WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.880 Well, I'm really excited to be starting this series on prayer off because prayer is powerful. 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:15.099 It has the power to bring healing, to create miracles and the power to save lives. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.879 And it's one of the greatest gifts that God has given us. 00:00:19.740 --> 00:00:22.140 So what is prayer? That's a good place to start. 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:24.300 Prayer is simple. 00:00:24.300 --> 00:00:29.880 We make it complicated because there's just so many questions that we can ask. 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:31.960 How long am I supposed to pray? 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:34.939 If I do really good things, will my prayers be answered? 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:37.780 Is it better out loud or in my head? 00:00:38.260 --> 00:00:40.120 Can I open my eyes or keep them shut? 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:42.040 It goes on and on. 00:00:43.820 --> 00:00:45.980 But we need to know that prayer is simple. 00:00:46.579 --> 00:00:49.859 It's just a two-way conversation between you and God. 00:00:50.460 --> 00:00:52.420 It's talking and it's listening. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:54.179 That's it. That's prayer. 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:58.019 It's the lifeline in our relationship with God and it's essential. 00:00:59.919 --> 00:01:02.899 So over the next few weeks, we're going to be exploring prayer. 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:11.539 And it would be my prayer for us as a whole church that's a consequence of what we discover both this week and over the next few weeks. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.140 That our prayer life will take a step in the right direction. 00:01:15.679 --> 00:01:18.939 And will become something that we do a bit more regularly. 00:01:19.739 --> 00:01:22.939 And that we will find refreshing and will also enjoy. 00:01:22.939 --> 00:01:27.959 Because I don't know if I'm the only one here. 00:01:28.259 --> 00:01:32.120 But sometimes prayer doesn't seem that enjoyable to me. 00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:39.060 And when we talk about prayer, I often feel guilty that my prayer life isn't better than it is. 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:43.519 And if I asked you here, I don't expect you to put your hands up. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:47.459 But if I asked you here, how many of you think that you pray enough? 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:50.060 Some of you might think, yes, I pray loads. 00:01:50.479 --> 00:01:54.899 But actually, I imagine most of us would say, no, I definitely don't pray enough. 00:01:54.900 --> 00:02:00.880 And one of the problems with this is the question, how much is enough? 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:04.080 Does it mean I've got to pray for five minutes a day? 00:02:04.320 --> 00:02:06.840 Or do I have to lock myself for three hours a day? 00:02:07.460 --> 00:02:09.000 How much is enough? 00:02:10.200 --> 00:02:12.560 And so because of this, we often feel condemned. 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:14.800 And again, it might just be me. 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:19.699 But sometimes when I pray, it doesn't really feel sometimes that God is listening. 00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:22.460 It doesn't feel like he's here at all. 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:27.860 And I feel that sometimes I'm just sat in a room on my own, praying and talking to myself. 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:35.439 And so with this, I can get a bit discouraged, a bit fed up, or maybe a bit stuck in a rut with my prayer life. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:40.020 And for some of you here, it may be that you just don't really know how to pray. 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:45.620 You may have come from an unchurched background and really don't have any framework for prayer. 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:50.520 Sometimes, also, if we've grown up in church and been taught to pray, 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:53.639 sometimes it doesn't really inspire us to do it very much. 00:02:54.099 --> 00:02:58.639 But Jesus is a person that we want to turn to if we want to learn how to pray better. 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:00.780 That's what his disciples did. 00:03:01.180 --> 00:03:02.919 And so he taught them the Lord's Prayer. 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:05.979 So just before we look at the Lord's Prayer, 00:03:06.119 --> 00:03:10.479 just some practical things that may help us to pray more regularly. 00:03:11.159 --> 00:03:13.000 If you notice from that passage, 00:03:13.379 --> 00:03:16.799 Jesus tells them to go into their room and close the door and pray. 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:18.899 So the first thing is place. 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:20.779 If we want to grow in prayer, 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:24.599 one of the things that could be really helpful is to find a certain place 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:26.879 away from distractions where we pray. 00:03:27.399 --> 00:03:30.199 A place that becomes the place that we always pray. 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.119 So it might be our bedrooms, our spare room, 00:03:33.259 --> 00:03:35.099 in a summer house, in our conservatory, 00:03:35.299 --> 00:03:36.399 maybe a spot in the garden. 00:03:37.259 --> 00:03:39.699 Or it may be for you that a practical thing to do 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:43.099 is maybe you pray on the bus or walk into work or school. 00:03:43.739 --> 00:03:45.560 But one thing that can be really helpful 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:48.439 is to have a place that becomes that place of prayer. 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:50.679 The second thing is time. 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:53.519 Another thing that can help us grow in this 00:03:53.519 --> 00:03:55.379 can be to have a regular time to pray. 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:59.000 All of us have different times that we're at our best. 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:02.979 But to have a regular time is really helpful. 00:04:03.780 --> 00:04:05.799 My time now generally, I say, 00:04:05.960 --> 00:04:08.620 is in the morning and for a few minutes at night. 00:04:08.979 --> 00:04:10.419 But when I had young kids, 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:12.300 I was completely all over the place 00:04:12.300 --> 00:04:13.919 and I just couldn't do it in the morning. 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:17.680 So it was generally in the afternoon for 10, 15 minutes 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:19.560 whilst the children were having a nap. 00:04:20.159 --> 00:04:23.560 I had twins, so it's just like I barely survived really. 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:26.740 But having a certain place and a regular time 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:29.540 when you generally pray at that time can be really helpful. 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:32.980 And finally, the third thing, what do we pray? 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:36.459 It can be really helpful if we have a bit of a sense 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:38.660 of what we want to pray about when we come to pray. 00:04:39.579 --> 00:04:41.459 But you don't always have to have that though. 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:43.379 And as we've been discovering 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:45.100 at our evening gathering in the well, 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:47.860 through contemplation and meditative prayer, 00:04:48.840 --> 00:04:50.060 that can be really helpful too, 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:51.660 just sitting in silence with God. 00:04:51.660 --> 00:04:55.000 And sometimes, you know, when we're completely exhausted, 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:56.980 it can be a really good thing to do. 00:04:57.700 --> 00:05:00.200 Sometimes I can't even think straight, 00:05:00.340 --> 00:05:01.740 let alone put a sentence together. 00:05:02.020 --> 00:05:04.880 And I just say, look, God, I've got my body here. 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:06.520 I don't quite know where my brain is, 00:05:06.960 --> 00:05:08.680 but can we just sit together for a bit 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:10.500 and just be in each other's presence? 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:12.980 So if you haven't done this before, 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:15.640 it's helpful to get into a comfortable position 00:05:15.640 --> 00:05:17.400 and just breathe in and out 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:19.599 and just focus on maybe a verse, 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:20.399 something like, 00:05:20.539 --> 00:05:22.339 be still and know that I'm Lord. 00:05:22.599 --> 00:05:23.859 So we're just going to try this now 00:05:23.859 --> 00:05:24.979 for like 30 seconds. 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:26.339 So just close your eyes, 00:05:26.419 --> 00:05:27.519 get into a comfortable position 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:29.799 and breathe in and out. 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:33.959 In and out. 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:38.839 Be still and know that I am Lord. 00:05:38.839 --> 00:06:00.179 Amen. 00:06:00.180 --> 00:06:10.120 Amen. And that is great and could be a brilliant prayer time or part of your prayer time. I often 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:15.759 will do this for the first maybe five minutes of my prayer time just to slow my busy mind and 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:22.540 connect with God. But when we do have our brains in gear we want to be thinking about what I want 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:28.259 to talk to God about and how does this prayer time become something that gives me life and where I 00:06:28.259 --> 00:06:33.740 see things happen as a result of the things that I'm praying. And that third thing once we have the 00:06:33.740 --> 00:06:39.899 place and the time the thing of what to pray I think is exactly what God is pointing to when he 00:06:39.899 --> 00:06:45.439 gives us model prayers such as the Lord's Prayer. And there are lots of model prayers throughout the 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:50.699 Bible. If you read through the Psalms they're real prayers that you can pray through in the Semen Acts 00:06:50.699 --> 00:06:58.920 and Ephesians 1 and 3. And sometimes I think as evangelicals we can be a bit worried about 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:04.459 contemplative prayer and also maybe nervous about model prayers too. Maybe we think that we want to 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:09.699 be freer than that and we don't want to be too liturgical or legalistic. But I think actually 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:14.879 they're really helpful. So if we look at the Lord's Prayer now and how we might pray through this 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:20.000 just give you some ideas. So he starts off with our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:26.579 Well what a powerful thought that God is our Father and that we can approach him and trust him as a 00:07:26.579 --> 00:07:35.100 father. Just that one thought can change the way we think. And then he goes on to say your kingdom come 00:07:35.100 --> 00:07:41.579 your will be done on earth as in heaven. What I love about this part is that we're trusting God to 00:07:41.579 --> 00:07:47.779 build his own kingdom and we're asking him to do it. Because I think for loads of us the pressure can 00:07:47.779 --> 00:07:55.899 be that we think it's our job completely to build God's kingdom. And while it is true the book doesn't 00:07:55.899 --> 00:08:02.079 stop with us to establish God's kingdom, it stops with God. We're to partner with him to do the stuff 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:07.779 that God is doing and be part of building God's kingdom here. But we don't tell him what to do, 00:08:07.779 --> 00:08:14.279 it's his agenda not ours. And if we put too much pressure on ourselves to build his kingdom, 00:08:15.479 --> 00:08:20.279 me, myself, some things that naturally I'm quite good at, if I put a load of pressure on myself I'm 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:26.139 thinking oh my words they've just asked me about Jesus, it's all on me now. If I don't tell them all 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:29.839 about him in the right way that's it, they're ruined, they're never going to see Jesus again. 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:38.399 But it's your kingdom God and you will build it. And that's a prayer that he loves to answer. 00:08:39.319 --> 00:08:44.480 So if there's a person that you want to come to know the Lord, pray for them. Tell them about Jesus, 00:08:44.579 --> 00:08:51.120 yes of course. Love them in the ways that they need to be loved, but pray because it works. And then the 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:58.120 next thing he says is give us our daily bread. And with God it's just so practical. We can think that 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:03.500 God is just up there floating on a cloud and he's only interested in stuff like if we read our Bible 00:09:03.500 --> 00:09:08.019 enough. And we can think that he wouldn't be interested in the things that we're concerned 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:15.220 about. Maybe we've got an exam next week or worried about our finances. But the physical and the 00:09:15.220 --> 00:09:21.379 spiritual go together and he cares deeply. And you know if I only cared about the spiritual side of my 00:09:21.379 --> 00:09:26.419 kids life and I didn't give a monkeys about their physical needs, whether they're eating enough, 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:30.299 whether they're getting enough rest, whether they're coming home before six o'clock in the morning, 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:36.719 and whether they've got everything they need to thrive as people, what kind of a parent would I be? 00:09:37.439 --> 00:09:43.339 And so he says bring me your worries, bring me your needs. None of us can sustain ourselves without 00:09:43.339 --> 00:09:49.059 God in our life. So tell him about that stuff. Ask him to help with that exam you've got coming up, 00:09:49.259 --> 00:09:52.899 or the job interview you have, or the fact that you're worried about your heating bills, 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:57.720 or that you're struggling with a relationship. There is nothing that is not spiritual. There's 00:09:57.720 --> 00:10:03.139 nothing you can't pray about. It's just our daily bread, what you need. So ask him. 00:10:04.699 --> 00:10:10.659 Next thing, forgive us our sins as we forgive others. Asking God to forgive our sins is a prayer, 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:14.559 unfortunately, that I think we're going to need to pray regularly this side of heaven, 00:10:14.679 --> 00:10:19.179 because we always get it wrong. We don't mean to get it wrong, but we just do, don't we? 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:24.339 And I think that if we pray this prayer regularly, it's a sign that we're in a good place. 00:10:25.359 --> 00:10:30.099 Sometimes I've got it wrong. I've done something wrong. I know I've done it wrong. I can feel it 00:10:30.099 --> 00:10:35.799 in there, but I just ignore it. I think I'm just going to not talk to God about it. I'll just leave 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:40.399 him a bit like to calm down and forget about it. But that never really turns out well for me. 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:44.620 And the way that we should go about it, as soon as we get it wrong, 00:10:44.620 --> 00:10:51.279 we know we've messed up. We should just come straight to him. And that's a sign of a healthy 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:57.060 relationship. But you say sorry quickly, and you ask for forgiveness. And part of asking for that 00:10:57.060 --> 00:11:02.899 forgiveness is actually receiving it from him. And I think the mistaken image sometimes that we have 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:08.539 of God is that he wants us to beat ourselves up and completely grovel. But you know, all the pictures 00:11:08.539 --> 00:11:14.059 and images of the Bible of God forgiving people is the complete opposite to that. He longs to forgive 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:19.860 us and restore us and give us our dignity back. Like when the prodigal son returns and the father is 00:11:19.860 --> 00:11:25.939 like, oh my word, he's back. Let's celebrate. Now I'm still on the journey with this, but as my 00:11:25.939 --> 00:11:31.980 understanding of forgiveness has developed, now when I repent of things, I say sorry quickly. And I'm 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:36.879 expecting him to be happy and pleased that I've said sorry and I want to turn away from sin 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:42.639 and go the other way. So forgive us our sins. And then the next bit can be a bit more tricky. 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:54.419 As we forgive others. Unfortunately, this is part of the deal. We have to forgive others too. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:12:01.139 And this is not so easy. But unfortunately, he makes it really explicitly clear in the Bible 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:06.100 that as we receive our forgiveness, we also give that forgiveness away. 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:11.139 Excuse me, sorry. And I'm just speaking from my own experience. 00:12:12.019 --> 00:12:17.779 I find forgiving people hard. I'm so good at forgiving people that really haven't actually 00:12:17.779 --> 00:12:23.139 done anything to hurt me. You can be just a bit annoying or do something a bit stupid and actually 00:12:23.139 --> 00:12:29.159 that's not a problem. I forgive you all the time. But if you do something that really damages me, 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:36.139 that messes me up inside, where I feel betrayed or let down or rejected, I find it really hard to 00:12:36.139 --> 00:12:44.139 forgive. And what is easier than just forgiving is to just get really, really bitter. We think bad 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:49.500 thoughts about the other person, wishing that they fail at everything, feeling really sorry for myself 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:54.959 and stroking and feeding that bitter feeling. Maybe it's just me, I don't know. I mean, that's how 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:01.740 often we can react to other people. But forgiving others is very difficult. But it's the only way 00:13:01.740 --> 00:13:07.420 that we find freedom. And if we don't forgive, what happens is that we become trapped in a cycle 00:13:07.420 --> 00:13:13.080 of bitterness and we become miserable. They're not being affected. They might not even know that 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:19.139 they've upset us. But it's like we're drinking poison and we're expecting them to die. So forgiveness 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:25.759 sets us free. And the hardest thing to forgive sometimes is the deepest pain. But my advice 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:32.620 on it from experience is to do this as a decision every day. So when I pray that bit, I forgive 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:37.819 others regularly now. And certain people have come to mind, some of them from years and years ago, 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:44.100 that I'm still forgiving even now because it still hurts me. But I have to forgive them until it stops 00:13:44.100 --> 00:13:49.100 hurting me. And that could be another two or three years, I don't know. But we have to choose and 00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:55.360 decide that we're going to forgive that person. And then the final thing, lead us not into temptation 00:13:55.360 --> 00:14:02.220 and deliver us from evil. Prayer is really helpful when you're feeling tempted. It's not just about 00:14:02.220 --> 00:14:08.240 choosing not to sin and accountability, though that's good. But actually prayer is a really powerful 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:14.200 weapon. Jesus says in Matthew 41 to his disciples, pray that you might not fall into temptation. 00:14:15.419 --> 00:14:20.039 And really what that is about is asking for help in areas of life that you're struggling with, 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:27.580 whether it's money or greed or lust or anger or pride. Say sorry, I've got a problem with this, 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:33.620 Lord. Can you help me? And the moment that we do that, the Holy Spirit partners with us and he joins 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:39.820 with us to help us with that wrestling with that issue. And it's not to say that when we do this, 00:14:39.879 --> 00:14:44.500 we're never going to be tempted. But when we ask God for help, the Holy Spirit will partner with us 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:51.700 to help us battle with it. So I wonder what temptation might be a battle for you. One of mine 00:14:51.700 --> 00:14:57.560 sometimes is to take on too much responsibility that actually doesn't belong to me. And from that 00:14:57.560 --> 00:15:03.440 comes a load of anxiousness and worry. There's nothing sinful about anxiety at all, but Jesus doesn't 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:08.700 want us to live in that worry. But sometimes we can just get so used to living that way that it's 00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:15.100 kind of comforting. It's almost like a destructive friend that we live with sometimes. So for me, 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:21.000 praying that I wouldn't always give in to that temptation, that I always need to worry, has been 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:28.040 a really practical thing that I've been trying to do in my life regularly. So I don't know what that 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:33.459 will be for you. But hopefully what I've said will give us some tools for this week to start 00:15:33.459 --> 00:15:39.759 regularly praying or to develop our regular prayer time. If you've never really prayed before, if all 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:45.299 you do is say the Lord's Prayer or maybe run through a psalm and that's it and you find five or ten minutes 00:15:45.299 --> 00:15:51.240 in your day, next week you've done really well. You've prayed the way that Jesus taught you to pray. 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:58.100 But this can be a springboard to keeping company with him in a new way. And I look forward to this 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:03.600 whole series where we're going to be learning about other great prayers in the Bible. So please join us 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:09.799 over the summer as we work through these. So at the end of the service, our prayer ministry team will 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:15.740 be here to pray with anybody who'd like prayer for anything. But as I finish, I'd just like to end with a 00:16:15.740 --> 00:16:27.620 prayer. So let's invite the Holy Spirit to partner with us now. Close our eyes. Dear Lord, help us to 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:35.039 connect and reconnect with you in a different way. Help us to use these tools of silence and solitude 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:41.919 and model prayers like the Lord's Prayer to really help us to develop an inner and outer life with you. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:47.339 So Holy Spirit come. We acknowledge your presence in this room. 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:54.699 We believe that you're among us now and we ask that you speak to us and guide us this week 00:16:54.699 --> 00:17:00.539 as we confess that every one of us has room to grow in our prayer life and how we connect with you 00:17:00.539 --> 00:17:06.759 and what you're doing in this world. Father, help us to believe more fully that you love us 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:13.640 and you want to partner with us as we intentionally grow and develop our prayer life. And may we see 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:21.299 answers and transformation in people's lives through our prayers. Make us more like you, Lord. Amen.