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Fierce Church Sermons
When Prayer Works | Fierce Pathways
Why doesn’t God answer prayer? Why do bad things happen even when I pray? In this message from Pastor Andy Schmeck in the Fierce Pathways series, we dive into the real reasons prayer works (and why sometimes it feels like it doesn’t).
You’ll learn:
What we can expect from resurrection life—and why we should pray for a whole, healed life now.
Why sin can hinder our prayers—and how God exchanges our broken “report card” for His perfect one.
The posture of prayer—confessing, living, and receiving forgiveness so nothing stands in the way of connecting with God.
If you’ve ever wondered why doesn’t God answer me? or what’s the point of prayer?—this message is for you.
We are talking about prayer this morning and what works prayer that works. And to start off, I'll tell you a story that's near and dear to my heart. I have a friend out east who had a five-year-old daughter last year in May, diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer and there's a you know, it's a roll of a dice, I guess on whether she would survive. And this past Monday, august 18th, she got her port out. That is the end of her cancer treatment and she's in full remission. It's very exciting.
Speaker 1:I was talking with the dad. I was talking with the dad and he said thanks for praying for us. And as a pastor that's not odd I am obliged to pray for you guys. It's a privilege to pray for you. But he said thank you for taking your holiness seriously enough that your prayers were effective and that was humbling for me.
Speaker 1:To be honest, my first reaction I'm not holy enough to have powerful and effective prayers. That's not me. He's quoting James 5, and we'll get to there in a second. He's quoting James 5,. The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective, and maybe prayer's not your thing, but we all want to be good people. We all want to be seen as good people at least, and it would be nice to get out of the suffering, to be seen as good people at least, and it would be nice to get out of the suffering. It'd be nice to get out of the sickness that we're in. It'd be nice to be able to have a escape button for the situations that are troubling us.
Speaker 1:I think back on the worst physical pain that I've ever been in. I was in my mid-20s. I just had a hernia repair surgery. My intestines were trying to squeeze out of my innards. I guess my innards were trying to get out to my outers, right, so they fixed it. But I reacted to the anesthesia coming out of the surgery and so I was dry, heaving and praying that my sutures inside and out wouldn't open up. I don't know where this prayer came from, but it was the first time in my life that I was bartering with God about like losing years off of my life. You take some years off the back end and then I don't feel this pain anymore, and that'd be a good deal. Years off the back end and then I don't feel this pain anymore, and that'd be a good deal.
Speaker 1:As Christians, we want our prayers to be heard by God. We want powerful and effective prayers, as my friend said, not just for my baby girl but for all those other kids on that cancer floor who are still struggling. We know, even if you are blessed enough right now to be in a good health, we know people who are struggling right now. Wouldn't it be great if we beefed up our prayer life this morning? The Bible has a bunch to say about prayer. We're going to go to that passage in James and James is an interesting book because James is going to try to pull the teachings of Jesus into these kind of like proverb-like form.
Speaker 1:He wants you to never disconnect faith and faithfulness. I'll say it in this way Some people say that they trust Jesus, but then you look at their lives and you're like eh, what do kids say? Six, seven, I don't something like that. Nobody's young. I messed it up. I don't know. I'm wearing this shirt. Accept me, accept me.
Speaker 1:James wants us to put these things together, kind of like the stat that Pastor Carter shared recently 42% of non-believers are really turned off to Christianity because of how we live. They're like I've heard about this Christianity thing and you're supposed to be more loving, and so we have this chance as believers to be faithful, that lead to faithfulness. Right that our behavior should be reflective of the trust that we have in God, and that James has some thoughts for us on prayer. It isn't a trick. It's not a trick. This is a problem that we have. We would like more how-tos on prayer, like could you just tell me the right words to say? Can you tell me how to shape my devotional life so that God, just like, does what I ask him to? Is there a way that I could package the prayer so that it actually plugs into the outlet of God and I can tap into some of that power? We also have a tendency to be cynical. If you've lived life at all, you've had prayers go unanswered, and I read this on the internet one time you can keep your prayers and thoughts. You can keep your prayers and thoughts. Maybe we should work hard to change legislation and actually make a difference in this world. I have prayed and they still died. I prayed and we still got divorced. I prayed and I'm still addicted. James has a new way of looking at this a pattern for the Christian life, a pattern that comes with a promise and a posture towards power and effectiveness. Buckle up.
Speaker 1:We're going to go into the text James 5, verse 13 and 14. Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is any among you sick? There are three questions. Is anybody troubled? Is anybody happy? Anybody sick?
Speaker 1:And those are not the only situations in which we pray. Rather, james is saying prayer is the proper response to our lives, whatever the circumstance. We can know what God has said and done on our behalf, who we are and how we can respond in that situation. And if we walk with the Lord in personal communication, we call that prayer. Prayer is all of our lives. It is not just the petitions and the asking, it is the heart for which we respond. It's the thanksgiving, it's the confession, it's the adoration to God as we walk through life. Notice that you have. If there's trouble, let them pray Like individually you should pray about your own troubles, and if they're sick, bring the elders. This isn't again. It's not meant to be a classic distinction where you figure out like am I? I know I'm not feeling well, but is it like more of a trouble or is it more of a sickness? Should I? Is this really? Should I bring this before the elders, or should I just keep this one to myself? That's not the distinction. Rather, they're saying you pray individually. The leaders of this church are also gonna pray for you.
Speaker 1:It is not a technique. It is not something special and miraculously powerful about being anointed with oil. Anointing with oil is a sign of what God is already doing in your life, that you have been set apart by God and you are under his protection. May the fragrance and the salve on your body be a reminder to that truth. Right In the name of Jesus is not a tack on to the end of a prayer that we can have the outlet to plug into God. It doesn't make it more powerful or special if you just say the words in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus means in alignment with his character, who he is and what he has done on your behalf. And so when I pray in the name of Jesus amen I don't mean like and double power, go. I pray, I hope. I pray that this prayer that I just said is in alignment with you, god, that this prayer is in alignment with him.
Speaker 1:Now you know that not all prayers get answered in the way that you would have them right, and I love this line from Tim Keller. It goes like this you either get what you prayed for or you get what you would have got if you prayed, knowing what God already knows. You either get what you get or God gives you what you would have prayed for if you knew what he already knows to be true. This is another way of saying that it's like we can't really fathom the infinity of God. There might be a few things going on behind the scenes that we can't fathom, or I just said the word infinity. You know the infinite God. Maybe there are millions or billions or the largest number that you can think of the amount of things behind the scenes that God is orchestrating for the good of those who love him.
Speaker 1:The pattern, then, is that we pray in every condition that we're in, in every circumstance. We walk with God in prayer. This is our life. It's like any response that we make to what we know to be true about God, any personal communication. That's prayer. This is our life. It's like any response that we make to what we know to be true about God, any personal communication. That's prayer, and this is the pattern To do this. Don't overthink it. In any situation that you're in, respond to what you know to be true about God in prayer. It's not a rocket science. It's not super complicated.
Speaker 1:If this is the first time you've ever heard of this, or like the first few times and you're like I don't really know where to start, jesus taught the disciples how to pray what's called the Lord's Prayer. If you've been in church, you're very familiar, but you can Google this, the Lord's Prayer, and you can pray that as many times as you want to. If you are looking for another, if you've been around the church for a while and you're looking for another way to pray, you can go through the prayers of Paul. Here's a hint, here's a preview. Paul in the Bible. I assume outside of the Bible this is probably not true, but in the text that is written for us, god's word, paul's prayers never pray for a changed circumstance. Overwhelmingly he prays that we might know God better, that we might grasp how much he loves us. That's another sermon.
Speaker 1:The pattern is that we pray in every condition. We'll move on Verse 15, on to the promise, and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Now, the verb make well is the same root as salvation, it's to save, it's to save. And you have raise up, which is the same root as resurrection, and then you have forgiveness, which is the same root as forgiveness, and those are God words. God is the mover there, he is the one who saves, he is the one who forgives, he is the one who raises up.
Speaker 1:Notice also, this is holistic. This is every part of our lives. This isn't just the. You know what would really make you feel better? If you got enough rest, if you ate better and if you exercised, which seems to be the common American response to all ailments these days. I imagine that might be helpful for you. But that's not all that you need Psychologically right. God raises you up, he lifts up your chin Spiritually. He forgives, he reconciles, he is at work in your heart to bring a newness of life in this community. Let's not split hairs in trying to determine is this a physical or a spiritual problem that I have. They often go together.
Speaker 1:A dumb example when I was in fifth grade, I forgot to do my homework for the social studies class. I was about to say his name, but he's a good guy and my wife would be the only person to know him. Okay, so he was very mean, he was very mean and I was very mean, he was very mean and I was very scared and I made myself sick, made myself sick to go home. And then, once I got, you know, I got home and I'm like, oh yeah, mom, I feel terrible and I get done with my homework. I'm like gotta go outside and my mom, cause she's smart, was like this you get one pass, this is never gonna happen again. You can't, you can't psychosomatic your way. You can't just make yourself sick to get out of the consequences of your actions. Right, what I needed was not just to get my homework done, I needed to take responsibility for my bad decisions. Yeah, if I just prayed like, oh God, help me to get this done, I would have never learned that. I would have never learned it.
Speaker 1:When can we expect this holistic transformation? I hear you say that God heals physically and relationally and spiritually and psychologically. When can I expect this? Now, partially and ultimately, then Now, and then here we go. Now God works through ordinary means, sometimes dramatically. I just heard a story this morning of a gentleman who he could not take off of work when he broke his leg, and so he kept working and then the doctors were amazed that the leg perfectly healed on its own. They had never seen that in 30 years. That's dramatic. Answers to prayer that's dramatic, but sometimes it's just ordinary means.
Speaker 1:You have a conversation with someone that changes your day or keeps you from leaving or whatever. It would be right. Partially, partially, god offers forgiveness. Right. But we know that we still struggle with sin. We know that we as a community struggle with sin and that we live in a fallen world, and so any reconciliation that comes now is but a foretaste of what is to come.
Speaker 1:The holistic restoration of all things is resurrection, life, resurrection, life. And that is a promise, a guaranteed stamped on our hearts by the Holy Spirit, that one day heaven comes to earth and makes all things right. We are given new bodies that no longer struggle with sickness or pain or sorrow. There are no more tears or death. All those who are aligned with God's love are raised to new life, so that we might experience in fullness and intimacy who God is and who we are meant to be. That sounds pretty good. So the promise is not that you get holistic restoration in this life, but we pray for it nonetheless, that we boldly ask God to move in powerful ways as examples of what he one day will do fully in us. The promise, the promise is to pray in faith for his holistic restoration Pattern. We pray in all things, promise towards holistic restoration. We pray in faith, trusting that's gonna be the case.
Speaker 1:Verse 16,. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. Therefore, the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James' diagnosis is that our lives are inconsistent with our lips. Right, we're double-minded, meaning like we say one thing and then we do something else. That is not a simpatico, it doesn't belong in the Christian life. We go our own way. We are sinful in some ways, and sin is like a kink in the hose for the power of God to work in your life. It stops it. It's not as if the power isn't there any longer. Right, sin is a disconnect from how God functions. We already know this. Sin keeps us from God. He's an absolutely holy and good God, and sin is what separates us, this rebellion in our hearts, this going against the order of the way he has set things from eternity past. This is why Peter can say in 1 Peter 3, husbands, love your wives, lest your prayers are hindered. If you don't love your spouse, god stops listening to your prayers. It's not a punishment, it is the way it is. He can't hear from a sinful heart and so I'll do it first, I'll go first. I'll go first. I'll do it first, I'll go first, I'll go first.
Speaker 1:In my own life I have let down my wife, who I love dearly. There was one point in my marriage where she was fed up with me and we went to marriage counseling and I was just preparing myself to get reamed because I knew that I was falling short. Like you hear, things like marriage should be equal and my wife does much more than I do in work and at home, in all things. She's a very productive and achieving lady and I felt terrible about this. And we get into this conversation and I learn that my wife loves me. I had forgot that she had made a contract with me on our marriage day and that that underrode all of the disappointment that she wanted to hear from me that I don't feel good about my additions to the marriage, I felt like I was falling short, but I also was scared to death that I would never, that I would never be able to do what she would have for me. And then I learned that she loved me again.
Speaker 1:Likewise, and even more so, this is our relationship with God that, as we learn that he continues to forgive our sin. I would not want you to forget that. That has always been true. Before you woke up this morning, christ died for you. Right, you can boldly stand on the grace that Christ gives, and that is why we confess in the first place as the Christian life. It isn't because we were once saved and now God just expects us to do better, but rather how we become better is by remembering how much God loves us that we grow, by like gazing into the beauty of God, and it transforms us from the inside out. We remember how much God loves us and our hearts are softened a little bit more.
Speaker 1:Okay, the posture? The posture is to confess and live as the righteous. I'll make this even more explicit. Maybe I'll explain how it works. Here we go. Christ lived the perfect life. If you were keeping a report card on life, he gets straight A pluses and we have a failing grade right On the cross. He takes our failing grade and nails it to the cross. He took on our sin and paid for it so that we might gain his righteousness. This great exchange of report cards he gets our crappy one and we get his. And because we have his report card, we can walk boldly into the throne room of God and say, hey, we need some help here.
Speaker 1:The reason why prayer is powerful is because of Christ himself, the reason why. The reason why is not based on our goodness, it's not based on our good deeds, but on his. And you can take that to the bank. Let God do the heavy lifting in this way. Let God do the heavy lifting. If it is true that it is by grace we have been saved, it's by grace we've been transformed, then you should stand firmly on that grace. We boldly march into the throne of God on the grace of God, and it is that grace which I would just love for you to hold on to this week. If you could just put that in your pocket, I knew I should have worn cargo pants today, babe.
Speaker 1:Christ on the cross, because of our sin, had hindered prayers. Right, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It felt as if he was abandoned by God. The only person who's ever lived a perfect life suffered immensely on your behalf so that your prayers would be heard. That same God is praying on your behalf right now, seated in all authority at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to make all things right.
Speaker 1:So so forget this. Like this report card stuff, you cling to Christ's report card, right? We confess, when we fall short to each other, to God, that we might be set right again. This ministry of reconciliation is ours, and we boldly ask God for great things, because he is an even greater God. Let's pray, heavenly Father. Lord, thank you so much for your goodness, lord, we ask that it would change us from the inside out, lord, that we would become a people of prayer. Lord, we're so thankful for the opportunity that we have to proclaim your goodness. God, we pray that you would work it into our hearts and into our community, that we might take seriously the opportunities to pray for one another, to confess to one another, and, god, that we would point each other to you. All glory and honor are yours In Jesus' name Amen.