The Prayerful Person

I don’t think I have ever met someone who enjoys to wait. And yet we spend most of our lives doing exactly that. Sometimes, waiting is just inconvenient. We wait for phone calls, many of us are waiting for vacations, and even this week I know some were waiting for doctor’s appointments. We wait in grocery-store lines, we wait for our Amazon packages to arrive. I tell Alicia often, I’m envious of those who live in larger cities that can order something on Amazon and it says it can be delivered today.

That’s amazingly fast. Waiting is a part of our childhood years, we’ve waited, year after year, for Christmas morning. Teenagers are waiting to get that taste of freedom to be able to drive. When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to be older. Some can’t wait to get married, and there are some who are waiting to be engaged. And so what we really is that life is full of waiting.

Waiting is also a part of our spiritual life as well. We’re waiting for healing and answered prayer. We’re waiting for God’s direction for our life. We’re waiting on the return of Christ. And just like we’re waiting for the second coming of Christ, the people in our story today know all too well what waiting was like for the first coming. Simon and Anna have waited their whole life to see the arrival of the long awaited messiah.

Think of it like this… it’s been roughly 700 years since Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come. And Simeon and Anna are a part of this generational strand of passed down hope that would have been taught to every generation. This also includes the 400 years of silence. The last 400 years were years of silence from God. Which means no new prophets were raised and God revealed nothing new to the Jewish people.

So our story begins in Luke chapter 2… But as we read, I want to ask a question… “What is God trying to teach us about how we should be living and waiting in these last days until Jesus comes?” What can we learn about waiting that will strengthen our witness, or strengthen our faith, or even help us be the generational strand of Hope to our kids, and to our grandkids while we teach them to hold onto the hope to come.

One of my biggest fears is that our hope today, will hinder the hope of tomorrow because we haven’t learned to wait well. Let’s read… verse 25 - 32 While in the temple, they meet a man named Simeon. The first things we learn about Simeon are four qualities of his character. He’s righteous. Righteous seems to be the main thread to every person who’s played a role in the birth of Christ.

Zechariah, Mary and Joseph have all bee found to be righteous, and now Simeon. Righteous doesn’t mean he was perfect or that he was better than others. What it means in a nut shell is that he loved God and he loved others. Secondly, we read that Simeon is Devout. Being Devout has to do with his habits. He didn't just think about being righteous, he put rubber to road and he developed a habit or routine of performing righteous acts.

Good Spiritual Habits are amazingly important in the life of a Christ follower. We’re talking about the habits of prayer, Scripture reading, devotional time. But also habits like generosity, and gratitude, and service. He’s looking for the consolation of Israel… now that’s a weird phrase right? Consolation means comfort, hope, restoration. But in this context, the consolation of Israel.. it means he’s waiting for the one that will come as God’s promised to comfort all.

He’s looking for the one who will bring comfort to a broken and sinful world. He’s waiting for the one called Emmanuel. The one who would comfort all. Fourthly, Simeon is Holy Spirit led. He’s righteous, he’s devout, he’s looking for the promise of God, he’s looking for the one who will be the consolation of Israel… and now he’s being led by the Spirit to the temple. Verse 27 says: “That day the Spirit led him….” Learning to be led by the Holy Spirit takes time, but it also takes everything we just talked about in the life of Simeon.

This is the meat of what I want to talk about today, became being led by the Spirit takes, righteousness, devoutness and seeking Christ above all other things. But I also believe that in the context of loving God and loving others, being led by the Spirit is the key to waiting well. So how is one, led by the Spirit to wait well? It begins by acknowledging from our hearts that we are helpless to do any good apart from the enablement of the Holy Spirit.

Paul says: “I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing.” Jesus tells us in his high priestly prayers, without me, you can do nothing. Of course we can do something…The only thing we can do without Christ is sin. That’s it. If you’re heart has been awakened by Christ and you now have this war of desires going on within you… you have two options, give in to the flesh and sin, or realize there is nothing you can do but surrender to grace.

We cannot do anything pleasing to God without the constant enablement of the Holy Spirit. And so, Acknowledging our utter dependance on God is the first requirement to Spiritual walking. Then Acknowledging leads to grace filled prayer, Paul says, Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (Ephesians 1:15-23) What does it mean to be constant… it means to be persistent in prayer. Persevere in it. Stay at it.

Be devoted to it, Don’t give up or slack off. Be habitual. Be devout. Let prayer consume your daily life. Constant means that we should treat prayer the way we treat eating and sleeping and doing our job. But keep in mind this… prayer isn’t your life line to get blessings from God. This took me forever to learn.. Let me share with you an excerpt from the book, “If you will ask,” by Oswald Chambers.

Oswald writes: prayer isn’t a part of the natural life. “If we do not pray, what will suffer is the life of God in us, which is nourished not by food but by prayer.” “Prayer is not a means of self-development; we do not find that idea in the Bible. And prayer is other than meditation. Prayer develops the life of God in us. When we are born from above, the life of the Son of God begins in us, and we can either starve that life or nourish it.” Prayer is our connection with Jesus through the Spirit that builds our relationship with the Father.

And through Prayer, it leads to relationship, it leads to trusting: Trusting is the meat of our faith, trusting faith is developed by praying in the Spirit. How does that work? Think of it like this… A lack of faith is a sign of a weak prayer life. Prayer provides the unceasing and continual contact with God. We can call it, Practicing the presence of God. It’s being and searching and following God’s presence at all times.

The prayerful person becomes the faithful person, not the other way around. Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. You see, the reward of prayer and faith isn’t given to everyone… it’s only given to those who actively seek it, by faith. The gift of living faith, not dead faith like James tells us, but living faith is actively seeking Christ.

And in the process of trusting Christ, and living faith is produced, it leads to serving. In my infant life as a christian, serving was always my number one. I would skip Acknowledging, I would skip prayer, I would skip trusting, and I would serve because serving is a command. But that’s not learning to walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5 says: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Listen, church, There is no walking if there is no living in the Spirit first. Living in the Spirit, must be first priority. Acknowledging, Praying, trusting by faith are all prerequisites to live in the Spirit, and then, because of those things, and we are pursuing a Christ centered life , we act accordingly, we walk in the Spirit. The final step in walking in the Spirit is this… Being thankful.

It’s gratitude. The final step in walking by the Spirit is learning to be thankful for all Christ does in us, and all he leads us to be a part of that out of us. Remember, sin wants to steal the glory of God, walking by the Spirit takes that glory we receive from our service, and we in turn lay that praise down at the feet of Jesus. Look at Simeon’s life in verse 27..

it says: he was guided by the Spirit (Meaning he was acknowledging, praying, and living by faith that led him to to the temple that day)… then look down in verse 28… he took him up in his arms (Speaking of Jesus), and he praised God. Walking in the Spirit will always lead a person to praise God in all things. But Simon wasn’t the only one praising God.. Anna was too.

Anna, in verses 36-38 shows us what happens when we praise God… Look in verse 38.. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. When we righty praise God, it leads others who are walking the same life as we are, to praise God…

and did you notice what she did… in her praise, she began to evangelize and preach Jesus to others. So let’s go back to our main question. “What is God trying to teach us about how we should be living and waiting in these last days until Jesus comes?” Waiting well requires a focused heart. Ask yourself… what is my heart focused on? Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” Have you sat down and asked, what does my heart desire?

Paul tells the phillipians “It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13 NIV). When we want God’s direction for our lives, we should get our hearts desires out of the way so that we can honestly say, “God, I’m willing to go either way — whatever you want is what I want.” Six words I’ve etched into my heart over the past 8-12 months are this…

“I can trust God with this.” I can trust God to heal the hurt caused to me. I can trust God to heal the hurt I’ve caused others. I can trust God to fill the emptiness that I feel, or the loss I experience. I can trust God to speak to me through his word. You see, A heart focused on God, is a heart willing to wait upon God. One good test to know God’s desire…

It’s the test of time. It’s learning to wait well even when the waiting is hard. It’s saying with David in Psalm 31:15.. My life, my every moment, my destiny—it’s all in your hands. So I know you can deliver me from those who persecute me relentlessly. I’m willing to go either way — whatever you want is what I want.” Secondly, Waiting Well Requires Focusing our Habits Simeon was devout.

He was persistent in his faith. When I was a youth leader, I asked a great man of prayer, teach me to pray like you pray. When you pray, it’s powerful, and worshipful, and imaginary, and absolutely amazing… He looks down at me and goes.. Matthew, I can’t teach you that. I never knew what that meant until I learned this phrase… It’s more caught than taught.

What does that mean… it means that our faith is a matter of the heart, not a cold belief in a set of facts that someone has taught them. I can teach you all about Christ… but you gotta want it… you gotta have a heart change and then pursue it. I had to learn, prayer isn’t something you can teach another, it’s got to be something that springs from a heart of gratitude and thankfulness.

Examine your habits, find another family to do life with. Start a small group. One that aims to love and forgive, and pray, and learn and do life together. Listen, life gets messy, isn’t it better to get messy with others. In West Virginia we went mud bogging all the time… it’s a lot more fun when others are getting in there and dirty with you. And Finally, Waiting Well Requires Focusing our Hope Hebrews tells us: We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19 The anchor represents safety. The early Christians would use it as a symbol of Hope. When the writer of hebrews says, this hope is an anchor for the soul, it means it’s supporting steadfast hope during any trial or doubt.

Anchors are really neat tools used by ships to slow down them down and to stables the vessel. It’s like a brake. When our hope is focused on Christ, he becomes our stability. He becomes our anchor. When my life is drifting from God, The anchor pulls me back. Listen, you will always drift in a storm, without the right anchor. Our anchor is God’s presence… the best Scripture that teaches us this is the Shepards Psalm.

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4 NIV). So as I close let’s ask… “What is God trying to teach us about how we should be living and waiting in these last days until Jesus comes?” He’s trying to tach us that “Love is found by looking back to the witnesses, up to Jesus, and forward to joy."*