Date: January 22nd, 2012
Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder
Title: Learning to Pray as as Child
Text: Matthew 18: 3-4
Introduction
- When Jesus was asked about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, to the surprise of everyone listening he called a child to him and said:
“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
- In Luke 10 when the 72 disciples returned with their stories of victory , Jesus was full of joy and praised God that he had revealed these secrets to “little children.”
- When teaching the disciples on prayer he lifts up the example of a child asking his father for a fish or an egg in helping us to guage the father’s response(Luke 11: 11- 13)
- In Luke 9 after hearing the disciples argue over who was better took a child and had him stand beside him and said “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” (Luke 9: 46 -48)
According to Jesus children have a lot to teach us about spiritual things.
I love this quote by G.K. Chesterton
“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
? G.K. Chesterton
And I dare say that when it comes to prayer children have a lot to teach us about connecting with God …In fact, maybe the road to genuine and fruitful prayer is learning to pray as a child
After all God is our Heavenly Father. 2 Cor 6:18 says: “I will be a father to you , and you shall be sons and daughters to me.”
When it comes to prayer there are 3 things we can learn from a child:
A. Act Like a Child
“Woman understands children better than man does, but man is more childlike than woman” (Nietzsche)
Children often …
- Don’t know all the social conventions of what to say & do.
- Don’t dress always right for the occasion if we let them
- Don’t get it right.
- They come to the table with dirty hands.
- They say things at the most inappropriate times.
Paul Miller: “A Praying Life”
“God cheers when we come to him with our wobbling, unsteady prayers. Jesus does not say, “Come to me, all you who have learned how to concentrate in prayer, whose minds no longer wander, and I will give you rest.”
No , Jesus said come those burdened down and weary… come messy.
We don’t need to come spiritual…we need to come real. “Just as I am”… “So instead of being paralyzed by who you are, begin with who you are.” (p.54)
Presumptuous
i.e. Cardinal & Billy p.62 Brown
Cardinal Cushing was the absolute leader of Roman Catholicism in New England. He was strong and autocratic. Each day all the Catholic schools would tune in the radio as he would pray the rosary.
Well one day Cardinal Cushing met a little boy at a church social function. He picked the child up and asked his name. The boy replied that his name was Billy and then asked the cardinal his name, “My name is Richard” the cardinal replied laughing.
Some months later Cardinal Cushing conducted a High Mass at the major cathedral in Boston. At the end of the mass the congregation stood as the church dignitaries, dressed in colourful ecclesiastical finery, processed out the main aisle of the cathedral. The little who had met the Cardinal months before was in the congregation, and to his mother’s horror and the congregations surprise, stood on his pew and shouted “Richard! Richard!. It’s me, Billy!”
Cardinal Cushing stopped the processional of dignitaries and waved at the little boy, and motioned for him to join the procession. That day Billy & the Cardinal walked out of the cathedral hand in hand.
Somehow I get the impression God welcomes that as did Cardinal Cushing.
Hebrews 4:16
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
One of the first steps is to act as a child – presumptuous of our relationship with the Holy God…messy…real.
B. Ask Like a Child
What do children ask for?
Everything and anything.
See that in Children’s prayers –
“whole world would be ice”
When I gave birth to my youngest, a boy, my daughter, age 6, whined, "But, I prayed for a girl." Her brother, age 4, replied, "I prayed harder."
My 7 year old asked me to pray for him so he wouldn't have nightmares. I did and I prayed that God would send his angels to be near him and to give him good dreams. I pray loud enough for my son to hear me. Well the next night right before bedtime, I heard my son praying and he said, "God I had a nightmare last night, I don't want to have another one tonight, so I have to go to bed now, ask your mommy to stay up and make sure I don't have anymore nightmares". |
A friend of mines son prayed so quietly at the dining room table that we couldn't hear what he was saying. When his sister complained to him about it he said, "I wasn't praying to you."
I had been teaching my three-year old daughter the Lord's Prayer. For several evenings at bedtime, she would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."And one particular four-year old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."
How often do little children ask?
Repeatedly. Over and over again. They wear us out. Sometimes we give in just to get them quiet.
i.e.
Shrek – donkey on way to “land far far away.”
Donkey – “Are we there yet?” every 3 seconds.
i.e.
Jesus told story in Luke 11 that sounds strangely familiar:
Luke 11: 5 - 9
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
How do little children ask?
Without guile. They just say what is on their minds. They don’t know if it is appropriate or inappropriate.
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, and Ryan, 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait'". Kevin turned to his younger brother & said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"
Paul Miller:
“In contrast, little children never get frozen by their selfishness. Like the disciples, they come just as they are, totally self-absorbed. “
i.e.
James & John – when village rejected Jesus – “Should we pray and call down fire to destroy them.”
Not the totally “Christian” response….It was an emotional response. It was real. It sounds like a child.
i.e.
Miller – p. 38
Son first learning to talk. One of 1st words was he pointed and said…
Bu-bu = butter
We didn’t say, “John you should say please. And its not bu-bu its b-u-t-t-e-r.”
No we smiled and passed the butter because it was his first words.
“If we earthly parents, with all our brokenness, still give our kids good gifts, won’t your heavenly Father do more? Our kids requests, no matter how trivial, how unrealistic, tug at our hearts. God feels the same.” (see Matthew 7: 7 – 9)
C. Believe Like a Child
Children have an naïve trust. They just believe. They haven’t grown cynical like us when we age. They believe. They trust.
“Lord ,teach me to have that kind of trust…Teach me to trust you, even when it hurts.”
Conclusion
Prayer Exercise:
1.What are you presumptuous enough with to bring before God today?
“Hey Richard. It’s me Billy.”
- Is it to come with your sin, come messy, before a holy God and ask for forgiveness?Is to come and boldly ask for some big, hairy, audacious ministry idea you would like to see?Is it for God to reach out and soften that heart of hardened, bitter co-worker?Is it come and ask him to help you forgive some big terrible hurtful thing in your marriage?Is it to believe that God can rewind the strings of your relationship?
- Are you willing to come boldly as a child before God?
You see, children don’t bring any power to the throne of God. As a child we can’t pull any strings. We can’t loan any money. We can’t offer a lot of significant help. Lincohn during the Civil War said that he got on his needs in prayer simply because there was nothing else he could do.And when we come before God we recognize how powerless we really are. But God invites us to come as a child and presumptuously bring all our big, insurmountable needs and problems, and dreams and goals… just like a child.“Hey Richard , it’s Billy.”
2.What is your request today?
- Are you afraid to bring it because it seems too childish…too unspiritual…too selfish….Invite you to come as a child…come with it.
- Maybe like a child you have asked over and over but you can’t let go….you are willing to persevere?
Going to keep asking…knocking….seeking
3. How is your faith and trust?
Reaffirm your trust in Christ.
- “No matter what I am going through as long as you are there I am going to trust I am secure.
- No matter what pain I am going through I am going to trust you , even when it hurts.
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The New International Version. 2011 (Lk 11:5–10). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.