WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:07.120 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:08.240 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:10.480 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:18.079 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.719 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:25.519 Well, Medichurch, so glad that you joined us. 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:27.280 If you're new with us, my name's Clayton. 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:32.560 I'm the lead pastor here, and we are starting an important conversation about prayer. 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:37.759 Normally we're in kind of a series format where everything ties together really nicely. 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:45.039 Sometimes there are just crucial conversations that we need to have as a part of this movement we call MetaCurch. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:50.640 If you are joining us for the first time, this is a place where you can belong even before you believe. 00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:58.320 We are a gathering of ordinary people pursuing extraordinary purpose as a part of the movement of Jesus. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:14.560 A few weeks ago in our prioritize series, we started a conversation on prayer, and we touched on the truth that many people who have believed in Jesus, who are seeking to follow Jesus with their lives, are not consistently praying. 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:23.920 I want to hone in on that today as we start this conversation and really get to the bottom and diagnose what it is that keeps us from prayer. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:27.439 My message today is called Four Prayer Problems. 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:30.560 And so before we dive in, we should probably pray. 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:34.480 Father, we love you and we thank you that you love us. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:37.599 We thank you for time to come together to seek you. 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:40.400 God, maybe we've had like an amazing week. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:41.599 We're on cloud nine. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:42.799 We're loving summer. 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:44.560 We see the tail end of COVID. 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:45.920 We're excited about all of it. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:48.560 God, maybe we're in a very dark place today. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:49.760 We are depressed. 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:51.599 Life seems to be falling apart. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:55.920 Wherever we're at in life, God, we believe that you are here, that you want to speak to us. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:58.079 And God, we're talking about that today. 00:01:58.159 --> 00:01:59.120 We're talking about prayer. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:04.959 And I ask that you would just give us open hearts and open minds and allow you to move exactly how you want to move today. 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:06.799 We ask it all in Jesus' name. 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:10.879 And everyone who's ready to diagnose for prayer problems, say, Amen. 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:11.919 Amen. 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:14.319 We're gonna kind of define our terms first. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:25.199 There's a lot that could be said about prayer, uh, exactly what it is and how it functions and how to do it and when to do it, but we need to know exactly at the very core, at the very base of it, what prayer is. 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:28.400 Prayer is a conversation with God. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:30.159 It is that simple. 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:32.960 And a lot of people define prayer as talking to God. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:36.639 Even the song we just sang, it spoke of talking to the Lord. 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:42.240 That definition falls short because it makes it a one-way street, us talking to Him. 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:44.560 Prayer is a conversation with God. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:49.120 We talk to God, and God does speak back to us. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:52.879 This is the most fundamental level of what prayer means. 00:02:53.120 --> 00:03:03.120 When we pray, we get access to the highest power, we get a higher perspective, and we unlock a higher purpose for our lives. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:11.439 If you spend enough time around the church world or around Christianity, chances are you've heard people talk about being on fire for God. 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:15.439 Like they are on this spiritual Holy Spirit high. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:18.639 They cannot get enough of God, they can't stop talking about it. 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:21.360 It is like, man, they are just pumped up. 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:33.120 Myself and the band from MetaCurch here, Metal Worship, we went to Highland Lakes Camp in Austin, Texas, a few weeks ago, and we led worship there for about 906th through 12th graders. 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:37.680 And the energy during the music was indescribable. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:45.680 It almost felt like these kids have been locked in houses for a year and a half, and we're finally set free. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:47.439 It was pretty amazing. 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:49.759 The worship was really, really intense. 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:54.400 Close to a hundred of these students put their faith in Jesus for the first time. 00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:00.159 Hundreds more dedicated their lives to following Jesus when they got back to their hometowns. 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:05.199 It's safe to say that most of that camp left on fire for God. 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:06.960 And maybe you've had an experience like that. 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:07.680 Yeah. 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:13.919 Maybe you've gone to the conference or you've gone to the retreat. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:19.920 Maybe you've gone to one of our worship nights where we just really poured on, the band comes up and does 10 songs. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:27.920 Maybe you've come to a weekend that is like really spoken and you feel it, like this new sense of vigor and excitement. 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:29.680 You are on fire. 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:30.399 Here's the problem. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:33.279 I grew up going to church camps, and you're there and you're like, that's it. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:34.639 I'm selling everything that I have. 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:36.480 I'm moving to Sub-Saharan Africa. 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:37.279 I'm doing it all. 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:38.399 I'm dropping out of school. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:40.000 I'm never gonna say a cuss word again. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.600 When I stub my toe, I'm gonna say thank you, Jesus, for the toes that you have given to me. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:45.439 Like, it is on, man. 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:47.120 I am on fire, you know? 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:52.879 The problem is you get back in the bus, you get back to the real world with real problems. 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:58.240 It's like Sunday's great, but you go home to a real marriage that's in real trouble. 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:20.240 You go home to real kids who aren't always on the same page with you, to a real career that you're really disappointed in, and all of a sudden, it's like three days after you thought you were just on fire for life, that fire is down to barely perceptible embers, and you have no idea where all of this energy and excitement went. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:30.639 You see, what we can do sometimes is we can fall into the trap of thinking that the process and the patterns are the person. 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:41.759 And it isn't the band, and it isn't the music, it isn't the lights, it isn't the speaker, it isn't the camp itself, it isn't the solitude, none of that is what starts the fire. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:42.959 That's God. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:47.199 And we forget this elementary point. 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:51.600 We know this to be true in every aspect of life. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:55.759 Fire requires fuel. 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:07.519 And so we think we we end up in this spiritual pattern of highs and lows being on fire, peaks and valleys, the fire diminishing, getting back to the real world. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:19.199 And if we're not careful, we can have a spiritual life that becomes contingent upon spiritual experiences to keep our momentum moving forward. 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:23.279 Prayer is a conversation with God. 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:26.399 There are two parts to this equation. 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:27.759 There is you, there is God. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:31.439 He wants to hear from you, and he wants to speak to you. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:36.399 The God of the universe is desperate for your attention. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:41.439 He wants to be the fuel to your fire. 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:46.480 And most people are simply not praying. 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:50.480 Longtime pastor Ronnie Floyd lays it out very clearly. 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:52.480 He says, This is the bottom line. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:57.120 When you pray, you choose to depend on God. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:03.920 You're saying, I need something outside of my very small, limited, broken self. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:12.959 I need a higher power, I need a higher perspective, I believe I have a higher purpose and will find that in conversation with God. 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:15.199 When you pray, you depend on God. 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:21.839 Which means when you do not pray, you depend on yourself. 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:35.040 When you choose not to pray, you are choosing to depend on yourself to navigate a life that is more complicated and more complex than you could ever possibly imagine. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:37.519 We're gonna talk about four prayer problems today. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:39.040 We're gonna get really practical. 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:45.920 But at the end of all of them is a desire for you to take charge of your own life. 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:50.879 And this is backed up by what culture constantly pushes our way. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:52.399 It's like you do you. 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:59.120 You take care of yourself, you pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and you make something of your life. 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.160 We depend on us. 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:06.480 The question is, are you big enough for you to depend on? 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:08.000 How's it going? 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:16.000 We are incalculably small in the scope of the world that we live in and the universe we reside in. 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:26.079 We are so limited, we do not know a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what there is to know about life in the world around us. 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:28.800 We have habits that distract us. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:34.320 We have hangups from our past that become anchors, keeping us from our future. 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:39.039 We have broken thought patterns, misplaced worldviews. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:45.759 Depending on ourself is a guaranteed life of struggle. 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:58.159 And even if you are fortunate enough to find success in one area of life, apart from God's purpose inside of you, that success will only leave you emptier than when you started. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:05.360 It doesn't matter how good you are, how talented, how capable, the world is too big, and we are simply too small. 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:10.000 And prayer feels like the most elementary of things that we could talk about. 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:12.240 It's like, man, there's big problems in the world, you know? 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:19.200 It's like we're in political turmoil and like like the the economy is crazy and mental health, like all these problems are on the rise. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:20.720 Like we're just gonna talk about prayer. 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:21.679 We know this, man. 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:23.840 This is Sunday school stuff. 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:34.159 And yet, most people are living trying to depend on themselves to navigate life, to find significance, to make an impact on the world, to unleash their purpose. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:43.679 Prayer is the opportunity for constant conversation, guidance, encouragement, and direction from the God who created it all. 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:48.480 It is an opportunity that we would be crazy to pass up. 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:53.919 And so it's time to dive in and to see the four problems that keep us from prayer. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:59.519 We're gonna look uh kind of from a broad picture and we're gonna work our way down to the core. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:04.559 Uh, one of the most broadest excuses is we don't pray because we simply don't have time. 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:12.879 Allowing time to be an excuse for our lack of prayer wildly underestimates the value of being with God. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:16.159 And I understand that we are pulled in a million different directions. 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:25.120 Our jobs are crazy, our family life is hectic, our kids are playing like a million different sports, your social life is demanding, your hobbies are time consuming. 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:32.159 Somewhere in there we have to like eat and sleep and hopefully exercise a little bit, get some kind of rest. 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:38.000 It's like, when would I possibly have time to add exercise into the mix? 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:44.000 When we don't pray because of time, we underestimate the value, the value of being with God. 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:47.679 And your time is incredibly valuable. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:52.399 In fact, it might be the most valuable investment that you can make. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:56.080 And here's why life is incredibly unfair. 00:10:56.320 --> 00:11:06.000 I don't have Jeff Bezos' money, I don't have Elon Musk's mind, I don't have LeBron James' athletic ability, I can't play the guitar like John Mayer. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:08.399 Like life is just not fair. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:16.480 And although I don't have so many things that others do have, what I do have the same as all of those men is time. 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:23.279 Time is one of the only things in life that has been completely equitably distributed. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:27.519 All of us have the exact same amount of time. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:29.519 We all stand on even footing. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:34.480 We all get 60 minutes in an hour, we all get 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 12 months in the year. 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:40.159 You have the same time as every other person on earth. 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:46.960 And what that means is how you choose to invest that time makes it your most valuable asset. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:12:04.320 In life, we don't prove what is valuable to us by how we divide our words, by how we divide our finances, by how we divide our intentions, we prove what is valuable to us by the way we divide our most valuable asset. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:06.159 Our time. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:14.320 There's a scripture in James chapter 4, it says, You desire and you do not have. 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:17.600 Maybe someone feels that today. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:21.600 Something that you wish for desperately, and it doesn't seem to be coming. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:23.840 You murder and covet and you cannot obtain. 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:25.120 You fight and wage war. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:30.399 We do all of these things, we lean on our own understanding, we depend on ourselves to get it, and we still don't have it. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:31.200 Look at the bold. 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:38.559 You desire and do not have, you do not have because you do not ask. 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:42.240 For many of us, we just don't make the time. 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:47.519 Verse 8 says, Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:50.480 This is an incredible promise. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:13:00.080 You prove what is valuable to you by the way you invest your time, and God is desperate to invest his time in you. 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:01.759 Do you know what that means? 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:06.960 It means that to God, you are that valuable. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:13.519 My second year of college, I believe, was the busiest season I've ever had in life. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:15.919 I was really desperate to get out of university. 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:17.200 College was not really my thing. 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.840 So I took the max amount of hours they would let me take. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:23.919 I was taking like 18 hours, but I wanted to take more, so I went to a community college. 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:25.039 I took two more classes. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:28.720 I think I was taking 24 hours that's that both of those semesters. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:31.039 Then I was working at my local church. 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.519 It was an hour and a half away from the college I attended. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:37.679 So I would go there Thursday nights for rehearsals, and I would go there on Sunday, a three-hour round trip. 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:41.679 At the same time, the band that I had started was finally starting to take off. 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:45.120 In that year, I played over 120 events. 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:48.559 I'm telling you, I had no time. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:50.000 None. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:51.440 I was so busy. 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:55.759 By the end of that year, I drove myself to like crazy sickness. 00:13:55.840 --> 00:14:00.000 I actually depleted my body of everything, just grinding it out. 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:01.120 No time at all. 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:04.960 Also, that year, I met Katie. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:10.960 I'm telling you, I had no time, but have you seen my wife? 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:11.440 Okay. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:13.919 Have you met Katie? 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:17.360 Like all of a sudden, this person enters into my life. 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:18.720 And I don't know how it worked. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:20.159 It was almost like magic. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:25.440 I did not have time, but I made time. 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:32.159 And your time evidences what you value in life. 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:38.559 And you can have a schedule with no wiggle room, and like your BFF forever and all time shows up, hits you up. 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:40.080 Hey, I'm in town for an hour. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:40.960 What do you do? 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:42.879 You make time. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:46.639 And here's a crazy thought. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:55.200 When we prioritize prayer, we are making time for the one who made time. 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:59.919 That's a significant statement, and I don't want to nerd out too hard. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:04.080 But before God created, there was no time. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:06.080 Time is actually relative. 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:11.039 We measure it by the rotation of the earth every day, 24 hours. 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.919 It goes in a complete 360-degree circle. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:14.960 We call that night and day. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:16.480 We get our 24 hours out of that. 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:20.960 We calculate our years and our seasons by the circumnavigation of the earth around the sun. 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:25.360 Before creation, there was no sun, there was no earth, there was no time. 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:30.000 When God spoke the world into creation, he created time. 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:31.200 And do you know why? 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:32.639 He created time. 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:45.759 When we pray, we are making time for the one who made time for you. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.720 In the most literal sense, made time for you. 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:53.360 We're very busy. 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:55.840 But we will make time for what we value. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:11.759 And most of the time, most people are just kind of stumbling through life, desperate to find something they can hold on to, desperate to finally fulfill the deepest longings of their soul, and God is ready to show you. 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:22.080 To unfold the purpose inside of you that he placed there. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:25.679 The question is, do you have the time? 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:28.639 Time is our first prayer problem. 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:32.000 Prayer problem number two, we're gonna call ignorance. 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:36.720 And that's kind of a tough term, you know, it's a strong word, ignorance. 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:42.559 However, it perfectly describes my prayer life for most of my life. 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:46.480 I just felt ignorant, like I didn't know how to do it well. 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:48.159 And here's part of the problem. 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:49.440 I grew up in church. 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:57.759 And so, growing up in church, there were people who were mentors, leaders, pastors who would tell me exactly what I'm telling you today. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:00.879 Prayer is a conversation with God. 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:04.240 Just talk to God like you would talk to somebody on the phone. 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:06.960 Just talk to God like you would talk to your homeboys, you know? 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:09.519 Just have a conversation with him. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:10.880 And that sounded good to me. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:12.160 Like, I can do that. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:26.720 The problem was these same church leaders, every once in a while, would get on the stage and someone would hand them a mic, and all of a sudden, it would be like Almighty Jehovah Rapha enshrined in the Shekinah glory of God above. 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:28.559 And I'm like, wait, what? 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:34.400 Like, we beseech thou with our fullest hearts, like, I can't talk like that. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:37.119 That's not how I talk to my homeboys. 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:46.720 All of a sudden, it became so clear that there was a separation between the information, hey, prayer's just a conversation, and the application when they were actually praying. 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:50.960 And I realized very quickly, I'm just not qualified. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:18:01.440 And maybe you grew up around some people who could really pray like mad, or maybe even you grew up and you tried some prayers and got corrected. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:09.200 And you guys know this, but meta church isn't a place to come to like check off a religious box and feel a little bit better about yourself. 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:14.720 This is an ICU for people who are in a spiritual emergency. 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:31.200 And some of the most sincere prayers I have ever heard have come from people who are at the end of their rope, who feel like they're at the end of their life, everything is falling apart, and some of the most sincere prayers I have ever heard have included quite a few four-letter words. 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:32.319 You know why? 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:35.119 Because they are talking to God. 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:39.039 I'm not like promoting profanity-laced prayer. 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:43.680 What I am saying is God can see through your little religious mask. 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:48.319 God can see through pretending like it's all alright when it's not all alright. 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:54.160 There is no hiding from God, and what he asked is for us, the real us. 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:57.519 He wants us to authentically come before him. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:04.240 And I've reminded you a few times in the last few weeks that even the disciples felt ignorant. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:11.920 When we use ignorance as an excuse to keep from praying, what we're doing is we're overestimating the difficulty of talking to God. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:22.160 The disciples themselves, these men who changed the world, Jesus was so confident in them that when he left earth, he handed the mission off to these guys. 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:23.920 They didn't know how to pray. 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:34.079 In Luke chapter 11, Jesus was praying, and when he finished, one of the disciples came up to him and said, Lord, teach us how to pray. 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:36.880 That's incredibly comforting to me. 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:42.799 And maybe, maybe this is disconcerting to hear from your senior pastor, but I just don't always feel good at prayer. 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:48.319 I'll get halfway through a prayer with the staff and be like, this doesn't feel like a good prayer, you know? 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:51.440 Like, sometimes we're just disheartened. 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:55.200 Some things happen in the world and it you're just pissed off. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:58.880 And so I say, God, we're pissed off. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:02.720 We're probably wrong, but our perspective is so limited. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:04.480 We need some help here. 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:08.960 Teach us how to pray, the disciples asked. 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:14.880 Jesus directly confronted these big, grandiose, flowery prayers in Matthew 6. 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:19.440 Jesus said, Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:23.359 They love to pray, standing in the synagogues and on the street corners. 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:28.480 They pray to be seen by people, and truly I tell you, they already have their reward. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:36.400 When you pray, go into a private room, shut your door, pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:44.319 And when you pray, don't just babble on like the Gentiles, since they imagine they will be heard and respected for their many words. 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:51.759 Don't be like them, because your father knows the things you need even before you ask him. 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:58.000 He knows what you need even before you ask him. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:18.240 And you have not because you ask not, and you might as well ask, because he already knows he's a good father, and we got to get it out of our minds because some of us have grown up and we have this picture of God, and he's like this, you know, old school long, gray-haired grandpa or something, and he's got a lightning bolt, and bro, he is just waiting. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:22.079 Turn your attention to him, let him see your face and the bad things you've done. 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:26.000 He can't wait to strike you down, and that's not our God. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:46.319 Our God is a good father, and he is waiting on the hill, desperately hoping that his prodigal child will just come home, and he will not be met with judgment, he will be met with a hug and with a kiss and with encouragement and with correction and with a higher perspective and a party and a feast, because that's who our God is. 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:52.160 He's a God who wants conversation with his children. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:59.759 He knows what you need before you even ask him, but he wants so badly for you. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:00.880 To ask him. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:03.119 Prayer is a conversation. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:06.640 It's not just God talking to us and judging us and condemning us. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:09.680 It's not just us talking to him and babbling on it. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:11.599 It's a conversation. 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:13.519 It's a relationship. 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.720 And a relationship can't get built without conversation. 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.119 And God is ready and God is waiting. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:23.680 And it doesn't matter who you are or where you've been, you can pray. 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:27.359 It doesn't matter if you don't have to have a seminary degree. 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:32.160 You don't have to have a bunch of verses memorized that you can quote, and everyone thinks, man, they really know the Bible. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:34.160 When you're praying, you don't have to pray out loud. 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:35.519 It doesn't have to be fancy. 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:38.160 You don't have to have a priest caller to pray. 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:41.200 Your father is ready to hear from you. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:44.000 Your father is ready to speak to you. 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:49.680 It is the most basic element of a powerful spiritual life. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.119 God wants to set your life on fire. 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:57.279 And prayer is what gives us the fuel. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:00.079 We're looking at four prayer problems. 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:04.160 The things that keep us from consistent lives of prayer. 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:08.799 Time underestimates the value of being with God. 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:12.319 Ignorance overestimates the difficulty of talking with Him. 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:16.960 And now we're gonna dig a little deeper and we're gonna start getting to some more of the core issues. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:21.599 The third prayer problem we're looking at is the problem of unbelief. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:30.400 Unbelief underestimates either the power or the plan of God. 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:33.839 Now this one's interesting because there's an either. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:38.400 There's kind of two forms of unbelief that show themselves as a prayer problem. 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:41.920 The first is underestimating the power of God. 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:53.359 And because this is a place for all people, a place where you can belong even before you believe, there is a chance that there are some who are sitting here not really sure if there's even a God to pray to. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:05.680 Now that's a big issue. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:09.279 We're gonna set it aside for a minute, come back to it towards the end of today's message. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:18.240 Because there are others who fully believe in the power of God, but they have some difficulty trusting in his plan. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:20.880 Maybe you're fully convinced that God is who he says he is. 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:28.559 As a matter of fact, you have shown that by putting your faith in Jesus, you're seeking to live out a life of your God-given purpose. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:40.079 You believe so much in the power of God that if someone in your life is struggling, if their life is falling apart, if their marriage is falling apart, if they lose their job, you don't hesitate to remind them God has a plan. 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:41.920 Keep the faith. 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:43.359 God has a plan. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:45.359 God will see you through. 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:46.559 Just hold tight. 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:49.680 God has a plan, and that is great advice. 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:53.359 And that's biblical advice, and that is a deep spiritual truth. 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:59.839 And we can be so quick to give that advice to others and so slow to receive it ourselves. 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:03.920 Sometimes it's a different story when it's our marriage that's falling apart. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:06.799 Sometimes it's a different story when it's our kid that is hooked on drugs. 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:10.960 Sometimes it feels like a different story when it's us who loses our career. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:14.960 Sometimes it feels different when it's our addictions that are overcoming us. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:24.000 It can be really easy to trust in the power and the plan for your life, but it can be very difficult when I can't see it in my own. 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:36.160 It can be difficult to really believe that God is God, that He is all powerful, and yet you feel like your prayers have remained unanswered. 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:42.240 And maybe you begged God to heal you of a disease or a condition, and so far you are still living with it. 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:51.359 And maybe you prayed and prayed for a loved one who ended up losing their life, and maybe you just begged God to fix a marriage that ended in divorce. 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:54.400 And it's like, God, I know I know you're good. 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:57.119 You tell us that, and I know you're powerful. 00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:01.359 It just doesn't seem like you're working for me. 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:08.079 When Jesus was on earth, everywhere he went, he did incredible miracles, everywhere except his hometown of Nazareth. 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:16.400 In Matthew 13, 58, it says, And Jesus did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:20.720 What happened right before this verse is Jesus came to Nazareth. 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:23.920 It was his first time to speak in the synagogue in his hometown. 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:26.160 That was kind of like their spiritual gathering. 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:31.759 And so he was given the opportunity to get up and speak, and everyone was really excited because they had heard of the miracles, right? 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:34.240 And he was like the most powerful speaker of all time. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:38.319 And everyone was hoping that Jesus was the Messiah. 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:44.559 And to the Jewish people, the Messiah was going to be the one who comes and who sets them free from Roman occupation. 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:48.000 They were slaves in their own land once again, and they were desperate. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:50.079 They had a picture of the Messiah. 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:55.680 He would be a great warrior king who would come and decimate all of Rome's forces. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:27:01.119 And instead, Jesus got up and he unrolled the scroll to Isaiah. 00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:04.559 And he said, The day of the Lord has come. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:09.119 And the impoverished will be uplifted and the blind will see. 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:15.839 Jesus did not come to free Israel from Roman occupation. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:19.599 He came to free the world from its sins. 00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:28.880 Their agenda for the Messiah did not match the picture that they saw in Jesus, and quickly they lost their belief. 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:50.000 It's a misunderstanding of prayer when we approach it as if it is our job to get God lined up to our agenda, and yet so often we lose our faith in not just the power of God, but the plan of God in the world and in our life when what we ask of Him doesn't come to pass. 00:27:50.319 --> 00:28:07.039 And maybe, as very limited, very small people, the God who is bigger than big and creator of it all, maybe his plans are higher than our plans can sometimes comprehend. 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:12.000 It can be difficult because sometimes we pray and God answers our prayer exactly like we prayed it. 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:18.160 And sometimes we ask and we ask, and man, it's like one of the great theological lines of all time. 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:25.920 But some of God's greatest gifts, and I hate to bring two country songs into one message, some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:42.400 And some of you are on Instagram this week looking at the man that you begged God to help you marry, and now you are thanking him on your knees that y'all did not end up in a relationship because sometimes we can't see it, but God is behind it and it's very difficult. 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:44.880 It's like, God, I know you're powerful. 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:47.440 I just don't see your plan and my plan lining up. 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:50.400 I promise you the problem is not his plan. 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:54.559 And we all live through this all the time. 00:28:54.960 --> 00:29:02.079 Sometimes it takes a long, long, long retrospective look to be able to see exactly what God was up to. 00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:06.640 I'm living through this right now as the lead pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:10.000 I've told you all this before, and I'm always gonna, you know, keep it real with you guys. 00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:14.960 I thought MetaCurch would be in its own building over a year ago. 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:23.119 It's like people are coming to know Jesus here, families are being healed, like amazing things are happening, people are getting baptized. 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:24.240 Why not? 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:26.079 Why not expand this movement? 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:30.240 Like it's one of those prayers, like, God, I mean, I'm I'm depending on you, right? 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:31.920 But it makes sense though, right? 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:34.160 Like, like it would be nice. 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:35.839 You know what our timeline was? 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:37.119 My timeline? 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:38.880 The plan I put together. 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:47.119 Like, really, like, not like I thought of it and wrote it down, like months and months and months of working with contractors and architects and banks and donor. 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:50.400 Our timeline was Easter 2020. 00:29:53.119 --> 00:30:01.759 If it was my plan, we would have moved in right in time to not be able to occupy our new space for almost an entire year. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:04.960 I know what the building would have cost. 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:09.279 We would have ended up with no building. 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:15.920 And so it hurts because you're sitting there with the expectation: why isn't construction started? 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:17.279 Why isn't the money come in? 00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:18.400 Why aren't you moving? 00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:20.240 God, and there is an answer. 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:23.200 It requires faith to pray. 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:27.440 Because prayer is when we depend on God. 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:36.319 And so often, what we really want, if we're really honest, we want God to depend on us. 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:43.039 The best example of an unanswered prayer comes from Jesus Himself. 00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:52.400 The night before his crucifixion, he was in a garden called Gethsemane and he was praying with so much pressure that scripture says he was sweating blood. 00:30:53.119 --> 00:31:07.119 If you've ever spent time powerlifting or watching powerlifting, from time to time someone will go under, usually in a squat, under so much weight that on their way up, the pressure will cause blood vessels in their face to burst. 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:11.839 Usually it's behind the eye, their entire eyeball will go blood red. 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:16.480 This is usually when someone has like seven, eight hundred pounds on their back. 00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:24.160 Jesus wasn't powerlifting, he was praying with so much pressure that the blood vessels and capillaries began to burst. 00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:26.000 He began sweating out blood. 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:29.440 What was he praying with this level of pressure? 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:33.839 He said, Father, if there's any other way. 00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:35.599 It's a big prayer. 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:36.720 It's a bold prayer. 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:43.119 He's he's asking for God to change the course of history in a plan that goes back from eternity past. 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:44.480 It's a pretty big prayer. 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:45.920 And you know why he prays it? 00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:48.240 Because you can't hide from God. 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:51.119 He already knows. 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:53.200 He just wants you to be honest. 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:55.359 He prays three times. 00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:57.839 Jesus knows what's coming the next day. 00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:00.160 An excruciating murder. 00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:07.279 But far more than that, he knows the weight of all the world of all time will be placed upon his innocent self. 00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:12.240