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The last time we were together, we
talked about what prayer is and gave a definition for prayer. We said…
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Prayer
is worship--by which the believer fellowships with God the Father, in the Son's
name, the Spirit's power, through speaking and listening.
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Now that we have reviewed what
prayer is, we can start with our practice. What can we do?
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I want to start off this morning
with the final word in our definition, which is listening.
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The last time we were together, we
said that prayer includes listening or silence.
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Silent prayer equals being with God.
It is important to have regular times of silent prayer to be with God.
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In those times of silence, we put
away our agenda and simply be with God.
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It is our times of silence with God
that tunes our hearts and minds to him and to his plans and purposes.
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How do we begin? I want to suggest
that we do not just jump in to silence; rather we need to prepare to be silent.
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Psalm
37:7
makes an excellent focus prayer to turn our attention toward God.
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"Be
still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him."
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Rather than explaining how to do it,
I want simply to show you.
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Start by positioning your body in a
way in which you can be still for a period of time.
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Breathe in for a count of four, hold
it for seven, and breathe out for a count of eight while you listen obediently
to God's word.
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Tell the verse to yourself quietly: "Be still in the presence of the Lord
and wait patiently for him." Now, breathe, in for four, hold for
seven, and out for eight.
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"Be
still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently." Be
aware of your breath.
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"Be
still in the presence of the Lord and wait."
Breathe.
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"Be
still in the presence of the Lord." Keep breathing.
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"Be
still in the presence."
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"Be
still."
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"Be."
(Pause for a
moment of silence)
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Now that you are ready to be silent,
how long should it be?
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Start with short intervals of 2 to 5
minutes. If you already spend regular periods of time in silence, then consider
lengthening those times.
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Once you are used to times of
regular silence each day of 15 minutes to a half-hour, consider adding an
extended time of silence once a week of one hour, then consider adding longer
periods once a month.
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As you practice being silent, over
time you will find you want more time alone with God.
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You may also discover that God is
blessing you in new ways, such as increased peace, patience, gentleness,
self-control, or improved ability to listen to others.
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Now that we have experienced a brief
introduction to the listening part of our definition, let's move to speaking.
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Over the years, a number of models
for prayer have been used.
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Let me briefly unpack for us the ACTS model for prayer, which has four
essential ingredients.
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Adoration
is the first essential ingredient. Adoration is giving honor to God and
expressing wonder for his person and his works.
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The Psalms are full of prayers of
adoration.
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Psalm
63:1
is a prime example.
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"Oh God, you are my God;
earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my body longs for you, in a dry
and weary land where there is no water." (NIV)
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We need to spend a portion of our
prayer time adoring God for who he is. It is also appropriate to adore God
silently.
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Confession
is the second essential ingredient. Confession means admitting our sins before
God.
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1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness."
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Our sins easily get in the way of
our prayer life.
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When we do not confess or repent of
our sins, the guilt becomes an obstacle between us and God.
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When we adore God, focusing our
hearts, our minds, our lips, and our ears on the person and character of God,
we will be filled with a sense of unworthiness and be convicted of sin which must
lead us to confession.
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If you have trouble remembering your
sin, just start at the top with your head and work your way down to your toes.
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Ask God to reveal to you the sins of
your mind and heart, the sins of your eyes, the sins of your ears, the sins of
your mouth, the sins of your hands, and the sins of your feet, then confess and
repent.
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Thanksgiving
is the third essential ingredient. If adoration is giving God praise for who he
is, then thanksgiving praises God for what he has done.
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1 Thessalonians 5:18 instructs
believers, "give thanks in all circumstances," Philippians 4:6 says,
"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and
petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God."
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Thanksgiving needs to accompany all
the requests that we bring to God because we know that he is listening, and
forgiving, and that he will answer according to his will.
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Offering all our prayers with
thanksgiving will combat bitterness and ungratefulness in our hearts.
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Supplication
is the fourth essential ingredient. Supplication means asking God for specific
things whether they are needs or wants.
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We need to remember two important
things about supplication:
#1)
Be specific; and #2) God delights in answering our requests.
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Interestingly, the more specific our
requests are, then the more we will delight in God's answers.
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The Bible is full of instructions
about all kinds of specific prayer requests we can and ought to make.
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For spiritual leaders in the church,
for government leaders, for our enemies, for the lost, and for our needs, such
as wisdom, food, clothing, shelter, and safety just to name a few.
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That was a brief summary of the ACTS
model as a guide for prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and
Supplication.
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Many have used this guide for their
prayer lives and found it helpful.
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Now let's turn from ACTS to look at The Urgent Request.
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The urgent request is either for
oneself or others and it is normally a quick cry out to God over trial,
trouble, temptation, or an emergency.
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The first example from the Bible
that I think of when I think of the urgent request is Nehemiah.
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When Nehemiah first heard how poorly
the people were doing in Jerusalem after returning from exile because the walls
were not rebuilt and they could not protect the city, it burdened his heart for
months.
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Then one day God brought Nehemiah's
burden to the attention of the King who asked Nehemiah about it.
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So, Nehemiah offered up an urgent
request to God, silently, right in the middle of his conversation with the
King.
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Here's the only thing the Bible says
about Nehemiah's urgent request: "So
I prayed to the God of heaven." (Nehemiah 2:4b)
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This was his opportunity, the one
he'd been yearning for (for months!), so he sent God an urgent request.
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We know that God gave Nehemiah favor
with the king because he was sent to rebuild the walls with everything he would
need.
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How often should we offer God urgent
requests? We ought to offer our urgent
requests whenever we are aware of an urgent need.
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We must then trust God for the
answer according to his will and glory.
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Let practicing silence, ACTS, and
urgent requests, be encouragement to keep praying.
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Growing an active, healthy prayer
life is not easy. Often prayer is difficult because we do not know how to pray
or what to pray, but we have a Helper who is always with us and who prays with
us.
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The apostle Paul wrote: 26 Likewise
the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we
ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for
words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of
the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will
of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things
work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For
those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his
Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans
8:26-29, ESV)
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What Paul was saying was this: we do
not know how to pray, but the Holy Spirit prays when we pray.
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And the Lord Jesus, the one who
searches our hearts, always prays in agreement with the prayers of the Holy
Spirit according to God's will.
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Then God answers their prayers by
working in our every relationship and situation to grow us into the image of
Christ.
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Let practicing silence, ACTS,
and urgent requests, be encouragement to keep praying.
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