Okay. Apologies. Somebody, the guy before me spoke too long in the first session, so 15 minutes last time in the seminars.
I apologize for the guys next door. I've put them in it as well.
Okay, good. Let me pray because that's probably a good thing to do today before we dive into the next bit.
Okay. Father, here we are again. We are just before you.
We are so, so, so, so thankful for your love for us, the sacrifice of your son, the invitation to eternal life, the experience of regeneration and transformation by the power of your spirit.
And as we've come and just believed you and just taken you at your word and just said yes to your gracious, merciful offer of salvation and reconciliation.
So thank you, Lord. We're here because of you today. We are who we are because you are who you are and because of what you've done in our lives.
And so we come to you just again, knowing that there's, there's just so many ways that we have to grow, so many things we have to learn.
So, so much distance still to travel in the time that we have in this life.
And we pray that somehow this, this day together in this short time just now in your word would be profitable and bear fruit in our lives for your glory.
Amen.
Okay, good.
This is, so this is, this is, this is seminar.
And, and seminars are supposed to be, you know, kind of work related.
I kind of had a wee peek at the breakdown of what you're going to get in the other seminar, which is probably truly seminar,
because I think they've got some interaction and they've got some prayer time.
And I'm not going to have any of that because there's too much I want to say.
But I do just want this to be seminar like.
Okay, that doesn't mean pretend it's a seminar when it's not really a seminar.
But it would be good if, if, if you do want to raise a hand or you do want to ask a question or you do want to make a statement or whatever.
Let's, let's try that.
Okay, so, so I'm just going to take you through some stuff.
It's going to be maybe a little bit more personal for, for, for, for me and my life.
But we've all have lives.
So it's not just me and my life.
It's, it's, it's us and our lives.
And so if there's something that, that kind of sparks something off for you and you want to make a comment or whatever,
just, you know, pop your hand out or shout out or whatever.
And so that'll be the seminar.
Okay, we'll, we'll kind of approach it that way and we'll see how it goes.
The title for this bit then now is a prayer, the prayer life of a disciple.
And I would probably say more, more personally that, that for me, in my case, it's probably better to say the struggling prayer life of a disciple.
Okay.
So that's my title.
I'm not saying we're all struggling in our prayer lives.
Yeah.
I'm not saying you're struggling in your prayer life, but I just want to be brutally honest and, and, and, and, you know, confess to you that, that, and, and, and I don't know.
I don't know what pastors are supposed to be.
You know, I, I don't know necessarily that every single pastor is a champion prayer.
I would imagine that most of us, um, other than Graham, no, I'm kidding.
Most of us probably would just, you know, have to confess that, that, that we, we, we probably, it's probably as much of a struggle for, for us as it is for anybody.
Um, it's, it's something we're totally in together.
My, my confession, confession is that I am not a strong prayer.
I'm not, and I told Graham, you know, when we met and we had a coffee and I said, are you sure?
It's probably, maybe there's other guys that could do a far better job and they really are strong prayers.
Um, and there's a lot, and some people are, I'm not saying every Christian's a rotten prayer.
I don't think that's the case.
I think, I think some of you, and you've maybe been on the road longer than I have, or you've learned faster than probably.
I'm sure that's the case.
You've learned faster than, than I have.
And, and I don't think the church is just full of weak prayers.
I think there are some people who, who are just, you know, they're walking a road that, that is, is more of what God is calling them to.
And, and, and, and, and their prayer life is, is, is strong.
You look back through church history.
There are, I don't think the church has been completely littered with strong prayers, but we know people, George Mueller and others who, who have been very, very faithful in their prayer lives.
John Wesley and, and, and people like that who, who have championed prayer.
And, and my confession is that that's my desire.
My heart is that I would champion prayer at some point before I leave this world.
But, but I, I don't feel as though I'm championing, championing prayer.
It's like an Everest for me.
It's like I'm a hill walker.
And one day I hope to climb Everest.
Okay.
So, so that's a bit of my confession when it comes to, to prayer.
And, and, and, and I'm just reflecting back on, on the main session when, when I think of maybe why I struggle so much is because I think I'm very, very prone to self-reliance.
And, and I'm sure you are too.
I'm sure at some level we're all prone to, to the self-life.
The Bible says so much about that.
And so much of our, of our, our church community folks, so much of our time together should be working to resolve that problem.
We shouldn't be, we shouldn't be encouraged more to self in church.
We, we, we should be in, what does Hebrews 10 say?
Consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking your own assembling together as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another all the more because the day is drawing near.
We don't have forever.
And so part of, a big part, I think of church life should be encouraging one another in, in, in, in, in leaving self.
And, and I guess as I say that, I know the whole theme today is if we're going to be doing that, we should be encouraging one another to pray.
We should be encouraging one another.
If you have a prayer meeting to go, to make whatever sacrifices you need to make to go, to be there.
It's important.
It's a place where the church is helping us in this area.
When we, when we, we say once a month or once a quarter or once a week or whatever, we're going to gather together as a church and pray, go.
That's the church helping you to deal with this issue of being less self and more God dependent.
I think a massive default setting for us is, is self.
And, and I, and I, and I think that, that, that's borne out again by experience, isn't it?
Why is it that the prayer meeting, by and large, not in every church, but by and large, why is it that the prayer meeting is one of the most poorly attended meetings in church life?
I mean, I, I, I, I know philosophically and theologically why, but in my heart, I don't get it.
I don't get it.
We have two services at Corubbers.
And I don't think it's two services because people need to come and listen to me or anything.
I think we, you know, the Lord just, I will build the church, Lord, and it's just all sovereignly up to him.
But we have two services on a Sunday morning because, because we couldn't get everybody into one room.
And they're coming and, and they're listening to me expound scripture.
And, and, and, and on a Tuesday night when we pray, we have to meet in the small room upstairs because otherwise we're embarrassed by the, the, the, the space and the lack of, when, when, when, when, when they're coming to pray to be with God.
I mean, what's, what is that all about?
What is that all about?
I'm, I'm, I'm struck by those things.
Why is it that when I ask people about their prayer lives, they go all quiet?
Why is that folks?
Come on, come on, think about it.
I think it's because by and large, we're all in the same boat.
I started telling you a little bit about my testimony in the, in the first session.
Um, and, and, and, and I know that I can't say the persistent,
prayer has probably ever been, um, a huge strength of mine.
Um, it has been a constant challenge.
It has been a constant challenge.
Just, just the whole discipline of prayer for me is, is, is, is, is, is, is hard work.
I'm going to talk about this in a minute.
Um, and, and some of you might be just looking at me and just saying, Sutton, man, you've got so much to learn.
And I know I do.
So many ways to just grow in my intimacy with Christ.
So that, so, so, so, so my, my dream, my dream is that, um, I will get to a place where, where, where the intimacy of my relationship with God is such that, that, that, that I can't help.
But pray, uh, you know, I, I, I, there's a first Thessalonians 517, just, just, just continually without ceasing.
Just pray with God.
But my testimony is that that hasn't happened naturally for me.
It's not happened naturally.
And so my testimony is that there's been a number of times over the course of my walk with the Lord now that God has stepped in.
He, he, he loves me enough to not leave, leave me just paddling in the shallows, um, of prayer.
And there's been a couple of times where he has, um, stepped into my life, um, and, and, um, and, and, and made a difference and, and drawn me closer.
Um, I'm under the impression that God loves us.
I think that's fairly true to say, isn't it?
God loves us.
Um, and the work that he started in us to conform us to the image of Christ and to draw us near, he's going to finish.
He's going to finish.
And my read of scripture is that he kind of throws that line out to us.
Come with me.
Come to me, all you who are weary, weary and heavy laden.
He gives us these invitations.
By and large, you know, I do have a thick head and often a hard heart.
And so I don't know that I often take the invitations as often as I, as I should when they're thrown out to me.
And so God loves me enough to then step into my life, um, to make the difference, particularly with my, my prayer life.
Um, I, I think communion with God in prayer and dependence on God in prayer are two of the things that he is going to work out in our lives, whether we like it or not.
Is that fair?
Communion with him.
And dependence on him.
Both of those happen in prayer.
I think my read of the Bible is that, that as children of God, he loves us enough that he is going to take us there whether we like it or not.
Um, and now we can come willingly.
Okay.
We can come willingly or we can be dragged in kicking and screaming.
And some of my experience, um, has been that I have been dragged in kicking and, and screaming.
And, and he's done this with me, um, really in, in, in, in two main crises of my life.
Um, the Lord.
And, and, and, and I guess part of what I want to do here is, is, is, is open up a dialogue, a discussion, or, or, or, or, or have some considerations, um, around this whole idea of dependency again.
Okay.
And, and, and, and, and how that works, um, with prayer.
Um, but also at the same time, try to encourage you, um, as I think I've been encouraged.
Um, it's taken a while for me for it to get through to me, but I think I've been encouraged.
I've been encouraged that, um, particularly the, the most difficult periods of my life have been the times when God has gone deepest in my heart and, and made the most radical changes in my life.
Would that be fair?
Can you, can you relate to that?
It hasn't been the easy times.
I enjoy the easy times.
I, I, I, you know, I like the ease.
I like when the sun is shining.
Don't you?
I like when the sun is, I like when life is, is, is, is, you know, um, is, is, is peaceful and, and, and the waters are not rough.
I like that.
We all do.
We all like to be comfortable.
Well, with the trouble with that is that we're sinners.
That's the trouble in heaven.
I don't think being comfortable or, or, or, or, or, or enjoying the environment is going to be a problem because there'll be no sin.
It is a problem now because we're sinners.
And what happens is, um, we tend to want to make, uh, the, the, the, the, the path of least resistance, the norm.
And, and that's not the best for us as sinners because God has to eradicate that sin from our life.
He has to draw us into a relationship with him.
Is that, am I, am I making any sense in here?
It's just, I think that's, that's the path of what I see in the lives of disciples in the word of God.
Um, and for me, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the two biggest crises that I've faced has been a nervous breakdown 15 years ago, particularly my breakdown experience.
And I'm going to get to the scripture, by the way.
Okay.
I just want to share a little bit of, um, um, personal testimony before we get into the word.
But, um, particularly this, this, whatever it was, I don't know what a breakdown is.
I've just had one, you know, I don't know how to describe it.
People say, you know, just, it was a burnout.
It was a burnout experience.
It was exhaustion.
It was breakdown.
I don't, the, the terms even now as I've, as I've, you know, I never had a book on my shelf about breakdown or anxiety or anything.
Now, like half of my library is full of this stuff.
Same with eating disorders.
And, you know, it's just, you, you learn by experience by, don't you?
You know, you may know nothing about a certain event and then it happens to you.
And so I don't know what this was.
I just know what it felt like and what happened and, and, you know, just how, how dark it was.
My, my experience was, was mainly an anxiety based kind of panic attacks, um, a, a, a, a period of acute anxiety for about six weeks.
Um, the bottom just fell.
I couldn't do anything.
I couldn't talk.
I couldn't relate.
I couldn't, um, I, I sat virtually for six weeks when it all began.
I sat on my sofa and the only thing I could do because I, I, I needed God.
I had become desperate.
And when I say desperate, I mean, I, I can't, I don't know how else to put it.
I just was, I had never been so desperate for the presence of God and the reality of God in my life than I was, um, in those six weeks.
And I, I woke up.
The moment I woke up, I had this profound anxiety.
I, I, I wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go because anywhere I went, I took my head with me.
So I couldn't go, I couldn't go up in the hills.
I couldn't go.
I just, I sat on my couch and I was so desperate for God that all I could do was sit there and hug my Bible.
It just sounds so pathetic, doesn't it?
I sat and I just hugged my Bible because tangibly this was the closest thing.
I knew God was in this.
You know what I mean?
I knew this was his.
And I, I, I hugged my Bible for, for virtually eight hours a day for probably six weeks.
Um, and I prayed, I prayed.
I, I, that's all I did was, I had never prayed for six hours before in my life.
I'd never prayed for six hours.
I don't know if I, I could keep my focus for six minutes, but, but God had, had taken, had brought me to a place where I, where literally I felt I had nothing to stand on.
My, my, every, all my foundations of everything just fell away.
Any confidence I ever had, any ability I felt I had, just everything was gone.
I was, I was literally a nervous wreck.
And maybe that's why they call it a nervous breakdown.
I just, I was a nervous wreck.
And I prayed constantly.
So much so, and I've been a pastor for 12 years, but I prayed so much so.
But it was that profound for me.
And I remember just thinking, something has happened between me and God here.
Maybe I haven't just gotten saved, and I don't think I did.
But something happened where God pushed a button in my life that had to do with my dependence on him.
And everything changed.
Everything changed.
And I would sit there and pray and pray and pray and pray.
And I wound up just getting a book and started diarying and going up the hills and sitting for days and just talking to the Lord.
Something.
I shared this with a guy who's one of our missionaries who was home recently struggling with cancer.
And I just shared with him just how it seems to be through the most difficult experience of our lives that God draws us near.
Or goes deep in his transforming work in our lives.
And his question to me was, what happened as you got better?
Oh, what happened as you got better?
You know what's happened as I've gotten better?
I've begun to struggle again with prayer.
Now, take that as you will.
I'm not asking the Lord for another nervous breakdown.
Believe you me.
I think there's been some permanent changes.
But the curve somehow seems to go that, you know, as your, I don't know, as your situation deteriorates as far as it seems.
Your dependence on God grows.
And maybe there's, he said, well, maybe there's a point where it meets in the middle.
Where you have just enough balance of struggle.
No, seriously.
You have just enough balance of struggle in your life where you have to depend on God.
Think about that.
Because we all want to be comfortable.
We all want to be at ease.
And I just don't think that's how it works.
I just don't think that's how it works.
And for me, and I'll give you some practical stuff in a minute.
And for me, there have been loads and loads of different things that have developed from these experiences of my life.
1 Peter 4.10 became precious to me.
And it says, let him who serves.
Because I wasn't sure I'd ever go back into the ministry.
But my wife was behind me there.
And I think the Lord was behind my wife.
And kind of pushed me back in.
Because I was saying to her, she's an occupational therapist.
And I was saying to her, well, sweetheart, I think it's time for you to start working full time.
And I think she said, you're going back into the ministry.
We're going to get you there.
And I have.
But as I've come back, there's been loads and loads of changes.
And 1 Peter 4.10 has been a precious verse to me that says,
Let him who serves do so as with the strength which God supplies.
That's dependence.
Let him who serves do so as with the strength which God supplies.
I pray that verse over my life every day now.
I start every single morning praying with that verse.
And then working my way through my day.
And I bring every appointment, every journey, every phone call, every bit of sermon.
I bring the whole day before him.
And I say, Lord, supply me with strength for this.
Supply me with strength for this.
Because how do you serve as with the strength which God supplies?
Is there a switch you flip?
Do you go and say, oh, there's the strength switch.
I haven't flipped it today yet.
Okay, now I have it.
How do you serve?
How do you live as with the strength which God supplies?
I think you have to know you need it.
And I think you have to go to him and ask him for it.
Independence.
And then you have to trust that having asked him for it, he'll give it to you.
And you'll live with it.
And you'll have it.
I don't know.
I'm happy to hear any other perspectives on living with the strength of God that you might have.
Turn with me to Luke 18.
Just in the few minutes that we have.
This is the passage for the seminar.
Luke 18.
And we're not going to look at the whole passage like we did last time.
I just want to pull one little bit of it out here.
I'll read it for you.
But it's only one little bit that I want to look at.
Luke 18.
Now Jesus was telling his disciples a parable or the people who were there with him.
A parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.
Now that's the bit I'm going to come back to.
So just think about that.
Jesus is telling this parable.
And he's giving us the reason up front why he's telling the parable.
He's telling the parable because people need to pray.
And they need to not lose heart in praying.
In other words, this whole discipline of prayer.
There seems to be a possibility or a propensity or whatever for children of God to lose heart.
To grow weary.
To get tired.
To not persevere.
In their prayer lives.
So he tells them this parable about this city where there's a judge.
Who doesn't fear God.
Doesn't respect man.
There's a widow who's in the city.
And she keeps coming to the judge.
Saying give me legal protection from my opponent.
For a while he was unwilling.
But afterward he said to himself.
Even though I don't fear God or respect man.
Yet because this widow bothers me.
She's so persistent.
I'm not bothered with her.
But she's bothering me.
Because she's so persistent.
I don't want to give her what she wants.
But because she's so persistent.
I will give her legal protection.
Otherwise by continually coming to me.
She'll wear me out.
Okay.
Here's a judge who doesn't really care about this woman.
Who is limited in his capacity.
Because he can be worn out.
Alright.
Remember that.
Because there's a contrast.
A big contrast.
That Jesus is going to bring out here.
The Lord said.
Hear what the unrighteous judge said.
Hear what he says.
About.
I don't.
I'm not bothered with this woman.
I don't really want to.
I'm unwilling to give her what she wants.
But she's bothering me.
And there's a possibility she's going to wear me out.
So I'm going to give her what she wants.
Hear what he says.
Now.
Will not God.
Bring about justice.
For his elect.
Who cry to him day and night.
Will he delay long over them.
I tell you.
He will bring about justice.
For them quickly.
However.
When the son of man.
Comes.
Will he find faith.
On the earth.
Or.
As I like to say.
In the sudden.
Uninspired version.
When the son of man.
Comes.
Will he find people.
At the prayer meeting.
So he ties in.
Both in what we looked at.
In Mark.
Nine.
And here.
You see how he ties in.
This whole idea.
Of need.
Dependence.
And faith.
What did Jesus say.
To.
To the whole crowd.
To the disciples.
To the man.
Who brought the son.
What did he say.
Oh.
What kind of generation.
Oh.
Unbelieving generation.
See how it.
This whole faith.
Thing.
Is big.
Isn't it.
We're saved by what.
Grace through.
Faith.
This faith thing is big.
Isn't it.
Faith's big in the.
Christian life.
Faith's big in the bible.
Isn't it.
Faith's a big thing.
This faith thing is big.
But it.
It.
Baffles me to no end.
Doesn't it.
It baffles me.
When I step back.
I've been a Christian for 30.
Seven years.
38 years.
When I step.
And I've been living.
You know.
And going to church.
And reading my bible.
And.
Struggling with prayer.
And talking to God.
And I've had.
Great experiences.
And I've had flat times.
I've had the whole thing.
And I step back.
and I look at this whole thing,
this whole,
what I've been doing
for the last 38 years,
I just think it's so weird.
It's so just,
I look at the whole faith deal
and it's so bizarre
what God calls us to,
isn't it?
That He would call me
to give up everything
in my life
to come to the end of myself
for somebody that I've never seen.
I get down on my knees to pray
like I imagine you get down
on your knees to pray.
If this is different for you,
tell me.
But I get down on my knees to pray
like I imagine you get down
on my knees to pray
and I don't know what you do.
Sometimes I close my eyes,
sometimes I don't close my eyes,
sometimes I look at the hills,
sometimes I look at my Bible.
There's different things that I do
practically when I'm praying
but I never see Him.
I never see Him.
And I'm sitting there
and you know,
every night,
I remember the first time I prayed.
Do you remember the first time
you ever prayed?
For real?
Remember the first time
you ever prayed for real?
First time,
I didn't grow up in a Christian home.
I got saved when I was 19,
fresher at university.
So the first time I prayed
was when I got saved.
When I prayed,
you know,
to confess my sin
and to receive God's gift
of eternal life
through Jesus Christ.
To put my faith and trust
in what He did for me
on the cross.
That was the first time
I ever really prayed.
I mean,
I prayed the Lord's Prayer.
I grew up in a New York,
Italian,
Catholic environment.
So we went to church
and there was no,
in our life,
there was no reality.
There was no,
there was no substance
to any,
but we did it.
But it wasn't praying.
I was just verbalizing things
that weren't connected
to my heart
or reality or anything.
The first time I prayed,
and I remember
the first time I ever prayed,
I remember feeling so weird
because I was,
you know,
what do you do?
You've never prayed before?
You've never talked to God before?
What do you do?
You just,
you know,
I remember being in my room
and this guy had been
kind of leading me
through the script
and he left me alone
with some things to read
and it hit.
The penny dropped
and I think that's when
I got saved.
And I remember just going,
well,
you know,
hey,
God,
you know,
don't know where you are.
This is weird.
You know,
you and me,
nobody else here.
It's kind of like that.
Lord,
this is,
okay,
I'm giving this a shot
was kind of like what I was,
I'm giving this a shot.
I'm pretty convinced
this is it,
but I feel kind of strange
because I can't see you
and I,
you know,
I don't really know you,
but I'm convinced by
what I think you're saying here.
And so,
you know,
and then I went on
and I,
and,
you know,
it was just,
it was,
it was hard
because it was weird
because it's this whole faith thing.
You know,
Paul says it.
Paul says we focus,
not on that.
We,
we look,
we put our eyes,
we turn our eyes
to the things that we can't see.
Now,
that's weird,
isn't it?
Because aren't eyes there
so you can see something?
So we look,
Paul says,
2 Corinthians 4,
18 I think is,
we look not at the things
which are seen,
but the things which are unseen.
The things which are seen
are temporal,
the things that are unseen
are eternal.
So there's this whole
kind of wrestling
with,
with prayer.
There's such a danger
of losing heart
and,
and again,
depending on self.
And we don't have time
to go through the whole parable,
but,
can I just ask the question,
why it might be
that we actually can lose heart
and persisting in prayer?
What is it about prayer
in particular
that makes it so easy
to lose heart in?
Because that's why
Jesus tells this parable.
And I reckon,
if I'm,
if I'm in good company here,
I don't know you all,
I know very few of you,
and,
and probably none of us
have actually talked intimately
about our prayer lives.
I don't know if you guys
do together
in your church.
I try to do this
with guys that I'm discipling
or,
or just,
I think it helps.
I think it's good.
But it's very intimate.
Prayer's very intimate.
And have you ever sat down
with somebody
and told them exactly
how you pray?
What do you think
when you're praying?
What,
what,
what perception do you have?
What,
where do you,
do you use the Lord's prayer?
You know,
in Matthew 6,
do you do something out?
Do you,
do you have a pattern?
What do you do?
These are very,
very intimate things,
but really good to share.
Really good to share.
I'm actually thinking now
of altering what I do here
and using the last five minutes
for you to share
about your prayer lives,
but I think I'm almost
in my last five minutes.
I haven't even looked at it yet.
Let me suggest to you
six possibilities
as to why we might lose
heart in prayer.
Okay?
Six possibilities.
One,
because it's just hard.
It is hard
for a broken,
fallen human person
to pray.
J. Oswald Sanders
says that true prayer
is a strenuous
spiritual exercise
that demands
the utmost mental discipline
and concentration.
Do you find that?
I don't mean to just get down
and go through a list with God.
I mean to really connect with God.
To really connect with God.
To feel like you have been
with God.
Not just go through a list
and then you get up
off your knees
and you think you've done
your thing.
But to really,
I,
this is my experience.
Maybe I'm unique.
Maybe I'm really
so far back
from you guys
that it's unbelievable.
But my experience is
that for me
to really pray,
I almost have to grab
a hold of something.
Okay?
Till my knuckles are white.
To concentrate
long enough
to stay with God
more than for
five or ten seconds
until my mind
goes off
on something else.
What I'm going to be
making for lunch.
You know,
I,
one of the dangers
for me praying
looking out
at the Pentland Hills
where we live
is that there's a golf course
up there
on the side of the hills.
And I've often
started to pray
looking at the hills
to see the bigness of God
and the next thing I know
I'm thinking about
how golf balls are made.
And I trace my thinking back
and I think
I see where I departed.
I was praying to God
and I was focusing
on the greatness
of who He is
trying to connect with Him.
And then I saw a guy
taking a swing.
And I thought,
you know,
and then my mind
went to the swing
and I thought,
number one,
I was a bad backswing.
He's not going to get
anywhere with that.
And then I just thought,
I saw the ball go
and I thought,
golf balls,
well,
they're amazing things.
You know,
they're just,
they're coated
with this hard kind of,
and then inside
they're wrapped with all,
have you ever seen
the inside of a golf ball?
It's wrapped.
And I must have gone on
with that thought pattern
for 15 minutes.
And I'm thinking about
factories that build
golf balls and,
and I'm on my knees,
I'm on my knees
to pray.
That's why I'm there.
It's just the whole deal
of drift
and the mental content.
I'll tell you,
the one time
I didn't have any problem
doing that
was when I had
the most profound anxiety
I've ever had in my life.
I couldn't think
about golf balls.
Golf balls meant
nothing to me.
All I needed
was some assurance
that my life
wasn't going to fall apart
at the seams.
And I prayed.
Man,
I prayed with the freedom
that I never had
in my life.
But outside of that
kind of crisis moment,
prayer's hard.
In the normal
warp and woof of life,
prayer is hard.
And I think that's,
I think God knows that.
He knows we're fallen people.
He knows we're struggling people.
Maybe that's why
we're told in 1 Peter 4, 7
to be of sound judgment
and sober
for the purpose of prayer.
Maybe that's why
Peter says that.
Maybe that's why
we're told
that it's the effectual
fervent prayer
of a righteous man
that avails much.
Or why the writer
to Hebrews says
that when Jesus
was in the flesh
he offered up prayers
and supplications
with strong crying
and tears
to the one that was able
to save him from death.
And he wasn't dealing
with sin,
but he was dealing
with humanity.
Maybe that's why
we're told that Epaphras
who came close to death
in his devotion
and his commitment
to the Colossian Christians
labored earnestly.
The word there
is agonizomai.
Agonized.
In his prayer for them.
So prayer is hard too.
Why can we lose
heart with prayer?
Because it's sacrificial.
And by that
I mean
it takes time.
It takes time.
David,
I think there's a second point
coming up there.
Okay, thanks.
It's sacrificial.
It takes time.
S.D. Gordon
has said that the great
people of the earth
today are the people
who pray.
I do not mean those
who talk about prayer
nor those who say
they believe in prayer
nor yet those who can
explain about prayer.
I mean those people
who take time
to pray.
They don't have
the time.
It must be taken
from something else.
That something else
is important,
very important
and pressing
but yet
less important
and less pressing
than prayer.
It's hard
because you know this.
You know this.
I'm sure
the worst thing
in the world
for me
in one sense
although I'm going
to come back
to technology
later on
has been technology
because emails
which of course
have made all
of our lives
so much easier
haven't they?
Right?
They've made all
our lives
so much easier.
That's what they said
when they first
started coming out.
They've made all
our lives
saying the worst
thing in the world
for me
is to start my
computer in the morning
before I go to the word
because as soon
as I get sucked
into my emails
and everything else
that's my time
with God
gone.
The worst thing
I have got to go
straight to prayer
to make the time
for it
because otherwise
the business of life
just takes
so it makes it hard.
Third thing
prayer is spiritual
it's spiritual
and it's what I was
just saying before
it's this whole
faith thing
I don't see him
I don't
it's not
you know
and he knows this
he's created it this way
so I've got a few
questions about that
as to why
but I'm sure this
for good reason
that I don't see him
I have to persist
in my relationship
with him
without seeing him
I see him in his word
and I know what
we mean by that
but I don't see him
physically
like I see you
and I can
I can sit down
and you can put
your arm around me
and I can feel it
and it's a faith deal
the Christian life
is a faith deal
prayer is a faith deal
and that's hard
isn't it?
do you find it hard?
I find it hard
I find it
a challenge
to go into
this room
where I pray
it's my dining room
it faces the hills
if I want to look
I can look
and to get on my knees
and actually succeed
in a decent amount
of time with God
that's hard
because I don't see him
and I struggle with that
there's things
that come into my mind
there's pictures
I don't want the big bearded guy
in the sky thing
I want somehow
to perceive
of the greatness
of God
so reading Psalms
or something like that
to get started with
sometimes is good
because it gets me
in that frame
where I can just sit
before I even begin
to think about
opening my mouth
Andrew Murray
was big on this
I don't know if you've ever
read any of his stuff
but Andrew Murray
was just sitting
and engaging with
who God really is
before you ever
begin to think about
opening your mouth
but that's hard
because
I'm looking at
the Pentland Hills
and the Pentland Hills
are not God
the sky is not God
he made it
so I've got to go
beyond that
you guys
you understand American
do you?
you understand
I don't know
if this is
so you've got to
give me some
at some point
in the break
or whatever
give me some feedback
Jesus said
in Matthew 21-22
he said
all things you ask
in prayer
believing
it's a faith deal
believing
you shall receive
Hebrews 11-6
you know this
without
what?
it's impossible
to please God
without
faith
it's impossible
to please God
for the one
who comes to him
must believe
that he is
because we're not
gazing upon him
directly
it's a big
it's a big subject
but it's
it factors
into prayer
four
prayer is trusting
in other words
I think we often
we often
don't see the response
that we would like to see
right?
we pray
we ask God for things
but do you struggle with that?
I'm praying for a family
right now in our church
is in desperate straits
and I'm praying
I've been praying
for two years
for them
and their family
and issues that are going on
in their family
and nothing's changing
that I can see
I've been praying
desperately for these guys
meeting with them
praying with them
crying in our coffees
together
with the dad
and as far as I can tell
nothing's changing
are you alright with that?
you guys alright with that?
it's not hard
it's
you know
it's a trust exercise
I've got to trust
that he's hearing me
there's somebody
on the other end of the line
and they care
God doesn't work
to our timetable
we know that
and that can crush
a prayer life
if we're not committed to it
and believing in it
and trusting God
four and five
prayer is humbling
it's hard
because it's humbling
you know
to pray
what are we doing
the whole posture
of prayer
often we talk about
kneeling in prayer
you don't have to
you can stand in prayer
you can raise your arms
you can go out
in the countryside
there's loads
my little picture there
in the background
you know
just
you don't have to be
but the posture
of somehow dependence
submission
you kneel before a king
don't you?
the whole posture
and it's hard
because we
you know
this obitome
doesn't want to depend
on anybody
he wants to depend
on Wayne
but I have to depend
on God
that's why I pray
because I do depend
on him
I need him
but it makes it hard
one man's written
that whether we praise him
for his unfathomable majesty
or petition him
for daily needs
prayer is the expression
of our dependence
upon God
our whole soul
reliance
upon his power
to sustain us
his mercy
to forgive us
his bounty
to supply us
and his glory
to overwhelm us
as we reflect
on who he is
that's why
I think
prayer rubs
so raw
against our
egocentric
human nature
it rubs raw
against that
and it makes it hard
to pray
finally
sixth
prayer is a battle
isn't it
we often talk about
the battle
and so does
so does the word of God
Ephesians 6
especially
right
talks about
our battle
is not against
flesh and blood
it's against
principalities
and powers
all these forces
of darkness
and heavenly realms
this is huge
it's huge
the stuff that's
going on around us
that we can't see
is huge
and God invites us
into this somehow
and I don't know
how it all works
I don't know
he doesn't tell us
enough to know
exactly
you've got those passages
in Daniel
where Daniel's praying
and you've got the
prince of Persia
and you've got Michael
and you've got this
battle going
and you've read
I don't know
piercing the darkness
or whatever it was
that you know
I can't remember the guy's name
Frank Peretti
and it was his kind of deal
on that whole
the bottom line is
we're not exposed
to everything
that's going on there
and how
how does
my prayer
affect
the work of God
I believe it does
I believe scripture
tells us it does
I don't know exactly
does it move an angel
that moves
you know
a community of angels
I don't know
it could be
because we know
that there's
you know
the Lord's given us
a little bit of insight
into that in the word
but not enough
to be
I think overly confident
or go too far with it
like maybe some people
have
but something's going on
something's going on
when we pray
you know
and I
and I have been moved
by some of those books
that speculate
a little bit
Randy Alcorn's book
on heaven
and some of it
you know
I've been
I've been moved by that
it's speculative
but just to think
that maybe
maybe
you know
and
and there's things
that could be moving
and changing
but I'm not praying
and so are they not
moving and changing
because I'm not praying
and this is big
and it goes into
the sovereignty of God
and all
but
but something's going on
and it's a
the Bible tells us that
it's a battle
there is a spirit
and we have to
we've got a weapon
we've got the sword
of the spirit
but we put all this armor on
we
and prayer and petition
with thanksgiving
and so prayer is a big part
of the battle
and yet I think
here we are
and we're bothered
about whether our
local coffee shop
is going to be
renovated
and we're not going
to be able to go
for a drink
and you know
or
I've got to get
a spare tire today
you know
and I'm
and there's eternal
stuff going on
in the realms
around us
and God tells us that
and invites us
into that with prayer
it's a battle
but it's a battle
and so you need
to be ready
for whatever
that's going to mean
for you
is Satan going to
oppose that?
Probably
how?
I don't know
but I'm sure
he's going to oppose
the prayer life
of a Christian
and try to distract you
in any way he can
any way he can
well I don't know
are there
that's
I think my time's
just about up
but you know
I gave you a little list
that prayer's hard
but anybody want
to say anything?
I mean
throw something in there
is there
have I missed something?
is there something
that you
so this is
I want to be able
to go walk away
and say yes
we've had a seminar
okay
I have a few
you guys have recommended
some books
and I know time's up here
but one of the things
that I started doing
during my breakdown period
was I started using
a prayer book
okay
because as a pastor
I'm on the door
every Sunday
and people say
would you pray for this
and I think
oh yeah yeah
and you know
it's gone
and I just didn't
want to do that
so I keep a piece of paper
in my pocket
and a pen
and I just put it
into a book
and this starts in 2003
when I had my breakdown
boom
2003
and then I've got
I don't know if you can
see it or not
but I make
and when I feel
there's been an answer
or a resolution
I tick it
with a red tick
and I can go back
I can start from
just a couple days ago
when the last entry was
and I can work my way back
because chances are
the more recent ones
are the ones that are
unresolved
or whatever
and I just
and that's how I pray
there's more
I'm a very driven guy
but I'm highly chaotic
I'm very disorganized
and maybe that's why
I had a breakdown
but using something
particular like this
has so helped me
and there's people in here
from the church mainly
but from my wider life
and if you asked me
to pray for something
I'd write it down
and I would put it in here
and until I hear from you
I'll keep praying for it
I'll just keep
like the persistent widow
I'll just keep going back
and going back
and this family
that I've been praying for
because the Lord
the Lord's told me to
so this has been good
and let me just give you
a couple of my own
recommendations
these tend to be older ones
but I don't know
if you ever read
Paul Miller's book
A Praying Life
really good book
Paul Miller's
just some real practical
stuff in here
I read this again
most of the stuff
I read when I wasn't at work
because I was just desperate
to learn more about prayer
Spurgeon's prayers
will just knock you for sex
there's just a book
called Prayer
and they're just Spurgeon's prayers
and I think this guy
prayed these in the services
that he preached at
and I just think
they're longer than my sermons
you know
and they're long
just Spurgeon's
you know
just somebody who
seemingly has mastered
or is mastering
the art of prayer
learn from them
learn from their
example
this one
was a lifesaver for me
particularly in a dark place
and it's Andrew Murray
and it's just called
Waiting on God
and I don't know
if you've read much
he's a bit of a mystic
kind of
you know
but
good stuff
man did he get me
thinking about
just the mechanics
of my prayers
and
probably during my
breakdown prayer
I was off work
for about nine months
and I think I must have
read this through
like about 15 times
I mean it just
was
phenomenal
there's a little thing
that's even more mystical
and some of you guys
might hate it
but
you may have heard
this little book
called The Practice
of the Presence of God
by Brother Lawrence
there's a few things
in it I would just say
be careful
not taking too far
but I like the idea
I like his idea
of just praying everywhere
you know
the guy was a monk
and he was the cook
in the monastery
he was the cook
and he became
one of the most
well-known guys
in the world
just for his
he learned to just
do everything
communing with God
and I thought
that's a good idea
you know
driving
exercising
walking
whatever
you know
learn to
pray with God
anyway
that's just a few
practical things
okay
let me pray
Lord thank you for
thank you for your word
thank you for the body of Christ
thank you for the precious time
we have together
and the opportunity
we have to
to make the most of it
thank you especially
for opening the way
for us to commune with you
through the blood of Christ
and the sacrifice of Christ
and help us Lord
teach us
as your disciples said
teach us
to pray
in Jesus name
Amen