Sunday - 08/04/13 RWJ/Pottersville
UMC
Sermon: “What do you
pray for?”
(The Praying Church Series, Part 2 of 4)
Scripture Lesson: Hosea 11:1-11
Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:13-21
Good morning brothers and sisters!
Welcome to worship this morning in the name of the risen Christ, on this eleventh
Sunday after Pentecost! Pentecost, that holiday in the church so long ago that
Holy Spirit filled the followers of Christ, and emboldened them to preach the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Last Sunday, while I was I was on an amazing
Walk to Emmaus spiritual retreat weekend, we began a 4-part sermon series on
prayer. Last week we dove into the topic of the “Lord’s Prayer.” This of course
is the prayer that Jesus taught the Apostles. As we heard in the Gospel reading
from the Gospel of Luke 11:1-2a from last Sunday it says “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and
when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say:,” and of
course well all know the rest. Now if Jesus specially gave us a prayer, and if
He said, “When you pray, say:,” then were going to do it. In fact, were going
to do it every Sunday.
While we all know that this is a timeless
prayer, and it is a prayer that has been recited for nearly 2,000 years, the
focus of today’s message though, is “What do you pray for?” Next week, Arnold
Stevens is going to preach about “When do you pray?” The series will then
conclude with a message about the entirety of the Christian Church praying as a
family.
You know for me, I think that for many
of us we pray out the ritual of the prayer sometimes. For many of us, and I
know that I have been guilty of this, we say the Lord’s Prayer for example, and
never really meditate on it. Many times, we just say it. This could lead us to
think different things about prayer. Do we pray just because we are commanded
to? Do we pray just to make ourselves feel better? Or do will literally believe
that there is power in prayer? Do we really believe that we are a people of “Signs,
wonders, and miracles?” I believe in the power of prayer. I believe that when we
pray, God hears us, and that He responds to us, even if it is not the response
that we want, or when we want it.
In
doing a search on www.biblegateway.com, which has the Bible in various translations,
I did a search on prayer. I found 187-scriptures references from the Bible on
prayer. You may have heard a few of these last Sunday, but hear are just a few
of them. In the Gospel of Mathew, Jesus said in reference to money changers at
the temple, “It
is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” The church is
house a prayer. A house where we speak to God, and a house where we call upon
the power and the Spirit of the living God. Brothers and sisters, this is a
house of prayer.
In the Gospel of Luke 6:12, it says
speaking if Jesus, “Now it came to pass in those
days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to
God.” Jesus, the Messiah, the Lord of all things, prayed heavily, prayed
deeply, and sometimes prayed all night long. In the book of the Acts of the
Apostles, it says in 12:5 “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but
constant prayer was offered
to God for him by the church.” The church was in prayer for the Apostle Peter, as
we are in prayer for those who suffer. How often do you pray for those who
suffer? How often when you tell someone, “I will pray for you do you?” Do you
really believe in the power of prayer? Do you really believe that God has power
through prayer? I know that I do.
The Apostle Paul said Romans 15:30,
speaking to the church in Rome “Now
I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the
Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me.” Prayer, all
throughout the Bible, we are called to prayer. We are called to prayer by Jesus
Christ, by the prophets, and by many others. Let me give just one more
scripture reference on prayer. The Apostle Paul in letter to the Church in
Collosae or the Colossians, said in Colossians 4:2, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” You see my
brothers and sisters we are called to pray without ceasing, to persist in
prayer, to speak with God until we get an answer. To in fact, be “vigilant” in
prayer, to “P.U.S.H., or Pray Until Something Happens.”
Many of know that famous Janis Joplin
song, “Mercedes Benz.” Some of what the song says is, “Oh Lord, won't you buy
me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends. Worked
hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends, So Lord, won't you buy me a
Mercedes Benz?” How many people here have asked our great God for a “Mercedez
Benz?” I have to admit that when I woke up yesterday, I felt incredibly
over-whelmed. Melissa and I are preparing to move as you all know, I am about
the leave for school for 2-weeks this afternoon, I am still a full-time tutor,
and we will soon need to put our house in Moravia, NY on the market. It was one
of those moments when I woke up, and I prayed “Oh Lord, can’t I just sleep
today?” Once I got up and drank my “Glory juice,” also known as Coffee, I
thought about how blessed I am to be in school, and how blessed I am to be
serving in the capacities I am. Sure I was overwhelmed, but I began praying for
others, I began praying for those on our prayer list who are sick, and I began
praying for those who are suffering. I quickly felt a calm and peace come over
me. You see, while it is ok that we pray for ourselves sometimes, how often is
that the core of our prayers? How often do we say prayer for the church, for
its people, for peace, for the world? How often do we simply pray to God, and
thank Him for his love, His grace, and His mercy?
In the reading from the book of the
prophet of Hosea from this morning it says speaking of Israel, “My people are
bent on turning away from me. To the most High they call, but he does not raise
them up at all.” How can we defy God, and then pray for blessing, pray for
safety? Do we really think that we can do deny God, and then pray to Him, like
nothing happened? God wants our sincerity, our devotion, and our very hearts. In
the language that Jesus spoke, Aramaic, there is a word that is used in some
Bible translations called “Abba.” This word literally translates to “father” or
“daddy.” When we pray to our “daddy” it sort of changes things doesn’t it? It
makes us want to go before the Lord with repentant hearts, and be cleansed of
our sins. After doing so, we are then more opened up to pray for all things.
While God will hear us no matter what, we should strive to pray humbly and in an
attitude of repentance before the Lord.
In the Gospel according to Luke
12:13-21 from this morning it says, “Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher,
tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend,
who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take
care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not
consist in the abundance of possessions.” Jesus then went to tell them the
parable of the rich man. In this parable a rich man tore down his barns or
store houses, and built massive ones to store his grains and his goods. The
rich man then amassed enough food, goods, and wealth to live in comfort and
leisure for the rest of his life. God then came to him and said, “You fool!
This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have
prepared, whose will they be? So it is with those who store up treasures for
themselves but are not rich toward?” “Or Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”
Do we pray for wealth, for riches, for possessions, or do we pray for healing,
for peace, for God’s will, for faith, for love, for mercy? “What do you pray
for?”
When we pray, we can say the Lord’s
Prayer, or we can say anything really. This past weekend I gave a sermon type message
to about 50-men. I asked one of the men to pray for my talk before I started,
and he said, “I can’t, I don’t have the words to pray right.” Brothers and
sisters, there are no perfect words, as God knows our heart. Speak to God as
your “Abba,” your “daddy.” Talk to God openly, honestly, compassionately, and
with taking others and this whole world in mind. On this past Walk to Emmaus
weekend retreat, a brother in Christ, said to me, “Pastor Paul my back has hurt
me for years.” I then said to him, “Can we as group of believers pray for you?”
He said, “Yes, that would be great!” We as a group then prayed for him, and his
head was anointed with oil, as it says in the books of Acts. Shortly after, and
for the rest of that weekend, he reported that his back has felt better than it
has for years? “What do you pray for?” Do you believe in the power of prayer?
I would like to close this message
this morning, with some funny prayers. Let me start first with the “Retiree’s Prayer.”
Here it is: “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my shape to keep. Please
no wrinkles please no bags and please lift my backside before it sags. Please
no age spots please no gray and as for my belly, please take it away. Please
keep me healthy please keep me young, and thank you Dear Lord for all that
you've done. Amen.” Here is the “Drinker’s Prayer.” “Our lager, which art
in barrels, hallowed be thy drink. Thy will be drunk, I will be
drunk, at home as it is in the tavern. Give us this day our foamy
head, and forgive us our spillages, as we forgive those who spill against
us. And lead us not to incarceration, but deliver us from hangovers. For
thine is the beer, the bitter, the lager. Amen.” This one is called “Baby
Brother.” It says, "Dear God, thank You for the baby brother but what I
prayed for was a puppy." This one is called “Hard to Love.” Here is how it
goes, "Dear God, it must be super hard to love all the people in the
world, especially my brother. I don't know how you do it." Let me give you
one more. This one is called “How Old Are You?” Here is what it says, "Dear
God, my Grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do
you go?”
Brothers and sisters, “What do you
pray for?” Do you pray just for yourself? Do you pray just when you’re in a
jam? Or do you pray for others? Do realize that praying is something we all can
do? That we can just pray to our Abba, our “daddy,” our Heavenly Father, at any
time? Brothers and sisters, this week and always be in prayer, for there is
power in prayer. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment