Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?
As we begin a new mini-series our topic will be 'Lord, teach us to pray.
Have you ever prayed a crazy prayer? What was it?
I once foolishly prayed asking him to give me a bit more difficulty in life, I will let you know when the difficulties stop!
Luke 11:1 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.”2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread.4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’’
"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" - Corrie ten Boom.
What is prayer? At a simple level it is communicating with God. Many of us believe that God answers prayer and that indeed situations can even be changed through prayer. Prayer changes things, there are many examples in the bible of prayers that appeared to be answered e.g. in Acts 27:10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Paul was told at first the ship was going to be wrecked and with loss of life, later in 22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. Prayer changes things. Amen
Luke 11:5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. This teaches us to be persistent in prayer. Pete Greig gives various examples of this … the domino effect… Queen Bertha of Kent prayed 17 years for her husband… Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing is like a hacking cough or a military assault on a castle wall [1].
Luke11:9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” When we pray things that are in the will of God, he hears and answers our prayers.
Closing Prayer. Lord teach us to pray, teach us to know that believing prayer changes things, teach us to be persistent in prayer, teach us to realise that it is your will to give us every good thing which is in your will.
Amen
[1] Continual prayer is not prayer that goes on without any interruption, but prayer that continues whenever possible. The adverb for “continually” (adialeiptōs) was used in Greek to express a hacking cough. A persistent, ongoing cough that is constant. Paul was speaking of maintaining continuous fellowship with God as much as possible in the course of daily living in which concentration and focus is often broken.