Mystery of Prayer

October 18, 1992

Luke 18:1-8

Last of the ninth- Red Sox v Yankees (in the "olden days") at Fenway. Red Sox batter steps in and makes a sign of the cross on the plate with his bat. Yogi Berra wipes off the plate with his big mitt and says, "Let's let God just WATCH this game, OK?"

Good for baseball ... TERRIBLE for life! OUR GOD IS A GOD WHO GETS INVOLVED IN OUR AFFAIRS! But HOW? (Prayer is NOT simple- - "writing checks" or "going to the store") PRAYER IS TRULY A MYSTERY!

One insight into the mystery of prayer is this story. It is NOT too difficult to understand.

I. THE STORY

An unfeeling, unfair but POWERFUL judge. A helpless but PERSISTENT widow. {In the FACE of the judge all the time...} A SATISFACTORY conclusion— the judge's power transferred to the woman's need.

[A story of contrast: God is NOT like the judge, etc.]

II. THE PURPOSE

Luke tells us "up front" why Jesus told this story. This story is to prompt us 1) TO "LIVE IN GOD'S FACE" ("Men ought always to pray")

God wants an intimate access to every part of our lives. We need to "stay in His face" in that we bring every burden and every joy to Him. This is totally foreign to those who don't know our God. But it is the way He has designed that His people should live. This story is also to encourage us 2) NOT TO GIVE UP! ("Men ought always to pray and not to faint")

God intends that we should lean on Him— depend on Him in the spiritual warfare that is the reality of life.

III. THE QUESTION

Jesus followed this parable on prayer with what seems a surprising question. "WHEN THE SON OF MAN COMES WILL HE FIND FAITH ON THE EARTH?" (Why did He put it here? NOT by mistake!!)

  1. THE DAYS OF CHRIST'S COMING WILL BE TESTING DAYS. Is there a battle for souls going on now? Only a FOOL cannot see how desperate are our times! (MTV—Madonna - Sex combined with violence - casual use of God's NAME - accepting the SHOCKING as "normal")
  2. STAYING IN GOD'S FACE IS THE ONLY WAY WE SHALL WIN THIS WARFARE!

    IN OUR ARROGANCE AND CONCEIT WE THINK that what the church needs to do is educate better, or hold a few more seminars on current evils, or learn the rules of church growth- and so we do- - and THEN we sincerely pray and ask God's blessing on our efforts!

BUT PRAYER IS WHERE WE BEGIN! PRAYER IS THE ESSENSE OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE! We cannot do anything until and unless we have prayed!

CONCLUSION

A God who just sits along the first base side in the front row and just watches may be all right for baseball. That is even probably good baseball theology.

But unless we have a God that does more than just WATCH in our day-in, day-out living, then what is our Christian faith all about?

We TALK too much, and we PRAY too little. Already we KNOW more than we DO. G. Campbell Morgan wrote: "Any study of prayer which does not result in praying is not only not helpful it is hurtful."

IN THIS STORY WE ARE THE HELPLESS WIDOW WOMAN! We cannot do anything until and unless we have prayed! We need to see that, as Jim Couchenour said at our last General Assembly, "Prayer does NOT support the work of the church; PRAYER IS THE WORK OF THE CHURCH!" LORD, HELP US TO PRAY!

Prayer

Hymn EH #54 O Breath of Life