the way across town. This wasn’t an earth shattering issue for the world but it was very important to me. For one thing I didn’t want to have to tell the Trustees they needed to change all the locks on the church because of me. At any rate as we drove up we saw the keys sitting on the sidewalk as if placed there by the hand of God. Thank you God for answering our prayers.
Jesus didn’t say God answers some prayers and not others. Jesus said God hears and answers prayers. God means prayer to have an answer. So we keep on asking,
seeking, and knocking. We must be persistent as we pray. Speaking of being persistent. A father was trying to get his son to sleep. This was usually the mother’s routine but she was away for the evening. And so the father tucked the boy in and sat down to watch a baseball game on television. Soon the son asked for a drink of water which he received. A short time later the boy needed to go to the bathroom. Repeatedly he called out asking his father to take care of this or that.locating a Teddy Bear, turning on a night light, shutting a closet door, checking under the bed for monsters. Finally the exasperated dad was out of patience. He said: “Go to sleep. If I come up there one more time I’m going to paddle you.” All was quiet for a while and then the son called out again. “Daddy, when you come up here to paddle me will you bring me another drink of water.” Now that’s persistence. The kind of persistence we need in prayer.
God answers our prayers, all our prayers. I have lived long enough to thank God that all my prayers were not answered in the way I asked them to be. I have learned No is an answer too. Sometimes God delays in sending an answer. Those delays are not always denials. God’s timing is perfect. We are impatient, God is not. Prayer is not trying to change God’s mind, but seeking God’s will for our lives.
A wise man described prayer as having an audience with God. He said: “Before I realized that prayer was a chore, a duty. Something that had to be done. I used to ask how much time I had to spend in prayer. Now I ask how much time may I spend in prayer?” Prayer is the way we are in relationship with The Holy Spirit who loves us. No Christian has to go through any initiation ceremony to get into the presence of God. The Spirit of God dwells within us and wants to hear from us. Hebrews 10 reminds us how we can enter boldly into the presence of God because God is anxious to hear from us, about anything.
Jesus said: “Pray urgently and specifically. A couple wad driving through West Texas when they saw a tornado coming. They pulled the car over and crouched down beside it. They watched as the tornado hit and demolished a small house. After the storm passed they ran to the house and looked into what was once the basement. They saw an old man holding onto a piece of timber his eyes tightly closed. The woman called down: “ Are you okay? Is anyone down there with you?” The man replied.”Just me and the Lord and we were having an urgent conversation.”
Sometimes prayer is an urgent conversation with God. As we pray we must do our part. I love the story of a father and his son who went fishing.
They put out a line and went to the cabin to settle in. When they came back they each had caught a fish. The little boy said: “I knew there would be fish because I prayed for fish.” They baited the hooks and returned to the cabin for supper. After their meal they came back and found they had caught more fish. “I knew we would catch fish” he said, “I prayed about it.” The third time the hooks were empty, no fish. This time the boy said: “I knew we wouldn’t catch any this time.” “Why not” asked his father, “didn’t you pray?” “No,” replied his son, “we forgot to bait the hooks.”
God provides and answers prayers, often through the efforts of His people. Perhaps you are the answer to someone’s prayer this day. Each week as we bless the offerings I like to think how God will use what we have given to answer the prayers of someone around the world or here in town who needs our help.
There are lots of reasons and excuses for not praying. We have all said: “I’m just too busy to pray I don’t have the time to pray.” I think we are too busy not to pray.” Whenever Martin Luther was especially busy, he didn’t pray less he prayed much more.
Prayer is a blessing, but prayer is also a discipline. Even though we don’t have time for prayer we must make time for prayer. When we pray we will always get what we need.
One of the greatest blessings of life is prayer. God knows, God cares, God is present and anxious to hear from us. As Jesus said: “The father whose son asks for bread will not respond with stone. The father whose son asks for fish will not respond with a serpent. The father will not mock his child’s request. How much more will God in heaven give good things to His children who ask? We are invited to ask, and to keep on asking. As we ask, seek, and knock, we are more aware of our dependance upon God.
What do you need to visit with God about this day? What is troubling you? What is causing you anxiety? What do you need? Ask, Seek, and Knock. God is ready to hear and respond. Just Ask God.
