Lent 2 Prayer Luke 6:12-19 3-20-11

Sermon lent 2 – prayer 3-20-11 Luke 6:12-19 777777777

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

Jesus was a man of prayer

Prays in this scripture, random miracles, in the garden, on the cross
No other disciple is known as a man of prayer

Great people of prayer are found in the mystics and the monastics

Surrender
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more. Amen.
St. Ignatius Loyola
What is Jesus doing up on that mountain?
Recharging his batteries
There is some purpose for him…..
We too have a purpose – Is 40 they that wait upon the lord….

What we are taught in prayer- does not serve us well-
Close eyes, fold hands- not needful
Ask God for what you want- predisposes the notion that my life is about me

Stages of prayer- demello

I talk, god listens
It is easy for us to get stuck here
Do prayer wrong- because we are doing church wrong- life wrong

We have spiritual Add jdd Jesus deficit disorder



Pharisees had a godless religion
Christianity w/o Jesus at center is religion

To the degree that our faith practice is focused on liturgy, buildings, or doctrine, or us, we force Jesus out

The story of the fire maker
Story of the fire……….all the rituals, but none of the fire,
A man invented fire and took it to faraway lands
They loved it.
They worshiped the fire and the man moved on.
They built temples and put the fire tools on the altar.
They developed liturgy and ritual.
They got so busy doing religious things that they forgot the fire and let it burn out
So they had nice temples, but no fire.

Where is the fire of the Christian life? In the prayer.

Yet god listens to my prayers
Sometimes, you have to be here

There is a time to ask for things. Just don’t get stuck there
What if our prayer requests looked like this…….

I listen, god talks

Prayer changes things – me
We r not in control. We are submitted
The preponderance of scriptural evidence points to the relationship in this matter.

Bob Fillmore Marca Quinn study on prayer [make a slide for this]

However, the goal is still a call to prayer...but, we may have to introduce prayer...and practice prayer as a part of study in the beginning. The Power Of A Whisper is focused on the practice of "hearing God and having the guts to respond."

What does God say?
Sell all you have and go to china to be a missionary?
Love your neighbor, love your enemy, forgive. Keep no record of wrongs
Trust me, come follow me, fear not. Peace be with you. Turn the other cheek

If you want a life that is about your comfort, do not choose to follow Jesus
If you want a life that is about your agenda, do not choose to follow Jesus
If you want a safe life with no uncertainty, do not choose to follow Jesus

The holy spirit will lead you to places you never thought you would go and invite you to do things that you never thought you would

Silence
Explain it

A little bit more about this mission thing
First Sunday of the year
Its not about doing more
Its about a whole new way of living
You do not leave your life to go on a mission trip
Your life right here, right now is a mission trip

when not primarily in prayer…..still give the moment to God
1. I thank you for the feeling that I have when I listen to the eagles sing seven bridges road
2. I thank you for the feeling that I have when I watch the superbowl with my friends
3. I thank you for the feeling that I feel when I am arguing with someone because it drives me back to you

There are no good and bad moments….they are all Gods moments….
True sanctification is not eliminating the normal moments from your life….it is learning to make those moments that are shared with God
I take you to piano lesson…..God and I take you to piano lesson

The long lines at walmart

The greatest hindrance to the possibility of this is our busy lives
You cannot develop a loving relationship with someone without being able to spend some time with them

We are born asleep to God…..we walk around in a stupor…..being religious even…..but unaware, unconnected, out of touch
True prayer wakes us up to the reality of Gods deep love for us
True prayer wakes us up the reality of Gods availability & presence in our daily lives

Prayer heals us
Prayer helps us grow closer to God
Prayer sends us out

Conclusion
You have heard the story of the little boy who kept following his mother around the house, from one room to another, until she said: "What is it that you want?" The lad replied, "Nothing, I just want to be where you are."

I invite you to a life of prayer that turns you loose to be with God and to be on mission in God’s world.

Prayer

LAURA STORY - "BLESSINGS" LYRICS