Week of Prayer - Day One
A few weeks ago, someone asked me why we pray. He wasn’t asking in an accusatory way or anything like that. Just simply, “Hey, why do Christians pray?”
And it’s a great question! If you haven’t grown up praying, I can see how it might feel a little strange. We’re talking to a God we can’t see and trusting that He hears us. Why do we do that?
There’s a simple answer: We pray because God tells us to. He invites us to talk to Him and bring what’s happening in our lives before Him.
We see this throughout the Bible. Moses prays. David prays. The Psalms are full of prayers. Jesus prays and teaches His followers to pray. People thank God for what He’s done, ask for help, confess their sins, and sometimes just tell Him they don’t understand what’s happening.
And Scripture teaches that God hears us. He loves us, He cares about what we’re going through, and He has the power to answer our prayers. We can come before Him and say, “Hey God, I’m struggling, and I need some help.”
But Paul takes that further in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 when he tells the church to “pray unceasingly.” Keep praying. Keep bringing your life before God as you’re living it.
Here’s how I think about it. I’m married to Marissa. There are times when we intentionally sit down to talk about something. We need those times. But we also talk throughout the day because we’re living life together. Something happens with the kids, there’s a decision to make, or one of us just has something we want to tell the other. Talking to one another is part of sharing our lives.
That helps me understand what a lifestyle of prayer looks like. We ask God for help when something is hard. We thank Him when we recognize His goodness. We ask for wisdom when we don’t know what to do. We bring the same concern before Him again because it’s still weighing on us.
Day after day, we keep praying.
And setting aside time to pray helps us learn to live that way. That’s part of why we’re doing this week together.
Yesterday, we talked honestly about our church, our finances, and what it’s going to take for us to keep moving forward. There’s a real need in front of us. We need to pray about it. We need to consider what faithfulness looks like for each of us and how we’re going to carry this responsibility together.
But before we look forward at what comes next or inward at our own response, I want us to look up and look back.
Look up at who God is. Look back at what He’s already done.
Because, man, He’s been so good to us. And I don’t want us to get so caught up in figuring out what comes next that we forget what He’s already done.
Take a few minutes today to read Psalm 145. As you read, pay attention to how David talks about God.
In verses 3–6, David praises God’s greatness. He talks about His mighty acts and wonderful works. One generation tells the next generation what God has done. They remember it. They talk about it. They pass the stories along.
And when I read that, I think about our own story.
We moved here thinking we were coming to help a small church get going again. Then we got here and realized we had a building and a parsonage, but no people. We had to reset what we thought this was going to look like.
Then we started a Bible study almost on a whim, and thirty-something people were showing up if you counted the kids. Which we do. And eventually, Paul Voltmer said, “You’re a church that does everything but Sunday mornings. Why don’t you just do Sunday mornings?”
So we did.
I’ve told you guys that for months I’d say, “I have no idea if anyone is going to come this morning.” And then you came. We worshipped together, opened the Scriptures together, and got to know one another. And over time, this church became a part of our lives.
God has done things here that I didn’t know how to plan for. His greatness is worth remembering when we’re facing something we don’t know how to handle.
In verses 7–9, David celebrates God’s goodness and compassion. Later, in verses 15–16, he describes God providing food for His creation. God cares about everyday needs.
And we’ve experienced that too.
Yesterday, I talked about walking down to Andy and Beth’s house that Saturday afternoon when Marissa went into labor. We needed to go to the hospital, the chairs weren’t set up, and I had no plan for Sunday morning. I just showed up and asked if they could handle it.
And Beth said, “Yeah, we got this. Don’t worry about it.”
Then, over the next few weeks, you guys brought meals, checked on Julian, brought Marissa coffee, and took care of things at church. You gave us room to just be a family.
That’s one of my stories of God’s goodness through this church. And I know a lot of you have stories of your own. Someone prayed for you. Someone checked in. Someone knew you were having a hard time and showed up.
He’s been so good to us.
Verse 8 also describes God as gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. Verse 14 tells us that He upholds those who fall and lifts up those who are bowed down.
I’m grateful for that patience. Because sometimes I’m bringing Him the same worry I brought Him yesterday. Sometimes I’m asking for help with something I thought I’d already worked through. And sometimes, like I said yesterday, faithfulness for me looks like “just keep stepping.”
God has been patient with me in that. And I’m grateful we can keep coming before Him while we’re still learning to trust Him.
Then, in verses 13 and 17, David reminds us of God’s faithfulness. His kingdom lasts through every generation, and He is faithful in what He does.
I think about the people who prayed and worshipped in this town for generations before we got here. I think about the Christians and churches who helped us get started. And I think about what we’re seeing now—people reading the Bible, learning to follow Jesus, teaching our kids, and standing in the water in September to be baptized.
There’s a lot for us to remember. There’s a lot for us to thank Him for.
And verse 18 tells us that the Lord is near to those who call on Him in truth. This is the God who invites us to pray. The God whose greatness, goodness, patience, and faithfulness we’ve already experienced.
So that’s where I want us to begin this week.
Our financial need is real. We’re going to bring it before Him, and we’re going to consider how He’s calling us to respond. But today, let’s take some time to remember.
Before we look forward, look back. Before we look inward, look up.
Read Psalm 145. Think about who God is. Think about where you’ve seen Him work in your life and in this church. Remember the people He’s used, the prayers He’s answered, and the ways He’s helped you keep stepping.
He’s been so good to us.
Today, let’s tell Him thank you.
