TITLE: To Busy Not to Pray: Making Prayer a Daily Discipline
TEXT: Mark 1:32-39, Luke 5:12-15, John 6:14-15
THEME: The believer should make prayer an important part of his busy life.
OPENING
SENTENCE: It has been some years now since I first read the autobiography by Lee Iacocca
simply title, “Iacocca”.
INTRODUCTION: Lee Iacocca, for those who haven’t heard of him, was the man lead the
Ford Motor Company to great prosperity as CEO. It was he who came up with idea of the
Ford Mustang by using the Ford Fairlane and Ford Falcon chassis with a new body and some
modifications. We all know how popular the Mustang became and he is credited for its
success. Shortly after this success his prestige and influence began to conflict with key
members of the Ford family and he was unexpectedly fired.
Almost immediately the struggling and bankrupt Chrysler Motors recruited him to be their
CEO. In a few short years he borrowed over a billion dollars from the US government, lead
the Chrysler Company out of bankruptcy and into profitability and established for himself a
reputation for getting things done.
While reading the biography something interesting stood out for me. What stood out is that
he seldom worked over 40 hours a week. That is unusual in the fierce and competitive world
of business where men who achieved his status generally were obsessive in their work ethic.
In the book he lays out how he uses his time and in it we find some noteworthy insights of a
productive person. Let me give a few quotes from him that stand out:
“If you want to make good use of your time you have to know what’s most important and
then give it all you’ve got.”
“I hire people brighter than me and get out of their way.”
“Motivation is everything, you can do the work of two people but you can’t be two people.
Instead you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people.”
What stood out for me in reading the book is that a highly effective and productive man could
lead a major corporation without it consuming every corner of his life- he kept balance.
TRANSITION
SENTENCE: Lee Iacocca reminds us that constant busyness can distract from the things that
matter most- the pursuit of the good can often detract from the pursuit of the great.
TRANSITION: This morning I see that truth in regard to Jesus.. Last week we started a
sermon series titled, “Embracing the Heart of God.” Today we will look further into the life
of Jesus and look specifically at the importance He gave to prayer in his daily routine.
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SAY WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO SAY: I want us to consider the question, “What can we
learn from Jesus about the importance of prayer in our busy lives?” We will look at two
passages (among many that could have been selected) that reveal to us something about the
daily prayer habits of Jesus. We will see the he would start each day by going off alone to
pray and would even withdraw to pray when the pressures and circumstances moved Him to
do so.
TEXT: Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, 6:12
THEME: The believer should maker prayer an important part of his busy life.
What can we learn from Jesus about the importance of prayer in our busy lives?
I.
Make time to pray in uninterrupted isolation. (Mark 1:32-35)
Mark 1:32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demonpossessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had
various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak
because they knew who he was. 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus
got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
A. We need times to be undistracted and alone with God.
Many of us have seen the interviews on actors who work with special effects and are talking
to a computer generated character that is later added but not present while the actor is playing
his part. They all say it is hard because they have no one to give them feedback. It is like
talking into air. The problem is so real that many actors ask for an invisible stand in just so
they can emote the way they need to.
Let’s face it. We all have times where we have felt we are just talking into space when we
pray because we are not looking into a physical face that gives us cues that he is even
listening. We know how hard it is to talk to someone if we think they are bored or
uninterested. To talk to God we must go on faith that He is there and that He hears us.
Because prayer requires us to discipline our minds we need to be free of distractions that
divert our attention. By being alone we are not concerned about what we may say out loud,
or what we may look like, or what others may be thinking.
B. There is a difference between corporate and personal prayer.
As we will see later there are times when we pray with and around other people. They too are
important times. But when other are people are around we tend to be more on guard and less
authentic because the nature of our prayer can be very personal and intimate. In corporate
prayer we are aware of those around us and pray with them in mind.
C. If Jesus needed this- how much more do you need it?
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When Jesus is praying we get a glimpse into the intimate relationship within the Godhead.
Seeing this reminds us that God did not create us because He is lonely and needed someone to
share with. He already had perfect fellowship within Himself. God is one in essence but
three in persons. Each of the three persons has a vital role to play in the relationship. When
Jesus is praying He is engaging the heart of God and partaking in the triune communion.
How much more then should we, as His adopted children, need to join into this communion
and share all its benefits. Jesus reminds us that the Father wants us to share in divine
communion.
ILLUSTRATE: In his sermon titled, “The Great Exchange” Byran Loritts tells this story.
“Some time ago one of our kids, and I were in one city and I was headed to another city. I
was supposed to go to this other city to spend the day with Tim Keller. I’d been looking
forward to this for a long time and was excited about it and had my list of questions prepared
that I was going to ask him. I was just looking forward to my time with him in this rare
opportunity to spend with Tim Keller.”
“I called home to check on my wife, and my son was going through a tough time. There’s
some health stuff. I just hear him bawling in the background. I get on the phone with him, and
we ended up talking. He says to me, “Daddy, I want you to come home.” I did what any dad
would do in that moment, because my son was inconsolable, I cancelled Tim Keller, and got
on a plane and went home. There I am sitting in a doctor’s office with my son, and his head is
buried in my chest, and I just at that moment as I’m holding him I’m thinking There’s no
place else in the world I’d rather be than right here with my kid. What dad wouldn’t want to
be a part of that?”
APPLY: That’s Jesus. Jesus is saying, yeah, I’m the God of the universe. Yeah there are a lot
of things going on in my life. But I’m not so busy that I’m not concerned about my
relationship with my Father. Any trial I go through in my life God is with me- and so He is
with you. He is concerned about your health crisis, or about your finances or about your
marriage. I’m not too busy! “Come to me” Stop trying to do it without me
THEME: The believer should maker prayer an important part of his busy life.
What can we learn from Jesus about the importance of prayer in our busy lives?
II.
Start the day in prayer before the busyness begins. (Mark 1:36-39\
36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they
exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” 38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to
the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled
throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
A. Prayer is a discipline that focuses our purpose and priorities
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His disciples seemed concerned that everybody had been looking for Him and he was hard to
find. They didn’t quite seem to get it. Why was He away when there was so much to be
done? Jesus understood the importance of this time away from all the activity.
1. Exercise is a physical discipline to strengthen the body. Most of us know the importance
of exercise but that does not seem to make it any easier. We know the health issues that
come about when we fail to exercise our heart and muscles. Yet, as important as it is it
requires discipline that we are not always willing to devote to doing it.
2. Prayer is a spiritual discipline to strengthen the mind and spirit. For most of us prayer is
less of a passion (which we would hope it would be) than a discipline. It requires
intentional, conscious effort on our part to make the time and effort. Unless we see its
value we will not make it a priority. Aristotle put it this way, “We are what we repeatedly
do. Excellence then is not act, but a habit.” This is no less true than in the spiritual realm.
We need to make a habit of making time to be alone with God.
B. Every day in prayer we should focus on the day’s priorities.
Jesus says after He is interrupted. He says, ““Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby
villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
1. Jesus saw the big picture- to love God/preach the gospel. By communing with the Father
it reinforced his mission for why He was here- to preach the gospel. Jesus had a very
clear sense of mission and purpose in His life. Prayer is not replacing our mission it is
empowering our mission.
2. Jesus saw the specific mission- to go to nearby villages. Before we go out into the
business of our daily lives we need to be clear on our purpose and mission- then we go
out into the villages. Activity does not always mean productivity. Action does not
always fulfill purpose. Through prayer Jesus had could balance balanced sense of both.
ILLUSTRATE: Stephen Covey, in his book, “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” sees
the importance of this principle. He says that all effective people, like Jesus, have a very
clear sense of mission in their lives. They begin with the end in mind.
“To begin with the end in mind means to approach my role as a parent, as well as my other
roles in life, with my values and directions clear. It means to be responsible for my own first
creation, to rescript myself so that the paradigms from which my behavior and attitude flow
are congruent with my deepest values and in harmony with correct principles. It also means to
begin each day with those values firmly in mind.’
The most effective way I know to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal mission
statement or philosophy or creed. It focuses on what you want to be (character) and to do
(contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing
are based.
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Dr. Charles Garfield has done extensive research on peak performers, both in athletics and in
business. …One of the main things his research showed was that almost all of the world-class
athletes and other peak performers are visualizers. They see it; they feel it; they experience it
before they actually do it. They begin with the end in mind.
APPLY: That is what prayer helps us do. It helps us prioritize, focus and visualize your day
so you can fulfill the mission for which God calls you.
THEME: The believer should maker prayer an important part of his busy life.
What can we learn from Jesus about the importance of prayer in our busy lives?
III.
Find times to get alone throughout the day for prayer. (Luke 5:12-15, John 6:14-15)
Luke 5: 12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with
leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if
you are willing, you can make me clean.”13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.
“I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
14 Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer
the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 15 Yet the
news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be
healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
John 6:14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is
the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and
make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
A. Don’t let the tyranny of the urgent drive your decisions.
What Jesus was doing was urgent. There was work to be done and souls to be saved. Yet he
realized that the urgent can be a cruel and demanding tyrant. To remain tuned to His mission
and to His relationship with the Father he would go away to pray.
B. Don’t crave popularity and allow it to replace devotion to God.
Notice that He had become quite popular so much so they even wanted to force Him to be
King and why not, it would mean food for everyone. But Jesus knew His mission was not to
feed the world- His mission was to save the world. Jesus knew how to say “no.”
C. Don’t let people pressure you into compromising your mission. We all have
pressures to compromise our God given purpose. Prayer helps us stay clear about
what it is and helps us to act on it.
ILLUSTRATE: There is much in life to distract us from prayer and focusing on our mission.
Os Guiness says, “We are in the age of gargantuan numbers, truly instant information,
ceaselessly hyperactive social media, when the World Wide Web has become a flood-driven
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Niagara of raw, uninterrupted information and emotion that pounds down on us by the minute
with its ceaseless roar and its drenching deluge. Who can hear themselves think, let alone
make sense of it all with genuine reflection and seasoned judgment?
APPLY: No wonder it is tempting to give up and go with the flow, rushing along with the
crowds and sweeping past the best as we chase after the most. It is all too easy to get caught
up in the sensational and forget the significant.” (Os Guiness, Renaissance (IVP Books,
2014), p. 41)
THEME: The believer should maker prayer an important part of his busy life.
SAY WHAT YOU HAVE SAID: This morning we looked at two passages that reveal to us
something about the daily prayer habits of Jesus and saw that He would start each day by
going off alone to pray and would even withdraw to pray when the pressures and
circumstances moved Him to do so.
TIE TO OPENING SENTENCE: Lee Iacocca realized that we are most productive when we
are clear about our purpose. For the believer the habit of prayer helps us focus on our
purpose.
APPLY TO SPECIFIC AUDIENCE
1. Prayer demands our time we need to set aside time each day to be alone to pray.
2. In your time of prayer focus on what God has called you to do. To understand that
then read His Word, look at the lie and mission of Jesus, plagiarize from his mission
and make it yours.
3. Each day in prayer think through what you need to do in fulfilling your mission and
write down, in order of priority, what you will do to reach that mission.
4. We need to spend time with God daily because it is so easy to get spiritually deflated
if we don’t.
HAYMAKER: On a recent bike trip it wasn't until I finally arrived home that I noticed
something wrong. My tires were low. They needed air. The funny thing about bike tires is I
don't remember taking air out of them. It just went. Somewhere. Somehow. Air leaks. My
tires weren't crazy low, but low enough to know that my efforts in peddling were not
producing maximum return. Each rotation was just a little bit harder than it would be had the
tires been filled properly.
It got me thinking. Life is like a bike tire. We don't intentionally take air out … it just leaves.
And just as it's harder to peddle with flat tires, it's not as fun to live when the air has leaked
out of our lives. We don't know where it goes or how. Life just has a way of deflating us.
Difficult conversations … hisssssss (that's the sound of air leaving your tires!). Tough day at
work … hisssssss. Overwhelmed by circumstance … hisssssss. It happens to all of us.
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So ask yourself, “where in my life am I being re-inflated? Where am I pausing long enough to
"fill my tires"? Does it happen when you drive by yourself with worship music cranked. Refilling. Does it happen when you take your Bible and let God speak to you. Re-filling. Does it
happen to you when the stories of God fill your spirit? Does it happen when you praise Him
for all He has made.”
Are you going through life with flat tires? How fun is that? How much effort are you putting
out in relation to the return? What if you made a decision to pause and re-fill? Do you know
your re-filling stations? How does God fill your tires and push you onward? (Borrowed from
Mike Penninga, "Flat Tires?" Kelowna Gospel Fellowship blog (5-6-15))
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