If I could only listen to one sermon for the rest of my life it would be a message Jim Cymbala gave at a Christian music gathering in 1994 called “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (you can watch it on YouTube here). Cymbala references the episode where Jesus clears the money changers out of the temple in order to drive home the point that God’s house is meant to be a house of prayer above all other things – not primarily a house of preaching or a house of music, but a house of prayer. Having worshiped at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, where Cymbala pastors, a couple of times, I can definitely say that no church that I have visited embodies that verse and that desire of God’s heart the way his church does.

I was reminded of Cymbala’s message this past Sunday as we gathered together as a church after the service for a time of prayer. I had preached on 1 Kings 17:17-25, where Elijah prays fervently for the dead son of the widow with whom he is sojourning, and God answers his prayer by bringing the boy back to life. In response to the message, we spent time together in prayer, lifting up to God those situations in our lives that seem the most hopeless, the most difficult, the situations most in need of God’s merciful intervention. It takes a lot of faith to believe that God can turn around a situation that seems utterly hopeless, especially when your years of fervent prayer have not obtained the results you had hoped. But as we came to prayer, I was reminded of the story Cymbala shares at the end of his sermon about his daughter (the 31 minute mark on the video; also found on pages 60-64 of his incredible book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire).

Cymbala talks about a two and a half year long nightmare he and his wife lived as their oldest daughter, Chrissy, pulled away from them and eventually from God as well, beginning at age 16. Eventually, Chrissy left their home, and Cymbala talks about how he and his wife were hanging by a thread, leading a large church and nationally known choir, starting other churches, but all the while dying on the inside, totally dependent on God’s grace to get them through each day. He shared how his wife was so shaken by the situation that she threatened not only to leave the ministry but him as well, even despairing to the point of death at times. She had felt Satan telling her “you can have your church and influence all the people you want, but I’m going to have all of your children. I’ve got one, and I’m coming for the other two.” In her fear, she desperately wanted to get her family out of Brooklyn.

Cymbala recounts how he tried everything to get Chrissy back, but eventually he felt God telling him that he needed to stop all of his efforts and just pray, and to let God take care of it. He resolved to not even see his daughter until she was right again. Finally, a few months later, during a prayer meeting at the church, an usher gave Cymbala a note from a woman that read, “Pastor Cymbala, I feel impressed that we should stop the meeting and all pray for your daughter.” He shared with the church the truth about how far gone his daughter was, and as they began to pray, he talks about how the church became like a labor room, with the sounds of groaning as the congregation declared before God and His enemies that Satan would not have this girl, but that she would come back.

When he returned home, Cymbala told his wife that it was over, that if there was a God in heaven, their nightmare would be over soon. A day and a half later, his wife burst into the bathroom while he was shaving, saying that their daughter was downstairs and wanted to see her father. Chrissy was on the floor sobbing, and grabbed his pants leg and poured out her anguish to him: “Daddy, I’ve sinned against God, and I’ve sinned against myself, and I’ve sinned against you and Mommy. Please forgive me. But Daddy, who was praying for me on Tuesday night? In the middle of the night God woke me and showed me that I was headed for a deep chasm with no bottom to it. But at the same time, it was like God wrapped his arms around me and held me tight, and kept me from sliding any further as he said, ‘I love you!’ Daddy, tell me the truth – who was praying for me Tuesday night?”

God’s house is to be a house of prayer. He can accomplish more in response to your prayers than you ever could in a lifetime of trying in your own strength. Samuel Chadwick, a 19th-20th century minister, wrote, “Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs  at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” Whatever the situation is that you are facing, and however hopeless it might seen, do not ever give up, but continue to ask God in faith, for He is a good God.

If you need prayer for anything, remember that we offer prayer after every Sunday service in the sanctuary. We also have a prayer meeting that meets every first, third, and fifth Tuesday from 12-1 in the church office. We publish a list of prayer needs in the Pulse and bulletin every Sunday, and you can submit needs by emailing Pastor Eric. Finally, there is a prayer chain made up of individuals that will pray for any more immediate or sensitive prayer needs you may have; contact Gloria Wu at 860-212-4413.

 As simple as prayer can be – at its heart, it is a conversation with God – it can also be hard to make sense of the different passages about making requests of God.  Certainly prayer is not just about making requests – we also spend time thanking God, listening to Him, praising Him, etc. – but often when we come to God there are legitimate concerns on our heart that we want to bring before His throne of grace.  But even a quick survey of some of the relevant passages on making requests of God reveals how confusing it can be to know just how we should pray and what we should expect:

• John 15:7 – “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” 

Taken at face value, this verse almost makes God sound like a heavenly ATM machine.  As long as we stay connected to Him and His words are in us, this will be the pin number that unlocks the vaults of heaven.  But we know that it can’t be that simple, that God would just give us whatever we wish, even if we are asking for things that are bad for us.

• Matthew 7:7-11 - “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Like the John passage, these words of Jesus begin with another promise that “our wish is his command.”  He then continues by clarifying his previous statement, assuring us that God knows how to give good gifts and will not give us things that are bad for us.  But while this helps us trust God’s goodness, there is nothing in here about “if you ask for a snake, God won’t give it to you,” which would have helped us understand that sometimes God does not give us what we have asked for because we have asked for something that would harm us.

• Mark 11:22-24 - “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.  “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Once again, Jesus seems to be speaking very clearly – if you believe that you will receive what you have asked for, it will be yours.  Really?  Is that all there is to it?  As long as I have enough faith, I can do and get anything?  James 1:5-6 seems to echo this sentiment in a passage about asking for wisdom, where James writes “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt… [the man who doubts] should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.”  Clearly Jesus is encouraging us to pray with great faith, and to be bold in what we ask of Him.  But most Christians remain troubled by these passages, for they seem again to depict God as a heavenly ATM machine, ready to spit out whatever we ask for if we only have the right pin number, which in this case seems to be a strong faith.

• Matthew 6:7-8 – “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

On the flip side, however, would be a passage such as this one, where Jesus tells us that “your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”  Which begs the question, of course, “why pray if God already knows what we need?”  But then, of course, there is this passage:

• James 4:2-3 – You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

According to James, there are some things God knows we need, and that He wants to give to us, but we will not receive them because we never asked.  If nothing else, that should be a powerful reminder to bring our requests to God.  However, he continues by saying that there are some things we ask for that we will not receive, because we have asked for selfish reasons.  Ah – so God is not just a heavenly ATM machine after all!  Receiving what we have asked for is not just about working up enough faith, but it also has to do with our motives.

• Luke 22:42 – “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

This passage is of course from Jesus’ prayers to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, before he is arrested and taken to the cross.  There are some who would say that praying “not my will but yours be done” is a sign of doubting in prayer, and something that we should never pray.  Jesus, however, shows us that it is perfectly appropriate to present our heartfelt requests to God boldly, but in the end to recognize that we do not know what is best for ourselves, and that in the end we will gratefully accept whatever the Father decides, trusting that He gives us good gifts.

 So, how do you make sense of making requests of God in prayer?  Do you tend to be on the “word of faith” side, believing that if you ask for something boldly and with enough faith, that God will give you what you have asked for?  Or do you tend towards the prayerless side, believing that God knows what you need and will give it to you regardless of whether or not you ask for it?  If you have comments or insights to share, please leave them below.  I will continue dealing with this question in next week’s post.

Matthew 6:5-6 – “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

This Thursday is the National Day of Prayer.  This event has a long history that goes all the way back to the founding of our country, although its official recognition happened more recently in a bill signed in 1952 by Harry Truman.  The White House had occasionally hosted prayer gatherings on this day up until our last President, George W. Bush, who hosted a gathering every year on the first Thursday of May.  These gatherings included the National Day of Prayer Task Force, chaired by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. 

This past week, the National Day of Prayer has made news as many, including the Interfaith Alliance, have been clamoring for President Obama to support a “National Day of Prayer and Reflection” “that restores and respects our nation’s best values by explicitly inviting clergy from diverse faith traditions to participate equally and fully – especially in events held on government property.”  As they see it, the day had become hijacked by the Religious Right, and represented by Dobson and the Task Force, and the day should instead be more inclusive of other faith traditions.

On a local level, I will be joining with a few other clergy and Christians this Thursday on Hubbard Green from 11:45-12:45 in order to pray for our town and for our country.  As I perused the National Day of Prayer Task Force’s website, I could understand the concerns of the Interfaith Alliance and other faith leaders.  The Task Force publicizes a prayer guide for that day, and the focus is very much on the hot button Religious Right issues.  For example, the section on “National Repentance” calls for the country to repent for abortion, the acceptance of homosexuality and gay marriage, pornography, throwing God out of schools and government, the promotion of false gods, and the promotion of sexual freedom.  Other sections include statements like “Pray for the radical Islamic forces that are trying to turn the hearts of our youth to Islam, that they may be stopped,” “Pray for journalists to be fair and accurate, to not ‘spin’ the news to promote their liberal agenda,” and “Pray for America to always stand with Israel and for the protection and salvation of Israel.”  Even if all of the above are important issues to be praying about, I think we can all agree that the Prayer Guide certainly does not reflect the heart of many in our nation (or in the White House).  Nor it is inclusive of all the issues that grieve the heart of God (for example, I am pretty sure there are a few verses in the Bible about greed, the poor, and injustice that might be relevant to our wealthy nation).

Shirley Dobson responded to the lack of an invitation to the White House by saying “We are disappointed in the lack of participation by the Obama administration.  At this time in our country’s history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer.”  The White House replied by assuring that prayer is important, but that they do not wish to endorse a particular religion to the exclusion of people from other faiths.

I know that politics and religion are incredibly hot button issues for many people, and that mixing the two is a recipe for all sorts of division.  I know that mentioning “Obama,” “abortion,” and “gay marriage” in the span of two paragraphs is enough to infuriate some people.  All I would say about this issue today is that, in the aforementioned words of Jesus in Matthew 6:5-6, prayer is not something we do in order to be seen by men.  Whether or not the White House invites you to pray is not the point.  The point is to cry out to God for our cities, for our nation, for our world, and for those who live in it.  You can do that from your closet just as well as you can do it from Hubbard Green or from the White House.  And, in fact, it may even have more effect if it is done in secret. 

In my opinion, if I were organizing a National Day of Prayer gathering, the worst thing I could do would be to make it interfaith and water it down to the lowest common denominator.  The only point in gathering in order to pray to a generic “god” that he would “bless us” and “protect us” is to show everyone that we are one big happy multi-faith family that really aren’t all that different, or because you truly believe that the same “god” wants some people to be Hindus, some to be Buddhists, and some to be Christians.  But that is not prayer as I understand prayer.  That is gathering in order to be seen by men. 

As I mentioned, I will be on Hubbard Green this Thursday with a few other clergy and Christians to pray.  I did not organize this event, but I am happy to participate as long as we are really going to pray to God through His Son Jesus Christ, really going to pray to God about the people of our town and country and the issues we are facing, and not make it so bland that in the end it is a waste of an hour.  And I would encourage Shirley Dobson to do the same.  If she is not welcome at the White House, recognize that it is better to pray as you feel God would have you pray than to be a part of an interfaith “prayer gathering” that in the end does not involve Jesus.

We live in a multi-faith nation, and I believe it is reasonable for our country’s leaders to respect that prayer means different things to different people and not give in to the agenda of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.  If our leaders decide that the best thing to do with the National Day of Prayer is to ensure that no person of faith or any atheist is offended, they have the right to do that.  And I would gladly allow for people from different faiths to pray as they see fit, or for the pro-interfaith crowd to gather and pray to their generic “god.”  But as for me, I will gather with like-minded people who believe that the only way we can approach God is through the blood of Jesus.  Some may call be narrow-minded, but I do not care.  I will not gather in prayer to be seen by men, but only because I believe that we all are in desperate need of God, and desperate need of people who will intercede for this town, nation, and world.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”   (Hebrews 10:19-22) 

As I reflect on our prayer life as a church and look forward to 2009, I feel God calling us to get both smaller and deeper.  Smaller meaning that we do not let the length of the list keep us from coming alongside one or two people on the list who God could be calling us to encourage and come alongside; and deeper meaning that we go further than simply praying for healing, comfort, and provision. 

Let me begin with the call to go smaller.  When you look down the list of those requesting prayer, do not let the number of prayers overwhelm you.  Instead, pray that God might put someone on that list on your heart, so that you might come alongside them and encourage them through their struggle.  Perhaps you can pray with someone until they experience victory or an answer to their prayer, checking in with them occasionally for updates.  Or you can send one person a note of encouragement, letting them know that you will be praying for them.  It is okay to feel like you can not pray diligently for everyone on that list.  Just don’t let the list keep you from coming alongside someone in their pain and praying for them.

Secondly, the call to go deeper.  Consider what great things we could pray for fervently:  that our church would love like Jesus, serve like Jesus, look like Jesus, and be holy like Jesus.  That God might use us to reach this town, this region, and even this world with the gospel.  That He might open doors that have long been shut for His message, that He might transform our town into one that passionately loves God, and that He might give us a hunger and thirst for Him above all other things.  Or that we would pray according to these Scriptures:

Ephesians 1:18-19  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Ephesians 3:17-19  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge– that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 6:19-20 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Colossians 4:3-4  And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

Acts 4:29-30  Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

 There is so much more available to us than simply healing, comfort, and provision.  There is the same power that raised Christ from the dead.  There is boldness and clarity to speak the gospel.  There is a love whose depth can never be reached.  There is hope beyond your wildest dreams.  And so in 2009, GO DEEPER with God.  Ask Him to lead you into the depths of His great love and incomparable power and matchless beauty.  Do not be content to simply ask for the usual, but ask for more of Him.  I am reminded of Luke 11:1, where the disciples saw Jesus praying, and then remarked, “Lord, teach us to pray.”  The disciples saw something in how Jesus prayed that made them say, “I want that.”  There is a depth of intimacy and power in prayer that Jesus knew that certainly puts us to shame.  In 2009, I challenge you to go deeper with your prayer life, to not just pray for the usual, but pray for the extraordinary.

Go smaller.  Pick someone to come alongside and pray for in the midst of their struggle.  And go deeper.  Do not be content to stay where you are, but search out the depths of our great God.  To God be the glory.

(Now that you’ve finished throwing up…) This past Sunday I spoke about intercession, praying on behalf of others. One of the images that has stuck in my head is that of Moses in Exodus 17. Joshua was leading the Israelites in battle against the Amalekites, and Moses spent the whole time on top of a nearby hill with the staff of God in his hands, interceding for the Israelite army. The Bible says that when Moses’ hands were raised, the Israelites were winning, but when his arms fell, the Amalekites would have the upper hand in the battle. In a comical but brilliant remedy for Moses’ tired arms, his friends Aaron and Hur held his arms up all day until the Israelites were victorious. The story ends with the line “so Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” Certainly Joshua and his army got the honor that day, because they were the ones on the field fighting. However, it is clear that without Moses’ intercession, the battle would have been lost. The absolute importance of behind the scenes intercession is made even clearer by Paul in Ephesians 6, where he tells the Ephesian church that our struggle is not against things of this world but is actually against spiritual forces of evil. The battle is not won in the field alone, but on the hill of intercession. Which brings me back to me being a big shot pastor. Our country is crazy about celebrities, as I’m sure you’re all aware. From the tabloids to the TV shows dedicated to celebrities, you can’t escape Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Nick Lachey, Paris Hilton, and so many others. And now with reality TV, regular people are getting their moment in the spotlight every day. Some of you may read the Java section in the Hartford Courant, where sometimes they even report on the parties and goings-on of local “big shots”, in an attempt to lend a celebrity air to our small state. All of this frenzy over making it on TV or getting your picture in the paper can’t help but influence you to think that the glory belongs to one in front of the crowd, the glamorous ones who manage to be seen by thousands of readers or viewers. And the church sometimes has a hard time resisting that view. Lots of publicity goes to the “glamorous” mega-church pastors, Christian rock stars, and Christians who make it on radio, TV, or in the paper. It’s easy to think that somehow, because they are famous (even if just for 15 minutes), that they are more spiritual and are what we should aspire to become.