When you pray!

Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. This is the day that the Lord has made.

God bless you, and God bless you, and God bless you, and God bless you, and God bless you, and God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

If you haven't heard, we're having lunch after church downstairs, so if you would like to join us for lunch, we extend to you. It's also St. Patrick's Day, so happy St. Patrick's Day. As we begin our worship and we think about, for example, St. Patrick's Day, we often sort of associated with leprechauns and green everything and clovers. The reality was that Patrick was kidnapped, sold into slavery in Ireland, eventually makes his escape, goes back to England. God, while he's in captivity, transforms his life and his heart. He ends up studying, spending his years studying, and then returns to Ireland to share the gospel with the very people who had taken him into captivity and had enslaved him. St. Patrick's Day is a story of the triumph of the gospel, the triumph over a young man who cared about everything except for Jesus and who was transformed through his suffering into a powerful minister of the gospel who transforms not just a few people but an entire country by proclaiming the good news about Jesus.

And that's what we want to do as we worship together. We want to proclaim to ourselves and to each other and to those who surround us in this community, we want to proclaim the good news that in Jesus there is hope. In Jesus there is righteousness that covers our brokenness of sin. In Jesus there is life. So we are going to pray, and then we will read Scripture together this morning. Father in heaven, I thank you for Jesus, and I thank you for grace, and I thank you that we can gather to worship together and fellowship together, and I thank you so much for our church, and I thank you for the people who are here this morning. We just ask that as we sing, as we pray, as we read Scripture and study Scripture together, as we gather around the table, as we share a meal in a little bit, that you would just encourage us, that you would remind us that we are not alone, and that you would fix our eyes on your son, Jesus.

We thank you for your grace. It's in his name we pray. Amen. We're going to begin reading this morning from the 118th Psalm. So let's go ahead and be standing as we read together. Open to me the gates of righteousness. Enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord. The righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. And in this verse, you have this picture of coming to worship God, to coming into his righteousness, but also there's a picture of Jesus, the stone that the builders rejected that became the cornerstone.

And in that, we see God's good work, and we are able to rejoice on the salvation that's in him. We're going to start by singing, "This is the day." Amen. Amen. Amen. Let's pray.

We will rejoice as we live today. This is a day that the Lord has made. Come and rejoice. We will rejoice in the Abbey.

This is the day. Come and sing your praise. For the Lord now reigns on the throne of grace. Soon is the day. He will bring us home. And we have His hope. For we are His own. This is the day. Come and sing your praise. Come and sing your praise. For the Lord now reigns on the throne of grace. Soon is the day. He will bring us home. And we have His hope. For we are His own. This is the day. Come and sing your praise. For the Lord now reigns on the throne of grace. Soon is the day. He will bring us home. And we have His hope. For we are His own. This is the day. That the Lord has made. We will rejoice. As we lift His name. This is the day. That the Lord has made. Come and rejoice. We will rejoice and be glad in you. This is the day. That the Lord has made. We will rejoice. As we lift His name. This is the day. That the Lord has made. We will rejoice. As we lift His name. This is the day.

This is the day. That the Lord has made. Come and rejoice. We will rejoice and be glad in you. Come and rejoice. We will rejoice and be glad in you. Whether the sun will shine. Whether the skies will rain. I know that you are good. This is the day you are good. This is the day you are good.

I searched the world, but it couldn't fill me. Man's empty praise and treasures that fade are never enough. Then you came along, and put me back together. And every desire is now satisfied, here in your love. Oh, there's nothing better than you. There's nothing better than you. Lord, there's nothing. Nothing is better than you.

I'm not afraid to show you my weakness, my failures and flaws. Lord, you've seen them all, and you still call me friend because the God of the mountain is the God of the valley. And there's not a place your mercy and grace won't find me again. Oh, there's nothing better than you. There's nothing better than you, Lord. There's nothing. Nothing is better than you. Oh, there's nothing better than you. There's nothing better than you, Lord. There's nothing. Nothing is better than you. You turn mourning to dancing. You give beauty for ashes. You turn shame into glory. You're the only one who can. You turn graves into gardens. You turn bones into armies. You turn seas into highways. You're the only one who can. Oh, there's nothing better than you. There's nothing better than you, Lord. There's nothing. Nothing is better than you, Lord.

Nothing is better than you. Oh, there's nothing better than you. There's nothing better than you, Lord. There's nothing. Nothing is better than you. You turn graves into gardens. You turn bones into armies. You turn seas into highways. You're the only one who can. You're the only one who can. You're the only one who can. You're the only one who can. Let's pray. Let's pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

As we prepare to come to the table together, we are going to sing a song we started learning last week. I set my hope on Jesus, and in 1 Timothy 4, beginning in verse 9, it says, "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, for to this end we toil and strive because we have our hopes set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe." And so we're learning this song, so if you know it well enough to sing along, go ahead and do that. If you just need to spend a few minutes listening to these words, that's quite all right as well. So we're going to go ahead and sing "I Set My Hope on Jesus."

When this life of trials tests my faith, I set my hope on Jesus. When the questions come and doubts remain, I set my hope on Jesus. For the deepest wounds that time won't heal. There's a joy that runs still deeper. There's a truth that's more than all I feel. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My rock, my only trust. Who set his heart upon me first? I set my hope on Jesus.

Though I falter in this war with sin, I set my hope on Jesus. When I feel the fight and sink within, I set my hope on Jesus. Though the shame would drown me in its sea, and I dread the wave of justice, I will cast my life on Calvary. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My God, my only trust. You set His heart upon me first. I set my hope upon Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. Though the world call me to leave my Lord, I set my hope on Jesus. Though it offer all of me, I set my hope on Jesus. I offer all its vain rewards. I set my hope on Jesus. Though this heart of mine is prone to strain, give me grace enough to finish. Till I worship on that final day. I set my hope on Jesus.

I set my hope on Jesus. My rock, my only trust. Who set his heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My rock, my only trust. Who set his heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus.

I thought today's sermon was something different. We're going to get what we got. Thank you for the communion devotion today. So I ask the question, have you ever needed to get something done, but there seems to be something that's always keeping you from completing the tasks? Always. It may be small, it may be very large. And Neil, government seems to be in the way which should be helping. Most of us have heard tales, we'll keep it local, of people who are going to build a building in their own property. They get the permits, they get the inspectors, they review the plans, they make any changes necessary. And after all the review of the maps and everything is all okay, the project gets started, only to find out that the building isn't right for some reason or the other.

It's in the wrong location, it's across the line, you need a special waiver and permission from two or three other people. Or in the extreme case, you have to tear down, start over again, somewhere else on your property. These types of things never happen when following God's word, doesn't it? The layout of requirements never changes. We live the best lives that we can, but we still fail and definitely fall short of God's expectations. Sounds quite ominous, and because of that, many feel defeated and may lose faith in many cases. Mankind as a whole has short memories. We forget that Jesus stands between judgment and our failures. He stands in between that and our Heavenly Father, no matter what happens. He's there for us. He's standing in between, interceding for each and every one of us. We lose faith

because we do not want to lean on God at all. We want to try to do everything on our own, totally on our own. And if you've tried that, it usually fails somewhat, sometimes miserably. We forget that we live under grace. And when we fail in any way, we have actual instructions that don't change to find the path back that we need to be on. Our mansions in heaven is waiting for us. We will one day occupy those mansions, I hope. Jesus says that we have a forever home in the presence of our heavenly Father. There's nothing better to look forward to. Jesus died so that we might take possession of this new home. To keep us strong in the world that wants us to fail, we have this small task of communion. A small thing to do, to tap into the power of God to feed our souls. To help us

with all inspectors swaying us from the truth of God's Word. In Revelation chapter 19, verse 9, "Then the angel said to me," me being John, "said to me, write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.'" And then he added, "These are the true words of God." Always true, never changing. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning again. We are here in your presence that, Father, we know the things that we're supposed to be able to do. We also know that we can do nothing without your help. And most of the time, we will try to do it on our own. But Father, we know that we will fail somewhere between a little and miserably if we do not include you in the tasks that we perform in this life. Father, these little emblems of bread and juice that represents Jesus' body and

blood that was given to us, us, in the future from the time that it happened, for all times until you send your son back to claim us. Father, all of these things, this little bit of communion, as we call it, feeds the soul that you have endowed us with. Guide us in all of the things there today, Father. I would ask that you would be with this loaf and this cup that both would strengthen us for the coming things, the coming week. Guide us, direct us. It is in Jesus' name we ask and give thanks. Amen. We read in Luke 22:19, "He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them saying, 'This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Please partake with me.'" And then in the same way, the next verse,

"In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, 'This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'" Please partake with the cup. And as always, we have to give thanks to God, our Heavenly Father, and there's only one way to do that, which is through our Savior, His Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you. In just a minute, we'll be in Luke, the 11th chapter, just for a few minutes this morning. Before we do that, we can go ahead and stand and sing one of our children's songs, and we'll watch a short preview of this section in Luke chapter 11 to help us. Let's go ahead and be standing. Man, let's go ahead and sing the hippo song. In the beginning, God made the sea, and the forest filled with trees. He made the mountains up so high. On the very top, He placed

the forest has passed. God's fingerprints are everywhere, just to show how much He cares. In between, He had loads of fun. He made a hippo who weighs a ton. Hip, hip, hip, hip, a pot of us. Hip, hip, hip, hip, a pot of us. Hip, hip, hip, hip, a pot of us. Hip, hip, hip, a reggae, we made us. So everybody sing. Hip, hip, hip, hip, a pot of us. Hip, hip, hip, a reggae, we made us.

During Jesus' time on earth, he prayed a lot. He knew that prayer would keep him close to God, his Father. Sometimes Jesus, like when he asked Peter, James, and John to come with him to a mountain to pray. Other times, Jesus would leave his disciples and pray by himself, so he would have time alone with his Father. When Jesus prayed, he prayed for all sorts of things. He prayed for his disciples, for those in need of healing, and for little children. Jesus even prayed for us and asked his Father to watch over us. That's right. Jesus prayed for you and for me. Through Jesus' prayers, we can learn how to pray, too. Jesus used the Lord's Prayer to teach his disciples to pray. It wasn't long and fancy. He showed them that they could pray in a simple way about many different things. Our prayers can be the same way.

Jesus also taught us that we should pray without giving up. God is always listening to what we say. The way he answers our prayers might be different from what we expect, but we can always trust his plan for us. So the next time you're happy or sad, or worried or angry, or just need help, talk to God about it. He listened to his son's prayers, and he'll listen to yours, too. From Luke chapter 11, I'm just going to read the first few verses. Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray," as John taught his disciples. And he said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us this day, each day, our daily bread, and forgive us our sins.

For we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us, and lead us not into temptation.'" This is the word of the Lord. Father in heaven, be with us this morning as we look at this short, simple, familiar prayer. May you be moving in our hearts to fill us with certainty, to rearrange the priorities of our life, and to give us strength as we walk through those difficult valleys. Be with us this morning. Strengthen us and help us. Leave us encouraged. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And so this extremely familiar prayer found in Luke chapter 11, also recorded in a very similar fashion in Matthew chapter 6, we hear these words and they sound fairly familiar. And while these two prayers, one in Matthew 6 and one in Luke 11, are very, very similar in their composition, they take place in different scenarios.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is teaching about prayer, and he's contrasting two wrong ways to pray with the right way to pray. And so in Matthew chapter 6, he contrasts the pride of the religious leaders and their focus on themselves, and he talks about the prayers of the Gentiles where he says they heap up empty phrases over and over again. And then he says, "But you, you pray differently. You pray humbly. You pray simply, and you pray with this deep and abiding trust in God." And in Luke chapter 11, there's a similar moment where Jesus teaches prayer, and the prayer is also very similar to the one in Matthew chapter 6. But what Luke is doing is teaching disciples, as he's been praying, one of his disciples watches Jesus pray and says, "Jesus, can you teach us to pray like you do?"

Like you do. And I just want to say this. Jesus is the best person that we can learn to pray from. Jesus prays very, very frequently. In fact, in the New Testament, in the Gospels, every major event in the life of Jesus was preceded by prayer. And as he is baptized, you find Jesus praying. As he goes into the wilderness, you find him praying and fasting for 40 days before he chooses his disciples. You know what he does? He spends an entire night praying. Before Peter's great confession, Jesus in the events right before this is praying. Before the transfiguration, Jesus is praying. At the Last Supper, Jesus is praying. In the garden, Jesus is praying. And on the cross, Jesus prays. Before every big monumental event in his ministry, Jesus prays. But additionally, you find him at times just simply going off to spend time in prayer.

And what I love about Jesus is he doesn't just teach with words and he doesn't just teach with actions, but he teaches with both his words and his actions. You've probably heard it said those who can do and those who can't teach, right? So you have somebody who can do something really well, but maybe they can't explain it to you. And then on the other hand, you have somebody who can tell you what to do very well, but if they try to practically apply it, they can't do it. Jesus is not like that. He both is able to teach about prayer, but he also has much practical experience and a wonderful example of being able to pray. And in Jesus, we see the importance of prayer. Jesus doesn't lack the power. Jesus is not sinful.

But even so, before every monumental event, he prays. And you find him frequently spending an entire night in prayer. And as I think about that, if Jesus, the Son of God, places such a high priority on praying, what does that say about me and my priority for prayer? If Jesus prays like that, how should I pray? And that's what this disciple is asking. He's seeing Jesus pray, and he goes, "How should I pray?" And Jesus responds with this short, very simple, fairly easy-to-understand prayer that I would say is not necessarily a formula, but principles to follow in how we pray. So I want to share with you three things this morning, just very quickly. Jesus, as he teaches about prayer, gives us certainty. Jesus, as he teaches us about prayer, is going to transform my priorities,

and Jesus, as he teaches us about prayer, is going to give us strength. I think, as we think about certainty and prayer, maybe our biggest struggle with prayer is not, do I have the right technique? Do I have the right ability? Am I praying at the right times and in the right places? We worry about those things frequently, but our biggest problem with prayer is not in technique or timing or ability. Our biggest struggle, I believe, in prayer is this: that we have in us an uncertainty that God would actually hear what we say. And there's two things in Jesus' prayer that gives us certainty that Jesus, as he teaches us to pray, that God the Father will hear our prayers. In Luke 11:2, listen to how this prayer starts. Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say, Father."

And for us, this is not necessarily unheard of, right? When we pray, we say, "Father in heaven." We refer to God the Father frequently. For us, this is kind of a normal way of speaking, but for the Jewish people in the first century, this was something that would have probably set their teeth on edge because it's not how they're used to praying. It's not used to how they're hearing God referred to. So, for example, since I was very, very little, I have called my parents Russell and Susan, right? And part of that was because of the first, like, four years of my life until my sister was born, and probably a year after that, whenever I was around somebody, what did I hear? I didn't hear Dad or Mom. I heard Russell or Susan. And then I went off to school. And then later on, especially when I worked with Dad, I didn't want to be like, "Hey, my dad said mop the floors."

And I think, "Oh, Russell wants us to mop the floors," right? And so some people, Dave, when they hear me say, "Hey, Russell," or "Hey, Susan," right? That's for them, it's like, "Whoa, why do you call your parents by their first name?" And it's a bad habit I've picked up since I was very, very young. And the Jewish people, when they heard Jesus say, "When you pray, start with our Father." In fact, one time when Jesus says, "My Father in Heaven," they tried to kill Him. This is something that is earth-shattering. It's a bit of a shock. And here's the wonderful thing. When we pray to God, we are talking to the Almighty God of the universe. And we're saying, "Father." Right? We come to the Almighty Creator of the universe as our Father, and this is remarkable.

It's a picture of closeness. It's a picture of belonging. It's a picture of familiarity. And it's absolutely remarkable and absolutely wonderful that when we pray, we get to say, "Father." And Luke, to help us with our misunderstanding of this, makes sure we understand what we're talking about. He says, "We're not talking about a Father who makes mistakes or a Father who gets it wrong." Sometimes we are talking about a perfect Father. And beginning in Luke 11, verse 11, he says this, "What Father among you? If a son asks for a fish, instead of a fish, we'll give him a serpent. Or if he asks for an egg, we'll give him a scorpion. If then you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

And the key statement in this verse is, "How much more?" Think of the best Father in the world, and then add more to it. That's what Jesus is saying. To those who are uncertain, if God wants to hear their prayers, He says, "Not only do you have a Father, but you have a good Father who is so much more than any earthly father." We are children of God, loved by a good Father, and when we begin to see it, it removes our fear. And think about our fears. Like, "What if I say the wrong thing? What if I pray in the wrong way? What if I shouldn't pray about this? What if I should have prayed about this? What if it's not important enough for God to hear me?" A million ways that you and I can feel small and inferior, and Jesus says, "Look at your Father." And I want you to try to

understand this picture of how God sees you as your Father. So, if you've watched children, when they get to a certain age, around one, or maybe a little before, or sometime after, what happens? They begin to learn to walk. And they do so by first, like pulling themselves up and holding on to stuff and kind of standing wobbly. And then eventually they'll sort of walk along something like the edge of the couch by holding on to it, still wobbly. And then you have that moment where they let go and they stand for a minute, and they grab on the couch and they let go, and they sit, and then they let go again, and they take a little step, right? And they fall on their face. And what happens? Everybody's so excited that this kid fell in his face. I didn't look at our kids when they took their first step and fell and went,

guess we better start saving for college because none of them are getting a sports scholarship, right? What do we do? We rejoice as our kids take the first step, no matter how wobbly it is. Your heavenly Father, understand this. When you come to him in prayer, no matter how wobbly you are, he's not going, man, they could do so much better. He is rejoicing that you want to bring your troubles and your fears and your worries and your hurts to him, and he is cheering you on with joy because you have a good Father. Jesus is reminding us of our certainty as children of God. God hears our prayers even in the middle of our brokenness. And in the middle of this prayer, there's something that Jesus says that we're to pray for. He talks about praying for our spiritual needs and our physical needs.

He simply says this, "Forgive us our sins." I want you to understand that when Jesus starts to teach him to pray, and he says, "When you pray," so it's the implication that we are going to pray and pray regularly, and in that prayer, he includes, "Forgive us of our sins." Right? Jesus is assuming that you and I are going to need forgiveness virtually every time. that we pray. He includes it in the prayer, not in an appendix in the back. If you have sinned, turn to page 74. I guess right there at the very, like right in the center of this prayer. There is an unfeeling, a feeling that we have of unworthiness and brokenness. And Jesus says, "God forgives your sins." And we come to prayer uncertain in our identity and uncertain in our goodness because all of our sins are coming back to us.

And Jesus says, "Pray to a Father who loves you and to a Father who forgives you." Some of us avoid prayer because we say, "Maybe when I get cleaned up and get my life together and get it all put back where it is." Remember our good Father who both loves and forgives. What you see next is that prayer transforms our priorities. And priorities are just simply those things that we hold to be most important. And what Jesus does as he talks about our priorities is first he assures us, and now he's going to stretch us. Stretch how we think and stretch what we hold to be important. And he said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.'" And what this means is that as we pray, we lift up the name of God through our prayers.

And this sounds strange to us. Because a lot of our prayers are focused on my needs and my wants and my desires and the things that I think should happen and the things that I think God should do. But notice Jesus as he teaches us to pray. And it's not bad to pray for our desires and our requests and the things we hope for, but Jesus starts this prayer not by lifting up needs, but by lifting up who God is. "Hallowed be your name." This is not just an introduction to this prayer that we skip over, but "Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come," is a picture of a heartfelt request. Now, we don't speak this way very often, and so we probably need to explain just a little bit when we talk about the word "hallowed,"

what we mean is treasured, valuable, set-apart love, delighted in. It's like our kids when they have their treasures, and they set them apart because they don't want them to get accidentally lost or thrown away, and it's something they treasure so they set it apart. Or when you walk on that battlefield, and somebody says this is hallowed ground because men who fought here died for freedom, and so we treat it with respect. We set it apart. We treat it differently. We begin our prayers hallowing the name of God. This is a prayer for us that we would treasure who God is. So many times we rush through prayer, "Thanks for my food. Hopefully you take care of them. I've got to run." And Jesus says, "When you pray, we pray to our Father in the midst of our brokenness,

knowing he's a good Father who loves us in our weakness and our struggles, but we pray that above all things we would treasure him in our heart. Father, transform my heart because there are so many things that I put above you. Change that and let me hallow your name." And then he says, "Let your kingdom come." And Matthew says, "Let your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And it's a call to mission. Right? So there's a call to reevaluate what our heart holds dear. Is Jesus, is God, is he my treasure? Also, what is it that I'm doing? Am I seeking the good of the kingdom or the good of myself? This text in Luke 11 encourages us with the certainty that God hears our prayers and it stretches us because it changes our priorities.

That we would pray seeing who God is, hallowing his name, and seeking his mission. And third, Jesus' prayer teaches us about strength. The strength to keep going even when it feels like everything in our world is falling apart. And Jesus said to them, and this is his illustration about prayer, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say, Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him. And he will answer from within, Do not bother me. The door is shut. My children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything. I tell you, though, he will get up and will give him anything, not because he is his friend, yet because his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs."

So you have this picture of a friend who comes in the middle of the night after the kids are all in bed, and the dad goes, "Sorry, we're all asleep. Come back another time." But this person requesting keeps going, impudently, and eventually gets what he deserves. Let me try to put this in modern-day context. So when we had Evelyn, when she was first born, I put a sign on the front door of our house that said, "Delivery people, FedEx, UPS. We have a brand-new baby. We have a very loud dog. Do not knock on our front door. If you have a package that requires a signature, go into the church. There's a guy there. He'll sign for your package. His name is Brandon." And so one day I'm expecting something, and I hear this delivery truck,

and I don't want to give the name of the company, but it rhymes with FedEx. And they pull into the parking lot, and so I'm heading out the door to catch him, and he's way ahead of me, and he's over here by the house, and he gets the package out, walks down my sidewalk, walks up the steps, stands on my porch, takes a minute, puts his hand up, reads the sign, and then just goes on the front door. And about that time, our dog hits the front door, and I just lose. I'm like, "What are you doing?" Like, did they not teach you to read? You obviously looked at the sign like, "I'm a dad who has not slept in like a week, and I know my wife is now awake, and our kids now awake, and everybody's mad." And I just was like, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

I was mad and frustrated, and now the dog's involved. So what's the point of this picture that Jesus makes? Of the unwanted knock on the door. The point is not that you are disturbing God. The point is not that God is grumpy. The point is something different. Listen to what he says. "I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. To everyone who asks, receives. The one who seeks, find. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened." This illustration of prayer is not about the guy in the house. It's not about the grumpy guy whose kids are asleep. You know who it's about? The guy pounding on the door. And what Jesus is saying is have the same courage to knock on the door of heaven

that the FedEx guy has to knock on the door of Brandon's house when his kids are asleep. To have the same courage to knock on the door of heaven when you're struggling and when you're hurting. In the midst of your discouragement, the point here is not about the grumpy guy in the house. The point is about us being afraid to knock on the door. And that happens so many times, I think. We maybe don't pray because we're discouraged. Maybe we don't pray because we feel like our prayers are too small. And it's so easy to talk ourselves out of prayer. It's not a big deal. It's not that important. God's really busy. He doesn't have time for that. The point here that Jesus is making is knock on the door. But there's another point he's making.

You don't have a grumpy guy on the other side of the door. You have a Father who is excited to see you and who will throw that door open. And Jesus says, "Ask. Seek. Knock." Not once, but twice. Knock with impudence. Because you have a Father who loves you and can't wait for you to pray. James, chapter 4, verses 1 through 3. James writes this: What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this? So that your passions are at war within you. You desire and do not have, so you murder, you covet, you cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and you do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. There's this church that James is writing to.

And there is conflict within the church that people are going back and forth because they want something. And James says the problem with all this conflict and this desire that you have is that you're looking in the wrong place. He says you're treating your brothers and sisters badly, trying to take what they have. Rather, he says, you do not have because what? You do not ask. Why haven't you asked? I mean, you prayed. And there's times where God will say no. For example, all the kids love to go outside and build forts after church. If one of them comes to me and goes, "Hey, can we use the chainsaw?" Right? I'm going to be like, "No!" Right? That's really bad for you, right? And don't come running to me when you chop your legs off.

I've been waiting for a while to say that, right? Sometimes God looks at us and says, "That thing that you want, that's the most dangerous thing for your soul. You don't want it to glorify me, to hallow my name, for my mission and for your good." You want it because of your desires. And so James says two things when we pray and we come boldly before God. First of all, come boldly. Because sometimes the reason we don't have is because we have not asked. But also to examine our heart as we ask. Why are we asking? How are we asking? Jesus' point is ask, seek, knock. As a Christian, this morning I want to encourage you to pray. To our Father. For His glory and by His power. In our spiritual needs and in our physical needs.

That God is joyful in the prayers of His people. But maybe you're not a Christian. You ever had that moment where somebody has wronged you or you've wronged somebody else and now you avoid them and don't talk to them. And when you see them coming, you go the other way. That you've been separated from someone because of the brokenness of either your wrongdoing or theirs. Where we stand without Jesus before God is in that place of brokenness. Separated from God. Apostle Paul says it this way. That before Christ we were far off. And then Jesus comes. And He takes those who are far off and He brings them near by the blood of Christ because Jesus is our peace. And He has made us one. And has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility.

And Jesus comes to bring peace to you. To preach peace to you. To take your sin into your brokenness where you've chased everything but Him. And He comes in love and grace. And He dies taking your sin. He rises from the grave. In two weeks we celebrate that at Easter. And He can make you alive. And if you are far off from Jesus. Hear the invitation from Him. That says, "Come near." To a new father. To a new family. To a new and loving, living hope. Maybe you have questions. Maybe you have uncertainties. Maybe you need somebody to pray with you or for you. It doesn't have to be in this moment. Although it can be. It can be after service. It can be at any time you desire. In a minute we are going to pray.

And then we are going to sing. And we are going to sing about how God's name is blessed. And it comes from the book of Job. And in this song we are going to sing. We see that God is blessed. Just like in the 23rd Psalm. We have the still waters. The green pastures. But also when we walk through those dark valleys. I want you to know as a Christian. This morning God is with us. And helping us in those moments. God is good. He hears you. When you pray. And is close to you. Even in those valleys. And if you are not a Christian this morning. I want you to hear the invitation of Jesus. That says come to me. You who are weary and heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Father in heaven.

Thank you for Jesus. And for grace. And for hope. Thank you. For your goodness. Help us as we come to you in prayer. To see the certainty. To see our lives rearranged. Not around our priorities. But yours. And that you would give us strength. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and sing.

Blessed be your name. In the land that is plentiful. Where the streams of abundance flow. Blessed be your name. Blessed be your name. When I'm found in the desert place. Though I walk through the wilderness. Blessed be your name. Every blessing you pour out of. Turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in door. Still I will say. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious name.

We're also back on Sunday mornings at 9:15. If you want to make it on Wednesday night, we'd like to join us then as well. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday. The Sunday following is Easter. So that is what is happening next. Also, next Saturday is our monthly men's breakfast. And so if you're a man and you like bacon, Bible, and Brotherhood, I've worked hard to get all the three B's in there. Come join us the next Saturday morning at 9:00, and let's enjoy breakfast together. So we'll pray. I'll read a verse of Scripture, and then we will sing the doxology and be dismissed. Father in heaven, I thank you for Jesus and grace. Thank you for our time of worship together this morning. Be with us as we fellowship together. Encourage our hearts. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Paul says in Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." This is the word of the Lord.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.