IntroductionI think I may need to introduce myself. My name is Jim Holm, and I am the Senior Pastor here at New Hope. As some of you know my wife, Dalene, and I have been on a vacation for almost two weeks celebrating our 25th anniversary. It was the longest vacation we have taken in years. We went on a cruise, our first ever, and cruised around Hawaii. We had a great time.
What day is it?
It is hard to get back into the swing of things once you’ve been on a long vacation. Today is Sunday, right? I’ve lost track. Just before leaving on vacation I was sitting in the office break area with nine-year-old Julia, one of Pastor Jason’s wonderful daughters, and a couple other people. As we were talking someone asked what day it was and I replied, “It’s Thursday.” “No,” Julia said, “It’s Friday.” I thought about it again and I was sure it was Thursday so I said, “No, today is Thursday.” She still didn’t believe me so she said equally confidently, “It’s Friday.” I looked right at her and I said, “Julia, today is Thursday.” She got this concerned look on her face and said, “Oh, no. Jennifer told me it was Friday. I have my Friday underwear on.”
Final sermon in series, “Chatting with God”
So, last I checked today, today is Sunday. It is also the close of a series where, over the summer, we have been exploring the topic of prayer. We called it “Chatting with God: A return to simple prayer.” I feel that prayer is one of those things that we tend to complicate. Prayer is chatting with God.
Context of scripture reading
In Luke chapter 11, Luke the beloved physician and traveling partner of Paul the Apostle, tells us about a particular day in the life of Jesus and His disciples. As the story opens Jesus is doing something that He often did – He was praying. In Luke’s gospel, he mentions a number of specific references to times when Jesus was praying.
Luke 3:21 Jesus prays at His baptism, heaven is opened, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove and God’s voice is heard from heaven.
Luke 6:12 Jesus prayed all night before selecting His disciples.
Luke 9:18 Jesus was praying before asking His disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” and receiving Peter’s great confession of faith, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
Luke 9:28 Jesus took Peter, John and James up a mountain to pray where they say Jesus transfigured before their eyes.
Luke 22:41 Jesus prayed with great agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And here, in Luke chapter 11, when the disciples see Jesus praying they ask him a reasonable request, “Why don’t you teach us to pray like You do? John taught his disciples how to pray.” They think that what they need is information. They need they need to know the right words to use and steps to follow. Jesus knows that what they need more is inspiration.
They ask,“Teach us to pray.” The prayer itself is simple: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
And then watch what happens. Jesus becomes more of a prayer-coach than a prayer-instructor.
Scripture Reading:
Luke 11:5-10 (NKJV) 5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. [read together from here] 9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Here is the message: Don’t Quit! Prayer will sometimes be difficult, untimely and inconvenient. You’ll be tempted to quit and go home, I know! No matter what, don’t quit!
There are two reasons for prayerlessness today.
· Those who never start.
· Those who quit. They start off praying for something but then give up.
I would imagine that the more common issue of the two among those that I am addressing today is the latter: starting strong and then giving up too soon. I’m not a teacher this morning, I am a coach. I’m a prayer-coach. And I am telling you today, “Don’t Quit!” You will be tempted to quit. Keep on praying no matter what. Don’t Quit!
PRAYER COACHING
I am your prayer-coach today. Like Coach Chiapuzio. When I was in college I did a college practicum as an assistant high school football coach for the freshman team. Coach Chapuzio, or Coach Chip as everyone called him, was the head coach. I’m guessing he started coaching when they still had leather helmets. They say old football coaches never die… and Coach Chip was evidence of that fact.
During practice on a beautiful day in the late summer or early fall we were having a scrimmage of the offense against the defense, so there was a lot of contact and hitting going on. Our nose tackle was particularly tough and just keep tossing guys aside and getting to the ball. He was causing all kinds of problems for our offensive line. After one play, the screaming didn’t stop after the play stopped. It was our nose tackle. He was holding his arm and was in excruciating pain. None of us knew what to do. I was thinking we should stop practice and call an ambulance. Before I could do anything Coach Chip walked calmly up to the guy, grabbed his arm and gave it a good yank! The guy immediately felt better. He had just dislocated his shoulder. Practice resumed.
Some of you may be hurting and ready to give up on prayer. Let me give you a good yank today.
1. Don’t Quit! It’s not too late.
In this story Jesus tells of a man going to ask for something at midnight! The time is significant. It would have been very easy for this man to reason to himself, “I just can’t go now, it’s too late.” Jesus is saying that it is never too late to pray.
You may be sitting here today thinking, “I just can’t go to God in prayer now. It has been so long since I have spent time in prayer. I just don’t think I can face Him.” You can! Don’t quit because it is not too late. He will receive you right now, at this late moment in your life, at this late time in whatever circumstance you’re in, no matter how dark it is.
· Persistent prayer overcomes guilt and shame.
Did the man in the story feel guilty over waking up his sleeping friend? Certainly. Did he feel a little bit of shame? I’m sure of it. But he persisted anyway. Prayer can do that, it can overcome guilt and shame.
Do you know that God does not want you to feel guilty about your prayer life? Notice that the disciples saw Jesus’ prayer life and they were drawn to it. They wanted the benefits that they saw Jesus had from prayer. Nowhere in scripture does Jesus say to His disciples, “You guys are a disgrace! You really should pray more. You’re missing your prayer quota! You are losers!” Pray from desire, not guilt.
Don’t quit! Get back in the game! It’s not too late for you.
2. Don’t Quit! You can do it!
In this story Jesus is giving us permission to be persistent. Because you can do it. Even though the man in the story faced some challenges and opposition along the way, he ended up with what he was looking for. You can do it, too. Just don’t quit. Jesus believes in your ability in prayer, and so do I.
Luke Belloti
There was a controversial call on the U of O game last weekend that involved an on-side kick. Much has been made of the call, but the fact remains that the kick itself was perfectly done under very tough circumstances. The kicker is a junior at the University of Oregon and is not the first string kicker or even the second string kicker. He is only a third string kicker. He wasn’t recruited or drafted but what was called a ‘walk on’. He is a very unlikely hero. He is also Coach Mike Belloti’s son.
Imagine being Luke Belloti and reading this is in the paper: “Belloti’s role in the victory made his dad proud. “He’s the best guy for that type of kick on the football team,” coach Mike Belloti said. “Obviously I’m very pleased for him. First of all because he’s my son, and secondly because it gave our team a chance to win.”
When you pray, your Father is very proud. First of all because you are His son, or daughter. Also because of the tremendous power brought to the Kingdom of God through prayer.
· Persistent prayer shows great faith.
Why did the man in the story stay around outside his friend’s house at midnight even after he was told ‘no’? He must’ve believed it would make a difference. In spite of immediate appearances he believed he would get what he was asking for. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been persistent.
Why aren’t we persistent in prayer? Because we don’t really think it will do any good. At the first sign of difficulty we pack up and demonstrate a very weak faith.
· Persistent prayer is spirit and flesh.
Is prayer physical or spiritual? The answer, of course, is ‘yes’. Prayer is both. It is a blending. We blend the physical world and the spiritual world when we pray. And it’s not easy.
In the garden
When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked His disciples to pray with Him. Repeatedly they fell asleep on the job. Jesus understood. He said, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
At a couch
Years ago, before I entered full-time ministry, I decided to pray through my lunch hour. I was fasting, so I decided to run home from the office and spend some time in prayer instead of eating.
I got home, went over to kneel at our couch and began to pray. When I woke up, I had two minutes to get back to work. I ran into the bathroom, looked in the mirror and there was a tweed fabric pattern in the middle of my forehead. I rubbed and rubbed but it wouldn’t come off. I had no choice but to get back to work with my ‘prayer mark’ on my head. Luckily, no one saw me.
Jesus understands, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Don’t quit!
3. Don’t Quit! There is much to gain.
The motivator that Jesus uses in these verses – this is His idea and not mine – is not fear or guilt or intimidation. He says, “I don’t want you to quit because I don’t want you to miss out on all that is to be gained in prayer.
· Persistent prayer has great rewards.
What can be gained in prayer?
“Ask” : practical requests, resources
“Ask and you shall receive.”
“Seek” : wisdom or direction
“Seek and you shall find.”
“Knock” : opportunities
“Knock and it will be opened to you.”
What is ‘it’? What will be opened to you? ‘It’ is just what you need. The right door will be opened to you, not all doors. You will find the wisdom or direction you need when you need it. You shall receive God’s best for you.
The key is persistent prayer, so Don’t Quit!
Conclusion
Prepare your heart to spend some time in prayer with God as you listen to this song.
*** Special Song: ‘I Get On My Knees’ (Melissa Koenig) ***
Will you join me? On your knees or up here at the altar. And then, Don’t Quit!
