Thursday, August 24, 2006
Jenny's only two years old but she's already teaching her parents. She often starts with one or both by announcing, "Let's pray." Now, she doesn't always pick her times well. Dad might be studying or Mom might be involved in her housework or running to get ready. That doesn't stop Jenny. She'll just say, "Let's pray." She grabs her hands, closes her eyes and she expects you to do the same. She's fully expecting Mom or Dad to drop whatever they're doing. Mom told me, "I don't dare tell Jenny, 'Later honey, I'm too busy now.'" Jenny is only two, but she's got the right idea.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Prayer Gets Loose."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 6:18 at the end of a passage on spiritual warfare and defeating our enemy. It says, "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." I would call this prayer unleashed. It's prayer all day. It's what 1 Thessalonians 5 talks about "praying without ceasing." It's staying in constant contact with the Lord; all occasions, all kinds of prayers and requests.
See, we tend to have a prayer compartment in our life and we pray in the morning or maybe in the evening. We have prayer meetings, but I think God wants us to take prayer out of that compartment and learn prayer as a lifestyle, not just as an occasional binge. Jenny understands that. She's all day long going, "Let's pray. Let's talk to God."
The Spirit may be trying to prompt you in that way. Many times it's not a little child, it's the Holy Spirit saying, "Let's pray. Let's pray." He's trying to initiate it - pray in the Spirit, but we are so busy. We've got ourselves working on our program and our agenda; we can't hear His promptings.
Nehemiah in the Old Testament, a great spiritual leader, accomplished so much for the Lord, and He was sort of a grown up Jenny. It talks about it in chapter 2, verse 4, when he was in a very important meeting. He says, "I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king." Right there, as he's in that meeting, he's praying before he answers. Then he's under heavy pressure in chapter 4, verse 9, and he says, "I prayed to the God of heaven and I posted a guard." Chapter 5, verse 19, Nehemiah is thinking about his income and what he ought to be getting. He says, "Remember me with favor, oh my God" he prays again. He's got some discouraging news in chapter 6, verse 9, but he says, "I prayed. Now strengthen my hands." All through his life it's a lifestyle.
God doesn't hear from me nearly enough. I want to tell you that, and maybe it's the same with you, too. It doesn't mean you have to stop everything, bow your head, close your eyes, drop to your knees. It could be prayer on the run, but it's consciously going into the throne room of God to say, "I love you." Just fire that up to Him - or maybe a nice "thank you" card, "I love what you just did then." Or maybe it's, "Help! What should I say right now? Give me strength, Lord." See, that's what the Bible calls abiding in Christ. "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."
Jesus calls us to have the faith of a little child. Remember? Maybe like Jenny's - a faith that lets prayer loose from its compartment and into your all day, every day. There's that voice; it's the voice of God inside going, "Let's pray." I hope you'll hear it often. When you start responding, you'll never get enough of it.