Light Service Sermons for the Month
Power of Prayer
DATE: May 30, 1999
TEXT: Matthew 6:5-15
Light Service Sermons for the Month
Prayer Power for Busy People
Power of Prayer
DATE: May 30, 1999
TEXT: Matthew 6:5-15
Muhammad Ali when he was Cassius Clay was a little brash, a little arrogant. He was on an airplane and the pilot over the intercom informed the passengers that they were hitting some turbulence, and were to buckle their seat belts. (That's another way to tell the passengers that you better get ready to meet your maker!) The message came and Cassius Clay didn't respond. The stewardess came and said, "Please, sir, buckle your seat belt." He said, "Superman don't need no seat belt." In a quick response the stewardess replied, "Superman don't need no plane either. Put your seat belt on!" Well, I don't know if you are trying to live life on your own power. But if you are, it is impossible. It is absolutely impossible to go through life on our own power. God knows that. We weren't created to go it alone. God has made available to us all the power that we need to do everything that God dreamed when God first thought of us. So, we're told, "Ask. Seek. Knock." These words in the original writing in Greek are in the present imperative. It is both an invitation and a command. It is ongoing action. It means seek, and keep on seeking and expect to find something. Knock and keep on knocking until you find the door opened up. What we need to do today is find out how we can tap into that power, that invitation when we are invited to ask, seek and knock. This past week I was reading a book that talked a little bit about barriers, the hesitation most people have when it comes to asking. It is called The Aladdin Factor. Mark Hansen and Jack Canfield who wrote the books Chicken Soup for the Soul et all wrote this book. He starts his book talking about the story of Aladdin. Some may be very familiar with the story of Aladdin. It is the story of this grubby little boy sitting in the middle of the desert. He was holding a tiny little pot. He started rubbing the pot. He rubbed off an inscription. The inscription read, "Ask and you shall receive." All of a sudden as he was rubbing, the pot started to move and it got warm. A genie came out and said, "Well, little boy, what do you want?" Aladdin answered, "I want people to know who I am. You see, I'm really the king's son and if people knew who I was all the riches in the kingdom would be mine." Certainly, we're not referring to God as a genie. And we know that God is much more powerful…this is just a fable. But there is true power that is available to us as we are willing to ask, seek, and knock. Mark and Jack talk about some of the reasons people are afraid to ask. Unlike this little boy often there is a pride factor. I understand somewhat about this pride factor. Have you ever gotten lost? As a man, I don't want to admit it if I do get lost. If I'm trying to find an address I will drive around and around. In my earlier days I would rather drive for hours than to admit I was lost or to ask anybody for directions. Do you have anybody in your family like that? You'd just as soon waste the time and drive all over instead of taking the initiative of going somewhere and asking. And so we hesitate. There there is ignorance. We really don't understand. We don't now and we're not sure that asking will make any difference. And so we hesitate. Then there's fear. There's a fear factor in asking because if we ask and we don't get it we feel stupid or we feel humiliated. And so, we'd rather not ask and not receive than to ask and not receive. And so we hesitate. There is the factor of erroneous beliefs. We really don't believe that God is capable of doing the impossible. We really are not sure that God is who God claims to be. And so we hesitate. Finally there is low self-esteem. We don't feel we're worth it. If you ask for something significant and receive it you don't feel you deserve it. So there are all these barriers--all these obstacles--that we need to break through in order to be willing to do what God invited us to do...and that's ask! If you don't ask then you'll never have a prayer of receiving. Seek and you'll find. Knock and the door will be open to you. I discovered through prayer that prayer is power. We've had many experiences in our life--personal experiences--where we've watched prayer do things way beyond what we would ever have imagined. What's more, when we pray, the power of our problems decreases and the power of the solutions increase. Mother Theresa had three pennies. She wanted to start an orphanage. Mother Theresa said, I've these three pennies and now I'm ready to build an orphanage." People laughed at her! They said, "You can't build an orphanage with three pennies! That's ridiculous." She said, "That may be true. But with three pennies and God, anything is possible." You see, when she prayed she realized that the problem is smaller than the solution. Prayer helps us discover that. As we pray we discover that the power of the obstacles decrease and the power of the opportunities increase. Many of you are familiar with the story, David and Goliath. Well, Goliath was big. Goliath was bigger than the well-known football player "The Refrigerator." Goliath was 9 feet tall. David was told, "There is no way you can win; he's so big. David said, "There is no way I can miss; he's so big." David knew the power of prayer. David talks in many of the Psalms about his intimacy with God. David knew the power of God. Finally, as we pray the power of doubt decreases and the power of faith increases. I am sure you have been reading about the crises in Kosovo. Perhaps you have also been reading what has sustained many of the refugees over these last months. One said that if it weren't for Jesus Christ and for the time that she was able to pray and talk to God that she never would have survived. You se, she understands that God's invitation to ask, seek and knock is an invitation to plug into power. Prayer helps us plug into God's power. That power is available to transform any person's problem, any person's hurt, any person's fear, any person's doubt because at the end of prayer is God himself. We have a couple new LIFE groups talking about prayer. If any of you women would like to learn more about this power of prayer, talk to our small group LIFE leaders Robin Caldwell whose is leading a women's daytime prayer group, Susan Summerville, who is gathering another group for wives. Now as we pray together I invite you to take some time to talk with God, to plug into that power. Allow God to show and demonstrate for you what is possible. Let's pray… Dear God, when I pray, help us to expect you to answer, to trust that you will provide the best for my life. Give me new expectations to receive what you are willing, eager, and ready to give. Thank you for always listening to me and understanding my deepest needs. Now I am going to give you my requests.
AMEN