Sermon by
Mike Todd
(member of staff) 4 June 2006

Too Busy to Pray?

Introduction

May we start with a short prayer - May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, Lord. Open our hearts and minds to your voice. Amen.

Morning everyone. I hope that you had a good trip to Johannesburg and that you are not too tired after journeying for over 1000 k’s in two days.

The theme I have chosen to explore with you today is on the front of the service sheets – Too busy to pray? I trust that as we work through this together, that you will come away saying – I need to look more closely at the adventure of prayer.

I am sure that most of you will know this, but the school motto is Orando et Laborando (which translated from Latin means By Prayer and by Work). The origins of this motto are well documented in the book ‘Lift up your hearts’ – written by Neville Nuttall - covering the school’s first hundred years. The motto and the Fleur de Lys, were taken from Rugby School in the UK. They were introduced to Hilton by the 2nd Headmaster Henry Vaughn Ellis, who himself had been educated at Rugby.

The motto indicates the strong emphasis our wise Hilton forefathers put on prayer and hard work, to help school boys, as they prepare for life.

But what does prayer mean to you?

In fact, Prayer is an unnatural activity. From birth we have been learning the rules of self-reliance as we struggle to achieve self sufficiency. Prayer goes against independent living. To people in the fast lane, determined to make it on their own, prayer is an interruption.

Prayer is foreign to our proud human nature. And yet somewhere, sometime, probably all of us reach the point of falling to our knees, bowing our heads, fixing our attention on God and praying. Unfortunately, most of us only do this in a time of need.

Why are we at some stage drawn to prayer?

There are two possible explanations:

Firstly, because it is an experience that gives us the most intimate connection with God.

Ask people who have faced tragedy or trial, heartbreak or grief, failure or defeat, loneliness or discrimination. They usually say, ‘I can’t explain it, but I felt as though God understood me.’ Others have said, ‘I felt surrounded by his presence’ or ‘I felt a comfort and peace like I’d never felt before.’

The apostle Paul knew something about this experience. Writing to the Christians at Philippi, he said,

‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which is above all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Imagine never being anxious about anything. It seems like an impossibility – we all have our worries – at work, at school and in our homes. But Paul’s advice is to turn our worries into prayers. He is saying, if you want to worry less, pray more. Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray.

The second reason we are drawn to prayer is because you can be energised by prayer. Bill Hybels (A Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, USA) says and I quote:

‘The greatest fulfilment in my prayer life has NOT been the list of miraculous answers to prayers I have received. The greatest thrill has been the difference in my relationship with God. God and I used to be casually related. We didn’t get together and talk very much. Now we get together a lot, not just talking on the run, but carrying on substantial, soul searching conversations every morning for a good chunk of time. I feel that I’ve got to know God a lot better since I started praying.

He goes onto say: ‘If you are being led to learn more about prayer, you are about to start a wonderful adventure. As you grow in prayer, God will reveal more of himself to you, breathing more of his life into your spirit. Fellowship with God, trust, confidence, peace, relief – these are wonderful feelings that you will experience as you learn how to pray.(Unquote)

His supernatural strength is available to praying people who are absolutely convinced that he can make a difference. Sceptics may argue that answered prayers are only coincidences, but as an English archbishop once said, ‘It’s amazing how many coincidences occur when you begin to pray!’

So as we begin to explore this thing called prayer, how do you feel? What are you saying to yourself? Some of your thoughts may be the following:

- How do I pray?
- What must I say to God?
- Does God really listen to me?
- I feel that my prayers are ineffective , because I always say the same thing
- Who do we pray to?
- What happens if I don’t pray?
People that do not pray cut themselves off from God’s awesome power and the frequent result is the familiar feelings of being overwhelmed, over-run, beaten down, pushed around, defeated. A surprising number of people are willing to settle for lives like that. Nobody has to live like that. Prayer is the key to unlocking God’s power in your life.

Martin Luther went so far as to say: ‘Prayer is the most important thing in my life. If I neglect prayer for a single day, I lose a great deal of the fire of faith.

As we start to try and answer these questions, I just want to say that I am certainly not in a position to preach to you and do not have all the answers. In fact, after listening to Steven Lungu’s inspiring talk on Wednesday, I feel even more inadequate to be standing up here. His story was truly amazing and I still reflect on it.

I am planning to study and direct you to specific passages in the Bible which will hopefully answer some of these questions we have raised.

Most of us see prayer as a last resort in a crisis. It’s the fourth emergency service after the police, the ambulance and the fire brigade. When nothing else works, we pray.

Others see prayer as a formula. Perhaps you were brought up to say, ‘God bless Mummy, God bless Daddy and help me to be good.’ Some people use this formula all through life, just before they go to sleep. It becomes like a superstition.

Both these views of prayer can therefore leave us with a sense that prayer doesn’t really work and if it does work, then it’s just a coincidence.

Many people’s view of prayer is that it is what delicate and weak people do while those who get the job done are out there, getting the job done.

If this is your view, then these extracts in the Bible we are going to study, are going to challenge you, they certainly challenged me.

What is prayer?

Prayer is the most important activity in our lives. That’s what Martin Luther said.

It is through prayer that we develop a relationship with God. We are told in Acts Chapter 4 verse 24 that we pray to the Sovereign Lord, which means supreme ruler; who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

In August 1977 the interplanetary probe Voyager 2 was launched to observe other planetary systems. It travels faster than a bullet at 90,000 miles per hour. In August 1989 it reached Neptune and it then left our solar system. It will take 958,000 years to reach any star.

In our galaxy there are 100 million stars like the sun, and our galaxy is one of 100 million galaxies. And in Genesis chapter 1, verse 16 it says, ‘He also made the stars.’

So the God I am praying to is the one who made all the stars and all the galaxies. What an awesome and powerful God!

However, we don’t only pray to this all powerful and Sovereign Lord, we also pray to our Father.

Please turn to Matthew Chapter 6 verse 6 on page 6 in your Pew Bibles. Jesus says in verse 6, ‘But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.’

It is a relationship not a ritual.

Also, the word here for Father is actually ‘Dad’. There is a tremendous intimacy here. This is like a relationship between me and my Dad.
Yes, he is the Sovereign Lord;
Yes, he is the creator of the universe; but he also values me so much that he allows me to call him ‘Dad’.

Prayer is not only to the Father, it is also through the Son. In Ephesians chapter 2 it says – ‘For through Him (Him is Jesus) we have access to the Father.’

In Mr. Shuttleworth’s sermon last week, he said that we need to have Jesus as our foundation as we build our lives. Not only is he our foundation, but he is also our gateway to God.

When Jesus died on the cross he paid for our sin. He has reconciled us to God through the cross – therefore our prayers gain access to the Father because Jesus removed our sin.

We can often lose the sense of thanksgiving that we should feel when we pray. It is actually an amazing privilege. And when we conclude our prayers, ‘Through Jesus Christ our Lord’ or, ‘In Jesus’ name’ or ‘Lord, Hear our prayer’, it is not just a ritual but an acknowledgement: a reminder of what our privilege of prayer cost Jesus.

It also means that there is never a time when we have to say, ‘What I’ve done is so wrong that I can’t pray.’

Whatever we feel, the fact is Jesus has died to give us access to God.

So how do we learn to speak with God?

In Psalm 62 verse 8 – it says, ‘Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.’

So what is prayer here? Prayer is pouring out your heart. So when I come to the Sovereign Lord, my Father, I pour out my heart.

The heart is not just the pump which sends blood round the body, it’s the centre of your personal being. So in absolute dependence I come to God as his child and say, ‘There are no masks. This is where I really am. I can’t cope, I need your help, I’m pouring out my heart to you, my Father’.

Just as we need to spend time speaking to God, we must give Him time and space to speak to us. Do you remember the voice Steven Lungu heard the night of his transformation – Steven, Steven - I will take you to many nations.

God speaks to us in two ways – firstly, through his Word in the Bible and secondly by His Spirit whispering into our hearts. There is a but – we have to listen.

So by now you are wondering - how do I pray?

There is no set way to pray. Prayer is a key part of our relationship with God and therefore we are free to talk to Him as we wish. God does NOT want to hear meaningless words and impressive phrases, (we saw that in Matthew Chapter 6 verse 7 where Jesus says, ‘Do not keep on babbling like pagans). But he wants to hear what is on our hearts. He wants us to talk to him as a friend or father. Having said that, many people find it helpful to have a guideline for prayer.

We can learn a great deal from what the disciples were told by Jesus when they asked Him how to pray. Please look at Matthew Chapter 6 verse 9, Jesus says: ‘This then is how you should pray and He starts:
Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be your name…..

No other passage in the Bible tells us so straight-forwardly how to pray and the advice Jesus offered his disciples 2000 years ago still applies today: Jesus did not give the disciples and us this prayer as a paragraph to be recited; in fact in the previous verses in Matthew Chapter 6 He warns us against using repetitive phrases. Through the Lord’s prayer he is giving us a pattern to suggest the elements that should be included when we pray and he wanted us to know how to pray specifically.

Most of us know the Lord’s Prayer off by heart, but do we take time to distil and understand its meaning?

As we begin to close, the words of the Lord’s prayer help us to summarise what we have heard today:

Please look at Matthew Chapter 6 verse 9. Jesus’ prayer begins with the words Our Father.

Never forget that if you are God’s child, you are praying to a Father or ‘Dad’ who couldn’t love you more than He already does.

Using the Lord’s Prayer as your structure for a prayer

Under this heading of Our Father - you could spend time thanking God for who he is and for your relationship with Him.

Who art in Heaven
This is a reminder that God is sovereign and majestic. Nothing is too difficult for Him. Fix your eyes on his ability not on your worth.

Hallowed be your name
This is to pray that God’s name will be honoured. So often we look around modern society and see that God’s name is being dishonoured. Many people pay no attention to Him or use his name in vain. We should start by praying that God’s name is honoured in our own lives, in our classrooms, on our sports fields, in our houses and in our community.

Your kingdom come
We are praying for God’s rule and reign to come both now and in the future.

It includes praying for people to become followers of Jesus, to be healed, to be set free from evil, to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to be given the gifts of the spirit (like joy, patience, gentleness, self-control).

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
This is not resignation but rather a releasing of the weight on our shoulders that we so often carry. It is for when we are facing decisions. If we want to be sure that we do not make a mistake, we need to pray. This is about asking for God’s perfect plan or purpose to be accomplished in our lives – in our marriage, family, friends, career, sport, culture and church.

Give us today our daily bread
Here Jesus is referring to our basic needs – therefore we are acknowledging that God is our sustainer and provider. This covers everything necessary for the preservation of this life – like food, a healthy body, good weather, a home, family, good government and peace.

God is concerned about everything that you and I are concerned about. Just as I want my children to talk to me about anything they may be worried about, so God wants to hear about the things we are concerned about.

The Lord’s prayer teaches us that it is OK to pray about our concerns, however there are a few conditions. To do this - we must first of all pray for God’s name, his kingdom and his will.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors
And this has nothing to do with the fact that I am an accounting teacher!

Here we are asking God to forgive us for the things which we do wrong.

And Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
God does not lead us into temptation, but sometimes he allows us to be tested. We need to pray to be protected from temptation and for deliverance from Satan. Everyone struggles with temptation, including Christians – be it fear, selfishness, greed, pride, lust, gossiping, cynicism or whatever. Sometimes it is so subtle that we don’t even realise what is happening to us. If we know our weaknesses, we can pray for protection against these, as well as taking action to avoid unnecessary temptation.

So next time you pray the Lord’s prayer (either in Chapel, House prayers or on your own), I challenge you to ask yourself whether you can genuinely pray the true meaning of these lines we have studied today and their implications.

Maybe some of you will try and use it as a structure for your prayers.

For those of you still saying, but how do I pray, here is a useful and well – known practical approach you could use.

Using the acronymn – ACTS.

You break your prayer into four segments.

A is for Adoration
Praise God for his awesome qualities and worship Him for who he is and what he has done.

C is for Confession
We just tell God where we got stuff wrong and ask Him to forgive us for the sins that are specifically on your conscience.

T is for Thanksgiving
Thank God for the blessings he has given you. Ask Him to open your eyes to what you can be grateful for.

S is for supplication
This is a big word, but it just means asking. Once you have worshipped God, confessed your sins and given thanks, it is OK to make your requests.

Some of you maybe saying, but what happens if we feel that we get no answers from God?

We’ve poured out our heart to our Father, the Sovereign Lord who is all powerful and all loving. We know we have access to him through his Son, but we get no answer or things don’t turn out the way we wanted? Well, at that moment we have to trust that God is in control. This can be very hard because sometimes we may not understand God’s plan until we see Jesus face to face in heaven. His timing may not be your timing.

In finishing, I would like you to recall:
Prayer is to the Sovereign Lord,
to the Father,
through the Son,
as you pour out your heart.

At its root, it is a friendship with God. He speaks to me in the Bible and I speak to him in prayer. And as I go through life I develop this friendship with Him.

Daily, each one of us builds our earthly relationships. How do you do this? Think about it - you speak, you listen, you spend time together.

In the same way, share your desires, disappointments, aspirations and calls for help with God in prayer. It’s NOT easy, but connecting with God strengthens you to face your own challenges and prepares you to help others face theirs. Like any friendship it depends on being yourself - being honest, being natural and most importantly speaking regularly.

To make this happen, you need to take action. You need to plan and schedule praying into your day. It’s NOT easy, as it requires you to act. Decide on how you would like to do it, ask a friend to help you – then stick to your plan for 30 days on the trot and you will have a life changing habit well underway.

As Nicky Gumble (the founder of the ALPHA Course) says: Praying is at the heart of Christianity, because at the heart of Christianity is a relationship with God. That is why it is the most important activity of our lives.

Now we can reflect on what it says on the front of the service sheet - Too busy to pray?

If we are honest with ourselves this is not really the case – may be the theme for today should have been - Too busy Not to pray.

I encourage you to start plugging in for God’s Power everyday, put up your aerial and start talking and listening to God. It should be our number one priority everyday.

Please could we close with a prayer. Let us pray,

Open my eyes that I may see
Your Presence Lord that is all about me.

Open my ears that I may hear
Your Voice that is quiet yet very near.

Open my heart that I may feel
The love of my God close and real

Open each of my senses, make me aware
Of the Power and Peace always there.

Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Amen.

We will now sing Hymn number 355