well, good Morning Mission Grove. How are you guys doing this morning? Doing good. Well thank you so much for joining us, whether in person or online watching right now. It's so good to be gathered together to worship God. I want to start off this morning with a truth statement that I believe we can all agree with. And it's this different relationships give different levels of access. So different relationships give different levels of access. Many of you know me as pastor, pastor john, some of you know me as a co worker, others know me as friend and there's those in this room, they're called part of their family. But then there are others, they have the unique distinction of calling me dad. My three kiddos are the only ones that have full access to me as, as kiddos life as well. It's a different connection. So we'll leave it at that. But but in the middle of the night, my three kiddos have the ability to come find me at two at two a.m. To have me on the shoulder and say, Hey dad, I'm scared now. I love you all very much. But if you managed to break into my house at 2:00 AM and tapped me on the shoulder and whisper, hey, pastor John, I'm scared I would be a little freaked out. And the same goes the other way too. Right. Like if if I came to your house, you're sleeping, I tapped you on the shoulder saying if you could open your bibles, John Chapter one will begin tonight. Like you'd be freaked out. Why because different relationships give different levels of access. One of my favorite pictures that describes this truth is actually of president john f Kennedy in the oval office leading the world as we know it. And then you actually see a picture of his child right there just playing not a care in the world. I mean here's the guy who made bold declarations like we will land on the moon and his kids are just playing his feet. Well we shared reverse last week from the gospel of john it talks about the access we have to God And it comes from John Chapter one verse 12 and it reads this but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become Children of God to become Children of God. We are not employees of God. We are called his Children. Which means that we have access to him all hours of the night, anywhere, anytime I've shared with you a truth. But with that truth also comes attention and the tension that I feel that maybe you feel that as well as this, That love often runs at a slower pace. Love often runs at a slower peace during this crazy covid season have actually had the privilege of officiating the number of weddings including our own Andrew Sandra worship leader and Andrew and morgen just got married labor day weekend. The hardest part was that. So the rest of marriage is easy guys the first month is the heart and I'm just kidding, they have no idea what's coming right, we can pray for them as we're talking about prayer. So it was super fun up there officiating their wedding and Within their wedding we shared a passage from first Corinthians chapter 13 that talked about love and talked about the different facets of love. But the one phrase in there that I don't love about love is that it says love is patient and the reason I don't like that is because life doesn't feel patient, doesn't, life feels like we're always in a hurry. It wasn't that long ago that internet was dial up and when you heard the sweet, sweet sound, it was the progressing of technology, you're like, wow, I'm connected to the world and now if you see a buffering sign, you're like ah the world's gonna end. It's gonna be one of those days, right? We don't like to wait. We like instant everything, instant everything but love never seems to be in a hurry. And so how is it that living in a hurried world do we find ourselves with the ability to slow down? Well today I want to talk to you about prayer. I know prayer sounds kinda religious and almost mystic but what happens is is that we know we should pray prayer is one of those things that when someone says, do you pray? Oh yeah, yeah, I pray even people who don't believe in God and if you're watching right now and you don't believe in God or you don't call yourself a christian, I want you to know you're invited to watch and to engage and hopefully you can understand what it means to be a christian, but even non christians when something bad happens, what do they say to another person, I'll be praying for you. So we like the idea of prayer but we don't really know how to do it and we don't feel like we're doing it right and it feels like we should be more formal or less formal or even if we are praying, does it even work? And here's the battle is that satan doesn't have to destroy you to defeat you. He only has to distract you. Let me say that again, Satan doesn't have to destroy you to defeat you. He only has to distract you from what God has called you to do and who God has called you to be. And so we fight against this tension of slowing down enough to pray. Well this morning, I want to have a practical conversation and a personal one that hopefully you will find helpful and go to the root the foundation of what it means to pray to God. There are other times we can talk about form and function and structures you can use to pray, but I want to give you one thought one phrase that I promise you. If you watching right now online, if you apply this one idea, it will radically transform your prayer life as it's radically transformed my prayer life. The idea is this when you make yourself available, God makes himself accessible. When you make yourself available, God makes himself accessible. The question is not, is God speaking, But rather the question is, are you, are we listening as Children of God? We have access, but do we recognize the power that we have access to here? We are worried about the election, worried about Covid, worried about our future when we can turn our worries into worship and give what we have to the very one who created and sustains the world, the one who we get to call heavenly father. So what does it look like? How do we make ourselves available? Because when we are available, God makes himself accessible? Well, it starts out in psalm. So I'm 46. The Book of psalms in the Old Testament, one of the largest books in the old testament, were written as a songbook of praise to God and Prayer to God in good times and bad times. What does it look like to go to God with praise And the writer in Psalm 46, we're gonna focus in on verse 10. That's the one that chances are you've heard before, but I want to also share with you versus one and two to give a little bit of context From the beginning of the chapter into the verse, we're gonna focus in today and it's this psalm chapter 46 verse one and God is our refuge and strength. A very present notice that a very present help in trouble, that means that God is here right now. Not a very past help. Not a he'll be there again one day help but a very present help. God spoke the world into existence and repeatedly throughout scripture says I am with you, he said it to Noah, he said it to Abraham, he said it to moses, he said it to Joshua be strong and courageous for I am with you always. And then jesus himself, the christmas story as we know it, jesus who is also named immanuel literally means God with us and before he ascends into heaven and he gives what's known as the great commission to his disciples go and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. What is the power behind that he says for I will be with you with you with you. That's what's important to remember when we pray that God is with you, you are not sending out a text message. Sometimes our prayers look like a simple emoji or letters, How lazy have we gotten as a society that we no longer. We we have the ability to instantly communicate with anybody in the world and we can't even write four words or sentences. Sometimes I think our prayers are like that too. We have emoji prayers breathe, we're not sure what to say or do. And so God question mark, He's a very present help in trouble verse two. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea though there's an election two weeks away. Okay. I added that last part but I think we can be praying for our country right now. But notice that that when the earth gives way that's pretty big when mountains are moved into the heart of the sea, there's a lot of situations and circumstances that can fall into that category. So when a relationship is falling apart, when a job is lost, when someone gets ill in the middle of all of this, We now move to verse 10 be still and know that I am God and I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The lord of hosts is what is with us and the God of Jacob is our fortress. Sometimes when I pray it seems like I'm chasing to catch up to my head, my heart or my hands remember the older cartoons where there'd be like a horse and buggy and and the cartoon character would try to tie the buggy up or would stop hop out and then they'd always be at the very top of a hill and it would just like start rolling down and the character would start running like to chase it. Sometimes I feel like that's our prayer life. So we go to pray to God, but we find ourselves trying to catch up to our head, our heart or hands. Here's what I mean, you're catching up to your head when you can't turn off your thoughts, a business meeting coming up, that event coming up, that election coming up, whatever is the situation or the circumstance that you're worried about, that, you're trying to pray to God about and it just keeps coming in. It keeps coming in and you can't turn your mind off. Have you ever experienced that? That's when you're trying to chase after your head. Sometimes when you pray, you're chasing after your heart and it's not that God wants us to completely turn off our emotions, but we're not to be controlled by our emotions and you know, you're being controlled by your emotions when you enter, enter or say one of two words, first one, but it's like God, I want to be still, I know that you're here but that person said this, she did that or the second word that we pray when we can't handle our emotions, why why would this happen? Why would you let this happen, God And our emotions get so wrapped up and we can't turn them off. And we struggle to pray because of how we feel. Sometimes we find ourselves chasing after our hands, which that's when you start to go to your to do list in the middle of the prayer you ever done that? Dear God, help me to be present right now. Oh, I gotta buy that present for that birthday party later. Well, if I'm going to target, I need to pick up dinner and then I got to get the supplies well. But then we gotta go grab the kids and you start working through this to do list and then you're like, oh like God wasn't paying attention and Lord, I give all these things to you. Amen. That's sometimes what happens when we pray right? But God tells us to be still. The problem is is that we're never truly still, but he doesn't say sit still. He says be still. God can hear you on the move. And I know that because we're on the move right now, Our planet Is currently orbiting the sun at 67,000 mph while simultaneously spinning at 1000 mph. And through all this crazy movement, God says to be still, you know that last word sailor. She was three times in that chapter some 46. It's used 71 times in the book of Psalms and the word Selah simply means to pause. Now different scholars and commentators give a little further attachment to that or amendment to that. And so some say it means a musical pause because it is a song. Some say it is to pause and to pray. Others say it means to pause and to praise and in other translations and other passages that gets translated as forever. It's like when you say a prayer and you end it with the word Amen. The word Amen is a way of saying may it be true or I believe this to be true. And so you are affirming what you just pray. So when you pray and you say the word Amen, what you're saying at the end of it is I believe this when you say sailor, you're saying pause and agree pause and reflect. So even when the earth gives way you are with us and I will pause and remember that that's true. One of the most famous symphonies in the world. Beethoven's Symphony # five, It's most famous for its four. No intro dun dun dun. But did you know that that symphony actually starts With an 8th rest and Beethoven purposefully put in arrest to start the song to act as a sonic buffer. It's a when you have that pause, when you have that moment to take a breath, it's a sonic buffer to prepare your ears to hear something great. But don't just take my word for it. I want you to check out the very beginning of Beethoven's symphony number five and notice the arms go up in that first pause that really sets up the rest of the music. Go ahead and check it out. Mhm Right, mm hmm, mm hmm. When you take that rest, it creates a buffer for you to hear what God has for you. Reading is what gets you into the bible, praying is what gets the bible into you because when you make yourself available, god makes himself accessible. Pastor timothy Keller put it this way, prayer turns theology into experience. It's not just doctrine or words on a page or what people thousands of years ago believe, but what you can experience now in this moment, what example do we have to follow? Actually, jesus christ himself gives us the example in Luke chapter five verse 15 and 16 It says this. Yet the news about him about Jesus spread all the more. So the crowds of people came to hear him to be healed of their sickness. So he's doing this crazy ministry and miracles. And in the middle of this growing ministry here in verse 16 it says, but jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. I don't know if you've ever uttered these phrases, but I have and so I'm assuming maybe you have to God, I'm just too busy. I'm in too much of a hurry to pray, I would pray, but here's and we give our reasons why not, but when jesus, I was doing ministry, jesus had the purpose to save the entire world and I have a pretty busy to do, but saving the entire world is not on that list. And yet over 30 times in the gospels, Jesus found himself drawing a way to connect with his heavenly father. In fact, when he was going to the garden in Luke chapter 22 verse 39, it says when he went out to the mount of olives as he was accustomed to doing so, it was a regular practice of jesus. And if jesus, God himself valued prayer enough to where even in all, his busy ministry would find times to step back to rest and to connect with God, his heavenly father, then you and I should too God himself, when he spoke the world into existence, did what? On the 7th day rested? Why did he rest? Not? Because he had to, but as a model for us to follow a deeper rest known as sabbath. So if you're like me and and sometimes find yourself saying God, I'm too busy. Just remember jesus took time to pray God, who created the world, took time to rest, we need that rest. And it's a blessing to us when we do that. And when we connect with God, prayer is not just something you have to do, it's something you get to do right, You know, the world is in competition for your attention. If you've watched the recent netflix documentary, the social dilemma, they talked about how while technology is great. If you're using a technological service for free, you're not the customer, you're the product. They are selling your attention to advertisers and that's how they make their money. So their job is to keep you on that app, on that website, whatever it is, as long as possible so that they can increase their ad revenue and make money. And so while the world is competing for your attention, God is over here claiming that he is ready to give you authority. He says, if you make yourself available, I will make myself accessible. And when you do that, my peace, I give you my power, I give you my love. I give you everything that we have in this world is available to us the same power that Rose jesus from the grave, it's available to you and to me when we make ourselves available to him. So what does that look like? Okay, we're not jesus. Your life is not gonna be as good as jesus. Well, for an example, I want to share with you from the old testament, a guy named Samuel 1st, Samuel Chapter three. If you're not familiar with this guy, he is the prophet that would ultimately anoint David. So you think David and Goliath King David, Well, Sammy will be the guy that would anoint David, ultimately. But before he was a prophet, he had to be called into that ministry and he's done so in first Samuel chapter three. So Eli told Samuel, go and lie down and if he calls you say speak Lord for your servant is listening. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. I noticed that it was from a position of resting that God called him in the ministry, so he's resting, he's laying down and now we see this. The Lord came and stood there calling as at other times Samuel, Samuel And then Samuel said the six word prayer that changed everything it says, speak for your servant is listening, I like that because it's only six words and I can follow that And notice how God responds in verse 11 and the Lord said to Samuel, see I'm about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it about it tingle. I love that modern day translation. God says Samuel listen up because I'm about to do something, I love that. He simply says, God, I am here, Your servant is listening and God replies back, listen up because I'm about to do something and if you're ready for God to do something in your life, in your family, in your workplace, it's time for us to make ourselves available to him. So how do we make ourselves available when you make yourself available? God makes himself accessible. So how do we do that, Let me give you four practical ways to make yourself available to God. First one, lean in, lean in in other words. Find your spot. I spoke to people in various ways and in different locations. I spoke to moses through a burning bush, spoke to Daniel and his upper chamber. I spoke to paul on the road to Damascus. He spoke to the disciples there in the upper room. God's willing to speak to you if you're ready to listen. When Samantha and I, my wife, we were first married, I was speaking at a camp called soda hills christian camp And it was in southern Ohio in the wilderness. There there's not a lot of cell phone reception. We didn't have 5G. We had like .2G at that time. And so I remember we had to walk around like this with your phone, it's kind of like that. Try to find that. Well I found at that camp if I went up to the tallest hill and I started to climb up the climbing wall and I sat on one of the support beams because it was kind of awkward, it would be like this and call. But so I would sit on the support beam and I was by myself otherwise I probably would look ridiculous and why would I do that? Because that was the only spot where I got cell phone service and when I did I would be able to call my wife and we could have a conversation and I could hear her voice. Are we willing to find that place to where we have the reception. Our ears are attentive to what God might say to us. I don't know where your spot would be. I don't know what it means to lean in for you but let me share what it means to lean in for me. A few years ago I was on a student trip, I was at this place called the Mogollon rim trail. In fact I actually have a picture here and I was on a youth trip and I was in this exact spot and I was praying to God and I felt this sense in my spirit that God was doing something and so I just asked God what are you calling me to do? It was in this exact spot in this moment where under this massive tree that God gave me two thoughts number one, no matter how big a single tree gets, no one tree makes a forest Number two that entire forest and I could turn all around and see trees everywhere. That entire force at some point started from just one single tree and that became the genesis for what would develop into what is now Mission Grove Church. And so that was a really powerful moment for me fast forward a couple of years to just this summer I was on vacation with my family and we had kids and we were hiking and if you have young kids, you know you don't have a quiet moment. And so they were, they were playing and I love this rock. It kind of looks like Pride rock from Lion King and I'm not gonna lie. When Chloe was younger, I would hold her and hug her anyway and I would just stare at me because I'm a weird person but I feel like I'm not the only one that would do that. Anyway, so I was there at this rock and I was like, I was like man, this is this is this is the spot, this is the spot where God called me to plant a church. And so then I said, okay God, what do you have next? Because we're in the middle of Covid. We haven't been meeting since March, it was in june and now I'm like God, what are you calling for us to do? And so I just was praying and I didn't get an answer. But later that day I called Clarke let our family pastor and guess what he was doing the exact moment that I was praying, he had a meeting with the manager of CB Life, the first meeting that then began conversation that turned into a dialogue that opened up the door that here we are now in the fall gathering as a church. And so for me that spot is a spiritual spot for me. But do you have that moment because that's hours away. So I can't go there every week. So in my house, what it looks like is the green and white checkered chair that's conveniently placed right next to the coffee maker. So I have to go from cup 12 cup two. I don't even have to get out. Sometimes it's in the morning realistically with kiddos a lot of times, it's once everybody goes to bed and I sit down for a few minutes, I have that time with God, but I get fidgety. I mean even as I'm up here speaking, you can kind of see that I'm kind of moving around and so I don't do good sitting still. I remember that God says to be still not necessarily to sit still. And so I found myself walking, I started walking my neighborhood. He started walking out in nature. So I started going out to the desert behind john teets park in our neighborhood and there in the desert. I started having conversation with God When I'm driving, I get stuck in traffic. Sometimes I'll turn off all the radio and everything. I would just sit there and I'll have a conversation, which makes me super grateful that now we have hands free phones and and car phones because I used to do this before they had that. And so if you were sitting next to me in a car and I was just like fully animated talking. Now you just think I'm talking to a person but really I'm having my conversation with God and so I go through and now it doesn't seem like I'm a crazy person and so I'd have these conversations in the car or when my wife needed a break with the kiddos, I'd take Chloe or some of our kids, we go out to Apache wash trail and I would let the kids walking as they're walking in front of me, I'd just be walking, it's talking with God and nature. These are some of the spots for me. Do you have a place that you go on a regular basis that you can lean in secondly we're called to listen up 1st. You want to lean in next. You want to listen up, can you remove distraction? Can you remove distraction your life, turn off the phone, turn off the tv off the computer, be in a place where you are available to God. But it's scary right? Because one you think okay is God going to say something but then you go to the other side, wait a second. If he says something then I gotta do something. We're scared of that too. I think we are afraid of God not answering our prayers but I think we're even more afraid of God answering our prayers because if he answers our prayers we have to change what we do right first lean in second listen up third let go let go can you be honest with God? Don't try to pray like the person you think you should be? But pray like the person you are because you're his child. He already knows what you're struggling with. Can you let go picture for a second at this table represents whatever it is that you're struggling with or clinging to write that job, your health, sinful addiction, whatever it is that you're battling, okay? Imagine that you're saying, okay, God, I'm available to you but don't take this, this is mine. And we start sounding like the birds off nemo mine mine, mine, mine mine. Okay. Some of you pray like this. God, I'm just so available to you wherever you would lead. But don't take this and we we cling to this and what God has called us to do, they still let go take your fist right now and put out in front of you. Mhm. I want you to squeeze really tight, squeeze really tight On three. Let's let it go. Okay? 1, 2, 3 and you can feel the blood rushing in rushing out. I don't know, I'm not medical, so but you feel it right? You feel it What if our prayers were like that? What if we took our worry? We turned it into worship. We took our fear and we turned it into faith and whatever it is that we're clinging to, we could say God take it. So freeing when we do that, that allows you to then do the last thing, which is to look forward look forward and ask the question, God, what are you calling me to do? What are you calling me to do when you do that, when you make yourself available, that will make himself accessible and God will do what only God can do. And then you can pray that prayer that Samuel prayed, it's only six words so we can do it. Speak Lord, your servant is listening and if you don't like the word servant and it feels weird and churchy, that's fine, modernize it. Hey God, I'm here now. What? Sometimes that's enough. If you're willing to pause, lean in, listen up, let go look forward to what God has called you to and who God has called you to be. I believe that God's gonna speak in your life and you're going to hear God's voice. If you hear God's voice, you can sing God's song and your life is going to play that melody that's going to echo throughout our community. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, I'm not sure what people are going through right now that are here in this room or who are watching online or maybe even listening on the podcast later God, but we know that you are present with us. The question is not, are you speaking? But rather are we listening? So God, my prayer is speak. We're listening. We want to be available to you, help us to lean in, help us to listen up. God, help us to let go of what we're clinging onto and help us to look forward to you and who you have called us to be. We love you God, and we give this time to you and your son's name. We pray. Yeah. I want to encourage you to stand. If you're in the booth, I know it might be a little harder or if you're watching online, driving wherever it is. But whatever that looks like for you, I want to encourage you to stand and just have this time and just pray that simple prayer, God, I'm listening, God, I'm listening. What do you have for me today?