May 10
Let's Talk
“Next, Try This”
Psalm 5:1-3
How are we doing with prayer? Let’s reflect on our journey so far. God is ready, willing and
able; So I must find a time, place and plan; 5 finger Prayer.
As I get started today, none of us pray in the same fashion. There are many ways to pray and you
must find the type that suits you. If what I suggest doesn’t trip your trigger, talk with me. There are
intuitive, feeling, thinking, and sensing ways to pray. You can read prayers, pray as you walk or
mow the lawn. Silently or very bold and loudly. My prayer is for all of you to find time, make time to
pray. God wants to connect with you and have a conversation with you. A life giving – life changing conversation. Don’t put it off any longer.
A lot of people are intimidated by prayer. They think it has to be verbose and filled with holy talk.
Part of the reason seems to be that pastors and theologians have taken something pretty simple
and made it seem really complicated. NOW, having said that prayer really is a mystery. But it’s not
complicated. If you’ve ever been around little children, they teach you the simplicity of talking with
God. There’s a reason that Jesus said that you have to come to God “like a little child.” Kids often
get it right. I heard a collection of prayers from children. It seems they just pray what’s on their
minds and hearts. Here are a few…
Dear God…
-I read the Bible. What does begat mean? No one will tell me. Allison
-Is it true my father won’t get in Heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house? Anita
-Maybe Cain and Abel wouldn’t have killed each other if they would have had their own rooms. It
worked with my brother. Larry
-I want to be just like my dad when I get big…only I don’t want to grow out of my hair that soon.
Sam
-My brother told me about being born, but it doesn’t sound right. Marsha
-I didn’t think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made Tuesday. That was cool.
Eugene
Prayer doesn’t have to be intimidating. You just need to dedicate yourself to a time, place, and a
plan and you will get plugged in with God, as He intends. Ready for another plan for prayer.
How about a simple acronym to help you pray. Let’s use the letters from the word “p-r-a-y.” I’m
also going to uses some verses from the book of Psalms to ground this in Scripture for us. LET ME
BEGIN BY READING PSALM 5:1-3 with you
P stands for PRAISE. It is really good to get in the habit of praise as the first thing you say to God!
The theologian Matthew Henry tells us “Though we cannot by our prayers give God any information, yet we must by our prayers give him honor and praise.
Psalm 100 says, Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give
thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Psalm 100:4-5
Praise is letting God know that we are beginning to realize just how awesome he is. Praise begins
to make God more real and more present in our lives. Most problems with our prayers come from a
view of God that is too small or too distant.
Beginning with praise helps you realign your view of who God is. If you were to give me one word
right now that pops into your head to praise God – let me ask you to get one – NOW can you think
of a bigger word or image or feeling. Praise Him for your new growing trust in Him.
R stands for repent. If prayer is a relationship, it is good to check often to see if the relationship
has been damaged by actions or sin of any kind on our part. Repentance isn’t something we do
only once in our lives to get into heaven or to manipulate God into doing something for us.
Have you heard the one about the two guys who were adrift at sea. One began to pray out loud.
“Dear Lord, I’ve broken most of the commandments. I’ve been an awful sinner, and if you’ll just
spare me, I’ll…” The other guy interrupted, “Hold on, Henry, don’t admit to anything. I think I see
land!”
Repentance is recognition that something in me could be blocking my prayer connection with God.
Psalm 66 is a clear statement about the need for repentance from King David. If I had cherished
sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Psalm 66:18 Like a shower does for the
outside of your body, we need a spiritual cleansing before we can come nearer to the throne of
God.
Take a moment and think about what might be blocking your prayer connection with God. What in
your life would cause you to want to duck time with God? Can you take a moment and just say
God, please know that I am asking for your forgiveness and your strength to deal with that situation
better the next time.
A stands for ask. Sometimes I envision Jesus at God’s right hand verifying that this child on earth
has royal access through prayer. You can read through the Psalms and see how David and other
writers approach God in prayer. Simply put it out there the way they see it and then count on God
and trust God
I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath. Psalm 116:1-2
I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to Him, and he answered my prayer. Psalm 120:1
As children of God, we have access to the heart of God.
Now it’s important to talk about God answering my prayers. Sometimes we come to Him with some
really half-baked or selfish ideas. Or we come spreading out the widest net we can throw hoping to
hit at least a part of the needs. Sometimes we ask without considering the consequences of that
prayer being answered.
But we have a God who loves us so much he will provide only what is Good for us – the Best for
us. We are connecting to the Almighty father who gives all we NEED in this day. We will hopefully
expand our vision of God to know that he knows. To expand our view of God being active and
moving and healing and – we are to look for His movement rather than expect Him to fix everything
we can throw at Him to our expectation.
Y stands for yield. Yielding means that while you will bring these requests again and again, you
will leave the answers in God’s hands. In this series, I want to share with you how I believe God will
answer every prayer. Psalm 143:8, Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Prayer does not adjust God to our needs, it adjusts us to God’s will.
We have to pray with persistence and faith, but yield to God’s design and timing. When you and I
pray, we tend to view the goal as the goal. But in God’s economy the process is the goal. God cares who we are becoming in the process of prayer and faith. Let me ask you this: Who are you becoming
through prayer? Do you have a habit of prayer? Have you found a Time, a Place, and a Plan to begin or to build some consistency into your life through prayer? If so you will soon hear God and see
God answering – That is His plan.
So take a few moments and consider – how has my asking been with God. Am I expecting Him to
give me what I want or do it my way?
How about my yielding…..