Daniel’s prayer: praise & confession

Daniel’s prayer: praise & confession

Turn in your Bibles to Daniel 9.  Daniel is right after Ezekiel, but before the minor prophets & the NT.

As you do, I’ll refresh your memory on the past 2 weeks.  We have been exploring the mystery of prayer, conversation with God.  We aren’t making a rulebook on prayer but simply making suggestions for making the most of our conversations with God.  We started out by saying that prayer should be more relational than ritual.  Rather than reciting prayers that have been written by others, a healthy prayer life consists of authentic heartfelt prayers that originate with us.  We further noted that prayer should be reciprocal.  I suggested extreme caution with throwing around the phrase, “God told me.”  We don’t know beyond a shadow of a doubt that what we think was the still small voice of God was indeed the voice of God.  But we do have God’s word revealed in the Bible and our part of the conversation with God should be in light of and in response to what He has said.  We also shouldn’t make the focus of our prayers lopsided.  It shouldn’t be all about us and what we want.  Our prayer life shouldn’t be reduced down to “God can you, God will you, God can I please have?”  While requesting of God is part of prayer and even encouraged, it shouldn’t be the totality of our prayer lives.

This morning I’d like to make further suggestions about making the most of our conversations with God in light of Daniel’s prayer.

NOT THE MANDATORY MODEL. 

Know this:  The Bible doesn’t teach that Daniel’s prayer is the model prayer.  The Bible doesn’t say, you must pray like Daniel or that you have to follow Daniel’s format or that your prayers must consist of what Daniel’s prayers consist of.  This isn’t a “you must” sermon.  This is a “look at what Daniel does” sermon.  And I personally think that Daniel’s prayer does reflect a healthy conversation with God and so I do think we can learn from it.  So we will be drawing out of Daniel suggestions for prayer, not mandates.

Daniel’s prayer is:

·         Relational

·         Reciprocal

·         Packed with praise

·         Contains confession

·         Consistent with God’s character, his will and history

·         Motivated by God’s glory & good of His people

CONTEXT.

Before we jump into this prayer, I’d like to give you the historical context.  Daniel is a Jew under the OC.  In the OC, God promised His people Israel that if they were disobedient to the Law of Moses, He would bring curses on them, including destruction at the hands of a foreign army, resulting in exile and captivity.  God’s people walked in disobedience.  Jeremiah the prophet warned the Jews that they needed to repent because God was going to bring King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians against them to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, but they didn’t listen, so in 586 BC, the nation was destroyed and many carried off into captivity in Babylon.  Among the captives, was Daniel.  Then in 539 BC, God brought the Medes against Babylon, destroying them and handing over the kingdom of Babylon to Darius the Mede (Daniel 5).  So Daniel was in Babylon when it was taken over by the Medes and the Medes inherited not only Babylonian slaves, but the Jews who were captive to Babylon.  That’s the context.  That’s what is going on historically when Daniel prays this prayer.

Daniel 9 ¹ In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. ³ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

In verse 2, we find that Daniel understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet that the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years.

Daniel’s prayer is based on what he understands God to be saying.

Our prayers don’t have to be about what is written in God’s word.  But if they are, if we do make a request of God based on what He has said it is important for us to correctly understand what he said lest we have a misplaced hope or faulty expectations of God.

Suppose I was reading the prophet Malachi and decided that I wanted to make a request of God based on that.  I would read that a day was coming when the wicked would be trampled down under the feet of the righteous and that Before that great and dreadful day of the Lord, he would send the prophet Elijah.  Based on my understanding of that, I might pray, “God send Elijah.”  But that would be based on a wrong understanding of Malachi, since Jesus already interpreted  Malachi for us.  John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come.

So, again, our prayers can be about anything.  They don’t have to be about the things written in the Bible.  But when we do pray about things in the Bible, when we ask God for things based on what is written, it is important to begin with a right understanding.  Otherwise we will have misplaced hope and faulty expectations of God.

When we do pray based on what God has said it is important to have a right understanding of what God said.

Daniel prayed based on what was written in Jeremiah and his prayer is based on an understanding of what is written.

Right off the bat we see that Daniel’s prayer is reciprocal.  Daniel’s words are in light of and in response to God’s words.  Now Daniel shares his prayer.

 ⁴ I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:

   “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, Note the elements here as Daniel addresses God: confession and praise. 

These 2 elements really make up the DNA of Daniel’s prayer.  You will see them throughout.  I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed.  Confession is the first element we notice. 

The next element we see is praise.  As Daniel addresses God he doesn’t simply say, “Lord” or “God.”  He says “O Lord, the great and awesome God.”  He is praising God.  He also identifies God as the God who keeps his covenant of love.  As Daniel addresses God, his prayer is already packed with praise.

Daniel continues in verse 5:  ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

Again, confession.  Look how many different ways Daniel puts this:

·         sinned

·         done wrong

·         been wicked

·         rebelled

·         turned away

·         not listened

WE LANGUAGE.  Daniel is confessing the sins of the covenant community.  Note the “we” language: 

·         We have sinned. 

·         We have been wicked and rebelled. 

·         We have turned away from your commands and laws.

RIGHTEOUS DANIEL IN THE “WE”  I find this interesting that Daniel is praying and confessing the sins of Israel.  I’m not aware of a specific verse that calls Daniel upright and blameless, but from what I recall in reading the book of Daniel, he is certainly a man of integrity. 

·         He refused to eat defiled food

·         refused to bow down to the statue, so he was thrown into a fiery furnace

·         refused to cease praying at the decree of the king, so he was thrown into a lion’s den. 

Daniel seems to be a man of high integrity devoted to God, even when faced with severe consequences.  I would venture to say that Daniel, as an individual, had not partaken in the sin, wickedness, rebellion and turning away of his people.  Yet he says “We.”  He includes himself in the “we” because he is a part of the body.  There is a corporate body of individuals. 

I think this is very mature of Daniel, very humble.  A self-centered Daniel might have said, “God, you know that I am a blameless and righteous man before you.  Here I am in exile.  Why have you brought this trouble upon me, though I have done nothing to deserve it?  Those people are wicked, but not me.”  But he didn’t.  He included himself in the confession.  We, Israel, of whom I, Daniel, am a part, have sinned and done wrong.  I confess that we have done wrong.

Again, this isn’t a model prayer that we are mandated to mimic, but I definitely see in Daniel’s prayer traces of great maturity and humility worthy of imitation.  If we were pray in the same fashion of maturity and humility, we might make confession in a similar fashion.  After all, we are individuals who make up one Body of Christ.  You and I may be innocent as individuals of certain things that the Body of Christ is guilty of as a unit. 

The Body of Christ is certainly guilty of:

·         bloodshed in the name of Jesus

·         crusades

·         inquisitions

·         hypocrisy

·         acting holier than thou

·         anti-homosexual violence

·         bombing of abortion clinics

·         hurting people

·         judging people. 

While we may not be guilty as individuals for those things, the church as a corporate entity has been guilty of those things and we might, like Daniel, confess those things as part of the corporate body that is guilty of them.

“Lord, we confess that as your church we have been guilty of hypocrisy, hurting people, judging people.  Often times, God, the outside world claims that our actions are among the reasons they don’t come to you.  Help us, God to change that.  Help us to be people of integrity, loving individuals who attract people to you.”

So after Daniel confesses the sins of Israel, including himself in the “we” statements, he continues: ⁷ “Lord, you are righteous, (praise) but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. (confession) ⁸ O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. (confession) ⁹ The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, (praise) even though we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. (confession)

Again, in this section, we see praise and confession as well as reciprocity.  Reciprocity.  Daniel’s prayer is reciprocal; his confession isn’t just random and disconnected.  It interacts with God’s word.

BASED ON THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.  Daniel’s confession is directly rooted in Deut 28.  It is also confession that though the prophets came and warned Israel, they remained disobedient.  So this prayer, this confession, is reciprocal in the sense that it is in response to what God said in the Law and Prophets.  Daniel isn’t concerned only with what he has to say.  What he has to say is rooted in and in response to what God has said. 

He not only speaks to God, but listens to what God has said.  He isn’t oblivious to what God said.  In other words, Daniel doesn’t ask God, “why are we in captivity…aren’t we your chosen people?  How could you let this happen?”  Daniel’s confession is rooted in and informed by His understanding of God’s word.

KNOWING GOD’S WORD MAKES FOR RICHER DEEPER CONVO.  If Daniel didn’t know the Scriptures, he couldn’t carry on a conversation like this with God.  But he does know the Scriptures, which means He knows about God’s character, His acts in history, and His will, and knowing this of God makes for a richer conversation. The more an individual knows the Scriptures, the better he can know God’s history, His character, and His will.  This makes for richer, deeper conversations with God. 

This is true of conversations we have with people.  When we don’t know somebody well, our conversations with them consist of very surface-level issues.  “So, how about the weather?  Glad we got some rain.”  That’s just the nature of conversation.  When we first meet someone we don’t ask them to share what keeps them up at night, their fears, marital issues, and all that.  It takes a while to get to know someone.  Over time, through more and more conversations we get to know them, their character, their past, their concerns, we can have deeper, richer conversations with them.  The conversations I have today with Breann are far different from those we had when we first met. 

It’s no different with God.  When I first met God my conversations with Him were no deeper than “How about that weather.  Thanks, God, for the rain.”  And there was nothing wrong with that.  That’s the nature of relationships.  And as I read His word more, I got to know Him better, his will, his history, his character, and my conversations with God moved beneath the surface to a deeper level.

·         Daniel’s prayer reflects the fact that he knows God. 

·         He knows God because he knows God’s word. 

Familiarity with the Scriptures will make for deeper, richer conversations with God that go beneath the surface. 

DON’T BE DISCOURAGED.

If you’re not that familiar with the Bible, don’t let that discourage you.  I don’t want you to walk away thinking you can’t have great conversations with God if you’re not a Bible scholar.  Be encouraged and know that just as your conversations with people grow in time as you get to know them, so will your conversations with God as you get to know Him and that is really exciting.

So again, we have seen Daniel’s prayer is packed with praise and confession, and reciprocal as it is in direct response to what God has said in his word.  Daniel continues in the same fashion: (mid v11)

   “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. (confession) ¹² You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster.   Reciprocity.  Daniel points to God’s actions as fulfillment of God’s word. 

Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. ¹³ Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

Again, Daniel is confessing the sins of Israel, praising God for His righteousness and covenant faithfulness, and it’s all rooted in and in response to God’s word, very reciprocal.

 ¹⁵ “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.

Once again, praise and confession.  Lord, you brought your people out of Egypt.  Look at your mighty work.  You made for yourself a name that endures.  Very God-centered, packed with praise. 

And again, confession: We have sinned.  We have done wrong.

You may have noticed a pattern by now that Daniel’s prayer consists of praise and confession.  I’d like to point out that praise and confession are healthy elements of conversation with other people.

Words of affirmation and encouragement go a long way with people.  It’s important for me to complement my wife on her cooking and give her praise, to praise her for being a good mommy and doing dishes and laundry.  This makes for healthy conversations and ultimately healthy relationships. 

People need to hear praise.  Now I don’t think God needs praise.  He is secure in his Godhood and He is pretty self-sufficient.  But He certainly does deserve it.  He deserves our praise.  Let’s give it to Him.

Like praise, confession is also a healthy part of our conversations with others.  Last week I confessed to Breann that I really blew it by choosing the courses I did.  She asked me to take a lighter course load this fall semester since she’s due with the baby.  I took classes I thought would be easy, and tacked on an online class, but there is a lot of reading and it has put a strain on our family and she let me know it.  Last week I confessed to her I should not have taken that online class.  I really made a mistake and I’m sorry.  That really made an impact on her.  The next morning she told me how much she appreciated hearing that from me, just confessing that I had done wrong. 

We have certainly done wrong before God.  I believe we have already been forgiven and don’t need to ask for forgiveness every time we sin as if it hasn’t been covered by the blood.  But I do think we should approach God with a humble attitude of confession, acknowledging that we have done wrong.

PRIMARILY REQUEST-MAKING?  Before we jump back into Daniel’s prayer, notice that Daniel hasn’t asked for a single thing.  Daniel’s prayer started in verse 4 and we have read through verse 15 and we have yet to see a request.  If this was the only example of prayer we ever had, would we gather from this that prayer is primarily making requests of God?  Not at all.  Up to this point, all we have seen, is praise and confession all rooted in God’s word.  It’s not until now in verse 16 that we get to Daniel’s request.

¹⁶ O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

So Daniel’s prayer doesn’t specifically ask God to restore Israel to their land, but that seems to be the implication.  Daniel’s request is for God to turn away His wrath & have mercy.  Daniel’s request is based on God’s character, history, and will.  God, remember how you delivered your people before?  I appeal to that.  Not on that alone, but also on my understanding of Jeremiah’s prophecy that the desolation would last seventy years.  God, act accordingly. 

We sinned and turned away and have received the punishment you promised.  We have been disciplined according to your word and will.  Now turn your wrath from us, and look on us again with favor.  We are about to get a glimpse at Daniel’s motives.

 ¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

Here we get a glimpse at Daniel’s motives.  Daniel’s motives are rooted in God’s glory and the good of His people, which are intertwined.  When the nations thought about a people group, they thought directly about the god or gods they served.  At one point people thought about Israel and shook with fear.  They serve Jehovah and he is no joke.  Israel is no joke.  Don’t mess with them.  Their God is foreal.  Did you see what He did to Egypt?  Did you see what He did to Jericho and the Canaanites, Perizites, Hittites? 

But in Daniel’s day the people of Jehovah got whooped on and were in captivity.  So in turn, what did people think of Jehovah?  He’s a weak God.  The gods of Babylon were clearly mightier than Jehovah.  Daniel is concerned with the Name of Jehovah, with his reputation with outsiders.  Daniel’s prayer reflects this.  For your name’s sake is the nature of Daniel’s prayer.  For your name’s sake, turn your wrath from us, restore us, that we would no longer be an object of scorn to the nations and they would no longer think less of you.  Do what you did to the Egyptians.  Mock these false gods, deliver your people and show how mighty you are. 

Daniel loves God.  He’s concerned about God’s reputation with outsiders.  This isn’t simply a whiny I don’t like it in Babylon and I want to go home kind of prayer.  Yes, going back to the land was indeed for the good of God’s people, but it was also for the glory of God.  Those things go hand in hand, since God’s people bear his name and people are connected to the God they serve.

WE BEAR CHRIST’S NAME.  The same is true of us in a sense.  We bear Christ’s name.  We bear the name Christian.  The root word there is Christ.  We are Christ-ians.  Therefore, when people think about us, they cannot help but think about Him.  When they see us, they see Jesus.  Based on what a lot of people say, they don’t see something attractive in Christians, though they should.

Not that we have to, but if we were to look at Daniel’s prayer as an example and pray in a similar fashion, we like Daniel would pray for God’s glory and our good.  Like Daniel, our prayer can reflect a concern for God’s reputation among outsiders. 

God, for your name’s sake, help us to live and act in such a way that non believers would see us, see you and like what they see.  Love, humility, respect, integrity, selflessness.  For your name’s sake.

That concludes Daniel’s prayer.  I’d like to read through verse 23 and make note of one more thing before we close.  Daniel continues: ²⁰ While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill— ²¹ while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. ²³ As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:

Now, Daniel’s prayer here is a very significant prayer in Israel’s history.  Not to say that our prayers aren’t significant.  But my prayers aren’t in Holy Scriptures, I’m not a prophet, etc.  So what we see here is pretty unique. 

I’m not going to get into the fulfillment of this or the theology behind it, but, I simply want to point out that as soon as Daniel began to pray an answer was given.  Not to get too far ahead of myself but what we see implied here, we have expressed in the words of Jesus, “your heavenly father knows what you need before you ask,” which is quite comforting!!!

This morning we have walked through Daniel’s prayer.  While it isn’t specifically called a model prayer, I believe it is certainly worth examining and I believe we can learn from it.

Daniel’s prayer was relational – it came from Daniel’s heart.  It was authentic.

Daniel’s prayer was reciprocal.  It was in direct response to what God said in the Law and the prophets.  We also see that it was connected to Daniel’s understanding of Jeremiah’s prophecy.  We noted that a proper interpretation of God’s word is important, lest we make requests of God that are out of place and inappropriate, rooted in misplaced hope and faulty expectations.

Daniel’s prayer was packed with praise.  Great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love.  God, you are righteous.  You have done as you said.

Daniel’s prayer contained confession.  We have sinned, been wicked, rebelled, turned away, have not listened.  We language.  Though Daniel was a man of integrity devoted to God and more than likely didn’t participate in this rebellion, he includes himself in the confession as he is part of the corporate body.  This is a sign of humility and maturity.

Daniel’s prayer was consistent with God’s character, His will, and His history.  It didn’t make a request outside of God’s clear will.  It didn’t put God to the test.

Finally, Daniel’s prayer was motivated by his love for God and God’s people.  It was motivated by a desire for God’s glory and the good of His people which are intertwined.  God, turn away your wrath and look with favor on your people and the land, for your name’s sake. www.ncfgeorgetown.com  Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas preterist church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page House 10:00 am Loving God. Loving Others. Realized eschatology fulfilled eschatology  Preterist church Austin Texas.  Bible church Austin Texas Second coming of Jesus Christ

Though I don’t believe it’s mandatory to pattern prayer after Daniel 9, I do suggest we can learn from it some ways to enhance our prayer life.  I do suggest that adding confession and praise will help to make the most of our conversations with God.  I do suggest that knowing God’s word, familiarizing ourselves with God’s character and history will help enrich and deepen our conversations with God.  I do suggest that making requests motivated by His glory and the good of His people will help make the most of our conversations with God.

Our sermon audio and video files can be found at www.ncfgeorgetown.com/media.html

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Prayer should be reciprocal

Prayer should be reciprocal

Last week we started a sermon series on prayer.  We defined prayer as: conversation with God.  This series is not going to be us giving you the rules about prayer and telling you that you must pray in this way or that.  This series will be exploring the mystery of prayer and making suggestions for making the most of our conversations with God.

RECAP SUGGESTION 1: more relational than ritual. Defined ritual as established or prescribed procedures.  Ritual prayer would be simply reciting prayers that didn’t originate with you, but were already written, like the Serenity prayer or the Lord’s Prayer. Not that you can’t pray already existing prayers, but prayer is conversation with God and is most nourishing to our relationship when prayer is relational.  In light of that, we discussed date when person reads off notecards.  We would rather other person speak from the heart.  Let’s give God same respect and speak from the heart, relationally.  Christianity is not only a religion, but also a relationship.

This morning I’d like to propose a 2^nd suggestion for making the most of your conversations with God.  Prayer should be reciprocal.

Reciprocal means: given or felt by each toward the other, mutual.  Given or performed in return.

So a RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIP would be one in which both people are concerned about giving, serving, loving, expressing.  Not simply my day was like this, but also, how was your day?  Not simply I want to eat McDonalds, but where do you want to eat?  Not simply I would like to spend some of our extra money on this item, but how would you like to spend our extra money?  Healthy relationships are not lopsided relationships, but reciprocal relationships. www.ncfgeorgetown.com  Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas preterist church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page House 10:00 am Loving God. Loving Others. Realized eschatology fulfilled eschatology  Preterist church Austin Texas.  Bible church Austin Texas Second coming of Jesus Christ

The conversations between people in a healthy relationship are reciprocal conversations. 

PRAYER SHOULD BE RECIPROCAL.

Since prayer is conversation with God, we suggest that prayer should be reciprocal.  By reciprocal prayer, I mean 2 things:

1.       Who talks & who listens

2.       Focus of discussion

The idea of reciprocal prayer first implies the idea the conversation is not lopsided.  Let me illustrate this with a conversation between 2 humans.  A reciprocal conversation between you and I won’t simply be me talking the whole time while you never get a word in.  You probably know people like that.  This won’t be a dialogue, but a monologue.  I didn’t come here for a conversation with you, we came here for you to talk and me to listen.  A reciprocal conversation carries the idea that I talk, then you talk and then I talk and then you talk.  Both parties participate in the conversation.

How does that work with prayer?  Now I’m just going to be honest here.  Please don’t judge me for this or think less of me.  But I’ve never heard the audible voice of God.  I’ve listened for it; I’ve asked to hear it, but I never have heard it.  We get the idea from the Bible that Adam heard it.  We get the impression that Noah heard it, that Abraham heard it and Moses.  But we don’t get the impression from the Scripture that everyone did or that it was a normal everyday occurrence.  That seems to be something that happened to key people at key times, so I don’t think it’s something that we should expect to experience.

While I’ve never heard the audible voice of God, I have experienced what one might call the still small voice of God within.  But, how do we KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that what we think might be the still small voice of God is indeed the still small voice of God?  We admitted up front that the nature of prayer is mysterious.  This element of prayer is indeed mysterious.  So while I do think that in some sense God can communicate to us in gentle whispers, I am also very slow to say that God spoke to me.  So my encouragement to you is this, I would be very careful and cautious with the temptation to say, “God told me…”

In attempting to make your conversations with God reciprocal, you may find yourself in one of 2 situations.  Either waiting to hear the audible voice of God and probably never hearing it, or sensing what may be a gentle whisper or still small voice of God within and not knowing without a shadow of a doubt that it was the voice of God.

What we DO know as far as what God has said is in the Scriptures.  If we want to know the heart and mind and character of God, we do have recorded for us the conversations that he had with Adam, with Noah, with Abraham and Moses.  We do have recorded for us God’s words to the nation of Israel that He spoke through the prophets.  We do have the words of Jesus, who is God in the flesh.  As the writer of Hebrews says, “In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets and in various ways but in these last days he has spoken to us through his son.”  So we have recorded for us many words that God has indeed spoken without a shadow of a doubt and by looking at these words in context we can learn a great deal about God, his heart, his character, his will.  In a sense we can hear primarily from God by reading the Scriptures.

So in making our conversations with God reciprocal, it is important not only for us to speak, but for us to be attentive to what God has spoken.  And while it is possible that God communicates to us in a still small voice within, that is a bit mysterious and difficult to know without a shadow of a doubt.  But we do know without a shadow of a doubt that God has said what is recorded in the Bible. 

So our prayers should be reciprocal first in the fact that it is not only us talking, but us being attentive to what God has said and the primary way we can do that is by reading our Bibles.

Furthermore, PRAYER SHOULD BE RECIPROCAL IN THE FOCUS OF DISCUSSION.  It shouldn’t be lop-sided and self-centered.  Prayer shouldn’t simply be God can you give me this.  God can you do this for me?  Our prayers shouldn’t be all about us.  That isn’t healthy in conversations with other people.  Nor is it healthy for conversations with God.  Just as conversations with other humans should be reciprocal in focus, prayer should be reciprocal in focus.

Imagine with me a young lady named Madeline.  She has a very loving daddy who gives Madeline everything she asks for.  Madeline isn’t much for conversation with her daddy.  Daddy wants conversation with Madeline.  He craves it.  But she says very little.  At dinner time daddy asks where everyone wants to go.  Madeline replies, “I want McDonalds, daddy.  Can we go to McDonalds?”  So daddy takes her to McDonalds and buys her a happy meal.  During the meal daddy asks Madeline about her day, “it was fine.”  Throughout the meal, he made countless attempts to engage her in conversation but couldn’t get more than a 3-word answer.  At the end of the meal Madeline asks, “Daddy, can I have my toy now?  I don’t like this one.  Can I have that toy instead?”  So daddy asks for a different toy for Madeline.  After playing with the toy for a moment Madeline runs off to the playscape and plays with the other kids.  When daddy says it’s time to go, Madeline says, “Daddy can we stay longer?”  So they stay longer.  After playing for another 15 minutes Madeline comes to her daddy and says, “Daddy, can I have ice cream.”  Daddy buys Madeline ice cream.  Not once did Madeline thank daddy.  Not once did Madeline engage daddy in conversation for any other reason than to ask daddy for something. 

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS – RECIPROCAL.

A lopsided prayer life will sound much like Madeline’s conversations.  God will you do this for me.  God can I have that.  God I want this.  Very one-sided, very self-centered.  That makes for a very unhealthy relationship with people and it certainly makes for an unhealthy relationship with God.  Healthy relationships on the other hand, are reciprocal.  Conversations will focus not simply on the self, but also the other.

CATS AND DOGS

When I consider these 2 types of relationships, the lopsided and the reciprocal, I’m reminded of the difference between cats and dogs.  Not always, but generally, cats and dogs approach their masters in 2 different manners.  Cats typically seek the hands of their masters while dogs typically seek the face of their masters.  Cats typically act as if the world revolves around them.  The entire relationship is on their terms.  Pet me the way I want to be pet.  If I don’t like the way you’re doing it I’ll walk away, I may hiss before I walk away, I may even bite you.  In fact, you’ll pet me when I want to be pet.  When I want that I’ll come to you.  Otherwise, don’t bug me.  Do they run to greet you at the door when you walk in?  Only if they’re hungry and want you to feed them.  Dogs on the other hand understand that the world revolves around their master.  Their relationship is on your terms.  If you want to pet them they will let you.  Dogs will let you pet them how you want and when you want.  They are just glad to be getting attention from you because dogs want you, not just what you can give them.  They want you.  They love you.  When you walk in the door, you can almost guarantee that the dog will greet you with kisses and a wagging tail, eager to please.  Hey, it’s YOU!  You’re back.  I missed YOU.  Dogs seek the face of their master, while cats seek the hands of their master.

Our relationship with God could be thought of much like this.  He is our master.  We can relate to God as a cat does its master and simply seek the hands of God, “God what can you give me?  God, this relationship revolves around me and what I want.”  Or we can relate to God as a dog does its master and seek the face of God, “God, its you.  I want you.  I want to please you.  I’m glad to know you, I’m glad to see you.  This is about YOU, not me.”

So often prayer is portrayed simply as asking God for things.  While asking of God is certainly a component of prayer, it is not the only component of prayer.  When asking of God is the only aspect of our prayer we reduce God down to a GENIE IN A LAMP.  The story goes something like this: one finds a lamp and whenever he rubs the lamp a genie emerges and says your wish is my command.  So the genie in a sense acts as the servant usually granting 3 wishes.  We treat God much the same way with prayer.  But since God is all powerful He can grant unlimited wishes, not just 3.  We act as if our wish is his command.  Is this a healthy attitude to have towards prayer?  Is our wish His command?  Do we command God?  Is He our servant?  He doesn’t exist to serve us as master, we exist to serve Him as master.

Understanding this reality will shape our prayer life, specifically our language before God in prayer.  So many people today pray with language that sounds like they are commanding God to do certain things.  I propose to you that such commanding language has no place in one’s requests before God. 

Yesterday, my daughter wanted to drink some Gatorade so she said to me, “Open this.”  So I said, “Your wish is my command.”  NO.  I said, is that how you ask daddy to do something?  Let’s try again, “Daddy, will you please open this for me.”  I’m just another human being, not God.  But as father, the proper way for my child to address me is not with a command.  How much less appropriate for us to address God with a command.  How much more does God deserve to be approached with humble requests in the form of “Father, would you please…”

Some people use words in prayer that sound as if they were in the place of God.  They will say things like, “I speak prosperity over this business.”  Is that the proper language for prayer?  Are we God?  Is that what prayer is?  Commanding the universe to obey us?  Or are we humbly asking our master to grant our requests? 

I’m not telling you that you can’t use certain language in prayer or telling you that it has to be framed in certain language, but I do propose that understanding who God is in this relationship will shape our language.  He is the master in the relationship.  We are the servant.  Our conversations with God should reflect that reality.

Know what’s amazing???  Though God is our master and we exist to serve Him, He has served us much and has given much to us.

a.      He gave us life

b.      He gives us our daily bread, water, clothing and shelter

c.       As if all that wasn’t enough, most of us in the room would agree that he has given us far beyond what we need and that he has actually given us a multitude of things we want!

d.      As if that wasn’t enough, He has already GIVEN more than we could ever want, ask, need or even desire in giving us His Son.

e.      That act alone is enough to make us say, “God has already given me more than I deserve in Jesus.  What reason do I have to ask for anything beyond this???”

The amazing thing is that though He could have God didn’t ever say, “Look, I’ve given you my Son.  I have wiped away your sins.  Is that not enough?  Stop asking me for things, you ungrateful people.”  He never said that, in fact, He welcomes our requests.  But as we make those welcome requests, let’s not do so with a self-centered attitude.  Let’s not do so with the mentality that He owes us anything because He doesn’t.  Let’s not do so as if we are the master in this relationship because He is.  Let’s not make requests as if our wish is His command, because He doesn’t exist to serve us, but we exist to serve Him.

THE GIVING TREE

When I consider our relationship with God and the extent to which He has served us and given to us though we can never repay him I am reminded of a book I read probably 100 times when I was a child: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

Once, there was a tree…And she loved a little boy. And every day the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples and they would play hide-and-go-seek. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree… very much…And the tree was happy.
But time went by, and the boy grew older. And the tree was often alone. Then, one day, the boy came to the tree and the tree said: “Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy!” “I am too big to climb and play” said the boy. “I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money. Can you give me some money?” –”I’m sorry”, said the tree, “but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in city. Then you will have money and you’ll be happy.” And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away.
And the tree was happy…
But the boy stayed away for a long time… and the tree was sad. And then one day the boy came back, and the tree shook with joy, and she said: –“Come, Boy come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy.” –“I am too busy to climb trees,” said the boy. “I want a house to keep me warm”, he said. “I and want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house?” –“I have no house”, said the tree. “The forest is my house”, said the tree. “But you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy”. And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build his house. And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time…And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak.–“Come, Boy” she whispered, “Come and play”.–“I am too old and sad to play”, said the boy. “I want a boat that will take me away from here. Can you give me a boat?” –“Cut down my trunk and make a boat”, said the tree. “Then you can sail away… and be happy”. And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy…But not really.
And after a long time the boy came back again. –“I am sorry, Boy”, said the tree, “but I have nothing left to give you – My apples are gone”. –”My teeth are too weak for apples”, said the boy. –”My branches are gone”, said the tree. “You cannot swing on them”. –”I am too old to swing on branches”, said the boy. –”My trunk is gone”, said the tree. “You cannot climb”. –”I am too tired to climb”, said the boy. –”I am sorry” sighed the tree. “I wish that I could give you something… but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry…”
–”I don’t need very much now”, said the boy. “Just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired”.
–”Well”, said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, “well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down… sit down and rest”. And the boy did. And the tree was happy…

Notice that the boy asked of the tree and asked of the tree.   The tree gave to the boy and gave to the boy and gave to the boy.  Besides the continual self sacrificial giving on behalf of the tree, do you know what stands out to me in this story?  I don’t remember the boy ever once saying, “Thank you.”  The tree gave everything it could possibly give to the boy, ultimately sacrificing herself so that he could be happy.  That boy should have fell upon that stump and sobbed and wept and thanked that tree continually for everything that tree gave.  But he never did.

This story is essentially the gospel.  God, is much like that giving tree.  He has given to us and given to us and given to us.  Ultimately he sacrificed Himself for us.  And like that tree, God deserves much thanksgiving from us.  So our prayers should be reciprocal.  Our prayers should no longer be primarily request-making, but thanks-giving, a reciprocal response to that which God has graciously given.

In conclusion, our prayers should be reciprocal.  They should not be one sided.  We should not simply be interested in what we have to say, but what God has clearly said in His word and our part of the conversation should be deeply rooted in response to that.  Furthermore, our focus in prayer should not be only about us only about what God can give us.  In fact, if there is any lopsidedness in our conversations with God, they should be heavy in God’s favor.  Our conversations with God should not be like Madeline’s self-centered conversations, but rather, they should be God-centered.  Our attitude towards God should not be like the cat who is only concerned with the hands of its master, what its master can give to it and only on its terms.  Our attitude towards God should be like that of a dog towards its master, seeking the face of its master, consumed with the person of the master.  Our attitude in prayer should not be characteristic of one holding a genie’s lamp as if our wish was God’s command.  We should recognize our role in this relationship.  God is master, we are servant.  It isn’t that our wish is God’s command, but his wish is our command.  Finally, our attitude towards God in prayer should not be like that of the selfish boy towards the giving tree, the boy who never once thanked the tree for all it gave.  If we recognize all that God has done and continues to do for us, let our prayer lives be the unwritten sequel to the giving tree in which we fall prostrate before the Giver showering Him with thanks-giving for all that He has selflessly given to us.

Let’s start that now.  Adam, come on up and play for us while we spend the next few minutes in God-centered prayer, thanking Him for all that he has done and continues to do for us.

Our sermon audio and video files can be found at www.ncfgeorgetown.com/media.html

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prayer: more relational than ritual

prayer: more relational than ritual

This morning we begin a series on prayer.  This, in my opinion is one of, if not the, most important topics of discussion for us as believers.  Prayer is at the very core of the Christian life, it is the heartbeat of the life of a disciple.

DIFFERENT IDEAS

I’d like to begin by defining prayer.  What is prayer?  If you asked that question in a room full of people you may get a very broad range of answers because so many people have so many different ideas of what exactly prayer is.  One might answer that prayer is what you do when you put a mat on the ground and kneel facing Mecca 5 times a day and recite words before Allah.  One might say it’s what you do before you eat and go to bed.  One might say it’s something you say when touching the beads of a necklace.  One might say it’s directed toward a saint or toward Mary.  One might say it’s directed toward Jehovah.  One might say it’s what you do when you really, really, want something.  Everybody has their own idea of what prayer is.  Whose idea is correct?  What exactly is prayer?  Let’s define it. 

DICTIONARY.COM

Dictionary.com actually does a nice job defining prayer. 

1.       Devout petition to God or an object of worship

2.       Spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.

For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to combine this into one phrase: conversation with God.  Prayer is simply conversation with God.

That definition alone will guide much of our exploration of prayer.  Notice I said exploration.  While I think there are certain ideas and doctrines that we can nail down and pinpoint and define comprehensively, I believe prayer is mysterious.  The concept of prayer is one that raises a lot of philosophical questions that may not have absolute answers.  For example:

·         The Bible says “ask and you shall receive.”  So…do we pray with bold confidence asking with faith?

·         The Bible also displays Jesus praying, “not my will but yours be done.”  Isn’t he our model?  Should we just pray that?  Shouldn’t we just pray that his will to be done?

·         Which is it?  Boldly asking God for what we desire or humbly asking that God’s will be done?

·         When we hear about those who are ill, or suffering, or hurting..... What should we pray? How should we pray? Should we beg for their healing, or pray that if His will is for them to experience that pain that it can glorify Him? And then, if they are experiencing it...Isn't it, ultimately, his will. And if so, how do we explain that to those who are experiencing that pain???

·         If we ask for their healing is that an exercise of great faith?  But what if God doesn’t heal them?  Did we not have enough faith?

·         But if we just ask for His will to be done instead, is that a display of a lack of faith, that we think less of God, like maybe he can’t do this?

·         Isn’t God sovereign who determines the end from the beginning?  Has he not foreordained all things?

·         Why pray, if his will is already determined if His mind is already made up?

·         Can we change God’s mind?  If so, does that mean that God is a fickle God who can be persuaded by humans?  If so, what kind of God is that and if not, does that mean that we shouldn’t bother asking because he won’t change his mind anyway?

These are some deep questions.  But those who seriously ponder the practice of prayer will probably ask those very questions or similar questions.  We don’t know the answer to all of these kinds of questions but we will do our best to explore them, seeking Biblical answers.  Some answers may not be found in the Bible so some answers may come from practical wisdom, logic or reason.  Some of these questions may not have answers on this side of heaven.

From the beginning, let’s admit together the nature of prayer: it’s mysterious.  There is much to it that we may not be able to fully know. And not knowing and not having answers won’t stop us from asking the questions and pursuing answers.  But we won’t let what we don’t know rob us of what we do know.  What we do know is that prayer is conversation with God.  All of our pondering and pursuit of truth will be filtered through that understanding. 

This series will be one in which we explore the mystery of prayer together and arrive at some suggestions for making the most of our conversations with God.

This morning, we will draw out suggestion #1 prayer should be more relational than ritual.

Ritual: an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite. 

By definition, a ritual is something that is established.  Established means it already exists.  For example the city of Georgetown Texas was established in 1848.  Georgetown exists already, it’s established.  It has been established since 1848.  This city did not originate with us.  We are part of a city that was established by others already. 

So a ritual is an established procedure for a religious rite.  That means that it already exists, it didn’t originate with us.  So in the context of prayer, a ritualistic prayer would be a prayer that already exists, one that didn’t originate with us.

Ritual, again, is an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite.  So in the context of prayer that would mean a prayer that has been pre-scribed (that means already written).

A prayer that is ritual would be an already existing pre-written prayer, one that didn’t originate with us.

In the Christian world, there are prescribed prayers.  Most of us are aware of some of them. 

·         God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

·         Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  If I should die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take.

·         God is great, God is good.  Let us thank Him for our food.  By his hands we all are fed, give us Lord our daily bread.

Those of you familiar with the following prayer, join me (this is crowd participation).

Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Was that a prayer?  Sure, we spoke to God.  But, how relational was it?  I would say that such a prayer falls primarily into the category of ritual.  It existed already, it was prescribed; it was already written.  We were simply reciting it.  Is there anything wrong with praying that prayer?  Absolutely not.  Why, then am I encouraging that prayer be more relational than ritual?  Ritual is something that you can do without necessarily thinking about it.  You all were probably able to recite that prayer without even thinking about it.

But I want you to think about it.  What exactly did you say and why?  How often do you use the words “thy, thine, hallowed, and trespass?” and what do those words even mean?  What does hallowed mean?  And besides knowing what the words themselves mean, did you mean them?  And if prayer is conversation with God why would we say things to God if we don’t know what they mean?  And if prayer is conversation with God, shouldn’t we say what we mean and mean what we say? 

I’m not asking these questions to make you feel bad or to condemn you.  I’m asking these questions to help you realize that those are good questions to ask; you have probably asked them yourself and may have felt bad for asking or even thinking them.  But you shouldn’t feel bad for asking them; they are appropriate questions. 

Prayer is conversation with God.  How often do we use words in conversation when we don’t know what they mean?  When we do, does that make for a healthy conversation?  Don’t we usually use words in conversation that we know?  Shouldn’t prayer, then, consist of words we know and mean?

And more importantly words from the heart?  Words that are established or prescribed for prayer (already written) don’t originate in our hearts.  We may recite them and even mean them to a degree, but, if they didn’t originate with us, chances are that they may not be as heartfelt or as genuine.

ILLUSTRATION

Imagine if you were a young, attractive individual (not hard for most of you beautiful people).  Now imagine that someone of the opposite sex wanted to be in a relationship with you.  They think you’re amazing.  So they visited a relationship expert, let’s call him Hitch.  Hitch teaches him not to do the water sprinkler but to stay in this zone right here.  He gave them note cards with prescribed words with which to woo you in conversation.  So this person asks you on a date and you go to dinner.  At dinner, you notice that he keeps looking down into his lap and that the words he is saying sound prescribed, they don’t sound original, they don’t sound like his words.  They’re good words, but not the kinds of words or phrases he would say.  He doesn’t sound natural, genuine, authentic.  Eventually you realize that he or she is reading words off of note cards.  How would you feel? 

Would you rather them speak the prescribed words on the cards or speak their own words from their heart?  Those words would pass for a conversation and they may mean them, but I would venture to say that you would rather them speak their own words that originated in their mind, in their heart, using their own vernacular, speaking with words that he would normally use? The same is true with prayer.  Prayer is conversation with God.  We can pray words that have been established and prescribed by others, but how much more meaningful would our own words be before God?

When prayer is reduced to ritual, we can simply be reciting words without thinking about it or even meaning it.  It loses some of its relational qualities.

Prayer should be more relational than ritual.  I’ve explained what is meant by ritual, but what is meant by relational?

Since prayer is conversation with God, it implies a relationship, it has a relational dimension.  I’ve heard a lot of people say that Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship.  I understand people’s intention in making that statement; they want to stress the relational aspect of walking with Christ.  However to say that Christianity is NOT a religion, BUT a relationship is to create a false dichotomy as if the two were mutually exclusive.  In other words, they imply that Christianity can only be EITHER a religion OR a relationship.  But I say it’s both.  Christianity is BOTH religion AND relationship. 

The definition of religion is a set of beliefs.  Is not Christianity a set of beliefs?  Do we not believe the Bible to be the truth?  Do we not believe that there is one true God whose name is Jehovah, the creator of all things?  Do we not believe that He sent His son Jesus who died on the cross to make atonement for sins?  Do we not believe that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and that nobody comes to the Father except through Him?  These are just a few of the things we believe.  We have beliefs.  Christianity is a set of beliefs.  It is a religion.  But, it’s more than a religion.  It’s more than a set of beliefs.  Part of our set of beliefs is that because of Jesus’ atoning work we have been reconciled to God and we have a relationship with Him.

There is a relational aspect of our religion.  Relationships are nurtured through conversation.  Our relationship with God is nurtured through conversation with Him: prayer.

So while we can pray things that have been established or prescribed, our relationship with God will be best nurtured through heartfelt conversations with Him.  So I suggest that prayer should be relational, not simply ritual.  Prayer shouldn’t simply be something we mindlessly recite before meals, worship service and bedtime.  Prayer should be relational conversation with the living God.

Once again, let me reiterate the tone of this message.  This is not a listing of the rules of prayer.  This is not me telling you how you have to pray.  This is simply a set of SUGGESTIONS for making the most of your conversations with God.  Our suggestion this morning is to make prayer more relational than ritual.  Part of that suggestion is that the language we use in prayer should be natural.  What I mean by that is if you don’t use words like thee, thou and thine in everyday conversation, it may be a good idea to not use them in conversation with God. 

Will there be certain words we use only with God?  Absolutely.  There are certain words I only say with Breann.  But what I’m getting at here is the overall flow of conversation.  There shouldn’t be a complete transformation of your vocabulary the moment you begin to pray.  For example, the word propitiation is a part of my vocabulary.  I don’t use it regularly in conversation, but I would.  Propitiation is a word that I might use in prayer that I don’t use in ordinary conversation, but it isn’t a word that is otherwise foreign to me.  I don’t say, that’s a big word, it’ll sound good in my prayer.

Prayer shouldn’t be language to impress other people and it certainly shouldn’t be language to try to impress Him.  I mean really.  What can you say to impress Jehovah?

In short, keep it real.  Be authentic.  Don’t use big flowery words that you don’t normally use, just because you’re in prayer mode.

Prayer is simply conversation with God, right?  But you wouldn’t think so.  We do interesting things when we have conversations with God.  Consider the prayers of the just.  Sometimes when we pray, we use the word JUST in every sentence.  Do we do that in other conversations?  Imagine me having the following conversation with Breann.  Bre, I just want us to just have a great evening tonight and my sweet love, lover, I just want us to just eat dinner close to 5 and Bre, I just want us to just spend some time in the Word and Breann, my wife, I just want us to just get the kids to bed early so we can just have some quiet time together so we can just grow in our friendship and just be more connected.  Sometimes we just tend to say just just about every other just word and I don’t know why we do that, but it’s kind of weird when I think about it.  I’m not saying it’s wrong or that it’s bad, I’m just pointing it out because when I think about it, it really does seem to fall into the same category as thee, thine and thou. 

Don’t get me wrong.  If you want to pray in King James mode or if you want to pray the prayers of the just or if you want to do both, by all means, do them both, but my encouragement to you is this: make it genuine.  Make it real, make it heartfelt, make it relational, not ritual.

Finally, I also suggest a healthy recognition of who it is you speak to: the king of kings worthy of all admiration awe and respect and honor and praise…and at the same time, abba, father.  There should be a comfort level of speaking with the one closest to you – can’t get any closer to someone than IN them.  But there should also be an awareness of the fact that it is GOD you are speaking to and not your kid brother. 

So to sum it up, prayer is simply conversation with God.  Our prayers, our conversations with God should be more relational than ritual.  While praying prayers that are already established, already written by others, is okay, it’s not wrong, I believe that genuine prayers that originate within our own hearts will be the way to make the most of our conversations with God.  We wouldn’t want our spouse or friends to read words off of note cards in conversation with us, words not their own.  Let’s give God the same respect and speak to him, relationally, from the heart with words we know and mean www.ncfgeorgetown.com  Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas preterist church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page House 10:00 am Loving God. Loving Others. Realized eschatology fulfilled eschatology  Preterist church Austin Texas.  Bible church Austin Texas Second coming of Jesus Christ

In our prayers let’s say what we mean and mean what we say, all the while recognizing who it is that we speak to: not only the one closest to us, ABBA, Father, but also the Almighty creator of all things, the ruler of heaven and earth, the king of kings, the Lord of Lords, Jehovah, himself.

Our sermon audio and video files can be found at www.ncfgeorgetown.com/media.html

www.ncfgeorgetown.com