INTRO (as service begins) I’d like to open this morning with a bit more of an introduction. Our sermon today is entitled, More than Conquerors. It is taken from Romans 8:26-39 and we are going to be talking about prayer.

A portion of what Jesus is quoted as saying in Matthew 21:13 and Mark 11:17 is taken, in part, from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah (56:7). “For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

None of those are the text for this week. But it is a sentiment behind the thrust of Romans 8:26-39. We are about prayer this week: prayer that transforms, prayer that equips and enables, prayer that overcomes, prayer that conquers. Our worship each week should be centered around prayer.

Some might argue that worship is always centered around prayer. Perhaps this is true. But often we don’t realize how prayer affects and transforms the worship that we do. Here is where we need to remind ourselves that our singing, for example, is a prayer to God. It isn’t really about making ourselves feel good – although it can do that. It isn’t really about bringing the community together by engaging in shared activities – although it certainly does that. Singing is really about prayer, about praying prayers of praise to the One who created us, the One who redeemed us, the One who sustains us. Allow prayer to be the center of our worship today.

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Nothing Shall Separate Us Series: MORE THAN CONQUERORS Romans 8:26-39

I have a confession to make this morning. Now, if you read my blog, and if you’ve heard me preach you probably have heard my confession before, but, for me at least, it is an ongoing struggle…a lifelong struggle. I have a hard time when it comes to prayer.

I have known many people in my life who I would label as “prayer warriors”. My mom’s mom was one of those. Here’s a picture of her with us and Karen’s grandma at our wedding. Anytime that I felt the need for prayer coverage, I would call my grandma. Like a soldier going into the heat of battle, I knew my grandma was an expert marksman in prayer.

We all have God’s ear when it comes to our needs but, where we sometimes falter, my Grandma stood firm. Our enemy the devil may be a strong opposition but my Grandma knew how to put him in his place. She knew how to shut him down and shut him up! She was a prayer warrior of high skill and valor in that she practiced and honed those skills each day of her life!

Grandma has been gone now for over 20 years but I am truly grateful in that her mantle did not drop at her passing on to her eternal reward but it was taken up by my mom. The battle carries on!

Yes, many of us can be grateful for our prayer warriors but many, many times we feel that it is just us against the world. We know we need to pray and sometimes we are diligent and other times – many other times – it takes all we’ve got to simply keep up with the frantic pace of life! …but don’t give up!

Together, let’s read the first few verses of today’s text from Romans 8. We’ll begin with verse 26.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. NRSV

We know that the Holy Spirit is with us…in us, for those of us who have willingly given ourselves over to Jesus’ lordship over our lives. We understand the basic concept that He is there to “help us in our weakness” but when it says the “Spirit intercedes”, do we truly understand what it means? Yes, we understand the words and the base meaning of them but how does it apply to our lives?

We’re not just asking questions to ask questions and we’re not just trying to be “theological”. It may seem like we’re placing too much attention on wordplay in our text, chasing a rabbit that will lead nowhere. But, in fact, it is a core reality of our faith. Plain and simple, part of our struggle is that we don’t know how to pray.

You may think that that is a bold statement. Didn’t I just talk about prayer warriors? Yes, they are great assets but again and again, when congregations are asked what they struggle with most, prayer is at the top of the list.

Don’t get discouraged because we find ourselves in good company. It began with the first followers of Jesus: “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 And they had been up close and personal with Jesus, day in and day out, for months! Most of us just have to admit, the discipline of prayer escapes us!

Of course, we all pray. We can bow our heads and rattle off some words before we eat or in a time of need. We can read along with prayers in worship, following the lines on our bulletin or screen. I know we can do these things with heartfelt thoughtfulness, but honestly, how many times do we just do it because it’s what we do. It’s just a very nice habit.

I would say that though we do those things that when it comes to the satisfaction of a well-grounded and satisfying prayer life, most of us would confess to being less than content.

So, what grace does Paul provide here to tell us that when we struggle for words, the Holy Spirit is there?

It is so important for us to pray. Maybe our before meal prayers aren’t deep but that is one more touchpoint in our day with God. We hear a squad or a firetruck go by and we throw up a prayer for those involved. We feel temptation tapping at our hearts’ door and we call out to Jesus to help us to stand strong. In every circumstance throughout every day, we can speak to God. It makes no difference what the words may be. In the end, the specific words don’t matter all that much. The words don’t lead. The heart leads; the spirit leads; the words follow. That’s Paul’s point.

Then, to add to the joy and the blessing, Paul says that the Spirit leads with love. Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? v35a AMP And what’s the response to that question? Nothing. Nothing in this world, or beyond it, can cause Christ to stop loving us, stop calling us, stop leading us. Nothing.

In all these things, we are more than conquerors. v37 NRSV

What things? The things that work to convince us that we aren’t loved, that we aren’t worthy of love, that we can’t experience and know that love. All those things. Paul asks,

Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword? v35b

Quite a list, don’t you think? And most of it doesn’t seem to apply to the average person in the pew. At least until you think a little more deeply and recognize that the sword might be the sword of the tongue that James talks about. Persecution is rampant in our society, evidenced by the number of young African American men killed week by week, the Jewish cemeteries and synagogues defaced, and the women abused by those who are supposed to love and care for them. Persecution is closer than we realize.

Whether the hardship and distress are personal or societal, that it exists is undeniable. But can we take Paul at his word and claim the victory that he offers in the love of Christ?

What about that often misused and misquoted verse from Romans 8:28 AMP? Do you remember it?

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.

Though it is often preached as such, this is not a prosperity gospel promise – love God, and everything will go well. It isn’t a measuring rod to determine the size of our faith, meaning that if bad things are happening, we must not be faithful enough, we must not be one of the called. In fact, it has nothing to do with the circumstances of our lives at all. It isn’t, in the end, about me. This is a statement about God.

The promise here is that there is nothing in our lives that God can’t take and bring a blessing for ourselves or others. This isn’t a declaration that all things are good. “It’s all good” is a mantra that no one really believes, no one who has lived anyway. Paul isn’t spouting this feel-good statement. But, he is standing firm on the belief that even the bad that happens, even the brokenness within us, even our worst experiences can lead to something amazing if we are guided by the Spirit, that same Spirit that intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

Here is the conquering. Here is the victory. Not in a perfect life. Not even in the overcoming of evil or the vanquishing of sin. The conquering is in allowing the Spirit to lead, to intercede for us in our prayer lives, which is our whole lives.

This is the secret to prayer that everyone struggles with. Prayer is a time, we think, a moment or more in our lives when we stop and close our eyes and bow our heads. Prayer, we think, is the words that we say or the posture that we take. Prayer is the obedience, we think, to giving God a part of our day. The routine that we follow even when we don’t feel like it. That’s prayer.

And of course, it is. All of that is indeed prayer and necessary for a vital prayer life. But a life of prayer is something so much more than just that, more than just those moments when we stop. It is more than just those closet moments or those kneeling moments, or those tears or laughter moments. A life of prayer is just that, a life. It is all of life.

Constant prayer doesn’t mean mumbling prayer words all the time like a computer subroutine running underneath everything else we do. No, it is living in the constant awareness of His presence. It is knowing that the Spirit is interceding in our lives, even when we’ve forgotten to bow our heads and fold our hands. It is inviting that Presence, leaning into that Presence, longing for that Presence, trusting in that Presence, even in those moments when we don’t feel it because that’s when faith kicks in and tells us that even the unseen is real.

The gift I extend to you as well as myself today is the gift of unending prayer – the gift of a life rich with the Presence of God. Each of us has the responsibility to tell this good news. Because even the ones who aren’t asking how to pray better are asking how to pray.

Core by DEREK WEBER  /  WORSHIP PLANNING / PREACHING NOTES

Aug 9th, 2020, Sun, 9:00 am