Main Idea: Prayer is the connection that releases God’s prevailing power in my life.

Introduction: When you and I begin to think or talk about prayer we need to understand that we are talking about one if not the most unnatural activity that we do in our life. One reason is because from the moment we arrive on this planet we are taught that "if it’s to be, it’s up to me." We think of ourselves as being totally self-sufficient, self-reliant and needing no one else. So when you think about prayer or praying it is an assault on our own human autonomy. For people with lives as busy and as active as ours the thought of talking out loud to God is just an interruption in our schedule.

Yet while prayer is so alien to our nature, somewhere, somehow, some place probably all of us reach the point where we admit we need God’s help. When we are at that point when we understand our limits and see God’s unlimited power and strength that is when we pray. And when we pray we discover that we are connected to God in a way that we did not know before we prayed. What we discover is that prayer is the connection, the link, that releases God’s prevailing power in my life.

Other than Jesus, no one, I believe, exemplifies this connection with God better than Moses. The passage read earlier comes when Moses is well past 80. Moses, the Bible tells us, was born into a Hebrew slave family, left in the reeds of the Nile waiting to be found by the princess of Egypt. For forty years he was raised in royalty, then he killed an Egyptian because the Egyptian was beating an Israelite. When the murder was discovered he runs for his life and spent the next 40 years in the desert. God calls him to return to Egypt to lead His people to deliverance and so for the next 40 years Moses lives in obedience to God, leading God’s people to the land of promise. It is in this last 40 years that Moses has this conversation with God that we examine today.

In our text Moses is struggling with how to continue leading this less than cooperative group of people. Repeatedly he would enter the tent that was used to meet God. Moses’ conversations with God were so personal and deep that the Bible describes them in this way, "The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11). Numbers 12:8 uses the words, "With him I speak mouth to mouth." You might say "lip to lip." The Hebrew language just describes the relationship as one that is so personal that it is beyond any other relationship that God has with others.

Because of this "face to face" connection Moses tells God that he needs to know God is with him, that there is no tension in their relationship and for God to show His power by keeping His word. God’s response is so beautiful. Notice what he says: "I will personally go with you" (presence). I will give you rest—everything will be fine with you (peace)…I will indeed do what you have asked (power)." (Exodus 33:14-17). Why does God promise this to Moses? Because, "for you have found favor with me and you are my friend" (Ex. 33:17). Can you imagine God saying that about you?

What I want you to understand today is that the same sense of presence, peace and power is just as available today as it was then. In fact we have more openness and closeness with God because of Jesus and the presence of Holy Spirit than Moses knew. The writer of Hebrews says, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us."(Hebrews 10:19-21) How, though, do we make this sense of God’s presence, peace and power ours? We connect with these things—God’s presence, peace and power by praying. Richard Foster says that the key to the place of our deepest relationship with God, the connection to God’s heart, is prayer. He says, "The Father’s heart is open wide –you are welcome to come in." (Prayer, Richard Foster, p. 2)

Most of you are familiar with the experience of Moses seeing the bush that burned continually in the wilderness but didn’t burn up. In Exodus 3:3 it says that when Moses saw that the bush wasn’t burned up he said, "I must go over to see this." Then verses 4 and 5 say, "When the Lord saw that he had caught Moses’ attention, God called to him from the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ ‘Here I am, Moses’ replied. ‘Do not come any closer.’ God told him. ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.’" It took a burning bush to get Moses’ attention to know just how present God was in his life.

One pastor says, "We pray because, by intuition or experience, we understand that the most intimate communion with God comes only through prayer" (Too Busy Not to Pray, p. 10). When we pray we are recognizing that God is present. Yet, just like Moses, that sense of presence is not easily obtained. What does it take for you and me to recognize God’s presence? It’s not unusual to hear someone pray for God to "be with" so and so. But does God have to rush over to someone’s house or hospital room because we remind Him that He’s needed? No. God is always present at all times in all places. He can’t "be" anymore present with you than He already is. What we need is not for God to be more present but to realize more and more how present He is. The best way for us to realize God’s presence is in prayer.

You see God doesn’t or shouldn’t need to do the "burning bush" thing every day in our life. If you are like me, you don’t have too many experiences like that on a daily basis. An experience where He just overwhelms you with His reality. Similar events that make us stop and stare. If you and I wait to see or experience something like that to connect with God in prayer, then we will never stop our busy lives and give our attention to God.

Prayer, simple prayer is the way we can connect with God’s presence. Whenever we stop and give our attention to God in prayer then we are connected immediately, intimately with the presence of God. We understand that He is, He is with me, with others and with this world. When I pray I am recognizing the reality of His presence and all that He is. So, it doesn’t matter where you are, what your circumstances, when you pray you are telling God, "You have my attention." And God says, "I am all around you. This is holy ground. You are connected to me." Prayer connects me with the reality of God’s presence.

In Exodus 6:28-7:7 the writer of Exodus summarizes the events of Moses and his brother Aaron and their dealings with God. God had said, "I am the Lord! Give Pharaoh the message I have given you." Moses argues with God saying, "I can’t do it." Then after listening to God tell them what He will do for them, Exodus 7:6 says, "So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them." What do you see? Well, somewhere between the "I can’t do it" in verse 30 you have "So Moses and Aaron did…." in 7:6. Somewhere Moses resolved the conflict with what God commanded and his resistance. If conflict is not present then what you have is peace.

Peace is the absence of conflict. Years later the Lord told Moses that He would provide peace for the tensions in Moses’ life. He told him, "I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you." (Ex. 33:14) God promises him that when it came to the tensions and conflict Moses would face "everything will be fine." That is peace. It’s not the absence of problems or stress. It’s not the ability to be perfect or superior in every situation. It’s not the skill to be in charge of every moment of life. Peace is hearing God say in the middle of tension and conflict, "Everything will be fine for you."

How do we gain peace within ourselves as well as the circumstances in which we find ourselves? Paul nailed it in Philippians 4:6-7, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Focus on what he says, "Pray about it…Tell God about it…Thank Him…" then "you will experience God’s peace." That peace is more amazing, powerful and wonderful than your mind can grasp. If you and I want to hear God say, "Everything will be fine…" then we must pray. Prayer connects us with the ability to experience God’s peace.

Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago recalls the time when his father died that he needed God’s peace. "Several years ago my father, still a relatively young man and extremely active, died of a heart attack. As I drove to my mother’s house in Michigan, I wondered how I would continue to function without the person who believe in me more than anyone else ever has or ever will. That night in bed, I wrestled with God. ‘Why did this happen? How can I put it all together in my mind and in my life? Am I going to recover from losing my father? If you really love me, how could you do this to me?’

"Suddenly, in the middle of the night, everything changed. It was as if I had turned a corner and was now facing a new direction. God simply said, "I’m able. I’m enough for you. Right now you doubt this, but trust me.’ That experience may sound unreal, but its results were unmistakable. After that tear-filled, despairing night, I was never again tortured by doubt—either about God’s care for me or about my ability to handle life without Dad. Grief, yes—his death wounded me deeply, and I will always miss him. But it did not set me adrift without anchor or compass. In the middle of the bleakest night I have ever known, one overpoweringly intimate moment with God gave me courage, reassurance and hope." He heard God say to him, "Everything will be fine for you," when he prayed. When he prayed he experienced peace.

As I look back on my life I can say to you that when there have been places in my life that there was tension and conflict, either within myself or in the circumstances in which I found myself, I found peace through prayer. I have and still do struggle with worry and wanting to resolve the problem my way but when I need to hear, "Everything will be fine…" it happens when I pray. That doesn’t mean the skies are all blue and things are not painful. It means in the middle of the storms and the pain I have peace. If you want to hear, "Everything will be fine for you," then pray, pray about everything! Prayer connects me with the ability to experience God’s peace.

There are probably not many of you who don’t know the story of the Red Sea experience of Moses and the nation of Israel. You remember that it comes after the plagues and the death of the first born of the Egyptians. Moses and the people get t the Red Sea and the Egyptians are behind them and the sea is in front of them. They tell Moses they are going to die. Moses tells them that God is going to act in their behalf. Yet even though Moses said all this, he didn’t believe it. Exodus 14:15-16 says, "Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Use your shepherd's staff—hold it out over the water, and a path will open up before you through the sea. Then all the people of Israel will walk through on dry ground." Moses does what God says to do and God does what He said he would do and the response of the people was "When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had displayed against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and put their faith in him and his servant Moses" (Exodus14:31).

When they saw God’s power they feared Him and put their faith in Him. Later in another time of doubt in Moses’ life God assured Moses of His power by saying, "I will indeed do what you have asked…" (Exodus 33:17). God tells Moses, "You will see my power! These evidences of God’s power were promised to Moses when he was talking with God. The truth for us is that God’s power flows primarily through people who pray. Prayer connects you and me with God’s prevailing power.

The Bible is filed with examples of God’s prevailing power being released when people prayed. God’s power can change situations, circumstances and relationships. God’s power is what I want to see in my life. I don’t need to see what my ability can do; I need to see what God’s power can do. Someone has said that when we work, we work; but when we pray, God works. His supernatural power is available to prevail in our life when we are persuaded in our very souls that He can make a difference. Here’s the point: If you are willing to invite God to involve himself in the events of your life, you will experience His prevailing power whenever and wherever it is most needed.

Understand that this isn’t like making three wishes to a genie in a bottle—that we get a response just like we ask for. No, God’s power can come, as an idea you need that seemingly you could not perceive yourself. It might be the courage to face a fear, endure a test, patience to resolve a conflict or an absolute unquestioned, Grade A, USDA approved miracle! Regardless of how it comes, God’s prevailing power is released in the lives of people who pray.

Conclusion: Let me ask you, are you connected to God’s presence, God’s peace and God’s power? Think for a moment if prayer connects me with God’s presence, God’s peace and God’s prevailing power, the question is, "Am I praying?" If prayer is our connection, then if we don’t pray how can we expect to experience those things? God stands eagerly waiting to let us know He will go with us, everything will be fine and he will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. All of that—presence, peace, and power are ours when we pray. Prayer is the connection to release God’s prevailing power in my life.

You may have the impression that this kind of connection will only come if we have this sort of take charge mentality with God. The reality in the Bible is that those who experienced God’s presence, peace and power in the most dramatic ways came before God in weakness, fear, agony or distress. People like Abraham, Moses, David, Paul and even Jesus, who prayed so intensely before his crucifixion that Luke says, "He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood" (Luke 22:44). We come to God in prayer needing His presence because we feel alone, needing His peace because we feel torn within and needing His power because we are helpless. We come more like frightened children than a commander in charge.

Richard Foster describes it this way: "One day a friend of mine was walking through a shopping mall with his two-year-old son. The child was in a particularly cantankerous mood, fussing and fuming. The frustrated father tried everything to quiet his son, but nothing seemed to help. The child simply would not obey. Then, under some special inspiration, the father scooped up his son and, holding him close to his chest, began singing an impromptu love song. None of the words rhymed. He sang off key. And yet, as best he could, this father began sharing his heart. ‘I love you,’ he sang. ‘I’m so glad you’re my boy. You make me happy. I like the way you laugh.’ On they went from one store to the next. Quietly the father continued singing off key and making up words that did not rhyme. The child relaxed and became still, listening to this strange and wonderful song. Finally, they finished shopping and went to the car. As the father opened the door and prepared to buckle his son into the car seat, the child lifted his head and said simply, ‘Sing it to me again, Daddy! Sing it to me again!’

"Prayer is a little like that. With simplicity of heart we allow ourselves to be gathered up into the arms of the Father and let him sing his love song over us."

I need to hear Him sing His love song over me and I need to hear Him say, "You are my friend." Prayer is my connection to the music of His presence, peace and power. Will you pray?

Sunday, February 4, 2001

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas 72401