Pastor\’s Blog

Prayer Works
Acts 12:1-19 James 5:13-18

If God has already determined everything that will happen then why pray? Of course, not everything believes God has made such a determination. However, as you read the Scriptures, it’s hard to escape that truth. As Joseph reassured his brother after the death of Jacob, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done…” (Genesis 52:20 TNIV) What was done by men with sinful motives turned out to be the plan of God all along. Consider Ephesians Chapter one and Romans Chapter Nine. But if that is true, once again, why pray?

Jesus taught us to pray with thanksgiving and requests. But we don’t pray because we are commanded. To the Christian it’s like breathing. You pray because you want to, you need to, you have to. How that operates with God’s plan. . .well, it’s a mystery, except prayer is part of it. Our prayers become part of God’s kingdom building. Our responsibility and God’s plan dovetail. You ask for God’s help when you see how things need to change or someone needs to be delivered. You go to him with your request because you know God is the only one who can do anything about it. God alone has the power.

What is prayer? That questions could be answered in a number of ways. Many answer the question by stating, “Prayer is talking to God.” Clearly, it is more than that. It is talking to God in a certain way. There is no one way to pray. However, consider some of these things as you approach God.

1. Prayer is acknowledging God’s sovereignty. God’s sovereignty is God’s control over all things. What he planned to do, he accomplishes. It happens. From our perspective, it becomes part of history. When you go to God with a request you acknowledge that he is the only one who can do anything about it. He is the only one who is in control. The Apostle Peter was arrested after the Apostle James was arrested and executed. Herod saw that James’ execution pleased the Jewish leaders. He arrested Peter with same intent of killing him. “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5 NIV). The young and weakly organized church was on the brink of extinction. How could it continue if all the Apostles were arrested and executed? There was nothing they could do but pray to God for Peter’s deliverance.

The Lord’s intervention was the only hope and praying was the only thing they could do. Peter was bound in prison with chains and two guards with him. But remember, man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. Often God allows us to end up in very difficult circumstances because that is how he drives us to go to him and cry out. He reminds us how helpless we are, and so when he delivers us, he will receive all the glory, honor and praise. That was how God delivered Israel from Egypt.

2. Prayer is depending on God. Through prayer you show your dependence on him. You and I are needy. Your need is the thing that often drives you to prayer. You need God everyday for everything. That is why requests should be with thanksgiving. If you don’t thank him that’s because you are taking for granted everything you have. . . your family, house, car, your health, the talents you have. What is the basic human problem? We want it all. Because we want it all, we think we’ll get — one way or another. This covetous spirit is rooted in our pride and vain self-interest. Remember Paul cautioning words: “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7 NIV) The human tendency is to congratulate ourselves for what we have and what we have accomplished. The leading characteristic of those who are “of the world” is that they congratulate themselves for everything they have. Christians, however, acknowledge that it all comes from God. Now if we acknowledge our dependency on God and thank him for all those things – money, talents, health, family and friends – the next step in prayer is to ask him for direction in how to use those things for his glory and the building up of others. Ask him to show you how to relate to and minister to those people involved in your life.

3. Prayer is an act of submission. Prayer is the act and expression of offering ourselves to God and submitting to him. You thank him. You ask him for deliverance. You ask him for strength and ability. You ask him to direct you how to use what he has given you. You do the best you can and leave the rest to him, trusting him. You submit to what he commands and you accept the way he answers your prayers. This is an act of worship.4. What makes prayer effective? After Peter was arrested, in his narrative, Luke wrote,”So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. God heard their prayers and delivered Peter by an unmistakable miracle” (Acts 12:5 NIV).

James 5:13-18 “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”
Prayer is effective when. . .

1) You are in Christ. That means you have a relationship with him. You knelt before him and asked him to save you — to take away your sins, to make you whole, to accept you as one of his children. Now his life is in you forever. You are united to him spiritually. Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ. No one can take away your eternal life. Jesus is always ready to hear you and he will answer the requests that are good for you and glorify him.

2) Prayer is effective when you are praying in real faith (man, you really mean it). You’re not just reciting mantras over and over. Sometimes you can’t even speak right away. Your heart starts searching for God and you cry out, “Lord, where are you. Lord, hear me.” I believe one of the mistakes we make in prayer is feeling we have to keep talking all the time. That’s either a nervous habit or it helps us feel like we’re accomplishing something by talking at God incessantly. If you really have some thing to say to God, say it, but if you don’t, keep silent, focus and meditate. The petition he has for you will come to you.

3) Prayer is effective when you are right with God — you are doing his will — following the commands of Christ — walking in the Spirit – living a life of repentance. If you are not, then you are not taking your faith seriously. If you’re trapped in some addictive or compulsive behavior and you’re not crying about it to God, then you’re not taking your sin or God seriously. (By the way, if you do have an addictive or obsessive/compulsive behavior, you need a counselor or an understanding friend in whom you can confide and to whom you can be accountable.) Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened…”If you are cherishing sin in your heart – if there is some sin you are holding onto – something un-confessed, then you will have trouble in your relationship with God and your prayer life will be ineffective.There are times the first prayer is the confession of your sins to God. Go directly to the Father through our high priest Jesus Christ.”For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrew 4:15-16 NIV).What is “coming to the throne of grace all about?” It’s about prayer.

GRACE – Grace is God’s unmerited FAVOR, his unearned blessing. GRACE is not something the church dispenses. It is freely shown to you by Christ.How? “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence…” Grace is not given because of what you have done, or can do, but because of what he has done and what he will do on your behalf. Why approach the throne of grace? “. . .So that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Okay, so you can do something and that is, pray.

5. Answered prayer – no surprise! The Lord answered the prayers of the Christians who were praying. Peter was miraculously delivered from Prison by an angel. The angel led him through all the gates of the prison and out onto the street. He came to himself. . . he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark. He knocked on the door. A servant named Rhoda came to the door and when she heard Peter’s voice, she believed. . . . but she ran back to the others who were praying but they didn’t believer her. “It must be his angel,” they said. This shows that. . .inwardly they doubted Peter could be rescued. They did not expect their prayers to be answered. They were surprised that it was Peter. It couldn’t be! But it was. God answered their prayers.

How often do you ask the Lord for something, forget about it and then be surprised when the thing you asked is answered? This happened to me. I began to pray for something, then I stopped and I forgot about the prayer I was making. Then a few years later I realized that God was answering my prayer and he is continuing to answer that prayer (somethings come to fulfillment over a process of time).Pray, believing it is answered already. It just hasn’t happened yet. Mark 11:24 Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Our nations is faced with an economic recession. I am not clear about what that means exactly but I do know that people are suffering. People are laid off from their jobs or their hours are reduced. I heard of another company in the lumber industry that laid off 500 employees. Building trades contractors don’t have contracts. One contractor reminded me to pray for them that they might have contracts soon but no contracts seem to be on the horizon. Unable to pay their mortgages, others are loosing their homes. The price of gasoline is continuing to rise. We hurry to get gas if it falls below three dollars a gallon. The cost of food is rising and will continue to rise this year. Eventually, everyone will be affected. Churches will be affected as offerings drop.

What can we do as believers? We respond to these events with our faith. God is good. The good he brings may not always seem very good but remember it is the final outcome that determines what is good or bad. For the believer in Christ, God only works good — ultimate good. The immediate effect may be painful and depressing but the end is our spiritual good, our spiritual maturity, our spiritual durability. This all results in our increased effectiveness in ministering to others.

1) The first thing to remember is, God is working out something good for you and your family. God is faithful (Romans 8:28); therefore, bring every thought captive to Christ — bring every
thought captive to faith.

2) Thank God for whatever you have — your family together, a roof over your heads, heat, food, transportation. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING present your requests to God’ (Philippians 4:6). The Lord enjoys knowing that you appreciate what he does for you and you will be supprised how thankful and happy this will make you feel. ‘Count your many blessing.’

3) Be content. ‘But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that (1 Timothy 6:8). In our climate, we need shelter also. In the verse quoted above, that might be included in the word ‘clothing’. God knows you need shelter and he does not expect you to live in a cardboard box. He will provide you with adequate shelter. However, contentment also means lowering your expectations of life. You may not be able to live in a big house or have a beautiful new car. That’s okay. When I was kid, middle class people lived in much smaller, plainer houses. Children shared rooms. Only doctors lived in the kinds of houses most of us live in today. Economist have a lot to say about how we got into this economic mess. It is more than I can understand and many institutions can share blame; however, the way our nation really got into this mess was through greed.

4) Pray that the Lord would continue to provide for you, your family, brothers and sisters in the church and your friends. Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Give us today our daily bread (provision).’

5) Once again, we have to lower our expectations. I see the despair in the eyes of young adults today who see all their parents and grandparents have and believe their self-worth depends on being able to have the same things. In our society, self-worth has become associated with how much money one makes. That’s a pity. I admit that my generation (the baby boomers) are largely responsible for creating that false and shallow definition of human worth. My generation pushed up the cost of housing beyond the reach of most young people. In the last quarter of the 20th century and up to a few years ago, people bought homes and sold them at a higher price, then bought and sold and bought and sold during a time of housing inflation until now, fewer people can afford houses for the prices people are asking. People will continue to loose them. No one will be able to buy them and the banks will have to loose money on them. The cost of housing will continue to fall. In the process, many people will loose their houses and hurt. There is, however, a bright side for younger people who are buying their first homes. They will be able to buy homes from banks for amounts far below the asking price.

6) Manage your priorities. Don’t buy anything you don’t absolutely need. Now I realize this will hurt some businesses but if you don’t have money, what else can you do? Make a list of everything you really need beginning with water, food, shelter, utilities, transportation, etc. Always make your rent or mortgage payment — that’s number one. It is easier to get help with utilities and easier still to get help with food (you’ll have to ask me about this). Then pay your utilities. Make your car payment, keep your ‘clunker’ or if you’re living in the city, keep taking the bus. Buy raw food you have to prepare. Pack a lunch. Don’t eat out. Reduce your cable bill to basic cable. I’m sure you’re thinking of things right now that you can give up. There are a lot of little things on which you spend money, when added together amount to far more than you realize. Get rid of things you don’t need — cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets, candy and junk food.

7) Save whatever little you can. Open a savings account at a credit union. You need to keep only $5.00 in your account to keep it open. The down side is that the rate of return is very low. Don’t request a debit card for this account — make is a little difficult for yourself to withdrawn money so you have enough time to talk yourself out of it. From each pay check (if you have one) put something in there, even if it is only 5 bucks.

A long term goal for a couple is to work toward a situation where they are not dependent on two incomes.

9) Continue to be generous and share. If you are able, give to the church. Decide what you can give and be faithful in giving. Some Christians believe you should tithe 10% the very first thing, no matter what. But in my experience in working with people, I have learned that is not always possible for some people. Tithing and giving is not a law. It is a privilege and an act of thanksgiving to God, offered in joy. Treating it as a law is destroying its intent and blessing. Tithing or giving any fixed amount to the Lord depends on a lifestyle and it may take time for someone to learn that lifestyle. Some people struggle a great deal with that. For many Christian, yes, tithing or taking out their pledged amount is the first thing they can do. But I am sensitive to the situations in which people sometimes find themselves. Tithing sould not be done superstitiously. It isn’t magic. It isn’t a formula for success. It may only be done in love and faith. Lead and encourage by example and understanding, not by condemnation. People who are struggling and loosing things are going through a lot of guilty feelings (sometimes that guilt is false). They don’t need more guilt loaded on them by you or a preacher (who can be great dispensers of false guilt).