The Intimacy of Prayer

The Intimacy of Prayer

I would like to start out this morning by reading James 5: 13-16

 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 At the end of July my family and I returned from Staff Conference for Campus Crusade for Christ at Fort Collins, CO. We were with about 5,000 other missionaries from Cru. Every two years all of the Cru staff come together for a time of training, worship, and encouragement. We had several speakers that challenged us in many different ways.

One of those was the value of discipleship. (Priceless)

Many of you here have invested your time and knowledge into others throughout your life. There is no value that can be put on that. People that you have discipled during your life could not walk up to you and pay you any amount of money that would be equal to the value of what you gave to them. When I look back at the people who have discipled me along my path, I can't repay them for what they gave me.

But what I can do is repeat what they taught me. I can duplicate it. I can do for others what they did for me.  And that is something that I have devoted my life to doing. 

For me, I have to say that what captivated me the most during our week at Fort Collins, was the intentional prayer that went on throughout the week. My wife, Tonya, and I pray quite often. We pray together on a daily basis. And, I have always believed that the Lord hears our prayers and answers them. However, this past week gave me a completely new understanding of prayer.  As we were walking back to the dorm after one of the main sessions the Lord impressed on me how intimate our prayers are to Him. How our prayers make Him feel close to us. It was very clear to me at that moment that I had only been going through the motions before. He opened my eyes to the fact that when I pray I’m not simply praying to a distant god that's out there somewhere. I’m actually talking to my best friend. When I pray I'm having a conversation with my best friend who is standing right next to me. He's right here. He is a friend who delights in answering my pleas. But He's more than a friend.

He's my Father. My Abba Father.

He's your Friend. Your Father.

My brain is too small to comprehend how it all works, but I do know that our God loves to spend time with us. The same way I love to spend time with my children. I enjoy every precious moment. My children give me a joy that I can't explain. From the moment they get up to the moment they go to bed. I want to be with them. I want to hold them close to me. Their hugs energize me.

When I put it in that context it became clear to me why we pray. Our Father wants to spend time with us. He wants to spend intimate time with us. This is what brings Him joy. It makes Him happy. It puts a smile on His face. It's why He created us. And in return, in return for our attention, He fills us with His Spirit which gives us a joy that surpasses all understanding.

Philippians 4:4-7 Reads:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We don't have to understand every minute detail when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. All we really need to know is that He loves us. And when we love Him in return, that creates a relationship that nothing can tear apart.

Romans 8:35-39 says:

Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

   No in all these things we are more than conquerers through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I Love my Father. I love my God. And, I want to spend time with Him. Don't you?

We serve a loving God!  We serve a personal God! We serve a mighty God!

Now when I pray, it changes me. It fills me up. It’s no longer something I have to do or should do. It’s something I GET to do. And I look forward to it! I get to talk directly with the creator of the universe and He listens to me. He not only listens, He’s excited to hear from me. What a concept! What a God!