BORED WITH PRAYER MEETING
Matthew 18:18-20
S: Corporate Prayer
Th: Prayer: A Passion for His Presence
Pr: GOD CALLS US TO PRAY TOGETHER.
?: Why?
KW: Reasons
TS: We will find in our study of Scripture, three reasons that demonstrate why we should pray together.
The _____ reason why we should pray together is…
I. HOSTILITY (18)
II. HARMONY (19)
III. HUMILITY (20)
Version: ESV
RMBC 21 APRIL 02 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Prayer (why did I invite all these people)
A couple had invited some company to dinner. At the table, the mother turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?”
“I wouldn’t know what to say," she replied.
“Just say what you hear Mommy say,” the mother said.
The daughter bowed her head and said: “Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”
Well, obviously this is not what the mother had in mind.
Her daughter, for the moment, made the prayer before dinner a frustrating matter.
Do you ever find prayer frustrating?
Have you ever wondered if your prayers were making a difference?
Have you ever wondered if your prayers were making it past the ceiling?
Has it ever seemed to you that prayer was not much more than a waste of time?
I am sure that many of us have had doubts like that from time to time.
TRANSITION:
When we gathered together last week, we gave consideration to the Lord’s Prayer.
The disciples had been noticing that the relationship that Jesus had with the Father was vastly different than their own.
There was an intimate fellowship.
There was a closeness that they did not have.
In fact, Jesus would bring His petitions before His Father, and things seemed to happen.
So…
1. Because the disciples wanted what Jesus had, they asked Him to teach them how to pray.
They wanted to have that same kind of relationship.
So as a result, Jesus taught them what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”
But we must remember a weakness when it comes to prayers that we find in Scripture.
2. We must recognize that we are tempted to treat prayer like a formula.
As I mentioned last week…
We are tempted to think that if we have the right technique, and right form, our prayer will be efficient and effective.
But we must get this right…we are never, ever able to manipulate God.
We must not think that if we say the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer of Jabez, or any other kind of prayer on a repetitive basis, that our life will magically be blessed.
But we can and must learn from the prayers that we find in the Bible.
They do teach us how to pray.
This morning, though, I want us to give consideration to the importance of what we commonly call “corporate prayer.”
To describe corporate prayer, I want to offer this simple admonition…
3. GOD CALLS US TO PRAY TOGETHER.
Those of you who have a longer history here in this church, know that corporate prayer has been a topic of loving debate.
Some have been concerned that prayer’s place in this church seems at times to be an option rather than an essential.
Well, I share that concern as well…and that is why prayer is our theme this year (Prayer: A Passion for His Presence).
But it is not just prayer itself that concerns me, but the concept of praying together that must be a priority to our church family.
Today, we discover why.
For…
4. We will find in our study of Scripture, particularly Matthew 18:18-20, three reasons that demonstrate why we should pray together.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first reason why we should pray together is HOSTILITY (18).
Jesus says…
“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
We are not covering all the possibilities of what might be bound or loosed (that is for another study).
But I do want us to note the divide that exists between the ways of heaven and the ways of earth.
Clearly, there are things we are to be against, that are to be bound.
And there are matters that we are to be for, that are to be loosed.
We do this because…
1. This is war (cf. II Corinthians 10:3-4)!
This is what Paul describes…
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
We exist in the midst of spiritual warfare.
We are warring against evil authorities and powers in high places.
And we should never make the mistake that Satan is not fighting hard.
The hostility is great.
But our potential in the fight is even greater!
For listen…
2. Is it possible that ordinary humans could exercise, in some way, extraordinary power (Acts 1:8)?
Note what Jesus said when He ascended into heaven…
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you...”
The answer is “yes!”
God desires for His kingdom to come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
There is a spiritual kingdom that lies all about us that waits to be loosed.
There is a world beyond the commonplace that embraces us, waiting for us to recognize it.
This means that when we pray, we loose the resources of the Spirit in our own lives.
His power becomes our power.
ILL Notebook: Prayer (Samuel Chadwick quote [Puritan?])
Samuel Chadwick said…
The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.
We must pray, because we are God’s instruments in this spiritual war.
For…
3. The Lord works His salvation through the believing world.
He uses you and me.
We make a difference together.
But please note this…God waits until we ask before He moves.
I do not understand all there is about prayer.
I do not understand how and why God works.
Frankly, so much of this is a mystery to me.
But I do know this by experience.
When we come before God in prayer, He moves.
We are to pray together because the fight is so great, and it is not to be fought alone.
We are to pray together because we have been given power to make a difference for the kingdom!
II. The second reason why we should pray together is HARMONY (19).
“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
Last week, we made the point that…
1. We exist in community.
We saw that the Lord’s Prayer reinforced this principle of community when Jesus prayed, “Our Father” and “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Our prayers are to reflect that we do not live in isolation.
God has designed us to exist among others and not on our own.
But it is more than that.
He expects the community to work well together.
ILL Notebook: Music (prison quartet)
A special speaker was in a church in Mississippi, and the pastor announced that their prison quartet would be singing the following evening. The speaker wasn’t aware of a prison in the vicinity, but he looked forward to hearing them. The next evening, he was puzzled when four members of the church approached the stage. Then the pastor introduced them. “This is our prison quartet,” he said, “behind a few bars and always looking for the key.”
Well, unlike this quartet’s reputation…
2. Prayer is meant to be a concert.
The word translated “agree” in this passage is interesting.
It means “sound together” or “harmony.”
In other words, our prayers are to be a symphony, like musicians that play together.
So when you hear us speaking about having a “concert of prayer,” it is not about music, but about possessing a kindred spirit when it comes to our worship, confession and petition.
We sound good together.
It is pleasing to God’s ears.
This principle is so important to our boards and committees, for we should always look for agreement.
When we have differing opinions in our meetings, it is time to stop and pray.
It is time to discover what God wants and find the unity He has for us.
But if we don’t take time to find unity, we need to take time of this warning written by Oliver Price:
3. Beware: “There is no eternal security for local churches.”
He goes on to say…
“The Lord doesn’t reside within a church just because we invoke His name. He knows where He’s no longer wanted.”
We must consistently and persistently call on the Lord.
We need the Lord’s involvement.
And we need to have agreement among ourselves, possessing a knowledge of His will for us.
When for when we have that, God answers.
But sometimes, I wonder…if Christ’s Presence should somehow leave this church, would anyone notice?
Would anyone notice or would it run smoothly without Him?
Are we so busy doing it our way, that we have no idea what the Lord may desire for us?
This brings us to…
III. The third reason why we should pray together is HUMILITY (20).
Jesus said…
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Please note this…
1. Prayer is approaching God, coming on His merits, not our own.
When we come to God, who we are is not the issue.
Who Jesus is is the issue.
We must humbly accept this.
We like to bring attention to our faithfulness.
We like to bring attention to how knowledgeable we are.
But we cannot appeal to how good we have been or how much faith we have.
We cannot appeal to the history of our church.
We come in His name, not our own.
We do not come asking for what we want, but for what He wants.
When it is on our hearts to desire what will bring God glory, we are praying in His name.
And in turn, we discover that He is the with-us God.
For…
2. Prayer is discovering and recognizing God’s Presence.
When we gather to pray, (and we only need two), we discover that we are not alone.
Jesus does not say “I will be there.”
He says, “I am there.”
He is there because He is in every one of us.
Frankly, we can be very good at seeing the old man in Christ’s people.
Instead, I believe we should endeavor to see the Lord in His people.
There are so many temples of the Holy Spirit in our midst!
Therefore, we need to listen to each other.
He is here with us and His Presence is a blessing to us.
But that is not the end of it, for…
3. Prayer is discovering and living out the Lord’s purposes.
ILL Notebook: Prayer (Solzhenitsyn)
In Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," Ivan endures all the horrors of a Soviet prison camp. One day he is praying with his eyes closed when a fellow prisoner notices him and says with ridicule, "Prayers won’t help you get out of here any faster." Opening his eyes, Ivan answers, "I do not pray to get out of prison but to do the will of God."
May that be our heartbeat as well as we pray together.
Peace comes to God’s people as we pray together, and then we are able to go forward as God has called.
He moves and He moves us.
APPLICATION:
I know that many of us understand that, as individuals, we are to strive for Christlikeness.
But we never can fully accomplish Christlikeness without others.
For…
1. Jesus is never fully observed until He is seen as the church (Ephesians 1:21-23).
Note how Paul describes it.
Jesus is…
“...far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
It is on my heart that, as the church, His body, we will consistently gather in His name and submit to His Lordship.
He must be actively in charge.
We must act in the knowledge that Jesus is in charge.
ILL Notebook: Prayer (the way I am)
A young boy was kneeling by his bed and saying his prayers and asked God to make him a good boy.
The boy’s father, passing by the bedroom, overheard his son praying:
"And make me a good boy if You can. But if You can’t, don’t worry about it, ’cause I’m having fun the way I am."
This is where I become concerned.
We refuse the change that must come because we are having fun the way we are.
You see, we can become too comfortable.
We refuse to see the awfulness of our sin and the evil that is in our hearts.
We fail to recognize our selfishness that is observed in our self-sufficient and independent spirits.
And we wonder why God doesn’t move or answer our prayers.
It is because He is hindered by the cold water of our practicing unbelief.
We have thrown up a wall of stubborn resistance.
Frankly, let me admit that I have been bored with prayer meeting.
It is not that I am bored with prayer, although sometimes I think we could use some creativity.
What it really is, I believe, is a lack of excitement that is rooted in disbelief.
We don’t believe the difference that God can make when we pray together.
And it is this that I believe to be true…
2. Prayer meetings often fail because Jesus is not actively in charge.
When we gather for prayer as a church, let’s let Jesus take charge!
Let’s not forsake our first love.
Instead, let’s submit to Him and watch the power of the Holy Spirit go to work through us.
There is too much at stake.
Again as Oliver Price has said:
“Our unity is the instrument in God’s hands that awakens people in the kingdom of death and darkness and moves them into the kingdom of life and light.”
He will use us to make this kind of difference.
But to get there, we must understand that…
3. Prayer precedes spiritual renewal.
When the early church exploded with growth, it began with a gathering of prayer.
If you believe that spiritual renewal is important and that God desires our gathering together for prayer, then now is the time to consistently and persistently pray.
We have four gatherings a week.
I believe the future of our church is absolutely dependent on our willingness and determination to pray together.
Are you willing to join me?
After the postlude is finished, we are going to gather for prayer for Barb and Sharon because of the liver transplant, and also for Don and Carol, as Don’s cancer has returned for a third time.
If you want to stay for prayer afterwards, you are welcome to do so.
If you need to go, that is fine as well.
If you do stay, please move down here to the front so that we can get started as soon as possible.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Let’s pray together…because we are in spiritual warfare, we face a common enemy, so we must not face Him alone; no, we face him together—for He is powerless against our prayers.
Let’s pray together…because Jesus challenges us to agree—to come in a concert of prayer—determined to love and serve Him together.
Let’s pray together…because we don’t come together for our sake, but for the kingdom’s—today is a day we say—Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
