Today we are going to be continuing on in our series called “Our church is …” Remember, this is a series on our identity as a church – who we are and who we should be. These are characteristics/core values that will make us a healthy church that will have a great impact on our community. So far we have looked at these characteristics/core values “Our church is … committed to one another.” That means we are united – we resolve our conflicts in God honouring ways We’ve looked at “Our church is … authentic.” That means we need to sincere and genuine and we looked at some ways we can live that way. We’ve looked at “Our church is … growing in Christlikness.” That means we are becoming more and more like Christ. We take on Christ’s attitude, values and character. And then last week we looked at “Our church is … caring.” We learned that if we are to fulfill our mission of making disciples we must be a caring community.
Today we are going to look at “Our church is … prayerful.” Let me introduce our subject by sharing a story. A Sunday school teacher was struggling to open a combination lock on the supply cabinet. She had been told the combination, but couldn’t quite remember it. Exasperated, she went to the pastor’s study and asked for help. The pastor came into the room and began to turn the dial. After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment. Finally, he looked serenely heavenward and his lips moved silently. Then he looked back at the lock, and quickly turned to the final number, and opened the lock. The teacher was amazed. “I’m in awe at your faith, pastor,” she said. “It’s really nothing,” he answered. “The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling.”
A lot of times what is perceived is not what reality is. And sadly when it comes to the issue of prayer we can perceive and maybe others can perceive that we are people of prayer but in reality we may not be. So, as a matter of practicality, we must ask ourselves today . . . are we a people of prayer? You see. We can look good. We can look like we have it all together as a church family. But it can be only appearance.
So, here we have this subject of being prayerful as a church. It is something that we all agree is absolutely essential to our lives and to the church. And yet it is something that seems to frustrate us all. Prayer is something that we realize ought to be a fundamental priority, and yet, at best, more often than not, it becomes an afterthought.
It is my goal this morning to challenge us to make prayer a priority in our individual lives and in the church as a whole. We have an example in Scripture that demonstrates how to make prayer a priority in life in Daniel. Today, we will be looking at the second chapter of Daniel and we find here that Daniel had reason to pray.
The chapter opens with Nebuchadnezzar having some troublesome dreams. They had been so troubling that he lost sleep over them. So, Nebuchadnezzar wants to know what the dreams mean and he calls in his wise men to give the interpretation. There is one problem. He won’t say what the dream is. Now we don’t know why exactly he decides to do this. Perhaps, he doesn’t remember himself or he decides to test the wise men.
Naturally, the wise men want to hear the dream first and then give their interpretation. But Nebuchadnezzar will have none of that and he threatens them to come up with the “whole enchilada” or it’s “curtains” for the whole lot of them. Their response is that no one can do that! It is impossible. So Nebuchadnezzar sentenced all the wise men to death. Though Daniel had not been a part of these proceedings, he was, nevertheless, included. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
Now, if you were Daniel, this would not be the news you would be looking for. Obviously, you do not want to be clumped in with all these other wise men who appeal to idols, and yet, condemned with them you are. You have to appreciate Daniel’s response because he deals with it intelligently and with his faith in gear. What did Daniel do? Daniel sought help.
We might think the answer would be that he would start praying first. But that’s not what Daniel 2 verses 17 and 18 tells us Daniel did. These verses say this:
“Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.”
Daniel called a prayer meeting. Now why does he do that? It is probably because Daniel thought it would be better if they were all praying together. So the four of them sought God together in prayer. Using Daniel 2 as our basis, we going to look at three reasons why God’s people are to pray together.
The first reason we should pray together is because we are under attack as Christians. You see, we are in a fight. Note what Paul says in Ephesians 6:10-12
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
We can’t ever fail to realize that we are in a spiritual struggle. Satan has declared war on us! He is an unseen enemy with many strategies and schemes. He has tricks up his sleeve to trip us up and knock us down. But we have a divine weapon that defeats him. It is prayer!
E.M. Bounds, a 19th century pastor known for his writings on prayer said:
“Prayer is our most formidable weapon, but the one in which we are least skilled and the most averse to using.”
So please note this . . . the devil is not terribly frightened about our human efforts and credentials. In fact, we’ll get along fine with him if we depend on ourselves and flash our accomplishments about for others to see. What he doesn’t want us doing is praying. He does not want us seeking God’s mercy, like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Satan would rather have his evil way.
One day D.L. Moody entered a tavern in order to ask the bartender if his two little girls might attend his Sunday school. He was told that an atheist club met there every Thursday night and the owner of the bar was in no mood to offend them. Moody looked into the face of this man and pleaded with him on behalf of his girls. Finally, the man’s heart was touched and he said, “Preacher, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. If you’ll come down here Thursday night and meet with the boys in a joint discussion, and win, you shall have the children. But if not, it’s all off!” “Agreed,” said Moody. Moody went right out and found a crippled newsboy who really knew how to pray and said to him, “Tommy, I need you next Thursday night!”
When the hour of the meeting arrived, Tommy and the evangelist entered the tavern. It was full of men sitting on whiskey barrels, beer kegs, and even on the bar – eagerly awaiting the coming debate. Moody began by saying, “Gentlemen, it’s our custom to open our meeting with prayer. Tommy, lead us in prayer.” Tommy began to beseech the Lord for the souls of all present. As the tears rolled down the little fellow’s cheeks, the more tender-hearted of the men began to retreat. Finally, even the hardest men present began to leave until there was no one left except the bartender, Moody and the praying boy. Moody turned to the father and said, “I claim your girls for my Sunday school!” The bartender answered, “All right, you win. But it’s a strange way to fight!” And Moody answered, “It’s the way I win many a battle.”
You know, we need that kind of boldness. Note the prayer of the early church in Acts 4:29 after Peter and John were put in prison for preaching the gospel: “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness . . .” These Christians knew they existed in the midst of spiritual conflict. And they did not pray that the conflict would go away. Instead, they prayed that they would have the courage to continue to speak the truth. We need to pray together because we are under attack as Christians!
The second reason we should pray together is to see the advancement of God’s kingdom. You know, the purpose of prayer is not to get what we want. It is not to make our lives easier and better. The purpose of prayer if not about us. We pray because we are to move forward with kingdom concerns.
Notice how Jesus put it in “The Lord’s prayer” in Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray not for the advancement of our kingdoms, but of God’s. What God wants is what we are to pray for. So we pray for God to act on His own behalf, because we want His concerns to be our concerns. And what is God’s concern? Matthew 28:19-20 tells us.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I believe earnestly that God wants to bless this command. When it is in our hearts to win people for Him, He will hear us and give us people to disciple. It is the prayer the Father loves to answer.
Now, this is so important that God calls us to pray together. Daniel’s example continues to ring true here. Daniel sought mercy for himself, his friends and the other wise men as well. In the same way, we are to seek God’s mercy on the behalf of others that do not know God. When we do this, we fulfill “Your kingdom come; Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We need to pray together to see the advancement of God’s kingdom!
The third reason to be praying together is because we have a passion. We are to be people of passion. This passion is identified in two different ways. The first is that we are to have a passion for God. We demonstrate our passion and our love for God when we come to Him in prayer. We identify the privilege that we have to be in relationship with the Lord God Almighty when we go to Him in prayer. We need to remember that we have been designed for fellowship with God and God wants to fellowship with us. God actually pursues this fellowship with us. He does this not because He needs us but because we need Him.
The second passion is for each other. When we come together in prayer, we are, in reality, bearing each other’s burdens. We are holding each other up. God uses this wonderful gift of prayer to sensitize us to the needs of others. It draws us closer and knits us together. We should not discount the importance of this, for God blesses when we are united together. Acts 4:32-33 says this of the early church when they were united together:
“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”
Please note this. When the church is complete in unity, the world believes the message. The gospel does not make any sense when we do not care for one another and love one another. So let us pray together and see the results that God has for us. We need to love God and love one another in prayer, and watch God bless us and favour us with His great grace. We need to pray together because we have a passion for God and for each other.
We need to get together in prayer. I earnestly believe that just praying alone is not going to do it. God not only wants to see if we have a passion for Him individually but He wants to see it corporately as well.
I truly believe this year is a test for us. Are we going to be a prayerful church? I believe with all my heart that we will never get past the status quo unless we become a praying church. Dr A.C. Dixon said,
“When we rely on organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely on education, we get what education can do; when we rely on eloquence, we get what eloquence can do. But when we rely on prayer, we get what God can do!”
It is time to get together and pray! We need to gather together as a family and bring our requests before the Lord. It is time for us to live the prayer life together. So let us follow the example of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and get together. For God calls us to pray together.
