Prayer does not equip us for the greater works – prayer is the greater work.

– Oswald Chambers

 

Oh, how I wish I knew more about this. It seems that as the years go by, we get better at virtually everything we do.

… better at managing a budget.

… better at understanding technical equipment.

… better at pastoral skills.

… better at rehearsal techniques.

… better at arranging, writing, speaking, playing, running a meeting, planning a choir tour, conducting, and on and on.

But, are we any better at praying?

There is a direct correlation between the acts of God and the prayers of His people. And yet, so much of the time, we settle for what can be achieved with more of everything else but no more prayer.

We have better visuals. We have better monitor mixes. We have better lighting controls, sound systems, and singers on the team. Our pastor is cool, and our facility is amazing. We are writing our own songs, making our own EPs, streaming our services, starting a new podcast, and hosting our own conference so people from miles around can come to see how we are doing what we do.

But, have we learned how to pray?

And even more sobering still, what will God do in our lives to show us just how much we need to learn how to pray?

Today, will you join me in an echo of the question the disciples asked Jesus so long ago in Luke 11?

Lord, teach us to pray.

It is a poignant moment in scripture. Peter and John have been called in by the religious leaders of the day and commanded not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus. You can almost hear the thoughts of those unrighteous powermongers; We got rid of that Jesus guy and we are not going to stand by while you two keep bringing him up again.”

The way Peter and John replied to this confrontation is amazing in and of itself. After all, they are standing before the guys that killed Jesus; they could kill Peter and John too. In the face of that reality, these two stand and deliver;

“Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than listen to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19. CSB)

Mic drop.

How in the world did they do that? Well, it had nothing to do with them. They were able to do it because of a promise that Jesus had made to them some time before. Consider Luke 12:11-12:

“Whenever they bring you before the synagogues and rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.” (Luke 12:11-12, CSB) 

That was the promise. And, the story in Acts is the story of that promise kept.

That makes me wonder – what other promises will Jesus keep? Will He honor them all? Are there any exceptions?

“I will be with you always…”

“You will receive power…”

“Wherever two or three are gathered…”

“There is no temptation… but you will be able…”

“If I go… I will come again…”

Be reminded — the “Promise Maker” is the “Promise Keeper,” and He will honor them all. Trust Him. Believe Him.

Rest in His promises today.

These are strange times in which we are living and this passage from the Gospel of Mark reads like this morning’s newspaper.

 

When you see the abomination of desolation…let the reader understand…For those will be days of tribulation, the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning of creation until now and never will be again. If the Lord had not cut those days short, no one would be saved. But he cut those days short for the sake of the elect, whom he chose. Then if anyone tells you, “See, here is the Messiah! See, there!”  Do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance. (Mark 13:14a, 19-23 CSB)

 

 

Do you remember the legendary radio personality Paul Harvey? He was famous for telling some amazing antidote acquired from his travels across America that had some amazing point with an amazing punch-line. He was so well known for this that when you caught his distinctive voice passing through the dial, you would automatically stop just to hear those iconic words after his well-delivered, powerful punchline – “And, that my friends, is the rest of the story.” Then, he would close the segment with, “Good day!

 

In this passage, Jesus does the same thing, only better.  And, it is much more than a story Jesus tells. He is recalling the events of a previous time and outlining the events of a coming day in which his followers will suffer many persecutions and hardship. The news is ominous at best, horrifying at worse.

 

The Abomination of Desolation in verse 14 is something from their history (Daniel 9) and something in their future. The presence of God had been reviled and ridiculed and it was going to happen again. The phrase “let the reader understand,” is a reference to me and you reading this today! And, boy, do we understand. Jesus and His glory are profaned and treated with ultimate disrespect by a culture growing increasingly hostile to the holy, indignant with the righteous.

 

That’s why the closing phrase of Jesus in this passage stuns us and gives us the “rest of the story.”  He asserts, “I have told you everything in advance.” There’s no other shoe to drop, no other unexpected outcome. Read the rest of the chapter. Jesus is coming back and setting everything right.

 

And that, my friends, is the rest of the story.

 

So, child of God, rejoice that we serve a Savior who knows it all, and still tells us to not lose heart. He has never broken a promise and he won’t break this one.  When we see the walls crumbling around us, we can rest in the assurance that he has it all in his hands.  That’s why we can close this story the same way Paul Harvey closed every one of his –

 

Good day.

It was a chain reaction on Interstate 65 South during rush hour traffic. Car #1 comes up suddenly on a truck and brakes abruptly. Car #2 slams on the brakes but still hits Car #1 from behind, then comes to a complete stop on a road where the speed limit is 70 MPH.  Car #3 locks up his brakes but still plows into car #2 and then gets rear-ended by Car #4.

 

Guess which car I was driving?

 

Yep, Car #3. I learned later that none of this was considered to be my fault. The way I learned this was by the lawyers calling me to ask if I wanted to sue the driver charged with causing the accident. Feeling exonerated didn’t make me any less sore.

 

But, the part of all this that bothers me the most is what happened while I was sitting in my smashed car. There I am – counting all my teeth and feeling around for any blood as I waited for the police to interview me.  The traffic had been diverted around the four wrecked cars, and a driver going around me on the right side stopped and angrily shouted at me, pointing his finger, “That’s what you get for texting and driving!!!”

 

Hence the question, “Where did mercy go?”

 

Even if I had been texting and driving (I wasn’t), is that really what I needed to hear at that moment?  If I had road rage, I would have chased the guy down and given him a piece of my mind. But, of course, my car couldn’t move so I would have had to do it on foot. I didn’t.

 

Can you imagine if he had said this instead; “Hey man, sorry you’ve been in an accident. Are you okay? Is there anyone I could call for you? Praying for you right now!” Or how about this – how about if he had just gone on without saying anything?

 

Thinking about this has helped me realize how often I offer judgement and punishment when I could offer mercy. It causes me to wonder how often my assumptions about a situation are just as wrong as that guy was when he assumed, I was texting and driving.  Again, he was wrong because I wasn’t.

 

God help us have mercy. When we don’t, we become the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18. We’ve been forgiven a huge debt and shown great mercy, but we don’t show mercy to anyone else.

 

I hope I remember that before I pass around someone who has been in a wreck in life and start wagging my finger at them.

According to ADDA (Attention Deficit Disorder Association) ADHD is a highly genetic, brain-based syndrome that has to do with the regulation of a particular set of brain functions and related behaviors.  All of us probably know someone who has lived with this disorder and had to learn ways to compensate for the challenges ADHD presents.

 

But, what about ADWD?  Attention Deficit Worship Disorder?

 

Okay, I made it up. But, I believe it is a real thing that we all deal with every time the church gathers to worship. If you spend even a little time observing a congregation during a worship service, you will see people who are having a hard time keeping their focus on the goal, the worship of Jesus. The distraction of others can often be a distraction to us!

 

Here are three suggestions of how to compensate for this disorder in your own life. Maybe you can share these thoughts with the people you lead and see if more focus can come to our times of worship.

 

1. Observe a Media Fast before worship.

What do you do when you wake up on Sunday? Turn on the news? Read the paper? Check out Instagram or Facebook? What not start your day of worship with a blackout of outside information that will only take your mind back to the news cycle or to the sports schedule for the day?  You will have plenty of time to catch up on all those things after worship. Why not block out every outside voice from the time you wake up and start putting your mind in a frame of focus on the One whose voice you really want to hear today.

 

2. Let the praises ring!

With the TV off, your social media silent, and the paper waiting till the afternoon, why not crank up music that honors the Lord and proclaims His attributes and glory as you are preparing for church?  Fill your house with the worship of Jesus and get everyone singing along.  Athletes get their “game face” on before the contest begins. Why don’t you get your “praise face” on long before church begins? Your kids will quickly adjust to this if you will take the lead on it. They too can start focusing on the Lord as they get ready for church.

 

3. Leave your phone at home.

If it’s in your pocket, it will be in your hand during worship. And if it’s in your hand, you will be going back and forth to your phone during the worship time. If you use your phone to read your Bible, you might have to take a Bible with you instead – one that you can write in and interact with during the teaching.

 

I never take my phone to church, because I know what I would do if I had it with me. This might be the first step toward curing ADWD in your life. It is a big deal for me, for sure.

 

In Matthew 26, we read the story of the woman who poured out an expensive perfume on Jesus in worship. There are many things to learn in this story, but one of them for me is how much intention worship requires. She had a singular focus on worshipping Jesus to the point that the cost, the opinion of others, the challenges of getting to Jesus, and more didn’t matter. She was there to do one thing, and she did it. Because of her worship, Jesus said her sacrifice would always be remembered.

 

How about us? Do we have that kind of focus? Or, is our worship filled with so many distractions, we don’t even hear the voice of the One we are there to worship?

 

May the Lord help us. And, may we model intentionality in worship and help our people find the cure for ADWD.