Sunday's Message: Spiritual Growth for the Height Challenged - Prayer

When it comes to spiritual growth, have you ever felt “height challenged”? If you’ve ever felt somewhat short in the spirituality department, this sermon series is for you. For five Sundays, we’ll discuss how we might grow in our faith and in our relationship with God. Specifically, we cover the following growth-related topics:

• January 15 – Study (Psalm 19)
• January 22 – Prayer (Colossians 4)
• January 29 – Stewardship (Ephesians 5)
• February 5 – Worship (Revelation 4-5)
• February 12 – Evangelism (2 Corinthians 5)

There's no reason to feel like a dandelion in the midst of spiritual sequoias. Join with us at Sligo Cove Presbyterian Church and grow into everything God created you to be.

During the second message in this series, we looked at the importance of prayer for spiritual growth. Below is a copy and recording of the sermon. You can stream the series by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.

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Well, here we are, on a grey January Sunday morning. And I’ll tell you, since neither the Steelers nor the Colts are in the play-offs, I’ve got some mixed emotions. I mean, on one hand, it’s really a drag, having to wait a little over seven months before hope and possibilities are reborn. And remember, regardless of our team, that’s also the time we can start complaining about the coach and/or the quarterback. And so it’s pretty disappointing and uncomfortable not to have that as part of my life. Now that’s on one hand. But on the other hand, though, it’s actually kind of a relief not having your whole day ruined by a fumble or a dropped pass or a horrible decision made by the coach and/or quarterback. Speaking for myself, I can now sort of chill as McCarthy goes against Shanahan and Allen dukes it out with Burrows. I’m telling you, the pressure is off, at least it is for me today.

But that really wasn’t the case yesterday, because I was working on the second message in the series we started last week, you know, the one entitled “Spiritual Growth for the Height Challenged.” Now, as y’all remember, we’ll be spending five weeks talking about some of things we can do that just might help us grow spiritually. And we started by looking at study, at why it’s important, you know, because it can improve our lives and it can enable us to understand God and it might even help us avoid being stupid and how we can effectively do it by taking God's word and reading it, pondering it and then living it. Now that was last week.

And this morning, we’re going to consider something else that might help us grow spiritually, and now I’m talking about prayer. And you know, although it’s one of those things that I think every Christian believes is important, I’m not sure we’re nearly as clear about what it’s all about. For example, I remember, years ago, when I was in a high school youth group back in Virginia, at the end of every meeting, we’d form a circle to pray. And I’ve got to tell you, I really didn’t like it at all, and I’ll tell you why. You see, if you weren’t on the right side of the one who started it, man, there was a lot of pressure. I mean, the ones who prayed first, they got all the good stuff, you know, like world peace and the end of hunger and the strength to survive Mr. Gwaltney’s English class, you know, stuff like that. Those were the good prayers and they went to the first pigs to the troth. But I can remember standing on the wrong side of the leader, sweating bulletins over what I was going to say when it was my turn, knowing that all the good prayers had already been prayed. And what made it worse, Linda Hill and Valerie Hall and Pinkie Beck were in the group. I didn’t want them to hear me be a copycat or worse, to pray for something really stupid. It was awful. And I’ll tell you, along with asking God to pass a test or maybe to prevent my dad from finding out, that was my understanding of prayer. And although the specifics may be different, I don’t think my assumptions about praying was or is all that unique.

And so, for the next ten minutes or so, we’re going to talk about prayer. And as we did last week with study, we’re going to answer two questions: first, why is prayer important for those who want to grow spiritually; and second, how we might actually become better at praying. Now that’s the game plan. And hopefully, by the time we leave here this morning, we’ll all have a better understanding of what prayer is all about.

And I think it all starts when we answer that first question: Why is prayer important? In other words, why should we be thinking about prayer at all? And why might it actually help us grow into the kind of men and women God created and called us to be? Why? Now that’s the question.

And using the Bible, I think we can find three pretty solid reasons for why prayer is important, or at least, should be. I mean, for one, we’re commanded to pray, aren’t we? I mean, that’s exactly what Paul told the Colossians when he wrote this:

Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful. Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this. Please pray that I will make the message as clear as possible. [Colossians 4:2-4, CEV]

You see, throughout the Bible, we’re told to pray, and that’s one reason why it should be important for us. 

And two, in Scripture, we’ve got all kinds of people who prayed and did it on a regular basis, men and women whose example we’re told to follow. And even though I can’t think of a single person who’s presented as a paragon of dedication who didn’t pray, the best example has to be Jesus Christ himself. Man, he prayed all the time, and not only did the Evangelists write that he prayed either in front of people or in private, when Jesus was forced to confront the most difficult decision he faced in his entire time on earth, this was what Luke wrote:

Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives, as he often did, and his disciples went with him. When they got there, he told them, “Pray that you won't be tested.”

Jesus walked on a little way before he knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you will, please don't make me suffer by drinking from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want.”

Then an angel from heaven came to help him. Jesus was in great pain and prayed so sincerely that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood. 

Jesus got up from praying and went over to his disciples. They were asleep and worn out from being so sad. He said to them, “Why are you asleep? Wake up and pray that you won't be tested.” [Luke 22:39-46, CEV]

You see, if we want to follow in his footprints, we really need to pray, and that’s another reason it’s important. 

And three, I think prayer is simply something we need to do. In other words, it’s just plain good for us. And it can really make our world a better place. And I’ll tell you, for me, that’s probably the most important reason of all. You see, I think prayer can sharpen our attention when we’re distracted and it can calm us down when we’re upset. It can move us closer to God and in a very real way, it can bring us into God’s very presence. And you know, when we choose to take it seriously, it can help others when we either pray for them or maybe even better, pray with them and as such, it can result in real change. And I believe that was the reason James wrote this in his letter:

The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot. Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling. But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow. [James 5:16b-18, CEV]

And so, because we’ve been told to pray and because it was done by the great men and women of the Bible and because, for a variety of reasons, it’s simply something we need to do, man, that’s why I believe prayer is important for spiritual growth, the answer to our first question.

And that leads to question number two: How can we do it? In other words, how can we be more effective and more comfortable as we pray to God? Now, again, that’s the question. And just like it was with study, I’m going to offer three things that I think we can all do that will help us pray better.

And I’ll tell you, even though I often save the best for last, when you’re talking about prayer, I think the most important thing we need to do is this: man, we need to relax. In other words, we need to stop worrying about all kinds of things that really are of secondary importance, you know, like making the right requests and saying the right words and having the right attitude. I’ll tell you, we need to stop being like I was in my senior high youth group, because all that nonsense I was so worried about was nothing more than a distraction. And you know, that’s why we really need to relax as we approach God, because when we do, it’s a lot easier to be honest and open, honest about what we feel and open about what we want. And I’ll tell you, I think we see this kind of honesty in an Old Testament book of prayers called Lamentations. For example, after telling God about how much he’d been suffering and how unhappy he was, the one praying ends his prayer with this:

Pay them back for everything

    they have done, Lord!

Put your curse on them

    and make them suffer. 

Get angry and go after them

until not a trace is left

    under the heavens. [Lamentations 3:64-66, CEV]

Now that’s what this person prayed to God; therefore, clearly he wasn’t stressed about the appropriateness of his request or his words or his attitude, and yet, what he said was honest, wasn’t it?  And I believe honesty is what God wants to hear. And remember, at Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you will, please don’t make me suffer by drinking from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want.” [Luke 22:42, CEV] Man, that was honest too, something that we can be when we relax a little bit. And you know, even if we get it all wrong, I mean, even if our decision to be honest causes us to make the wrong requests and to say the wrong words and to have the wrong attitude, we really can’t mess up prayer. Remember, Paul wrote this to the Romans: 

In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God's people. [Romans 8:26-27, CEV]

You see, God already knows; therefore, we really can relax. And that’s the first thing we can be when we pray.

And second, we can also focus, and I’m talking about focusing our attention when we pray. Of course, I recognize that it may be difficult to do. My goodness, even if we’ve decided to be more relaxed, it’s really easy for our thoughts to be scattered. And let’s get real, no matter what we might want, all kinds of stuff can sort of intrude on our ability to pray, and I’m talking about everything from a crying baby to a 3:00 kickoff. And you know, maybe that’s why, when Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray, he said this:

When you pray, don't be like those show-offs who love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward.

When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you.

When you pray, don't talk on and on as people do who don't know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. Don't be like them. Your Father knows what you need even before you ask. [Matthew 6:5-8, CEV]

You see, where we pray is every bit as important as what we pray. As best we can, we need a distraction-free place to talk with God. And as to how we can pray when we find it, well, remember Jesus also gave his disciples a structure, an example of the kind of prayer they could use.

 You should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,

help us to honor

    your name.

Come and set up

    your kingdom,

so that everyone on earth

    will obey you,

as you are obeyed

    in heaven.

Give us our food for today. 

Forgive us for doing wrong,

    as we forgive others.

Keep us from being tempted 

    and protect us from evil. [Matthew 6:9-13, CEV]

Now if we’re looking for focus, here it is. And I think that’s the second thing we can have when we pray.

And third, we can trust; we can simply trust that not only does God hear us, but that God also loves us. And he’s going to continue to love us regardless of whether we’re worried or relaxed, scattered or focused. I mean, we’ve already heard both Paul and Jesus tell us that God hears us when we pray. In fact, that he already knows what we need before we ask and that he even prays for us when we’ve become distracted. God is with us all the time. And we can say the exact same thing about his love. Now I know I’ve used this passage a lot, but I’ll tell you, I think it’s something we need to remember, especially when we’re approaching God. Paul wrote, 

Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? It is exactly as the Scriptures say,

“For you we face death

    all day long.

We are like sheep

on their way

    to be butchered.”

In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord! [Romans 8:35-39, CEV]

You see, right here and right now, we can trust in God. And brothers and sisters, and along with relaxing and focusing, that’s the third thing we can do. And I’ll tell you, that’s exactly how we can pray, the answer to our second question.

You know, although I think Christians will always consider prayer important, most of us will also probably feel a little uncomfortable doing it, even if we’re not in a prayer circle with Linda and Valerie and Pinkie. But you know, if we’re serious about spiritual growth, I believe it’s certainly worth the effort, especially since we’re commanded to do it and we know the great examples of faith did it and it’s something that we just need to do for a variety of reasons. Prayer is important. And I’ll tell you, it’s something that’s possible for us to do well, when we decide to relax and to focus and to trust. You see, for the spiritually height challenged, prayer is an outstanding way to grow.