The Resurrection Life is a Praying Life

Prayer. Have you ever noticed how easy it is for some people to pray and how hard it is for others. Do you struggle with prayer? For you prayer is hard, complicated, confusing and maybe even a bit awkward or weird?

• Maybe you’ve heard yourself say, “What’s the point of praying if God already knows what I’m going to ask…
• Or maybe you wonder God is even there. You pray, but you don’t seem to be connecting. You wonder if you are even on the same wave-length with God…
• Or maybe you’ve tried praying but it feels too formal or unnatural to you…
• Or maybe you used to pray, but you quit praying because it seemed like a waste of time – perhaps because it seemed like God never answered your prayers
• Or maybe you’ve just never gotten into the practice of prayer. You know in your heart that you were made to communicate with God, but you don’t really know where to start, how to pray or what to pray for.

If you’ve ever struggled with prayer,  as we come to the end of Ephesians;  we come to the apostle Paul’s final words to us on how to live the resurrection life that is ours in Jesus with some basic instructions on how to pray: Instructions that should remove some of our struggles and frustrations with prayer.

Pray in the Spirit: Well, what does that mean? Pray in the Spirit. One thing it means is to “not pray in the flesh.” To pray in the flesh means to ask God for things that satisfy the cravings of the flesh. The things we covet. It’s the kind of praying that makes God out to be a spiritual genie or cosmic Santa Claus. Listen to what James says about praying for selfish wants: “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3 Praying in the flesh has nothing to do with the resurrection life, this new life where we are God’s beloved, God’s adopted. It has nothing to do with God as our Father.

To pray in the Spirit then, carries the idea of coming to God as His children, because His Spirit is alive in us. Listen to how Paul clarifies this truth in Romans 8: The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15-16 To pray in the Spirit, then is to come to God as your Father, your “papa.” It’s a picture of a humble child coming into the presence of His adoring Father, knowing that He loves you and wants what’s best for you, because He’s made you His child.   It’s coming to the Father as an intimate.   It’s coming to the Father in the kinship of the Spirit. It’s a picture of a relationship with the One who wants you to come and be with Him whenever or wherever you find yourself in life.

Pray whenever and wherever: We have a Father who delights in hearing from us wherever we find ourselves.  Our God is an all access God. Whenever we need to call on Him He is there to hear our request. Wherever we find ourselves in life, He makes Himself available to us. He is ready to meet our needs.  The idea is this: Praying whenever and wherever means we get to live in the present with God’s presence. Prayer is where your life and God’s love are continually connected.

When you are tempted, you can bring your temptation before God and ask for His help. When you enjoy something good and beautiful, you don’t have to wait for a Church Service to praise Him. You can thank Him and praise Him right on the spot. And when you see evil, rather than complain about it, you can bring it to God and ask Him to intervene, you can ask Him to make it right. Too often we hear, “Where was God when that happened?” Maybe He’s just waiting for us to call on Him. When we meet someone who does not know Jesus, we can bring that person before God right then and there.

Pray all kinds of prayers: God sent us Jesus so He can hear from us. We are all the same at the foot of the cross and at the foot of His throne. There are no special awards for the kinds of prayers any of us might use: We can pray publically or privately. We can pray in loud cries or soft whispers. We use few words or no words. It doesn’t matter to Him. We can write out our prayers or pray off the cuff. We can pray while standing or sitting, kneeling or lying on our backs. You can pray while driving, or walking, playing golf or playing cards. You can pray with eyes opened or closed. You can pray with your hands folded or raised, or even with your hand in your pockets, it doesn’t matter to Him. He just wants us to pray with all kinds of prayers.

Your prayer might be full of praise, or confession or requests. Or maybe you just want to pray through Scripture. You can pray for His kingdom to come or for His will to be done. You can pray through song, you can pray through tears. You can pray with friends and you can even pray at Church. Doesn’t matter to Him. He simply wants us to have a praying life because He cares about every part of your life. Pray with all kinds of prayers!

Pray watchfully: The idea here in prayer is that God wants to help us stand in the midst of spiritual battle. To be on watch, like a military guard. What are we watching for? We are watching for the attacks of the evil one. So we are to be vigilant. To not become complacent against the deceptions that can attack any of us as God’s people. There will never be a time when we are not in the cross-hairs of the evil one.   So with praying watchfully, we are to pray persistently.

Pray persistently: We are to never give up praying for one another. What I love about this term is that it carries the idea of being devoted to prayer. This is how the praying of the early church was described: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

To be devoted to prayer has a relational ring to it. To be devoted to prayer is to earnestly, courageously and persistently bring everything in our lives to God in prayer. And in this context “the everything in our lives” are the people of God.  This is a serious call to be devoted to the well being of our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, by continuing to pray for them.  This is such a significant reminder to us to pray and keep at it. We are the google it and get it, fed ex it or forget it, instant fix and instant gratification generation. We need this reminder to stay the course, to endure, to never give up praying kind of instruction. Because we are so quick to think that our prayers aren’t working. Did you ever stop to think that this kind of standing in the gap for one another is what truly makes God’s church unique; that make us strong, and might quite possibly be the catalyst for helping us to love one another.

Pray for all God’s people: It doesn’t matter where we come from or how different we are from each other. It doesn’t matter if the person one row over doesn’t behave or look like we think they should. They are our brothers and sisters. They are in the Lord. They are the redeemed, the adopted, the beloved.   God put us together to do life together so we might walk together with Him. And praying for one another may just be the best gift God has given us to be His Church. Pray for all God’s people.

Pray for your Leaders:  Paul did not pray for God to deliver him from prison, but to make him effective while in prison. That’s what I want you to pray for me.   To pray for me as your Pastor.  Pray that my ministry here at Robson Ranch would be effective. Pray that the gospel does such a work in me that I can’t help but share the good news in a winsome and effective way. Pray that as I prepare messages that God would help me to be clear and courageous in presenting the gospel.

Prayer is the privilege we have as God’s children of coming into our Father’s presence anytime and anywhere with any request. Prayer is the privilege we have of interceding for our brothers and sisters at all times and in all ways. And prayer is the privilege of partnering with God to help his leaders make clear the gospel to all people. Ultimately prayer is where our life meets up with God’s power.