The Power of Prayer

THE POWER OF PRAYER
DR. JIM DIXON
MATTHEW 6:5-13
NOVEMBER 21, 1993

In October of 1920, Dr. Frederick Banting was studying late at night. Dr. Banting was a young man, a medical doctor. Because his practice was new, it was not particularly lucrative, so he sought to supplement his income through teaching at the local college. The next morning, he would be teaching on the subject of diabetes. In 1920 that was kind of a scary subject because medical science had no cure for diabetes. Diabetes was deadly and it was much feared.

That night as Dr. Banting studied, he studied late, until he just fell asleep in the chair. He woke up at 2:00 AM, startled! He had had a brilliant dream. He got his notebook and he wrote down three lines from that dream. Those three lines led to the discovery of insulin. Of course, insulin has been strategic in helping those afflicted with diabetes.

Less than one hundred years earlier, Elias Howe was trying to invent the sewing machines. His creative mind had imagined a sewing machine, but he had been unable to invent one. The stitching had always been jagged and irregular. Well, as he thought about it and studied about it, he fell asleep and, in his dream, he dreamed that he was captured by savages. The savages gave him 24 hours to invent a sewing machine or he would be killed. In the dream he was unable to do it. He could not invent the sewing machine in 24 hours, and so the savages came after him to kill him. They were chasing him, and they threw their spears at him. He noticed in the dream that as the spears were almost to him, he saw the tips of the spears and he noticed a hole in each tip. That was the key. That became the key to the whole deal. He woke up the next morning. He put the hole in the tip of the needle, moved it there, and that is what enabled him in 1847 to invent the sewing machine.

Now, most of us, in our dreams, we’re not quite so creative, not quite so helpful. And yet physiological psychologists tell us that our unconscious minds are brilliant. You see, your conscious mind might be a little slow, but your unconscious mind, your subconscious mind, is brilliant and this is true of all of you. No matter how dumb you feel at the conscious level, your subconscious mind is brilliant. Physiological psychologists tell us that the average person with their conscious mind uses approximately 5% of the brain. Some would say a little more, some would say a little less, but the average person only uses 5% of the brain with their conscious mind.

Now, at the subconscious level, your mind has an incredible memory. Under hypnosis, doctors have been able to take people back. For instance, they have sometimes asked adults to remember, under hypnosis, their fifth birthday, when they were five years old. Some people can remember every detail. When asked under hypnosis to remember their fifth birthday and asked what other kids were there, they can name each kid. They can describe what each child is wearing. When asked to recall their gifts, they can name each gift and even describe the wrapping paper. It’s an incredible faculty, this computer called the brain, and yet your conscious mind cannot really access it. Your conscious mind cannot really tap those memory banks. There are a lot of people in the world today who are kind of frustrated by that. I mean, they are frustrated that they cannot tap the power or the creativity of their subconscious. They cannot fully utilize the power of the brain.

As Christians, we don’t need to worry about this. We do not really need to worry about this. In this sense, there is a greater mind. There is a greater power. We can access that mind and we can access that power. That mind and that power in the Bible is called God. You see, the mind of God is omnipotent. It has all power, and through a privilege called prayer, we can actually access the mind of God .Through a privilege called prayer, we can actually access the power of God. Are you aware of that?

You see, this morning our subject is prayer and I want us to examine the purposes of prayer. The first purpose of prayer examined this morning is this: That we might access the power of God. Would you like to access the power of God in your life?

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in the Book of Acts in the 12th chapter. We read how the Christians in Jerusalem are praying in the home of John Mark. They’re praying fervently. It’s Passover time. It’s Easter and these Christians are praying fervently because Simon Peter has just been put in prison. These Christians are praying that Peter might be released or that he might escape by the power of God. Well, it didn’t seem very likely because Peter was in a prison cell, and he had one arm chained to one prison guard and he had another arm chained to another prison guard. There were two sentries at the door of his prison cell. I mean, this was a full security prison. And yet as the people prayed in the home of John Mark, suddenly an angel of the Lord, the Bible tells us, appeared in Peter’s cell, radiating supernatural light. We’re told that those chains just broke and fell from his arms. The angel said, “Rise, put on your clothes and follow me.” We’re told how the angel led Peter out of that prison cell, right past the guards. When they came to the great gates of the prison, they just fell back. They just fell open, seemingly of their own accord, and Peter walked free out into the streets. The power of God.

You know what happened at that point. It is kind of humorous. Peter went to the home of John Mark to meet the Christians who were praying for him there. As he went to the home, he came to the door. He knocked on the door. A woman came to the door who was part of the prayer group. She saw Peter, and of course they had been praying for his release. She saw Peter and she was stunned. She came running back into the room and said that Peter was at the door. They told her that she was crazy. I mean, they had been praying for Peter to get free and when he did they said it was crazy. Of course, it was hard even for them to realize and fully comprehend that they had actually, through prayer, accessed the power of God, that they had actually, through prayer, tapped the power of God.

Now, as a church we want to access the power of God. We want to be a congregation that prays. If we do this, there will be no limit to what God will do through this church and ministry, what God will do through our lives, what God will do in Denver if we become men and women of prayer and we truly access the power of God. Now, God would caution us. He wants us to know we can only access the power of God for the purposes of God. We cannot access God’s power for our own capricious needs. God is sovereign. But, you see, if we come to God seeking His power for His purposes, that power will be released. What an awesome privilege called prayer. And yet I must say I do not think that’s the primary purpose of prayer.

So we come this morning to a second purpose of prayer and that is this: To express the worship of God. When you pray, you should not simply seek to access God’s power for your provision and your protection or even for the protection and provision for those you love. When you pray, you should seek to express your worship of God. In the Lord’s Prayer we see encouragement to pray for the release of God’s power for our provision, but we also see encouragement to express worship in prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer begins with the words ,”Our Father who art in heaven….” We begin by recognizing the exalted nature of God. The Lord’s Prayer ends with the words, “for Thine is the kingdom, Thine is the power, Thine is the glory forever.” The majesty of God. But, you see, in the Lord’s Prayer, the worship of God is primarily expressed through the words, “hallowed be Thy name.” Of course, children do not understand the word “hallowed.” If you ever listen to a little child, say the Lord’s prayer, you can hear some strange things. Sometimes they will say something like, “Our Father who art in heaven, hello what be Thy name,” because they’re not sure what the word “hallowed” means.

The more serious problem is that so many moms and dads, so many adults, don’t really know what the word “hallowed” means. As we come to prayer, we are to hallow the name of God. The Greek word that is used there means “to set apart.” It means “to consecrate.” It means “to declare holy.” It means “to glorify.” You know, when you really take a look biblically at the name of God, you cannot help but worship. When you understand the meanings of the names of God… I really recommend to you Bob’s book, “Transforming Your Prayer Life.” Bob did a great job of examining the names of God and the glory of their meaning.

In the Bible you see God is called “Jehovah M’Kaddesh.” He is the Lord who sanctifies. He is called “Jehovah Tsidkenu.” He is the Lord who is our righteousness. He is “Jehovah Shammah.” He is the Lord who is present. He is the Lord who is always there. He is “Jehovah Rohi.” He is the Lord our shepherd. He is “Jehovah Rophe.” He is the Lord who heals us. He is “Jehovah Jireh.” He is the Lord who provides for us. He is “Jehovah Nissi.” He is the Lord who protects us, who gives us the victory. He is “Jehovah Shalom.” He is the Lord who gives us peace.

You cannot examine the names of God without magnifying God, without worshipping God. And why? I mean, why is it so important for you to worship God in prayer? Have you ever thought about that? I mean why, in the Bible, are you encouraged daily to worship God in prayer? I mean, does God have a deflated ego and He needs you to verbally pump Him up every day? I mean, is that why we worship God? Is God up there just hurting in His self-esteem and we need to come in prayer and worship Him in order to pump Him up? Is that what the worship of God is all about?

Biblically I must tell you no, absolutely not. God does not need your worship. God doesn’t need my worship. But, you see, biblically you need to worship and biblically I need to worship. We need to worship in order that we might place God in the center of our lives. This is a profound truth, and it is so important. It’s only as you worship God in prayer that you begin to move God into the center place of your life. It’s only as we come to God and we express our worship of God that we place Him at the core of our being.

The tragic truth is this: If we don’t come on a regular basis and express worship of God, we’re going to put something else in the center of our life. If we do not come and worship God, we’re going to put something else at the core of our life. In effect, we are going to worship other things. God understands and wants you to understand that you’re only going to find wholeness, you’re only going to find fulfillment and joy, if you place Him at the center of your lives. And worship does this. It moves Him to the center.

Now, you see, we live in a world where people have put many other things at the core, many other things at the center of their lives, material things, hedonistic things. I think, if we are honest, we put self at the center. I think what most people put at the center of their lives is self. No one ever said it more honestly than Ayn Rand. Of course, Ayn Rand died a decade ago. She was, perhaps, in the 20th century the greatest advocate of self-worship. In 1961 her book was published called “The Virtue of Selfishness.” It was in 1938 that she wrote Anthem, and she wrote these words: “And now I see the face of God and I raise this God over the earth… This God whom people have sought since humanity came into being… This God who will grant people joy and peace… This God… This one word ‘I.’” Isn’t that tragic? Tragic. But it is not true? And it’s not new. It’s not new in the sense that the worship of self has been around for a long time. It’s not true that when you put yourself at the core that you would find peace and joy. Quite the opposite.

Of course it was Satan who, in the beginning, thought like that. The Bible tells us it was Satan who in the beginning said, “I shall ascend above the stars of God. I will set my throne on high. I will make myself like the most high God,” and he put himself at the core. He put himself at the center. He refused to worship God.

Now, most of us are not as blatant as Satan and we are not as blatant as Ayn Rand, but more subtlety we put ourselves at the core. We put ourselves in the center. You see, prayer daily for us as Christians is so critical. An expression of worship through prayer daily is so critical because we move God to the core. We move God to the center, and we push ourselves to the side. That’s what’s so critical. God wants you to understand that. What is the tragedy? The tragedy is the average Christian in the United States of America spends less than one minute per day in prayer. The Bible tells us that we are to pray without ceasing.

There is a third purpose of prayer. We have very little time, but I wanted to mention briefly that the third purpose of prayer is to cultivate our friendship with God, to access the power of God, to express our worship of God and then, I think, incredibly, to cultivate intimacy with God.

Now, this last week I was, once again, rereading Chuck Colson’s book called “Born Again.” I was reading “Born Again” again. I think most of you know who Chuck Colson is. Chuck Colson was the Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. He was one of the key people in the infamous Watergate scandal. It was Chuck Colson who was sentenced to one to three years in prison for obstruction of justice. Ten months before going to prison, Chuck Colson accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. In those ten months before going to prison, he went into a small Bible study group with four other men. He became bonded in Christ with those four other guys. They became really close friends.

Now, when Colson went into prison, it seemed to him as though his life was absolutely falling apart. In prison, in that first year, Colson’s father died. Colson had been so close to his dad. Then the Virginia Supreme Court revoked Colson’s license to practice law. For Colson, that legal career had seemed like his life. He wondered what he would do when he got out. It was only a few days after the Virginia Supreme Court revoked his license that Colson was informed that his teenaged son was a drug addict and had been apprehended for possession of narcotics. He was devastated. Then, worst of all, he found that his wife was slipping mentally, emotionally, physically into a depression that she had never known before—having a hard time getting out of bed, almost suicidal He felt so helpless. I mean, he was there in prison. He felt so helpless. But he had these four friends and they loved him, and they prayed for him.

One of his friends was Al Quie. Al Quie was the elder veteran congressman from the state of Minnesota, highly respected in Washington. Al Quie did an amazing thing. He found a little piece of legal minutia which, perhaps, would allow him to go to prison in Colson’s place and serve out the rest of Colson’s term. Al Quie went and with every ounce of energy and creativity he had, he tried to make that happen, that he might be able to go into prison and Colson might come out and be with his family.

Now, Al Quie was never allowed to do that, but he really tried and that touched Chuck Colson’s heart greatly. He could not believe these friends. He came to understand that all four of those guys loved him so much. He honestly believed they would die for him. One of the four was also Doug Coe, who is the head of the Washington Fellowship.

Friends like that are rare, aren’t they? I think in your life and mine, we have various levels of friendship, do we not? We have a lot of people who are kind of acquaintances, and we have some people that we would call friends. We have good friends. We have a few people, maybe one or two people, that we are supremely close to. But I tell you from God’s Word there’s one person you should be closer to than anyone. I tell you from God’s Word there is one friend who, if you’re a Christian, should be closer than any other to you. This is an incredible truth, but the Bible says that friend is God.

You see, in the Old Testament, friendship reaches its peak in Abraham, who is called “the friend of God.” In the New Testament, we are told that through Christ, God offers friendship to us all, to all who believe in the name of His Son. Jesus said, “Greater love hath no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friend.” He laid down his life for you and for me. Now, for all of us who believe in His name and who have received Him as Lord and Savior, He has offered a friendship greater than all, but it must be cultivated.

I have often thought, “How do you motivate people to do that? ” I realize I cannot. I cannot motivate you to seek intimacy with God. I do not have the power, but the Spirit of God does. I must tell you, my prayer this morning is that each of you, somehow, will leave this place wanting to be closer to God, wanting friendship with God, wanting intimacy with God and knowing that it only happens through prayer. It only happens through prayer as you spend time every day. Why do we pray? We pray to access the power of God. We pray to express our worship of God, that we might place Him at the core of our lives. We pray to cultivate that friendship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Let us look to the Lord with a word of prayer.