The Power of United Prayer
When the Church Prays
So today's readings from Acts 12, 1 to 19. About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was the first day of unleavened bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison. delivered him over to four squadrons of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the Church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and centuries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, Get up quickly! And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, Dress yourself, and put on your sandals. And he did so. And he said to him, wrap your cloak around you and follow me. And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord. And then and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting. When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was Mark. where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer, recognizing Peter's voice. In her joy, she did not open the gate, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, you are out of your mind. But she kept insisting that it was so. And they kept saying, it is his angel. But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Tell these things to James and to the brothers. Then he departed and went to another place. Now when the day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. Thank you very Do have to say good morning again? Hi. um Beautiful. All right. Let's first begin in prayer. Father, we are completely insufficient, Lord, unworthy for the things which You call us to. We are not worthy to be Your children, not worthy to be in Your house, not worthy to be a part of Your people, and yet, Lord, You have called us to all of these things. And now, Father, as You've given us the privilege of being able to hear from Your Word, Father, would You please open our ears and prepare our hearts, Father, that we might receive it. Father, I pray You may grant me wisdom and clarity as I speak, Father, and that all of us would just be filled with the joy of the gospel. Lord as we share in this message today. In Jesus name we pray, amen. Now, I just wanna have a quick announcement, because I kind of butchered the last one I did, about the Southwest Queensland Christian Convention, or Dolby Convention, as it's more known. Which I spoke about a couple weeks ago. Me and Michelle are on the committee for. It's a conference we have every year that we do in Dolby at the Christian College down there, and it really is an awesome time. We have... Churches come from Roma, Gundu-windi, some people come from Arkhampton, all over the place, but it's a time where you get to actually gather with other Christians in the country. You guys have had stuff like it in the past, you've had the Keswick Convention, right? I've met people in Mandabra who used to come to the Keswick, right? People used to come from all around. And so we have it now, here at this Delby Ginnage, we're having a speaker comes named Jared Wilson, he's coming from the States and he's speaking on the Book of Malachi. Specifically, how is that book actually relevant to us at all today? What does the Old Testament have to say to us? We've also got seminars that we run throughout the weekend, different topics, and there's smoked meat on Saturday night. So, if you don't come for anything else, come for that. You get fellowship, there's childcare throughout the whole weekend, and it's at the Dolby Christian College on the 17th to the 19th of July. You can come for just a Saturday, a Friday, Sunday, whatever. But anyway, if you wanna know more, it's on Facebook. You'll see the rego link. There's also stuff that shows you bit more what it's about. Other than that, let's start with our message. So, does anyone know what number we're up to in our sermon series? Number five. We've got one left, which I don't know whether to tell you guys what it is or not, because I said, you know, was kind of an open slot and people were gonna find out. I have actually had a few requests. um I'll let you wait till next week and you'll find out. um Anyway, but we are at number five now. So what we are discussing today is... We're obviously, we spend a lot of time talking about prayer, the importance of prayer in our lives. But is it just meant for us? Obviously, as I'm sure you've gotten from the kids talk and from the prayer that we just did before, it is not just about us. Our prayer was not even just meant to be enjoyed in a vacuum. God didn't just give us this privilege just for us to enjoy. He actually gave it for us to enjoy together. And so you see, this is incredibly important because prayer isn't just the thing that keeps you going. It's the prayer is the thing that keeps all of us. It's the thing that keeps this whole church going. So just as you were individual Christians going out into your week, but yet you gather together as the church. You're the church out there individually, but then we gather together as the whole assembled body. And so we do the same thing in prayer. And so we know that inevitably, if we don't pray in our own lives, it's like taking a car out and not filling out with any petrol, right? So it is the same thing for the church. If we're not praying together as a church, we might have a whole lot of words, it's not gonna do anything. It's not gonna affect any change unless you actually ask the God who changes things. So, three things we'll look at. Why pray together? Number two, why confess to one another? And then three, Do we need to pray aloud? So first one, let's begin. Why do we pray together? So sorry, I didn't have time to put the verses in this morning, so you're just gonna have to listen to my beautiful voice rather than reading it from the projector up there. So, Matthew 18, 19 to 20. He says again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. for where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them." So Jesus here, he is just given beforehand the instructions on how we are to go about the role of leading people to repentance. Right, when your brother wrongs you, what do you do? And so he says, you come with two or three witnesses, you do all those things. But now he also goes, so what are you to do in prayer? You were to also gather two or three with you and pray together. So you see here, Jesus links power in prayer with people gathering together to pray. Now, obviously we don't take this alone from the rest of the Bible. The reality is that multiple people gathering together isn't suddenly going to be able to manipulate God and change His will. You're not going to be able to get Him to do something He doesn't want to do. So also, this here isn't saying that individual prayer doesn't have power. It's not nullifying that. Because we know in the rest of the Bible, most of the prayers are individual and they bear much power. But he's showing us another true fact, in addition to all those things, that there is great power when people come together and are unified in prayer, praying for the same thing. Now, this isn't saying that more people means more power. It doesn't mean if you get 100, then you get 100 times the power. Because he simply says, if two or three are there, there I am with them. He's not saying you have to have every single part of the membership here. He's not saying you have to get all the guys because they're the ones that really have spiritual power or something like that, nothing. or three, God is with them. Two or three hundred, God is with them. What it is more talking about is not the number, but the unity that they share. You see, that is the one difference between one person praying and two. Two must be united in praying for the same thing. Because just think about it, right? The reality is, you go and you just pray by yourself. You're praying in a bedroom, you're praying in your own mind, you can pray about anything. Most of us have no shame before God. We'll just ask for anything and that's a good thing, right? But the reality is we can often be very misconceived as to what we should actually be praying about. Some of us can be very selfish and self-centered in our prayers. There's little restraint, but the reality is then when we come together, well, that suddenly gets a bit more refined. That changes a little bit. Why? Because to come together, We have to be united around, there has to be something important enough, not to say the small things that we talk about, that we pray about aren't important, but when there's something important, all of us gather together, we come in unity because all of us acknowledge this needs to be prayed for. The reality is not everyone's gonna come together because you say, I really need my boss to cock it so I can get his job, right? Not everyone's gonna come together for seeming things that just aren't that important. But there are some things that we gather together that are incredibly important for the life of ourselves and for the life of this church. And so we bring them to one another. And so the worthwholeness of a request is reflected in the desires of others to unify around it and pray for it. You know, we pray for healing. We pray for those who have been sent out to missions, for those who are already on mission. We pray for all kinds of things because they're important, but we do it together. And so God takes a special notice when His people gather together and they pray. And He loves, He loves to answer the combined prayer of people, right? Just think, all of you guys have probably uttered a million prayer requests. And I was just thinking of stories in combined prayer. And now the reality is, I know it's the case, not to puff myself up too much, but... I know you guys were praying for a pastor for two years, probably wondering one year, okay, God, when are gonna answer that one? Two years, and then God answered it and then he said, can we get a refund please? No, no, you didn't do that, hopefully. But you see, yes, you sought God together, you understood the worthiness of the request, you came together and God answered. Again, not perfectly, but he does a good job. so we come together. And so you see this in the passage we just read. The example of Peter's miraculous escape from that prison. You see, just think about this would be a knock to the church. He's literally just killed James, all right, one of the apostles. He's dead. That's one of the twelve decapitated. You don't think he was killed, whatever, however he was killed. He is gone, all right. There's only 11 left now. If they're going at this rate, they're not going to last very long. But here in all his excitement, seeing how the Jews are appeased by this because his kingship is based on popularity, he's like, well, I'm gonna grab me another apostle, if it's that easy, goodness. It's like shooting apples in a barrel or whatever they say. And so Peter was being kept in prison. But then this miraculous thing happened. This angel comes along, taps the chains, they break off. He walks through, misses every single patrol and there's this massive iron gate. And then the angel just opens it and he just walks out. Miraculous. Why did it happen? Acts 12, five. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. It seems here like the main character in the story is the angels and Peter, right? They're the ones bringing the miracles, doing the work, but what sent the angels? They didn't just come because they should, they came because people prayed, because the whole church gathered together and said, we've already lost one, we're not losing another. And they weren't just praying to God saying like, Hey, you know, like, you know, it's been like, yeah, you know, we lose one. We've already got 11 left. Like, no, they were standing there before God saying, we will not lose another one. We will not lose Peter God interceded into this moment. And he did. And so you see, God listens, He brings supernatural deliverance. These angels, they're supernatural, but they listen and minister to the needs of the saints, to us. They are the ones that are serving to us, and they love to serve us. And so you even think here, in our Sunday services, right, we have prayer, right? We did it together, but normally, right, it's just one person leading in prayer. The purpose of that isn't just to sit there and just go, oh, well, that was a nice prayer. All of us are praying that together. Just because one person is leading, they are sharing the requests of the whole church. And then when we say, amen together, that is not just saying, oh, well, that's what we always do at the end of it. You are saying, in that moment, I am praying what this man is praying. In that moment, it is not just me up here praying. It is not just any person who is up here. All of us pray together. And that is why we say amen at the end together. And so you see, The prayers here aren't any small thing. The prayers done in that back room are no small thing. The prayers done in Bible studies together, when we just gather one on one, are not nothing. They are literally the thing that keeps this church going, that keeps every single one of us going. And so therefore we must accept something. All of us, if I gave you a list, could probably write down some things that our church is lacking in. It's not hard. We're naturally negative people and can think of things that are going not that great. But what is the reason that we are struggling, falling behind, maybe not at the point where we wanna be? Often we can come up for a million reasons, but often the thing we don't wanna say is because of what's not happening in that room, because of not what is happening in our own lives. because we are not praying for it. Because you see, the reality is our church will only ever attain to the level of the prayers that we pray, no further. You see, the source of so much of the church's problem nowadays, it is trying to do everything in its own strength. That is what we are trying to do. That is our natural inclination. How do we show that lack of strength? Our doing it by ourselves? We don't pray. We don't pray together. Because you just think about it. When Peter was put in that prison, did they say, maybe we can raise enough funds and buy his ransom or something like that? Maybe we can formulate an escape plan. Maybe if we just go to Herod's palace and just wail out the front of his thing, then he'll eventually just give him up because he's so annoyed, because we nag him enough. No, the very first thing they do is gather together and pray. God has promised that he will bless the combined prayers of his people. Not a way to manipulate him. He loves to see the unity of the church as it comes together as it says, this is something we want God, we are seeking you. We're not going anywhere else, we submit ourselves to you. We ask for you that you would come in and answer our prayers in this very moment. And He delights to respond to such displays of submission to Him. And so you see, the reason we are praying as a church and individuals is because we need it. It is our lifeblood, it is our fuel. and is particularly important with those larger requests for us to do it together. And so this turns to a more personal part now with point two, is why confess to one another. James 5 is where this comes from. He says in James 5.16, therefore confess your sins to one another, pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. See, James encourages us in this same corporate prayer, says, confess your sins, pray for one another, be praying. It's central part of the Christian life, be praying for one another. When you gather together, when you're alone, be praying for one another. specifically be praying for our suffering and the sins of one another. And you see, what he is pointing out here is the fact that we cannot go through the Christian life without the church, without the prayers of one another. We walk through each day and think like, prayed in the morning, so I'm all good. I don't need any more, I sorted that out. But what if there was actually more? What if we realize that the reality is Jesus saved us. He brought us into relationship with God. And now He tells you, guess what? You don't get to enjoy the depths of that relationship without the people as well. ah Way to ruin it, right? No, He has told us that the only way we can really experience the depths of Him, we can only have all of God, sorry, we can't have all of God without having all of His people. And it is often through the people of God that you experience the depths of who God is. Because Jesus is up in heaven now. But who is being made into the image of Him? Who is being made into the image of the invisible God? All of you guys. Not perfectly, one day it will be, but in each and every one of your lives I can experience a bit of God. So, were never meant to bear the burden of the Christian life alone. Few will make it without the help of the church. I would say none. But obviously, there's a few that we know that just seem to be low in ranges and somehow still make it through by the nick of their teeth. But God has interwoven our journey with the church. That is how it is. The people of God have always been a people, not individuals. Just. And so, this inevitably leads to the hard point. that we must be willing to share our struggles with one another. Because we'd be praying for one another. If I don't know what's going on in your life, if people around you don't know what's going on in your life, I can't pray for you. I'm not saying you have to tell everyone, but all of you have select people around you. People that you know, people that you trust, that you may be willing to trust in the future. Those people have been given to you so that you might bear their burdens and that they may bear yours. But if we're just going to cut ourselves off, say that no, I can't share. We will, you're just gonna struggle. So we must be ready. As Christians, you ask real questions of the people around us. Be prepared for them to open up. And also as people, need to be prepared, be prepared to open up to things that actually may cause us shame and discomfort. We must learn to trust those who are close to us and trust that God is actually at work in them. Because inevitably we'll always think they're not gonna understand, they're not gonna get it, they're gonna go and tell someone else something's gonna happen because instantly as soon as we bring someone else into the equation, we think God doesn't work anymore. If God's at work in you, God is at work in them. So we have to learn to trust. See, this is hard thing because confession, particularly confessing our sin to one of us, virtually vanished from the church. Now, the reality is, this doesn't have to just be, we often think of it like, I've committed a sin against someone, I need to go and tell them. Yes, you do. That's not just what he's talking about here. We sometimes need to confess the sins that we are just struggling with in our own life. You see, when we think about confessing our sins, you often think about like a confessional, right? You go to the Catholic church, you sit in the weird thing with a curtain, They roll it back and then, you know, there's some kind of dude on the other side that says, say three Hail Marys and you're all good, right? That's not what confessing your sin is. Confessing your sin is going to a friend whom you trust, whom you know will bring you support, comfort, encouragement, as you struggle with this. It's not simply some accountability partner or something like that that you confess you're ever wrong to. It's actually talking to someone who understands what you were going through. who's there beside you, who's not saying, goodness, get your act together, Maybe that will be called for sometimes. But for the most time, it is to say, I understand, I get it. Let us go to the God who can actually help us together. It is to offer encouragement in the gospel that actually delivers us from our sin. So obviously the greatest thing we have to overcome in this is fear of judgment. That is inevitably the thing, because it is an amazing thing. Most of us, know inevitably some will struggle with it, feel free and open to confess things to God. If anything, we probably feel a bit too free to. We kind of just confess our sins and then move on with the day like it's nothing else. But there is actually a great thing in that because we are no longer scared of the holiness of God. God is holy. yet in His grace He's opened up a way that we can go into His throne room with grace, sorry, with boldness and receive grace in time of need. That is a great thing. But then when it comes to the people of God, uh they're sinners. I don't know if I can quite deal with that. And of course, we need to accept something. There will be people who you trust, who will betray you and who will hurt you. Think of it. Paul says to the Ephesian elders, as he's heading off to Jerusalem right before he's about to be taken into jail and then sent off to Rome again, he says this, Acts 20-30, to these elders, from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. Can you imagine, we've only got three elders. Well, for... Imagine if one of them suddenly, you know, I'm pretty close with those fellas. Many of you would be. Imagine if one of them started going up and started leading people away from the church. Imagine the heartache and something like that, right? He's saying, this will happen to you guys, you Ephesians. People will rise up, not just from in your church, but among your leadership, those who you trust most, and they will betray you. Now, I'm not saying keep an eagle eye out for which one is it going to be. Don't do that. but understand it will come from places we do not expect it. That is why we have Judas. He was best friends with the disciples. He was one of the 12. And yet he walked out on that night and betrayed Jesus. None of them could have guessed it. Literally all of them were asking, is he going out to get more bread or something? They had no idea he was about to betray them because they thought he was their friend. People do betray. It will happen. But yes, see this truth doesn't render the command obsolete. We have to continue fighting to trust people because the devil will come in. When you have betrayed and said, see what that person did? Every person will do that to you. Never trust anyone again. Don't believe them. Don't trust anything they say. They will betray you. yet if we listen to that, we will never be able to share in the help of the church. You must be able to do the Christian life by yourself if you're willing to believe that lie. So, to those who do listen to confessions though, inevitably, hopefully, we should all be doing it to each other. This isn't like, oh, I sinned again today, but you know, just talking with each other. Man, I've just noticed, I'm incredibly, man, I get really angry with my kids. Man, I've just noticed I'm getting really angry at God lately. This thing, that's as simple as that. And just talking with one another about it. How you've struggled with it, how we struggle with it, how you battle against it. you see, as those who listen to confessions, we should learn that in no way are we to judge or should we even be surprised. I want you imagine someone comes in this church and maybe they come up and talk to me and they say, I don't know, hey Matt, I have a $300,000 gambling debt. Or, hey Matt, did you know that most times that I come into church, I'm actually coming in here half drunk, right? Now, granted, for a second, it might take me a Bit to register that. But afterwards, what is my reaction? Is it, oh, goodness. No, there actually isn't any judgment at all. No, it should be and completely, well brother, we should pray about that. Brother, let's help you. Let's change those things. Let's see what we can do. Because he's confessing for a reason. You see, this is the funny thing. You will not get condemnation and guilt. You will get love. Nothing you do can surprise me, any of you. Why? Because I know what's on the inside of all of you. I know what all of you are actually like. The reality is all of you have a sinful nature. It doesn't matter how nice you look on the outside. That would do absolute abominations if the grace of God did not restrain you. I know that to be true. The exact same wickedness lives on the inside of me. I got to deal with it every day. And so the reality is, I am not surprised. I'm actually surprised that you're not worse. so, yes, Christians, we should not live under the falsehood that the people we are surrounded by are better than us, are good people, are perfect people. We are all sinners and so we shouldn't be surprised when others struggle with sin. And now, of course, the thing that we struggle with, the reason we struggle to confess is because of gossip. But you know what I've, as I was thinking about this, those who might see people who struggle with certain things early on in the Christian life, people who are just walking through a season in life and you're like, oh, goodness, they're not doing very well. and you start talking about them a bit, particularly when that person has confessed their sin, especially if they've done it to you. Here is the irony. What are you actually judging or condemning that person for? because all they're currently doing is recognizing the truth. The fact that they are a sinner, they need to repent and they need to come to God. It's the funny thing that what you're actually gossiping about, what you're condemning them for is being godly. They're actually doing the thing they're meant to do. The marker of a Christian is not someone that's got it all together. The marker of a Christian is someone who acknowledges they do not and repents. That is a godly Christian right there. I don't care if you got $300,000 in gambling debt. If you're coming and repenting, You're on the right course. You are going somewhere. criticizing someone for being honest about the reality that is inside all of you. That's the stupid thing to do. We are all rotten to the core, at least those who confess have the gunship to admit it. And so I want to bring one final reason that we ought to confess our sins to one another. Would you please not deny me and deny the rest of the church the privilege of being able to intercede into your life? It is so encouraging to see answered prayer for families, for healing, for struggles with sin, for anything. Just to be in a conversation where someone comes up and say, hey, you know that thing we've been praying for for the last couple of months? It actually came to pass. That is so encouraging. And all of that joy will be completely denied if we are too scared to share. The reality is sometimes it will actually be part of God's will. that He will not answer a prayer until we share it with another. That will actually be the answers, the prayers of that person that will bring the answer. And this is most of all precious because it allows us to see what Jesus is doing for us in heaven. Romans 8.34, Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Think of it, as people pray for you, what are they doing in that moment? They are mirroring the example of Jesus in heaven. He is right there day and night, bring your request before God, bring His everything that He sees in your life. He's bringing it up to God and say, God, please do this, Father, please do this. So we do the exact same thing. So when you do it for me, I get to see a part of Jesus. Please don't deny that to me. We have this incredible privilege. Prayer breaks the shackles of sin slavery. It relieves families to salvation and brings miraculous power and healing into things we could never expect if we would just let it. I want you to notice something. Why did God raise up King David to be King in the Old Testament? Read this in my morning devotion and just surprised me. 1 Chronicles 14, 2. David knew that the Lord had established him as King over Israel. and that his kingdom was highly exalted for what? For the sake of his people Israel. David didn't enjoy success and fame for his own sake. He didn't get it as a personal reward. He didn't get it because God really needed him. God raised him up for whose purpose, for whose benefit? His people. Now, I wanna ask you something. What if you were given prayer? This direct line to God, an incredible privilege, not actually for yourself, but you were given it for the sake of others. It was funny when I had that thought, it completely... It's not a massive change, it's not like it's going to change how I actually pray much, but I was just like, I've been given prayer, because naturally we think it right. I've been given my time, my money, my gifts, my abilities for the sake of other people. Yeah, yeah, I get that. But what if you realize you were given prayer, actually not first and foremost for yourself, but for others? Naturally, of course, my prayers request, go first. I'm not thinking, oh, if my prayer requests go by the side, that's fine, as long as I get to pray for people today. That is not how I think, but what if it was actually why it was given to me? This is a massive shift in my head. So I'd ask you, do not be scared to share. You don't have to do it with everyone. One or two people. Choose them and bring them. Tell them everything you're struggling with. Don't deny them the chance to intercede for you. The church is a blessing. Every single person in here, but we are going to have to risk hurt and betrayal to fully enjoy it. That's the hard part. And so, I come around to the third question. This will be a... quick one because I just thought it would be helpful to address. Do we need to pray aloud, out loud? So this begs question, is there a biblical necessity to actually pray out loud? If we're praying with one another, do we need to say it out loud? Can we not just say it in our hearts? Now inevitably, I think it was two weeks ago, we talked about the Lord's Prayer and He literally indicted the Pharisees for praying out loud in the marketplaces. Instead, He said this, Matthew 6 verse 6, when you pray... oh Go into your room, shut the door, pray to your father who's in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. So it seems done and dusted. There's no explicit biblical command to pray, to pray out loud, sorry. So you're all good, done and dusted. You never have to pray out loud again. And you would be right. There is no explicit command. But just because there's no command doesn't mean there's no benefit. ah sorry for those who hate praying out loud. I know. Now, I understand. Our desire to pray out loud, it comes from a deep fear of judgment of others. I get it. The reality is it doesn't stem from biblical thinking. I understand it though. I'm not condemning it here. I understand. I really do. But you see, it's this hard thing because suddenly we can be before God, completely unashamed, just praying how we always pray. But the instant that someone else enters in, the moment there's someone else there, there's someone else we must pray to, our thoughts don't go to who we're praying to. Our thoughts go to the people we're praying with. Now, look, yes, we should think somewhat about the people we're praying with, but you're still praying to the same person and the focus should still be there. but suddenly every thought becomes centered on what others think. We feel insecurity because we've got muddled words. I'm just not as eloquent as other people. Or because I'm going to have to pause to finally write words. I don't want it to be awkward. Now again, have to give the hard truth, you are correct. People will judge you. People will think silly things about you that they shouldn't. But I would ask you to do this. Please do not bring condemnation on yourself and guilt when you don't have to. You're actually doing the devil's job for him. All right? You were not the one who ought to feel condemnation in that moment. The reality is, think about this, all of you guys probably know someone that when they pray, you're like, man, they just always have the right words. They are just like the Bible. They just have all...they're just amazing. Do you know what it sounds like to God if they did it in their own strength? It's like nails across a chalkboard, all right? It doesn't matter how nice it sounds. He hates it, all right? Unless it is offered up in faith. You see, all prayers offered up in faith, eloquent or not. a sweet music to God's ears. So those who judge you, who think they are more morally righteous, more superior than you, are the ones who are actually under condemnation in that moment. And I want to tell you this, do you know what the prayers that I enjoy most of all? Yeah, I've heard some very well-worded prayers in my life. They're nice to listen to, I'm not going to deny that. Good prayers are, nicely worded prayers are a good thing, they're not bad. But some of the best prayers I love listening to around a dinner table, to a child. They are the best. Why? Because they pray for the same person 13 times over, because it's completely muddled. You can't understand a single word of it, but you know who He is? God. They offer it up with more sincere faith than we ever could. And I love listening to that. It is so good. And so we ought to be encouraged by muddled prayers. because of the faith behind them. You see, I love listening to how different Christians pray, not because I'm looking out for the one that's really good at praying, but because I get to see how each and every one of you talk to God the Father. He's the same Father to us all, but you all have a different relationship with Him. Every child is different, and I actually love hearing it. There's actually encouragement to see how other people pray, and I don't care about the words. I love to see the faith that is behind it, because each person who prays isn't praying because they're like, well, I'm going to impress some people, man. They're praying because they believe in faith that God hears them. I'm encouraged by faith, not by words. So if you're scared to pray out loud, no one's going to force you. No biblical command. And yes, people will judge you for praying and even for not praying. You just can't seem to escape it. We're judgmental people. Get used to it. Even though we should do everything we can to get rid of it. But just think about this. Would you deny the church the encouragement of hearing you pray? As Christians, we shouldn't care about the words. I love to see the faith. and that is what we should rejoice in and love to hear from other people. So, finish up in prayer, we'll lead into communion, then we'll have the worship team come up after that. Dear Father, what a gracious gift we have. Lord, that we may mirror our Saviour, the one who died upon a cross for us, the one who now at this very moment is interceding for us. Lord, He rose from the grave, He is living. that He might intercede before you. Lord, He has the right to all things. He is worthy of all praise and all honor. And what does He spend His days doing? Looking at us and bringing our needs before you. Father, would we seek to do that for one another? Father, would we have enough trust in you to be able to open up with a few of those who are close to us, to share our sin, our struggles, that we might move forward with one another in the maturity of the Christian life? as we bear each other's burdens, because we were not meant to move together as just individuals, we were meant to move together forward as a church. And so, would we do that together? Would we share unity with one another as we share intimately with one another? Father, grant these things to us and more we pray in Jesus' name, amen.