Houston Congregational Christian Church

Pastor James Manuel
4883 Russia-Houston Road
Houston, OH  45333
Phone:  937-295-3591
Email:  click here

Message Title:     Praying Like Jesus

Call to Worship:     Mark 1:35                                     

Scripture Reading:                                Psalm 40:1-4

Prayer:  May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable unto You O Lord on this Your day.

Praying like Jesus.    May I say Jesus always made room in His busy schedule to be alone with God,   spending time with His Father in prayer.      Matthew 14:23 says that,  ‘After He had dismissed them He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray.’    Jesus knew that spending time in prayer with God nutures a vital relationship and equips us to meet life’s challenges and struggles. 

Have you ever thought about your prayer life?    Have you ever examined it and wished that you could be better at communicating with God?   Have you ever just felt like there were times when your prayers were just hitting the ceiling and bouncing right back down? Many of have wondered at times if there was any power in our prayers.  May I say the Christian’s most powerful resource is communion with God through prayer.   James 5:16 says,  ‘The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.’

It seems that sometimes as Christians we pray asking God to do certain things,   either in our life   or the lives of others.   So where do we start if it’s our goal to establish communication with God?        We can find many sources that would lead us into a prayer life with God.    But who can best help us with the principles of proper prayer      other than the master communicator Himself,   Jesus.    After all Jesus spent more time in successful,   active communication with the Father than anyone else.    

 Mark 1:35 tells us that,  ‘Very early in the morning while it was still dark,   Jesus got up,   left the house and went off to a solitary place,   where He prayed.’     Jesus took time to pray.   Finding time to pray is not easy   but prayer is the vital link between us and God.      Like Jesus we must break away from everything else to fine time to talk with God.

What do you want God to do in your prayer?       So many times we’re guilty of saying----God supply my needs.     God supply my wants.    God make things turn out the way I want them to.     Have we forgotten that the great God of  heaven and earth also has needs?       God needs to know that you love Him.    He not only wants you to tell Him this    He wants you to prove it by serving Him faithfully.        God needs to know that you desire to fellowship with Him.          And this involves spending time with God in prayer     just talking to God.             And sometimes it means just being quiet and listening to what God has to say.           Psalm 46:10 says,       ‘Be still and know that I am God.’

God needs to know that you’re devoted to Him.     That means choosing Him when you have a choice.         It’s amazing to think that God even  wants to answer our prayers     but God desires for you and me to call on Him as Phil. 4:6 tells us,     ‘Do not be anxious about anything   but in everything   by prayer and petition     with thanksgiving    present your request to God.’  

I think when there’s a sense of hopelessness and desperation,   like you are stuck in a pit.    It could be the breaking point for someone who is overworked.   Or it could be the limit of a mother with small children.     Or it could be the pain of a loved one who is suffering.       Or financial problems.          These are some of the pits we might face.  

You scratch and claw to try to get out and get some relief    but you keep falling back into the pit and there seems to be no hope      A sense of desperation and futility settles in.    King David felt that way.   David cries out to God for help as Psalm 40:1 tells us,   ‘I waited patiently for the Lord   He turned to me and heard my cry.’

David cries out to God for help,   he didn’t cry out to other people for help.   Some people are willing to say they need help   but they’ll seek it anywhere else but from God.    King David knew from experience that human help couldn’t save him in many situations.       There are times that are so desperate that only God can help us.    

I suppose the point here is that we shouldn’t avoid seeing doctors when we need to,  but that it’s a mistake to make a doctor your God   to think that with him alone is healing.   And this is true for whoever else we put our hopes on,   your husband,  wife,  boss,  parents  or even your pastor.   They’re not able to help us just by themselves.   We need God.         Psalm 146:3-4 tells,  ‘Do not put your trust in princes,  in mortal men who cannot save.’    Is your hope in the Lord your God rather than man?  

And when we find ourselves in difficult situations make sure we do what David did in Psalm 40:1,  ‘I waited patiently for the Lord,    He turned to me and heard my cry.’   Many of us when we cry out to God for help don’t wait long enough for God to act.   Whatever you might be facing in terms of a pit you may be in    continue to wait for God to act.   

And how long will it take for God to answer our prayers?      We don’t know for sure.   It could be years.   There were times when David had to wait for years for his prayers to be answered.    It doesn’t matter how long.   For you see we don’t know how long it will take for our situation to be changed.           But    our responsibility and our comfort is to wait patiently for God to act          Because God will.  

Just as God lifted David out of his slimy pit   He will lift us out of ours. And as Psalm 40:2 tells us,  ‘God will set my feet on a rock   and He gave me a firm place to stand.’          My friends waiting for God to help us is not always easy.      But David received benefits from waiting and so will we.    God will give us a firm place to stand and a new song of praise in our mouth.     God will take care of you. 

God will take care of you just as this story Joyce sent me tell us.   Give story of  3 Bullets---------