Why Pray when you don't feel like it?

i want to deal with the subject today why pray when you don't feel like it are you like me there are times in fact more times than i care to admit i literally don't feel like praying there's an old spiritual it goes like this every time i feel the spirit moving in my heart i'll pray yes when that happens it's easy to pray the apostle paul said and these are among his very last words to timothy in the last book he wrote last epistle to timothy chapter four paul says be instant in season out of season what does he mean by that well in season that's when you feel the presence of god the spirit of god moving in your heart and it's easy to pray then it's enjoyable you want to pray but paul says be instant in season out of season there are times when you just don't feel like praying and if we're all honest we have a lot of times like that and what i do is i do my best to keep up a certain schedule that is to say discipline every day and so that i don't go by how i feel i just do it do you pray about whether to brush your teeth do you pray about what you're going to do this or that which is your duty well you just do certain things and i feel that way about prayer we must just keep doing it even when we don't feel like it that's why in luke 18 a scripture that i've dealt with before jesus told us not to give up just keep on praying even if you don't get your prayer answered you just keep on praying well i want to read a different passage this is from the gospel of luke chapter 10. and we read a woman named martha welcomed jesus into her house and she had a sister called mary who sat at the lord's feet and listened to his teaching well martha was distracted and with much serving and she went up to jesus and said lord do you not care that my sister there has left me to do all the work alone tell her to help me well the lord answered this is jesus word you would you would have thought maybe he would go to mary and say mary really you should help your sister but here's what jesus said he looked at martha and said martha martha you are anxious some virgins say troubled about many things but one thing is necessary and mesa mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken from her in other words jesus affirmed what mary was doing instead of taking sides with martha and then saying to mary you ought to help your sister prepare this meal no the other way around and let martha know that what mary did just spending time with jesus i think of a verse in psalm 84 i'd rather be a door keeper in the house of the lord than dwell in the tents of wicked now that was the psalmist way of saying just to be on the very premises of god where the temple is where the tabernacle was where people come to worship god because you put those things first well i can tell you praying is never wasted time so why pray when you don't feel like it well i remember jesus words to martha it lets me know that he affirms those who just want to spend time with him and when you're praying you're talking to jesus you're talking to god in jesus name now i want to share with you what i do when i pray every day there are three scriptures that come to my mind when i begin my own prayer time one perhaps you've heard me say this before the first thing i ask for when i pray the very first thing mercy that's the first thing you say rt surely you do that when you first come to christ and you pray god be merciful to be a sinner that's true but whoever told you that we outgrow that as if we reach the place that we don't need mercy anymore and the writer of hebrews hebrews chapter 4 verse 16 here's the way he put it we come boldly or with confidence to the throne of grace to ask for mercy listen this is to christians it's also to discouraged christians and i would say are you discouraged are you sad are you feeling lonely are you feeling left out are you feeling you're a nobody well be careful self-pity doesn't get us anywhere and it's all the more reason we need to be aware that we never outgrow asking for mercy in other words you don't reach the place that you become so holy so godly so spiritual that you don't need to ask for mercy because you're good beware of this the pharisee said god i thank you that i'm not like other men other people and then there was this publican who said god be merciful to be a sinner and i want you to know as christians even if you've been a christian for 10 years 20 years my case over 60 years you just don't outgrow asking for mercy maybe i don't know for sure could this be one of the reasons you're not getting your prayers answered that you just rush into the presence of god and and you somehow think you're entitled to something that god owes you something and when you are especially sad that he's just gonna say something that's gonna make you feel better now he can do that and i know what it is to have him do that with me but i know equally that i honor him when i refuse to give in to my self-pity and the feeling of it of entitlement and i just ask for mercy you see when you ask for mercy that means you've got no bargaining power you're not making any kind of a deal with god you say lord if you do this i'll do that no it's when you know you've got nothing and you're just begging him to show pity on you that's right you say well i would never ask god for pity you must we all need mercy well in any case i can tell you this is what i do there's a second verse i think of it's 1 john 4 16 it says believe the love that god has for us in other words i believe it i know that i am loved god said so and there are times when i don't feel that i don't feel it at all but i believe this scripture 1 john 4 16 that's that little epistle toward the end of the bible 1 john chapter 4 where john says we believe the love i know it pleases god what i believe his word and when i know he loves me and i affirm this i believe it and that makes me feel better i'm aware this is so true god cares more about me that i care about myself this is a fact this is the truth you can write all this it is so true and when you believe the love you're already beginning to feel better so when you don't feel like praying you just ask him for mercy that you'll find grace to help secondly you believe the love that he has for us and god likes that but then there's another verse it's psalm 16 verse 8. this is where david said i have set the lord before me and because he is at my right hand i will never be moved i want you to think about these words david says i have set the lord before me what does he mean you've set him before you i can tell you there comes a time when we need to take god seriously when we know he is in our right hand that's what david said because he is at my right hand so when you set the lord before you you're not making it up or you're not making something happen that doesn't mean that jesus now gets there no because he is there it's because he is there and what i do this is something i do i hope that maybe god will use this you think about it realize that jesus is right there he is at your right hand and you can talk to him knowing this and when you realize that we're coming to the god of the bible our creator sometimes when i think of how big god is how big he is and i think he gives me attention as if there's no one else this is one of the mysteries of prayer how god can give us attention as though there was no one else even though there are billions speaking to him at the same time when you just set the lord before you and you just start talking to him knowing he is right there it's a wonderful thing all right why pray when you don't feel like it i suggest these things to you and you will somehow begin to feel more like prayer i've been thinking of a verse that i remember years ago i was on a plane and my bible reading for that day led me to exodus chapter 33 and in verse 13 it's moses speaking when god had just affirmed moses and let moses know that god was pleased with him and it was as though god said to moses what would you like for me to do here is what moses said he said lord if you are pleased with me then and moses puts his request could i ask you a question do you know what it was that moses asked for well i'm ashamed to say i didn't i have read that passage many many many times and that day i saw something that i've never seen before that's the wonderful thing about the bible you can read it a thousand times and read it one more time and you see something as if it didn't exist well that's what happened to me and then when i saw what it was that moses asked for i felt so ashamed i felt so ashamed i thought if god came to me and said what would you like because i'm pleased with you i could think of things i would ask for and i'm sorry to tell you that i did not ask for the thing moses asked for moses said lord if you are pleased with me show me your ways think about that what moses wanted was to get to know god better and to know more of god's ways you see god wants us to know his ways he does he wants us to know you can read in hebrews chapter 3 verse 10 where god said of ancient israel they have not known my ways it is almost as though you can hear the tear in god's voice he wants his people to know his ways he said my own people they don't know my ways and you see god wants you to know his ways well here's the thing when you stay with praying even when you don't feel like it don't wait for the spirit to move you when that happens admittedly it's a good feeling and i have those times but i wish i could say they happen every day they certainly don't most of the time this may surprise you most of the time when i pray i don't feel like it i don't feel like it but i know it's right i know it's good and i know this in heaven i will be thankful for every minute that i had time to give to god because when i'm spending time with him i am getting to know his ways well you may ask what are his ways well uh for one thing you can find out and god will let this happen how real god is again this doesn't happen to me every day but if it would just happen ever so often i am so thankful i am so thankful it's worth waiting for because god knows just when i need this he's never too late he's never too early he's always just on time and he has a way of letting you know how real he is and those moments are so precious i found myself at times saying god thank you thank you for being like this after today i'll never doubt you again that's the way i feel doesn't mean i didn't doubt him later but he can be that real you don't always know when it will be a time like that you see martha was very busy getting supper ready mary just wanted to be with jesus and she is the one that is affirmed and i can tell you when you take time to pray even though you think i ought to be doing this i ought to be doing that i'll never forget many years ago i was at the baptist church in moscow russia and the pastor of that church made an interesting observation he said the difference between you americans and we here in russia we're more like mary you're more like martha said here we just want to be at the feet of jesus and we want his teaching that you americans are always doing things and busy and trying to build this and get organized and i had to think you know i believe he's right in fact some years ago a chinese pastor was given a tour of churches in america and at the end of the tour they asked the chinese pastor well tell us so what is your opinion of american churches his reply i am amazed at how much you accomplish without god well i'm afraid so many of us in america are like that busy busy doing things there comes a time when god who likes our company just wants us to be in his presence mary had chosen the right thing and if there are times when you feel guilty that you're wanting to spend time in prayer because i know sometimes people can feel like that i know what it is i think i ought to be doing something i ought to be getting something done and then i remember jesus said martha you're just troubled about many things your sister mary has chosen the right part let me put this to you which gives you more satisfaction when god is pleasing you or when you are pleasing god well i think the honest answer is when he's pleasing us and that's the time when in season when the holy spirit comes down things are going right you've sensed answers to prayer you've felt his presence and you just feel good and it's easy to pray and we like it that's what god is pleasing us but i would put to you we have a chance to please god if we pray when we don't feel like it you don't feel anything you feel nothing in fact it's as though god is hiding his face from you oh the psalmist would say lord why do you hide your face from me why do you well i think i can make the case that god doesn't really hide his face from us i think it's true he doesn't but it seems like he does and he knows when we feel that way and it could be that he has caused us to feel that way to see what we're like there's a verse that refers to hezekiah the lord left him to test him to see what was in his heart is it possible that god is testing you right now he's testing you in these difficult difficult times to see what is in your heart and this is the time when you would be glad to think that you are determined to spend time with him and you're waiting before him and you're getting to know his ways and when you get to know his wives you feel so honored and complimented that he would let you let me remind you the way you get to know anybody's ways is you spend time with them and you esteem the value of a person by how much time you give them and when we take the time just to spend time with god to get to know his ways it pleases him we're told in hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 he that comes to god must believe that he is that mean that that he exists you got to believe that and you for that reason you set the lord before you and you know he's there he says so and you take him at his word and when you know he's right there you could just talk to him yes knowing it's a no joke thing he is listening taking in every word i cannot think of anything more comforting than this knowledge and you get to know his ways and you find how tender and loving he is you know while we're in this crisis i think again of that word god said to joshua knowing that joshua was leading the children of israel into the land of canaan and to me some of the most tender words when god said to joshua you have never been this way before and that's where we are at this moment in world history we are going through this crisis coven 19 the coronavirus crisis and who knows whether anything will be like it used to be i kind of think that the new normal is that nothing will ever be normal again and it's a chance to show and prove and demonstrate that in a crisis like this we trust god this pleases him because the writer of the hebrew said hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 he that comes to god must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that earnestly diligently seek him i can tell you god is not mocked he that souls to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap life everlasting and when he sees that you are in a time when you don't feel like praying and you're discouraged you're sad maybe you've been betrayed maybe your best friend has disappointed you great disappointment has just come and you feel god has let you down and if you could if possible be like job in the height of his trial could say though he slay me yet will i trust him i can tell you if you don't give up you keep on praying even when you don't feel like it you keep to a schedule don't give up because you would do other things that you need to do in life god is more important than anything else take the time be like mary sit at the feet of jesus spend time with him and he will affirm you and he will honor you i'll tell you another thing in hebrews chapter 11 i've just quoted from verse 6 the rest of that chapter describes great men and women in the old testament abraham isaac jacob noah enoch sarah they were women as well and they were able to do things that no one had ever done before because what they did they did it by faith faith revealed just what they were like and faith is what they exercised and god wants you to do that i used to say years ago when i was at westminster i used to say why can't all of us be like those in hebrews chapter 11. these great people moses david samuel jephthah well though these were unusual they were not they were not they were ordinary ordinary people david god would remind him that he was chosen from the sheep pens he was a nobody and god if god turned him into somebody all because he put god first and david is the one who said i set the lord always before me this is what i do so i'm telling you what i do and i'm suggesting that you might try it first ask god for mercy that's where you begin believe the love he has for you just say i believe it because god said it and third set him before you because he isn't your right hand he's there even if you don't believe it but if you believe it and you affirm it something begins to happen and you begin to sense that he really is there you feel his presence and i can tell you when god shows up like that and he will he's no respecter of persons i guarantee you i put my integrity on the line i put my ministry on the line i tell you that if you will seek the lord with all your heart even when you don't feel like it when you are so discouraged and distraught over this loss or this disappointment and nothing is right and nothing is normal again but be like those in hebrews chapter 11. do you know one thing that they all had in common not a single one of them got to do what had been done before you see if they could repeat what others had done they would think well i've been good company i'm doing the right thing listen every one of them had to do something different and god may require you to do something that there's no precedent for what we're going through right now we're all in it together there's no precedent for this that i know of it's our chance to show we believe god learn to get your satisfaction not by when god is pleasing you but when you are praising him and i will just add one thing before i close god knows our frame he remembers that we're a dust he knows how much we can bear he won't hide his face or let us feel that he's hiding his face forever and ever no he will show up i guarantee it in a way that one day you find out oh today god is pleasing me and it was worth waiting for for this god will show up he's never too late he's never too early he's always just on time god bless you until next time

Channel: RT Kendall

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Id: QYW2xH-zkpY

Length: 27min 40sec (1660 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 15 2020