Empowered Dreams
I Sam 1:7-11 Matt 14:23 March 23, 2003
This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. [8] Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"
[9] Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD'S temple. [10] In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. [11] And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
Matthew 14:22-23
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. [23] After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
CCI: When God’s Dreams are our dreams, our prayers become powerful tools.
Intro: I like Superbowl Commercials. This year, FedEx spoofed the movie Castaway. Do you remember it? The FedEx employee, fresh from his rescue, delivers a package that he has held onto for years on a desert Island. When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, "Thank you."
But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, "If I may ask, what was in that package after all?"
She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, "Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds."
AAAAAghhhh! Imagine having everything you need at your disposal, yet not using it at all. Many times, as Christians, we do exactly that. We feel lost even though the invitation of scripture is “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty things you do not know.” We feel impoverished even though Jesus invites to “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Prayer is the Christian’s link to the person and power of God almighty, and all too often we don’t use it.
Earlier we read a portion of a story of a woman and her prayer. (Tell Hannah’s story to the point of her desperation.)
I. Dare to Pray Desperate Prayers
have you ever been desperate like Hannah? When woes fill our hearts. When dreams of certain success collapse into nightmares of questions.
I have known those times:
Job Woes: When I desperately needed a job
Labor Woes: When we learned Sheryl needed an emergency C-Section
Money Woes: When the tuition bills come due for Steve and Janet
Family Woes: When my aunt was killed in an accident leaving 8 and 11 year old sons.
And my list could go on. In those times, there were prayers offered that left me feeling like Hannah. Shaken to the end of my rope. There were tears, and words and there were times that there were tears without words. And that is the time we are invited to turn to the Lord in prayer, not as a magic fixit, but as channel of mercy and as a source of strength. Prayer does not do magic. Nicky Gumble, the creator of the Alpha Bible Study program says, “However much he may want to, I do not believe God will answer the prayer of the student who turned in his test and prayed, ‘O God, please let Paris be the capital of England!’” Prayer is not a magic formula. Nor is prayer a way to force God’s hand. I have heard preachers claim that if you claim the promises of God, God has no choice but to fulfill your prayer wish. Mark Ashton tells of a small boy who was writing a letter to God about the Christmas presents he badly wanted. "I've been good for six months now," he wrote. But after a moment's reflection he crossed out "six months" and wrote "three." After a pause, that was crossed out, and he put "two weeks." There was another pause, and that was crossed out too. He got up from the table and went over to the little nativity scene that had the figures of Mary and Joseph. He picked up the figure of Mary and went back to his writing and started again: "Dear God, if ever you want to see your mother again…"
No, prayer does not force the hand of God, but it is our channel to God.
In just a few moments, I want to invite you to bring your own prayers of desperation before the Lord. Let's pray in response to God's Word:
We are going to take some time in small group prayers, in groups of 3–4. If this is uncomfortable for you, feel free to pass, or to come forward for prayer. Bring to the Lord your prayers of desperation. You may also want to pray for some church needs— join me and pray for God to bring newcomers and seekers to our church services. I think we might also consider praying for wisdom for our national leadership in this time of war. You may want to pray for Rick and Anita Hill as they spend this time in their home preparing to return to Latvia. You may pray for the Gutierez family as they begin their work in South Africa among victims of HIV.
Spend several minutes in group prayer
II. Dare to Claim God is at Work
Often, prayer is more a process than an event. Have you ever experienced that? That is the way it was for Hannah. (Continue Hannah’s Story)
That is the way God works in our lives as well. I know that it was through the job search 15 years ago that He taught me to trust him for daily provisions, during that time people presented Sheryl and me with money for expenses, I discovered how many people had been touched by the ministry I had been a part of there, and I saw God open doors that I would have never considered.
When Sheryl had to deliver Stephen by Ceasarean, that event set in motion a safe delivery for his sister almost 3 years later.
The process of prayer, brought about change in our lives. It was when we prayed that we were successful in our own God-hunts. Throughout this Adventure, you are to be on the lookout for God at work. It is a God-hunt. When you bring your desperation to God, God reveals himself.
But it takes courage and faith to see God’s hand at work. What are some of the God sightings you have experienced? In the last few I have seen God at work in many areas. When I was sick two weeks ago, God raised up people who would fill the pulpit for me. As I have adjusted to new situations in my life, I have seen God change my spirit in dramatic ways. When a need arose in a friend’s life, God opened the door to meet the need and set another free. Identifying God’s hand at work, is an act of faith and an act of courage. When we dare to claim that God is at work, we are rejecting the idea of coincidence or chance and by faith praising God for his active work.
During this 50-Day Adventure, we're on a "God Hunt" to try to observe where God is at work. Let's take time now to publicly thank God for "showing up," how we've seen God working, tell us about your God Hunt Sightings: a) an obvious answer to prayer; b) unexpected evidence of God's care; c) unusual linkage or timing; d) help to do God's work in the world.
(Give 3-5 people the chance to share God Sightings)
Great things happen when we bring our desperation to God, he works
III. Dare to Dream Prayer
The story of Hannah and her son does not end with the birth of Samuel. Samuel was used by God to bring the nation back to faith, to anoint the first king of Israel and to anoint David as King as well. The prayer of faith offered by Hannah was used by God to set in motion the throne and line of David which led to Jesus.
When God answers prayers, let us acknowledge His work and not try to explain it or try to stack it up to "positive circumstances." It's God at work, and that is all we need to know. Hannah named her son Samuel, to indicate that He was a gift from God. Every time Samuel told someone his name, he was afforded the opportunity to give glory to God for His miraculous birth.
Now it is time for us to follow Hannah’s example and pray God’s dreams. In our Adventure journals there is a prayer that we are encouraged to offer each day, it is called the Dare to Dream Prayer. This is a prayer that can not be offered on the run. Earlier we read about Jesus’ prayer life. This happened just after feeding the 5,000. Jesus sent his disciples away and went up on a hill to pray by himself. Busyness sometimes keeps us from praying like that, but without it, we are powerless. We are going to takes a few minutes right now and together spend time in meditation over God’s dreams for each of us.
Guided Prayer:
“Lord and Master, as your servant I sincerely want to please you. I don’t need to know your plans for my entire life, so help me focus on today. To the best of my ability to discern, this is what I sense are your expectations: (Please close your eyes and take a few minutes to reflect and listen to anything the Lord might want to reveal to you. If anything comes to mind, make note of it now.) Please empower me to serve you in this way. I want your dreams for me to be my dreams as well. Amen.”
