Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn
in Bibles to Psalm 25:1-22
Psalm 25
Of David.
1 In you, Lord my God,
I put my
trust.
2 I trust in you;
do not
let me be put to shame,
nor let
my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever
be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are
treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me
your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you
are God my Savior,
and my
hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they
are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my
rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you,
Lord, are good.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore
he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and
teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward
those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive
my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will
instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their
descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes
his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only
he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am
lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free
me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take
away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how
fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not
let me be put to shame,
for I
take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because
my hope, Lord, is in you.
22 Deliver Israel, O God,
from all
their troubles!
--
several years ago, the East Indian evangelist K.P. Yohannan came to the United
States for a visit -- he wanted to meet some of the spiritual leaders of our
nation, especially one man who was known in India for his powerful sermons and
uncompromising commitment to the truth
-- On
the Sunday that Yohannan visited his church, there were over 3000 people there
for the worship service -- the choirs were outstanding and the preaching was
everything he hoped it would be -- then the pastor made an announcement about a
special emphasis at the midweek prayer meeting -- he said that there were some
things laying heavy on his heart and he asked the people to come and pray --
the pastor said the service would be held at a certain chapel on the church
campus at 7:30 that evening -- excited, Yohannan determined that he would
attend this special service
-- when
he showed up at the chapel later that week, he brought with him some definite
assumptions about prayer meetings -- Yohannan knew that prayer meetings were
essential -- they were of primary importance in the life of a church
-- Where he came from in India,
and in many other parts of the world where Christians are persecuted and
harassed for their faith, the prayer meeting is the centerpiece of the church's
life -- Everyone comes, the meetings often last long into the night, and it is
not unusual for believers to arise daily before sunup to pray together for the
work of the church.
-- fearing a huge crowd,
Yohannan came early to get a seat -- But when he arrived at the chapel, it was
empty -- and not only was it empty, but it wouldn't hold any more than 500
people -- Yohannan thought he must have misheard the pastor and showed up at
the wrong place -- He was worried, so he went outside to double-check the name
of the chapel, but he was in the right place
-- at about 7:30, a few people
came into the room, but there was no
leader, no songs or worship -- just chitchat about news, weather, and sports --
Forty-five minutes later an elderly man, the leader, but not the pastor, walked
into the chapel to offer a few devotional thoughts from the Bible and give a
brief prayer.
-- [and with that] the meeting
was over -- and as the seven attendees filed out of the chapel, K. P. Yohannan
sat in stunned silence, his mind filled with questions: Was this it? -- Weren't
they going to stay and wait upon God? -- Where was the worship? -- The tears? --
The cries for guidance and direction? -- Where was the list of the sick, and
the poor, and those in need? -- What about that burden that the pastor said was
heavy on his heart? -- Weren't we going to intercede for a miracle? -- And
where was the pastor?
-- That meeting became a
paradigm for his experience of prayer meetings in the American church -- In all
his travels here, he saw the same pattern repeated over and over again in
hundreds of midweek prayer meetings -- Almost anything happens but prayer
-- There are announcements,
singing, homilies, and a few prayers offered, but usually only by the
leader-and that's in the churches that actually have prayer meetings in their
schedules -- Many more make no pretense even to have a church prayer meeting
-- There seems to be time for
everything else-to study, to fellowship, to preach, but not to pray. Church
leaders who think nothing of spending two or three days to plan programs or of
spending thousands of dollars to hire consultants to help them do it, blanch at
the thought of spending even one night to wait on the Lord to show them what to
do. -- How can this be?
-- Ephesians 6:12 says that
"our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" -- if this is true, then
the first thing any church should do is pray, isn't it? -- Can there be any other way to reach a lost
world? -- Do we really think our plans
and programs can bring down dark strongholds of spiritual evil in the heavenly
realms?
-- this morning, we are
continuing in our sermon series on the spiritual disciplines and spiritual
gifts – last week, we talked about the necessity of reading and listening to the
Bible – of spending time with God in His word – in whatever way best works for
us – because it is through His word that God primarily speaks to us today
-- today, we are going to be
looking at prayer as our next spiritual discipline – prayer is our primary
response back to God – prayer is the natural avenue by which we commune with
our Creator and respond to His word and His direction from the Scriptures – in a
very real sense, prayer is how we relate to God today, just as the Bible is how
God relates to us
-- going back to 2 Peter 1:4,
prayer is a way we participate in the divine nature of Christ and build upon
our relationship with God
II. Why is it
so Hard to Pray?
-- everyone in here knows that
we should pray – Scripture commands us to pray – the Spirit within us compels
us to pray – as Christians, we feel this desire to pray – to cry out to God –
to speak to Him and call upon His name
-- as Peter Miller puts it in
his book, The Praying Life, this natural desire to pray – to commune
with God – to communicate with Him in words and with our hearts –was put in us
at the Creation
-- so, if that’s the case, then
why is prayer so difficult? – if that’s the case, then why don’t people pray
more? – if that’s the case, then why don’t we spend more of our lives devoted
to calling upon God in prayer?
-- did you know that most
Christians pray for less than five minutes a day? – that is remarkable – the hymn
that we sang this morning, “Sweet Hour of Prayer," is a very common hymn
in our churches –- we sing it quite often, but very, very few of us pray with
the fervency that this song proclaims
-- even knowing that through
prayer we can call on God Himself, very few of us do so – why?
-- our inability to pray is a
direct result of the Fall – when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, mankind
was separated from God because of sin and the sin nature we inherited from them
– as a result, the close relationship we had with our Father was destroyed
-- the Bible tells us that in
the early days of creation – before the Fall – God would come to the Garden in
the cool of the day and walk with Adam and Eve – He would speak with them and
they would speak with Him – they would tell Him all about their day and what
they had done – and they would praise God for His goodness and kindness and
providence – they would speak to Him as a child speaks to their Father
-- but the Fall changed all of
that – sin separated them from God – and they were cast out of Eden and into
this world – and while the desire to speak for God remained, their ability to
do so was damaged – and this continues today
-- and so, while our hearts long
for communion and prayer and communication with Him – our sin nature and our
flesh lead us way from the very practice that can grow our relationship with
the Father and lead us to walk with Him in grace and righteousness daily
-- this is why prayer is one of
the most difficult things we face in our Christian lives – I’ve been pastoring
a long time now – over 25 years – and during that time, the question that has
been asked of me more than anything else – more than how to be saved – more than
how to read the Bible – was how to pray
-- prayer is difficult – there are
obstacles to prayer in our lives today that rise up to keep us from praying – some
come from us as our flesh and our sin nature rise up in opposition to
communicating with God – some obstacles come from the world or from Satan as
both the world and Satan try to distract us and cause us to get lost in the cacophony
of noise and busy-ness in the world today
-- but even though prayer is
difficult, the good news is that through Christ and through His Holy Spirit who
indwells us, all of us have the ability to come directly into the presence of
our God in prayer – we can pray – we can speak to God just as we speak to
another and know that He hears us and will respond to us – we just need to do
it – we just need to put the obstacles aside and be intentional about praying –
and we have to be diligent about it and make it part of our daily lives
-- one common theme I hear from
people about why they don’t pray is that they don’t know how to pray or they
don’t understand prayer -- I can relate to this -- I have struggled with this
in my own life -- Even the disciples struggled with this.
-- the disciples lived
intimately with Jesus for three years -- they spent three years with the
Creator of the universe and could have asked Him anything -- but the one thing that
weighed on their hearts more than anything else – the one thing they asked Him to
do for them was to teach them how to pray
-- they had seen Jesus go off
and pray in isolation for hours on end – they had seen how He walked in
relationship with the Father – how His daily life exuded prayer and
communication with the Father – and they realized they didn’t have that – they didn’t
know how to do that
-- so, Jesus shared with them
the model prayer that we often refer to as the Lord's Prayer – a guide for us
in praying to the Father – a starting place, if you will
-- but He didn’t give them
step-by-step instructions on how to pray – He didn’t tell them they needed to
go off by themselves in order to pray – He didn’t tell them what position their
body needed to be in when they prayed – He didn’t tell them whether to pray out
loud or silently – He didn’t tell them when they should pray – and He didn’t
explain how prayer worked – He just gave them the Lord’s Prayer and said, “When
you pray, this is how it should look”
-- there’s a reason for that –
prayer is personal – and the way we speak to God and cry out to Him with our
hearts will be different for each one of us – there is no right way to pray –
no specific words – no specific body position – no specific location – no specific
time
-- the Lord’s prayer is just a
model – a guide – that Jesus gave us to get us started – He didn’t intend for
this prayer to be something that we just recite back to God word-for-word every
day – prayer doesn’t work like that
-- God doesn’t hear simply
because we recite it word-by-word – He doesn’t hear us and respond simply
because we have memorized this prayer and pray it to start every day because it’s
not about the words
-- He hears us when we pray from
our hearts – when we pray based on who we are – when we pray based on who He
made us to be and when we speak to Him as only we can -- and that is different
for all of us – remember the love languages that we talked about last week?
-- the Lord’s prayer can guide
us into communication with God, but it should not replace heart-felt and
heart-driven prayers
-- the important thing is not the
how and why of prayer – the important thing is that we do it – that we make
prayer part of our lives -- because prayer is how we speak to our God and how
we communicate with Him our love and our praise and our needs – through prayer,
we build and grow upon our relationship with Him – that is why prayer is a
means of grace and a spiritual discipline we need to be practicing
-- don’t worry about the
mechanics of it – don’t get bogged down with questions such as: How can God
hear me? How can God hear all of us
around the world when we pray at the same time?
Why won't God work without prayer?
Why doesn't God answer in the way or in the time I think He should?
-- prayer is a mystery, because
it is relational – prayer works, not because we say the right words and God
responds like a heavenly vending machine or a magic genie – prayer works,
because prayer is simply a person speaking to their heavenly Father from their
heart, as a child speaks to their parents – letting Him know what is on our
minds – what is on our hearts – what we are struggling with – what is worrying
us – and what we need
III. Scripture
Lesson (Psalm 25:1-22)
-- I
could speak for a long time about prayer, but this morning, my goal is to help
you take the first steps into a life of prayer – and I say life of prayer
intentionally
-- Dallas Willard suggested that
we shouldn’t seek to make prayer a part of our lives – that we shouldn’t have a
prayer life, as many talk about – but that instead, we should seek to develop a
praying life
-- as he explained it, with a
prayer life, prayer is just something else that we try to squeeze into our
already busy schedules – it’s something else that we do – that we feel like we
should do – and when we don’t have time for it – when we don’t pray as long as
we feel we should – when we don’t pray as eloquently as we feel we should -- when
we don’t spend more time in prayer – we feel guilty and defeated – and it’s at
that point that many of us give up and just quit praying all together
-- for that reason, Willard suggested
we seek to develop a praying life – a life that imitates Jesus – a life that is
saturated with prayerfulness – with a recognition of God’s presence with us at
all times as we go about our day rather than just tacking prayer into our lives
as something else we have to do
-- through a praying life, we
integrate every moment of every day into a time of communion with God – we pray
– not necessarily with words – but with our hearts as we live our lives for God
– always cognizant of His presence with us
-- Skye Jethani gives a good
example of what this looks like as he shares an account from the life of Billy
Graham – I think most of us know who Billy Graham was – without a doubt, Billy
Graham was our country’s most well-known evangelist who held crusades
throughout the country to share the gospel of Christ for decades
-- in 1982, Dr. Graham was invited
for a live television interview on NBC’s Today Show – he arrived at the NBC
studio in New York for his appointment, and one of the producers told Dr.
Graham’s assistant that a private space had been arranged for him, so that he could pray before the broadcast.
-- Dr. Graham’s assistant
responded that this was a kind and thoughtful gesture, but that the prayer
space would not be needed -- The NBC producer was surprised, and you could tell
that he was thinking that perhaps Billy Graham wasn’t the spiritual giant the
country thought he was
-- he asked Dr. Graham’s assistant,
“Isn’t prayer important before a live national interview?” -- Graham’s
assistant responded, “Dr. Graham started praying when he got up this morning,
he prayed while eating breakfast, he prayed on the way over here in the car
they sent for us, and he’ll probably be praying all through the interview.”
-- this is what a praying life
looks like versus a prayer life – we experience a praying life when we walk in
constant communion with God, whether we use words or not – this is the type of
life that the Bible encourages when we read that we are to pray without ceasing
– this is the kind of life that we see Jesus model for us in the gospels
-- so, don’t seek to develop a
prayer life – seek to develop a praying life
-- look
with me now at Psalm 25, and let’s take a look at one of David’s prayers and
see what we can learn from him about living a praying life
-- verse
1-3
Psalm 25
Of David.
1 In you, Lord my God,
I put my
trust.
2 I trust in you;
do not
let me be put to shame,
nor let
my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever
be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are
treacherous without cause.
-- David’s prayer begins where all
prayers begin – with God
-- as we have talked about this
morning, prayer is an aspect of our relationship with God – prayer happens when
we speak to God through our hearts and our lives – our actions and our words –
it all begins with God, because prayer is part of our relationship with Him
-- God certainly hears the prayers of
sinners and unbelievers – He responds to them as their Creator and reaches out
to them through His prevenient grace to call them to the cross and to salvation
and the forgiveness of sins through Christ
-- but He hears the prayers of His
people differently, for He hears our prayers based on our relationship with Him
– He hears us and responds to us because He is our Father and we are His children
– He hears our voice when we cry out to Him and He responds to us because He
loves us and knows us and is in a relationship with us
-- our relationship with God begins
with trust and faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ – and when we put our
trust in Him, the Bible says that we become His children – as John 1:1-13 says,
“Yet to all who did receive Him – to those who believed in His name – He gave
the right to become the children of God – children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband’s will – but born of God”
-- God is our Father – our Abba
– our Daddy – and when we pray, He hears us because we are His – as a parent
hears the cry of their child, even in a crowded room
-- that is what David is affirming
here in these verses – I know you, God – I trust you, God – I put my faith and
trust in You and You alone – for you have saved me and will not let me be put
to shame – my sins are behind me – and I stand in your presence, calling on
your name, as my God and my Father, whom I trust
-- verse 4-5
Psalm 25:4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me
your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you
are God my Savior,
and my
hope is in you all day long.
-- here we see the difference
between a prayer life and a praying life – David is described in the Bible as a
man after God’s own heart – he lived a life in relationship and communion with
God – and, as he went about his day, he was ever mindful of God’s presence with
him
-- so, David prays here in these
verses three specific requests – show me – teach me – guide me
-- this is what happens when we pray
– this is what happens when we live lives in communion and relationship with
God
-- first, He shows us His will and
His way – He opens our eyes to see the world as He sees it – to see people as
He sees them – to love them as He loves them
-- He shows us how to walk with Him
in daily communion – how to live for Him in this world – how to love like Him
in this world
-- and once He has shown us His will
and His ways, He teaches us how to live like that and guides us into
righteousness and goodness in His name
-- through the Holy Spirit
indwelling us and empowering us, God teaches us what to do and guides us the
right way and gives us the power and strength to do it
-- notice that David’s prayer is not
about getting, but about giving – it’s about living in God’s righteousness and
becoming who God wants Him to be
-- this is a relational prayer – and
these requests of David to show us – to teach us – and to guide us – are how we
seek a praying life today
-- I like what John Maxwell says, "When God shows
me, He has my heart. When God teaches
me, He has my mind. When God guides me,
He has my hand." -- We need to
recognize that prayer puts us into a close relationship with God. It results in us turning ourselves over to
God -- body, mind, and soul.
-- Prayer not only causes God to work, but it also
results in changing us, changing our hearts, and conforming our will to that of
God. – that is the definition of a
praying life
-- verse 6-11
Psalm 25:6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and
love,
for they
are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my
rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you,
Lord, are good.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore
he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and
teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward
those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive
my iniquity, though it is great.
-- once again, we see David calling out to God – not because
of anything he had done – not because of his great accomplishments or works on
behalf of God – but calling out to God based on his relationship with Him
-- “Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love –
according to your love, remember me, for you, Lord, are good”
-- this is a prayer for God to be with David during his
day and throughout his life – to love David – to instruct David in the way he should
go – to guide him and teach him and forgive him when he sinned
-- this is a reminder to us that our prayers are based
on our relationship with God – and He hears us because of His great love for us
-- verse 12-22
Psalm 25:12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will
instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their
descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes
his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only
he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am
lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free
me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take
away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how
fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not
let me be put to shame,
for I
take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because
my hope, Lord, is in you.
22 Deliver Israel, O God,
from all
their troubles!
-- in the rest of this Psalm, David is building upon his
relationship with God – because you love me, David says – because you are good –
because of the trust I have in you – I pray that you will confide in me and
protect me
-- turn to me and be gracious to me – relieve me of all
the troubles of my heart – free me from my anguish – look on my affliction and
distress – take away all my sins
-- turn away my enemies, for I seek you – I seek refuge
in you – for it is your integrity and uprightness that protect me
-- I live my life for you – I put my hope in you – because
I am yours
-- in this prayer, David doesn’t go into the specifics
of what was troubling him on that day – he
doesn’t list the troubles of his heart – he doesn’t list the anxious thoughts
within him – he doesn’t name the enemies surrounding him
-- I’m sure he did in other prayers – at other times –
and we should do the same
-- the point of this Psalm – of this prayer recorded for
us here in Psalm 25 – is to show us what a praying life looks like – and how
living life in communion and trust in God will lead God to show us His will and
His ways – and will lead God to teach us and guide us down His paths of
righteousness – and will move God’s heart against all that troubles us –
whether that is emotional – spiritual – or the things of this world
-- the important thing to take from this Psalm is that this
is a model prayer, just like the Lord’s Prayer – it is a prayer that shows you
what a praying life looks like without giving you specific words or mechanics
to follow
-- this is our goal – this is what we are seeking to do
as we try to seek to deepen our relationship with God through prayer
-- remember, it’s not about how we pray or what words we
use or the position of our body or the time of day or our location – it’s about
our relationship with God – it’s about doing life with Him – and that’s what we
see modeled for us so perfectly in this Psalm
-- for prayer to truly be a spiritual discipline in our
lives, we must learn to pray with the expectation that God will hear us – not because
of what we do or how we say it – but simply because we are His
-- and we have to know that in all that we do, God is
seeking our best – even if the answer to some of our prayers is not yes, but
no, or wait
IV. Closing
-- in the time remaining, I wanted
to share with you a few suggestions on how to begin seeking a praying life with
God, using Psalm 25 and the Lord’s Prayer as recommendations on how to approach
God in prayer
-- first, begin with God – as David
does here and as Jesus told us to do in the Lord’s Prayer – we begin by
recognizing who God is and lifting Him up in praise and worship – “Our Father,
who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name” – “Lord my God, in You I put my trust”
-- in both cases – Psalm 25 and the
Lord’s Prayer – we are shown to begin with God – since the purpose of prayer is
to grow in our relationship with God, we have to begin by recognizing who He is
and giving Him the honor and glory and praise due His name
-- next, we ask God to show us His will and His ways –
as David said here, Show Me – Teach Me – Guide Me – the Lord’s Prayer says the
same thing – “Thy Kingdom come – Thy will be done – on earth, as it is in
heaven”
-- show us your will – teach us and guide us – let our
petitions and requests and needs line up with your word and what you would have
us do – as we pray for things, let them be things we need that will help us
grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ – and not things that will lead us away
from God – give us today our daily bread – give us today what it is we need to
live for you and serve you in the world and with our lives
-- as we pray for people or situations in our world
today, let our prayers and our requests reflect God’s will and His purpose –
and don’t let us make our requests selfish and self-centered
-- third, we need to confess our sins when we have not
lived our lives in accordance with God’s standard – we need to ask for
reconciliation – we need to seek to restore our relationship with God that was
damaged when we disobeyed Him and turned from His ways – and we need to ask
that He would help us and guide us and turn us away from temptation and sin and
evil in the future
-- forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us – and lead us not into temptation – but deliver us from
evil – for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory
-- it is about You, O God – it is about making your
Kingdom manifest on earth today – it is about growing us in grace so that we
might not sin and disobey you – but that we would be protected from evil and
empowered to turn from sin and temptation
-- for it is only in your power and your grace that we
live
-- this is the basic model of prayer that we see in
Psalm 25 and in the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6 and in the gospel of Luke
-- when we pray and take time to lift up our praises and
prayer requests to God, we need to remember this model – and to pray in light of
our relationship with God – as we seek to develop a praying life and not just a
prayer life
-- when it comes to prayer, just
remember it is all about relationship – remember that God is your Father – and don’t
get bogged down in trying to do it right, for there is no one right way – there
are no right words – prayer must come from the heart
– so, just talk to Him – share with Him your heart –
share with Him your life – share with Him your needs
-- and know that He wants to hear
from you – He loves you and He is interested in you -- He wants to walk with
you in the cool of the day, like He did with Adam and Eve – and He wants to hear
you tell Him about what is going on in your life and to tell Him about what you
are struggling with and what you need
-- don’t make prayer complicated –
just make it part of who you are – and remember that you can talk to God at any
time and any place – you can pray with words – you can pray without words – you
can pray in your heart – you can pray through song – you can pray through your
actions – you can pray without ceasing
-- the key to prayer is simply to seek
the presence of God in your life at all times – to come to Him and remember Him
and acknowledge Him as your God and Creator and Father – tell Him what is going
on in your life –ask Him to help you and show you what to do – to teach you and
guide you in His ways – to help grow your relationship with Him as you seek to
live life for Him today
-- that is what prayer is all about
-- so, with that, let us join
together in prayer now as we close our message today
