The promise of prayer.
If someone wants to communicate with you today, think of all the options that they have: Twitter, Facebook Messenger, email, text, an actual phone call, snail mail, and they could even hire a sky-writer to put a message in the clouds for you to read. All of those modes of communication have their advantages, but how much more personal is it for someone to simply sit down with you at a table and enjoy a face to face conversation with you [over a steaming hot cup of good coffee]?
We are starting a brand new series called the Power of Prayer. Prayer is a form of communication that comes closer to emulating a conversation at a table with a good friend in a relaxing environment. It’s personal. It’s devoted completely to the relationship you already have with this other individual. It is an opportunity to share the generalities of your day but also some specific points of concern or interest. You may dive into the complexities of work during COVID-19. It is very likely that you and this person could commiserate the troubling state of social and political events. We sit down to share joys and sorrows. We sit with that person to simply express humanity, the humanity of our person. The goal is that the other person will do the same and then both are strengthened in friendship.
When we sit down with God and talk to him we are taking a chance. We are taking a chance that he would want to listen to us. We are taking a chance that, if he actually does know the thoughts of our heart and the negative actions of our life—not just the positive ones—we are taking a chance that he would actually want to remain in conversation with us. And if you dive into that thought, it can fundamentally scare the wits out of you. If God is truly holy and perfect and just, why would he want a conversation with us? Simple answer: because of all that our Lord and Savior Jesus has done for us, God does want an ongoing conversation with us!
Prayer is a way to communicate with God on a personal level. A question could easily be raised: if God is all-knowing, why does he need us to communicate anything to him? The point of prayer is not communicating facts; the point of prayer is relationship. God wants a relationship with his creation. We are created by him and created for him. He created us out of a strong relationship of love (the Father loving the Son and the Holy Spirit, mutually). He desires that we, too, will share and develop a strong relationship of love and mutual respect with him; in prayer there is a very critical emphasis on relationship.
In prayer, we have the opportunity to dialogue with God. He is opening up this dialogue by speaking to us through his Word. His Word gives example after example of fallen, fearful, and fatally flawed humans meeting with a holy, perfect God. He opens up those necessary thoughts, ideologies, and insights of his personality and character. It is our opportunity, in prayer, to react to him after grasping these aspects of his nature.
This weekend we are talking about the Promise of Prayer. The biblical text to which we are looking is Philippians 4:4-7 where it says…
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. // Philippians 4:4-7
In short, this part of Philippians is God’s promise that he wants to hear our voice; he wants us to pray. Paul’s letter to the Philippian Christians is encouraging us to celebrate and praise God for his character (rejoice in the Lord always), petition him for those things we need, and thank him for all the good that we have already received from him.
May God richly bless you as you sit down with your God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and offer your time to him in rich and meaningful prayer. See you soon!
Pastor Al