Courageous – 7

Courageous – 7

Subject – To Be Courageous, We Must Pray

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.

Colossians 4:2&5 (NIV) ² Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
⁵  Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 

--In just stands to reason, if you want to make the most of every opportunity, you’ve got to devote yourselves to prayer and be watchful.

--The word watchful is a reflection of the Old Testament watchmen whose job was to sit on the city wall, scan the horizon, and keep watch. Imagine a day like that.

--The watchmen were the first ones to see an attacking army or merchant traders coming toward the city. 

--Three things watchman who live in prayer see: 1. They see further than others see. 2. They see things before others see them. 3. And they see things others do not see. 

--People who truly live in prayer see opportunities that other people don’t even notice. People who do not live in prayer are opportunity blind.  

1. Two Ways to Live Your Life

--There are only two ways to live your life: survival mode or prayer mode.

--Survival mode is simply reacting to the circumstances around you. To be completely honest, it is a predictable and boring way to live your life. 

--Prayer mode is the exact opposite. Your spiritual antenna is up and your radar is on. Your reticular activating system is on red alert. Prayer puts you into a proactive posture. 

--In fact, the Aramaic word for prayer is slotha which means to set a trap. Prayer helps us catch the opportunities God throws our way. An example:

--Sitting in my office, I get a phone call from folks in our church. We (wife and daughter) are at the hospital with (husband/dad). He needs prayer. He’s not saved and he hates preachers.

--I’ll be right there. I went into prayer mode. I prayed in my car and I prayed in Holy Spirit as I walked down the hallways of the hospital. I didn’t know what to expect.

--As I walked in I sensed a God opportunity. Within two minutes the man was allowing me to pray for his healing and within five minutes, he prayed the sinner’s prayer. He was saved. 

--A little while later I get back to my office. Another phone call from the same family. Understand the man was getting ready to be sent home from the hospital. Get stronger and return for surgery.

--This was the phone conversation when I answered. Pastor, will you do my husband’s funeral. Yes, when he dies. He just died. 

Colossians 4:2&5 (NIV) ² Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
⁵  Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 

--If Benaiah had been in survival mode he would have reacted by running from the lion. Living in prayer mode made him react proactive. He knew God was ordering his steps even facing a lion.

2. Coincidences or Providences.

--When we live in prayer (pray without ceasing) it shows us the difference in coincidences and providences. 

--Prayer has a way of helping us recognize what we might dismiss as human accidents are really divine appointments set up by God. Listen to David:

Psalm 37:23-25 (NLT2)
²³  The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
²⁴  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.
²⁵  Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. 

--What I can tell you from my own personal experience is this: When I pray, providences happen. When I don’t pray, they don’t happen. So, pray!

--Let me take the pressure off of some you listening to me now. You don’t have to and should not be trying to manufacture them. That’s God’s job.

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT2) ¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) ¹⁰ For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

--Knowing that, what should that do for you? It should give you a great sense of destiny because, as you pray, you will have plenty of God-ordained opportunities.   

--Your job is to see and seize those opportunities by hearing that still small voice of Holy Spirit. Especially, in these last days I believe it will be imperative to hear Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-19 (NCV) ¹⁷  Pray continually,
¹⁸  and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.
¹⁹  Do not hold back the work of the Holy Spirit. 

--I promise you that as you continuously pray and are sensitive to Holy Spirit, you will be amazed at the divine set-ups you will have in your life.

--I had a young pastor ask me not so long ago, where do you get all these stories about witnessing and sharing Christ? I said easy answer. Get around the lost and listen for God’s instructions.

--The place where we were (a restaurant) I had shared Christ several times. God wanted this young man to get it. As we talked a waitress came to our table with tears in her eyes. Pray for me.

--We prayed. As soon as we finished praying, another waitress was standing behind her and said, I need prayer for my family. As the tears flowed we prayed.

--Not kidding, as soon as we finished praying, a lady who was there eating was standing behind the second waitress. She says, I’m not sure what is going on here but I need prayer.

--The young pastor was amazed by the divine set-ups that he witnessed. Praying and sensitivity to Holy Spirit allows you to have an exciting life. He said, everyone in here is watching. Good!

--When I am not praying I can have some good ideas but when I am praying, I have God ideas. I would rather have one God idea than a thousand good ideas. 

3. Don’t Miss Your Opportunity

--One of the saddest verses in the Bible is this:

Jeremiah 46:17 (NIV)
¹⁷  There they will exclaim, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity.' 

--Pharaoh ruled over one of the most advanced ancient civilizations on earth. Think of his power and influence. But he missed his moment. It came and went without him seeing it or seizing it.

--The English word “opportunity” comes from a Latin Phrase ob portu. Before modern day harbors, ships had to wait to flood tide to make it into port. 

--So the word referred to “that moment in time when the tide would turn.” The captain and crew would wait for that window of opportunity. If they missed it, they had to wait for the next flood tide. 

--In August of 1987, Howard Schultz was faced with the biggest decision of his life. Buy a chain of coffee shops called Starbucks for 4 million dollars. It seemed overwhelming to him. 

Schultz – This is my moment, I thought. If I don’t seize the opportunity, if I don’t step out of my comfort zone and risk it all, if I let too much time tick on, my moment will pass. I knew that if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, I would replay it in my mind for my whole life, wondering: What if?

--He purchased it. Five years later on June 26, 1992 Starbuck’s stock went public. At the closing bell Schultz’s 4-million-dollar investment stood at 273 million dollars. Not too bad.

--So many times when we hear of success stories like these we tend to envy those people of what they have and we, even as Christians, consider them as just lucky. I see more than that.

--I see people who were willing to take advantage of their opportunity and to be courageous when tough decisions have to be made. We need to break free from survival mode as believers.

--As we live a life of praying in Holy Spirit, divine opportunities will present themselves. Will we have the courage to pray for someone in public? Will we seize the opportunity for God’s glory?

--I can guarantee you that there are going to be lions, giants, and warriors in your future. You can run and just survive but what kind of legacy will you leave for those coming behind you?

--We mistakenly think of righteousness as doing nothing wrong when, in fact, righteousness is doing something right. Righteousness isn’t just running away from sin. 

James 4:17 (NLT2) ¹⁷ Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

Schultz – This is my moment, I thought. If I don’t seize the opportunity, if I don’t step out of my comfort zone and risk it all, if I let too much time tick on, my moment will pass. I knew that if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, I would replay it in my mind for my whole life, wondering: What if?