Pray like it matters: “In His name”

For many of us prayer feels like:

-a flip of a coin (maybe God answers and maybe he doesn’t)

-a good luck charm (when we need good luck on our side)

-a list of requests and demands (”help me, bless me, give me”)

We often settle into a mindset of prayer that is:

-passive 

-reactive 

-“me focused”

-convenient 

““And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:5-8

If God knows what I need already, why am I praying??

Because prayer is ultimately about knowing the heart of God and growing in relationship with Him.

“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

John 14:13-14 NIV

Twice Jesus reminds us to ask “in His name” 

What is the significance of praying “in His name”? 

1. In HIS authority 

We have no standing before God and no credibility on our own. 

We don’t pray to God based on our merit, but based on the authority of what Jesus has done.   

1. As HIS representative 

As Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5) we don’t represent ourselves, but rather we represent Christ. 

As we pray in Jesus’ name, we pray as He would.   

1. For HIS glory 

Ultimately we pray for the things that will lift up the name of Jesus and give God glory. 

The power in our prayer is ultimately surrendering our will to the will of God.  

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalms 37:4 NIV

““This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’”

Matthew 6:9-13 NIV

“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.””

Matthew 26:39 NIV

Bottom Line: 

The power of prayer is not what God does for me, but rather what He does in me. 

http://bible.com/events/5495565
Flip the Script: When God Redeems Your Story – From Death to Life

John 11:17-35
THE FLIPPING POINT
-Mary & Martha sent word to Jesus and He doesn’t show up in time
-Their brother has been dead for days
-As they watch Jesus weep, their hope had to be crushed

What’s true in this moment?
• Lazarus was absolutely no doubt, dead. Four days dead.
•Their faith didn’t make any noticeable difference
• There was no good reason to hope

What situations have you been in that looked completely and utterly un-redeemable?

And in the midst of this desperate moment, Mary & Martha might miss a powerful truth:
Jesus weeps WITH YOU

It’s not that He weeps FOR YOU, like your situation is helpless, but rather that He weeps WITH YOU.  Jesus grieves with you in your brokenness and pain.
 John 11:36-44
Bottom Line:
“Redemption means the final word is HIS.”

This is the difference
This is the powerful truth

That through redemption, God has the final say, the ultimate authority, the final word

John 11:25-26

“I am the resurrection”
Martha speaks of the resurrection as an event in the future, but Jesus speaks of resurrection as a present reality made possible through Him.  

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus proved that there is life that does not bow to the empty threats of the grave. 

In your story, who gets the final word? 

Ephesians 2:1-5

Flip the Script: From Evil to Good
Genesis 37:12-28
As Joseph is carted off to a foreign land….what could he be thinking?
What’s true in this moment?• The people who should have loved Joseph, didn’t.• For whatever “crimes” Joseph may have committed in their eyes, the punishment didn’t fit.• Everything about his future is uncertain at the very best, deeply dark at worst. At the flipping point, he’s lost everything except his life.
What situations have you been in that looked just like that?
Genesis 50: 15-21
Notice that both the brothers and God had intentions through Joseph’s story. The brothers MEANT evil & God MEANT good.
The question of ‘WHY?’
-David asked that question “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭22:1-2‬
-Jesus himself, on the cross, asked that question “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ).”‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭27:46
The bottom line: Hope grows not because we understand the WHY, but because we trust the WHO.
The WHY is about clarity.The WHO is about trust.
Romans 8:28
“For those who love Him”…In a loving relationship there is trust being built.
A prayer to guide us: “Even though….yet I will trust you, Lord.”
Psalms 56:3-4
-“Even though my financial need is great and I don’t see how we will make, yet I will trust you, Lord” -“Even though the future seems uncertain and I don’t know what tomorrow holds, yet I will trust you, Lord” -“Even though I don’t like it, even though I don’t understand it, yet I will trust you, Lord.”

http://bible.com/events/4588403
“Flip the Script: When God Redeems Your Story”
From Defeat to Victory
 ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:18-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬
‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:34-37‬ ‭NIV‬‬
1 Samuel 17:4-14

1 Samuel 17:32-33, 38-44 
This is the FLIPPING POINT in the story.

FLIPPING POINT
• What would you be thinking right now if you didn’t know the story?
• What were the men of Israel thinking?
• Why does the Scripture provide so much detail about how imposing – about how impossible – Goliath was?
•What does He want you to see at this moment in the story?
• It wasn’t just that a little shepherd boy with no armor and a few rocks had little chance of defeating this giant, he had NO chance.

What’s true in this moment?
• Goliath looked absolutely unbeatable.
• The men of Israel were paralyzed with fear.
• Futile human attempts were made to cope – in the form of David stumbling around in Saul’s armor.

1 Samuel 17:45-50

Allow the Lord to “Flip the Script” in your life….

1. Beyond my perspective….

There was more to the story of David and Goliath than we can see.

At the core of redemption is a belief that there is something more happening beneath the surface that I cannot see.  

God is working in places that we cannot yet see.
This is not just the mystery of God, it’s the power of God.

There is no such thing as “risk-free” faith.

2. Beyond my battle….

1 Samuel 17:45
David fights not in his own power, but in the power of the living God.    

We often see our job to armor up to fight the giants in our lives, but the truth of Scripture is the power of the living God is fighting for us.

Exodus 14:14
Galatians 2:20 
3. Beyond my victory…

1 Samuel 17:46-47 
In our battles we face the great temptation:
-to elevate “the giant”…
-we see it every day
-its the focus of our thoughts
-sometimes it’s all we see, all we think about
-it’s overwhelming and debilitating
-to elevate self…
-all we see is me
-all we see is my pain
-all we see is my struggle  

David was committed, no matter what, to elevate the Living God.

There is victory possible when we focus, first and foremost, on giving God glory no matter what happens.  
That is when the power of God begins to “Flip the Script” in our lives.  
Bottom Line:
Surrender transforms my present defeat into my future victory.

http://bible.com/events/2989286
“Moved with Compassion”

Matthew 9:35-38‬
To be moved with compassion – root word in the Greek is “splagcha” meaning “inward parts” or “bowels”
In the Gospels, this word is only used to describe Jesus. Jesus was moved to the deepest part of his core.

1. Compassion leads to action 

Multiple Biblical texts where  it specifically points to Jesus’ compassion leading to action:
Mark 1
Mark 6
Mark 8
Matthew 14
Matthew 20

The compassion of Jesus always leads to action:  healing, feeding, forgiving, redeeming.

2. Compassion begins with one

Even in the midst of the crowds, Jesus never loses site of the one.  

In Mark 5, Jesus stops in the midst of a crowd to identify the one woman who needed hope.

Bottom Line: 
Compassion moves us to action, and it always begins with one!

Full Bio for Yuri Lopez
Yuri’s parents abandoned her and her twin sister when they were just babies.  At the age of two, she was separated from her sister and other siblings when she arrived at a Honduran orphanage and stayed there until she was 16. The directors of the orphanage did their best to provide emotional and spiritual nurturing for the children, but it was impossible to devote individual attention to so many children at the same time. Many times they did not have electricity or running water. When she turned 13, Yuri started cooking in the orphanage kitchen for 120 children and also helped take care of the babies. Living conditions in the orphanage were challenging and she felt hopeless and discouraged.

At six years of age, Yuri experienced hope for the very first time. When she was in her second grade classroom, and they were suddenly interrupted by the sounds of a helicopter that landed at the soccer field at their orphanage. Minutes later, they were led to the church building next door and saw stacks of colorfully wrapped shoeboxes waiting for them. Yuri’s favorite items in the shoebox gift were the picture of the American girl who packed the shoebox and her note which read, “Jesus loves you, and I love you too.” Seven years later, Yuri hit a very low point in her life which caused her to run away to themountains. After hours of crying and blaming God for the life she was living, she pulled out the picture of the American little girl who packed the shoebox for her, along with her note – “Jesus loves you, and I love you too.” Three months later Yuri gave her life to Christ.

Yuri’s love and talent for school and soccer eventually opened doors for her to come to the United States, where she now works with FCA. She also has a loving and supportive Christian family. Her vision and mission for the future are to help people know that God can change people’s hearts and lives. She hopes to work as a teacher and coach with inner-city children as well as open soccer camps for impoverished youth in Honduras. When she packs shoeboxes, she tells children that Jesus loves them and that God will change their lives and that they have a future, just like God showed her.
Statistics about Operation Christmas Child
-Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, has collected and delivered more than 168 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 160 countries and territories.
-In 2019, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect enough shoebox gifts to reach another 11 million children in countries like Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda and Ukraine. More than 10.6 million shoebox gifts were collected worldwide in 2018, with more than 8.8 million collected in the U.S.
-Shoebox gifts are collected in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Spain, New Zealand and Japan.
-Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. Samaritan’s Purse currently works in more than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine

More information is available at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/