WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.299 Well, we're starting a new series on prayer, 00:00:02.540 --> 00:00:05.160 and if you've got your Bibles in front of you, 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:09.080 that'd be fantastic. Today I want to tell you 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:15.099 about Gary. Gary woke up at 6am to the sound 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:19.960 of his alarm. He wanted to hit snooze, but he 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:24.539 knew he'd run out of time if he did. So he begrudgingly 00:00:24.539 --> 00:00:29.579 swung himself out of bed. He had a shower. He 00:00:29.579 --> 00:00:32.520 had a cup of coffee to kind of wake himself up. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.240 He read some of the Bible, still yawning, still 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:40.060 wiping sleep from his eyes. And after thinking 00:00:40.060 --> 00:00:42.579 a little bit about what he'd read, he decided 00:00:42.579 --> 00:00:47.159 it was time to pray. But then a horrible thought 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:52.439 invaded Gary's mind. What's the point of getting 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:57.340 up early to pray? Gary wondered, am I just talking 00:00:57.340 --> 00:01:00.740 to the ceiling? Is anyone actually listening? 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:06.299 Does this even make a difference? Gary couldn't 00:01:06.299 --> 00:01:11.180 help thinking, do my prayers even do anything? 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:17.540 He especially thought that because there's some 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:21.140 things he'd been praying about for ages and nothing 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:26.640 seemed to happen. He was finding it really hard 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:32.250 to pray. Now, most of us at one time or another 00:01:32.250 --> 00:01:36.310 have asked what Gary was asking. Does prayer 00:01:36.310 --> 00:01:40.790 actually do anything? If you're a sceptic, you 00:01:40.790 --> 00:01:44.230 might think, no, of course not. At best, maybe 00:01:44.230 --> 00:01:46.829 it's just a psychological trick that kind of 00:01:46.829 --> 00:01:51.170 gives you some comfort. But if you're a Christian, 00:01:51.349 --> 00:01:54.209 I hope your answer is, yes, prayer does do things. 00:01:55.930 --> 00:01:58.530 But it might be a struggle for you to want to 00:01:58.530 --> 00:02:02.340 pray. Because it often doesn't feel like prayer 00:02:02.340 --> 00:02:06.760 really does anything. It can look a little pointless 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:13.199 at times. So today I want to ask, is prayer actually 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:17.080 rewarding? Does it actually accomplish anything? 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:20.699 And over the course of this series, I want to 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:24.840 show you just how life -changing, beneficial 00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:30.490 and rewarding prayer can be. And not because 00:02:30.490 --> 00:02:32.669 it's some sort of psychological trick, you know, 00:02:32.710 --> 00:02:35.090 you just wooed yourself into feeling better. 00:02:36.449 --> 00:02:39.710 No, prayer is rewarding because of who we pray 00:02:39.710 --> 00:02:43.889 to. When we pray, we're not just talking to anyone. 00:02:45.169 --> 00:02:49.009 We're talking to our loving Heavenly Father, 00:02:49.330 --> 00:02:53.389 the creator of the universe. When we pray, we're 00:02:53.389 --> 00:02:58.189 relating to him. Our prayers are only powerful 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:02.419 They're only rewarding because he is powerful 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:07.180 and because he rewards them. And seeing this 00:03:07.180 --> 00:03:10.840 can help you and I get out of our prayer ruts 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:15.699 when we fall into them. But if prayer is going 00:03:15.699 --> 00:03:19.599 to be rewarding, well, we need to relate to God 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:22.800 in the right way, don't we? We need to have the 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:27.139 right approach to God. If you go to the gym, 00:03:27.930 --> 00:03:30.430 which, you know, as you can tell, I do all the 00:03:30.430 --> 00:03:34.250 time. If you don't use the machines properly, 00:03:34.569 --> 00:03:38.250 it's not rewarding, is it? It actually can be 00:03:38.250 --> 00:03:41.469 quite damaging, can't it? You can cause serious 00:03:41.469 --> 00:03:46.750 injury. And it's the same with prayer. It's rewarding 00:03:46.750 --> 00:03:51.050 if we do it properly. It can actually be harmful 00:03:51.050 --> 00:03:54.909 to our hearts if we don't approach God the right 00:03:54.909 --> 00:03:58.849 way. So today we're not just going to ask, does 00:03:58.849 --> 00:04:02.310 prayer actually do anything, but also if it is 00:04:02.310 --> 00:04:05.949 rewarding. And how do I pray in a way that brings 00:04:05.949 --> 00:04:10.270 benefit to me? And here's the thing I hope you'll 00:04:10.270 --> 00:04:12.389 see as we look at this little passage on prayer. 00:04:15.169 --> 00:04:19.129 Here's the way to pray. Why you pray changes 00:04:19.129 --> 00:04:25.089 what you get when you pray. I hope you can remember 00:04:25.089 --> 00:04:28.790 that from today. Why you pray changes what you 00:04:28.790 --> 00:04:33.209 get when you pray. Why you pray changes what 00:04:33.209 --> 00:04:38.009 you get when you pray. See, what you get depends 00:04:38.009 --> 00:04:40.730 on what reward you're actually seeking, what 00:04:40.730 --> 00:04:44.430 benefit you're trying to get from prayer and 00:04:44.430 --> 00:04:47.149 how you go about it. We're going to see two different 00:04:47.149 --> 00:04:52.199 things as we look at our passage today. Two approaches 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:55.259 you can have with prayer. Don't pray to be seen 00:04:55.259 --> 00:04:58.480 by others. That's what Jesus is telling us. Don't 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:03.079 pray to be seen by others. Pray to be seen by 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:05.959 your Father. Pray to be seen by your Heavenly 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:08.660 Father. So let's have a look at each of these. 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:14.399 Firstly, don't pray to be seen by others. Have 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:17.560 a look at what Jesus says. And when you pray, 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:20.899 do not be like the hypocrites. For they love 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:23.779 to pray standing in the synagogues and on the 00:05:23.779 --> 00:05:27.680 street corners to be seen by others. Truly, I 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:31.579 tell you, they have received their reward in 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:36.339 full. So Jesus warns us about the wrong way to 00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:41.839 pray here, to pray like the hypocrites. In our 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.899 day, a hypocrite is someone who says one thing 00:05:44.899 --> 00:05:49.449 and does another. But in the Bible, a hypocrite 00:05:49.449 --> 00:05:53.709 is a play actor, a mask wearer. Think of Mission 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:57.689 Impossible. Anyone like Mission Impossible? I 00:05:57.689 --> 00:06:00.850 named my son Ethan. I mean, Ethan Hunt from Mission 00:06:00.850 --> 00:06:03.649 Impossible. His middle name's James for James 00:06:03.649 --> 00:06:05.889 Bond, so that we covered all the super spies. 00:06:08.269 --> 00:06:11.209 Well, I don't know, not really. Maybe subconsciously. 00:06:11.209 --> 00:06:14.899 Anyway. But think Mission Impossible. What happens 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:16.620 in Mission Impossible? They go on these impossible 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:19.060 missions, don't they, that no one can do. And 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:21.139 one of the sort of gimmicks that happens in Mission 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:23.819 Impossible all the time is they make these masks 00:06:23.819 --> 00:06:26.560 that look perfect, just like the real person 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.519 themselves. And they put on this mask, they pretend 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:31.560 to be someone else for the sake of the mission. 00:06:31.779 --> 00:06:34.620 Well, that's what hypocrisy is in the Bible. 00:06:35.019 --> 00:06:37.420 It's putting on a mask so that you look like 00:06:37.420 --> 00:06:40.779 someone else, so that you pretend to be someone 00:06:40.779 --> 00:06:44.079 else. A hypocrite is someone who plays a part. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:48.459 And the hypocrites in Jesus' day, they acted 00:06:48.459 --> 00:06:52.459 pious. They were pretending to be pious to impress 00:06:52.459 --> 00:06:56.339 a human audience so that other people would think, 00:06:56.420 --> 00:07:01.019 oh, wow, aren't they pretty godly? Did you see? 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:06.170 Jesus says they love to pray. Not because they 00:07:06.170 --> 00:07:09.750 get to be with God when they pray. They love 00:07:09.750 --> 00:07:12.810 to pray standing in the synagogues and on the 00:07:12.810 --> 00:07:17.449 street corners. To them, prayer is a show, a 00:07:17.449 --> 00:07:21.110 performance that they can do. So others look 00:07:21.110 --> 00:07:24.829 at them, praise them. It's the virtue signalling 00:07:24.829 --> 00:07:30.529 of the ancient world. And this sort of hypocrisy 00:07:30.529 --> 00:07:33.230 is easy for Christians to slip into today, isn't 00:07:33.230 --> 00:07:37.660 it? It's easy at growth group or at a prayer 00:07:37.660 --> 00:07:39.720 meeting. You know, I think I've shared this before. 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:43.779 I often struggle. I'm sitting there, I'm praying, 00:07:43.819 --> 00:07:49.160 and people start going, mmm, amen. And I start 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:53.660 counting the mmms and amens. That one got five. 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:59.720 That must have been a good prayer. But at that 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:01.680 point, you're not really talking to God anymore, 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:06.990 are you? You're playing to the audience. Or say 00:08:06.990 --> 00:08:09.990 you're praying up the front at church and you 00:08:09.990 --> 00:08:12.009 fill your prayer with all sorts of Christian 00:08:12.009 --> 00:08:15.389 jargon. Almighty and ever -living God, the potentate 00:08:15.389 --> 00:08:19.350 of time, we beseech you to... And it's all about 00:08:19.350 --> 00:08:23.790 looking deep and spiritual to everybody instead 00:08:23.790 --> 00:08:30.420 of being genuine and authentic with God. It's 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:32.799 playing the part of the mature Christian instead 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:37.899 of seeking to actually be one. That's the problem, 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:41.200 isn't it? And what would the mature Christian 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:44.200 do? Well, they wouldn't care what others think 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:48.980 of them. They'd only care about what God thinks 00:08:48.980 --> 00:08:54.399 of them. They'd have an audience of one. They'd 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:58.059 pray the same way if the room was full or empty. 00:08:59.470 --> 00:09:03.029 The focus is on communing with God, not with 00:09:03.029 --> 00:09:09.049 impressing other people. It's a bit like singing 00:09:09.049 --> 00:09:12.470 to someone you really like in a karaoke bar. 00:09:14.450 --> 00:09:18.809 Never thought I'd do that illustration. There's 00:09:18.809 --> 00:09:21.870 two types of people in a karaoke bar. The one 00:09:21.870 --> 00:09:24.649 who wants to impress the crowd. You know, they're 00:09:24.649 --> 00:09:27.570 thinking, what song can I sing that I can really 00:09:27.570 --> 00:09:30.750 nail so everyone's going to go, wow, can't they 00:09:30.750 --> 00:09:34.629 sing? Or there's that person who's singing that 00:09:34.629 --> 00:09:37.110 song for that special someone. Even if they don't 00:09:37.110 --> 00:09:39.470 really nail it, they're trying to think what 00:09:39.470 --> 00:09:42.429 song will convey to that special someone how 00:09:42.429 --> 00:09:45.710 they feel. Even though the crowd's listening 00:09:45.710 --> 00:09:48.809 in, it's not for them. It's for that special 00:09:48.809 --> 00:09:52.269 someone. That's what Christian prayer is like. 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:59.019 We're praying to an audience of one. Sadly, if 00:09:59.019 --> 00:10:01.440 our goal is human approval instead of God's, 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.840 there is a reward we will get. That's what Jesus 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:07.379 says, and it's not a good one. Did you see at 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:09.340 the end of verse 5, truly I tell you they've 00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:13.100 received their reward in full. What's the reward 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:16.419 they'll receive? It's the human praise that they 00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:22.639 crave. But it's in full. Because that's all they're 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:27.100 going to get. See, God's not impressed when we 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:29.840 approach him that way. We've treated him like 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:33.399 he's not there. He won't hear our prayers or 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:38.440 reward them. I love the way Don Carson puts it. 00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:40.779 He says, could it be that the primary reason 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:43.620 we do not see more prayers answered is because 00:10:43.620 --> 00:10:46.039 we're less concerned with bringing our requests 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:54.610 to God than with showing off before men? And 00:10:54.610 --> 00:10:58.870 I'm not innocent of this either. I know I'm guilty 00:10:58.870 --> 00:11:03.669 of trying to look righteous to others. I often 00:11:03.669 --> 00:11:05.889 care too much about what others think of me. 00:11:08.029 --> 00:11:10.389 And that's when I need to go to the death and 00:11:10.389 --> 00:11:14.769 resurrection of Jesus all over again to help 00:11:14.769 --> 00:11:19.370 me stop caring about people's opinions. To see 00:11:19.370 --> 00:11:22.850 that I am justified in Jesus. I've been made 00:11:22.850 --> 00:11:25.509 completely righteous by his death on the cross. 00:11:25.629 --> 00:11:28.149 I don't need to go prove myself to anyone and 00:11:28.149 --> 00:11:30.370 make people, you know, con them into thinking 00:11:30.370 --> 00:11:35.669 I'm mature. I'm already righteous in God's sight. 00:11:39.769 --> 00:11:44.250 Pretending is a delusion. Seeing reality is the 00:11:44.250 --> 00:11:48.980 way to go. And when the death and resurrection 00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:51.980 of Jesus informs my prayer life, it makes me 00:11:51.980 --> 00:11:54.820 more secure and joyful. I stop caring about what 00:11:54.820 --> 00:11:57.720 others think. Instead, I seek to have a rich, 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:03.259 genuine, authentic connection with God. So what's 00:12:03.259 --> 00:12:08.220 it look like to pray like that? To have that 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:11.860 sort of connection with God? Well, that's our 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:17.220 second point for today. Pray. to be seen by your 00:12:17.220 --> 00:12:22.679 Father. Pray to be seen by your Father. Have 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:27.620 a look at verse 6. But when you pray, go into 00:12:27.620 --> 00:12:31.240 your room, close the door and pray to your Father 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:34.980 who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:41.419 is done in secret will reward you. Jesus is saying, 00:12:41.500 --> 00:12:47.159 go hide away and pray. But to do that takes faith, 00:12:47.299 --> 00:12:51.460 doesn't it? Being alone with God where no one 00:12:51.460 --> 00:12:54.840 can see your piety, it takes faith. You've got 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:56.679 to believe that God will actually reward that. 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:01.340 Praying to a God you can't see, you've got to 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:03.720 actually believe that it will be worth it, don't 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:08.820 you? Believing that God actually rewards our 00:13:08.820 --> 00:13:13.379 prayers, you've got to believe that he's the 00:13:13.379 --> 00:13:19.750 sort of God. Who does? It takes faith to pray 00:13:19.750 --> 00:13:24.990 on your own and to keep praying on your own because 00:13:24.990 --> 00:13:29.789 there's no visible benefit to doing it. It's 00:13:29.789 --> 00:13:33.490 like when you go to the gym. Again, I told you 00:13:33.490 --> 00:13:36.870 I don't go that often, but if you go to the gym, 00:13:36.990 --> 00:13:39.769 you don't see the effects straight away, do you? 00:13:40.590 --> 00:13:43.309 You feel a bit sore, but that's it. You don't 00:13:43.309 --> 00:13:47.129 suddenly come out of the gym and go, wow, look 00:13:47.129 --> 00:13:51.009 at my guns. They've grown so much. One session, 00:13:51.230 --> 00:13:54.830 awesome. It just doesn't work like that. You 00:13:54.830 --> 00:13:56.870 have to be consistent. You have to keep going 00:13:56.870 --> 00:14:01.929 with it. And it's the same with prayer. Often 00:14:01.929 --> 00:14:04.309 it doesn't seem to have any visible benefit. 00:14:04.409 --> 00:14:09.230 Sometimes it doesn't even feel that great. But 00:14:09.230 --> 00:14:12.629 it's worth doing. It's worth persisting with 00:14:12.629 --> 00:14:19.269 it and prioritising it. And the key is to not 00:14:19.269 --> 00:14:22.970 just pray, but to spend quality time with God, 00:14:23.110 --> 00:14:29.330 being real and raw with him, pouring out your 00:14:29.330 --> 00:14:35.470 heart's requests. That's depending on God, isn't 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:39.960 it? And we see... That God rewards that. We see 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:41.940 that in the end of verse 6. You know, he talks 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:44.980 about a reward. What's the reward? Is the reward 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:49.799 worth all the effort you put into it? I had a 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:52.299 friend who, when she was at school, she was in 00:14:52.299 --> 00:14:56.820 the national swim team. She would get up at stupider 00:14:56.820 --> 00:15:02.080 clock to swim. She spent countless hours training, 00:15:02.379 --> 00:15:05.379 lap after lap after lap, watching what she ate, 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:08.129 giving up. a whole bunch of fun things because, 00:15:08.210 --> 00:15:10.970 hey, you know, I want to be amazing at swimming. 00:15:11.250 --> 00:15:15.370 Maybe one day I could go to the Olympics. Free 00:15:15.370 --> 00:15:20.470 time, fun, no, I've got to swim. And she did 00:15:20.470 --> 00:15:22.629 it for a while because she knew you only get 00:15:22.629 --> 00:15:27.570 out what you put in. But eventually she went, 00:15:27.669 --> 00:15:30.690 it ain't worth it. And for swimming, she's probably 00:15:30.690 --> 00:15:35.110 right. Swimming's not bad, but... Physical training 00:15:35.110 --> 00:15:38.970 is of some value, isn't it? Godliness is of value 00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:44.830 in every way. There is a great reward to prayer, 00:15:45.049 --> 00:15:50.370 a far better reward. It is so much worth it to 00:15:50.370 --> 00:15:55.490 get up and consistently pray. And I get it, it's 00:15:55.490 --> 00:15:59.899 not easy. When your calendar's full... You're 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:02.340 tired, you barely had a good night's sleep. You 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:06.620 just want to scroll on Facebook. And you don't 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:10.419 feel like praying. Oh, you know, like, I just 00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:14.759 want to get on with my day. What will make you 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:20.360 pray? It's the confidence that being alone with 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:25.580 your father is worth it. That it truly is rewarding. 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:30.960 So let's think for a second. What is the reward 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:33.039 of prayer? What's the reward Jesus is talking 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:35.659 about? I reckon there'd be three things at least. 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:41.399 You get to enjoy God when you stop and take the 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:45.299 time to pray. You know, I love it when Laura 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:47.379 and I do that, when we stop and have some quality 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:53.700 time together. You know, that's what we need 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:55.960 to do with God just as much as anyone else in 00:16:55.960 --> 00:16:59.419 our life. Stop and have quality time with him. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.779 When people feel far away, when you feel like 00:17:02.779 --> 00:17:04.920 there's distance in any relationship, it's probably 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:06.960 a part of it is you haven't had any quality time, 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:11.039 isn't it? And it's the same with our prayer life. 00:17:11.059 --> 00:17:14.319 When God feels far away, a lot of it is we just 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:17.759 haven't taken the time to sit and be with him. 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:23.700 You get to enjoy God, the riches of praying to 00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:29.920 him. It is an absolute joy. But not only that, 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.559 you become like God. Now, not that you're going 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:35.740 to become omniscient or all -powerful or anything 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:39.519 like that. But you actually, your heart changes 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:42.900 when you pray, doesn't it? It's like a wheel 00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:44.880 alignment. You know, you've got to get the car 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:47.279 in and they align the wheels and sort it all 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:49.119 out, get it back to where it should be. That's 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:52.410 what prayer does for our hearts. It gets our 00:17:52.410 --> 00:17:56.410 priorities aligned. It gets our guilt sorted. 00:17:56.650 --> 00:17:59.950 It takes away our worries and calms them and 00:17:59.950 --> 00:18:04.589 soothes our hearts. Prayer helps us to become 00:18:04.589 --> 00:18:08.849 more other person centred and Christ -like. When 00:18:08.849 --> 00:18:12.089 you spend time praying, having that quality time 00:18:12.089 --> 00:18:17.609 with God, you become more like him. And finally, 00:18:17.750 --> 00:18:22.670 you get help by God. See, we're asking God for 00:18:22.670 --> 00:18:25.069 help when we pray. Prayer doesn't just change 00:18:25.069 --> 00:18:27.930 us, it changes what happens. It doesn't change 00:18:27.930 --> 00:18:30.730 God, he doesn't change. It doesn't change his 00:18:30.730 --> 00:18:34.190 plan because his plan has been set before the 00:18:34.190 --> 00:18:36.470 beginning of the world. But God incorporates 00:18:36.470 --> 00:18:40.589 our prayers into his plan and he honours them 00:18:40.589 --> 00:18:42.529 and blesses them just as he does other things 00:18:42.529 --> 00:18:49.210 that we do. So when we ask God for help, It really 00:18:49.210 --> 00:18:52.710 does change things. And here's the great thing 00:18:52.710 --> 00:18:56.069 to know about prayer. You might think, oh, if 00:18:56.069 --> 00:19:01.190 I pray, what's God going to do? I remember when 00:19:01.190 --> 00:19:02.630 I was a kid, I was told there was three ways 00:19:02.630 --> 00:19:04.829 that God would answer prayer. He'd either answer 00:19:04.829 --> 00:19:09.589 with yes, no, or wait. But what I've learned 00:19:09.589 --> 00:19:11.869 since getting a little older and reading more 00:19:11.869 --> 00:19:13.650 of the Bible is that there's two ways that God 00:19:13.650 --> 00:19:19.980 answers prayer, yes and better. Yes and better. 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:23.220 Because he's a good heavenly father. So he's 00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:26.740 either going to answer my prayers with yes or 00:19:26.740 --> 00:19:29.380 because he's all -knowing, all -powerful, all 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:33.059 -wise, he's going to do something better. I may 00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:35.420 not always see it. I may not always like it. 00:19:36.859 --> 00:19:42.099 But that's what God does when we pray. I remember 00:19:42.099 --> 00:19:44.829 talking to someone about this a while ago. And 00:19:44.829 --> 00:19:46.849 we were talking about what's the most powerful 00:19:46.849 --> 00:19:50.970 weapon on the battlefield. And I asked them and 00:19:50.970 --> 00:19:53.690 they said, oh, it's like the bazooka or the tank 00:19:53.690 --> 00:20:01.029 or the, you know, I said it's the radio. Because 00:20:01.029 --> 00:20:04.029 with a radio, you can call on all the reinforcements, 00:20:04.029 --> 00:20:07.930 can't you? You can call in and suddenly the big, 00:20:07.950 --> 00:20:10.309 you know, fighter planes are coming in, dropping 00:20:10.309 --> 00:20:17.319 bombs, you know. And prayer is like that. When 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:20.759 we pray, we're saying to the God who runs the 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.299 universe, can you use the resources of the universe 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:27.640 to help me? That is an amazing thing, isn't it? 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:34.339 Prayer is worth it. It changes what happens. 00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:40.440 But Brennan, how do you know prayer really does 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:44.559 this, that it really is this rewarding? You might 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:47.119 say to me, I've prayed many times and I've not 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:53.039 seen anything or felt a thing. Well, if you doubt 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:57.640 how rewarding prayer is, you can always look 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:01.779 at the cross. Because at the cross we see what 00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:06.519 we already have, don't we? The curtain has been 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:10.039 torn in two. Remember, Jesus was forsaken by 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:13.359 God. The curtain is torn by two. We now have 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:16.579 access to God. We have a new relationship with 00:21:16.579 --> 00:21:22.460 God to enjoy. Prayer is raw. I know it is. Jesus 00:21:22.460 --> 00:21:25.160 thought it was so worth having that he died for 00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:30.339 me to have access to God. And actually, think 00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:33.680 of Romans 6. The old self has been crucified 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:36.869 with Christ. We've been changed. We've become 00:21:36.869 --> 00:21:41.289 new people who are like Jesus. That's why Jesus 00:21:41.289 --> 00:21:45.170 died. Prayer is so rewarding because it's through 00:21:45.170 --> 00:21:47.650 that that we actually appropriate that blessing 00:21:47.650 --> 00:21:50.369 and become more like Jesus. I know it is worth 00:21:50.369 --> 00:21:56.190 it. Or think of Romans 8, 32. He who did not 00:21:56.190 --> 00:21:58.410 spare his own son but gave him up for us all, 00:21:58.490 --> 00:22:01.390 how will he not also with him graciously give 00:22:01.390 --> 00:22:08.859 us all things? If God gave up his own son for 00:22:08.859 --> 00:22:13.460 you, what help is there that he won't give to 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:20.619 you to make sure that you get to glory? He will 00:22:20.619 --> 00:22:24.200 go to the greatest lengths to make sure you get 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:27.220 to glory. You can trust when you pray that he 00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:30.240 will either answer it with yes or better, and 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:35.559 the cross proves it. See, the cross shows that 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:39.579 these blessings are already ours. Prayer is just 00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:43.519 us appropriating them, making use of them. The 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:46.500 cross is like a glorious deposit in our spiritual 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:51.619 bank account. And prayer is our ATM card. It's 00:22:51.619 --> 00:22:54.980 how we pull out and enjoy the blessings that 00:22:54.980 --> 00:23:00.759 Christ has given us. So are you using your ATM 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:05.880 card? Are you accessing the blessings that are 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:10.200 yours in Jesus? Prayer is one of the major ways 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:17.180 in which we do that. All right, well, let's recap. 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:21.900 We asked today, does prayer actually do anything? 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:25.480 And if so, how do we get the most out of it? 00:23:26.539 --> 00:23:28.819 And we saw that it's about genuinely seeking 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:34.519 God by faith. primarily privately, so that our 00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:36.519 prayers won't be prostituted by what others think 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:40.839 of us. It's about enjoying God and being alone 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:45.039 with him, having that audience of one. We saw 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:47.720 two things, don't pray to be seen by others and 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:51.279 pray to be seen by your father. They're the two 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:54.380 ways to pray. And that leads to our big idea, 00:23:55.019 --> 00:23:59.220 why you pray, your motivation, why you pray changes 00:23:59.220 --> 00:24:04.680 what you get. when you pray. God's going to reward 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:07.059 and answer your prayers differently depending 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:10.279 on the motivation, the approach that you have 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:15.579 when you pray. So what's all this mean for us? 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:18.279 Well, let's draw some implications from all this. 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:26.460 Firstly, public prayer is important yet dangerous. 00:24:28.869 --> 00:24:31.890 Jesus is not forbidding public prayer here. He 00:24:31.890 --> 00:24:34.250 and the apostles prayed publicly. We're commanded 00:24:34.250 --> 00:24:37.009 in 1 Timothy 2 to pray for our leaders and all 00:24:37.009 --> 00:24:40.069 people so that the gospel can go out. We're commanded 00:24:40.069 --> 00:24:44.589 to do that, to pray in church. That's why we 00:24:44.589 --> 00:24:47.789 do it each week at church. And yet just because 00:24:47.789 --> 00:24:49.809 we do it doesn't mean there's not a danger to 00:24:49.809 --> 00:24:53.670 it. Jesus is highlighting the danger here of 00:24:53.670 --> 00:24:57.349 public prayer to show off. to others, to seek 00:24:57.349 --> 00:25:00.089 the approval of people instead of the approval 00:25:00.089 --> 00:25:08.289 of God. We all face this danger when we're not 00:25:08.289 --> 00:25:10.569 careful of what's going on in our hearts, don't 00:25:10.569 --> 00:25:14.470 we? This is not saying don't pray at all publicly. 00:25:14.809 --> 00:25:17.569 It's saying watch your heart, guard your heart. 00:25:18.730 --> 00:25:21.930 Again, I love Don Carson. He says on this, two 00:25:21.930 --> 00:25:26.099 tests. He says, do I love private prayer? more 00:25:26.099 --> 00:25:31.039 than public prayer? Is my public prayer an overflow 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:37.460 of my private prayers? It's a great way to test 00:25:37.460 --> 00:25:42.180 where your heart is at. I mean, I hope we be 00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:45.119 a church that gets together to pray. for things 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:49.660 like the boiler room, for 357, in our growth 00:25:49.660 --> 00:25:52.079 groups. I hope we get together for public prayer. 00:25:52.140 --> 00:25:55.759 I hope we continue to pray publicly here on Sundays. 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:00.140 But one of the challenges here is that we guard 00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:04.460 our hearts, that we truly seek to have an audience 00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:11.230 of one when we pray. Secondly... Another implication, 00:26:11.609 --> 00:26:15.910 who you are in private is the real you. I love 00:26:15.910 --> 00:26:22.950 this quote from Robert Machain. He says, we can 00:26:22.950 --> 00:26:26.250 all put on a good show. Sorry, I'm reading my 00:26:26.250 --> 00:26:29.309 notes. What a man is on his knees before God, 00:26:29.490 --> 00:26:34.990 that he is and nothing more. Isn't that powerful? 00:26:35.490 --> 00:26:38.690 This one convicts me a lot. What a man is on 00:26:38.690 --> 00:26:41.289 his knees before God, that he is and nothing 00:26:41.289 --> 00:26:45.289 more. We can all put on a good show, but who 00:26:45.289 --> 00:26:50.390 we are in private is the real you. Don't worry, 00:26:50.450 --> 00:26:52.069 I'm not going to do this, but if I snuck under 00:26:52.069 --> 00:26:57.029 your bed and listened to your prayers, that would 00:26:57.029 --> 00:26:59.690 be a great way to actually see the state of your 00:26:59.690 --> 00:27:02.390 heart. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to get 00:27:02.390 --> 00:27:09.039 other leaders in church to do that. But you can 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:10.839 actually find out a lot about where your heart's 00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:13.460 at by analysing your private prayers, can't you? 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:18.500 Are you prayerless? What's that tell you about 00:27:18.500 --> 00:27:21.819 your heart? Are you praying sometimes? Well, 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:24.519 what's that tell you about your heart? Are you 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:26.740 praying joyfully and fervently and consistently? 00:27:27.099 --> 00:27:31.039 What does that tell you about your heart? Look 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:33.119 at your private prayers to see where you're really 00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:36.579 at. And then ask yourself, what am I going to 00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:40.220 do about it? Is it time to do some of that heart 00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:45.940 work with God? And then thirdly, third implication, 00:27:46.140 --> 00:27:50.160 private prayer that's raw and real is incredibly 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:55.779 rewarding. Private prayer that is raw and real 00:27:55.779 --> 00:27:58.700 is incredibly rewarding. Think back to Gary. 00:27:59.160 --> 00:28:03.660 Does prayer do anything? Yes. You enjoy God when 00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:07.099 you pray. It transforms you. God actually hears 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:09.700 and helps us when we pray. Even when it doesn't 00:28:09.700 --> 00:28:12.619 feel that way, the cross assures us that our 00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:18.859 prayers are worth praying. So pray raw and real 00:28:18.859 --> 00:28:22.700 prayers, authentic prayers to God. And when you're 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:31.900 filled with doubt, look to the cross. All the 00:28:31.900 --> 00:28:36.519 blessings are there in the cross. It is worth 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:43.500 the effort. The cross proves it. And then finally, 00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:46.859 I want to leave you with this. If you're here 00:28:46.859 --> 00:28:49.359 today and you're not yet a Christian, I want 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:51.900 to encourage you to say a prayer. What are you 00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:53.900 going to do with this from today? I'd encourage 00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:57.720 you to say a prayer. Get alone with God. You 00:28:57.720 --> 00:28:59.359 don't have to do it here where we're all watching. 00:28:59.539 --> 00:29:01.500 And just talk to him. You might want to say something 00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:04.720 like this. Dear God, I'm not sure if you're there. 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:10.140 If you are, please reveal yourself to me. Show 00:29:10.140 --> 00:29:13.220 me what you are like and help me to seek the 00:29:13.220 --> 00:29:18.599 truth about you. Amen. It doesn't have to be 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:21.140 that. Just that's an idea of what you could pray. 00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:27.150 But I want to ask you, do you want to keep? Living 00:29:27.150 --> 00:29:30.049 in a world where you don't know that God's got 00:29:30.049 --> 00:29:33.910 your back. Where you don't enjoy that relationship 00:29:33.910 --> 00:29:39.750 with the creator of the universe. I love knowing 00:29:39.750 --> 00:29:44.970 that God loves me. It is such a joy. When those 00:29:44.970 --> 00:29:48.130 times in life are so hard and you just get hit 00:29:48.130 --> 00:29:50.809 for six, to know that there is a God who cares 00:29:50.809 --> 00:29:54.509 about you and is... listening to your prayers 00:29:54.509 --> 00:29:57.930 and is using things for your good, gee, that 00:29:57.930 --> 00:30:00.549 is a wonderful comfort even in the worst times, 00:30:00.589 --> 00:30:05.369 isn't it? Don't you want that? If you're not 00:30:05.369 --> 00:30:10.170 a Christian, pray that prayer and start seeking 00:30:10.170 --> 00:30:16.430 whether God really is there. If you are a Christian, 00:30:16.609 --> 00:30:20.250 well, what I want to say to you is when you doubt 00:30:20.250 --> 00:30:23.779 that prayer is worth it, Can I leave you with 00:30:23.779 --> 00:30:27.859 this? I encourage you to compare the pair. You 00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:30.160 know, like those super ads where they compare 00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:34.559 the pair? Well, here's what you need to do. Trace 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:38.779 out the future, just like the super ads. What 00:30:38.779 --> 00:30:40.579 is the outcome? What is it going to look like 00:30:40.579 --> 00:30:44.380 in the future if I don't pray? If this becomes 00:30:44.380 --> 00:30:47.380 my pattern, what is it going to look like? That's 00:30:47.380 --> 00:30:54.480 one outcome. My heart's going to go colder. Sin's 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:57.940 going to become more tempting. My joy is going 00:30:57.940 --> 00:31:05.420 to reduce. But what if I do pray? Well, I'm going 00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:09.900 to enjoy God far more. I'm going to become more 00:31:09.900 --> 00:31:12.559 like Jesus. It's going to transform me in profound 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:16.279 and radical ways. And you know what? God is the 00:31:16.279 --> 00:31:18.619 sort of God who will answer my prayers. It may 00:31:18.619 --> 00:31:20.920 be yes, it may be better, but he will do something. 00:31:20.980 --> 00:31:23.319 He will honour those prayers and bless them. 00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:29.460 I know which of the two seems to be worth doing. 00:31:29.940 --> 00:31:34.980 I think we all do. When you face with those doubts, 00:31:35.259 --> 00:31:41.440 compare the pair. It makes it clear that prayer 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:49.099 is truly worth it. Let's pray now. Heavenly Father, 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:53.720 we thank you that prayer is rewarding, beneficial 00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:59.220 and powerful. We thank you that you have blessed 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:02.500 us so abundantly through the death and resurrection 00:32:02.500 --> 00:32:06.920 of the Lord Jesus. We thank you that you hear 00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:12.380 our prayers, answer our prayers and do what is 00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:17.119 best for us. through our prayers. Please, Father, 00:32:17.319 --> 00:32:21.519 whether individually, whether corporately, make 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:27.380 us a people who love prayer. And we ask this 00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:29.359 in Jesus' name. Amen.