“JUST DO IT”
(**On Day 5 of each week, we will learn about one of the practices of Jesus. These practices give us practical, daily ways to experience life with Jesus. If you need to review the reason for the practices, check out Week 1 – Day 5 – Coffee Mugs.**)
If you could sit down over a cup of coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Most of us can think of someone that we’ve never met, but look up to. We wonder what it would be like to talk to them and ask them questions.
It’s a special thing to spend time with someone that we respect and honor.
If you could sit down over a cup of coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Now, consider this. We are invited to spend every waking moment with the Creator of the universe, the Architect of every good thing, the one who loves us enough to die for us.
Through prayer, we are invited to live in the presence of God.
WHY DOES PRAYER EXIST?
Prayer is a conversation with God. It has two purposes.
First, prayer is how God moves us. Often, we assume prayer exists so that we can give God our wish list. And He does love to answer prayer. But before God moves for us, He often wants to move us.
When followers of Jesus pray the Lord’s prayer, we say Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10 ESV) Our first order of business in prayer is to open our hearts, relationships, and plans to the agenda of God’s Kingdom.
Prayer is how God moves us and how we move the heart of God.
When I pray, God often shifts my perspective and priorities. My fear fades as I acknowledge God’s power. My calling clarifies as I remember His call. My confidence grows when I consider His faithfulness.
Next, prayer is how we move the heart of God. Scripture and history tell us that God responds to bold prayers from his people.
PRAYER IS A PARADOX
In many ways, prayer is mysterious.
On the one hand, God is sovereign. In the Psalms, we read Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth. (Psalm 135:6 ESV)
God is sovereign yet listens to us. God does what he wants, and we have a part to play.
On the other hand, God responds to our prayers. James writes You do not have, because you do not ask. (James 4:2 ESV)
Prayer is a paradox: God is sovereign yet listens to us. God does what he wants, and we have a part to play.
3 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL PRAYER LIFE
Prayer has the potential to be the most powerful of all the practices. It can also be the most intimidating. Most of us feel that we don’t pray enough, and doubt whether we’re praying effectively.
We aren’t the only ones. In Luke 11, Jesus’ disciples approached him and ask him how to pray. In his response, we discover three keys to a successful prayer life.
First, we pray with persistence. In Luke 11:5-8, Jesus asks us to imagine a strange scenario:
A friend has come to visit you at midnight. Unfortunately, you are out of food. It is rude to leave him hungry, and there are no 24-hour supermarkets in the ancient Middle East. Your only option is to knock on a neighbor’s door and ask him. Initially, the neighbor refuses. But you keep on knocking.
If your persistence can wear down your neighbor while he is in his comfortable bed, how much more will your Heavenly Father respond to steadfast prayers.
Jesus finishes the story by saying But I tell you this–though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. (Luke 11:8 NLT)
Here is Jesus’ point: If your persistence can wear down your neighbor while he is in his comfortable bed, how much more will your Heavenly Father respond to steadfast prayers. Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. (Luke 11:9 NLT)
Second, we pray with confidence. Jesus continues his teaching on prayer with another epic hypothetical.
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13 ESV)
Our prayer life is directly connected to who we believe God is.
If sinful fathers give good gifts, how much more will our generous God give to us.
Our prayer life is directly connected to who we believe God is. The more we get to know God’s love and power, the more we will pray.
HOW TO PRACTICE PRAYER
Third, we pray as Jesus prayed.
When his disciples asked him how to pray, Jesus gave them this model prayer:
“When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:2-4)
In this prayer, we see the two purposes of prayer. First, God moves us (Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come). Then, we move the heart of God. (Give us each day our daily bread, forgive us our sins, lead us not into temptation.)
Prayer is not weightlifting. We don’t need proper technique.
Although there are many ways to pray, we will learn to pray the Lord’s Prayer using the P-R-A-Y method.
P – Praise: In praise, we adore God for who he is and what he has done. We consider his character and his work in both history and our lives. We meditate on his splendor and miracles. (For more on this, read Psalm 145).
R – Repent: In repent, we ask God to forgive our sins. When we confess, we agree with God that He views our sins as a rebellion against Him and His plans for the world. We declare that we will turn from our sin and towards Him. (For more on this, read Psalm 51).
A – Ask: This is where we ask God for our “daily bread” – protection, strength, guidance, and provision.
Y – Yield: When we yield, we say Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10 ESV) In yielding, we surrender to God’s agenda rather than asking him to join ours.
JUST DO IT (PRACTICE OVER TECHNIQUE)
Models and methods for prayer can be helpful, but they aren’t essential.
Jesus seems to think that simple, honest prayers from the heart are far more effective than rehearsed, eloquent, and impressive prayers that are not genuine.
David Guzzik says, “Our greatest difficulty is not with mastering a specific technique or approach within prayer (though that may be good and helpful); our greatest need is simply to pray and to pray more and more.” (Luke 11 Commentary)
Prayer is not weightlifting. We don’t need proper technique. Jesus seems to think that simple, honest prayers from the heart are far more effective than rehearsed, eloquent, and impressive prayers that are not genuine. (see Matthew 6:5-8, Luke 18:9-4)
Most of the time, we need to stop trying to figure out how to pray and start praying.
Just do it.
NEXT STEPS
1: Read Luke 11:1-13. (We’ll get back to Mark next week)
2: Begin to incorporate a time of prayer into your 10 minutes of Solitude. Pray using P-R-A-Y prayer method, and throughout your day.
3: Text one friend one thing that you learned.
Congrats! You’ve made it through Week 3 of the North Star journey. Next week, we’ll start with Week 4 – Day 1 – “It’s Worse Than You Think”