Pray Boldly
AI Transcript
Amen. Well, it feels weird for me to not say turn in your Bible to the book of Revelation since we're done with that. It was six months there, but nonetheless, we have to move on. But we're glad you're here. My name is Mark. If you're new here, welcome.
last Sunday night if you had the opportunity to come to our vision night. It was a sweet moment in the life of our church. But what we thank God is calling us to at this Crossroads moment. It is certainly bigger than us. And one of the things that we asked at vision night and we're asking our members is that you would enter into a season of praying boldly. That you would
take some time to intentionally build into your calendar and your rhythms of life to pray for the people next to you to pray for provision to pray for wisdom and discernment to to yeah to engage spiritually because we recognize if we learned anything from the book of Revelation series is that there are realities and forces at work in this world that that they hate the advance of the gospel they hate the kingdom of light and they will leverage their
resources against you and what we are called to do. And so we need to pray boldly to push back darkness to bring light into dark spaces. So pray boldly. so in a couple of weeks, you're going to hear what we're going to enter into this season called compel this two year initiative. And we'll we'll really jump into that in a couple of weeks. But we have these two weeks here that we have kind of a mini series that we are calling Pray Boldly.
What does it mean to be a church that prays boldly? And in preparation for this mini-series, I've read many books on prayer. The Bible has a lot to say about prayer. We could do a whole year on prayer. I read one book in particular. It's called Dangerous Prayers. in it, asks this question. If God was to answer all of your prayers over the last month, how would the world be different?
And was like, man, I was intrigued by that. And so the next time I was sitting down to talk with my wife, I asked her, said, hey, if God was to answer all of your prayers that you've been praying over the last month, how would the world look different? And of course, she started to respond and she gave very thoughtful answers. as I'm listening to her thoughtful answers and all the ways, I thought, uh-oh, she's going to ask me the question.
And I was like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And she's like, well, what about you? And I was like, well, yeah, every week I pray for our church. I certainly pray for the passage that I'm gonna preach. I'm praying that the Lord would make that clear and work in us. And I'm praying for what we think God is doing. But in the end, I was rather dissatisfied with my answers. I was like, hmm, why, why?
Why is it that theologically I know that because of what Jesus has done for us, he has purchased us the right to go into the throne room of God, to the very presence of God who is the creator of the universe, as a son of God, to offer every request, every burden, to lay it all down. Why am I not just in that place and in that space constantly? Constantly.
Why do I think that I can pretty much get a get on on my own without going to God in prayer prayer we know it is is is a gift for God's people but but I do know this in over 25 years of ministry both from personal experience and talking with you all. This is the area that we are most dissatisfied with our prayer lives.
On the one hand, prayer is a duty, but it is a duty that leads to delight. It's a duty like breathing is to living. It's a duty to breathe, live, but why do we disconnect from that? I think there are many reasons. You have your reasons, I have mine.
I think we live in a very distracted age and we give ourselves over to distractions. Do we not? I think of Blaise Pascal who wrote about how the distractions were just keeping him from the Lord time and time and time and so many distractions. But he wrote that in the 1600s. I'm like, I can't imagine one distraction you had in the 1600s. And you're like, distractions are what are keeping me from the Lord? Can you imagine?
He had no iPhone, right? Of course, we've already talked about it and we learn throughout the book of Revelation. There is a spiritual battle going on and if there is anything and there is one thing that the enemy hates most of all is your prayers.
That's what causes the enemy to tremble. It's the only space we go where we have actual spiritual power. And so, of course, the enemy is going to do whatever he wants and wants to do to distract us, to keep us a prayerless people. Maybe we're just too content.
Maybe if we think of prayer only as going to God to ask him to give us what we want, but we already have what we want, maybe we feel kind of selfish. Lord, we want more safety and more security and more comfort, even though we live in the safest, most secure, most comfortable place in the history of the world. And so, would we go to prayer just asking for more of that? Maybe you're afraid to pray.
I have a friend that she went to school with me in Prague when we were exchange students, Susanna from Alabama. And I remember sitting down, we were talking about our shared faith and I messaged her this week and I said, hey Susanna, guess what? Because I remember one day we were talking and she said, Mark, I never pray for humility because I don't want the Lord to humble me.
And so every time I see her or a messenger, I say, hey, Susanna, I'm praying for your humility. She's like, stop it. Right? on the one hand, we know that the goal of this life is to be shaped and formed into the image of Christ. And we know he is the most humble who ever lived.
but we're afraid that the Lord would humble us. And not just in humility, there's so many areas that maybe we're afraid to pray bold, dangerous prayers because we're afraid of God actually answering those prayers. Well, like let's not spend too much time praying about unreached people groups and the nations and missions because we're in Parker, that's what we like.
And if we pray that, maybe the Lord might start to pull us in that direction. Let's not pray about certain ministries. Let's not pray for our kids' ministry because maybe the Lord would be like, yeah, maybe I should serve there. Let's not pray for patience, right? Because if we pray for things like patience and humility, God's just gonna give us opportunities to be patient. That's what we're trying to avoid, right? Let's not pray for humility because God will humble us.
Yes, that's what Jesus looks like, but we're afraid. Let's not pray about things like the foster care system because, gosh, that would be really hard if the Lord invited us into that. I mean, so many things. Maybe we're just afraid. you feel like you're just barely holding on as it is. And to pray a bold, dangerous prayer like that, you feel like, Lord, that would be just a step too far. I don't know.
all of our reasons why we're afraid to pray bold, dangerous prayers.
But as we look at the Bible and we compare our prayers to the spectrum of the Bible, I think we tend to only pray a very small slice of what prayer actually is. We pray things like for supplication and the Bible does certainly invite us to pray and ask God for all that we need and even what we want. Jesus teaches this. So we pray things for blessings over our lives.
protection and provision we pray for healing and favor we pray for traveling mercies whatever that is right we pray that the Lord would go before us we have all this like prayer language that we don't even really know what it's about we we pray over our food right
You'll go to lunch today, you'll go to In-N-Out, and you'll get a double-double animal style with fries, animal style, and you will pray. You will pray a prayer of blessing, and I'm not sure what's going on there. Because first thing, a couple observations. If you pray, Lord bless this food, like if you've ever had a double-double animal style, it's already blessed.
But if you're praying like, yeah, bless this food and let it really nourish my body, God's like, that's not how, that's not how that works.
We pray prayers of thanksgiving and we should, right? Like we pray prayers of, Lord help me get this promotion or I got this test coming up in school, Lord help me with that. But here's, like all those prayers fit essentially into, God here's my plan and my vision for my life, now can you go make it happen?
They fit very comfortably within our comfort zone and our plan for our life. But when we look at the Bible, we actually see a very broad range of prayers, bold prayers. We would say dangerous prayers from a human perspective.
Let me just go with a few. I'll put them on the screen. In fact, you didn't even know it, but you prayed it this morning in the confession, Psalm 139, where it says, search me. You ever prayed that prayer and meant it? Or search me and see if there's anything in me that is not glorifying to you. That's a bold prayer. That's a dangerous prayer. Because
We're all in process, so none of us are practically what we are positionally in Christ. Positionally, we are perfect and righteous, but practically we're in process. And so you begin praying that prayer and God says, yeah, I'll show you some things. That's a dangerous prayer. That's a bold prayer. All right, what about, me? Send me. You ever prayed this prayer?
The reference here is to Isaiah and if you know the context, it is after he has this mind blowing encounter with the presence of the Lord, seeing the Lord in the temple and he's blown away and God gives him grace and mercy and having received grace and mercy, he hears this conversation going on in the heavenly realm. Who's going to go for us? Who will we send? And Isaiah says, send me. But here's the deal. Isaiah.
Doesn't say, I know the assignment. I know the people group. I know what's going to happen. I know how you're going to bless me. I know all these things. He doesn't know any of that. It's a blank check. Lord, send me. And and God says, OK, yeah, it's not going to be awesome. They're not going to listen to you. They're going to persecute you. It's going to be a painful life. says it doesn't matter. I've seen the Lord send me. It's a bold prayer. It's a dangerous prayer. Let's keep going. Use me.
Use me. You ever pray that Lord use me offer my body as a living sacrifice. What about break me. Creating me a clean heart this this book that I read the one third of the book was on this whole idea of break me and I just listened in. I was like man. That's a bold prayer. I am hesitant to pray that prayer. Break me.
I mean, I get it philosophically that we need that word. Create in me a clean heart. Sometimes we pray bold, dangerous prayers and we don't even know that they're bold and dangerous. I think of Moses in Exodus 33. Show me your glory.
And God essentially says to Moses, you don't know what you're asking. Show me your glory. Similarly, Psalms 27. Let me see your face. We saw last week that this is the aim and the goal of the Christian life that that when Jesus comes and establishes everything, there will be a day where we will see God face to face. But to pray that now is bold and dangerous. Psalm 25. Teach me your ways, Lord.
Teach me your ways. First Samuel 3 10, speak Lord your servant is listening. I have ears to hear what you have to say. Acts four, give me boldness. This comes after the disciples, John and Peter have just been arrested. Arrested by the way, by the men who just weeks earlier, crucified Jesus and still have the power to do that.
And they arrest Peter and John and in prison. What do they pray? They don't say, Lord, go before us, give us traveling mercies, protect us, deliver us, let you know, bring down fire on our enemies. No, they pray, Lord, when we get out, give us boldness to proclaim Jesus. That's their prayer. That's a bold, dangerous prayer. Luke 17, increase my faith. We don't we want more faith?
We just want God to give it to us, but he has ways to give it to us. Opportunities to trust him that increase our faith. Take my life. For I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Take my life, Lord, and use it however you want. Or build your kingdom. In my life, build your kingdom.
Do you see the difference here? So in the first set of prayers, the ones were comfortable praying. They all fit nicely in our vision, our plan for the good life. These fall outside of that. That's why they're bold. That's why they're dangerous. These prayers, if God, if we were to begin to pray these prayers as a church, we realized if God were to answer them, there'd be some cost to that. These would be costly prayers.
But I want to suggest to you that maybe there's a greater cost in our lives if we don't pray these prayers. If we don't step out in faith, if we are unwilling to ask God to do what God can only do, there's a greater cost. Because when we look at the scriptures, the men and the women who prayed these bold prayers, it was costly to them.
Their life was not comfortable. Often their life was not safe, but they experienced something that we all really, really want. They experienced things like God's power in their lives. Like they could point to. Praying these prayers that led to power. They experienced in a deeper, more intimate way, God's presence in their lives.
They experience God's purpose in their lives. They experience a perspective on their lives. All these things we desperately want. If we're not willing to pray these prayers and walk in these ways, then this is the cost. Power, presence, purpose, perspective.
I think of a story in the life of Christ. I think of the disciples, and I love the disciples because they're so ordinary. They're so relatable. But for three and a half years, they got called by Jesus, the Son of God, who has left His throne and glory. And they get a front row seat to the life and ministry and the miracles of Jesus, the power of God through Jesus. And they're just taking it all in. Right?
One time as they were on a boat at night, Jesus wasn't with them because they would see Jesus just constantly going off to pray. It'd be early in the morning, it'd be in the middle of the day, it'd be late at night. The scriptures have it all. Jesus is constantly going off to pray.
Well, one night they Jesus said, sit him ahead and they're on the boat. And you know the story. A storm comes up and and Jesus is walking on the water. And all the disciples freak out. They think it's a ghost. But then Peter connects the dots and and he prays a bold, dangerous prayer. You know this prayer, Lord, if it is you command me to come to you on the water. Talk about a bold, dangerous prayer.
And I love it because again, you want power, you want presence, you want perspective. Jesus says, come, come on out Peter. And this fisherman from Galilee takes a foot over the gunwale and steps on water and he takes another step.
And he takes another step and another step in the history of recorded history. What we know of two people that have walked on water. One was the son of God, the co-creator of the cosmos, the one who spoke and the molecules of the water came into existence. And the other was Peter, a fisherman. Say, well, Mark, I...
I know how that story ends. falters, he sees the wind and the waves and yes, but even in his faltering, he experiences something the 11 other guys on the boat never experience. Not only does he get to walk on water as he's going under and his head is going below the water, he feels the strong right arm of the son of God lift him up out of the water and gets embraced by him. It's a bold prayer. It's a dangerous prayer.
But what is the cost if we're unwilling to pray these prayers? Well, we don't get those things that we really want and we need as a church and as individuals, power, presence, purpose, perspective.
We know this in so many other areas of our lives, that the way to get what we want isn't to avoid the hard thing, but to go through the hard thing, right? Like the Japanese have a term for this, it's called misogi. Misogi is this idea that there is a challenge, an obstacle, you don't go around it, you go through it to the other side because the reward is greater on the other side. Every Olympic athlete you watch over the next two weeks understands this.
They've put in the work. They've suffered to get to where they want to go. Why wouldn't it be true spiritually as well? Well, as the disciples.
followed Jesus for these three and a half years and they saw his power in the presence of God and the purpose of God in Jesus's life. They wanted that but but they don't just come to Jesus and say give us that power. No they connect the dots. Jesus is constantly going to the Father in prayer and so one day in Luke chapter 11 verse one the disciples come to Jesus and ask him this. It's a bold prayer actually. It's this teach us how to
pray. These Jewish guys come to their rabbi and they say we need to learn from you. Would you teach us how to pray? And Jesus doesn't say, what are you talking about? It's just talking to God. No. Jesus doesn't say, well just pray your Jewish prayers. Jesus says, I'll teach you how to pray. And what he teaches them
is not a mantra or a magical incantation even though sometimes we treat it as such. teaches them a pattern of bold and even dangerous prayers. I'll put it on the screen. You know it as the Lord's Prayer. In fact, let's say it out loud together. Ready? Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Now again, this is a prayer that we've prayed thousands of times that we know. But again, Jesus didn't give us this prayer that we could just say that, but that we could mean it, that each line, each word of the prayer could launch us off into deeper prayer, connect us with the power behind the prayer. And in fact, it has one of the most dangerous, bold prayers in all of the Bible. Did you see it?
your will be done. You pray that in your life? Father, not my will, your will be done. Not my plans, not the vision of the good life I have, but.
your will be done. This is a prayer of radical surrender. This is a prayer where we take the illusion of our control, the white knuckled grip control, and we release it and we say, God, not my will, but your will be done.
We are convinced it really goes back to the sin in us back to our first parents. We are convinced that God is holding out on us. That's why we've got to hold so tightly that that what God commands and what God desires for us isn't what will make us most happy. But if we begin to pray this bold prayer Lord your will be done and that means we surrender control of our lives.
So it's important for us to know theology. It's important for us to gather and enter into the rhythms of rehearsing the truth of God because this is the only way you can pray this prayer. Your will be done and mean it. Think about the one who is teaching them how to pray. He is loving. He moves towards sinners not away from them. He is humble. He serves and suffers before he reigns. He is compassionate.
He is faithful. He keeps all of His promises. This one who taught us, Jesus, He is infinitely wise. He is infinitely good. He is all sufficient. Our theology tells us from Romans chapter 8 that Jesus is working all things together for our good and for His glory.
You have to hold theology rightly if we're going to be able to release to God and pray honestly, your will be done. We have to know who we're surrendering to. See, think we know, we think we know what will make us most happy. So let me give you an example. Anyone who's ever had a toddler knows this.
There are moments in the life of the toddlerhood where they lose their minds because they think you're withholding something from mom, dad, you're withholding something. I have to have that thing.
Doesn't matter how ridiculous it is. could be a whole construction truck out on like moving dirt. It could be a candy bar. It could be any number of things. I have to have that losing mind meltdown, but you're the parent. You've got 20, 30 years on this kid and you love this kid and you want this kid's best. And in that moment, if you're a good parent, you don't just give them what they want.
Even though they're melting down, they're so angry with you because you love them. You know, you've been there. You want what's best. Now consider this. You've got 20 or 30 years on them. The gap between you and them is hardly anything compared to you and me and God who is infinite.
How much more does God know us, love us, and is working all things together for our good? We can trust Him in this prayer.
not my will, but your will be done. So we must lock in on two truths. This is what I want us to lock in over these couple weeks as we enter into this crossroads moment of our church. Number one, we have to lock in on this truth that God always, always, always has our very best in mind. Always.
We get angry at God because we're like toddlers sometimes. We don't see that we can't connect the dots, but he does have our very best in mind. And number two, bold prayers are a pathway to what we want or should want most. This is why we pray bold, dangerous prayers, because in the end, it's more costly to us not to pray these prayers.
We want to be more like Christ. We want the power and the presence of the perspective of Christ. And so we pray bold prayers. Well, I want to invite you to just do one thing. In fact, I'll invite the worship team to come back up. I don't want to just talk about it. I want to do this. So if you have a bulletin or a smartphone, ignore your social media for a moment and pull this out. I want you to write down this one thing.
This week I want to invite you to pray a bold dangerous prayer. want you to pray any of them that you saw or possibly this one. will be done dot dot dot. Then I want you to write that area of your life where maybe already you sense the Holy Spirit is calling you to release a grip in your life. Your will be done in this relationship. Your will be done in.
this area of my life at work or my resources or your will be done. Maybe you already know the very specific thing that the Lord is inviting. I want you just to write that down. Begin to think about that.
If you don't have a specific one, just this week, begin to pray, your will be done, and just start kind of, I like to start concentrically. Start with your own life. In my mind, in my thinking today, Lord, I want your will to be done. With my hands and in my work, I want your will to be done. In my relationships with my wife and my kids and my coworkers, want your will to be done. Just kind of work your way out in our church. Lord.
We believe you're calling us to something bigger than ourselves that we are not smart enough to figure out on our own. So would your will be done. So this week would you just would you pray this dangerous prayer. Lord your will be done. So write it down. Now here's the key. I want you to pick a time and a place. A time and a place this week in this time and in this place. I'm going to pray this prayer.
It's kind of building a liturgy of bold and dangerous prayer in your life. In this time, in this place, this is where I'm going to pray. The Lord leads you if you want. I'm going to fast on this day, the whole day, or through this meal each week, or this time at lunchtime, I'm going to put aside food, and I'm going to hunger and thirst for God in this area of my life. Lord, Your will be done.
Maybe you're hearing, you're like, man, Mark, don't know.
That feels dangerous. Then I would say pray the most relatable prayer in all the Bible. In Mark chapter nine, there's this man who's got a son who's been inflicted. He's in pain. He he's oppressed and demon possessed. And can you imagine as as a mother or father just seeing your child in so much turmoil and pain. And he hears this rumor that there's this rabbi named Jesus that that can maybe do something about this. And so he he works his way to a village where he finds Jesus.
And he comes and he pleads before Jesus. He says, it is possible, if it is possible, have mercy, have compassion on me, if it is possible. And Jesus says, if it is possible, if it is possible. Jesus says, all things are possible for those who believe. The man falls on his face before Jesus and he says this, Lord, I believe.
Help my unbelief. Is that not the most relatable prayer in all the Bible? Like if you're struggling with surrendering, you're struggling with giving up and praying some of these bold prayers, then that's the prayer you pray. I want to. I believe. Help my unbelief. And again, even as you think about that this week, know this.
Jesus not only taught his disciples to pray this prayer, Lord your will be done. The reason we can trust Jesus is because he lived it. On the night he was betrayed, Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane. He went to his disciples and he begged him. brothers, this is the moment, this is the hour. Pray with me. Pray with me.
And they failed and they faltered like you and I fail and falter. They fell asleep. But Jesus went a little further and He knelt down and three times He prayed, Father, if it is possible, take this cup from me. He was saying, if there's any other way for salvation, other than the cross that you're sending me to, if there's any other way, Lord, take it from me. But He ended each prayer, nevertheless, not my will be done, your will be done.
He lifted and he got up and he walked in the Father's will to the cross for you and for me to pay the price you and I deserve to pay on the cross to bear the wrath of God against the sin of the world. He lived it. It was the most painful difficult thing that has ever been accomplished on earth. The author of
The book of Hebrews puts it this way. It says, Church, brothers and sisters, let us run with endurance the race Jesus has set before us, looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
I want to just take a moment in your seat right now between you and the Father, begin to pray. Wherever area that He's brought up to your life, your will be done. Then I'll close us in prayer and we will continue on.