Lititz United Methodist Church Sermon Archive

Jesus was walking into Jerusalem one day and he was hungry. He wanted to grab some figs from a fig tree, but there was no fruit on the tree. Jesus said of the tree, “May no fruit ever come from you again”, and the tree withered! Some people are bothered that Jesus would curse a fig tree just because it didn’t produce any figs to satisfy his hunger. There’s a deeper meaning - in the Bible the fig tree was sometimes a symbol for Israel. Jesus was visibly demonstrating Israel’s spiritual barrenness. Israel failed to repent and rejected Jesus as her Messiah. Aside from that, the disciples looked at the withered tree and said, “How did that happen?” Jesus’ response is found in Matthew 21:21-22: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea’, it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” Jesus talks about the importance of faith when we pray.

How important is faith to a meaningful prayer life? It is very important! In the Gospel of Mark the story of Jesus’ curse on the barren fig tree includes these words of Jesus, “So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). James 1:5-8 urges us to ask for wisdom, but to ask with faith. It says, “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” Notice, the doubter should not expect to receive anything!

To pray with faith, first of all, means that we believe God hears us and wants to give us good things. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please him (God). For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” If we draw close to God we have to have faith that God exists and that he wants to give us good things. If our praying is to be effective, we have to approach God with a certain amount of trust in God’s goodness, power and love.

Praying with faith also means we really believe God can bring about what we are asking for. Have you ever prayed for something, and if it actually happened, you would probably be the most surprised person on earth? Or, maybe you have gotten an answer to prayer and you were so amazed you could hardly believe it. And yet that is exactly what you were praying for!

Let me say some things about “faith-sized requests”. I learned about this idea many years ago in a book called Prayer, Conversing With God, by Rosalind Rinker. She says that we know intellectually that God can do anything, but we often find it hard to believe that God will actually do what we’re asking for. So we have to edit our prayers to ask for only those things that we believe God will do. It’s not a matter, then, of trying to ask for the biggest thing we can think of and then trying to convince ourselves that God can do it. Rather, we ask for what we can believe God will do. It’s like trying to get to the top of a ladder taking one huge step. We can’t do that, so we must take small steps. As we see God answering these “faith-sized requests”, that builds up our faith so we can ask for greater things.

Let me give a few examples of faith-sized requests. A girl prayed for her boy friend’s conversion to Christ. But she really didn’t believe God could make him a Christian right away. So she prayed first that on their next date she would have an opportunity to share her faith with him. She believed God could make that happen, and it did. Next she prayed that her boy friend would be willing to accept a New Testament that she wanted to give him. He accepted it. Then she prayed a believing prayer that God would make her boy friend willing to read it. And he was. She continued with these faith-size requests, and to summarize what happened - within two weeks of her first prayer, her boy friend became a Christian.

A Christian family moved into a new neighborhood. One of the first things the new couple, Jack and Mary, did was to pray that they could get acquainted with their neighbors next door, and if these neighbors were not Christians, that they would open their hearts to the Lord. But Jack felt he needed to pray smaller, faith-sized requests. First Jack prayed, “Lord, I’d like to meet the man living next door in some casual way and get acquainted with him. I’d like to begin today and I believe you can arrange it. Thank you Lord.” His wife Mary agreed on that prayer. Jack prayed that prayer in the morning and by afternoon God answered. However, God must have a sense of humor because of the way in which it came about. Their children got into a fight with the neighbor’s children over a tricycle. Both fathers came rushing out. Immediately, Jack took responsibility for his children’s part in it, put out his hand and said, “I’m Jack. We just moved in next door, glad to meet you!”

Jack’s second prayer was, “Lord, I’d like to know what this man is interested in so we could become friends.” The answer came in two days. The neighbor was interested in football. Jack’s next faith-sized prayer was, “Lord, I need two complimentary football tickets, and could I have them by the weekend, please!” The tickets came, and his friendship with his neighbor grew.

The next step was to pray that the man would accept Jack’s invitation to come to a Bible study that he taught. The neighbor accepted. On the way to the study they talked about football. On the way back they talked about Christ! Jack continued to follow these small steps of praying believable prayers, and was able to lead this man and his wife to Christ.

How much more exciting our praying can be if we pray specific prayers for the little things we believe God will give, rather than focusing on big things which we doubt God would ever do.

Another way to allow faith to grow in our praying is to visualize what we are praying for. In this way we form an image in our mind of what the answer to prayer might look like. Cecil Osborne in one of his books tells of preaching one Sunday on prayer and saying that if what we desire is in harmony with the basic will of God, in keeping with Jesus’ teachings, will harm no one else and can add to our own well being or another’s well being, and if we want the will of God for our life, we can receive what we want if we can visualize it. To visualize something means we can see it on the screen of our mind as an accomplished fact.

Many in the congregation accepted the idea presented in the sermon on an intellectual basis, but at least one person in the church felt its truth at a deeper level. After the worship service a college student came up and said to Dr. Osborne, “You’re going to the Holy Land this summer, aren’t you?” Osborne said, “Yes, in July.” The student said, “Mind if I go along?” Dr. Osborne said, “Not at all. I’d be delighted!” But then he said, “Wait a minute. Where are you going to get the money for the trip?”

“I don’t know,” the young man responded, “but while you were talking about visualizing in prayer, I suddenly visualized myself in the Holy Land. I could see myself walking through the Damascus Gate into the old city of Jerusalem. I think I meet all the tests you laid down, and I do want the will of God for my life.” A few weeks later they met again. Osborne said, “Jerry, how are you coming with your plans for the Holy Land trip?” “Fine, I’m still going” Jerry answered. “Have you found a way to get the money?” “No,” Jerry responded, but I can still see myself walking through the Damascus Gate.”

Time went on. Still no money. The deadline for reservations was getting close, and to make a long story short, the young student got the money. He made contact with a lady who just “felt” she should give him the money. In fact, she wrote out a check on the spot! Sure enough, Jerry did walk through the Damascus Gate, just as he had pictured.

Now I’m not saying that we can ask for any stupid, foolish, selfish thing and be assured of getting it just because we picture it in our mind. I have said all along in this series on prayer that we must want God’s will to be done. But, our prayer life can be so much more thrilling if we can pray for thins we really believe God will give us, and even visualize the answer before it ever comes! Jesus said, “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22).

Let me say something about the Holy Spirit and His work in our prayer life. Ephesians 6:18 says, “Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. Jude 20 says, “build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Spirit.” What does it mean to pray in the Spirit? I don’t have all the answers to that question, but I think Romans 8:26-27 gives us some clues. It says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Romans 8:26 says that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. We are weak when it comes to prayer sometimes, aren’t we? I know I am. Isn’t it great that God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness.

Note also that Romans 8:26 says “For we do not know how to pray as we ought”. Often, we don’t know what to pray for, do we? We might be praying for ourselves or someone else, and we’re not sure: What is God’s will in this matter? For what should I pray? Or we may wonder whether what we’re praying for is something we can pray in Jesus’ name. Is it something Jesus would approve of? Well, we can ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in our praying. Be still and allow the Spirit to give us that inward sense of what to pray. Or, we may wonder how long we should continue praying for something or someone. Should we change our prayer? Should we continue asking? Or should we stop asking for a particular thing, either because we sense it is not God’s will, or else we are given the assurance that God will grant our request and we don’t have to ask any more! The Holy Spirit can guide us here too! Ask for his guidance, and then be quiet and wait to see how the Spirit leads.

As we go to prayer, in addition to having a prayer list, we might ask the Spirit if there is anyone specifically we should pray for. Then wait, and perhaps a name or a situation will come to mind. Sometimes the Spirit of God can interrupt what we’re doing and move us to pray for a certain person or thing. I heard once about someone who, as I recall, was awakened out of sleep one night and felt this strong urge to pray for a certain person. He did pray for that individual, and it was only some time later that he found out that at the exact moment he was given the urge to pray, the person he prayed for was in serious danger. Everything came out okay. Perhaps it was that prayer, motivated by the Holy Spirit, that helped save this person.

A number of years ago a cousin of mine got sick. He was just a baby then, and I remember talking to his mother as she held him, and listening to her worried tone of voice. She had Steve to the doctor and nothing seemed to help. As we talked, I felt a sudden urge to reach out and touch him and pray a silent prayer for his healing, which I did. Several days later I talked to my aunt and said, “By the way, how is Stevie?” She told me that he was doing fine, and that he just got better within the last few days. The Holy Spirit helps us because often we don’t know what to pray for or how to pray.

Romans 8:26-27 also says that the Spirit intercedes for the saints (believers) with sighs too deep for words. Have you ever come to prayer and found your emotions and feelings so strong (whether it was anger, or confusion, or sadness, or whatever) that you just could not find words to express what you felt? The Holy Spirit can help us here. I know there have been times when I have tried to pray and felt so inadequate to express what’s deep inside at that moment. In those times I have often asked the Holy Spirit to make intercession for me. Isn’t it good to know that when we’ve reached our limit and cannot put into words what we feel, God’s Spirit is there to bring our need to God with sighs too deep for words!

So far in this sermon I have talked about the importance of faith in our praying, and also how the Holy Spirit helps us in our praying. Let me make just a few brief comments about praying together, praying with others. Most of what I’ve said in this series of sermons has focused on our individual praying - praying alone. But one of the most valuable of tools we have for praying is to pray with others. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament show that God’s people have prayed together. Prayers of the faith community have been an integral part of the life of Israel (Old Testament) and the Church (New Testament).

One of the richest experiences of my life over the years has been to pray with other Christians! There have been times when I have felt discouraged and praying with others has given me a lift and hope. There are times when I might not have had a lot of faith to pray for something, but hearing others pray with faith for that very thing increases my ability to pray in faith for that. There have been times when I wasn’t sure what to pray for or how to pray for a particular thing, and praying with others has made it much clearer to me.

Besides all this, there is power when God’s people pray together! Matthew 18:19-20 gives us a prayer promise of Jesus for those who pray together. It says, “Truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Who of us can imagine the unlimited power available to us if we gather to pray and claim this promise of Jesus! We have two Intercessory Prayer groups in the church right now and this is one method of allowing believers to gather in prayer.

This is the last in this series of five sermons on prayer. This has been very basic teaching. I hope it has been worthwhile.

Do you pray each day? Do you have a prayer life? If not, what would it take for you to develop a consistent prayer life? If you already do pray regularly, will you commit yourself to grow stronger in your praying? Any of us can develop a meaningful prayer life. It's really not that complicated. It just takes effort to make that choice to set aside time each day to pray. Whether it’s early morning, through the day, or at night, take the time needed to pray. If we wait until we “have time” it will probably never happen. We have to “just do it” - just make that choice to set aside some time to pray. Talk with God - simply, honestly, regularly - and listen for God to speak. God will help us, because he wants to be in communication with us!

As I thought of how to end this series of sermons, an old song came to mind. It’s a song about prayer called How Long Has It Been? The words of the first stanza go like this:

Teach Us To Pray