"With Christ in the School of Prayer"

This is also like to welcome you to our program, you know on earth. God is to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truths of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward and I'm so glad you tuned in to listen and be part of that. Thanks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio and now let's get to the word of God. What Jesus wants to do in our passage. What I want to do with you as we talk is I want to expand our understanding and our our scope of what prayer is all about prayer has a much broader scope than just crisis intervention.

So let's talk about that and see if we can challenge you to change your daily schedule to include more time for prayer because you understand better what God wants to use it for your life.

Now let's look first one. One day Jesus was praying in a certain place and when he finished one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples to pray. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was God wrapped in human flesh and if there was ever a person who ought to be able to make it without praying it ought to be him. Born read the Bible what we actually find is that Jesus Christ was a man of prayer the prayer was part of his regular routine. In his regular lifestyle and and we can go through just the gospel according to Luke chapter 5 chapter 6 twice in chapter 9 and on we go were over and over again we find Jesus pray you can do that in all the gospel accounts for Jesus Christ prayer was not a duty. It was not an obligation. It was not a ritual. It was something he enjoyed doing. It was a way of life salon. How can you be so sure was something all that enjoyable for him. Well, the answer is that why would these disciples come and say to Jesus, Lord, teach us to pray.

If his prayer life gave off the impression to them.

That prayer was cruel and unusual punishment. You know they would say Jack. I'm glad he does that have to do that. Let him do the prayer. I want to do that stuff, but instead just prayer life was so real and so vibrant and so exciting that they came to him and said, Lord, we don't know how to pray like that. Can you teach us how to pray like that.

That's a whole different dimension that we know nothing about. Well, in response, Jesus carries on a little prayer clinic here in the next 12 verses and I want us to look at this.

There are three things he does in these verses number one he gives us some principles for how to pray. Number two. He gives us a promise about our prayer life. And number three, he gives us a guarantee about the answers were going to get. So let's look at this together. One of the principles for a powerful prayer life.

Let's look at verse two Jesus said when you pray, say this father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive others who sin against us and lead us not into temptation suing along women went to the rest of me. What happened to the for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever and all other words, this is only half the thing was the rest of it well. It is near your thinking about the form of the Lord's prayer, Jesus gave in the sermon on the Mount way back in Matthew's gospel as a matter fact it was almost 2 years before this that he did that one.

And yes it does have some different words and yes it does have some different expressions in it is. I will then be due different Lord's prayer our honeymoon. We stand in church the recited which one do we say when I wait a minute, second I think it's really good that Jesus gave two different versions in a different words because what that means is that the words aren't magic to understand what I'm saying so many places where maybe you've been and where I've been around the world. People stand up and say the Lord's prayer and they go through it like a mantra every single week on on him I'll be there and you were gonna be WordPerfect and somehow many people think is like a rabbit's foot or Aladdin's lamp it if you rub it just right. It's going to produce all kinds of magical stuff from God. But you see there's no magic to these words, it's the principles that these words are trying to teach us about how to put together a prayer time that really make the difference. The words themselves are not all that much important and so in giving us two different forms. What Jesus is really trying to tell us is that God want you to take the principles that are in the Lord's prayer and put them in your words express them from your heart speak them in your language. Talk to God like you talk to a friend on the telephone around those principles. He's not just interested in having you stand up and recite the Lord's prayer by heart. Time after time after time, there's no magic in that you with me now. One of these principles that he's given us here in the Lord's prayer will, therefore, that I want to give you and I don't have time to really develop them this morning.

If you go up in the tape area. I have a whole series on the Lord's prayer that I did a few years ago 10 tapes you can buy it 10 tapes you got 10 tapes out of this absolutely and is probably more to go get the 10 tapes listen to them. I don't have time to give you more than just a real quick overview but therefore words. I want you to write down you want to put together a prayer time.

Here are the four keywords exalts, agree, confess and talk exalts agree, confess and talk. Look at the prayer, Jesus says, hallowed be thy name.

That's what he starts with he starts by exalting God first by saying, Lord, may your name be lifted up, may your name be honored. May your name be exalted in other words, when Jesus tells us to pray what he tells us, is don't start with our needs. Verse don't start with our problems. First, don't start with what we want first start with God first. That's where Jesus started the Lord's prayer and the reason for that is, as one commentator said only when we give God his proper place. Will other things fall into their proper place. Too often we rush in it. We want to start talk about us us us us us us us us us but we don't have perspective yet we need to first think about who God is and then that adds perspective to our prayer life. So you start with exalting God. Second, we agree to agree what will Jesus goes on to say next.

Your kingdom come in the ads in Matthew's version. Your will be done in other words, when we go to prayer. We need to be willing to agree that we're going to submit to God's will. Before we ask for anything that however God chooses to answer our prayers. If it's God's will that God answers with we agree, Lord will accept your will to tell you what we want, but will accept the will of God were going to submit to you when we begin praying.

Third is the word confess Jesus says forgive us our sins, for we are also willing to forgive other people who sin against us. Confession is very important. I would you notice we have asked for anything yet. Confession is very important because it keeps the channel between us and God. Unclogged he keeps it open so God is free to respond to our prayers in the kind of powerful way that he really wants to. And you know what you will find if you get down and you really do a humble and honest and authentic job of dealing with your sins and your shortcomings and where you let God down every day you will find that other people and what they did to you wrong begins to look trivial compared to what you did wrong that day and it makes it a whole lot easier to forgive other people, I find the Christians live a very hard time forgiving other people usually are Christians who do a very poor job of examining their own life and confessing in light of all, I examine in my life and do wrong. Believe me, what people do to me is trivial by comparison.

Fourth and finally it's now time to talk to God with exalting God. We've agreed to submit to his will.

Regardless of what he does. We confess our shortcomings and cleaned out the channel. Now it's time to talk.

And Jesus says is two things you can talk about. You can say give me this day my daily need my daily bread. You can talk to them about what you need for today.

And Jesus says we can say lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. You can talk about tomorrow and the needs you have for guidance and protection. Tomorrow goes a very legitimate these are the principles for putting together a powerful prayer like the skeleton on which you can hang a powerful prayer life. Now there's one other thing I want to say before we leave the Lord's prayer and that is I want us to look at the very first word Jesus started out by saying what was the very first word out of his mouth wasn't father now father is a word of relationship true word of relationship now.

Why does Jesus start with this word father because he wants us to understand that prayer assumes this relationship exists that without this relationship. Prayer has no foundation that if you want to see God really respond to your prayers. You have to approach them on the basis of a relationship and the relationship comes when you become his child through faith in Jesus Christ. I'm in the office on Tuesdays here in Tuesday afternoon is when I take appointments, if you call and say I want to see a lot more talk about some my secretary will say fine. He sees people on Tuesday afternoon and all Tuesday afternoon I go from one appointment to the next. Usually half an hour to time. Just meeting with people just like you now. My secretary knows about your phone call on Tuesday afternoon when I meeting with people I don't get interrupted what you say why. The answer is you came in to talk to me that's not very important, and is not fair to you and interrupt you.

So they take a message. I don't care who it is, they take a message except except for one group of people and that is my family. My family calls me and they need me. They have direct line and I will say to you if you're sitting there just use me for just a second. I'll only be a moment and I really only will, but it's my family on the phone I need to take this call. My family know they got direct line Nota metal conference on men doesn't matter what meeting I'm in. Doesn't matter what I'm doing it. My family needs me.

Got a direct line to get me now why is that how come, I'll take a phone call from my children and I will take a phone call from you on Tuesday.

The answer is there.

My children and you're not and I have a special relationship with them. I don't have with you. I'm concerned about their needs in a way, I'm not concerned about your needs.

I am concerned about your needs, but not like my children because that's a unique relationship.

My point is friends we in God are the very same way the very same way if you're here and you've never embraced Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

You are God's creation, but you're not his child, you're not his child. God's children through faith in Jesus Christ are people who have God's ear in a unique way that the rest of the world does not have God's ear.

You say wait a minute long, are you saying to me that if I'm not a Christian, God won't answer my prayers. Is that what you're trying to tell me to listen carefully. If you're not a Christian, God may answer your prayers. He may.

He has that right and he has that option, but in the Bible, God never obligates himself to answer your prayers. If you're not a Christian. He obligates himself to answer the prayers of people for his children, but he never obligates himself to answer the prayers of people who aren't he may do it but he doesn't have to.

And so if you really want your prayers answered and you need to embrace Jesus Christ and become his trial to faith in Christ. That's just one of the many good reasons to do it. But you're here and you never made a personal decision for Jesus Christ and everything else I'm good to say about prayer really doesn't apply to you until you make that decision and you've accepted Christ to become his child. I hope you'll think about that and I hope you'll do it with go on those rare principles about prayer. Exalt right agree, confess, and then talk now is a lot long. What if I do that. And God blows me off and running.

Listen to me. Well, that won't happen because of what Jesus says next Jesus is a pure Christian and you pray God will listen. And here's why and he goes on to tell a story.

So what is this promising gives what is found in the story. Here's a story. Let me summarize it.

A man went to bed one night everything was fine. All of a sudden he hears a knock at the door and it's a friend that he is who just arrived in town about midnight and his friend wants to come in now in the ancient near East hospitality was a sacred duty did matter when people arrived or what was going on.

You had to show them hospitality. Even today, if you're in an Arab stent in your his worst enemy. He's not allowed to do you any harm on your guest in his tent that hospitality is still paramount in the near East today. So the man jumps up, but is not ready don't have any food so he runs next door to his neighbor, and the host says to his neighbor pay pay that banana bread you make today. I need some of it I somebody just got here.

I have some of that in the Gonzaga house is what's wrong with you man is midnight everybody's in bed but gives her in bed lies in bed. I'm in bed to wake up the baby here, but the host says now you understand I got have some of that banana bread because I got entertain my just wake up and you got to give you some of that banana bread in the Bible says that even though the guy wouldn't get out of bed just because the guy was his friend he ends up getting out of bed and giving him the banana bread. Not good for banana bread in the Bible to give anyone he needs because the guy kept asking and asking and finally got up David to that Jesus then finishes the parable by saying look down with me in verse nine he says. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and the door will be opened up to you.

You see the lesson of the parable is a lesson. In contrast, contrasting God and his next-door neighbor, the point Jesus is trying to make is a God in the next-door neighbor are very different. The next door neighbor was just a friend just an acquaintance even really have that much interest in the needs of the guy who it had to friend show up. But God is our heavenly father who is deeply interested in everything that goes on in our life. There's a difference. Another difference is that the guy next-door was putting his own needs first. He said I'm in bad my kids are in bed.

I don't care about your neighbor get lost. But God never puts his needs first. He always put our needs first, because were his children, and finally the next-door neighbor was an inconvenient time for them. But there's never an inconvenient time for God to answer prayer. You see the difference Jesus is drawing a contrast and saying that God is not at all like this reluctant neighbor and the point is, if this host got this selfish, self-centered neighbor to respond at an inconvenient time. Just by asking him how much more will our heavenly father respond to us since he so different from that neighbor if we will only ask where we learned this morning. We got some principles about praying and we learn God's promise. You pray as a Christian, God will answer you ask and you will get but you'll get according to what God knows is best for you to resolve the problem that you're concerned about now. That's our passage, but it leaves us with the question what but see we can answer that as we close, if I were to give you 3 x 5 card and say okay I want you to write down the second half of the sentence. Okay, here's the first half of Senate you write the second.

The real purpose of prayer is you write second half what you think most people would write the real purpose of prayer is you know what I think most people would write. I think they would write the real purpose of prayer is to change things to change my circumstances to make things different. To make things better to change the kind of situation I'm in now does prayer work for that. Yes it does is prayer good for that.

Yes it does this prayer change things you bet it does.

James chapter 5 says the prayer of a Christian is powerful and effective and gives us the example of Elijah who prayed it didn't rain for three years, I'd say that is what I would call a serious altering of the situation to prayer this prayer change things. Don't tell me.

Of change things and I'm sure there are many of you could tell me story after story just like this and how you prayed and God did something in your job you prayed and God did something in your health. You prayed and God did something in your love life or in your marriage. You prayed and God did something with your children.

You prayed and God did something with your finances God changes things in response to prayer, but most of us as Christians think that the biggest and greatest purpose of prayer. It isn't you say it isn't now know you see my friend the greatest purpose of prayer is not to change circumstances.

The greatest purpose in prayer is to change you remember when Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane, everybody knows that story, I think the Bible says Jesus went in and anguish he was grieved he was troubled.

He was sorrowful. He got on his knees and he poured out his heart to God and he said God God if there's any way, this cross can pass from me let it pass. I don't want to go to the cross. I don't want the pain. I don't want the humiliation.

I don't want the suffering. I don't want the abuse. I don't want to go to the cross.

When Jesus came out of the garden get a whole different attitude. He came out of the garden at peace call resolute and quietly in obedience to God. Went to the cross for you and me. Something happened in the garden that change the way Jesus went in to the way Jesus came out and readjusted his will and his desires from not wanting to go to the cross to being willing to go without a complaint, without in any way trying to stop it.

What happened in the garden. The changed, well, what was the only thing Jesus did in the garden. The only thing he did was pray friend. This is the greatest aspect of prayer. So often we go into prayer saying my will be done, but you see what God does is by the time we come out of prayer we come out saying no Lord that's wrong. Your will be done.

Prayer is the ultimate attitude adjuster folks.

It's what God uses to change our heart and our will and our desires and bring them in line with his master plan to listen to me you can't do that driving down the beltway in your car. You can't do that. Having devotions on the Metro. You can't let God do that in your heart by getting down and say now lay me down to sleep a little muscle to keep it hopping a bit for God to do that. It takes time.

There are some things that just can't be rushed. All law Americano and this is one of to get everything out of prayer that God has in it. You got to spend some time for God to just you like that in one of the greatest, I believe shortcomings in 20th century Christianity is our prayer list is how little time we really spin alone with God.

Just us and God so that God can do through prayer, everything he wants to do in your heart.

Life salon. I never realize all that was in prayer will now you do. So now let me ask you now what we can do about to make any difference in your schedules going make any difference in the time you carve out to be with God folks prayerless. This is one of the greatest enemies you have in your life a prayerless life is a powerless life a prayerless life is a frustrated life a prayerless life is a misguided life because you miss were God's going if you're not on your knees, talking to them about a prayerless life is a vulnerable life.

You don't spend time with God in prayer and your conscience will get dull and you will do things that you never thought as a Christian you were capable of doing what you doing because with a dull conscience your vulnerable a prayerless life is a life full of anxiety and stress and conflict. God doesn't want you living that way. That's why he gave you prayer, but the quickfix flyby drive down the road. Prayer is not going to cut it folks won't cut it.

You need time alone with God were God can do everything in your heart that he wants to do master question enclosing how much time do you spend all by yourself with God every day so you mean driving out to go with and count done count right on the metronome count done count prayer while brushing my teeth and count Doug count on church done count done count. I'm talking you God close door room all by yourself on your knees just talking and listening. No distractions, radios not on television and going. How much time salon. I'm embarrassed to tell you. Okay, except that it's never too soon to start never too late to start starting time you will and so why don't you start you say well I never realize was all that important. Well, that's the whole point of this morning and got us some great things he wants to do in your heart, but he needs time with just you and him. I hope that as a result of being here this morning, you'll re-examine your time schedule and say you know what I need to make some time for me and God in here not driving my car not ride in the Metro not shaving not brushing my teeth, but just me and God where I can concentrate and we can be alone. God help you do that heavenly father. The word of God speaks to the real needs of our hearts. And I pray this morning that you would take it and you would speak to the needs of each one of us here or what we need is time with you. We don't need more time with the therapist. We don't need more time on the phone bemoaning our fate to our friends. We don't need to commiserate more, we need to pray more and heavenly father I pray you would forgive us as your children in the 20th century for how little we pray Lord we got the quickfix mentality for everything but teach us that the great men and women of God who made a difference didn't have a quick fix when it came to prayer. They spent time with you and I pray father that many of us here would be willing to change our daily schedules to make sure we get the kind of time with you. We need so that prayer can accomplish everything in our life that you wanted to change the way we live by what we've heard here today.

Father I pray in Jesus name amen been listening to satellite with Dr. Lon Solomon is an outrage of Lon Solomon ministry to listen to today's message more. For more information visit our website Lon Solomon ministry start a war, thank you for your support. If you would like to contact us, please visit our website or call us at 866788777 you will join us next time when line seeks to answer one of life's most important spend