A PATTERN FOR PRAYER
DOING GOD’S WILL
"So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. (Colossians 1:9-10, NLT)
"May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10, NLT)
(SLIDE 2)
INTRODUCTION
A Church was located next to a busy highway frequented by large trucks. On occasions the church’s PA system would pick up truckers talking to one another on their shortwave CB radios. On one occasion the pastor was in the middle of his prayer, saying “O Lord we beseech you to visit us afresh this morning…” Suddenly he was interrupted by a loud voice that crackled over the PA system…”Ok! I’ll be their shortly…!”
Thus far as we have studied A PATTERN FOR PRAY that our Lord taught us, we have looked at …
THE FIRST PETITION … “May Your Name be kept Holy’ which deals with GOD’S PERSON … God’s Holiness and His requirement that we be made holy too!
Then we considered …
THE SECOND PETITION … “May Your Kingdom come soon” which deals with GOD’S PURPOSE… What God is doing in this sin-torn world! This was a …
• A PRAYER OF EXPECTANCY, anticipating the establishment of God’s Eternal Kingdom, the New Heaven and the New Earth
• PRAYER OF EVANGELISM, asking for the advancement of God’s Kingdom as the gospel reaches out to those outside the Kingdom
• A PRAYER OF ENTREATY, accepting Christ’s Lordship over all of our life.
For this last aspect to happen, we need in all sincerity to pray…
THE THIRD PETITION … “May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." ” which deals with GOD’S PROGRAM … Allowing God to direct our lives that we might fulfill His Plan for us,
As Paul reminds us …“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)
And as we read earlier … “We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.” (Colossians 1:9–10, NLT)
(SLIDE 3)
THIS IS GOD’S PROGRAM … GOD’S WILL FOR US
• To live lives that honor and please Him
• To live lives that produce good fruit, good things He planned for us to do to advance the Kingdom of God
• To live lives growing in our relationship with Him and being transformed to be like Christ.
THEREFORE WHEN WE PRAY … “May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." … WE ARE ASKING GOD TO HELP US TO …
1. ACCEPT HIS WILL
• This involves accepting that God does have a specific Will for the things you do, the choices you make, the values and norms that you adopt, the plans and ambitions you embrace.
• This involves accepting that God’s will for your life is in your best interests and is meant for your fulfillment and your advantage.
• This involves accepting that God has a far higher perspective and therefore knows what is in your best interests oft times in contradistinction to what you consider to be in your own best interests.
• This involves accepting that if any of your activities, your choices, your behaviour or your dreams, works against the three aspects of God’s Will for us mentioned above, i.e. …
To live a life that honor and please God
To live a life that produces good fruit
To live a life growing in your relationship with God … then it cannot be God’s will for you!
When we pray … “May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." … We are also asking God to help us to …
2. ACQUIESCE TO HIS WILL
That is to submit to His will for our lives. When we pray ‘May Your Will be done’ we are asking God to help us along with all of God’s People to be obedient to God and not to endeavour to make God do my will but rather to bring my will in line with His. This is not easy.
JI Packer says … “For God’s will to be done in our lives on earth in the way that is done among the angels will involve us in quite a struggle” (JI Packer – ‘Praying the Lord’s Prayer’)
This involves being prepared to deny myself seeking to do what is God’s will despite the consequences or the lack of sense that it makes to me. In short it requires of me to take a trip to the Garden of Gethsemane and to kneel with the Master and to pray “Father, if it’s possible, let this cup ⌊of suffering⌋ be taken away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine.”” (Matthew 26:39, GW)
It is interesting that the Greek for ‘be done’ in both the Lord’s Prayer and in the Gethsemane prayer of Jesus is in the imperative mood which suggests a command or an intention and is therefore not an expression of reality but possibility and volition, i.e. involving a choice. Such a choice requires a meek submission to accept without complaint whatever God’s will for us is just as Jesus did!
Saying with the English Puritan and Pastor of the 1600’s “Lord, whatever you want, wherever you want it, and whenever you want it, this is what I want!” (Richard Baxter)
With this in mind it becomes all the more important to …
3. ASCERTAIN HIS WILL
How do we know what God’s Will is? If God does have a specific will for our lives then how does He communicate it to us? How do we recognize that it is God speaking to us, not our own desires or even the devil?”
Within the world in which we live today we are constantly being bombarded by so many and such varied voices all seeking to influence us that this becomes a very relevant question. Amidst this cacophony of voices clamoring for our attention, how do I recognize the voice of God pointing me to His will for me?
To answer this question we need to realize that …
GOD CREATED US FOR AN INTIMATE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIMSELF…
Right from the beginning, when God created man, He created him to enjoy a close friendship with Himself. God has revealed Himself as relational and desires a meaningful relationship with us … The Bible says "the Lord,… is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you." (Exodus 34:14, NLT).
The very essence of any relationship is communication! Without communication there can be no relationship. It is impossible to develop a relationship without communication. Therefore it is a given that God does speak to us. But again the question …
HOW WILL I KNOW IT IS GOD THAT IS SPEAKING TO ME AND NOT SATAN, SOMEONE ELSE OR EVEN SELF?
Elihu says to Job … "For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it." (Job 33:14, NLT)
THEREFORE IT IS CRUCIAL TO RECOGNIZE WHAT GOD IS SAYING REGARDING HIS WILL FOR US…
Many people have the strange idea that God guides us in excessive and somewhat unbiblical ways…He has on occasions needed a donkey or a burning bush but the normative way in which He communicates His will is far less dramatic but nonetheless effective.
HE WANTS YOU AND I TO …
• HEAR HIS VOICE
• RECOGNISE HIS VOICE
• OBEY HIS VOICE
THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF WHEN WE PRAY … "May Your will be done on earth (in my life), as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10, NLT)
(SLIDE 4)
I want to suggest FOUR FUNDAMENTAL WAYS God communicates His Will to us, ways that help us to hear, recognise and then obey, letting His Will be done on earth (in my life), as it is in heaven …
• THE WORD OF GOD – GOD’S PLUMBLINE
• THE HOLY SPIRIT - GOD’S INNER VOICE
• THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE – GOD’S DOORS
• THE COUNSEL OF GODLY PEOPLE – GOD’S MESSENGERS
We will look at each of these briefly in turn.
(SLIDE 5)
THE WORD OF GOD – GOD’S PLUMBLINE
This is God’s prime method of communicating His will. The entire Bible has the ability to speak directly into our lives and communicate to us the specific Will of God. The Psalmist says …
"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105, NLT)
What is more it is the standard or plumb line by which we live out our lives and develop our relationship with God. The Bible says
"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." (2 Timothy 3:16, NLT)
THE BIBLE IS THE MEANS BY WHICH GOD SPEAKS TO US…Rick Warren in ’Bible Study Methods’ Suggests ... IT IS OUR …
• TEXTBOOK
… useful to teach us what is true
If I purchase a new car, it has in the cubbyhole a OWNERS MANUAL which seeks to clearly instruct me on how to operate the vehicle in such a way that it provides maximum performance and I am able to achieve maximum usage and reliability from it.
In the same way the Bible is God’s OWNERS MANUAL showing us to achieve maximum potential and fulfillment from life. Sadly, like the owner’s manual of our motor car we fail to read it and therefore fall short of achieving what is intended. When that happens the Bible also becomes our …
• TUTOR
… to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.
In the academic world the purpose of a tutor is to help the student when he/she gets into difficulty, to show them where they went wrong and how to avoid making the same mistake again. No less is the Bible the means that God uses to show us where we have gone wrong when get into difficulty. It is also our …
• TEACHER
… It corrects us when we are wrong
A teacher is one that encourages us to apply the principles that are learnt so as to ensure that the student is able to not only see where they have gone wrong but to be able to fix the error, to rectify the problem, to overcome the difficulty. So too the Bible shows us how when we do stray from God’s way to be able to get back on the right path. Finally it is our
• TRAINER
… it teaches us to do what is right.
In the world of Sport a trainer or coach is one who not only ensures the athletes supreme fitness but helps them to get to their peak and achieve their full potential. In the life of a Christian the Bible is our trainer … Paul says "… run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize." (1 Corinthians 9:24-25, NLT). The Bible is God’s means of us going for Gold!
However, in order to benefit and hear what God is saying we need to approach the Bible regularly and systematically and not haphazardly… The Bible is not a magical Pandora’s Box to dip into when we need something. To hear what God is saying to us we need to immerse ourselves into God’s Word
WE NEED TO (as Rick Warren suggests in the Purpose Driven Life) …
• RECEIVE IT
• READ IT
• RESEARCH IT
• REMEMBER IT
• REFLECT ON IT
Do you recall God’s instruction to Joshua as he assumed leadership of the People of God … "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do." (Joshua 1:8, NLT)
Let the Word become an integral part of your life. Apply it, Live by it, Act by it … REMEMBER GOD SPEAKS TO YOU THROUGH IT!
(SLIDE 6)
THE HOLY SPIRIT - GOD’S INNER VOICE
Jesus said… "When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come." (John 16:13, HCSB)
Paul confirms this… "And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:12, NLT)
The inner voice of the Holy Spirit, gives us impressions, puts ideas into our minds, when we act in a way that pleases God He gives us a sense of peace. Sometimes He gives us a conviction to do something, an awareness of a need. This is God speaking to you through the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit.
In the passage we read from Job, God continues to say through Elihu …"He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds." (Job 33:14-15, NLT)
However we are warned to be careful! Impressions can be counterfeited by the devil. Some horrendous things have been said claiming to be from God. Therefore we need to make sure that we …
DO NOT
• RESIST THE SPIRIT (Acts 7:51) … (Silence His convictions)
• GRIEVE THE SPIRIT (Eph 4:30) … (Sin grieves)
• QUENCH THE SPIRIT (1Thess 5:19) … (Stifle)
BUT RATHER
• BE FILLED WITH (OR CONTROLLED BY) THE SPIRIT (Eph 5:18)
When we allow the Spirit to control our lives, when we are led by the Spirit, we keep in step with God’s will for us… GOD DOES SPEAK TO US THROUGH THE INNER PROMPTINGS OR IMPRESSIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
(SLIDE 7)
THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE – GOD’S DOORS
GOD USES THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR LIVES TO SPEAK TO US…
• DOORS THAT OPEN OR CLOSE
We have an interesting instance of this in Paul’s life. Knowing that God had commissioned him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, Paul endeavors to preach in the region of Galatia… key areas in those days. But every time Paul tried to enter a region circumstances prevented him. Finally led to the seaport of Troas, God reveals His purpose and launches Paul into the area of evangelizing Greece. God also uses …
• PAIN/ADVERSITY
The Bible says …"Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways." (Proverbs 20:30, GNT)
"I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word….My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver." (Psalm 119:67, 71-72, NLT)
CS Lewis called Pain … ‘God’s Megaphone’, Pain and adversity gets our attention like nothing else. It stops us in our tracks causes us to turn to God! God allowed John Bunyan to be imprisoned. In prison God spoke and out of the experience came ‘Pilgrims Progress’.
Circumstances provide God with powerful opportunities of revealing His Plan to us.
HOWEVER A WORD OF CAUTION…
ALWAYS SEEK GOD’S PERSPECTIVE
Consider the circumstances of Joseph’s life. It could have been interpreted as a sign of God’s rejection. How did Joseph see it… "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people." (Genesis 50:20, NLT)
BE ALERT TO GOD’S LEADING
Adjust your life to God’s Plan and see what He is doing in your circumstances. Seek His will and not your own.
(SLIDE 8)
THE COUNSEL OF GODLY PEOPLE - GOD’S MESSENGERS
The Bible says… "Without guidance, people fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance" (Proverbs 11:14, HCSB) … "Plans fail when there is no counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." (Proverbs 15:22, HCSB)
The Bible is filled with accounts of God using others to convey His message.
There is the lovely story of CH Spurgeon who during his ministry suffered a period of discouragement due to weariness. Whilst on a retreat he attended a small country village church. The message spoke to him. After the service he thanked the preacher. Who upon asking his visitors name and hearing it was Spurgeon, blushed and confessed that the message was one of Spurgeon’s published sermons. To which the great man graciously said he realized it, but that God had shown him that day he needed his sermons as much as his hearers. God uses pastors and teachers, He uses Godly mentors, He uses the Church Family, and He even uses the ungodly!
IT IS VITAL TO HAVE GODLY PEOPLE WHO LOVE US ENOUGH TO TELL US THE TRUTH
ANOTHER WORD OF CAUTION
MEASURE THEIR COUNSEL AGAINST GOD’S WORD… IS THIS OF GOD? OR OF SATAN?
(SLIDE 9)
CONCLUSION
A young man once lost his job, and growing somewhat desperate about his plight, went to see an old pastor that he knew. As he poured out his heart to the pastor he angrily declared "I’ve begged and begged God to say something to help me, Pastor. Why doesn’t God answer?" The old pastor, who was sitting across the room, spoke a reply so quiet the young man was unable to make it out. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The pastor repeated himself, again in a soft tone. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the pastor’s chair. "Sorry," he said. "I still didn’t hear you." With their heads bent together, the old pastor spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "So we will move closer to hear him."
• NO ONE LOVES YOU MORE THAN GOD!
• HE WANTS TO SPEAK TO YOU!
THROUGH HIS WORD
THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT
THROUGH LIFES CIRCUMSTANCES
THROUGH COUNSEL OF GODLY PEOPLE
• DON’T MISS HIS VOICE! Move Closer to hear Him
HEAR IT
RECOGNISE IT
OBEY IT
"Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”" (Hebrews 3:15, NLT)
