Praying with Power

Several years ago George Barna, founder of the Barna Research Group, carried out a comprehensive study on the religious activities of Americans. In his study he discovered that nearly nine out of ten adults, eighty-nine percent,pray to God with an overwhelmingseventy-nine percentof those respondents saying that they prayed at least once a day.Barna further points out that, "Americans believe in the power and impact of prayer. Four of five Americans, eighty-two percent,believe that prayer can change what happens in a person's life." After conducting his study George Barna concluded that, "Prayer is one of the most frequent and widely embraced religious activities in America."

Others have come alongside George Barna to confirm his findings. C. Peter Wagner, a nationally known church growth expert has said, "A prayer movement that greatly surpasses anything like it in living memory, perhaps in all of Christian history, is rapidly gaining momentum. The hunger for prayer knows no denominational boundaries." One of the top selling Christian books, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire is a book about how God touches his people and works powerfully when his people pray. A top selling leadership book by Ted Haggard is a book about how God has been working through prayer to change lives and build his church in Colorado Springs.

God's view of prayer may be different than ours.

These are exciting times for the Church. God is stirring the hearts of his people to respond to his word. People are genuinely hungering and thirsting for God's touch in their lives. This morning we're going to talk about unleashing God's power in our lives through prayer. You should know right up front that not all prayers are the same in God's eyes. There is a right way to pray and a wrong way to pray. There are right things to pray for and wrong things to pray for. There are right motives for prayer and there are wrong motives for prayer. Not every prayer we pray gets answered the way we want, and in light of the divine perspective, it's a good thing!

But you should also know that God never intended for prayer to be a mystery to us. He doesn't want us to think of prayer as a throw of the dice or as a spiritual gamble. He doesn't want prayer to be an exercise of confusion and frustration. Yet at the same time if we don't learn to pray effectively, prayer will remain a mystery, and a frustrating one at that.

As we turn to Matthew 6 we find one of the most powerful passages on prayer in all of scripture. There are all kinds of amateurs out there giving us pointers on prayer but in Matthew 6 the Son of God is teaching us how to pray to our heavenly Father. Not surprisingly, he begins by describing the wrong way to pray.

One trouble spot in our prayers is with our motives.

In Matthew 6:5 (NIV) Jesus begins, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

Last week we talked about those who do their religion for show. They pray out of an impure heart, they pray with selfish motives, they pray to impress people with their eloquent words, or they use their prayers as an opportunity to flaunt their spirituality and to establish a kind of spiritual pecking order. They are distracted by other people's perceptions and they position themselves in the street and in the synagogue, so that their prayers become useless before God. They're using prayer as a means to their own selfish ends, instead of praying to God. So God withholds his blessing and says simply, "they have received their reward in full." In other words, "If they pray for the praise of men, the praise of men I give them."

Another trouble spot in our prayers is with our focus.

In Matthew 6:6 (NIV) Jesus says, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

There are so many things that can threaten our focus when we pray. If you pray lying on your bed at night, you may soon fall asleep. If you pray in your car, the radio or a sign or object may snag your thoughts. If you pray at work or at home, the phone can ring, or the baby may start crying, or the kids might want to go somewhere, or someone may stop by to chat, or your favorite television program may come on.

In prayer it is important that we escape to an unseen place with few interruptions. You might literally retreat to a closet in your home. It's not a bad idea. You might retreat to a private part of your workplace where no one can disrupt you. I find it difficult to pray in my office because the phone rings, someone knocks on the door, there is work sitting on the desk, and there are stack of phone calls to make. I find it helpful to physically get away from all the distractions where I can focus my energies and attention on a conversation with God. God really wants us to have the right motives and to focus on him when we pray.

Yet another trouble spot in our prayers is our verbosity.

In Matthew 6:7-8 (NIV) Jesus says, "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

Jesus seems to indicate that our verbosity, our rambling, can hinder our prayers. In Matthew 6:7 Jesus uses the word "babbling" to describe how many people pray. Many think that the word babbling is connected with the Greek word "bar", from which we get our word barbarian. The Barbarians weren't a particularly intelligent people. They had difficulty expressing themselves and clarifying their thoughts. In fact, they were known for stuttering and stammering and rambling on. They were known for their vain repetition of empty words and disjointed phrases. They would say, "bar, bar, bar," much like many today say, "ah, um, dah". To make matters worse they would overcompensate for their speech impediment by speaking more, instead of less!

A lot of times, like Barbarians we focus on the quantity of our words instead of the quality. We think the power of prayer can be unleashed with incessant rambling, so we nervously rattle off everything we can think of. We vainly recite our prayers over and over, trying to get them just right, thinking that eventually God will get the point and answer our prayers.

A few weeks back, some friends asked Lara and I to watch their three-year-old daughter. She spent the entire afternoon telling Lara what she wanted on her birthday cake. She wanted a snowman and she wanted a butterfly. She wanted a crown and a flower. At one point I went outside to wash my car, but not without company. Our little friend sat on our porch in a lawn chair watching intently. The entire time she just chattered on and on. She would say, "Jon," and then away she'd go, giggling and carrying on. She was having a great old time. Several times I stopped and asked her to repeat what she was saying because she'd get real serious and seemed to be trying to tell me something really important.

She could have talked all day long and I still wouldn't have known what she was talking about. Jesus says, "your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Our many words don't get our prayers answered any more than the wrong motives and the wrong kind of focus do.

The Lord's prayer.

As we turn to Matthew 6:9 (NIV) Jesus teaches us how to pray in what is popularly referred to as "The Lord's Prayer." Notice what Jesus says. "This, then, is how you should pray." Jesus does not say here, "This, then, is what you should pray." In these verses Jesus is setting before us a model of prayer. He is teaching us how to pray effectively and powerfully. He is showing us how to have the right motive and the right focus in our prayers. Though we can recite this prayer verbatim in our prayer closets, we must never forget that Jesus meant this prayer for instruction to teach us how to pray. In no way did Jesus intend for us to mechanically and mindlessly recant these words over and over, day after day, week after week, as a fixed liturgy.

So how should we pray? In Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV) Jesus says, "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

There are two broad brushstrokes with which we should paint all our prayers.

Powerful prayers are God-centered.

Notice how Jesus begins his prayer in Matthew 6:9-10 (NIV), "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

There is so much in this prayer worth talking about that it is hard to know where to begin. First notice that the prayer begins with a relationship, "Our Father in heaven." God is not some impersonal, cosmic monster who ruthlessly determines our destiny. The God of the universe is our Father, a father we can relate to. Our heavenly Father is available and accessible. We can approach him just as Jesus approached him, as sons and daughters.

Second, notice how the prayer continues with respect, "...hallowed be your name." In addressing God as our Father, we must be careful to show proper respect. God is holy, he is powerful, he is our creator, and he is greater than us. God is not someone or something we manipulate to accomplish our purposes. God is not a stepping stone, or a cosmic Santa Claus who tends to our wish list. God is not our maid or butler who waits on us hand and foot and he is not a buddy who owes us a favor because we did a kind deed. He is not a means to our end but rather, he is the end for which we were created. It's worth asking. Do we approach God with the right attitude in our prayers?

Third, notice how the prayer puts God's agenda first, "...your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." What does it mean to refer to God as our king? What does it mean to speak of God's kingdom? What role does the king's will play in his kingdom? Our heavenly Father is a father who is establishing his kingdom. Our heavenly Father is a father with a will, a will that must be done, "on earth as it is in heaven." Our heavenly Father is the King of his kingdom. His will is sovereign over all his kingdom subjects. We are to approach him with fear and with a spirit of obedience. As one man asked, "When we pray, do we give instructions or do we report for duty?"

To reject the rule of God's kingdom in our lives is to be forever banished from his heavenly kingdom. We have no business asking something of God that goes against his will. We have no business asking something of God that weakens his rule over our lives. We have no business asking something of God that undermines his kingship.

Our prayers must be compatible with his kingdom vision of uniting all things in heaven and on earth under one banner, Jesus Christ. "...your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". Whose kingdom are we praying to build, God's kingdom or our kingdom? Who is the king in our prayers? Whose will are we praying? Powerful prayers are first and foremost God-centered. "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be YOUR name, YOUR kingdom come, YOUR will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (emphasis added)

Powerful prayers are community-centered.

Notice how Jesus continues his prayer in Matthew 6:11-13 (NIV)."Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

When you pray, which pronouns appear the most? If we were to write out our prayers would every sentence begin with "I"? Would every other word be "me, me, me" or "I want, I want, I want"? Does God give ear to self-focused, self-centered prayers that turn us inward instead of outward and upward?

Jesus totally reverses our naturally tendencies when he teaches this prayer. First of all he starts us off with God's will instead of our own will. Second of all, he continues to focus on the needs of the Christian community and not just on our own needs, no matter how important they may be.

Remember that Jesus instructed us in Matthew 22:37 (NIV) to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." But he also instructed us in Matthew 22:39 (NIV) to, "Love your neighbor as yourself." In prayer, we should learn to both love God and love our neighbor. As William Law said, "Nothing makes us love man so much as to pray for him."

Jesus says, "Give us today our daily bread." A master takes care of his servant, a general takes care of his soldier, a king takes care of his subjects, and a father takes care of his son. When we pray, we should have confidence that God will take care of our needs. When we pray for our needs, we should take our brother's needs into consideration. It is hard to ask God for bigger and better when those around us don't even have their basic needs being met.

Next Jesus says, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." We must forgive others just as our heavenly Father forgave us. We cannot expect to receive God's forgiveness if at the same time we withhold our forgiveness from others. In Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV) Jesus says, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

In no way does Jesus want us to delude ourselves into thinking that we can go on receiving the blessings of God's kingdom if at the same time we hold back the blessing of God's kingdom from others. Forgive others as you have been forgiven. Before you leave your gift at the altar, go and be reconciled to your brother.

A truly God-centered and community-centered prayer receives and gives forgiveness.

Fourth, Jesus prays, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Satan's kingdom stands in direct opposition to Christ's kingdom and God's will. Satan is constantly working to tempt us and to make us slaves in his kingdom. Jesus asks us to stand alongside one another and to bolster one another up in prayer. He wants us to actively pray for protection from the evil one. He wants us to pray for deliverance whenever the evil one seems to have the upper hand.

I love what Samuel Chadwick said. "The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from their prayer studies, prayer-less work and prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil and mocks all our wisdom. But he trembles when we pray."

Prayer drives back Satan's kingdom and loosens his grip on our lives. As John Bunyan said, "Prayer will make a man cease from sin or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer. It's all up to us."

As we pull back and look at Jesus' teaching on prayer, we discover two things. Powerful prayer is God-centered. Powerful prayer is community-centered. Powerful prayer focuses both upward and outward. Powerful prayer focuses our hearts toward God and then toward our fellow man. Powerful prayer never focuses inward, away from God, or inward, away from those God has called us to love.

Let's pray together, shall we?