Apprentice Pray-ers!
Sermon Review
28 May 2000
Luke 11:1-4

Imagine for a moment a pill that you could take which would provide you with a formal education. One that took into account the knowledge required for various degrees, as well as your intelligence quotient. A small uncomplicated test, a fee, a pill and a glass of water, and ten minutes later you have your degree and all that you would have learnt during your time at Uni to earn that degree! Imagine if this scenario could be repeated for trades, vocations, and all manner of tasks which required education, skills, and experience!

Sorry, such pills do not exist. God has created us in such a way and in such a world that learning, information, practice, and time are core to achieving mastery in almost everything. The Christian life is no exception. The gospel is the means of drawing people into discipleship to Christ (eg. Matt.28:19; Matt.11:28). Another contemporary word for discipleship is 'apprenticeship'. People are called into indentured apprenticeship to Christ for life. Apprenticeship means information and practice, and over time, with experience and the gaining of skills, eventual graduation to varied levels of mastery. The Christian starts on the milk of the word and then meat, growing in experience and commitment, obedience and wisdom, gradually developing the skills for living out their faith in the world. The Christian begins as a disciple and continues to grow in discipleship, gaining greater and greater maturity and skill in a growing list of aspects of the Christian life.

This apprenticeship process is one that is often not applied in the area of prayer. It seems that Christians do not regularly approach praying as an apprentice. Too often the Christian stops growing in his/her understanding and practice of prayer, leaving such things for others to do. Whereas, in fact Christians need to take on board both individually and corporately in the church, the request of the early disciples in Luke.11:1 - 'Lord, teach us to pray!'

Lord, Teach Us To Pray!

We need to commit ourselves to learning how to pray so that we know how and when to

These are just a sample of the areas in which Christians are called to become adept in mastering.

We also need to learn how to deal with:

The Starting Point

The first step towards growing our prayer skills is to realise that we have a lot to learn about prayer, and that most learning will come through practise and not long sermons or workshops on prayer! We need to keep in mind that quantity precedes quality. In fact it is not a question of either/or, but really it is both. Jesus prayed long and often eg. Lk.6:12,9:28,11:1,22:42 etc. No one can doubt that his praying was effective either. However, for us, quantity precedes quality as is normal for an apprentice. Time, practise, and process, under the tutelage of God, provide experience that develops quality.

The Call To Prayer

Although there is no mention of a special gift of prayer in the 'gift' passages in the New Testament eg. Rom.12:4-8; 1Cor.12 & 14; 1Pet.4:10,11 - there may well be in practise. However, the calls to prayer in the New Testament are quite clearly to all the rank and file, not just Christian leaders and specially gifted prayers eg. 1Thess.5:17 ' pray continually'; 1Pet.4:7 'be clear minded and alert so that you can pray'. The early church committed themselves continually to prayer eg. Acts.1:14, 2:42 etc., with great effect. Personality or giftedness has little to do with praying. The emphasis is on all Christians doing it!

Conclusion

Christians are called to pray, and as disciples we are to engage in it as learners, allowing God to teach us how to master the varied and necessary elements of praying. As with the rest of discipleship, this means moving out of our comfort zone and intentionally developing the capacity to pray in all sorts of ways, whether silently or aloud, fervently or calmly, lengthily or summarily; in all manner of situations and circumstances, whether fearful or serene, agitated or at peace etc.; and in all categories of praying eg. supplication, thankfulness, praise, confession, intercession etc.; for healing or spiritual warfare, general blessing or specific concerns etc.

If we want power in our lives and growth in this church, we need to be willing to say to God, 'please teach us to pray', and then pray 'continually', not just think or talk about it.

Blessings

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