Finding Peace in Prayer: Learning from Jesus's Solitude

In this sermon, Reagan invites the congregation to open their Bibles to Mark chapter 1 and Luke, to explore how influential and talented figures, including Jesus, have used quiet places for reflection and spiritual growth. He emphasizes the importance of solitude in Jesus's life for connecting with God and how it is a significant focus for their 2025 congregational goal of 'walking like Jesus.' Through an examination of various scriptural passages, Reagan highlights Jesus's practices of praying in solitude even amid busy times and before significant decisions. He encourages the audience to schedule dedicated prayer times, start honest conversations with God, and pour out their hearts in prayer, following Jesus's example. Reagan concludes by inviting listeners to become disciples of Jesus if they haven’t yet taken that step.

00:00 Introduction and Opening Prayer
01:07 Historical Examples of Finding Quiet Places
02:42 Jesus' Practice of Finding Quiet Places
03:34 Jesus' Teachings on Prayer
04:06 Jesus' Example of Persistent Prayer
10:04 Jesus Praying with Companions
13:51 The Disciples' Request to Learn Prayer
19:50 The Parable of the Persistent Friend
26:04 The Parable of the Persistent Widow
29:23 Practical Suggestions for Prayer
40:31 Invitation to Become a Disciple

Transcript

If you have your Bible with you, would you take it out please and turn to the gospel of Mark mark chapter one, and we'll read verses 34 and following here in just a moment. Mark chapter one, beginning in verse 34. If you don't have a Bible with you, there's one provided for you there in the pew, or if you'd like to take it out on your phone, you can certainly do that.

But if you'll turn to Mark chapter one in verse 34, that's the first passage that we'll read together. We'll reference one other from the Gospel of Luke and actually spend a good bit of our time in the Gospel of Luke this morning. But we'll start in Mark chapter one, beginning in verse 34. If you did not receive a handout for the lesson this morning, and you would like one of those, if you'll raise your hand there are some gentle men who can come around and say, what?

You don't have anymore. Oh, well, I will make sure we, oh, nope. Wesley's coming to the rescue. All right, so we've got a few more here. If you would like one of those, we'll get you one this morning. Okay. So if you got a handout and you're in Mark chapter one, we're ready to get started. Today, influential and talented people throughout history from DaVinci to Mozart and more have been known for finding quiet places.

To work and to reflect. Einstein for example, had a small wooden sailboat that he called the tennis, which is Yiddish for piece of junk in which he liked to aimlessly drift and spend time thinking, and he had to be rescued by boaters in the Coast Guard so frequently that a friend eventually bought him an outboard motor for emergency use, you know, just in case the wind wasn't favorable that day.

But Einstein refused to put it on the boat. He needed quiet places to think, and he didn't mind inconveniencing the Coast Guard in order to make it happen for the follower of Jesus. Finding the quiet places is not just about finding a nice place to think, although that certainly is part of it. Jesus shows us how to use the quiet places to grow spiritually and to connect with God.

Our congregational focus for 2025 is to walk like Jesus, finding peace by imitating the Prince of Peace. And I appreciate Jerry for the good songs that he led us to, to get our minds going in that direction. And, and for the last three months, we've talked about how we need to walk like Jesus by finding the quiet places that Jesus prioritized, this idea of finding the time and places to be alone with his father.

This quarter starting in April, in just a couple of days, we are gonna continue to study how Jesus lived, but we're gonna focus instead on just, instead of just finding these quiet places, what do we do when we get to the quiet place? What is it that we are supposed to do as Christians? And so we're gonna encourage all of us, especially here at Timberland Drive, but even if you're visiting with us this morning, we would invite you to join us.

And trying to walk like Jesus by falling at God's feet. We find ourselves in these quiet places learning how to spend intentional time seeking God. And we're gonna talk specifically about falling at God's feet in prayer this morning, and fasting as well. As we continue on through this quarter, our pattern of study is to ask three questions, and this is gonna be true each quarter.

What did Jesus do? Can we look in the gospels and see how Jesus fell at God's feet in the quiet places? And secondly, what did Jesus teach his disciples to do? What is his teaching about how we should pray in the quiet places? And then finally, we'll strive to make some applications. What should we do in imitation of Jesus as his disciples, as those who are striving to be like him?

So consider three things this morning as we think about walking like Jesus by falling at God's feet, number one. Jesus found the quiet places to pray. What we see consistently throughout the gospels as Jesus lived on this earth, lived as a man and was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin.

Jesus intentionally turns down the noise in the gospels by finding time to be alone with his father. Now, this is the exact point we made. Made back in January. I would just add a little ellipsis at the end of that, Jesus intentionally turns down the noise in the gospels by finding time to be alone with his father in prayer.

It's amazing how many of those examples that we use, not every single one, but the vast majority of the examples we use back in January of Jesus finding time to be alone with his father. What was he doing? He was praying. He was going to his Heavenly Father in prayer, and this is true as a matter of habit.

In Luke chapter five and verse 16, Luke tells us that he Jesus himself. It's interesting, he emphasizes that he himself, by himself, often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed the new King James says. Now that word often is used there because the 10th of these verbs is ongoing. Jesus often and continually.

Withdrew into the wilderness, the desolate places and prayed, and it didn't matter for Jesus how busy things were. In fact, the busier it was, the more important it was for him to carve out this time that he could spend with his father in prayer. If you're there in Mark chapter one, as I ask you to turn and read with me, verses 34 and 35, during times of very busy activity, which was true for Jesus over the course of.

The three and a half years of his ministry. Certainly we see that Jesus found time to go to the quiet places and pray. Read with me beginning there in verse 34. And he, Jesus healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons, and he did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him.

Verse 35. Now in the morning, heaven risen a long while before daylight. He went out and departed to a solitary place. Maybe your translation says a deserted place or a desolate place. It's a place to be alone. And there he prayed. What's interesting is if we back up and see the context of what's going on at this time, we read verse 34.

He's healing all of these diseases and all of these sorts of things, and it says in the morning, having risen a long time before daylight, maybe we have in our mind that Jesus worked all day and certainly it seems like he did and then he got a good night's rest and then got up early in the morning so that he could go and pray.

That is not the situation at all. In fact, if you go back to verse 32, we see the sun rising and setting. In this story, it sets in verse 32, at evening when the sun had set after Jesus has already worked and taught all day long, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were demon possessed.

Everybody in that region who was sick or demons possessed was brought to Jesus and the whole city was gathered together at the door, and so Jesus put out the clothes sign and said, come back tomorrow. No. What did he do then? He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons, and he did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him.

Now in the morning, having risen a long time before daylight. You know what this describes? It describes Jesus working all day and then working late into the night. And yet still he found the time. No, he made the time to be with his Heavenly Father in prayer. I, I know after a long day, even after a long night of work, I'm ready to crash.

I'm, I'm ready to rest, but Jesus rested in a different way. He found time, made time to get alone and pray. Now it says that it was an isolated, desolate place. Just how isolated was this place? Well, keep reading with me if you see there in verse 36 and Simon and those who were with him searched for him.

They're looking for Jesus. And when they found them, they said to him, everyone is looking for you. Everyone is looking for Jesus. Everyone is searching for Jesus and it takes apparently Simons a while to find him because he had gone to a place where he could be alone. He had gone to a place where he could focus.

He had gone to a place to be with his father and pray. Even in times of busy activity, Jesus found quiet places to pray. He found the quiet places to pray during times of decision. Turn to Luke if you would. We'll look at a number of references in Luke to, to kind of make turning in our Bibles a little easier.

Matthew, mark and Luke. The first three books, the first three gospels in the New Testament in Luke, chapter six and verse 12. Luke chapter six and verse 12.

Now, it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples to himself. And from them he chose 12, whom he also named apostles. So before choosing the 12, he went to the mountain alone and he spent apparently all night in prayer to God before he did that.

Now. We've emphasized the alone aspect of this, and certainly there's a sense in which we should be all alone, but I would suggest that Jesus also found the quiet places to pray with close companions. Now, how can you be alone with someone else? Well, I. You've probably said at some point, maybe about a spouse or maybe two immediate family.

You're saying to others, we just need to be alone right now. And, and at first, that sounds almost like a contradiction. We need to be alone. Yeah. Sometimes we need to be alone with somebody else, and that's what we see Jesus doing as well in Luke chapter nine, for example, in verse 18. Luke chapter nine and verse 18.

Luke chapter nine, verse 18, and it happened as he was alone praying that his disciples joined him. And he asked them saying, who do the crowds say that I am? You drop down later in the same chapter. He's alone, but the disciples are with him. And then at the story of transfiguration, it begins by Jesus taking Peter, James and John with him up on the mountain to pray.

Verse 28 and 29 of the same chapter. Now it came to pass about eight. Days after these sayings that he took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the appearance of his face was altered and his robe became white and glistening. And we see the two men appear before them, Moses and Elijah, and God cries out and says, this is my beloved son.

Hear him. But I just want you to notice that Jesus took with him these closest companions so that he could pray. No doubt. You're thinking of another occasion where he took companions with him, but then went on further alone by himself, and that's Luke chapter 22 in deep distress as he knows what it is he's about to suffer.

In Luke chapter 22, beginning in verse 39, this is what Luke says that Jesus did

coming out, he went to the Mount of Olives. As he was accustomed, or maybe your translation says as his custom was or as was his habit, and his disciples also followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, pray that you may not enter into temptation. And when he had withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, he knelt down and prayed saying, father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me.

Nevertheless. Not my will, but yours be done. Then an angel appeared to him from heaven strengthening him and being in agony. He prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. I don't know, maybe we've spent too much time on it already. Is anybody surprised that this is what Jesus was doing in his quiet places?

Jesus one with the Father in all of these different ways. When he, when he becomes a man and comes and lives on earth, he keeps that connection to his father. He goes to him in prayer sometimes all night long. He finds the time and the places to be alone so that he might pray to his father. That's the example that Jesus left.

That's exactly what Jesus taught his disciples to do, to find these times to be alone, to pray in the Gospel of Luke. If you want to turn to Luke chapter 11 in verse one, in the Gospel of Luke, even more than Matthew or Mark or John, Luke calls special attention to the devoted prayer life of Jesus.

There. There are a number of occasions where Jesus is praying that are mentioned in Luke that aren't mentioned in the other gospels, and sometimes Luke even adds details of Jesus praying on occasions that we're familiar with from the other gospels. But Matthew or Mark or or John don't say that Jesus was praying.

For example, Luke is the one who tells us that Jesus was praying when he was baptized by John the Baptist. So he's, he's being dunked in the water and he's praying to God while that's going on. Luke is the one who tells us that Jesus prays all night before selecting the 12 apostles. It is Luke that gives us the context that Jesus was praying before asking his apostles, who do men say that I am?

And Peter's subsequent confession. Luke tells us that Jesus was praying when he was transfigured on the mountain, and Luke alone has the parable of the persistent widow, which is all about prayer. And Luke specifies. Jesus's disciples asked him how to pray to, to teach us to pray. In Luke chapter 11 and verse one, notice with me now, it came to pass as he was praying in a certain place.

When he ceased that, one of his disciples said to him, Lord. Teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples. Now, here's my question. They're they're disciples of Jesus. They've been following him more than that. They're good Jews. They're practicing Jews. They had lots of examples of prayer. Why did they ask Jesus how to pray?

Well, I think probably a couple of reasons. Number one, they were watching him. They had seen him doing this, they, they went and sought him in different places When he was alone and saw that he was praying, no doubt they saw the way Jesus prayed and they marveled at his prayer, prayer life. It's one of those things where it said, where you say to yourself, well, I know how to do this, but I don't know how to do it like that.

That is different. That is better and I wanna pray the same way Jesus was praying. But I think secondly although they knew how to pray themselves, I think. For once. His disciples are showing a little bit of humility here. They knew how to pray in one sense, but they also knew that there was so much more that Jesus could teach them about prayer that they had never heard before.

Who would you want to teach you how to do something if not the absolute expert in the field of all time? These disciples were smart enough to realize, yeah, I pray, but I wanna pray like Jesus. And so Jesus answers their question. Only Luke mentions the parable after his disciples ask him to teach them to pray.

And so he answers their question in two ways. He answers their question, first of all by giving them an example. Look there in Luke chapter 11 in verse two. So he said to them, when you pray, say, and this is a shortened version that we, we see called the Lord's Prayer or the Model Prayer, also found in Matthew chapter six.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for. We also forgive everyone who is indebted to us, and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

This prayer is so familiar to us. In fact, no doubt, you're quoting in your own mind saying, well, I know that this is different from Matthew and the way he said it in Matthew and Luke, and I know the things that are missing. No doubt you're saying that in your own mind, it is so familiar to us that maybe it's lost on us how simple his response is.

If we were to ask somebody to teach us how to pray, maybe we have in our mind somebody who comes up with great eloquence. Speaks for a long time about all of the things that God has done and will do, and all of the things that we desire, and puts everything in just the right way. Well, no doubt Jesus put everything in just the right way, but this was not some great flowing, eloquent prayer.

It was simple and it was short. It reminds me a lot of Leon Manning who had often eloquently come up and pray for, I don't know, 30 seconds. Yet when I walked through the doors, I was able to remember what he said and say, amen. Not just with my mouth, but with my life. Jesus gives this simple example of how to pray on this occasion, and he answers the the question that way, and it's a sample prayer for us.

An example prayer for us. How do we know? Well, because he asks for forgiveness. He says, forgive us our sins. For, we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us, and I don't know, it might be a little bit like me saying, you know, tiger Woods and I have 15 major golf championships between us, you know, he has 15 and I have zero.

Jesus has zero sins, and yet he emphasizes this need to pray that our sins might be forgiven. Here is an example of the simplicity of putting God in his proper place. Of asking for our needs physically and spiritually and kind of leaving it at that. But it's interesting to me, we have three verses on the what you know the words to say, but Jesus answers with nine verses on the how by teaching them through a parable in verses five through 13.

Read with me if you would, beginning in verse five, and he said to them, so it's connected to what he's just said. Which of you shall have a friend and go to him at midnight and say to him, friend, knock, knock, knock. Lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey and I have nothing to set before him, and he will answer him from within and say, do not trouble me.

The door is now shut and my children are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give to you. I say to you though, he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs. I've always thought it was funny that he includes this idea of my children are in bed with me.

You can almost hear him say, be quiet, you're gonna wake the kids. It reminds me a little bit of one time when Madison was a baby and we were still living in Joe and Sandy's cabin out on the pin farm. And I'd had a long day. And so I, I come in from work and if you know that, that door there on the, on the sunroom, on that log cabin, it's pretty loud when it closes if you don't catch it.

So I come in and it slams behind me and we'd put up this curtain, like to help with the heating and cooling, and I, you know, slam the curtain to the side. And I go in there and Stephanie's sitting in the dark with Madison in her arms and Madison's looking at me like this. And Stephanie is looking at me like this

because she had just gotten her to sleep and I had woken her up at midnight. A friend comes to you and he knocks on the door asking and you say, be quiet. See how nicely I said that? Be quiet. The kids are asleep. Go and talk to me tomorrow. But if he keeps knocking, what are you gonna do? Come to the door, open it and say, take whatever you need.

Just go away. What God asks of us is persistence. It's not a matter that God is like the friend on the inside of the house who says, just go away. I don't want to hear from you. No. God wants to hear from us, but he wants us to be persistent in our prayer. How do we pray? How do we pray? Well, we're supposed to be persistent and translators admit the difficulty of catching the full meaning of this Greek word translated persistence.

The ESV interestingly translates it impedance. Now that's a very negative word. It's shameless that he is shameless in his persistence. I mean, we might say, have some respect, man. Have some decency. The NIV has the advantage here because it can use multiple words to get the sense because of your shameless audacity is what the NIV says.

Ironically, the old King James probably comes the closest to capturing the real meaning of the Greek word with one word in English. It's the Greek word or the English word, importunity. Importunity. Unfortunate. Merriam Webster's dictionary defines unfortunate as. Troublesome, urgent, overly persistent in request or demand.

And the example that they use is unfortunate creditors. Now thankfully Stephanie and I have not had a lot of experience with debt collectors. But after we had Brooklyn there was one particular bill, I can't remember if it was from the hospital or from a doctor or from another provider or something.

We got this bill in the mail and we did not think we owed the bill. To this day, I do not believe we owed that bill. And they kept calling and they kept calling and I kept saying the same thing. Nope we don't owe it. We're not gonna pay it. Nope, we don't owe it. We're not gonna pay it. And finally, I just quit taking their calls on it.

But they kept calling and then I got a call from a different number and this person happened to be a lawyer on behalf of whatever, whoever it was. And they said, we're gonna sue you if you don't pay it. And so. I paid a portion of that bill that we worked out together that I did not believe that I owed to this day.

Why? Well, I wanna be sued because of the persistence, because of theor of those who are trying to collect the debt. That should be our attitude in regard to God. We want to go to God persistently in prayer. This idea of praying always. Well, it's tough to beat praying all the time. That's the idea. And if we are, if we are persistent in our prayer, what is it that God promises?

We'll keep reading in verse nine. So I say to you, ask and it'll be given to you. Seek and you will find knock and it'll be open to you for everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks fines and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a, a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? Of course not. If you then being evil, certainly in comparison to God, know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

God wants to give us good gifts. He wants us to pray to him all the time. He wants us to keep on asking, so Jesus found the quiet places to pray. He kept on asking. He kept on going to his father. And he taught his disciples to do the same with simplicity. And I would suggest that Jesus invites you and he invites me as modern day disciples to pray in the quiet places as well.

Another parable on prayer found only in Luke is the persistent widow found in Luke chapter 18, and in Luke chapter 18, beginning in verse one, we find that this is really an invitation by Jesus.

Then he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. This is what we ought to do. This is what we should do, and yes, maybe this is what God desires of us, but it is still just an invitation to do this. God desires this from us, but he will not, he will not make us do it. He is just revealing how important and powerful and beneficial it is to us to pray.

And to not lose heart. And we see that this is something that applies to, to all disciples, not just those in that day. Notice verse seven of the same chapter, and shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with him, his own elect. That is not just the disciples of that day, or the disciples that soon followed after his elect applies to all those or his disciples.

Throughout all time, this applies to us as well. And the purpose of the parable was twofold. According to Jesus, he told this parable so that men always ought to pray, that we might always pray, and that we might not lose heart. And there's a sense in which those are the two options. We either pray or we're losing heart.

Here is the answer to life's problems. It's a temptation to sin, to lack of faith, to spiritual pride to times of affliction or sickness or judgment or persecution. I use those examples, yes, because that's the common experience of man. I also use those examples because those are all the things we find in Luke chapter 17.

This is what his disciples were going through, and Jesus says, if you wanna face these things in faith. Pray always, and don't lose heart because prayer is ultimately an exercise of faith. Verse eight, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, will the son of man comes? Will he really find faith on the earth?

Well, what's the measure of faith according to these verses? Do we pray? Do we pray persistently like this widow with the unrighteous judge, we need to hear what Jesus says here and we need to follow it, and it isn't revealed to us when God answers. It isn't revealed to us what God answers. It isn't revealed to us.

If God answered, though we believe that he does. It is all by faith and in these times of adversity where it becomes a trial of one's faith. We should turn to God in prayer and rather than fainting, rather than losing heart, we should get to praying. So these three things are true of falling at God's feet, but, but let's make it practical as we bring our lesson to a close.

Let me give you three suggestions for falling at God's feet. Number one, schedule. Quiet time with God and prayer. I've encouraged you to do that, I think at least three times already, over the past three months. I encourage you again to schedule this time. You might be alone with God and that you might pray.

And among other things, scheduling this quiet time and place to be alone with God gets us away from earthly distractions and earthly temptations. You remember in Matthew chapter six, if you wanna turn over there for just a moment, in Matthew chapter six, what does Jesus teach and instruct in Matthew chapter six beginning.

In verse five, Matthew chapter six and verse five. And I know he's addressing specifically the, the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, but what does he say to do? And when you pray, you disciples, you kingdom citizens. You shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may be seen by men.

Assuredly I say to you, they have their reward, but you. When you pray, go into your room, your inner chamber, your closet, and when you have shut the door, pray to your father who is in the secret place, and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Go into your closet, your room, your inner chamber, and shut the door behind us.

Maybe like Daniel. The ideal conditions are the door shut and the window is open. In that quiet place, just like Jesus. Find your heavenly Father in prayer In Luke chapter five in verse 16, in Mark 1 35, it was the deserted desolate places. In Luke six 12 and 9 28, Jesus went out to the mountain and Luke 2239, it was in the garden at night as was his custom.

Why do we need to isolate ourselves in these places? Well, among other things, we might become distracted otherwise. I love what Sean prayed a moment ago that we should wrestle our mind and thoughts at the Lord's Supper. I don't know about you. I feel like I'm wrestling my mind to concentrate sometimes.

Raise your hand if you've ever felt that way or feel that way. Make me feel a little better about myself. I'm trying to wrestle my mind. And so often it's all of these other things that are distracting me, that are keeping me from focusing on what I wanna focus on, and that is God in prayer at these times.

Anything from an evil desire to be seen by men to those who might try and monopolize our time. Jesus found the time to pray, and if he could. So can and should we, and the devil will try and distract us to keep us from praying with busyness and fatigue and fun and responsibility or interruption by others.

He doesn't want us to pray to receive these blessings and aid from God because the devil knows that he cannot, he will not defeat us if we are constantly receiving God's help in the battle. And it would be good for all of us to find a time and a place every single day where we can pray to God without distractions.

Okay, Reagan, I got my time, got my place. I've been sitting in these quiet places just like you asked me to for three months, and now I'm gonna really focus on praying. What do I do? Well, maybe we can take a lesson from Jesus. The simplicity of the prayer that he offered. The simplicity of the prayer that he offered.

As an example, our father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. The simplicity of the prayer that he offered in the garden. Father, maybe I would express it this way. Sometimes what we need to do is just start the conversation with God. We need to start talking to God about our life and our problems and our hopes.

And our dreams and our loved ones, and our struggles and our successes and our failures. We need to talk to him about his word and and what it says and what it has taught us and what we don't know and don't understand. We need to ask him for wisdom and direction and guidance and help. We need to talk to him.

Don't overcomplicate it. Just begin. Start the conversation. Jesus makes clear if we continue to read in Matthew chapter six in verses seven and eight, prayer is not a re recitation of. Of empty words. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do for they think they will be heard for their many words.

Therefore, do not be like them for your father knows the things you need of before you ask him. We need to be on guard about heartless prayers with vain repetitions just going through the motions. It's not about reciting words without our heart or our thoughts behind it. Now, there's nothing wrong with using the same words Jesus does that others do that.

Gospels and in the Bible, but our heart has to be in those words, whatever words that we use, and God knows what's in your heart. So don't be afraid to pour out your heart to him. You know? Why do we pray if God knows the things that we have need of, before we even ask him, why do we even pray? Well, there are several good reasons, but one good reason is that God wants to be invited into our life.

Rather than forcing his way into it, you know, that's one of the biggest issues I have with the false doctrine of irresistible grace. This idea that God forces himself upon us. God never does that. God does everything in his power to reveal himself to us. He calls out to us, but we must answer the call and invite him in, and we pray to God asking for the things that we need that he already knows of because he wants to be invited.

He doesn't want to force his way. Do you want God working in your life? Do you want God in your life? That's not a rhetorical question. Do you want God working in your life? Invite him. Invite him to work. View prayer perhaps simply as your desire. As a Christian to invite God and his working and his love into every aspect of your life, and you might feel hesitation at first, but God understands that you want to talk to him and he wants to talk to you.

God has said to his people in the Old Testament call to me and I will answer you, Jeremiah 33, 3. The Lord is near to all who call on him. Psalm one forty five in verse 18. How much more when we have the mediator of his son by whom we can approach his throne with boldness? And so Jesus invites you as we read earlier in Luke chapter 11, nine through 12, to ask and to seek and to knock.

Start talking, start asking, start thanking. Start praising. God wants to hear from you, and you don't have to have some perfect combination of words. You just have to come before his throne and say, father, and pour out your heart to him. God is a perfect father who wants to give good things to his children, but we have to start the conversation and then pour out your heart to God in prayer.

Prayer for the Christian enables you to not only invite God into your life, but also into the depths of your heart. As Psalm 62 in verse eight says, trust in him at all times, though people pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. We studied this morning in Bible class about Hannah Samuel's mother and.

And how she poured out her heart to God in prayer. That's First Samuel one in verse 15. Her deepest doubts, her struggles, her desires, she pours it out to God. And I've, I've never let a good illustration go to waste. So high school class, apologies that you've already seen this, but I don't mean this in a disrespectful way, but imagine this is God

and imagine this is you. I want you to be honest about this question. What does it look like when you pour yourself out to God in your prayer? How much

is that your prayer life?

Is that your prayer life?

Where is that your prayer life?

Well, all illustrations fall short. They illustrate, right? A couple of things with this one. Number one, God's a whole lot bigger than this. And you and every other person who has ever existed can pour out everything in their heart, mind, and soul to him every single day. And he is still big enough to take it all.

And number two, it's not something where we just, you know, put the lid back on. I poured myself out to God and now I'm empty. No, I pour myself out so that he might fill me back up with his word and his will and his way, as we'll talk about more next quarter.

Schedule time to talk to God in prayer. Start that conversation, whatever that looks like, and then pour yourself out to God in prayer. How was it that Jesus prayed all night long? Well, he's pouring himself out everything that he is. Who in here has stayed up late into the night talking with a good friend, or maybe somebody who was more than a friend?

Maybe your spouse, if you're separated from them, who stayed up late at night talking with somebody. Am I the only? Okay. All right. That's all God is asking us to do is just talk to him. And when we pour ourselves out, that's exactly what we will be able to do to talk to God. And it doesn't have to be all night.

It doesn't have to be more than a few seconds like the prayer of Nehemiah, Nehemiah, chapter two in verse four. But we need to tell God what's in our hearts. So that we might invite him into our life. I challenge you to try these three things to make it a habit over the next three months, because that's what Jesus did.

This is what he instructed his disciples to do, and as his disciples today, it would be beneficial to us as well. But as we've talked about, that starts by becoming a disciple. Are you a disciple of Jesus? Can you call out and say Father? Because you have become God's child. Well, if you're here this morning and you've not yet become a Christian, that opportunity to become Jesus's disciple and God's child stands before you, now won't you come and imitate Jesus, imitate him and being baptized, but even more imitate his death, burial, and resurrection by the death of who you were, the burial in the blood of Jesus that you might rise to be who he has recreated you to be.

Someone who follows after their master and their teacher as a disciple of Jesus Christ. And if we can help you with that, even this morning, come altogether we stand and while we sing.