Courage – 6

Courage – 6

Subject – Courage to Rethink Our Prayers

By Rick Welborne

2 Samuel 23:20-23 (NLT2)
²⁰  There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it.
²¹  Once, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it.
²²  Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors.
²³  He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard.

1 Peter 5:8-9 (NLT2)
⁸  Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
⁹  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

--Last time we talked about how important it is for us to unlearn our fears. This week we are going to look at having the courage to rethink our prayers.

1. An Honest Assessment of Our Prayers.

--We would probably be amazed to discover how many of our prayers are aimed at simply reducing our problems. We pray God will keep us out of a pit with a lion on a snowy day.

--We pray that God will help steer clear of Egyptian warriors with spears. Also, if we have to fight against the Moabites, please let the numbers be on our side. 

--What if these problems are just opportunities in disguise? Our prayers are misdirected.

--I believe David and Benaiah had kindred spirits. They both were in the Jerusalem hunting club where giants and lions were favorite targets. I believe David saw himself in Benaiah to some degree. 

--Long before David became king, David was a simple shepherd boy. While his brothers were away fighting Philistines, he was stuck on the sidelines tending sheep.

--I am sure David had no idea that God was setting him up to become the next King of Israel. As David practiced with his sling and has he fought lions and bears, God was preparing him.

--Before his epic battle with Goliath it is amazing how David was able to connect the dots between his past problems and his current opportunity. 

1 Samuel 17:34-37 (NIV)
³⁴  But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,
³⁵  I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.                                                                                                                                                ³⁶  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
³⁷  The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

--Don’t you just suppose that David prayed for his sheep? Kids always pray for their pets. But on numerous occasions, lions and bears would attack his sheep.

--I wonder if David ever questioned, “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers for safety?” I’m sure the answer dawns on David as he gets ready to face Goliath. He puts two and two together.

--His unanswered prayers had set him up for an opportunity of a lifetime. Every time he used his sling, took aim, and fired, it was just target practice for the giant in his life.

--At the end of our lives I believe we will thank God for the lions, bears, and giants in our lives. We will even thank God, like Benaiah, for the pits we end up in. Think about Joseph. 

--Someday we will thank God for the bad things that have happened to us because they were preparing us for the good things God was setting us up for. Our biggest problems present the greatest opportunities. 

2. The law of Unintended Consequences

C.S. Lewis – If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where would I be now?

--Lewis went on to say that there will come a day that we will be more grateful for the prayers God did not answer than the ones He did. Why? 

--Many of our prayers are misguided. We pray for comfort instead of character. We pray for an easy way out instead of strength to make it through. We pray for no pain, when the result would be no gain.

--We pray that God will keep us out of pits and away from lions. But if God answered our prayers, it would rob us of our greatest opportunities. It would hinder God’s plans for us.

--Maybe we should stop asking God to get us out of difficult situations and start asking Him what we need to get out of these difficult circumstances.

--We have a tendency to blame our circumstances when things are not going well, just like we blame to ref when our team is losing. We look for an external scapegoat.

--But maybe our problem isn’t our circumstances. Maybe it is our perspective. We must remember God has perfect perspective on every situation while our view is so limited and narrow.

--So why do we assume that what we pray for is always what’s best for us.? If we could see what God sees, we would pray different prayers. 

--Have you ever heard of the Midas touch? Or everything he touches turns to gold. Legend tells it that Midas was granted a wish that everything he touched would be turned to gold.

--Midas was delighted until he realized his touch made food inedible and that his embrace made loved ones lifeless. Midas stumbled upon what sociologist call the law of unintended consequences. 

--Sometimes an unanswered prayer is God, in His sovereign wisdom, sparing us the pain of unintended consequences. Someday we will thank Him for those unanswered prayers. 

Batterson – Maybe prayer is less about changing our circumstances than it is changing our perspective. Most of our problems are not the by-product of our circumstances but of our perspective on our circumstances. Maybe we need to quit praying safe prayers. 

3. Worship is Our Way of Escape.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NCV)
¹³  The only temptation that has come to you is that which everyone has. But you can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, he will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand it. 

--Think about Paul and Silas (Acts 16) being in stocks in a Philippian dungeon. Landing in a Middle Eastern prison isn’t much better than landing in a pit with a lion on a snowy day.

--Not long before this Paul had cast a demon out of a fortune teller and her master didn’t like it because his fortune-telling slave was his ticket to wealth. 

Acts 16:22-24 (NLT2)
²²  A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods.
²³  They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape.
²⁴  So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

--Just imagine if you were Paul or Silas. You are physically, emotionally, and spiritually spent. Drained with nothing left to give. Your back is still bleeding. Upset with the mob and questioning God.

--Circumstances truly can’t get much worse and Paul and Silas’ reaction is remarkable. If it had been you or me the text would have read, “Around midnight Rick and _____, were complaining.” Not these guys.

Acts 16:25 (NLT2) ²⁵  Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

--Usually when we get in a situation like this we have a tendency to be fixated on the problem. Instead, we should take a step back and zoom out of the present situation. The word is “worship.”

Quote – Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God.

--We have to learn as disciples to reframe our focus when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances. We have to start focusing on God and how wonderful He is and just worship.

Psalm 29:1-2&10-11 (NKJV)
¹  Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
²  Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
¹⁰  The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever.
¹¹  The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. 

--Worship is forgetting about what’s wrong with you and remembering what’s right with God. It restores the joy of your salvation. It renews your mind. 

--Is it easy? Absolutely not. Nothing is more difficult than praising God when nothing seems to be going right. But one of the purest forms of worship is praising God when don’t feel like it. 

Psalm 96:1-4 (NKJV)
¹  Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
²  Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
³  Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.
⁴  For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.