Making the Most of Your Prayer Life: Devotion, Alertness, and Thanksgiving

Welcome to [music] the In Touch podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, October 5th.

If [music] your prayer life feels stale or incomplete, today's message offers encouragement for renewing [music] your

fellowship with God. Here's a practical lesson on making the most of your prayer life.

>> What is the most important event in any given day in your life? That is, what is it that seems to be

first and foremost and uppermost in your thinking and the one thing that you're concentrating on above everything else

on that given day? What's the priority of that day? Well, if you and I had asked Jesus that,

we might be surprised what he would have said. You might think, well, uh if I should

ask Jesus that, he would probably said either um he's teaching that day or he's preaching

or he's going to be healing or he's going to be feeding, but one of those things certainly would be his priority.

I believe if you and I had asked the Lord Jesus Christ, what is the priority in his given day on any given day,

here's what he would say. It's the time I spend with my father. You'll recall the scripture says that he

was up early in the morning out alone with the father praying. Then in the evening, he was alone with the father

praying. He said, "I only do those things that please the father. I only do those things I see the father doing.

I I take no initiative of my own." Jesus Christ was in continuous fellowship with his father, but that wasn't just because

he was God, but simply because he took time to be alone with his heavenly father.

Well, I want you to turn, if you will, to Colossians chapter 4. And here Paul gives us an admonition, and I believe in

this passage he really deals with about every facet we need to deal with when it comes to praying. We'll deal with one

primary part of it. In Colossians chapter 4, verse 2, he says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping

alert in it with an attitude of Thanksgiving. Praying at the same time for us as well,

that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I also have

been imprisoned, in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Now, Paul in essence says,

"Here's the attitude we should have in prayer." And secondly, he says, "This is what our prayer should cover." And

you'll notice he says, "Uh that a door might be opened for greater ministry, and that God would speak to him, and

show him how to speak the truth so that everyone could understand." Now, what I want to deal with primarily here in this

passage is what he says when he says, "Devote yourselves to prayer." So, let's talk about our personal prayer life for

a moment. And when he says, "Devote yourself to prayer," he's talking about persevering in it. That is, we're not

talking about just quick prayers on the run, but recognizing the importance of it,

and making it the priority of our life. Devote yourself to prayer. It is the word that speaks of strength, of

stability, of endurance. In fact, the real issue here is the issue of time. Devoting yourself to prayer means giving

time to talk to the Father, and to listen to him. And so, when he says to these Colossian

Christians, "Devote yourself to prayer," uh he's talking about making a decision to set aside time where you and God

fellowship with one another. Now, it's interesting, for example, Jesus didn't when he was talking about prayer, did

not say, "Now, look, get a whole bunch of folks together and have big prayer meetings. Have great prayer meetings."

There's nothing wrong with that, but when Jesus talked about praying, what did he say for us to do when we prayed?

What? Go into your closet, and talk to the Father, and what you tell him in secret,

he will answer publicly. Jesus was strong on personal private devotion, prayer. And so should you and I be, but

of course he was also for a public prayer because in the first chapter of of Acts it says that they were devoting

themselves to prayer in the upper room. In chapter two, they were devoting themselves to prayer. In chapter six, he

says they were devoting themselves to the teaching of the word and to prayer. So to devote myself to prayer means that

I make it a priority, I give it the necessary time to make it what it ought to be. Now,

what I'd like to do in this time is to talk about that in our own personal prayer life and in your prayer life and

all of us have things that we pray for. Sometimes most of us would have to admit at times our

prayer is very very confined. Our three favorite people we pray for are me, myself, and I. And sometimes we don't

get outside that circle. And Paul is speaking here not only of that circle of personal need, but he's also talking

about that greater need of the whole world. When he talks about a door of opportunity being open and also that he

may be able to share that truth. And so he says we are to devote ourselves to prayer. Not some quick little prayer,

but some real genuine time in prayer. So let's think about something for a moment. We talking about your own

personal prayer life. Keeping alert in it, he says, with an attitude of Thanksgiving. Now,

let me ask you a question. When you start praying sometimes, what happens to you? What happens to you once in a while

when you begin to pray? For example, what's one thing? Your mind drifts, right? All right. So,

what in the world makes your mind drift? Because it certainly isn't God. God isn't going to say, "Well, think about

something else while you're talking to me." He's not going to say that. So, if your mind drifts, and isn't it strange

what it drifts on? What you're going to have for lunch, what you had for breakfast, what you're going to do

tomorrow. And isn't it strange also that you drift on things you think, "Goodness God, what am I doing thinking about

that?" And isn't it amazing that here you are talking to the creator of the universe,

the omnipotent, all-loving God who genuinely loves you, and who's listening to your petition because he wants to

answer your prayer, and in the process of telling him what you're concerned about, you just drift off into something

else. Well, what's the second thing that happens?

You get sleepy, right? And here we are, we're talking to our heavenly Father, and in the midst of it we wake up.

And we feel guilty. Well, I used to feel guilty about that until I learned one of the greatest secrets of sermon

preparation I learned by accident. Uh back in the study I have a prayer room. So, what I would do is oftentimes

I would just study and study and study, and I would go in there and pray about what I just thought I'd been cramming in

my mind and heart that I was uh working on the message. Well, what I realized is I'd go fast

asleep, and I'd think, "God, don't I love you enough to stay awake? Here I am asking you to lay a message on my heart,

and here I am going to sleep in the prayer room." And so, I would really berate myself about that until I learned

the most fascinating thing. >> [laughter] >> Listen.

I would just cram myself full my mind and go in there and start praying, go fast asleep.

But what I realized was that when I woke up and I got back to my desk, I couldn't

write fast enough. My mind was so sharp because I'd fill my mind with the word of God, go in there and talk myself to

sleep talking to him, and so what happened is my mind got absolutely neutral, then God could rearrange things

in my thinking. So, when I woke up, I mean, I found out that one of the greatest assets to sermon preparation is

going to sleep. And going to sleep. Right. Now, I don't mean midnight, I'm

not talking about that. I'm talking about in the midst of studying and going fast asleep. It's

amazing what happens. Now, if you've watched television for 3 hours and then you go to sleep, that's

your fault. Don't blame that on the devil. But, the devil is behind, I'm sure,

drowsiness in our praying. That's why you shouldn't wait till you're about 2/3 sleep, and you're yawning, and you get

down by the bed, or you lie down in the bed and start praying, and you wake up and next thing you know, it's morning.

So, drowsiness and sleeping can be of the devil. What is the third thing that Satan will do

uh when you're praying? Distractions. All right, that is the telephone rings. Now, I want you to

think about something now. Here you are talking to God,

Almighty God, who is the sovereign of this universe, who has all power to do everything you

ask him to do, who is genuinely, personally interested in you enough to listen to what you have

to say, and the telephone rings. And you get up

from talking to God to go talk to somebody you don't even know.

Or, it may be some friend. Or, it may just be something they want to talk about.

Why in the world would you get up from praying and go answer the phone? And here's what you'd say, "It may be

important." >> [laughter] >> Important compared to what?

If you and I talking to God, there isn't anything so important. Now, once in a while,

I'll be praying, and the telephone rings, and it's just like God says, "Answer that."

Not very often, but answer that. And sure enough, it'll be something that I needed at that

very moment. And sometimes, oftentimes, something that I need to pray about. But, usually, when the telephone rings,

it isn't something you couldn't wait about. So, I want you to think about this. Because you see, it's amazing how

many messages we send that we don't even realize. If I'm willing to get up off my knees

and go answer a telephone when I don't have any idea what's going on at the other end of it. And it may be somebody

trying to sell me something. And I leave God in order to go answer a telephone,

there's something wrong within my thinking. And what it says is

I'm more interested in what's going on around me than I am the God who controls what's going on

around me. So, when Paul said here in this passage, he said, "Be watchful. Be on the alert,

keeping alert." Why? Because he knew what you and I have to deal with in prayer. Now, go to Ephesians chapter 6.

Let me show you something. Ephesians chapter 6. And all of us know what this passage

says about putting on the full armor of God. For example, you recall he says in verse

10, "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, and put on the full armor of God." And we know what

that armor is. He says the helmet of salvation to protect our thinking, the breastplate

of righteousness to protect our emotions, the our loins girded about with the girdle of truth, that we walk

in the truth, believe the truth, know the truth, stand in the truth, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of

peace as we share the gospel. He says, uh the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, and above all taking the

shield of faith. Now, so we know that we say, "Well, that's to protect us as we go about our life." But I want you to

look at this in the 18th verse, what he says at the end of giving us all of this armor, notice what he says.

With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the spirit. And with this in view, what in

view? Being on the alert with all perseverance, the same word he uses in Colossians 4, devotion, same Greek word.

With all be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints and to pray on my behalf. So, do

you know why he put that at the end? Here's the reason he did. Because when is Satan going to attack

you the most viciously? But when you are doing the one thing he hates and despises and fears above

everything else, listen, Satan doesn't fear anything like a man or a woman devoted to prayer. You become Satan's

prime target and you are one of his choice enemies when you begin to devote yourself to prayer. Why? Because Satan

knows that you have a relationship to God the Father that makes it possible for you to touch anybody anywhere on the

face of this earth and that God can use you to impact people and nations and situations and circumstances and

families and the one thing he's going to do is get you sleepy, distracted, or somehow get your mind a wandering or

even think evil thoughts right in the middle of a prayer. Now, so you'll be honest, put your mind up

first. How many of you ever come up with some evil thought right in the middle of talking to God?

What's your first response? Where did that come from? Well, we know where it came from.

You see, that didn't come out of your heart. Here you are talking to God and here's some evil thought penetrates you,

but that had to come straight from the devil. And what Paul is saying here is, listen,

when you get ready to pray, you get dressed up. The helmet of salvation to protect your

thinking, the breastplate for your emotions, the girdle of truth, the sword of the spirit which is both defensive

and offensive and above all he says the shield of faith. That word for shield is a Greek word used for door. We're not

talking about one of those little round shields, we're talking about one of those big shields that's the form of a

door that oftentimes they would set up, get down behind it and be totally completely protected by. And what he's

saying is, get dressed up for the battle of faith when you and I come to pray. In our personal prayer life, we are going

to be attacked with all kinds of things from the telephone to a wandering mind, sleepiness, evil thoughts, you name it.

Why? Because Satan hates praying people. He hates them. Because they're his greatest enemy.

You see, he doesn't hate preaching nearly as bad as he hates praying. And so therefore, when you and I think

in terms of devoting ourselves to prayer, because of the awesome potential of a single person devoted to prayer,

expect to be attacked. Because he's going to attack you one way or the other.

So, as you think about what he says here, he says, "Be on the alert." He says, "Be on the alert when you begin

to pray, persevere, devote yourself, set aside time, devote yourself to it." And he says, "Be on the alert." Now,

then he says, "With Thanksgiving." If you'll notice in the third chapter, he says here three times in three verses

right together, verse 15, 16, and 17, he speaks. He says in verse 15, "And be thankful." We're back in Colossians 3

now. Verse 16, he says, "Thankfulness in your hearts to God." Verse 17, "Giving thanks through him to God the Father."

Why all this emphasis on Thanksgiving? And why this emphasis in Thanksgiving in prayer? Now, watch this.

No matter what you and I ask in God for, and this doesn't always come quickly, nor does it come easy.

But, he says, "Be on the alert with Thanksgiving." Now, watch this.

If I can bring my petition to God, and in bringing my petition, I can genuinely thank him for answering my

prayer, what I have done is I have expressed faith right up front. God, I want to thank you for hearing and

answering my petition. And so, Thanksgiving is a beautiful mix of petition

with Thanksgiving, which ultimately results in our faith. That is that is an expression of faith when I'm able to

thank him for that. Now, if you're going to have a prayer life that really makes a difference, that's

going to have any impact, have an impact on your life, the lives of other people, there are four things I believe are

essential. Number one, and that is to set a definite time. If you don't, you won't devote yourself to prayer. It

doesn't happen. The reason I know that is because since Satan hates that above every other activity you and I engage

ourselves in, he's going to do everything in his power to keep you what?

Busy. To keep you busy so you can say, "I don't have time to pray." Now, think about this. This God of ours who's given

us 24 hours in every day could take us out just in a split second if he chose. For me to tell God I don't have time to

talk to him, none of us would think that's a reasonable.

We don't have time to talk to God who is the source of every second, every heartbeat.

And if Jesus spent his mornings and his evenings in prayer, and all of us have enough problems and

heartaches and burdens and trials and tribulations in life, and friends who have them, and a whole world out there

is hurting, all of us have enough to need to go to him often and talk to him. Set aside a time. If you don't, it won't

happen. Number one, a time. Secondly, a place. A place where you and God get together.

Where you battle it out with those things that you and he just need to deal with privately in your life. There's

something about a place. Here's what it is. Once you have a place, somehow,

when you get to that place, you are more ready to pray than if you're just praying hither and yonder and yonder in

this place, that place, and the other, because that's what you do there. My mom made me a number of Afghans when when

she was alive, and one of them she the first one she gave me, and I brought it and put it in this

prayer room back in It's been there ever since I've been the associate pastor of this church. And I have one at home, and

I walk in my study, it's the first thing I see. You say, "Was that a security blanket?"

Brother, you better believe it is because it keeps me reminded of where my security is. It can only be found in

this world in one place, and that's Jesus. The third thing is a purpose.

If you don't have a purpose, you won't pray. You'll just pray here and yonder and things arise and this that and the

other, you'll pray a little bit here and there, but you won't pray much. What's the purpose? Now, here's the purpose.

The purpose ultimately is not to get something from God. And I don't know when I discovered this in my own life,

but I can remember thinking this and thinking, "Dear God, am I How could I miss this?"

Most people's primary purpose for praying is getting something. You know what God sees that primary

purpose for praying? Developing an intimate, warm, personal intimacy with him.

You see, give it Listen to this. Giving you and me things is no big deal with God.

But this is a big deal. Bringing us from the distractions of the world into a warm, intimate, personal

relationship with him so that we want to talk to him. You see, what happens is it's in those

times you and I get to know him. And you don't get to know God very well just asking him for this and give me

that and help that one bless this one bless this and provide this and provide the other. There's something about

spending time alone with him. And the purpose needs to be to get to know him. How does he operate?

Who is this God I love? Who is this God I serve? What is he really like? Lord, just show me. Here's what happens.

When you and I turn our hearts toward him, he begins to unveil himself to us. We begin to see and understand the ways

of God that we never understood before. And I'm here to tell you listen to 10,000 sermons,

and you will never get what you get on your face or on your knees or in your chair [music] sitting

before the Lord just listening to him because that's just you and him. That's just you and God talking. [music]

>> Thank you for listening to making the most of your prayer life. For more inspirational messages like this one,

visit our online 24/7 [music] station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries,

stop by intouch.org. [music] This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.

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