| Introduction You all have heard me quote in multiple occasions what the great Dutch theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper said concerning the lordship of Christ: "There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!" In essence, that is what the apostle Paul has been declaring to the Colossians and to us since 3:5. Remember that the simplest, most primitive, and important Christian confession of faith is JESUS IS LORD. Christians through the centuries have joyfully lived and gladly died for this truth: JESUS IS LORD. According to Paul, Jesus is Lord over the way we live our lives, 3:5-17. The apostle also explains Jesus's sovereignty over the household, 3:19-4:1. Now, Paul continues to show us that JESUS IS LORD over us by pointing us to him in prayer. These verses before us today are a conclusion of a series of general exhortations about the way the lordship of Christ is supposed to be lived out in daily life. I. Much has already been said in Colossians concerning perseverance in prayer. Col. 1:3 – We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you… Col. 1:9 – For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding… Col. 2:1-3 – For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and foras many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. II. Continue in Prayer, 2. "Paul highlights the need not only to pray, but to make prayer a standard feature of the Christian life: Devote yourselves to prayer." Douglas Moo A. This not just an encouragement to pray intensely when they pray, but Christians would pray habitually, which is the overall encouragement of the Scriptures. 1. Pray always and not give. Lk. 18:1 – Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…. 1 Thess. 5:17-18 – pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Acts 2:42 – And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 6:4 – … we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Rom. 12:12 – … rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer…. B. There are two attitudes that Paul exhorts us to pursue as we pray. 1. Alertness (be vigilant) a. Pay attention to your prayers, stay awake. b. Be aware of what is going on around you so you can pray for it. a. This is a common receipt in Paul's teaching about prayer. b. Thankfulness is woven in everything the Christian does – at least it should be. c. A lot of our problems, both personal and relational, would be solved if the attitude of thankfulness was constantly present in our lives, specially in prayer. {TRANSITION: why is prayer so prevalent in the Bible? Christians are always praying in Acts; our Lord constantly prays and teaches us how to pray; the apostles urge the church to pray.} III. Prayer Is Lifeblood of the Christian Life A. The longest chapter in John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion is chapter 20 – Of Prayer—A Perpetual Exercise of Faith. 1. Here we have one of the greatest Christian thinkers to ever exist, and he spends more time on the subject of prayer than in any other subject. 2. He did that because he knew the importance and centrality of prayer for the life of the Christian. "To know God as the Master and Bestower of all good things and not to go to Him and ask of Him, this would be of as little profit as for a man to neglect a treasure buried and hidden in the earth after it had been pointed out to him." "As children unburden their troubles to their parents, we go to God with our prayers." "…prayer is not so much for His [God's] own sake as for ours… so that our hearts may be fired with a zealous and burning desire ever to seek, love, and serve him." B. Those that know God and are intimately and personally connected to God will seek him earnestly. Ps. 63:1 – O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. 1. The earnest seeking and desire for God, and desire to be with him, is described in terms of physical needs that we can relate to: thirst and hunger. a. Not any thirst or hunger, but the type of thirst and hunger one experience after days in the driest of deserts. b. This longing is so extreme that this word is often translated faints with desire. 2. I think one can only desire God and prayer in this way when he or she understands the grace of God. a. When he understands what the tax collector understood when he said, "Be merciful to me a sinner." b. When she understands that God knows that God knows her heart, everything in it, and still says, "I love you very much because of my Son." c. When he understands that he doesn't have to put up any pretense or wall, that he can come naked before the Lord. 3. When we understand the grace of God, we are free to desire and seek God in the way this verse describes. a. If we understand the grace of God rightly, we are going to be open to let others know what prayer needs we have that go beyond our colds and headaches. b. And we will not be judgmental of others. c. Rather, we will, hand in hand, climb on to the court of heaven, pleading with God for one another. d. And our prayers for each other will deeper and more meaningful like Paul's prayers for his brothers and sisters – two examples: Phil. 1:9-11 – And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. 2 Thess. 1:11-12 – Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. B. Praying is part of the identity of the Christian. "There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christians so much as our prayer life." Martin Lloyd-Jones "What a man is on his knees before God, that he is—and nothing more." Robert Murray McCheyne IV. There Is Absolutely Nothing That We Cannot Take to God in Prayer. Phil. 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…. "Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? You should never be discouraged, Take it to the Lord in prayer." Joseph Scriven A. Go to God and tell him what troubles you! 1. He already knows it; it is not like we can hide it from him. 2. That's the kind of God he is, he wants us to come to him and spill out our woes. 3. He doesn't want us to straighten everything about us before coming to him prayer. 4. He wants our coming to him in prayer be what straightens us B. There is no guarantee that going to God will take the pain away. 1. Paul's thorn in the flesh didn't go away even though he sought the Lord earnestly three times. 2. Jesus' pain in the Garden of Gethsemane didn't go away even though He longed that it might. C. But God gives grace, the grace of sustaining perseverance to endure whatever comes our way. 1. The way that comes is through the conduit of prayer and the pouring out of our souls to him. 2. This is all well-worn ground, but it needs repeating over and over, for we are slow learners here. A. Our Lord has taught us to pray in what is commonly called The Lord's Prayer and you can go there for instruction on your own. B. Let me bring up some not so obvious answers to this question. C. Take hold of yourself for prayer 1. We must exercise self-control in praying, which is not a legalistic mandate, but a fruit of the Spirit prompted by the cross of Jesus, Gal. 5:22-24. 2. Consider seven principles of how to take hold of yourself in prayer. a. Remember the value of prayer 1) There is a value in unanswered prayer as well as answered prayer. a) William Carey (1761-1834) labored as a missionary in India for 8 years before baptizing the first convert to Christ. b) Yet in those years he learned to live for the glory of God alone. "I feel that it is good to commit my soul, my body, and my all, into the hands of God. Then the world appears little, the promise great, and God an all-sufficient portion." c) God's delay became sustenance for Carey's soul. "A praying man can never be very miserable, whatever his condition be. For he has the ear of God; the Spirit within to indite, a Friend in heaven to present, and God Himself to receive his desire. It is a mercy to pray, even though I never receive the mercy prayed for." William Bridge 2) But unanswered prayer is sweet, how much sweeter is answered prayer! b. Maintain the priority of prayer Jn. 15:5 – I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. "You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed." John Bunyan c. Speak with sincerity in prayer. Ps. 62:8 – Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. "God looks not at the elegancy of your prayers, to see how neat they are; nor yet at the geometry to see how long they are; nor yet at the arithmetic of your prayers, to see how many they are; nor yet at the music of your prayers, nor yet at the sweetness of your voice, nor yet at the logic of your prayers; but at the sincerity of your prayers, how hearty they are. There is no prayer acknowledged, approved, accepted, recorded, or rewarded by God, but that wherein the heart is sincerely and wholly. As God loves a broken and contrite heart, so he loathes a divided heart." Thomas Brooks d. Cultivate a continual and humble spirit of prayer. 1 Thess. 5:17 – …pray without ceasing… 2) Being always in a state of prayerfulness "Prayer is fellowship with God. Prayer is the realization of the presence of our Father. Though it is quite impossible for us always to be uttering the words of prayer it is possible and necessary that we should always be living in the spirit of prayer." William Lane "Anyone who stands before God to pray, in his humility giving glory completely to God, abandon all thought of his own glory, cast off all notion of his own worth, in fine, put away all self-assurance – lest if we claim for ourselves anything, even the least bit, we should become vainly puffed up, and perish at his presence." John Calvin e. Work toward organization in prayer – the Lord's Prayer 1) Lists or whatever helps you organize and remember. f. Read the Bible for prayer. 1) The Scriptures revive our prayer life. 2) We need to listen to God as he speaks to us in his Word. 3) When you read your Bible, do so with the intent of responding to God's Word with prayer. Jn. 15:7 – If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. g. Keep biblical balance in prayer 1) The Bible presents various kinds of prayer: praise, confession, petition, intercession, etc. D. Take hold of God in prayer. 1. Plead God's promises in prayer. a. In his sovereignty, God has bound himself by the promises he has made to us. "One good way to get comfort is to plead the promise of God in prayer…. Show him his handwriting; God is tender of his word." Thomas Manton b. So pray what God has promised to do for you in the Bible. 2. Look to the glorious Trinity in prayer. a. All three persons are at work in our prayers. Eph. 2:18 – For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. b. So, in prayer, pursue a deeper and more experiential knowledge of the riches of grace in Christ's person and work, the glory of electing and adopting love of the Father, and the comfort of fellowship with God by the indwelling Spirit. c. In this way, you will pray not just to receive God's benefits but to receive God himself. 3. Believe that God answers prayers. a. I think we often do not believe that God answers prayers. 1) Perhaps we haven't seen evidence of that. 2) Perhaps we are afraid of believing that we did get answers. b. Yet, God's Word says that true faith believes that God is and that he is the rewarder of those who seek him. "A man once set up a tavern next door to a church. The wild parties, late-night hours, sinful indulgence, and morning refuse from the bard so distressed the church that people prayed God would intervene. He did. A tornado took out the tavern and left the church untouched. The tavern owner took the church to court, claiming his loss was due to the congregation's prayers. Church members claimed innocence, saying that they had no responsibility in the tavern's destruction. The judge marveled that an unbeliever seemed to believe in the power of prayer more than the church folk did!" Joel Beeke
May we not fall under the verdict of Isaiah 64:7, "And there isno one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You…." Instead we must move ourselves to take hold of the living God!
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