Getting REAL with God

Not cuticle off the Russian nightmare know the devil's nightmare here from it's time to man up challenging men step into their true manhood.

Your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the truth. Podcast network. This is good Truth Network encouraging prayer, God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything encouraging prayer Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling peripheral product and many other books on prayer provides weekly biblical insight help you learn to love and now it's one of the most challenging things about prayer, but is also one of the best today were to talk about getting real with God when you pray, and what that looks like so James wanted to take it from here, but sometimes we can pray without really thinking about what were doing. For example, if you pray the Lord's prayer without really realizing what you say you know I think about when I when I pray, forgive me my sin. Like I forget what I'm saying but I want you to forgive me just like I forgive everyone else in. You can't pray that you quickly pray that you get this check in your spirit. But the point is that what can happen is that we fall into. Talking to God a certain way and though we don't mean to do it.

It's almost as if were on autopilot and the words aren't really thinking yeah you know him and I really forgiven him. I need to forgive. I'm praying that way. Now that I've done that. Probably just about every morning to say that I actually start my prayer always for the Lord's prayer.

I get out of the bottom of the like.

I think I skipped, aren't you supposed be involved in the Scott and I just know… It's a really scary thing, but it's almost like that's one of the hardest things that I can pray because of that very issue you just described, and so I like to start with it because it kind of focuses me in like okay Robin I really gotta be here and so their hearts are far from yeah I'm gonna talk about that when he talked about prayer you want to meet with your lips but but your hearts are far from me, and if were honest, we've all been there.

Sometimes when I think about this. Think of an illustration from the children. The velveteen rabbit took the book of your listeners don't know what about it a children's toy stuffed rabbit that eventually becomes real. One point talked about how you become real. By being loved for a very long time and it adds this description you really become loose in the joints and very shabby and starts talking about parts of falloff.

The point is that real is on so when it comes to prayer. This means that we have to learn to be who we really are before God without pretending to be something or someone or not I had a pastor friend and mentor, an older man who told me once that he really loved his acceptance. Sometimes you felt holier than you really are exactly exactly right. And it was the best advice I was ever given and it ended up really helping me when I prayed that probably wasn't easy to hear, however, that makes me think of something that the missionary William Carey once said about prayer. Prayer secret fervent believing prayer lies at the root of all personal godliness that a great quote if you think about it all goes back to the Garden of Eden when God started looking for Adam and Eve after they eat fruit. He asks them why were you hiding.

The only reason he would ask them. This is because he was used to being with. But what did they tell them. In response, I said they are hiding because they were naked and afraid and that tells us that before Adam and Eve used to spend time with God didn't have anything on and they didn't even know it. That was their natural state with God.

And if you think about it. That's the way God wants it to be God always sees right through you will work naked before him, always in one sense, when we pray because he misses nothing and this makes me think of something you can Peterson prayer requires that we deal with God.

This God who is determined on nothing less than the total renovation of our lives and then he had, we would rather have a religious bull session makes sense. Especially if you think about how easy it is for us to use of religious jargon, sometimes even women especially when we pray so how do we get more real. First, we need to be honest with God about our sins talk with him openly about the areas where we struggled and asked for his help. As soon as we mess up. We need to stays open as we possibly can with him like what John Bunyan said about this he said prayer will make a man cease from sin or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer metrics. It really is. So being real with God starts with honesty, you know, our naked selves before him. Chadwick said that Marie is the death of prayer. Think about that early is the death of prayer.

We have to learn how to slow down and take our time before God and as we do will find it were actually praying more and more living more in his presence and course will always learning and growing investment but he will help us with this is Corrie 10 boom once said, beware the barrenness of a busy life so confess slow down. I was starting to sound like a three point sermon or maybe what I tell people about the driving.

Is there 1/3 and challenging part.

Can you tell us without sounding holier than you really are that there is definitely 1/3 point here is claim clean keep going back to God again and again no matter what your circumstances matter what is going on in the day. This will help you help you be as real with him as you possibly can so confess slow down and cling so the system so this morning sermon just about except for this in the Chronicles of Narnia. CS Lewis entertains this question about the character Aslan who is a lion but he represents Jesus and the question is if you obtain line know the answer comes, he is not paying but he is good being real with God. When we pray, is a little like that. It's Gary.

We also have to remember that God loves it when we come to him and he is good. So if we come to him just as we are without one plea is the old hymn says, then he loved us that if we make ourselves real with him. He makes himself increasingly real with us. We see him at work in new ways and feel his presence like we never have before and that is absolutely wonderful. So let me wrap things up. Jesus, thank you father how wonderful it is that we can come and try to get more real with you and that he would actually help us get more real. With other people as well is only then can real transformation happens a lot of craving is so difficult that you would help us you would help us to see our false self. What that looks like something we can engage with you and what you really decided.

I asked this Jesus hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website. James bank.org or by visiting these church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you to pray. This is the Truth Network