Prayer- Beginner’s Guide

Luke 6:12-19;27-36

For the next few weeks, we’re going it be looking at the subject pf prayer. An I’d lie to start with a question. What is prayer? There’s one of the little verse cards that you can buy in Christian bookshops and it is headed “I said a prayer for you today” Is that prayer? Well, yes. But as we go on this morning I hope we’ll see that there’s a lot more to prayer besides that.
  Our prayers do tend to be of the ‘shopping-list’ type. We come to God with a list of requests, say ‘Amen’ and that’s that. Then we perhaps wonder why so few of our prayers get answered!
  In Nicky Gumbel’s book Questions of life-  on which the Alpha course is based, concludes his talk like this:

Prayer 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 in our lives. As the saying goes: “Satan laughs at our words, mocks at our toil, but trembles when we pray”.

Jesus took it for granted that we would pray. When his disciples asked him, “Lord, teach us how to pray”, He didn’t reply “If you pray...” NO! He replied, “WHEN you pray...”
   John’s gospel reminds us that Jesus said I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees the Father doing (John 5:19) The Old Testament tells us that one thing that is required of us is to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). Which means to walk in total dependence on God. This was Jesus’ principle and so we hear the the very opening of this morning’s Gospel reading:
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God
This was the basis of Jesus’ ministry; his time of doing ‘what he saw his Father doing’. He HAD to know; he HAD to know what his Father wanted him to do and this was of such priority that Jesus had to make time and space for prayer.
   This is principle No 1.Jesus had to make time and space for prayer. If we claim to be his followers should it not be a No 1 principle for us. We rush in, don’t we, we rush into God’s presence with our ‘shopping list’ and rush off again! IS THAT PRAYER?

I think we miss a point here. If we are Christian, then we are a son or daughter of God. As Nicky Gumbel said, our Christian life is a life of relationship with God. Now those of us who have children will know that we love to spend time with our children. We love to spend time with them (even if they are grown-up children!), and, yes, if they have needs or problems, then quite naturally we love it when they come to us for advice or help. But it would seem a little odd if Hannah or Victoria ‘phoned mw and said “Dad, I need some help with some problem” and then rang off! What, surely, must be even more hurtful is where the lines of communication have broken down and we find out, perhaps, that our son or daughter has gone elsewhere with there problem- except, of course, if they’re married.
There’s the story told about a father who was watching his young son try to dislodge a heavy stone. The boy couldn't budge it. "Are you sure you are using all your strength?" the father asked. "Yes, I am," said the exasperated boy. "No, you are not," the father replied. "You haven't asked me to help you."
Remember the word of Micah to walk humbly with out God, in total dependence.
   Remember the well-loved words of the hymn:
             What a friend we have in Jesus
               all our sins and griefs to bear!
               What a privilege to carry
               everything to God in prayer!
and
               Jesus knows our every weakness-
               take it to the Lord in prayer!

But let’s move on a note the next principle.
Jesus was willing to be shaped by prayer.
We find in Luke’s account that the first thing Jesus does when he reruns from his night of prayer is to name his twelve ‘apostles’. Now the word ‘apostle’ means ‘one with a special commission’ Jesus had a group of at least 72 disciples- possibly as many as 120. But these twelve he chooses to, if you will, help him spearhead his mission of preaching the Good News of the Kingdom and healing the sick. In Matthew 10:5 we read;
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions...As you go preach this message: “The Kingdom of Heaven is near” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give
But what of the twelve Jesus specially chose? They seem on the face of it a very unlikely bunch! A revolutionary, a mafia-style bandit, two uneducated fishermen. As has been pointed out, what would a management consultant make of Jesus’ choice. Hardly s group to turn the world upside-down. If they had failed there was no Plan B! If they had failed, then we wouldn’t be sitting here this morning. The fact that we’re here talking and thinking about them proves that, if I may say with reverence, Jesus got it right! And Jesus got it right because it was not by human wisdom or worldly values that Jesus made his choice, but in line with his Father’s will.
 
So we must ask ourselves: ON what do we base our decisions in life? I know some people would make guidance a millstone, which would paralyse us. But who calls the shots in our lives? Let’s remember God is interested in ALL our lives, not just the specially ‘religious’ area! It can pay to listen to Him!
Nick Thomas found himself at the age of forty-seven unemployed and under tremendous financial pressure. Though he had had a successful career in the Air Force and the insurance business, some reversals had set him back and left him with no place to go. His wife, Liz, made their situation a matter of prayer. She was in church one morning, praying about their dilemma when she thought she could almost hear the words, "Make the mustard." Her family had a mustard recipe from Russia, and every Christmas she made gift jars of mustard for her friends. Nick and Liz decided to listen to voice. She prepared a substantial amount of mustard, packaged it, and called on a local cheese shop. The manager tasted it and immediately bought out their inventory. Within three months they had cracked the highly competitive, New York major deli market. Because the Thomases committed their troubles to prayer, and looked expectantly to God for guidance, he gave them direction.

The next principle is that prayer changes our attitudes
Prayer will change not only our choices, it will change our hearts. In prayer we should be submitting our will to God's. We should also be submitting our very selves. In the words of the modern chorus:
 
      Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me
         Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me
      Break me, melt me, mould me, fill me
         Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me

The apostle reminds us in Romans 12 that we are to not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but (to) be transformed by the renewing of (our) mind
And some of that work of renewal begins on our knees. ‘On our knees’- OK that is not an essential; our heart-attitude is much more important than our posture. But maybe our posture reflects our heart-attitude. To kneel reminds us of God’s greatness and our dependence on Him.
 But to be practical: Jesus tells us in Luke 6:28 to pray for those who ill-treat  you.
In praying for someone we are blessing them. The world seeks revenge from those who mistreat or abuse. But we are taught to pray and you cannot pray for someone and then go out and seek revenge.. It’s easy to love our friends, but what about our enemies? As we pray we see things from God’s angle, his perspective. We see our enemies as God’s creatures, as those HE loves. Can we spend time with God and then hate those He loves?
  Maybe, too, we’ll be held back from making hasty judgments. Do we always think before we act or speak? Now prayer won’t make us think first- maybe we’ll be more likely to.

We’ve seen some fundamental facets of prayer:
Jesus had to make time and space for prayer
Jesus was willing to be shaped by prayer.
Prayer changes our attitudes
But, lastly, consider the words in our reading:
But love your enemies, do good to them, lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful
So. the last principle is this: Prayer coverts us and makes us live as children of the Most High.
Our initial conversion was, surely, in prayer. We may not have prayed the ‘Sinner’s Prayer’. I can go back to a time when I got on my knees and prayed through Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin
Our Christian life must begin with forgiveness, with cleansing. If we’ve never been there we must ask ourselves if we’re Christian. And it’s a prayer we never grow beyond
  But what a great prayer that psalm is! Do we not need all its fullness. Will it not shape us, will it not lead us to ‘live as children of the Most High? Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me...grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.

Would we live as true children of God? Would we live lives that honour Him? Then, is not prayer the very foundation? Is it not something we neglect at our peril?  And do we not grieve our Heavenly Father if He never hears from us?; if we never spend time in His presence?
  Let us also remember that there IS a place in prayer; a duty in prayer, for us to bring in the needs of others. A salutary tale:
Dr. Randolph C. Byrd, a cardiologist, created a stir in medical circles when he had volunteers pray daily for one group of patients in the coronary care unit at San Francisco General Medical Centre. A second group of heart-disease patients served as a control group. Although neither the patients nor their doctors knew who was being prayed for, those in the prayed-for group were five times less likely to require antibiotics and were less likely to need ventilators to help them breathe. Byrd concluded: "The evidence strongly suggests faith in God truly is linked to a long, healthy life."

Let’s try and bring it all together.
  When Jesus came back from his prayer time and chose his 12 apostles, what a challenge they faced! And it was immediately that he began to teach about praying those who would oppose them and ill-treat them. This prayer was what would help to change their attitude.
  As Christians we have to ask ourselves: Are we ready for change? Ready for a challenge? Ready for what God calls us to do? Are we ready to be shaped, moulded and changed by Him? Or do we settle in the comfort zone; in a rut?
  We shall indeed depend on Him; on our relationship with Him. We shall needs rest on a vital prayer-life.

There’s a lot more to say about prayer. But we are only on the ‘Beginner’s Course’ this morning. What has that taught us?

Jesus had to make time and space for prayer
Jesus was willing to be shaped by prayer.
Prayer changes our attitudes
Prayer coverts us and makes us live as children of the Most High.
 
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