Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t know what to say to another person?
When Todd, our Pastor, was in the 5th grade he saw a girl at church named Jill, and he thought she was smoking hot. In fact, she was so smoking-hot that he got nervous every time he was around her. Every time she was around, he would just stare at her, and then she would turn to see that he was staring at her, and then he would turn away, and then when she stopped looking at him he would start staring at her again. It was puppy love, but it was real to him.
Todd had an older brother named Jeff, and he had some experience talking to pretty girls, so Todd went to him for some advice. He said, “You ought to call Jill on the phone and get to know her better.” Todd looked at him and said, “Jeff, I wouldn’t know what to say.” Todd’s brother wrote out a list of 20 questions that he could ask her from how was your day, to do you like school, and are you coming to church this weekend?
Todd looked at that list and knew that his brother had just given him the golden ticket to Jill’s heart. Now all he needed to do was call her on the phone and actually talk to her. This was long before the days of texting, where you can hide behind a phone and a little keypad. After about 30 minutes of working up the courage, Todd finally dialed all 7 of her phone numbers, and the phone began to ring. Jill’s mom answered the phone. He wasn’t anticipating that so he hung up. Thankfully this was the days before caller ID, so no one knew it was Todd calling and he had just pranked Jill’s mom.
Todd had to wait another 15 minutes before he could call Jill again or she would know that he hung up on her mother. So after 15 minutes, he called a second time. This time her dad answered, so Todd hung up again. Now he had to wait another hour. Finally, after an hour went by, he called Jill's house a third time. On the third try, Jill finally answered the phone, but Todd was so freaked out that he hung up on her too.
Sometimes it is hard to find the words to say, and I think that is the way it is for people when it comes to prayer. Have you ever been asked to pray and you have no idea what to say?
Most people are still stuck thinking that they need to pray with big words for a long, long time, but we learned a couple of weeks ago that most prayers don’t go on and on and on. They are short prayers that we pray all day long. We start our day, spend our day, and end our day just talking to God.
Today I want to share with you four more prayers that you and I can pray to God about. These four prayers have helped me to connect with God.
The first prayer is–
1. GOD SEARCH ME
When something in my life feels a little bit off or I feel like God is distant from me, I ask God to search my heart and I ask him to reveal to me if there is something going on in my life that I need to fix.
The Bible teaches that God will never leave us or forsake us, so when I feel that way I know that I am the one who moved away from Him. When I feel this way I always pray a "God, search me" kind of prayer.
“God, look deep into my heart and soul and expose if there is anything within me that isn’t pleasing to You. If there is pride within me where I have been depending on myself too much, reveal that to me. If there is a spirit of fear within me or greed or lust, or whatever it may be, reveal it to me. I don’t want to do anything that would hinder what You want to accomplish. I don’t want to get in Your way, so God if there is anything within me that isn’t right, that isn’t pleasing to You, reveal what it is so I can make things right with You.”
David prayed this kind of prayer in Psalm 139:23-24.
He says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
David was saying, "God, I have blind spots. I don’t see everything clearly, so reveal to me if there is anything in my life that isn’t what You want from me."
Once you have prayed this type of prayer, I would encourage you to be still and listen to see if God reveals any area of your life that you need to talk to God about. Many times, if we wait in silence for a few seconds, God will pop into our mind what we need to address. He will remind you of harsh words that were spoken, or a bad attitude that was given, and then you need to confess that as sin to God and ask Him to forgive you for what you did.
Another prayer I pray is–
2. GOD STRETCH ME
I pray these kinds of prayers when I feel like I am in a rut. I pray, 'God, please don’t let me become satisfied or lazy. Stretch me and get me out of this rut.”
Sometimes I get bored with my life because I have gotten lazy. I have stopped sharing my faith or I have stopped being a servant and helping other people. If I let this go on for too long, I get really bored. I pray “God, stretch me. What do you want me to do for You? Is there someone You want me to text, is there someone You want me to invite to church? Is there some way I can help someone out?”
I want to be used by God and I want my life to count for God. God, stretch me to be the student You want me to be. God, stretch me to be the brother or the sister that You want me to be. God, stretch me to be the friend You want me to be. God, stretch me to be the difference-maker You want me to be.
When the very first church started in Acts chapter 2, that group of people was trying to reach the world for Christ, and in doing so they endured incredible opposition– the kind of opposition where people who had become Christians would be beaten up and thrown in jail and later fed to lions just for being a Christian. So what did these early Christians do? They got together and they prayed. They did not pray for God to stop the opposition, but they prayed for courage despite the opposition. They asked God to make them bolder and stronger for him. If you are in a rut, pray this prayer and then do what God wants you to do. Our faith in God is supposed to be lived out and not just talked about.
A third prayer I pray is–
3. GOD LEAD ME
I pray this prayer when I don’t know the right decision to make. I ask God to point my feet in the direction that he wants me to go. I ask God to take my hands and lead me to extend my hand in helping others. I ask God to take my mouth and use it to say words that bring hope, comfort, and encouragement to those who hear them.
Lead me to where You want me to go, to help those You want me to help so that I might live the adventure of following You every moment of every day.
I ask God to guide me almost every single day. God, guide me in this conversation. Give me Your wisdom so I know what You want me to do.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
God’s plan is better. For God's sake and your sake, don't miss it. I constantly pray and ask God, “what is the next step that You want me to take?” And then I sit and I listen to hear what he might reveal the next step to be. I ask God all the time,
What is the next step in my relationship with You?
What is the next step in the development of my character?
What is the next step in serving You at church, at my job, in my school?
What can I do for You, Lord? I’m here for Your kingdom, so please lead me.
And the fourth type of prayer I pray is–
4. GOD USE ME.
Let me let you in on a little secret– God uses imperfect people because that is the only kind of people that God has got.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
God is looking for anyone willing to be used by Him. Here is one of the greatest things I know about God– your availability to God is more important than your ability for God. If you will make yourself available to God every day, He will reveal to you ways you can help, serve, and make a difference in the world that you live in.
The question is, are you willing to be used by God?
Through the prophet Ezekiel, God lamented, “I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” (Ezekiel 22:30)
God is searching for a group of people who believe that God is still God and that God can still use ordinary people on their ordinary knees to see God do the extraordinary. Will you pray these kinds of prayers...
God, search me.
God, stretch me.
God, lead me.
God, use me.
The adventure of living for God is before you. He will lead you into a significant life if only you’ll ask Him to.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
