OVERCOMING ADDICTION

OVERCOMMING ADDICTION

I think we have a church full of addicts.  Wait, hear me out.

Usually when we think of “addiction” we think of someone who is abusing alcohol, marijuana, prescribed medication or some other substance. We think of young people who are hooked on meth, crack, heroin or some of the other trash that is flooding our streets.  We think of old guys with a bottle of wine in their hands, wondering the street, sleeping under the bridges or in the ally’s.  We think of someone who can’t stop gambling or someone who is hung up in the grips of pornography. But as I thought about it this week and I hope as you think about it in the coming days, you will realize that addiction is much more and reaches far more people than just the drunks and drug addicts.

I don’t want to discount the affect that alcohol and drugs has on our society.  I am not ignoring the millions of lives that are ruined each year because of these substances. We can’t look past the deaths, the families that are broken apart and destroyed.  It is a major problem.  But I think there are some other addictions that need to be addressed.  Let’s forget for a moment about our ideas and positions on alcohol and drugs and focus on those millions of Christians who wake up on Monday morning and are hooked on habits.

I. HOOKED ON HABITS:  First let’s look at some definitions of addiction. 

·        Compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite adverse consequences.  (In Chilton County verbiage we would say “It’s a habit that feels good even though it is hurting us.” )

·        A powerful need to have something or do something on a regular basis that is harmful.

So if we are not talking about drugs, alcohol or tobacco addictions, what are the stimuli or the something’s that Christians do on a regular basis, which defeat them in their efforts to be Christ-like?  Let me present just a few. Christians are addicted to:

1. ARGUABLE ATTITUDES:  Do you remember Charlie Brown?  I love Charlie Brown.  Well Charlie Brown had a friend named “Pig pen”.  Now Pig Pen was a little guy who was always dirty.  As a matter of fact when Charles Schulz drew Pig Pen he always depicted him as having a large cloud of dirt and dust over him. 

There are some Christians who remind me of Pig Pen.  Instead of being followed by a cloud of dirt and dust they are always surrounded by a cloud of “rotten attitudes”.  I’m not sure how Schulz would draw that.  But you get the picture.

I worked with a lady a few years back and I swear it seemed that when you walked into her office, no matter how beautiful a day it was, how great things were going, how bright an attitude you tried to display…she had a cloud of gloom over her.  Oh, she claimed to love the Lord, be a Christian, go to church but you would never know it by the way she interacted with others.  I came to call her “Eeyore”.

The conversation would go something like this:  “Good morning, how are you today?  Wonderful day isn’t it?”

“Well, I guess so, if you like all this sunshine.  Myself, I think all this sun is going to dry out my skin and cause sunburn.  It’s also bad for my garden.  I’m going to have to haul water from the creek”. 

“Well, the temperature is fine though isn’t it”. 

“I’m from up north.  I love the cold weather.  This heat is killing me.”

No matter what the topic, no matter how great things were going, this lady was always able to find the bad in it. 

·        If someone bragged on their job, she would complain about hers. 

·        If someone talked about what a great family they had, she talked about how awful hers was. 

·        If someone talked about how much they enjoyed the church service yesterday…. you got it….something negative happened at her church. 

She had an ARGUABLE ATTITUDE. It was an addiction to her.  Somehow she found a powerful need, a rewarding stimulus, in being addicted to her bad attitude. She had developed a negative attitude and it had become a habit to her, and it was harmful to her Christian witness.

Christians if you find that you are addicted to an arguable attitude get help. Stop talking about all the bad stuff.  Find something wonderful to talk about.  Find something good to speak of.  Find something positive in your life with Christ and talk about the good stuff. Focus on the good gifts that God has given you.

2. SATISFIED SPIRIT:  The second addiction I want to mention is the addiction of a SATISIFIED SPIRIT.  But wait, you might say, “Isn’t being satisfied with where you are and what you are doing a positive thing?” Well, I would say yes IF, IF, you are being the best you can be.  But if you are being satisfied with mediocre, run of the mill, like everyone else Christianity, then I say a resounding NO! 

If a ball team loses a lot of games, often they become content with losing.  They become satisfied with the status of being the underdogs, the bad team, the losers.  And they continue to lose. When that happens with a team it takes a motivated and inspirational coach to move that team from the losing bracket to the winning bracket. They need to see what “winning” actually feels like.  When they see that winning is much more enjoyable and rewarding than losing they will actually want to win.

I’m afraid that too many Christians have become accustom to losing.  We are satisfied with reading a Bible verse, saying a little “God is great, God is good” prayer, and sitting in church and expecting s no movement and excitement or sense of the Spirit of God in our gathering.  We think that’s just normal.  We think that’s what Christians are supposed to do. That’s the way being a Christian is supposed to feel.  We have developed a habit, an addiction of being losers.

Whatever happened to the words from the Bible that says:

·        “You are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord”

·        “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven”

·        “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness”

·        “Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me

Whatever happened to the “good tidings of great joy” that was promised by the angels at the birth of Jesus?

We have become complacent, content, satisfied, ADDICTIED with a common place spirit.  We even get pleasure from it and think we are serving the Lord by doing it. God help us!

3. THE FANTASY OF FEAR:  The final addiction I feel that has become such a habit to Christians is the FANTASY OF FEAR.   People are afraid of a number of things.  I always said that there were only three things that I was afraid of.  “Electricity, snakes and women; not necessarily in that order”.

I know that if we were honest, many of us could name a lot of things that frighten us.  But let me use the list that comes from one of Max Lucado’s books.

a. LIFE IS NOT FUTILE: Have you had to deal with this fear?  We fear that our lives don’t matter. Questions like:

·        Who am I doing this for anyway?

·        Who is even going to know what I do?

·        Who cares who I am or what I do?

·        What is the purpose of it all?

I love doing genealogy. I have traced my ancestry back to the 1500’s in Scotland.  But as I worked through all those people and their information just about all I could find was:  Born on this date, died on this date.  Sometime there was a married on this date. 

I wondered, when I die is that all that will be left to show that I was here?  Will my life be defined by two or three dates on a stone?  It’s enough to make you feel that your life is futile, pointless and wasted.  

So what if you clean the church well?  So what if you sing a special and someone gets blessed. So what if you preach a good sermon?  So what if you pray, study the Word, invite people to church, send cards of encouragement?  WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?  We want our lives to matter.

God wants us to know that our life is not futile.  If you are a Christian you have an anchor that should have a firm grasp on the truth that there is TRUTH.  SOMEONE is in control. There is a God and it ain’t me.  Christ Jesus has a plan for you. You have a purpose in Christ Jesus.

b. FAILURE IS NOT FATAL:  No one likes to fail…I guess.  We fear failure.  Is that the reason we don’t attempt great things for God? Is that the reason we don’t try because we are fearful that we will fail? We have all failed (the Word says we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God).

·        You blew it

·        You were wrong

·        You let everyone down

·        Instead of standing tall you fell short

·        Instead of stepping forward you fell back

·        The very thing you swore you would never  do is exactly what you did 

I’m not trying to justify your failure but there is a cure for the fear of failure.  The cure is to remember that God does not love what you did but that He loves who you are.  You are His.  Remember the story  of the woman caught in adultery?  The only one, who had a right to condemn her, didn’t.  He provided a way to forgive her. We make mistakes, God doesn’t and He made you. 

c. DEATH IS NOT FINAL:  People in general are addicted to the FEAR OF DEATH.  Christians fear death. I might understand that if I were not a Christian.  If I knew that when I die I did not have a home in heaven, did not have eternal life was not forgiven by the blood of Jesus and cleaned up by the power of The Holy Spirit then I think I should have a “deadly fear of dying”.  But for Christians to fear death, I honestly don’t get it.  

Lacado also had a quote that says, “The devil will make you so afraid of dying that you never learn to live”.   I would say it this way: ”You will be so afraid of dying that you can’t enjoy living.”

Death for the Christian is not final.  Death is just the beginning of eternity for us. Death is the start of our lives in the most wonderful place that we can imagine.  (Even more than we can imagine)  Wife, let me tell you right now, don’t fear death for me.  Christians do not fear death for yourself.  I don’t dread death I run toward it.

I've heard it said this way: One day you will read in the Clanton Advertiser that Bill died on such and such a day.  Don’t you believe it, because on that day I will be more alive than ever before.  I will be Home with my Father.

So what is the answer to our addictions?  RECOGNITION and COMMITMENT.

There are a lot of other approaches to breaking habits or addictions.  If you look on the internet or in books you will find a 15 step plan, you will find all sorts of methods but it’s about as simple as these two steps.

RECOGNIZE:  You are addicted to these thing we have mentioned (or others)

COMMIT:  Commit them to God.  “God I give you my all INCLUDING these things that have me bound”. 

How many times in the Word are we told that Jesus came to make us free?  Yes, free from the guilt of sin.  Yes, free from the power and chains of sin.  But also free from the habits and addictions and chains that harm and plague and ruin our Christian witness.  He came to break those chains. 

He is willing and able to do it.  He wants to set you free. He wants to use you.  He wants to see us succeed but we have blocked His achievement with our addictions.

Recognize your chains, identify those things that hold you back….and commit them to Him. 

AMAZING GRACE

I have spoken many times about my “crazy” prayer habits.  I’ve told you about my rock altar and the way I represent those I am praying for at any given time.  I have rocks that represent my wife, my children, my grandchildren, my extended family, my in-laws and my church family. 

Often God will place some individual on my heart and I will add their rock to my pile. Some of those people, I believe with all my heart that God will help.  I believe He will do something in their hearts and lives, in His own time and in His place and cause them to respond in a positive way and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. 

I have prayed over and over, “God save my children and grandchildren”.  I believe that I have heard His voice speaking to me these words that I will hold until my dying day, “I will save your children”.  I will not hold Him to saving them at a certain time or place.  I may not ever see it in my lifetime, but I believe it with my whole heart.

But there are some that I do not feel that confident about.  One person in particular has been on my prayer “pile” for some time now.  I just can’t get clear on this lady. I guess with most people I can see a way that God can touch them.  I can see them being visited by a church, making Christian friends, being touched by gospel music, or Bible teaching or in some other way.  But for this lady I have been doubtful.

She has no religious background.  He parents never took her to church.  They had no church home.  They had no Christians in their circle of acquaintances.  She wouldn’t know conviction if she ran over it in the street.  I mean, yeah, she probably would feel bad and troubled but most likely she would attribute those feeling to an upset stomach or a bad day at the office. 

She does not attend church, and does not want to attend church. She stays as far away from anything she knows might even contain a little connection to God and Jesus or anything religious.  In my mind I doubt.  In my mind I wonder how God could ever get to her, much less how she could ever accept Him into her life.

*********

My sweet wife and I have developed a habit over the last few weeks of reading a devotional together right after the evening meal.  She will take down a devotional book and read a short portion of that book and we will discuss it and have prayer.  But we had missed a few days, (you know it takes consistency to form a habit) so tonight when we finally remembered, she took down the book and begin to read.  She probably hadn’t gotten through two paragraphs until a truth from the Lord blasted into the room and just blessed my heart.  I shouted!.  “Whew!  Wow!”  That’s not my normal reaction to our devotion time and it kind of startled my wife.  She didn’t say anything but just looked at me with that “Have you completely lost your mind” look. 

Let me relate the story she was reading to you.  It comes from Genesis chapters 11 and 12 and was explained by a writer named Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I hope it causes the same response in you that it did in me. 

She read of a man from the land of Ur of the Chaldees.  His name was Terah.  He had a son named Abram.  Now Abram was raised in a Godless country.  They did not worship the God of Creation nor serve Him.  I guess it stands to reason that they didn’t go to church like we know church.  They didn’t worship God as we understand worshiping God. By all understanding, Terah and Abram were pagans.  They lived in a pagan country and served pagan Gods.  Their family was pagan.  Their friends and neighbors were pagan. No history, no understanding and no desire to know the God of Creation.  Actually, Abram sounds strangely similar to the lady I spoke of earlier in my story.

Now for some reason Terah decided to move his family from Ur of the Chaldees to the land of Canaan.  So they loaded up the camels and donkeys and the family station wagon and begin their trip. On the way to Canaan Terah died.  

 

But get this, somewhere between chapter 11 and chapter 12, somewhere between Ur and Canaan, somewhere between the place he was born and the place he was going, somewhere between pagan worship and God worship, God spoke to Abram. 

Do you see it?  Doesn’t that just hit you right between the eyes?  It did me. God had a plan, God had a time, God had a place, and God had a big ole heart full of GRACE.  God pursued Abram and promised him great things. Because Abram listened to God, he and his decedents would be Children of God, possess land that was never theirs and be a blessing to families of the earth. Pretty big deal don’t you think? 

Why did God do that?  Was it because of Abram’s history, his knowledge, his ancestry?  Did God call him because of his leadership abilities, his courage, his skills?  No Abram was called because of God’s GRACE.

He was hopeless in man’s eyes.  But when viewed through the lens of Grace he was special. Abram simply believed God and according to the Word, God accounted it as righteousness.  He became a mighty man of God.

So I’m not going to stop praying for my friend.  As a matter of fact I am going to increase my prayers.  I kind of know how to pray now.  “God grant her the grace you showed to Abram.  God grant her the grace you showed me.  And folks, that grace is sufficient.  That grace is amazing.

WHAT YOU HAVE

The statement has been made that often you are identified by what you do.  You are a nurse, a farmer, a banker or a housekeeper. However there are better ways to define or identify a person. 

 Often a person is identified or defined by what they have.

I know a family in town who are either very rich or in lots and lots of debt.  You can drive by their home and it looks like a castle.  Located on acres and acres of land, their home has a swimming pool, a game room, an elevator and room after room of unique and expensive furniture.  If you were to talk of this family people would say, “Oh yeah, I know them they are the people with the big house and all the money”.  But that’s not really who those people are.

Old Granny Bowman who went to the little Nazarene church I attended while in Galveston was a very poor lady.  If you asked people they would say, “Yeah, she is the poor, nasty old lady who lives over there in that ragged house on Beach Street”.  But oh, Granny Bowman was much more than that.

But that’s often how people define us.

QUESTION:  What do you have?

Most of you would say, “Oh, I don’t have much.  We are just a simple family with modest possessions”.  You might think that what you have is nothing compared to others, and you might be right.  What I have compared to what this rich man has is “nothing”.  But on the other hand what I have and what you have is a king’s ransom compared to what some others have. Our gifts and possessions are what they are when we compare them to what someone else has.

 

As an example; I have been having some problems with my right eye for several months now.  I researched it on the computer and ask people about their experiences with it and diagnosed myself as having a cataract.  So I went to the eye doctor.  “Doc, I can see hardly anything out of my right eye”, I told him.   He ran test and examinations and told me “I have some patients who are 70-80 years old who would love to have the eyesight that you have”. 

Did he say I had good eyesight?  No, he said I had good eyesight compared to what some others might have.  Your money, possessions, skills, talent, gifts might seem merger to you, but when compared to what some others have they are either great or lacking.  So let’s talk about what you have.

I. GOD MADE WHAT YOU HAVE; IT’S GOOD AND HE GAVE IT TO YOU:  

a. HE MADE IT:  (John 1:3) The first scripture I want to look at proves to us that whatever you have or think you have, was created by God Himself.    

It doesn’t take long as you read the story of creation for us to understand that “nothing, absolutely nothing” was here “in the beginning”.  God didn’t take something that was already here and make the universe from it.  In the beginning was GOD not God and something else, or God and stuff…but God.  And God created everything else.  I don’t think many of my readers would have much argument about that fact. 

b. IT’S GOOD: (Genesis 1::31) Also, if you go back and read the narrative of the creation you will see that at the conclusion of God creating the sun, moon, land, animals He says, “God saw it and it was good”.   Whatever God creates and does is not half way.  Remember the little picture from a few years back?  The little boy sitting in a mud puddle, all dirty and ragged and below it were the words, “God don’t make no junk”.  And in Genesis 1:31 He emphasized that point when He said “It was VERY good”. 

c. IT’S A GIFT TO YOU:  (James 1: 16-17) James continues with this thought in James 1:16-17 when he says: “ Don’t make a mistake brothers, every good gift and perfect gift is from above and comes from the Father”.

So the gifts, the talents, the skills, the abilities and the possessions that you and I have were: 1: Made by God 2. Are good,(very good) 3. Are gifts, perfect gifts, from God to you.  If we stopped right here it should fill our hearts with gratitude and love for a Father who loves us that much and has given us such good things to enjoy.

And as great as that statement is, and as much as it should bless your heart to know that God the Father loves you so much that He gave you such wonderful gifts, the next statement is even more mind blowing.

2.  GOD NEEDS AND CAN USE WHAT YOU HAVE: 

a. EXODUS 3-4: There is a story from the Old Testament that I am sure you are familiar with.  It is the story of Moses when he was at the back of the wilderness and saw the burning bush.  God gets Moses’ attention by the burning bush.  Then God gives Moses instructions as to what to do.  And Moses gives God excuses as to why he can’t do it.  But in Exodus 4: 2 God asks “What is that in your hand”?    

You know the story, what Moses held was no more than a shepherd’s rod, or shepherd’s staff.  To us it was no more than a stick.  What’s so important about a stick?  Not much, but when it is a stick, in the hands of a man who is committed to God and that stick is given to God then God can use that stick in a mighty way. 

God used that stick to show His might before Pharaoh.  That stick was turned into serpents, that stick was used to turn the Nile into blood, that stick was raised toward heaven and used to cause hail and fire to fall.  And I guess the most familiar use was when that stick was stretched across the Red Sea and used to cause it to part so the Hebrews could cross over on dry land.

It was just a stick, but a stick made by God, a good stick, a stick given to Moses, and a stick needed by God and used by God to accomplish His purpose. 

b. The next example I want to share with you is found in Matthew 21.  Jesus is about to make His entrance into Jerusalem.  He is about to fulfill prophesy.  He needs a donkey.  So He sends His disciples into town to a specific location and there they find the donkey. 

Jesus said if anyone asks you why you are taking the donkey tell them “The Lord has need of him”.  Come on Jesus, you are the Son of God.  All power has been given to you in heaven and in earth and you need a donkey???  Why not use a chariot?  Why not a horse?  Why not have the disciples carry you on their shoulders? 

God has a purpose and at that point and time Jesus had a specific need.  It could only be filled by that donkey.  Can you see where I’m going here?

c. Let me give one more example. Luke 5 tells us that Jesus was teaching near the lake.  The people were pushing and shoving to get closer to Him so they could hear His words.  I guess He was about to be pushed into the water.  So without asking, He simply stepped into one of the boats.  He needed a platform, a pulpit from which to teach.  He needed a boat.  The God who created the waters, Jesus who walked on water needed a leaky old fishing boat?  Really?

He asked, “Peter, will you push away from the shore a little ways so I can teach these people”?

III. APPLICATION:  A common old stick, a lowly little donkey, a leaky old fishing boat; things God needed and used.

You see other examples throughout the Bible.  Look in the Old and New Testaments at the people and things God used to accomplish His plan.  Fishermen, tax collectors, farmers, children and prostates; all created, with skills and abilities that God needed and could use.

QUESTION:  What does that tell you about you and where you stand and what you are doing today?

QUESTION:  Are you using the good skills, gifts and talents that God gave you for His service? 

I’ve heard you say it before, “I don’t have any gifts.  I don’t have any talents. Others can do it much better than I”. But do you see that WHAT YOU HAVE is a good and perfect gift from God and that He needs it and can use it to the furtherance of His kingdom?

God could have given Moses a magic wand to use.  He could have asked for a golden chariot to ride.  He could have called the Jewish Coast Guard to provide a Cutter for Him to teach from.  But He used common, everyday things and common everyday people who were committed to Him to accomplish His goals.

QUESTION:  Does it make sense to you that WHAT YOU HAVE is exactly what God needs? 

Folks, our church will not grow, God’s kingdom will not grow, your spouse, your children, your grandchildren will not be saved until you recognize that God needs WHAT YOU HAVE and when you are willing to commit what you have to Him for His work.  We have talked often about commitment. 

Let’s see if we can put the hay down so the goats can get it and figure out just exactly what committing what you have to Christ. 

1. I think we need to RECOGNIZE what you have.  If God has given you a good voice, if you can sing and bless others by your singing, then recognize that and commit that to the Lord’s use.  If you are good at planning, organizing, cooking, working with your hands, it is not vanity or boastfulness to recognize your talents and skills.  After all it is not your “doing” that you have them.  They were a good gift from God to you.

I’m not saying brag to people about how well you sing.  I’m not saying strut around like a Bannie chicken crowing about how good you are.  I’m saying realize that God has given you a gift. 

2. COMMIT that gift to Him.  There is a saying that goes something like this, “Your life is God’s gift to you.  What you do with that life is your gift to God.   Moses could have walked around in the wilderness till his feet fell off and never committed his stick to God and it would have been just that, a stick.  That donkey could have stayed tied up by the man’s house and not been given to Jesus for His use and it would have been just another donkey.  Peter’s boat could have sat there on that lake till the bottom rotted out and never had much more value than to catch a few fish.  But when those things were committed to God….they freed a nation, carried a King and became a platform from which the Son of God preached the Word. 

God’s gift to you may be small in your eyes.  You may think you don’t have anything at all to offer.  But if God could use a donkey, a leaky fishing boat or a stick He can use whatever it is that you have. 

QUESTION:  What are our other options?  I mean, if you just don’t want to commit what you have to God for His use, what else can we do with them?

·        You can deny what you have.  You can just sit there and say “I just don’t have a gift.  I can’t think of a single thing I have that God needs.  Do you think Moses thought that stick was very important before he committed it to God? The wilderness was full of sticks.  Was there anything special about that little donkey?  There were plenty of donkeys and horses and camels in Jerusalem that day.  Weren’t there dozens of other fishing boats on that lake?  Couldn’t Jesus have used any of those?  But God chose to use certain things at certain times in certain places to further His kingdom. 

You can sit there and claim that you have no skills, talents or gifts and never allow God, others or yourself the benefit of using what you have.  

·        You can refuse to commit them to God.  “No God, it’s my boat. Go use someone else’s boat”.

I’m too busy.  I’m using my boat to feed my family. I’m using my boat for my benefit. “

There is a story told about a church in Germany during WWII.  In the court yard of that church was a statue of Christ with arms outstretched and hands open wide.  However, during a bombing raid, the statue was damaged.  Among other damages, the hands of Christ were completely broken off.  After the war the people wanted to repair the statue and did, setting it up in its place but with one exception.  The hands were too badly damaged and could not be replaced or repaired.  So the statue stood there, Jesus with outstretched arms but no hands.  At the base of the statue they inscribed this statement.  “Christ has no hands but yours”. 

Folks Christ has no hands to lift the head of those who are downcast.  He has no hands to lift up a family in need.  He has no hands to feed the hungry or cloth the cold.  He has no hands to write notes of encouragement to your church family.  He has no hands to teach, preach, sing, organized, cook, care for His children…..EXCEPT YOUR HANDS. 

My challenge to you is to recognize what you have what God has given you and commit it to His service. Why not today, commit or re-commit to God everything you have for His good and His work? 

LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY

He was praying.  He seemed to always be praying in one place or another. But on this certain occasion as He prayed, His disciples watched and wanted what He had. So when He had finished praying they made a request.  It’s a request that I guess we have all wanted to ask at one time or another.  They asked “Lord, teach us to pray”.

I’ve had the privilege of teaching for many years.  As most of you know, I didn’t have much of an education but for some reason I was given the opportunity to teach and for some reason I thought I could do it and so I fell into the undertaking of teaching EMS, fire and haz-mat classes.  Through the process of teaching I learned that there were different types of learners.   

Some of my students were able to sit and listen to the lecture and soak up all that I laid out for them.  Then again, some learned visually.  I would put up slides, videos, pictures and those students would see those visual images and watch the videos and learn from them. Other students were “hands on” learners.  They learned by actually “doing” the skill I was trying to teach.  I feel like those students “got it” a little more than the others. 

As a child, I remember every night without exception, no matter where we had been, what we had been doing or how late it was, my Dad would take the big ole family Bible from off the coffee table, lean back in his chair and read a portion of scripture.  Then we would kneel by our chairs and one by one we would pray. First Dad would pray, then Mama, then I took my turn and Anita too her turn.  I learned to pray by listening to them talk to their Father every night.  That was consistent prayer.

I also learned to pray from being present in the old revivals and camp meetings of my childhood days.  Men and women of God would drape themselves over the old wooden altars and pour their hearts out to God. These were not formal prayers. They were not prayed in any specific form or fashion.  They were cries from hearts broken and burdened.  They were pleas from people who could do nothing better than pray.  Oh how they prayed!  Their prayer went up like smoke from a fire, a sweet smelling offering to God.  They prayed all at one time, loud, long and unashamed.  Their prayers were serious, their prayers shook heaven.  They prayed passionately and desperately. They prayed and God answered.  They prayed and I remembered and learned. 

Oh folks, people need to hear you pray.  Your spouse needs to hear you pray for them.  They need to hear you call out their name before God.  Your children and grandchildren need to hear you pray for them.  They need to know as they face the problems and trials at school that Dad and Mom’s prayers have covered them that day.  Christians, your church needs to hear you pray.  Pastors, your sheep need to hear you call their names out to the Father. And, folks you pastor needs to hear you pray for him as well. 

My Dad and Mom are long since gone to heaven but their prayers for me will always be with me. Those unnamed and unknown saints of old are long past but their prayers remain.  When you and I are gone may our prayers echo off the walls of this building.  When my kids and grandkids can’t remember what I looked like or remember the sound of my voice, may they know and remember that Grump prayed for them. 

There is a story told of our first President, George Washington, and the struggles he was going through as those patriots tried to pull away from the rule of England.  It may be a bit out of place in my lesson but I feel it is worth telling. As the story goes, Washington’s plantation joined the land of others who were loyalist to England.   

One day Washington’s neighbor was walking through the woods that joined his land with the land of George Washington. He heard some noise coming from across the way.  He moved closer and found Washington kneeling beside an old log, pouring his heart out to God on behalf of his cause.  Not wanting to disturb him, after listening to his prayer for a while, his neighbor quietly walked back to his home. 

He sat down with his wife and said, “Dear, we must change our minds in regards to this conflict or leave the country for no one can talk to God like this man does and be on the losing side”.  That is praying passionately.

I have found over the years, the best way to teach prospective fire fighters to fight fire is not to read them a lesson or give them a lecture.  It is not to show them pictures or make them watch a video.  The best way to teach a firefighter to fight fire is to find an old house, board up it’s windows, seal up it’s doors and set it on fire; and then put that student right in the middle of the fire, hand him a hose, it’s dangerous but I promise you he will learn to fight fire!

Asking God to teach us to pray is a dangerous request as well. Because I don’t believe God will just give us a handout and ask us to read it.  I don’t believe He will place a pastor before us and let us listen to a lecture and by that means teach us to pray.  I don’t believe God will show us some pictures or make us watch a video on prayer.  I believe what God might just do is to set your world on fire and put you right in the middle of it and teach you to pray.

The early church prayed.  They prayed because He had told them to pray.  They prayed because they had watched Him pray but most of all they prayed because they could do nothing else that would bring about more power and results than prayer.  Those 120 people in the upper room were in a fire.  The world around them was burning up and they were in trouble, so they prayed. 

 When our kids are sick, when a loved one is facing death, when we hear the word “cancer”, when you’ve lost the job or the money just isn’t there when our sky is blackened by the smoke of our world that is burning up all around us, and we don’t know what to do, guess what…we will learn to pray.  You will pray consistently, you will pray passionately and you will pray desperately. 

Lord, teach us to pray.